THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 545 



but killed their quarry without loss of time. When the mother 

 runs off from the hunter the young one grasps her about the 

 neck, and hangs beneath her breast with its little legs about her 

 body." 



" The gorilla uses no artificial weapons of offense, but attacks 

 always with its arms, though in a struggle no doubt the powerful 

 teeth would play a part. I have several times noticed skulls in 

 which the huge canines were broken off, not worn down, as they 

 are in almost all the adult gorillas, by gnawing at trees which 

 they wish to break, and which, without being gnawed into, are 

 too strong even for them. The negroes informed me that such 

 teeth were broken in combats between the males for the posses- 

 sion of a fermile, and I think this quite probable. Such a combat 

 must form a magnificent and awful spectacle. A struggle between 

 two well-matched gorillas would exceed in that line anything ever 

 witnessed by the Romans." 



CARNIVEROUS ANTS. 



ONE of the most dangerous pests of Africa are the bashikonay 

 ants, whose ravages are wonderful, and whose powers of destruc- 

 tion are even more remarkable. They are the dread of all living 

 creatures, from the elephant to the smallest insect. They do not 

 build nests, nor do they lay up stores for future use, but eat their 

 prey on the spot. It is their habit to march through the country 

 in a long, regular line, which is usually two inches broad and 

 several miles in length. All along this line are stationed, at 

 regular distances, larger ants that act as officers ; they march 

 about half an inch from the line, and in every respect act like 

 officers keeping their men in order. If they come to a place 

 where there are no trees to shelter them from the sun, whose 

 heat they cannot bear, they immediately build underground 

 tunnels, through which the whole army passes in columns to the 

 forest beyond. These columns are four or five feet underground, 

 and are used only in the heat of the day or during a storm. 

 When they get hungry the long file spreads itself through the 

 forest in a front line, and attacks and devours all it comes to 

 with a fury that is quite irresistible. The elephant and gorilla 

 35 



