SINGULAR SIGHT IN THE FOREST—ALL KINDS OF ANIMALS FLEEING IN ONE
DIRECTION—A TERRIBLE ANT—THE BASHIKOUAY ARMY—ATTACKED EVERYWHERE
AT ONCE—HOW I ESCAPED THE TORMENTORS.
A few days after my return from the gorilla hunt I found myself one
morning all alone. Regundo had gone for the day. The men were cutting
trees for a new plantation; the women were weeding the fields. Feeling
somewhat lonely, I left for the forest, armed with a gun. I became so
interested on my way in collecting insects and butterflies that the time
passed quickly, and before I was aware of it the greater part of the day
had gone, and I could not reach the plantation before dark. Knowing this
I decided to remain and camp in the forest, for it was impossible to
follow the path in the darkness. I had no torch with me, and a leopard
might pounce upon me while on my way. So I lighted a fire, collected
large leaves, built my camp, and gathered a lot of dead wood, for I
intended to surround myself by four fires during the night to make sure
that no wild beasts or snakes should come near me. I slept well, waking
two or three times during the night to attend to the fires. The
following morning I determined to go a little further before I retraced
my steps towards the plantation.
After a while I noticed a number of snakes which seemed to follow each
other in rapid succession, creeping as fast as they could, and all going
in the same direction. Two or three of these passed close to me.
Suddenly I heard the tramping of elephants through the jungles breaking
down everything before them, and apparently running as fast as they
could. One of them crossed the path in sight of me. They were going in
the same direction as the snakes.
These were followed by a number of gazelles, antelopes and wild boars.
The forest seemed alive with beasts. These went also in the same
direction that the snakes and elephants had gone.
I stood still for a moment, for I had never seen such a sight before,
when to my utter astonishment a leopard passed near by, bounding and
running as fast as it could in the direction of the other animals. “What
is the cause of this leopard leaving his lair during the day time, for
they generally sleep during the day?” I asked myself. A strange feeling
of fear and awe came over me. I thought that some great convulsion of
nature was about to take place. The earth was perhaps to open, and a
volcano burst out at the spot where I stood. An involuntary dread that
something grave was to happen came over me. The forest became alive with
multitudes of insects and butterflies. They too were fleeing, and in the
same direction which the animals had taken before them. A great number
of insectivorous birds followed them, preying on them in their flight.
In a word, all the living creatures of the forest were in a panic, and
were all fleeing in the same direction.
Just as I was about to retrace my steps and run as fast as I could
towards the plantation, I found myself suddenly covered with countless
ants, which bit me with the greatest ferocity. In an instant they were
biting me everywhere,—on my legs, on my arms, on my back, on my neck,
they were in my hair. As I ran I tried to kill those that were on my
body, those that were outside had their pincers fast in my clothes. They
were also everywhere around me, on the ground and on the trees.
These ants were the fierce bashikouays. They were on the war-path, and
attacked on their march every leaving creature. Fortunately I could run
away in the path faster than they could advance, but I could not get rid
of those that were already on me. After about one hour’s run I came to a
stream, took off my watch and put it on the ground, and then lay flat at
the bottom of the shallow water, in order that it might cover me
entirely, and drown the ants. I did not dare to stay too long in the
water, for fear that the bashikouay army would overtake me. Fortunately
I succeeded ere long in drowning them, for I did not feel any more
bites.
Panting and out of breath I reached the plantation before dark, and I
told Regundo about the bashikouays, and how animals and insects had fled
at their approach, but did not tell him how I had been bitten by them.
Regundo said: “These ants are called bashikouays, and they were on the
war-path.”
“What do you mean, Regundo, when you say that the bashikouays were on
the war-path?” I asked.
“When they are not on the war-path,” he replied, “they walk close
together in a line. They are as thick as the grains of dry earth or of
sand on the sandy shores of a river; then they are harmless, for they
attack no one. But when they scatter, they attack every living thing
that comes in their way. They even climb trees, going after insects.
Gorillas, elephants, leopards, all living things, flee before them. When
they come into our villages or into our houses, we have to protect
ourselves, our children, and our babies, by boiling water, fire, and hot
ashes.”
Two or three days after my adventure with the bashikouays, Regundo came
to me, saying: “Follow me, and you will see the bashikouay ants in
marching order; they are harmless, for they are not on the war-path.”
I followed him, and soon after he stopped and said: “Here they are,” and
I saw a moving line of bashikouays crossing the pass, the line being
about two inches in width.