] I IN THE OPEN I [ 



nor seemingly was any offered by their comrades. 

 Others were crawling on an uneven number of 

 legs in search of new foes. The cause of such a 

 conflict among ants of the same species remains a 

 mystery one of the many mysteries. 



Every year the red ants raid the common blacks 

 for the purpose of making slaves a most high- 

 handed proceeding. This season I came upon the 

 invading host marching up the road about ten in 

 the morning of July 2 8th. The invasion had but 

 lately begun, as the ants were carrying no pupa?; 

 it was the skirmish line. As the column advanced, 

 frequent and rapid communication took place be- 

 tween individuals and stragglers who were coming 

 back. Later, when the raid was well under way, 

 there was little of this. The nest of the red ants 

 was by the side of a path in the woods which led 

 out to the wagon road, while the negroes were 

 domiciled some distance up this lane. Now the 

 column of red ants followed the path and the 

 road the entire way, in place of going diredtly 

 through the bushes, though it doubled the distance, 

 which thus amounted to some fifty yards. 



Red ants were soon pouring out of the various 

 openings in the nest of the blacks, carrying both 



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