Maumee City express. [volume] (Maumee City, Ohio) 1838-184?, 1839-02-23
MISCELLANEOUS.
A BEE HUNT.
pY WASHINGTON IRVING.

,amped, abounded In bee trees; tnat ID 10
say, in the decayed trunks in which, wild
bees had established their hives. 1t is sur
prising in what countless swarms the bees
have overspread the far west, within but
moderate number of years. The Indians con-
slider them the harbinger Of the white man, as
the Buffalo is of the red man: and say that, In
as the bee advances, the Indian and
Buffalo retire. We are always accustomed TO
associate the hum of the beehive with the
farm. house and flower-garden, and to consi-
der those industrious little animals as connec-
ted with the busy haunts of man; and am
told that the wild bee is seldom to be net with
at any great distance from the frontier. They
have been the heralds of civilization, steadfast-
" receding as it advanced from the Atlantic
borders and some ancient settlers Of the
west pretend to give the very year when the
honey bee first crossed the Mississippi. The
Indians, with surprise, found the moulderlng
trees of their forest suddenly teemng'
ambrosia sweets; and nothing, am told, can
exceed the greedy relish with which they ban
quet for the first time upon this unbought lux
ury Of the wilderness.
At present the honey bee swarms in myr-
ads IN the noble groves and forests that skirt
and intersect the prairles and extend along
the alluva bottoms Of the rivers. 1t seems
= p me as if these beautifufreg answer lite
rally to the description of the land Of promise,
ga land flowing with milk and honey" for
the rich pasturage of the praires is calculated
to sustain herds Of cattle as countless as the
sands upon the sea shore, while the flowers
with which they are enamelled render them a
very paradise to the nectar seeking bee.
We had not been long in camp when par
ty set out in quest of bee tree; and being
curious to witness the sport, Igladly accepted
an invitation to accompany them. The party
was headed by veteran bee-hunter---a tall,
lauk fellow, in homespun garb, THAT hung loose
y about his limbs, and straw hat, shaped not
unlike beehive, comrade equally uncouth
in garb, and without hat, straddled along at
his heels, with long rifle upon his shoulder.
To these succeeded half dozen others, some
with axes and some with rifes-for no one
stirs far from the camp without his fire arms,
SO as to be ready either for wild deer or wild
Indians. *.
After proceeding some distance, we came
to an open glade on the skirts OF the forest.
Here our leader halted, and then advanced
quietly to low bush, on the top of which l
perceived piece honey comb. This found
was the bait or lure for the wild bees. Seve-
raj were humming about it, and diving about
its cells. When they had laden themselves
with honey they would rise into the air and
dart off in strait line, almost with the velo-
city Of a bullet. The hunters watched atten-
lively The course which they took, and then
set off In the same direction,N stumbling along
over twisted roots and fallen trees, with their
eyes turned up Co the sky. In this way they
traced the honey laden bees to their hive, in the
hollow trunk of blasted oak, where. after
buzzing about for moment they entered a
hole about sixty feet from the ground.
Two of the bee hunters now piled their ak
es vigorously at the foot Of the tree, to level
it with the ground. The mere spectators anna
teurs, in the mean time, drew off to cautious
distance, to be out Of the way Of the falling
tree and the vengeance of its inmates. The
jarring blows of the axe seemed to have no ef-
feet in alarming or disturbing this industrious
community. They continued to ply at their
usual occupations, some arriving full freighted
into port, others sallying forth on new expedl-
tions, like SO many merchantmen IN money
making metropolis, little suspicious ofimpend-
ing bankruptcy and downfall. Even loud
crack, which announced the disturbance of the
trunk, failed 10 divert their attention from the
intense pursuit of gain. At length down
came the tree with tremendous crash, burst
ing open from end to end, and displaying all
the boarded treasures of the commonwealth.
One of the hunters Immediately ran up
with whisp of lighted hay, as defence
against the bees.
The latter, however, made no attack, and
sought no revenge; they seemed stupitied by
the catastrophe, and unsuspicious of its cause,
remained crawling and buzzing about the ru-
ins, without offering US any molestation. Ev-
cry ore of the party now fell to, with spoon
and hunting knife, to scoop out the flakes OF
honey comb with which the hollow trunk was
stored. Some of them were of old cate, and
deep brown color; Others were beautifully
white, and the honey was almost limpid. Such
comb as was entire was placed in camp ket-
ties, to be conveyed to the encampment; those
which had been shivered In the fall were de-
voured upon the spot. Every bee hunter was
to be seen witha rich morsel in his hand,
dripping about his fingers, and disappearing
as rapidly as cream tart before the holiday
appetite of schoolboy.
Nor was it the bee hunters only that profit
ed by the downfall of this Industrious cornmu-
nifty: as if the bees would carry through the
simitude Of their habits with those of labori-
GUS and gainfn man, Iheheld numbers from
rival hives, arriving on the eager wing, to en-
rich themselves with the ruins of their neigh
bors. These busted themseles as eagerly and
|cheefully as SO many wreckers on an India
man that has been driven on shore; plunging
into the cells, of the broken honey combs, ban
quoting greedily on the spoil, and then wing
ing their way full ffeighted to their homes.
AS to the poor proprietors of the ruin, they
seemed to have no heart to do any thing, not
even to taste the nectar that flowed around
them; but crawling backward and forward in
vacant desolation, as ! have seen poor fellow