of bees began to collect in the garden of Judge McNary. Five swarms were there at once - presently, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty. They clustered together on every shrub in the garden, then on the fence that surrounded it, banked up on each side of the fence, until barrels, hogsheads, and wagon-loads were there. The population became greatly excited. They apprehended that this phenomenon must be ominous, and multitudes came from far to witness it. But, so far as I know, it has remained without explanation, unless, indeed, the opinion prevalent among the pioneer population be taken as such; to wit, that this was the mustering of the armies of the honey-bee, preparatory to their sallying forth to take possession of the mighty plains of the great west; for as yet the white man had only taken possession of portions of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio.

When the news reached the settlements of the Creole French, in Southern Missouri, that the honey-bee had appeared at Kaskaskia, in Illinois, a lady inquired of her neighbor, "Could we not send over and get a pair of them, and raise bees?"

An American female had reached St. Genevieve, on the west bank of the Mississippi, somewhat in advance of the emigrating multitude. She discovered a honey-bee dancing at the window of a house occupied by a family of Creole French. "Why, there's a bee," said she to the lady of the house. "Ah!" said the lady, "is that the thing that makes the honey? Well, could we not catch it, and tame it, and keep it?"

It was stated to me by an old citizen of Missouri, that when the first swarm of bees came to St. Louis, and settled, in a large mass, on some object in the town,

several of the primitive population ran to procure straw and fire to burn them up, thinking that they were wasps, or hornets, or something in that line. But an American was providentially there, who remonstrated against giving to the strangers a reception so rude and inhospitable. He explained something of their nature and usefulness, and prevailed on some one to construct a hive, and allow the new comers a home in the then young metropolis of the mighty west.

About the month of August, in the year 1840, at Plattville, in Wisconsin, I met a Methodist missionary, named Cavanaugh, who had been for years employed among the Indians up near the mouth of the St. Peter's. He told me that the progress of the bees, moving as a "pillar of cloud" in front of the white settlements, was then an object of troubled apprehension and dread among the Indians where he labored. "Old Indian chiefs," said he, "will now ask, with trembling anxiety, 'How far have the bees got up the Mississippi?"" In the month of February, 1849, at Columbus, in Indiana, I met again this same brother Cavanaugh, and inquired, "How is it now with your Indians and the bees?" "Ah," said he, "the bees have reached those Indians now, and the white emigrant is close upon their trail.”

The following passage is found in the "Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842, by Captain J. C. Fremont," p. 69: "Here, on the summit, where the stillness was absolute, unbroken by any sound, and the solitude complete, we thought ourselves beyond the regions of animated life; but while we were sitting on the rock, a solitary bee came winging his flight from the eastern valley

and lit on the knee of one of the men.

We pleased ourselves with the idea that he was the first of his species to cross the mountain barrier. pioneer to foretell the advance of civilization."

a solitary

Gregg in his "Commerce of the Prairies," p. 178, vol. i., says, "The honey-bee appears to have emigrated exclusively from the east, as its march has been observed westward. But none have yet reached this portion of the western dominion." And at p. 206, vol. ii., he says, "The bee, among western pioneers, is the proverbial precursor of the Anglo-American population. In fact, the aborigines of the frontier have generally corroborated this notion, for they used to say they knew the white man was not far behind when the bees appeared among them."

Many other interesting specifications might be given, but my design is not to extend this article beyond a reasonable limit. Enough has been said to show that this notable fact in the history of western emigration is a clear manifestation of the hand of God. And not only so, but it is a dispensation of great kindness to his people, many of whom are found among the frontier emigrants. I have seen very pious people sending out their children to collect this honey and the honeycomb. The comb yielded the beeswax, a valuable commodity. The honey also was an important article in the commerce of the country. The western rivers bore these articles to New Orleans, where they were sold or exchanged for the benefit of the families in the frontier settlements. Many households were thus made comfortable, who, without such a provision in divine providence, must have felt the pinchings of want. Often has the western minister expatiated on

these themes. Often has he reminded the people that Jehovah is a covenant-keeping God, that he "keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him, to a thousand generations;" that the temporal as well as the spiritual wants of his people are the objects of his care. And as he scattered the manna over the face of the wilderness before his ancient church, so now he is mindful of his covenant. He giveth bread to the hungry, and the redeemed of the Lord have abundant reason to say that his mercy endureth forever.

There are persons now living in Illinois, in Missouri, in Iowa, and in Wisconsin, who arrived there before there was a quail in all that country. But soon after the Anglo-Americans had pitched their tents in the land, the quails came around them by thousands and by tens of thousands. Why is this? From whence do they originate? It is the hand of God. I will mention one great purpose that is answered by the quail. It strikes dumb the lips of pride. He who wishes not to see the hand of God, will say the bees that go before the wave of American population proceed from domesticated bees among the settlers, although the vastness of their multitude, and notable facts like that at Nashville, utterly refute the theory. But where the sceptic can find even the shadow of an argument against the hand of God, he will, like Pharaoh of old, harden his heart. But ask him, “From whence come the quails? From domesticated quails? He is dumb. The fact is, you cannot tame a quail. At least, I have known some very thorough experiments, which resulted in total failure, and believe that the quail is generally regarded as incapable of domestication. Should any one say the quails feed on the farmer's grain, his corn and his

wheat, and therefore they follow the American emigrants, I answer, that this does not touch the mystery; because the prairie hen, or American grouse, the wild goose, and the crane, are just as fond of corn as the quails-perhaps more so. But these birds are all over the face of the wilderness, and live independent of the cultivated fields of the white man. Yet when the farmer comes near their wild abode, and ploughs up the earth, and produces his crop of corn, you will see the prairie hen, the wild goose, the crane, clustering around the corn stacks, and manifesting far more greediness for grain than you ever see exhibited by the quail. The mystery is not touched.

comes the quail ?

Whence

Ascertain from whence the hornets came, that went before the standard of Israel; ascertain from whence the quails came, that fell around their camp; and then you will have no difficulty in understanding the phenomena that now precede and accompany the standard of Zion, as she lengthens her cords and enlarges her boundaries. God's church is in that moving multitude which is pressing westward. The ark of his covenant

is there. And now, as in ancient times, his church is "engraven on the palms of his hands." You can account for the above-mentioned facts, just as you account for the sea giving up its dead at the sound of the last trumpet. It is the hand of God.