The morning times., 1896-12-06

The faces of the children in the Gad'iis
block, Southeast Washington, are smeared
with honey two centimeters thick and
from ear to ear. This is also true of
the block Immediately opposite, one OF the
prominent inhabitants of which is Mr..
James Beck, of the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing.
On Friday at = p. IN. there took place
on the top of the house OF Mr.. Lemuel
Gaddis, 10 ID street southeast, the func-
ton of robblng a beehive under the most
extraordinary circumstances. baseball
gloves, chiscls, football suits, hatchcts.
pistols, and ladies' in fascinators and other
thick and warm clothing and masks.
There were also ladders, cats, skye terri
ers, people in the attic peeping tliro1gh
the trap doors, skylights, and mob of
about two thousand youngsters and quite
contingent of grown people out In the
street when the performance was at It's
height sixty feet above the pavement.
Fortunately the only thing hurt in the
function was Mrs. Gadds pet Maltese cat,
which was shot by Mr.. John Baker, who
fired at the queen bee, the ball ricOchetinS
against the trap door and striking The
inquisitive cat.
RAID on THE BEE HIVE.
East Washington has been all agog over
this affair for about two years. In the
summer of 1894 Mr.. Lemuel Glad'lis
and Mrs. Lemuel Gladdis and Miss Glad'iS'
noticed that bees We're continually going
in and coming out OF the northeast Corner
OF the top of the building. Some people
to whom the secret was confided thought
that they were hornets and that it would
be well 10 let them alone If the yellow
Jackets did not assume the offensive.
The Gladdisses, however. have friend
by the name of Mr.. Graybill, who is IA car
pente:, and Mr.. Graybill has nephew.
both of whom figured in the spoiliatiOn
of the hive on Friday. Mr.. Graybiil is from
Virginia and has expert knowledge OF
honey bees, having raised them himself
lie diagnosed the case and said it was
clear case of Canaan and the outlying
precincts which fairly flew with milk and
honey. Mr G!addiS and Mrs. Gladdis then
knew that they had a gold mine and for
two years they lay low and let the bees
work
But the bees worked overtime last sum-
mcr and overdid the production business.
II was noticed that the tin on the roof
near the corner began To bulge out. and II
was only question of time when they
would have ripped off the whole top of
the house.
WAS A STAR ATTRACTION.
Mr.. Gaddis therefore, with the consent
OF Mrs. Gaddis, agreed with Mr.. Graybill
that the fight with the bees should be
pulled off on Friday afternoon. The fact
was buZZed around as industriOusly as If
the bees themselves had done the buZZing.
so that at . p. M. there were almost as
many witnesses To See the fight as there
were To see the policemen decline to carry
Ii Hung Chang in that red plush bamboo
clair.
Mr.. Gaddis felt that Mr.. James Beck, who
is his neighbor, ought to have his hand In
the hive, and he was specially invited to be
ore Of the raiding party, although as
matter of fact the community had resolved
itself into committee OF the whole on the
same business.
Mr. Graybill brought along his nephew,
who knew whatever he knew about bees
from what Mr.. Graybill had told him conf
dentialiy, and Mr.. Beck was considered
theoretically an authority on the pecu-
larities of the queen bee OTHERS in the
cast merely carried the ladders and the
ammonia. which is good for bee bites, and
is much better than whisky when they all
bite at the same time.
soRTiE ON THE QUEEN.
1t was understood from Mr.. Beck's
knowledge of metropolitan bees that they
would never surrender until the queen bee
had been laid dead in her tracks. This
moved Mr.. Baker, who lives near the
Navy Yard, to offer his services to shoot
the queen bee if she could not lie caught
in a net or otherwise disposed of.
A. p. III. the ladders were raised
against the roof. all the bees heing asleep.
a party of ladies', including Mrs. Gaddis,
all of whom were protected with fas-
cinators and wool goods. went up by the
inside route and halted at the trap door,
all of the domestic animals also going
up by that route.
Mr.. Graybli and his nephew got out on
the roof and raised the black flag. Mr.
Graybili had a hatchet and chisel. He
raped OIL the roof of the hive, whercupon
there was a hum. which his nephew said
was caused by the queen bee getting ready
to come out.
By this time Mr. John Baker from the
Navy Yard had also got on the roof with
the baseball gloves, mourning veil, foot
ball pants and things. 1t was Mr.. Baker
who had the pistol TO do the queen bee
Mr.. Graybill kept on hammering at the
top of the hive with the hatchet and the
chisel, and after a while in desperation
he determined to pull off the tin and see
what was going on. He did SO.
There are times when men do rot act
nationally. Mr.. Grayhill's nephew, for
instance, flung the hatchct at the first bee
that tcame out and this was followed by the
chisel and the hats of otherpcople who Were
standing around but had no business on the
roef.
THEN THE BEES CAME
II was at this point that the toys on the
street began to shout to the men on the
roof TO throw down the honey and swim
out by the back gable ends. 1t is estimated
that there Were four men and two million
bees III the first act of this roof garden
performance.
Mr. Graybill was as cool as he could be
under the circumstances, and so was his
nephew, whose name could not be ascer-
tanned, but perhaps the &C oolest of them all
was Mr.. Baker Of the navy yard. He had
never seen a queen bee but he reasoned
quite well that, when they had all come out,
which process took 30 minutes, battalion
front, the queen bee would be the only one
left. He was right. The queen bee did
| attempt to come out and Mr.. Baker, for
getting to take off the baseball glove, let
| her have two barrels in quick succession.
He had shot in the direction of the trap
door, against which on the undersde Mrs.
Gaddis and the ladies' bee party of the
| neighborhood had congregated. These all
| went hack down the stairs pretty much to-
gether, the only one of the party remaining
being the Maltese which had been wounded
| in the left hip. This practically ended the
tragedy. People begged MIR. Baker o stop