KATOOTERO AND HIS HONEYBIRD 



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be climbed. It was slender and whippy, and not more 

 than twelve inches in diameter at breast height. Produc- 

 ing a long leather strap, or mukwa, Katootero rapidly 

 climbed to the top, and when the tree started to sway 

 with his weight, he swung it over in the direction of the 

 big tree and seemed to be rapidly falling, but, with a 

 quick motion, caught the main stem, held onto it, swung 

 his mukwa around it and bound the two trees together. 



He now mounted higher and presently reached a posi- 

 tion just below the hole from which the bees were swarm- 

 ing. He next blew some smoke into the hollow, using the 

 same means of subduing these insects as the modern bee- 

 keeper. The only difference being that he hadn't bellows. 

 He just puffed the smoke in with his breath. In a few 

 minutes he plunged his hand into the hole and brought 

 out a supply of honey in the comb, which he deposited 

 in a leather bag swung from his shoulder. Having got as 

 much as he wanted he cautiously climbed down to where 

 he had tied the thinner tree and with great care released 

 it. I held my breath when he kicked off from the big tree 

 and slid down the slim one. It had been a remarkable per- 

 formance, and I was glad that he came down without 

 being damaged. 



All this time the little bird had been waiting patiently, 

 and now he rewarded it with a liberal supply of grubs in 

 the comb. It is one of the fascinating facts of the forest, 

 that these small honey birds live in symbiosis with the 

 forest dwellers. 



In regard to marriage customs my friends of the forest 



71 



