Leiningen was an aging plantation owner.
He ran his large, agricultural estate with the help of some four hundred workers. Leiningen was the type of man who took the bull by the horns, so to speak. He knew that within two days, a huge swarm of hungry, perilous ants would reach his plantation. He also knew that it was nearly impossible to stop them. Ants like these destroyed everything in their path. Leiningen believed that a man’s brain and his power to use it effectively made him virtually invincible.
He was willing to fight for his land just as he had done in the past.So, against better judgment, he decided to attempt to ward off the menacing ants. Upon the ant’s arrival, horses stampeded and all the wild animals of Brazil took off running. The women and children were sent down the river on rafts for their own safety. Leiningen prepared his men for the worst.
As the ant’s advanced, one could see only a shadow of blackness descending upon the plantation. At one point they seemed to be using a touch of cognitive thought of their own. By splitting up and opting to surround both sides of the farm at once the ant’s appeared to have an advantage.They were actually falling for Leningen’s plan and thousands of them ended up drowning in the waters of the ditch he and his worker’s created by damming up the river. Leiningen’s workers sprayed the fields with petrol sprinklers but his supply was limited and some of his men had to douse themselves in order to save their own lives.
Just when he thought he was getting the better of them, somehow the ant’s figured out how to use leaves to travel across the water, through the ditch and up onto the bank on the other side. With his plantation thought to be doomed, Leiningen and his men began to retreat towards his ranch house.The men relied on a petrol trench to ward the ants away and keep them from reaching the house. When this failed his only recourse was to light the petrol on fire. Sadly, Leiningen realized that the fires alone would not be enough to save his land.
His last hope he thought just might be to dam the river completely. With the outer buildings and his house on higher ground, he figured this could work. He would, however, not be able to keep from flooding his plantation. In the end Leiningen beat the ants, but not without loss of life, land or personal injury. Leiningen was right; a man can beat extreme odds against him.
He can fight the elements.
