Battle with Ants. 225 



i-iferous. It is probably derived from curi, gold. Seeing 

 a hut on the banks, we sent an Indian to purchase provis- 

 ions ; he returned with a few yucas and eggs. The day 

 following we were attacked from a new quarter. Stop- 

 ping to escape a storm, a party went ashore to cut down a 

 tree of which we desired a section. It fell with its top in 

 the river, just above our craft ; when lo ! to our consterna- 

 tion, down came countless hosts of ants (Ecitons). Myr- 

 iads were, of course, swept down stream, but myriads more 

 crawled up the sides of our canoes, and in one minute aft- 

 er the tree fell our whole establishment, from hold to roof, 

 was swarming with ants. We gave one look of despair at 

 each other, our provisions and collections, and then com- 

 menced a war of extermination. It was a battle for life. 

 The ants, whose nest we had so suddenly immersed m the 

 Xapo, refused to quit their new lodgings. As we were 

 loosely dressed, the tenacious little creatures hid themselves 

 under our clothing, and when plucked off would leave 

 their heads and jaws sticking in the skin. At last the 

 deck was cleared by means of boots, slippers, and towels ; 

 but, had the ants persevered, they might have taken pos- 

 session of the boat. 



To-day we saw a high bank (called in Quichua jpuca- 

 urcu, or red hill) consisting of fine laminated clays of 

 many colors — red, orange, yellow, gray, black, and white. 

 This is the beginning of that vast deposit which covers the 

 whole Amazonian Yalley. It rests upon a bed of lignite, 

 or bituminous shale, and a coarse, iron-cemented conglom- 

 erate. The latter is not visible on the Napo, but crops out 

 particularly at Obidos and Para. The Indians prepare 

 their paints from these colored clays. 



Our Santa Rosans seemed to have little tact in fishing ; 

 still their spears and our hooks gathered not a few repre- 

 sentatives of ichthyic life in the Napo. The species most 



P 



