chap, xiii.] BM-HUNTBRS. 313 



wonderful to see the skill with which he took advantage of 

 the slightest irregularities of the bark or obliquity of the 

 stem to aid his ascent, jerking the stiff creeper a few feet 

 hisher when he had found a firm hold for his bare foot. 

 It almost made me giddy to look at him as he rapidly got 

 up— thirty, forty, fifty feet above the ground ; and I kept 

 wondering how he could possibly mount the next few feet 

 of straight smooth trunk. Still, however, he kept on with 

 as much coolness and apparent certainty as if he were 

 going up a ladder, till he got within ten or fifteen feet of 

 the bees. Then he stopped a moment, and took care to 

 swing the torch (which hung just at his feet) a little 

 towards these dangerous insects, so as to send up the 

 stream- of smoke between him and them. Still going on, 

 in a minute more he brought himself under the limb, and, 

 in a manner quite unintelligible to me, seeing that both 

 hands were occupied in supporting himself by the creeper, 

 managed to get upon it. 



By this time the bees began to be alarmed, and formed 

 a dense buzzing swarm just over him, but he brought 

 the torch up closer to biin, and coolly brushed away 

 those that settled on his arms or legs. Then stretching 

 himself along the limb, he crept towards the nearest 

 comb and swung the torch just under it. The moment 

 the smoke touched it, its colour changed in a most curious 

 manner from black to white, the myriads of bees that had 



