.Elephants and buffaloes seldom return to the river by the
same path on two successive nights, they become so apprehensive
of danger from this human a rt An old elephant
will walk in advance of the herd, and uncover the pits with
his trunk, that the others may see the openings and tread
on firm ground. Female elephants are generally the victims:
more timid by nature than the males, and very motherly
in their anxiety for their calves, they carry their trunks up,
trying every breeze for fancied danger, which often in reality
lies at their feet. The tusker, fearing less, keeps his trunk
down, and, warned in time by that exquisitely sensitive
organ, takes heed to his ways.
Our camp on the Sinjere stood under a wide-spreading wild
fig-tree. From the numbers of this family, of large size,
dotted over the country, the fig or banyan species would seem
to have been held sacred in Africa from the remotest times.
The soil teemed with white ants, whose clay tunnels, formed
to screen them from the' eyes of birds; thread over the
ground, up the trunks of trees and along the branches, from
which the little architects clear away all rotten or dead
wood. Very often the exact shape of branches is left in
tunnels on the ground and not a bit of the wood inside.
The first night we passed here these destructive insects ate
through our grass-beds, and attacked our blankets, and certain
large red-headed ones even bit our flesh,
i On some days not a single white ant is to be seen
abroad; and on others, and during certain hours, they appear
out of doors in myriads, and work with extraordinary zeal and
energy in carrying bits of dried grass down into their nests.
During these busy reaping-fits, the lizards and birds have
a good time of it, and enjoy a rich feast at the expense of
thousands of hapless workmen; and, when they swarm, they
are; caught in countless numbers by the natives, and their
roasted bodies are spoken of in an unctuous manner as
resembling grains of soft rice fried in delicious fresh oil.
A strong marauding party of large black ants attacked a
nest of white ones near the camp : as the contest took place,
beneath the surface, we could not see the order of the battle,;
but it soon became apparent that the blacks had gained the
day, and sacked the white town, for they returned in triumph,
bearing off the eggs, and choice bits of the bodies of the vanquished.
A gift, analogous to that of language, has not been
withheld from ants: if part of their building is destroyed, an
official is seen coming out to examine the damage; and, after
a careful survey of the ruins, he chirrups a few clear and distinct
notes, and a crowd of workers begin at once to repair
the breach. When the work is completed, another order is
given, and the workmen retire, as will appear on removing the
soft freshly-built portion. We tried to sleep one rainy night