ll bite us to death,' exclaimed Anselmo, making a bolt up
the rigging. Needham, who had already had his feet attacked, followed
his example; the consul, who had been sitting on deck with his wife,
well knowing the biting powers of the creatures, seized her round the
waist and attempted to carry her down the companion-hatchway, but in his
terror he let her go by the run, and she lay shrieking at the bottom,
for she was much hurt, while he pitched down headforemost after her, a
whole army of ants following. The deck literally swarmed with them; the
creatures came creeping forward, attacking our shoeless feet and biting
in a most frightful manner. For the instant I thought that they would
have driven me and my crew overboard; the men at the warp quickly
recovering hauled away as before, though they were unable to withstand
stamping and leaping in their vain efforts to free themselves of the
fiery pests. We had managed to get the brig free of the boughs, when I
bethought me of attacking the creatures with water, and ordering all the
buckets to be filled, we immediately began deluging the decks, the ants
which still remained on it being quickly swept through the scuppers.
Numbers having, however, already gained the hammock-nettings and
rigging, it was no easy matter to dislodge them. Bevan, with the boat's
crew, who had gone off with the kedge, fortunately for themselves,
escaped; and he told me afterwards, that not knowing what had happened,
he fancied for a moment that we were all gone mad, from the curious way
in which, I setting the example, every one on board had begun suddenly
to leap and skip about. A gouty gentleman, subjected to the discipline
we went through, would quickly have been cured of his complaint. Our
next puzzle was to get rid of the creatures in the rigging. I partly
accomplished the task by sending hands into the tops with buckets, who
dashed the water down in every direction. To clear the cabin of them,
however, was a more difficult task; as soon as the deck was somewhat
free, I went down below, where, from the conversation I heard, with
occasional cries which proceeded from the cabin, I guessed that the
consul and his wife were employed in freeing their persons from the
pests. Senhor Guedes presently afterwards appeared with a basin, in
which were floating countless numbers of the slain; still I saw them
crawling about the cabin in every direction, and it struck me that the
youngsters might be