Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-08-15

thur a heap o them round this here
swamp hole too. y 5.#s
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 tho
hunter" by which time bees will be
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 camo of ono
night last week: It was q 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: 2" '=.- r..
"'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 "Knob" 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 a goin' in an comm out
an a peggin' it inter ye as We 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 of
the torches and fell in the darkness.
The blows of the axe awoke sullen
echoes over against the knob. Occa-
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 q
great horned owl swooped down from
some place in the darkness, futtered
for a moment on the borders of the
Illuminated spot, while his immense
eyes bllnked and glared and then swept
away again with blood-curdling cry.
The tree was large one, dead, but
sound at the butt. The two choppers
were half an hour in telling it. It
came down with a roar and crash that
made the ground tremble and sent
hundred weird sounds reverberating
and re-echoing among the hills.
"She didn't break in fallin' like these
dead OF pines is li'ble to-" exclaimed
the bee hunter, "an' I'll bet the combs
ez sound ez nut"
Now came the serious business. One
of the men ran to the hole in the tree
that formed the opening to the nest
within. He had barely reached the
spot when the poor bees began pouring
out. But they came out only to their
destruction. The man held his burn
ing torch at the hole. and as the stream
of bees poured out they were cooked to
death in the flame. The sound made
as the poor insects roasted by thousands
was sickening, While the man held
the torch to burn the bees the bee
hunter chopped into the hollow place
where the honey was stored. When
the store was uncovered the sight was
a rich one. The great combs filed to
bursting with the distilled nectar of
the sweetest wild flowers filled the
whole place for distance of six feet,
and was solid mass of sweetness more
than foot and half in diameter. Bu11
few of the busy workers whose incessant
toll had stored this rich feast escaped
the torch, and in ahalf hour the honey
was carefully removed and placed in
large pals brought to receive it. The
bee tree had been tapped.-Ed Mott, in
N. Y. Mail and Express.