266 THE GREAT NORTH-WEST 



a very small one, not worth the trouble of cutting down 

 the tree for. To ascertain, if possible, the certainty of 

 the nest being there, the hunter knocks or kicks the 

 trunk. This will often cause the bees to swarm out. If 

 this expedient fails, he watches to see if many bees return 

 to the nest at nightfall, which they invariably do before 

 sunset. If this should be the case, or if the nest-hole is 

 visible, he at once fells the tree. Nearly all the bees fly 

 out on the fall of the tree ; and this is a moment of great 

 danger, for the bees are furious and apt to attack any one 

 standing near. Heaps of grass are at once lighted and 

 placed before the nest-hole, and this generally confuses 

 them and prevents an attack on the hunter. Most of 

 the bees are destroyed, for they fly into the smoke in 

 their endeavours to reach their home, and are suffocated. 

 The comb is scraped out, the honey expelled by rough 

 pressure, and the wax carried away to be refined at 

 home. 



The wild bees sometimes make their nests in the 

 fissures of rocks, but holes in decayed broad-leaved trees 

 are the favourite sites. I cannot say positively that they 

 never select holes in trees of the pine class ; but I have 

 never seen a nest in a pine-trunk, and some of the 

 hunters say that few trees but oaks and maples are ever 

 selected. There are cases of nests being found in holes 

 in the ground and under roots. The nesting-holes of 

 woodpeckers and owls are favourite resorts of the wild 

 bees. The birds are compelled to abandon their homes, 

 and, once established, the swarm never forsakes its nest. 



Bears are very fond of wild honey, and habitually rob 

 the nests. The bees do not seem to be able to hurt the 

 robber, whose shaggy hide is impenetrable to their short 

 stings. A bear which I saw rob a nest in another part 

 of the country repeatedly clapped his paw over his nose, 

 evidently to dislodge his assailants, but his work was not 

 interrupted for an instant. The hole in the trunk was 

 too small to admit his paw ; but he soon enlarged it, 



