mother hen, and only to be halted by the unerring aim of the
rifle-man.
It is not certain when bees were discovered by the first emi-
grants. The hunters were men with strong eyes so that they
could see a bee in flight, and follow it to the tree where the
honey was made and stored, and chopping down the tree to
secure the honey was the sweet reward of the hunters' sight
and patience. Hollow gums were used for domesticating bees,
and some farmers made hives with ropes of straw, sewed to-
gether so as to form a conical shaped hive for bees. Boxes
were made afterwards for the same purpose, until the bee moth
became so destructive that other kinds of hives were invented
and patented for the protection and raising of bees.
Few of the first settlers in Rutland were hunters and did not
use guns. Many of the New England men, also those from
New York, were carpenters, and a few were millwrights. The
first thing to use was an ax, then something to draw wood. If
by oxen, a yoke with a ring in it, to which a hook in a chain
lengthened out to fasten around the end of a log securely to
draw to the place desired.
If horses were used, then ropes or strips of rawhide were fas-
tened to wooden hames, which served as collars. Sleds were
first used, then carts, but wagons were not in general use for
many years, except by some wealthy farmers. In the house,
the woman was furnished with a split brush broom. These
brooms were made of a hickory pole by cutting and peeling
down with a knife splits from the end to make the broom. The
broom corn of later years was not known in those early days.
A chest served for a table till some mill was started and boards
were available, so that cross-legged tables were made and
shelves placed upon pins driven into the logs. A few spiders
and pots to cook with and pewter plates to eat from completed
the assortment. Some, families had provided themselves with
