He Is, Moreover, A Pugnacious Little Fellow; And Rather
Prolonged Fights May Be Observed Between Him And His Brethren.
One,
in fleeing from an apparent danger, jumped into a pool a foot square,
which the other evidently regarded
As his by right of prior
discovery; in a twinkling the owner, with eyes flashing fury, and
with dorsal fin bristling up in rage, dashed at the intruding foe.
The fight waxed furious, no tempest in a teapot ever equalled the
storm of that miniature sea. The warriors were now in the water, and
anon out of it, for the battle raged on sea and shore. They struck
hard, they bit each other; until, becoming exhausted, they seized
each other by the jaws like two bull-dogs, then paused for breath,
and at it again as fiercely as before, until the combat ended by the
precipitate retreat of the invader.
The muddy ground under the mangrove-trees is covered with soldier-
crabs, which quickly slink into their holes on any symptom of danger.
When the ebbing tide retires, myriads of minute crabs emerge from
their underground quarters, and begin to work like so many busy bees.
Soon many miles of the smooth sand become rough with the results of
their labour. They are toiling for their daily bread: a round bit
of moist sand appears at the little labourer's mouth, and is quickly
brushed off by one of the claws; a second bit follows the first; and
another, and still another come as fast as they can be laid aside.
As these pellets accumulate, the crab moves sideways, and the work
continues.
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