

In the Sierra 



they can find anything to bite. As soon as 

 a vulnerable spot is discovered on man or 

 beast, they stand on their heads and sink 

 their jaws, and though torn limb from limb, 

 they will yet hold on and die biting deeper. 

 When I contemplate this fierce creature so 

 widely distributed and strongly intrenched, 

 I see that much remains to be done ere the 

 world is brought under the rule of univer- 

 sal peace, and love. 



On my way to camp a few minutes ago, 

 I passed a dead pine nearly ten feet in dia- 

 meter. It has been enveloped in fire from 

 top to bottom so that now it looks like a 

 grand black pillar set up as a monument. 

 In this noble shaft a colony of large jet- 

 black ants have established themselves, la- 

 boriously cutting tunnels and cells through 

 the wood, whether sound or decayed. The 

 entire trunk seems to have been honey- 

 combed, judging by the size of the talus of 

 gnawed chips like sawdust piled up around 

 its base. They are more intelligent looking 

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