Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-08-28
QUIET OBSERVER"
IN Ills HAPPY VEIN DESCANTs ON PIC
MICS AND BoYISH SPORTS.

IN Ills HAPPY VEIN DE>CANTs ON PIC
MICS AND BOYISH SPORTS.
If you will allow it, Mr.. Editor, | would
like to say word to my fellow farmers
whom did or who didnot meet at the Pic
nic on last Thursday. 1t was bad day for
picnics in the woods, but splendid day
for greasing the gears, mending the wag-
on bed, or cleaning up the harvesters or
packing them away. We have no bad
days: they are all good for something, if
it is nothing but to sit around the stove
and sleep.
That reminds me of poor fellow who
was very popular in this city. He is dead
now. When he lived he was fond of
booze, and destroyed great deal of it.
He used to say there was no such thing
as bad whisky. Some might be better
than another, but none was bad.
So with our days. Some are better than
others, but all are good for something.
1t is pretty hard to make a boy see it that
way, although he never found day too
wet to go fishing, too cold to wear his
clothes out on hillside, or too hot to go
swimming. A boy who is possessed of a
good appetite can find some use for any
sort of day that comes along. He knows
there are great many that are too bad
to work, and as for greaSing harness and
cleaning up the barn he considers it a
waste of time that might be employed in
hunting rabbits, gathering wild grapes
or looking for bee trees.
Now, there's an industry that is
playing out. Hunting bee trees furnish
ed employment for many an off day, and
what royal good times we had getting the
honey after the trees had been located.
| 1t was kept a dead secret until it was
ripe, and then few particular friends
known to be good choppers, or well up in
the art of cutting bee tree, were invited
to go along. Fun! Why, it was fun
alive. Get stung all over, your hair
daubed with honey, and your clothes so
smeared up that you would stick to any
thing you touched, and probably wind up
with severe attack of honey collie, which
is the very worst collie there is. But it
was great fun, all the same.
The bee hunter has about disappeared.
He'd linger around abuckwheat patchand
watch the directions taken by the bees
as they left with their loads of sweetness.
Knowing the direction of all the bee
houses in the neighbOrhOOd he could pref
ty nearly tell where each bee belonged
when he saw it start. Finding number
going in a direction that did not lead to a
| bee house, he would conclude at once
that there was bee tree out there, and
off he would go, and he was almost dead
sure to locate it.
John Woodburn was a famous bee
hunter, and Lew Owens was pretty good
at it. He learned the business from John,
and often went with him on his bee
hunts. Bill Jarrett made bluff at it,
but he wasn't up to to the charms and
signs. | think it was Hig. Lucas, Alex
Barrett and George Henderson, that 10
Gated bee tree once down Miller'S Run,
and when they cut it they found only a
| blacksnake and Screech owl. They may
DENY this. but YOU can ask Sam McKean
at Warnock's.
No matter about bee trees, and lost
! arts generally, it was bad. day for the
picnic, but as | couldn't be there wasn't
greatly put out by the rain. For two or
three weeks previous Ihad been loading
up for the occasion, because it isn't every
day that real live Governor is billed to
speak out among the hills. AT the very
! last moment sudden sickness attacked
my wife, which put an end to my dreams.
1t was then too late to write an address,
which is sometimes better than nothing
Seeing the rain flag floating the next
morning | felt somewhat relieved, think
ing there wouldn't be much of picnic
no way. Nevertheless, it was very dis
appointing, because there were lots OF
peOple whom it would have been pleas
ure to meet. even under an umbrella.
Mr.. Editor, | have been trespassing on
your space, but you must recollect that
you were farmer once yourself, and
know how it is when you get started
Some people are ashamed that they ever
belonged to the hoe-handle brigade,
but you Will never find Capteener go
back on it. He may not want to join it
again, but that is neither here nor there.
Let us hope the weather will be more
propitious next time.
Very Respectfully,
ERASMUS WILSON,
Pittsburgh, Aug. 23.