LITTLE PEOPLE OF THE OUT-DOOR WORLD 577 



on the return found the young people on the upper decks 

 enjoying the breeze. Those nearest the searchlight suf- 

 fered most, but none escaped the creatures, which buzzed 

 and beat their way beneath collars and cuffs, and into 

 eyes, noses, mouths, and ears. To relieve the passen- 

 gers, the lights on the upper deck were put out. 



There was a large paper balloon built by the hornets 

 on a little maple tree near the shores of Big Tink Pond, 

 and, having upon various occasions been made painfully 

 aware of the exceedingly rapid manner in which the 

 hornets emerge from their nest, I determined, if pos- 

 sible, to discover how they did it. Selecting a position 

 close to the hornets' nest, where I was protected by the 

 banks of the lake, I threw a stick at the little maple tree. 

 Instantly a hundred or more hornets poured from the 

 hole in the nest. It seems that it is their habit to 

 have their soldiers, so to speak, placed in such a 

 position that by letting go all hold they drop through 

 the hole. None of these hornets took wing until all had 

 fallen some distance below the nest; then they spread in 

 every direction looking for their foe, but no moving ob- 

 ject being in sight, they gradually recovered from their 

 excitement and returned to duty. 



During the War of the Rebellion a large portion of 

 the Union Army had been marching for weeks through 

 a country devastated by both Federals and Confed- 

 erates. Their rations were almost exhausted and they 

 had been on half fare for three weeks, when they sud- 

 denly struck a country literally " flowing with milk and 

 honey." Strict orders were given that no looting should 

 be done, but even military discipline cannot restrain 



