CHAP. VI. THE HONEY-GUIDE. 149 



can catch them asleep, sick, or at some other disadvant _ 

 With a bright fire at our feet their presence excites nu 

 uneasiness. A piece of meat hung on a tree, high enough 

 to make him jump to reach it, and a short spear, with its 

 handle firmly planted in the ground beneath, are used as 

 a device to induce the hyena to commit suicide by impale- 

 ment. 



The honey-guide is an extraordinary bird ; how is it 

 that every member of its family has learned that all men, 

 white or black, are fond of honey ? The instant the little 

 fellow gets a glimpse of a man, he hastens to greet him 

 with the hearty invitation to come, as Mbia translated it, 

 to a bees' hive, and take some honey. He flies on in the 

 proper direction, perches on a tree, and looks back to see if 

 you are following ; then on to another and another, until 

 he guides you to the spot. If you do not accept his first 

 invitation he follows you with pressing importunities, 

 quite as anxious to lure the stranger to the bees' hive as 

 other birds are to draw him away from their own nest. 

 Except while on the march, our men were sure to accept 

 the invitation, and manifested the same by a peculiar 

 responsive whistle, meaning, as they said, " All right, go 

 ahead ; we are coming." The bird never deceived them, 

 but always guided them to a hive of bees, though some 

 had but little honey in store. Has this peculiar habit of 

 the honey-guide its origin, as the attachment of dogs, in 

 friendship for man, or in love for the sweet pickings of the 

 plunder left on the ground ? Self-interest aiding in pre- 

 servation from danger seems to be the rule in most cases, 

 as, for instance, in the bird that guards the buffalo and 

 rhinoceros. The grass is often so tall and dense that one 

 could go close up to these animals quite unperceived ; but 

 the guardian bird, sitting on the beast, sees the approach 

 of danger, flaps its wings and screams, which causes its 

 bulky charge to rush off from a foe he has neither seen 



