Times-promoter., 1898-12-17
! SQUATTER SKETCHES
4 Abe Hope Takes Kurnel gGnker's
!. AdEies About Bee -kreping
!. Copyright. Is9s. gy N. QUAD.


asked him why he had never gone into
bee-keeping. He altered grunt or
two OF disgust and replied:
1T wasn't mo- than month ago
that the ole woman split up the last
beehive fur kindlin' wood"
"Then you have raised bees?"
"Yes. sah."
''It seems as if you ought TO raise any
amount of honey in such climate as
this. where the bees can work ten
months in the year"
"And it seemed that way to Kurnel
Bunker, and to men the ole woman.
sab. but it turned out mighty different.
One day last spring l was skinnin'
squirrels right on this doah-step when
Kurnel Bunker rid up on that spotted
hoss o his and calls out:
"'Hello. Abe Hope. and how's chills
and fever this spring?'
"'Jest about the same sez I.
"Abe,' sez the kurnel. as he sorter
looked around fur my jug O. whisky
I'm powerful busy with nevis and
polyticks and cotton and other things
and can't take on anythin' mo-, but
I've got scheme that'1 make rich
man O. yo' in ten vars. Money in it.,
Abe-heaps O. money, and yo' won't
hev to lift yo'r hand to make $2o,o0o.'
"'No mo- canebrake hawgs.' sez I.
"'Who's tallin' bout hawgs?' sez the
kurnel. 'IIawgs amt fitten fur this
locality. but bees ar. Jest go inter
raisin' honey and yo'll be bigger man
than julius Caesar
carter I had gin the kurnel drink. y
said the squatter, "he told me about it
Thar was feller down on the river
with a fiat boat loaded with bee-hives
He was sellin' Of 'em fur five dollars n
hive, and the kurnel figgered it out in a
way TO make yo'r hair stand up. If be-
fifty swarms in five Vars. Fifty swarms
o bees means 200O pounds O. honey a
var. In ten vars I'd hev $50 hives and
nigh 5000 pounds of honey to sell every
Il
fur me. and he took drink and fig
gered it fur the ole woman, and II cum
out the same way all the time. 'Peared
to us like mighty good show to roll
in wealth, and when the kurnel said
that them bees would Just hump them
selves all day long without any watch
in from me, I made up my mind Id go
into it."
"And you bought five hives to start
with?" | asked, as he slowly retilled his
pipe.
"Yes, bought five hives" he replied
land l sot 'em up over thar by the
fence. The stranger was kind-heart-
ed man and he helped me, and he
stayed round all day long and figgered
what them bees would do fur me. Fig
gered jest the same as the kurnel did
and men the ole woman lay awake
most of the night talkin' bout hosses
and kerriges and dimuns and sich.
Stranger, mebbe yo' hev obsarved few
insecks around yere"'
"Yes. have"
"Seems like sort O. headquarters fur
'skeeters, gallinippers. swamp flies,
house flies, hoss flies and canebrake hor-
nets. Men the ole woman has got used
to them, but I notice yo' wriggle round
n good deal, specially in the evenin'.
They pear to be plenty huff, but I've
h., h 4 lo hY,,, Iro
to one"
THAT was after an overflow of the
river, suppose?'
Not skassly. That was about two
weeks arter I got them bees. Them
hives was sot up and the bees buzzin'
around arter sweets when l went out
into the cane one day to look fur my
mewl. l was gone about two hours,
and as got back home noticed that
the insecks was heap mo- plenty than
usual. l was wonderin' bout it when
the ole woman comes out and sez:
"'Abe. mebbe thar's goin' to be an
earthquake or cyclone or flood in the
river. l never did see the pesky in
seeks so thick around yere befo'.'
II sorter thought thar might be n
dead mewl in the bresh near by to
draw 'em around, but couldn't find
anythin'; and they kept growi9' thick
er an thicker, and bimeby we had to
git into the cabin and close the doahs
and winders and raise smoke. was
looliin' out when my ole mewl begun
to snort and prance and pull at the
rope. He was so ole and tutf that
but when about million hornets and
gallinippers settled down on him he
showed his feelin's mighty quick. He
jest bucked and jumped and screamed
out, and if he hadn't pulled away he'd
hev been murdered right thar. He went
eff down the road as if the devil was
arter him, and the ole woman feels fur
me through the smoke and sez:
"'Abe Hope, we might as we'll git
right down on our knees and go to
rrayin', fur the Judgment day can't be
more'n fo'ty rods off. Whatever inthis
world has brung all the insecks in the
state of Mississippi into one clearin'?'
jest about them said the squatter
with smile, 'Kurnel Bunker Gums
ridin along. He'd bin over to Scots
dale to git his mail, and he reckoned to
stop at my place for n drink and to see
how them bees was a-gittin' on. He had
lest opened his mouth to holler at me.