space of
about 18 inches between tent and frame, and thatched it good with
hemlock boughs. While we were working at the camp we had our bee bait
out, and the second day after we put out the bait no bees came to it.
Smoky laughed at me and said that a honey bee was too intelligent to
stop in a place like that, but Smoky was wrong. The next morning
after the sun had got well above the top of the hills, so as to warm
up things down in the valley, I heated a large stone quite hot and
burned some honey comb on it. It was not long before Smoky called out
to me and said that there was one fool of a bee. It was not long
before we had bees a-plenty. We paid no attention to them farther
than to keep plenty of bait out for them. Every bee hunter knows how
much steadier a bee flies after they have the bait well located.

After the camp was well completed and a good pile of wood cut we gave
our attention to the bees. We soon located two lines, one going
nearly east while the other went nearly south. I told Smoky to take
his hatchet and go across the creek some 50 rods and make an opening
or a stand about half way between the two lines, or about southeast
from the stand, and when he had it ready, to call to me and I would
bring the bees over and we could get a cross line and locate nearly
the tree that the bees were in.

We soon got the direction in which the bees flew. I then told Smoky
to take the line that now flew in a westerly course from the stand
and in the direction of two or three large maple trees. The other
line now flew nearly north from the stand and back toward the creek
where there was considerable large timber still standing.

Leaving the bait on the stand, I took the course of the bees that
were now flying north and went to a large birch tree that was
standing on the bank of the creek. I was still several rods from the
tree when the bees began coming to me and I knew that the tree was
close by. I was looking the different trees over to see which tree
the bees were in when Smoky began to halloo as though something
terrible had happened him.

Guessing at the cause of Smoky's shouting, I continued on in the
direction in which the line led and soon saw the bees going into the
large birch tree. I took my knife and cut the letters B T on the tree
and then went to Smoky, who was still making the woods ring with his
shouts.

Smoky began guying me, saying that I was an old bee hunter but it
took Smoky to find the first