stake
this time. I took the bait down and placed it in the road opposite
the two soft maples and began the second time to search the trees.
After looking a long time without seeing bees going to or from the
trees, I was again compelled to give it up. I began searching among
the old timber, old stumps and stubs, as it was in the midst of an
old bark slashing. I would search among the old down trees a while
and then look over the two soft maples.

I had kept up this search from 9 o'clock in the morning until 2
o'clock in the afternoon. When I was approaching the two maple trees
from the southwest side I readily discovered bees going into the tree
close to and just above a large branch or prong of the tree which
made it impossible to see them until the sun was just in the right
position to shine square on the place where the bees entered the
tree.

In my younger days I always carried a pair of climbers and a rope, so
that when I found it difficult to locate the particular tree that the
bees were in, when they were in thick timber, I could climb any tree
no difference how large and locate the bees. This would often save
much time in finding a bee tree. I would often climb a tree that
stood in a favorable place on the bee line and cut off the top of the
tree and make the bee stand up 30 or 40 feet from the ground. This I
found a great advantage in lining bees in a thick, bushy section.
That day is past with me for I am too clumsy to climb any more.

When I got to camp, I found Smoky at work putting the honey that was
strained into cans and he said that he had concluded to change his
name from Smoky Jim to Sticky Jim. We concluded to let bee hunting go
for a day or two and set two more bear traps south of camp, although
we had seen no signs of bear. Hear I will mention one of Smoky's dry
remarks.

We took two bear traps and bait for them following up a hollow south
from camp to the top of a ridge where there was quite a large clump
of green timber still standing. When we came to the head of the
hollow and near the top of the ridge where we thought would be a good
place to set a bear trap, I pointed to a small scraggly beech sapling
and told Smoky to cut it. Then to cut off a piece six or eight feet
long for a clog. Also to measure the size of the ring in the trap
chain and cut the clog off so that when the ring was put down over
the end of the clog, sixteen or eighteen inches to a prong, it would
fit the ring fairly clo