SOLDIEE ANTS. 231 



friend,. like a guardian spirit, sitting on his withers, or flying 

 gently on just over the object of its care. When the buffalo is 

 quietly feeding, this bird may be seen hopping on the ground 

 picking up food, or sitting on its back ridding it of the insects 

 with which their skins are sometimes infested. The sight of 

 the bird being much more acute than that of the buffalo, it is 

 soon alarmed by the approach of any danger, and, flying up, the 

 buffaloes instantly raise their heads to discover the cause which 

 has led to the sudden flight of their guardian. They sometimes 

 accompany the buffaloes in their flight on the wing, at other 

 times they sit as above described. 



Another African bird, namely, the Buphaga Africana, at- 

 tends the rhinoceros for a similar purpose. It is called " kala" 

 in the language of the Bechuanas. When these people wish to 

 express their dependence upon another, they address him as 

 " my rhinoceros," as if they were the birds. The satellites of 

 a chief go by the same name. This bird cannot be said to de- 

 pend entirely on the insects on that animal, for its hard, hair- 

 less skin is a protection against all except a few spotted ticks ; 

 but it seems to be attached to the beast, somewhat as the domestic 

 dog is to man ; and while the buffalo is alarmed by the sudden 

 flying up of its sentinel, the rhinoceros, not having keen sight, 

 but an acute ear, is warned by the cry of its associate, the Bup- 

 haga Africana. The rhinoceros feeds by night, and its sentinel 

 is frequently heard in the morning uttering its well-known call, 

 as it searches for its bulky companion. 



But many of the most wonderful objects in the world are the 

 most minute, and the soldier ants which were observed plying 

 their singular industry and carrying on their depredations are 

 certainly inferior only in size to the more notorious monsters of 

 the continent. These pigmean marauders have the true African 

 color, and when on the line of march generally go three abreast. 

 They are probably half an inch in length, and possess wonder- 

 ful strength and energy for their size. They usually follow a 

 few leaders, who are untrammelled by any burden and furnished 

 with an extraordinary quantity of the peculiar poison in which 

 their special power lies. Like the red ants mentioned as being 

 seen in the western part of the continent, these are generally 

 found advancing in a straight line. " If a handful of earth is 



