“Yes, sir, to be sure he does, and he works hard in his own way to procure their food; but trappers seldom have wives; they would be no use to them in the woods, and they have no one to provide for but themselves.”
“It appears to me like a savage life, but a very independent one,” said Mrs Campbell, “and I presume it is the independence which gives it such charms.”
“That’s it, depend upon it, ma’am,” replied Martin.
“But what do you do all the summer-time, Malachi?”
“Why, ma’am, we take to our rifles then, there are the deer, and the lynx, and the wild cats, and squirrels, and the bear, and many other animals to look after, and then some times we go bee-hunting for the honey.”
“Pray tell us how you take the honey, Malachi.”
“Why, ma’am, the bees always live in the hollows of the old trees, and it’s very difficult in a forest to find them out, for the hole which they enter by is very small and very high up sometimes; however, when we get a lead, we generally manage it.”
“Tell us what you mean, Malachi.”
“We catch the bees as they settle upon the flowers to obtain honey, and then we let them go again. The bee, as soon as it is allowed to escape, flies straight towards its hive; we watch it till we can no longer see it, and walk in that direction and catch another, and so we go on till we see them settle upon a tree, and then we know that the hive and honey must be in that tree, so we cut it down.”
“How very clever,” said Percival.