430 
BED ANTS. 
Chap. XXII. 
security; and at different parts of the road, we purchased fowls 
from them at a pemiy each. My men took care to celebrate theh 
own daring in having actually entered ships, wliile the natives of 
these parts, who had endeavoured to frighten them on their way 
down, had only seen them at a distance. Poor fellows! they were 
more than ever attentive to me; and, as they were not ohhged 
to erect sheds for themselves, in consequence of finding them 
already built at the different sleeping-places, aU thefr care was 
bestowed in making me comfortable. Mashauana, as usual, made 
his bed with his head close to my feet, and never during the 
entire journey did I have to call liim twice, for anything I needed. 
During our stay at Tala Mungongo, our attention was attracted 
to a species of red ant, which infests different parts of this country. 
It is remarkably fond of animal food. The commandant of the 
village having slaughtered a cow, slaves were ohhged to sit up 
the whole night, burning fires of straw around the meat, to 
prevent them from devouring most of it. These ants are fre¬ 
quently met with in numbers, like a small army. At a httle 
distance, they appear as a brownish-red band, two or three inches 
wide, stretched across the path, all eagerly pressing on in one 
direction. If a person happens to tread upon them, they rush 
up his legs and bite with surprising vigour. The first time I 
encountered this, by no means contemptible enemy, was near 
Cassange. My attention being taken up in viewmg the distant 
landscape, I accidentally stepped upon one of their nests. Not 
an instant seemed to elapse, before a simultaneous attack was 
made on various unprotected parts, up the trousers from below, 
and on my neck and breast above. The bites of these fmdes were 
like sparks of fire, and there was no retreat. I jumped about for 
a second or two, then in desperation tore off aU my clothing, and 
rubbed and picked them off seriatim as quickly as possible. Ugh! 
they would make the most lethargic mortal look ahve. For¬ 
tunately no one observed this rencontre, or word might have 
been taken back to the village that I had become mad. I was 
once assaulted in a similar way, when sound asleep at night in my 
tent, and it was only by holdiug my blanket over the fire that I 
coMd get rid of them. It is really astonishiug, how such small 
bodies can contain so large an amount of fil-nature. They not 
only bite, but twist themselves round after the mandibles are 
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