Slinging His Tomahawk And A
Fishing-Line Round His Neck, He Got Inside The Hoop, And Allowing It To
Rest Against The Small Of His Back, He Pressed Hard Against The Tree With
His Knees And Feet.
This raised him several inches, when with a dexterous
jerk he moved the portion of the hoop furthest away
From him a good foot up
the stem, and thus - somewhat on the same principle that boys climb a
chimney, for the hoop represented the chimney - he worked himself upward,
and in much less time than I have taken to describe it, was astride on the
lowest branch, and chopping vigorously at the hollow which contained the
golden store. The use of the fishing-line now became apparent, for we bent
on to its end a small tin billy (round can), used for making tea, and by
hauling this up and filling it, Larry soon supplied us with honey enough to
fill our bucket and the boat's baler. As perhaps my readers may be tempted
to wonder why the bees did not attack the naked hide of the robber who was
thus rudely despoiling them, I must state that the wild Australian bee is
stingless. It is a harmless little insect, not much larger than the common
house-fly, and though it produces abundance of honey and wax, it has not
been subjected to domestication, and from its diminutive proportions and
its habit of building on very high trees, probably never will be. The
English bee has been most successfully introduced into Queensland; and many
of the farms in the neighbourhood of Brisbane make a good thing out of
their honey and wax.
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