'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from January 1847 to May 1849. Edited by the Secretary. Volume VIII.' [‎370] (479/496)

370
Whilst amusing ourselves by wandering about the island, we observed
numbers of ant hills of gigantic size, many being twelve or fifteen feet
high, and full twenty in circumference at the base. They were conically
shaped, and were formed of clay or mud baked hard by the heat of the
sun's rays. No opening into these surprising structures could be perceived,
but on knocking over the tops of some, innumerable passages and cells
were discovered within, all filled with myriads of small ants. Delicious
looking fruit, about the size and appearance of a ripe mango, were also
seen hanging most temptingly from the boughs of several trees: one
I ascended for the purpose of gratifying my taste, but no sooner had I
stretched out my hand to gather this apparently luscious fruit, than in
one moment it swarmed with a greenish-coloured insect—it was in fact
an ant’s nest I had mistaken for fruit: my astonishment, therefore, as may
be imagined, was fully as great as my disappointment. The ants were fully
avenged for being so unceremoniously disturbed, as I was so fearfully
stung by them that I was glad to make a hasty retreat. The nests were
curiously constructed of the leaves of the trees, the sides and ends being
fastened together by some glutinous secretion which nature had furnish
ed this tiny insect. They were all shaped like a small oblong box, and at a
small distance off could not in reality be distinguished from a mango or
guava, so that even a wiser head than mine might have been deceived.
—Wednesday Island is situated in latitude 10° 27 / S. and longitude
144° 22 / E.: it is well wooded, and is about thirty miles in circumference.
Some open spots were seen here and there clothed with high grass, the
ground in many places being deeply furrowed, and the trenches lie so
evenly and regularly from east to west that it seems as if the plough
share had once gone over it, but this could never have happened, so I
conclude that nature alone must have formed the furrows. A plain from
the sea beach extends inland to some distance, and is covered with trees.
At the back of this rises hills of moderate height in the form of an
amphitheatre, the two extremes verging towards the sea: they are all of
granitic origin, and are the grey kind resembling the Cornish or Scotch.
On closely examining those rocks where the bare sides were exposed,
perceived that several parts exhibited a blueish-green appearance, as i
tinged with the oxide of copper; nor should I be surprised if veins of tha
ore may at a future period be discovered, as it is well known that some
of the richest mines of Cornwall have been worked on the actual
of the granite and porphyritic series, and several of the loads in ^
have run deep into the very heart of those rocks, though hard and i
cult to excavate, yet it has been accomplished with considerable pro