Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1912-10-03
Oak Openings %s Bee Hunter
~ SDX& By James Fsninors Cooper 1x% M6
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SYNOPSIS

SYNOPSIS
The scene of the story is LAID
in the Oak Openings formed in a
grove of 1burr-oaks" on the
banks of the Kalamazoo river
which ebbed it's way thru the then
unpeopled forest of this state. The
time was in the middle of the sum-
mer of 1912. Four absolute strang-
ers, lie Bourbon, a bee-hunter,
Gershom Waring a frontiersman
of Whiskey Centre fame, and two
indians Pottawattamie, named
Elksfoot and Chippewa named
Pigeonswing met by accident in
the soak Openings" lie Bourbon
or Ben Buzz entertains the other
three with one of the most exciting
exhibitions of his art. He locates
"bee tree" finding large supply
of honey. He invites the strangers
to spend the night with him. lie
Bourbon learns of Warnings sis
ter Margery.
Pigeonswing tells of pending
war between the United States and
England, due to the taking of
Mackinaw by the British and Ind
ians. Pigeonswing warns LIE Bour-
don to "beware of Elksfoot."
Pigeonswing proves TO be spy
sent out by Yankees. He is head
ed towards Chicago. lie Bourdon's
Indian guests depart. He and
Whiskey Centre depart to gather
the honey.
lie Bourbon makes preparations
to leave his chente and get away
from troublesome Indians. He finds
that Elksfoot has been murdered
in the woods.
The bee-hunter shuddered as he
gazed at this fearful memorial
of the violence against which even
a wilderness could afford no suf-
ficient protection. That Pigeons
wing had slain his late fellow
guest, lie Bourbon had no doubt,
and he sickened at the thought.
Although he had himself dreaded
a good deal from the hostility of
the Pottawattamie, he could have
wished this deed undone. That
there was a jealous distrust of
each other between the two In
dams had been sufficiently APP
parent; but the bee-hunter could
not have imagined that it would
so soon lead to results as terrible
as these!
After examining the body, and
noting the state of things around
it, the men proceeded, deeply inn
pressed with the necessity, not
only of their speedy removal, but
of their standing by each other in
that remote region, now that vio-
lence had SO clearly broken out
among the tribes. The bee-hunter
had taken a strong liking to the
Chippewa, and he regretted so
much the more to think that he
had done this deed. 1t was true
that such a state of things might
exist as to justify an Indian war
rior, agreeably to his own notions,
in taking the life of any one of
hostile tribe; but lie Bourbon |
wished it had been otherwise. A
man of gentle and peaceable dis
position himself, though of pro-
foundry enthusiastic temperament
in his own peculiar way, he had
ever avoided those scenes of dis
order and bloodshed which are of |
so frequent occurrence in the for
est and on the prairies; and this
was actually the first instance in
which he had ever beheld human
body that had fallen by human
hands. Gershom had seen more of
the peculiar life of the frontiers
than his cong snion, in conse-
quence of haviAr973Sved so closely
in contact with 2.lyEar:-e-water";
but even he was greatly shocked
with the suddenness and nature of
the Pottawattamie's end.