The Advocate and news., 1897-11-24

ting very near this natural beehive with
out knowing it, for at all hours of the
day swarm of insects hover about sew
eral hundred feet in all directions. An
incessant, maddening buzz fills the air
that can be heard an eighth of a mile
and serves as a warning not to venture
too near. But men do venture near
after first having put on a suit of leather
clothing, fastened a mask of wire screen
around their hat brim and lighted good
big torch. These precautions are abso-
lutely necessary.
1t takes nerve to approach close to the
opening in the rock, and the experience
is -tO-be-forgotten one. Bees to
the number Of millions Of millions will
light on the intruder, humming fiend-
ishly, and endeavoring to sting him to
death. They form a perfect cloud, and
the air is filled with fetid smell and
fine dust that gets through the screen
and causes an irritation of the eyes. The
tiny insects really show signs of vicious
ness, and fly into the flame Of the torch
in countless numbers as though they in
tended to eXtinguish it. Round and
round they fly with deafening buzz,
and strong indeed lis the man who can
stand the onslaught of the tiny foes for
more than few minutes.
1t Is almost impossible to make out
just where the entrance to this natural
beehive is. There Is sort of a cavern
in the cliff that seems to have a crack
through the inner wall from top to bot
tom, but most of the bees hover around
n hnla ahntVh 10 inohoC NxyiH 10 mn
to make that the point of ingress and
egress. Many days 1t is impossible to
even see the cliff, SO thickly covered is
it with insects, and they roll in and out
OF the opening like stream of molasses,
fighting, stinging, buzZlng with madness.
During the summer dead birds can al
ways be seen on the ground around the
mouth of the hive. They have been
stung to death while attemptin to fly
through the swarm of insects. Four
footed creatures never venture within
half mile Of the hive, seeming to know
that death turks there.
In front of the mouth of the hive there
Is pile Of dried honey that has flowed
from the interior. It looks like a heap
of molten lava that has been hardened
after being discharged from volcano.
A party of men living in the vicinity
claim to have entered the natural bee
hive several years ago. They selected
cold day in winter, when the bees were
half dormant, and poured coal oil and
benzine around and into the opening.
Then they made big fire of wood so
that the whole cavern was filled with
flames. Then they poked the redhot en-
bers down into the opening and so killed
every bee in it.
But there was not much to see after
the men got inside. Only large cave
with the walls covered with gum and
dried honey and enough of the sweet
ness in pools in the bottom to last big
city for several years. OF course the
honey was unfit for use on account of
being full of dead bees and ashes from
the fire. The men, however, did not lin
ger in the cave any great length of
time, as it was fOul-smelling and sitting
Although countless millions of bees
must have been destroyed on this occa-
sion, the next summer they were as
numerous as ever and just as vicious.
Indians Of the neighborhood say that
in the good old days. the bad men OF
their tribe were bound hand and foot
and carried TO within short distance OF
the beehive by men wrapped in blankets.