Litchfield enquirer., 1835-07-30
A BEE HUNT.


 The beautiful forests im which we were encamped abounded in bee trees that is to say, trees in the decayed trunks of which wild bees had established their hives. It is surprising in what countless swarms the bees have overspread the faE west, within but a moderate number of years. The Indians i consider them the harbinger of the white man, as the buffalo is of the red man :: aud say that, in proportion as the bee advances, the Indian and buffalo retire. We are ai- l ways accustomed t0 associate the hum Q! the beehive with the farmhouse and flower garden, and to consider those industrious little animals as connected with the busy haun,s of man; and ! am told that the wild bee is seldom to be met with at any great distance from the frontier. They have been the heralds of civilization, steadfastly ] receding as it advanced from the Atlantic borders and some ancient setlless 0t the west pretend to give the very year when the honey bee first crossed the Mississippi. The Indians, with surprise, found the ] moaldering trees of their forests suddenly ] teen,ing with ambrosial sweets, and noth- l ing, am told, can exceed the greedy rel- isf with which they banquet fur the first time upon this nnbought luxury of the wil- derness.
 At present tho honey bee swarms in myriads in the noble groves and forests that skirt and intersect the .prairies and extend along the alluvial bottoms of lhe rivers 1t seems t0 me as if these beautiful regions answer literally to the description of the land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey;' for the rich pastnraee of Inc prairles is calculated ,o sustain herds of cat- ile as countless as the. sands upon the sea shore, while the flowers with which they are enamelled render them a very paradise to the nectaf-seeking bee.
 We had not been long tn camp when party set out in quest of bee-tree; and being curious to witness the sport, gladly accepted an invitation to accompany them. The party was headed by a veteran bee hnnter-a tall, lank fellow, in homespuR garb, that hung loosely about his limbs. and a straw hat, shaped not unlike beehive, a comradc, equally uncouth in garb, and without hat, straddled along at his heels, with long rife on his shoulder. To these succeeded half dozen others, some with axes and somea with yjflcs--fnr no ssaaa ssirss far from tho camp without his fire arms, SO as to be ready either for wild deer pr wild Indians.
 Afier proceeding some distance. wel came to an open glade on the skirts of the forest. Here our leader halted, and then advanced quietly to a low bush, on the top of which I perceived piece of honey comb. This found was the bait or lure for the wild bees. Several were humming abou, it and diving about its cells. When. they had laden themselves with honey they would rise into the air. and dart of in n straight line, almost with the velocity of a bullet, The hunters watched attentively the course which they took, and then set off in the same direction, stumbling along over , twisted roots and fallen trees. with their eyes turned up to the sky, In this way they traced the honey-laden bees to their hive, in the hollow trunk of blasted oak. where, after buzzing ahop. for moment, they eptered hole, about sixty feet from the ground.
 Two of the bee hunters now piled their axes vigorously at the foot of the tree, to level it with the ground. The mere spec fators and amateurs, in the mean time, drew of 10 a cautious distance, 10 be out of the way of the falling tree and tho vengeance of its inmates. The jarring blows of the axe seemed to have DO effect in alarming or disturbing this industrious commpEity.-- They continued to ply at their usual occu- pa,ioDs, some arriving full freighted into port, others sallying forth on new expedi- lions, like so many merchantmen in 2 mo- ney making metropolis, little suspicious of impending bankruptcy and downfall. E. ven loud crack, which announced the dis. rupture of the trunk, failed tO divert their attention from the intense pursuit of gain. At length down came the tree with a,tre- mendous crash, bursting open from end to end, and displaying all the boarded treas uses of the commonwealih.
 One of the hunters immediately ran up with wisp of lighted hay, as defence a. gainst the bees. The latter however, made 10 attack, and sought no revenge they seemed supplied by tho catastrophe, and unspspicions ofits cause, remained crawling and buzzing about the rqips. without offer ing US any molestaijon. Every ope ofihe party now fell to, with spoon and bunting knife, to scoop out the flakes of honey comb with wbich tbe hollow trunk vas stor- ed. Some of them were ofold date, and . deep brown color; others were beautifully white. and the honey in their cells vas si- 1 most limpid. speh combs as were eR'ire N L.aN