ASCENT OF THE PARAMILLO 133 



orioles' wings as the black-and-yellow forms hurried by to 

 seek their pendent nests swaying dizzily from the branches 

 of some giant ceiba towering regally above the unbroken 

 forest. 



While we waited for the storm to subside, the cook shelled 

 corn and then, placing it in a wooden mortar together with 

 a handful of ashes, began to pound it to remove the skins. 

 This operation required about half an hour, so frequently 

 she paused to rest; but no sooner had she deserted her 

 post than a swarm of cargador ants invaded the receptacle, 

 and the first intimation we had of their presence was when 

 a file of white kernels began to descend the side of the mor- 

 tar and cross the floor at our feet. How the small insects 

 are able to carry the large, heavy grains is a mystery. The 

 burden weighs many times as much as the ant which bears 

 it, and almost hides it from view. Later, we saw swarms 

 of the same species at work in the clearing; they cut sec- 

 tions from the edges of corn leaves by digging one mandible 

 into the leaf for a secure hold, and then rip toward it with 

 the other; the cut is always circular. Most of the insects 

 worked from right to left, but one out of every five seemed 

 to be "left-handed" and worked in the opposite direction. 

 When the section of leaf is detached it is dexterously swung 

 over the cutter's back, and away it marches with the green 

 banner waving aloft. In addition to carrying this load, 

 several small ants often mount on the leaf for a free ride to 

 the nest. 



That night another denizen of the wilds invaded the house; 

 as we sat quietly in front of the hut listening to a shrill, 

 uncanny oh-ho-ho-ho-ho coming from the forest, and which 

 the natives said was the mating call of the three-toed sloth, 

 but which we recognized as the song of a giant frogmouth or 

 goatsucker, a cat owned by the family began to cut queer 

 capers about the fireplace. A light revealed a good-sized 

 bushmaster making its way across the kitchen floor. 

 Whether the reptile had been attracted by the warm glow 

 of the embers for the rain had been followed by a decided 



