1^.0 C O O K ’s VOYAGE. 
though we gratified our curiofity at their expence, the injury 
did not go unrevenged ; for thoufands immediately threw 
themfelves upon us, and gave us intoleiable pain with their 
flings, efpecially thofe which took pofieffion of our necks and 
our hair, from whence they were not eafily driven : the ding 
was fcarceiy lefs painful than that of a bee ; but, except it was 
repeated, the pain did not laftmore than a minute. 
Another fort are quite black, and their operations and man- 
ner of life are not lefs extraordinary. Their habitations are 
the infide of the branches of a tree, which they contrive to 
excavate by working out the pith almoft to the extremity of 
the flendereit twig ; the tree at the fame time flourifhing as if 
it had no fuch inmate. When we firft found the tree, we 
gathered fome of the branches, and were fcarceiy lefs afton- 
ilhed than we Ihould have been to find that we had prophaned 
a confecrated grove, where every tree, upon being wounded, 
gave figns of life ; for we were inflantly covered with legions 
of thefe animals, fwarming from every broken bough, and in- 
flicting their flings with inceffant violence. They are men- 
tioned by Rumphius in his Herbarium Amboinenfe, vol. 2. 
p. 257 ; but the tree in which he faw their dwelling, is very 
different from that in which we found them. 
A third kind we found nefled in the root of a plant, which 
grows on the bark of trees in the manner of raifletoe, and 
which they had perforated for that ufe. This root is common- 
ly as big as a large turnip, and fometimes much bigger : 
when we cut it, we found it interfered by innumerable wind- 
ing paffages, all filled with thefe animals, by which however 
the vegetation of the plant did not appear to have fuffered any 
injury. We never cut one of thefe roots that was not inha- 
bited, though fome were not bigger than a hazel-nut. The 
animals themfelves are very fmall, not more than half as big 
as the common red ant in England. They had flings but 
fcarceiy force enough to make them felt ; they had however a 
power of tormenting us in an equal, if not a greater degree ; 
for the moment we handled the root, they fwarmed from in- 
numerable holes, and running about thofe parts of the body 
that were uncove/ed, produced a titula.ion more intolerable 
than pain, except it is increafed to great violence. Rumphius 
has alfo given an account of this bulb and its inhabitants, 
vol. 6- p. 120. where he mentions another fort that are black. 
We found a fourth kind, which are perfectly harmlefs, and 
almoft exaCtiy refemble the white-ants of the Eafl-Indies ; 
the architecture of thefe is flill more curious than that of the 
others. They have houfes of two forts, one is fufpended on 
the branches of trees, and the other eredted upon the ground : 
thofe upon the trees are about tree or four times as big as a 
man’s head, aud are built ©f a brittle fubliance, which feems 
to 
