BEE-HUNTING IN THE BACKWOODS. 217 



swarm of wild bees, which we had sought for in vain 

 about six months before. We took some bait with 

 us, and went to a spot about half a mile off. 



To induce bees to take bait in the fall of the year, 

 the hunter looks out for a small open space in their 

 neighborhood, and if he cannot find one he must 

 make a clearance with his knife and tomahawk, stick 

 a branch upright in the ground, and lay some leaves 

 on it spread with a little thinned honey. The bees 

 soon discover it, and when they have got as much of 

 the honey as they can carry, they rise in circles, which 

 become larger and larger, till they attain a certain 

 height ; then they dash off direct for their own tree, 

 to deposit their store in the general warehouse. The 

 bee-hunter must take particular notice of the line of 

 their flight, which requires a good eye, and then carry 

 his bait some two hundred yards further in that 

 direction, when the bees will soon flock round it again. 

 It', when Laded, they keep the same course, it is 

 a sign that the tree is still in that direction, and 

 the bait must be carried further, until they fly the 

 other way. Then the bee-hunter will know that he 

 has passed the tree, and that it must be between his 

 present and his last station, and he is not long in 

 finding it. AVhen he comes near the tree, and the 

 bees are at work, their unsteady zizgag flight will 

 betray its proximity. 



The first time we moved our bait, the bees flew 

 backward, so we knew we could not be more than a 

 hundred yards from their tree; but the approaching 

 night prevented our discovering it. Next morning 

 about ten o'clock, as it began to get warm, we returned 



