193 



" nest. Chattering and twittering iu a state of great excite- 

 " ment, it perches on a branch beside tlie traveller, endeavour- 

 " ing by various wiles to attract his attention ; and having 

 " succeeded in doing so, it flies lightly forward in a wavy 

 " course in the direction of the bee's nest, alighting every now 

 "and then, and looking back to ascertain if the traveller is 

 " following it, all the time keeping up an incessant twitter. 

 " When at length it arrives at the hollow tiee, or deserted 

 " white ant's hill, which contains the honey, it for a moment 

 " hovers over the nest pointing to it with its bill, and then 

 " takes up a position on a neighbouring branch, anxiously 

 " awaiting its share of the spoil. When the honey is taken, 

 " which is accomplished by suffocating the bees with the 

 " smoke of burning grass at the entrance of their domicile, the 

 " honey-bird will often lead to a second and even to a third nest. 

 " The person thus following it ought to whistle. The savages 

 *' in the interior, whilst in pursuit, have several charmed 

 " sentences which they use on the occasion " 



Then follow some remarks on the wild bee. 



He continues: "Interesting as the Honey Bird is, and 

 " though sweet be the store to which it leads, I have often had 

 " cause to wish it far enough, as, when following the warm 

 "'spoor' or track of the elephants, I have often seen the 

 " natives, at moments of the utmost importance, resign the 

 " spoor of the beasts to attend to the summons of the bird. 



"Sometimes, however, they are 'sold,' it being a well- 

 " known fact, both among the Hottentots and the tribes of the 

 " interior, that they often lead the unwary pursuer to danger, 

 " sometimes guiding him to the mid-day retreat of a grizzly 

 " lion, or bringing him suddenly upon the den of the crouching- 

 " panther." 



He concludes by giving an instance of having yielded to 

 the seductions of one of the birds. " I was Quail shooting, 

 " when m}' attention was suddenly invited 1)3' a garrulous 

 " Honey Bird which pertinaciously adhered to me for a con- 

 " siderable time, heedless of the reports of ni}' gun. Having 

 " bagged as many Quails and Partridges as I cared about 

 " shooting, I whistled lustily to the Hone}' Bird and gave him 

 " chase." A chase which led him into close quarters with an 

 " unusually large crocodile." Forest of Dk.vn. 



