The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-12-15

\ SQUATTER SKETCHES
VI Abe Hope Takes Kurnel Bunker's
q " Advice About Bee Keeping
B Copyright. 1885, BY N. QUAD. !


two OF disgust and replied:
1T wasn't mo- than a month age
that the ole woman split up the las,
beehive fur kindlin' wood"
Then you have raised bees?"
Eyes. sah."
1T 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 KurneI
Bunker. and to men the ole woman,
sab, but it turned out mighty different
One day last spring was skinnin
squirrels right on this doah-step when
kurnel Bunker rid up on that spotted
boss O. his and calls out:
Hello, Abe Hope, and how's chills
and fever this spring.
Jest about the same seq I.
Abe. SEE the kurnel. as he sorte1
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'll make a 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 S2o.ooo.'
mo mo- canebrake hawgs.' seq I.
"Who's talkin' bout hawgs?' seq the
kurnel. 'Hawgs amt fifteen fur this
locality, but bees ar. Jest go inter
raisin' honey and yo'll be bigger man
than Julius Caesar
"Arter had gin the kurnel a drink. u
said the squatter. the told me about it
Thar was a Teller down on the river
with f1at-boat loaded with bee-hives
He was sellin' of 'em fur five dollars a
hive, and the kurnel fggered it out in n
way to make yo'r hair stand up If be-
gan with five swarms of bees I'd hev
fifty swarms in five vars. Fifty swarms
O. bees means 1000 pounds o. honey a
var. In ten Vars I'd hev $50 hives and
nigh 5000 pounds of honey to sell every
sezun. He took a drink and fggered it
fur me, and he took drink and fig
gered it fur the ole woman, and it 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, made up my mind I'd 90
into it,"
"And you bought five hives to start
with?" asked, as he slowly refilled his
pipe.
eyes, bought five hives" he replied,
land I 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 bosses
and kerriges and dimuns and SIGH.
Stranger, mebbe yo' hev observed few
insecks around yere?"
Eyes. l have"
Seems like a sort O. headquarters fur
'skeeters, gallinippers, swamp flies,
house flies, boss flies and canebrake hor-
nets. Men the ole woman has got used
to them, but l notice yo' wriggle round
a good deal, specially in the evenin'.
They pear to be plenty huff, but I've
seed the time when thar was hundred
to one"
"That was after an overflow of the
river, l suppose?"
mot skassly. That was about two
weeks arter l 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 l got back home l noticed that
the insecks was heap mo- plenty than
usual. l was wonderin' bout it when
the ole woman comes out and seq:
"'Abc, mebbe thar's goin' to be an
earthquake or a 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 a
' dead mewl in the bresh near by to
draw 'em around, but l couldn't find
anythin'; and they kept CROWN thick
err an thicker, and bimeby we had to
git into the cabin and close the doahs
and winders and raise smoke. was
lookin' out when my ole mewl begun
to snort and prance and pull at the
rope. He was so ole and tuff that a
built would have bounded off his hide,
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 ID
hev been murdered right thar. He went
off down the road as if the devil was
arter him, and the ole woman feels fur
me through the smoke and SEE:
ABE Hope, we might as we'll git
right down on our knees and 20 to
prayin', fur the Judgment day can't be
uore'n fo'ty rods off! Whatever in this
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
-dnle to git his mail. and he reckoned to
stop at my place for drink and to Sc,
how chem bees was a-gittin' on. He had
jest opened his mouth to boiler at me.
when he bumped up and turned pale.
Abo.at the same time his spotted boss
beguA to buck and cavort, and next
mint Kurnel Bunker was flynn fur his
life. l never did see anythin' without
wing git along faster nor he did"
"Were the bees after him 2" asked.
. Not skassly, sah-not skassly. What
was arter him was hornets and hoss-
flies and s. eeters and gallinippers, and
every inseck meant bizness. Lands!
hut his boss riz at every jump as if
thar was a rail fence in front of him.