They manage to scent paper and cotton goods from under the ground, and ascend the poles upon which the trunks or chests which contain the goods rest. They build a long tunnel from the ground on the outside of the poles, and climb through to the chest, into which they eat their way. The tunnel is made of minute particles of wood glued together by a substance coming from their bodies. Often the owner of the chest, when he opens it, finds nothing inside,—everything having been eaten up by the termites.
CHAPTER XI
THE NCHELLELAYS, OR WHITE ANTS
One of the white ants, or nchellelays, said one day to another nchellelay: “Strange indeed is our life. We are unlike the other ants, for they enjoy the light of day, and breathe the air that passes over the prairies and forests. They can ramble where they please in search of prey or food. We nchellelays live in darkness. Light is odious to us. The sun is our greatest enemy, and we have to protect ourselves from its rays, which kill us when they strike our bodies. If, perchance, by some catastrophe, our houses are damaged, and we are thrown out of them, we have not only the sun, but the rain as our foe. Creatures surround us on every side to pounce upon us and devour us, and many kinds of ants are also our enemies. Our life is safe only when we are shut up in our houses.”
An old and wise nchellelay, who had been listening, said: “Why do you complain of your existence? We are born with great gifts which other creatures do not possess, to suit our mode of life. To us, darkness is light, for we can see so much better in it. We erect buildings through which neither the sun nor the air, the light nor rain, nor our enemies can penetrate. We build during the night, so the sun cannot harm us. Just think how comfortable and cosey are our chambers!”
All the nchellelays were listening to what the wise and knowing one said, and when she had done speaking, they said: “You are right, wise one. We are born with certain great gifts, which no other creatures possess, to suit our mode of life, and protect ourselves from our enemies.”
These nchellelays that were talking belonged to the species that build only on the prairies that are surrounded by the great forest. Their structures, or houses, are of the shape of gigantic mushrooms. They vary in height from ten to eighteen inches, the tops or crown being from ten to eighteen inches, and the stem or round pillar supporting the crown about five inches, in diameter. As the colony grows larger, sometimes two or three crowns are built on the top of one another. Each house forms a colony.
From immemorial time, these nchellelays have built on the prairies, and as they increase and multiply in a wonderful manner, their structures cover the whole prairie, and can be counted by tens and tens of thousands, at short distances from one another. Strange indeed is the sight.
The colony inhabiting these gigantic mushroom-like structures is of three kinds of nchellelays unlike in shape and having different kinds of work to perform. The chiefs, few in number, are much larger in size than the others. Their heads are armed with powerful nippers.
The next class are smaller than the chiefs, have elongated bodies, and are armed also with strong nippers. These are the officers or overseers and fighters.
The third class are exceedingly numerous, and form by far the greatest population of each colony. They are shorter and smaller in size. Their heads are square, and their nippers are shorter than those of the other two kinds, and of a somewhat different shape. This class is born to work. They are the builders of the structures. Their life is one of labor. They have soft bulky bellies, of dark bluish or yellowish gray color, filled with the clay they feed upon.