"Cudjo did not molest him until he had fairly gorged himself; then,
drawing him gently aside with the rim of the glass, he separated him
from his banquet. He had removed his gloves, and cautiously inserting
his naked hand he caught the bee--which was now somewhat heavy and
stupid--between his thumb and forefinger. He then raised it from the
log; and turning it breast upward, with his other hand he attached a
small tuft of the rabbit wool to the legs of the insect. The glutinous
paste with which its thighs were loaded enabled him to effect this the
more easily. The wool, which was exceedingly light, was now `flaxed
out,' in order to make it show as much as possible, while, at the same
time, it was so arranged as not to come in contact with the wings of the
bee and hinder its flight. All this did Cudjo with an expertness which
surprised us, and would have surprised any one who was a stranger to the
craft of the bee-hunter. He performed every operation with great
nicety, taking care not to cripple the insect; and, indeed, we did not
injure it in the least--for Cudjo's fingers, although none of the
smallest, were as delicate in the touch as those of a fine lady.

"When everything was arranged, he placed the bee upon the log again,
laying it down very gently.

"The little creature seemed quite astounded at the odd treatment which
it was receiving; and for a few seconds remained motionless upon the
log; but a warm sunbeam glancing down upon it soon restored it to its
senses; and perceiving that it was once more free, it stretched its
translucent wings and rose suddenly into the air. It mounted straight
upward, to a height of thirty or forty feet; and then commenced circling
around, as we could see by the white wool that streamed after it.

"It was now that Cudjo's eyes rolled in good earnest. The pupils seemed
to be dilated to twice their usual size, and the great balls appeared to
tumble about in their sockets, as if there was nothing to hold them.
His head, too, seemed to revolve, as if his short thick neck had been
suddenly converted into a well-greased pivot, and endowed with rotatory
motion!

"After making several circles through the air, the insect darted off for
the woods. We followed it with our eyes as long as we could; but the
white tuft was soon lost in the distance, and we saw no more of it. We
noticed that it had gone in a straight line, which the bee always
follows when returning loaded to his h