BEE-HUNTING IN THE BACKWOODS. 91 



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 particu- 

 lar 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. If, when loaded, they keep the 

 same course, it is a sign that the tree is still in that di- 

 rection, 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 find- 

 ing it. When he comes near the tree, and the bees are 

 at work, their unsteady zigzag flight will betray its prox- 

 imity. 



The first time we moved our bait, the bees flew back 

 ward, so we knew that we could not be more than a hun- 

 dred 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 to our 

 hunt, and in less than half an hour, found the hole where 



