feed upon the others--parasites
upon parasites.

As I had resolutely put the doings of the treetops away from my
consciousness, so now I forgot visitors and parasites, and armed
myself for the excavation of this buried metropolis. I rubbed
vaseline on my high boots, and about the tops bound a band of
teased-out absorbent cotton. My pick and shovel I treated likewise,
and thus I was comparatively insulated. Without precautions no living
being could withstand the slow, implacable attack of disturbed Attas.
At present I walked unmolested across the glade. The millions beneath
my feet were as unconscious of my presence as they were of the breeze
in the palm fronds overhead.

At the first deep shovel thrust, a slow-moving flood of reddish-brown
began to pour forth from the crumbled earth--the outposts of the Atta
Maxims moving upward to the attack. For a few seconds only workers of
various sizes appeared, then an enormous head heaved upward and there
came into the light of day the first Atta soldier. He was twice as
large as a large worker and heavy in proportion. Instead of being
drawn up into two spines, the top of his head was rounded, bald and
shiny, and only at the back were the two spines visible, shifted
downward. The front of the head was thickly clothed with golden hair,
which hung down bang-like over a round, glistening, single, median
eye. One by one, and then shoulder to shoulder, these Cyclopean
Maxims lumbered forth to battle, and soon my boots were covered in
spite of the grease, all sinking their mandibles deep into the
leather.

When I unpacked these boots this year I found the heads and jaws of
two Attas still firmly attached, relics of some forgotten foray of the
preceding year. This mechanical, vise-like grip, wholly independent of
life or death, is utilized by the Guiana Indians. In place of
stitching up extensive wounds, a number of these giant Atta Maxims are
collected, and their jaws applied to the edges of the skin, which are
drawn together. The ants take hold, their bodies are snipped off, and
the row of jaws remains until the wound is healed.

Over and around the out-pouring soldiers, the tiny workers ran and bit
and chewed away at whatever they could reach. Dozens of ants made
their way up to the cotton, but found the utmost difficulty in
clambering over the loose fluff. Now and then, however, a needle-like
nip at the back of my neck, showed that some pioneer of these shock
troops had broke