The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-09-06

tion he had been going. Soon heard
bees buzzing by us, to and fro in almost
constant passage.
''We've got 'em," said the woodman,
SAN yon big leaning pines the tree
they's film fer me-"
The leaning pine was but one hum
dred yards away. We approach it
and when within few feet of it, the
hunter pointed to knothole, worn.
white and smooth, half way up the
trunk, in and out of which bees were
hurrying in continuous procession.
'.Put your ear agin the tree" said
the hunter.
/ did so. The hum of the busy work.
eres within was like the hum of tele-
graph wires in a wind.
''Thuz nice passel o. honey in th't
OIL tree, an no mistake" said the
woodman. 81 wouldn't take the price
O. a hundred pound fer it cause if / did
I'd be stuck. I'll just blaze my mark
on the tree and then nobody'll take it,
less he's no good bushwhacker, an
thuz heap O. them round this here
swamp hole too"
The bee hunter blazed large chip
off of one side of the tree and according
to the code of backwoods unwritten
law, that tree could not rightfully be
claimed by any one else.
carter buckwhit is CUT" said the
hunter by which time bees will b
over their work for this year, we'll git
some o. the boys and will come over yer
some fine evenin' and tap this tree
The tapping of the tree came off one
night last week. 1t was picturesque
bit of work, but the cruelty of it
necessary cruelty perhaps, but still
cruelty-destroyed its pleasures for me.
A couple of rough and rugged noun
taineers and dog were added to make
UP the tapping party. The dog was not
anecessity to the honey getting, neither
were the guns carried by the noun
taineers. But as one of the latter re-
| marked:
''Long about this time o. the year
ye can't tell. Yer apt to run agin a
coon or cattymount, mebby, and
proberly a bar. A dog don't do no
harm and nuther does a gun when
your goin' out inter the 'sKnob" kentry
long bout this time O. year."
The way into the bee tree over the
rocks and through the brush and mire
was lighted by blazing pine torches,
and as we stumbled along the old bee
hunter told me that he liked to tap a
bee tree best at night because the bees
were asleep and ''consekently the work
ers wasn't goin' in an comm out
an peggin' it inter We as ye worked. !"
The bee hunter found the tree with
| ease. While two of us held torches,
! two others went to work with keen
axes to chop down the trees. The
white chips flew in all directions
| cleaned for second in the glare oi
the torches and fell in the darkness
The blows of the axe awoke sullen
echoes over against the knob. Ocea-
sional bees, frightened from their re-
treat, buzzed aimlessly down from the
| tree and burned themselves to death in
/ the flames of the pine knots. Once a
| great horned owl swooped down from
some place in the darkness, futtered
/ for moment on. the borders of the
illuminated spot. while his immense
eyes bllnked and glared and then swept
away again with a blood-curdling cry
The tree was a large one, dead, but
sound at the butt. The two chopper:
were half an hour in telling it. I
came down with a roat and crash thai
made the grour1a vremble and sent 9
hundred weird sounds reverberating
and re-echoing among the hills.
| ..She didn't break in fallin' like these
dead OIL pines is h'ble to-" exclaimed
the bee hunter, 'sap' I'll bet the comb
ez sound ez nut.
i Now came the serious business. On
| of the men ran to the hole in the tire,
that formed the opening to the mes
| within. He had barely reached tn
spot when the poor bees began pourin!
out. But they came out only to thei
uOobI uCuiOu. hC iiltsll bClu LID Jul ii
ing torch at the hole. and as the strean
of bees poured out they were cooked t.
death in the fame. The sound mad
as the poorinsects roasted by thousand
was sickening, While the man he'll
the torch to burn the bees the be
hunter chopped into the hollow plac
whore the honey was stored. Whel
the store was uncovered the sight wa
a rich one. The great combs filled t
bursting with the distilled nectar G
the sweetest wild flowers filled tn
whole place for distance of six feet
and was a solid mass of sweetness NOR
than foot and a half in diameter. Blu
| few of the busy workers whose incessan
toll had stored this rich feast escapet
the torch, and in a half hour the hone
was carefully removed and placed i
large pals brought to receive it. TIL
bee tree had been tapped. Ed Mott, d
N z. Mail and Express.
4 The following from a San Dieg