EXPEDITION TO SURINAM. 



137 



CHAP. XXIL 



Alarm in the Firica River — A Detachment marches to its 

 Relief^Ambufcade — Wonderful EffeSl from the Biting of 

 a Bat — Scene in a fluagmire — Sketch of the Inquifition 

 and Return of the Troops to Cormoetibo Creek, 



ON the morning of the 19th of September 1775, juft chap. 

 before fun-rife, Colonel Seyburg marched with 

 one hundred marines and forty rangers, who did me the 

 honour to fix upon me as one of the party, and was upon 

 the whole fo polite, and his behaviour fo contrary to what 

 it had lately been, that I knew not at all in what manner 

 to account for it. 



Having croffed the Cormoetibo Creek, we kept courfe 

 S. W. and by S. till we approached the river Cottica, 

 where we encamped, having met with nothing on our 

 firft day's march worth defcribing, except a fpecies of 

 ants^ which were no lefs than one inch in length, and 

 perfedtly black. Thefe infe6ts pillage a tree of all its 

 leaves in a fliort time, which they cut in fmall pieces the 

 fize of a fix-pence, and carry under-ground. It was in- 

 deed entertaining to fee a whole army of thefe creatures 

 crawling perpetually the fame way, each with his green- 

 leaf in a perpendicular diredlion. So general is the pro- 

 pen fity to the marvellous, that fome have imagined that 

 Vol. II. T this 



