LION-ANT. 
381 
of a few grains of sand that something is in the pit, 
he immediately rushes forth to seize the prey, 
which meets with inevitable destruction, unless it 
has agility enough to be capable of remounting in 
an instant; and even then the lion-ant has a strata- 
gem which frequently succeeds in bringing back 
the unfortunate animal to the bottom of the pit. 
This he effects by whirling a quantity of sand into 
the air above the height of the flying animal, which 
proves a dreadful shower to such a tender crea- 
ture as a gnat or an ant. The unfortunate insect, 
blinded and overwhelmed in this manner, by the 
tempest that pours down from every quarter, and 
hurried away by the instability of the sand that 
rolls from under its feet, falls between the jaws of the 
enemy, who plunges them into its body, drags it 
under the sand, and then feasts upon the victim. 
When nothing is left but the carcass drained of its 
juices, he is particularly careful to remove it out of 
sight. The appearance of a dead body would de- 
prive him of future visits, and bring his place of 
residence into disrepute : he therefore extends his 
long jaws, and, with a sudden spring, tosses the slain 
half a foot beyond the trench : and if this should 
happen to be disconcerted, and filled up by such a 
proceeding ; or if the aperture becomes too large 
for the depth, and the declivity loses its proper 
slant, he repairs the whole as soon as possible, that 
it may be ready to receive a new victim. In this 
manner the creature proceeds ; and such is his great 
patience that he will sometimes pass whole weeks at 
