We, for our part, behaved no better, except that we had brought sacks in which to carry the shelterless bees home, and give them an abode. A very large swarm went toward the Leone and another to the affluent on the left. We decided for the former, however, and in less than half an hour found ourselves in front of a gigantic maple that grew on the skirt of the forest, in whose long trunk, between the lowest branches, the orifice of the tree was completely covered with the insects. We hobbled our horses some distance from the tree, lit a fire near it, and two of us set to work with the axes to cut it down. Tiger and I had the first turn, and when we were tired the two others took our place, till we thus working in turn made the proud tree fall with its whole weight on the grass, where its splinters flew a long way around. Each of us seized a firebrand and ran with buckets, spoons, and knives to the cracked part of the trunk, where the honey was exposed while the bees circled high above us in the air in a dense swarm. The firebrands were laid on the ground near the honey, old damp wood was laid on them to increase the smoke, and we hurriedly cut out the comb, and poured the liquid honey into a bucket which we emptied into the kettle which was slightly warmed by the fire. Honey runs from the cells with a gentle heat, and when it is liquid enough, the latter are pressed between two boards, till all the honey runs out, after which it is strained through a coarse sieve into the cask. By the time we had secured our booty it was noon, and we recovered from our fatigue over a cup of coffee and maize cake, then we went back to the spot we had started from and followed the swarm to the small affluent, where we found the bees in another old plane close to the prairie. We also robbed this tree; it was even richer than the first, and contained layers of honey probably fifteen years old, the oldest of which were nearly black. When we had finished this job our two casks were full, and the bucket loaded with quite fresh comb.