60 TWO CHAPTERS ON ANTS. 



herself up until her mouth reaches her dying 

 master's, and tries to feed him ; finding no 

 response, she leaves him and continues on 

 her way. Two other nurses make the same 

 attempt, the position in which the ant was 

 placed doubtless attracting their attention. 

 As far as I have observed, when one ant 

 feeds another they both stand nearly per- 

 pendicular. 



When all is quiet about the nest I again 

 repeat the experiment, killing a number of 

 soldiers. I pick them up here and there, 

 and kill them quickly, until I have twen- 

 ty dead in my hand. I now pour them all 

 down near one of the leading entrances. 

 Soon the wildest confusion prevails. The 

 soldiers come out in such numbers that I 

 retreat a few steps. The slaves, aware that 

 something unusual is going on, have stopped 

 work and disappeared all save one, which 

 is busily engaged in carrying sticks and 

 other things to close an entrance about a 

 foot distant from where I dropped the dead 

 soldiers. The circle widens, and many of 

 the angry soldiers rush up excitedly to the 

 black slave. Seeming satisfied that she is 

 not the author of this terrible havoc, they 

 leave her, and she continues her work with 

 the utmost indifference to the excitement 



