170 



ANTS. 



man alive, even when its doubled-up body has 

 been torn from the head, the pincers will remain 

 embedded in flesh. Moreover, there are the usual 

 white ants (Ch'hnngu Mchwa, Termes fatalis), 

 death upon your property; the ginger-coloured 

 Ch'hungu ya moto, whose name 'fire-ant' de- 

 scribes its bite, and the hopper ant, who, like the 

 leopard, takes a flying leap from the nearest 

 branch, and cleverly alighting upon the victim, 

 commences operations. And where the ant is in 

 legions, one of the most troublesome is the smell- 

 ing ant (Ch'hungu TJvundo), which suggests that 

 carrion is concealed behind every bush. Yerily, 

 in Africa, as was said of the Brazil, the ant is 

 king, and he rules like a tyrant. 



We spent the night in a small Babel of Ba- 

 loch. It was a savage opera scene. One recited 

 his Koran, another prayed, a third told funny 

 stories, whilst a fourth trolled out in minor kev 

 lays of love and war, made familiar to my ear 

 upon the rugged Sindian hills. This was varied 

 by slapping away the lank mosquitoes that flocked 

 to the gleaming camp-fires, by rising occasion- 

 ally to rid ourselves of the ants, and by challeng- 

 ing the small parties of savages who, armed with 

 bows and arrows, passed amongst us, carrying 

 grain to Panga-ni. The Baloch kept a truly 



