Willmar tribune., 1900-05-16
ahead with q dog and gun that en- 3.

county. 30 kept thinking over the
weaknesses of bears and men, and all
of a sudden it occurred to me how
fond bear is Of honey, just like some
men with liquor, and that gave me an
idea. Supposing I could get that
bear good and drunk, I thought to
myself, there wouldn't be any diff
Guilty in catching him and avenging
my numerous injuries. So I took
big lump of honey and soaked it in ap-
plejack. When I got the job finished
there was enough liquor in that lump
of honey to get family OF bears
drunk. And the delicious taste of it
was such that I certainly hated to
feed it to the bear.
"'Bnt the memory of my wrongs,
and the way that big bear fooled me
and my faithful dogs sort of recon-
ciled me to the waste. I knew the old
bear had had his eye on my hives,
so that night I left the door open in
the shed where I kept them. 1 put
my applejack honey on the floor near
the hives and went to bed happy
and contented man, thinking that all
[ would have to do in the morning
would be to go out and corral one
large intoxicated bear. That bear
won't meddle with the hives contain
ing my bees. He's too knowing an
animal to do that. He'll be attracted
by the delicious smell of the honey
on the floor, which combines the ad-
vantages of honey, jag and no
stings. But he'll get temperance
lesson which will last him the re-
mainder of his life.
"'Just about daybreak I heard a
noise like something tumbling about
in the shed where 1 kept my honey.
''Ntr. Bear has found that applejack
and is making merry over it," I says
to my wife'but there's no hurry. l
know the power of that applejacl<.
I'll just wait couple of hours until
it gets in it's paralyzing effects. That
bear will be dead to the world then.
And little while later, after his in
terview with Uncle Jabez, he'll be
dead for good.
8" so waited couple of hours, and
then, having loaded my gun, went
down to the hives, confidently expect.
ing to see one big bear stretched out
there dead drunk. But instead OF
this it was pathetic sight that met
my eyes. My hives were overturned
and all my good honey gone, while
the floor was Uttered with bees. A
lot more were sticking to the apple.
jack honey, while here and there was
a bee trying to walk or fly, and fall
ing to the floor in staggering way.
It was plain enough what had hap
pened. My bees had been attracted
by the fragrant smell of that apple
jack honey. They had flown over to
it during the night and filled them
selves with it until not one disreputa-
ble bee was able to move. Then when
the bees were helpless that unscrupu-
lous old bear wandered in, and, with
out paying any attention to the apple.
jack honey, marched straight to the
hives, overturned them and gorged
himself. What made me maddest was
to think he had gotten away without
a sting. while my bees were lying
there drunk.
"If I had been content to let it
go at that my face wouldn't look 50
much like. a war map to-day. But ]
was as indignant at the vagrant shift.
lessness of the bees as I was at the
bear. If they had been content to
stay in their hives, perhaps my plan
would have worked all right and the
bear have eaten the applejack honey.
So instead of letting my bees sleep
their jag off, I started to rouse them
by throwing cold water on them. "No
up on honey meant for black bears"
said, "are going to be allowed to
sleep all day, not while they belong
to Uncle Jabez. Those bees have got
to get right up and start in repairing
the damage due to their carelessness."
"'Now, I had known those bees all
their lives, and it never occurred to
me that they would sting me. But in
the first place that applejack had
aroused the same bad temper in them
that it does in some men. Then the
bees didn't like having that water
thrown on them bit more than a
man who is sleeping off a drunk likes
to>be thrown into pond.
"'As kept throwing the water on
those bees they got more and more
awake, and the livelier they got the
madder they were. Finally most of
those who had been lying on the floor
were fully awake and began to buzz
around the shed. All of a sudden one
bee that was evidently feeling espe-
cially ugly few at me. Then all the
bees seemed to think was the author
of their misery, and the whole swarm
settled down to the job of making me
unhappy. They succeeded right up to
the limit, too, for by the time I es-
capped from that shed I was stung in
50 places. The bees, although they
had been reused up by the water I
had thrown on them, were feeling too
languid to chase me. I hunted for
the water bucket. When l finally
lifted my face out of it and had
opened my bunged-up eyes with con-
siderable difficulty, I saw a sight
which added pang to my misery.
There on the edge of the clearing was
that old bear. He was sitting on his
launches, fairly hugging himself with
his front paws and chuckling to him.
self at the fix was in. My gun was
over by the shed. By the time I could
get it the bear was gone, and all that
was left for me was my mournfu]
thoughts.