WITH ARMY ANTS 223 



would take up his station, with as many func- 

 tions and duties as a member of the Broadway 

 traffic squad. Stray, wandering ants would be 

 set right by a single twiddle of antennae; an 

 over-burdened brother would be given a helping 

 jaw and assisted for some distance to the end of 

 his beat. I was especially interested in seeing, 

 again and again, this willingness to help bear 

 the burdens. It showed the remains of an in- 

 stinct, inhibited by over-development, by ultra- 

 specialization of fighting paraphernalia, still 

 active when opportunity gave it play. At the 

 first hint, by sound or smell, of danger, the big 

 soldier whirled outward and, rearing high on his 

 legs, brandished his mighty blades in mid-air. 

 Here was an ideal pacifist, who could turn his 

 sword into a plowshare at will, and yet keep the 

 former unsheathed for instant use. 



When I watched more closely, I detected 

 more delicate gradations of mutual aid. At the 

 same level in two columns of ascent, the same 

 stratum of hard sand was encountered. To one 

 column the sand presented a rough surface 

 which gave good foothold. Here the single line 

 of ants which was ranged along the lower edge 

 of the trail, in lieu of hand-rail, all faced down- 



