We arrived at a point about 60
yards from the tree, which, in this case, was just on the other side of a
shallow point in the creek. We were halted by Granddad and told to make
things ready to assault the tree. I could see from where I was standing
that there was a smoky, cloud-like movement emanating from a large hole in
the tree that Granddad had pointed out. This cloud, of course, was the bees
swarming around the hive, preparing to go out in search of nectar to
transform into their liquid gold, as the morning sun had not yet risen
high enough for the bees to leave the hive. We had arrived at the perfect
time of day as it was light enough to see, yet not bright enough, or warm
enough for the bees to leave the hive. My job at this point was to stay
on my side of the creek and not get stung by the angry bees.
My uncle opened the can of coal
oil and soaked the rag at the end of the stick in preparation to
remove the bees from the hive.
In removing the bees from the
hive, there are two important things to remember. First, you must
remove them so as not to be attacked and stung, but second, you must not
kill them. If you kill the bees, there will be no more honey.
This is the reason that a kerosene-soaked rag is ideal for the job.
The rag will burn slowly, with a small flame, and produce a large amount
of smoke. The smoke will drive away the bees without killing them.
They usually will not return for some time after being inundated with
smoke. The honey should be extracted and the crew gone by the time
they return.
In the event this proves not to be
the case, it's good to have the creek near by, so you can run to it and
lay down in the water. This will discourage the bees, and also
soothe the welts from the stings you do get.
There are, of course, a few bees
killed by the flames on the burning stick. And a few bees will attack
while the flame is being put to the hive hole. This is where the
experience of years of trial-and-error comes into play.
Granddad had been doing this for
over 40 years, and had approached the problem with various techniques, so
he was the one to show us how to drive away the bees without getting stung
to death. He would tell us, "In the end, remember the good thing about
the honey bee is, once they sting you, they die. At least you won't be
stung twice by the same bee".
Somehow, to a 7-year-old, that
wasn't much comfort.
Granddad pulled out a wooden
kitchen match, lit the rag and took the burning stick to the hive alone,
because he had done this so many times before, and he was sure he could do
it with the fewest number of stings.
Not one of us argued with his
logic.
Approaching the tree slowly, with
the flame low to the ground and slightly from the side, he quickly shoved
the burning torch into the swarm of bees. They scattered instantly. He
quickly placed the stick, which had began to smoke more than burn, inside
the hole of the tree, and squatted down to the ground.
Almost instantly, a giant swarm of
bees that seemed to blacken the air, charged out of the hole, over his
head paying no attention to him, and disappeared into the hazy dimness of
the forest. The hive was now secure. The other members of the crew
gathered up the pail and the ax and hurried to the tree. This time the
tree did not have to be cut down, because the hole was low enough to the
ground, and using a near-by dislodged tree-stump to stand on, we could
reach the honey. This would allow the bees to return to the tree. In the
event that the honey was not reachable, however, the tree would have been
chopped down quickly, and without a second thought. Bees are very
adaptable, and will settle in the next tree with a large enough space in
it for the brood to be accommodated and new comb built.
Collecting the honeycomb from the
tree and placing it in the pail is not hard, it is, however, messy.
The down side of robbing the bee tree is that in taking the comb out
before the the larva have hatched greatly reduces the bee population for
the next season. On the other hand, I was not concerned with that as
much as I was with having to eat the little beggars at the breakfast
table. Another drawback might be that you have to dip out the
honeycomb with bare hands, which is another reason it is good that they
build near the water.
When our pail was full, it
contained comb and about 2-1/2 gallons of honey or about $125.00 worth in
today's supermarket prices. This is the essence of the phrase, “pure honey”.
A large part of the honeycomb was
left behind, and I was told that was so the bees would return and continue
to hive in this tree. I confess I know little about raising bees, but
then I don't claim to. However, I did become expert in robbing bee trees
over the next few summers. I didn't get stung that day, on my first trip
to rob a bee tree, but I did get stung between four and eight times, on my
next 3 attempts. Eventually though, like all other skills that one learns
in life, I reached such proficiency at it that I rarely ever received a
sting.
The reason this practice was
so popular among the Ozarkians of Missouri in the past, is the same reason
they used build fiddles from old orange crates. It is a far less
expensive way to live and enjoy the finer and more important things of
life. We all loved the honey, and it was a lot of fun, besting the danger
of attacking bees, and ultimately, robbing the bee tree!
