Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-09-19
BUSY BEES IN A HOTEL.
A Dpnmer's Lively Experience In q south
west Georgia Town.

A Dnmmers Lively Experience In . soutb
west Georgia Town.
Did you wei see busy bees making
honey in a hotel2" The question was
put by a travelling man who had just
returned from a six weeks trip
through the southern portion of the
state.
Il wouldn't have believed" he con
tinued, that people and bees could
live together, but l have seen il with
my OWL eyes, and am convinced that
they can. Last week, as / was max.
ing my return trip TO Savannah, !
stopped over at Oglethorpe, and spent
the night IN that industrious little town
at the Drummers' Home, the only no
tel there. 1t is kept by Judge Willis,
the largest merchant and one of the
wealthiest men in southwest Georgia.
i was sitting out on the front porch
Just after supper, smoking a cigar,
and kept hearing a rumbling noise,
a If water were pouring off some
place. The sound came and went at
intervals, and sometimes / could hear
II distinct enough TO almost tell, ]
thought, what il was. From the ar
tesian we'll, situated in the center Of
the town, runs a small stream. 1t runs
down a hill over rocks and pebbles,
making a rumbling noise like that Of
a brook, and forms a branch further
down the hill, and the ripping of the
little stream is heard at the business
houses.
Il got up and walked down TO the
south end of the porch, imagining
that | could smell the sweet fragrance
of the violets and h~oneysuckes on the
branch, when a bug, as i supposed,
whizzed by my head. ! threw my
hand up TO my head when something
lighted on it | wasn't frightened,
but skittish Of bugs. lmade a desper.
ate brush at the insect with my left
hand and struck it. II did not fall
dead TO the floor as l expected. Its
sting was in my hand. and the poor
thing could not get loose. The senssr
ton was u%nnerving, and with an en-.
ergetic use Of my cap got rid Of it. II
was a bee. | smelled him and his
scent was abroad. | leaned up against
a column TO get breath after the expe-
rience and Jared the post consider
ably. stopped down 10 pick up my
cap, ana when | Strengthened up !
ran my head into a bee nest There
were more bees there than | ever felt
before. They pitched on my face
and head, and as fast as one would
sting he gave place TO the next one,
who gave me a whack. | ran into the
room. and in some way they got the
bees off Of me. | remained over in
Oglethorpe two ~days-that was longer
than ! expected TO stay, but ! wanted
10 stay until my fondness for the
place 'swagged down to its natural
size.
Two days afterward, a few hours
before ! was going to leave, l thought
j would take a last look at the 'fated
spot ! found the column against
which leaned. and the first thing
that attracted my attention was the
rambling noise that / heard two nights
before. Looking at the top Of the post
! saw a bunch OF bees that would
have filled my hat They were going
in and out of a crack in the post, just
Is they go in and out Of a gum. They
were making honey. i had made a
discovery. ! made known what l had
e to the proprietor Of the house.
He investigated it and found that the
column, which is about ten feet high
and eight inches in diameter, was full
of honey up to within two feet of the
top. After calculating awhile, we
found hat the column contained over
300 pounds of honey. 1t was a find Of
between $50 and 500. Nobody had
evcr seen the bees before, and, not.
withstanding the rumbling noise had
attracted the attention of numbers Of
people, they attributed tA sound to
the branch just as did. was told
that the bees would be robbed Of their
honey the next dag, if would remain
over, but ! was two days behind, and
had TO pull out The two families live
peaceabiy together now. | am told, and
no hostility viii be manifested until
the post ggts full Of honey, then the
whites viii begin pillaging and rob
bing, Savannah News.