The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1900-05-10

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 / took a
big lump of honey and soaked 1t in ap-
p1ejack. When 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.
"'Just about daybreak 1 heard
noise like something tumbling about
in the shed where | kept my honey.
"Mr. Bear has found that applejack
and is making merry over it," l says
to my wife"but there's no hurry. I
know the power of that appleiack.
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.
so / waited n 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 q 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
bee trying to walk or fly, and fall
ing to the floor in a staggering way.
1t 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 filed them
! selves with it until not one disreputa-
BILE 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
sting, while my bees were lying
/ there drunk.
eff | had been content to let it
go at that my face wouldn't look so
much like war map to-day. But l
was as indignant at the vagrant shift
! lessness of the bees as l 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. mo
intoxicated bees that fill themselves
up on honey meant for black BEARS
1 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.'
SNOW, had known those bees, al
their lives, and it never occurred tc
me that they would sting me. But In
the first place that applejack had
aroused the same bad temper in then
that 1t does in some men. Then The
bees didn't like having that water
thrown on them a bit more than G
man who is sleeping off drunk likes
to be thrown into pond.
"'As I kept throwing the water or
those bees they got more and more
awake, and the hvelier they got th'
madder they were. Finally most O
those who had been lying on the foo
were fully awake and began to buzz
around the shed. All of sudden on,
bee that was evidently feeling espe
| at ,olx NJ oil M
bees seemed to think 1 was the author
of their misery, and the whole swarm
settled down to the job of making mi
unhappy. They succeeded right up *
the limit, too, for by the time I es
capped from that shed I was stung il
so places. The bees, although the.
had been reused up by the water
had thrown on them, were feeling to,
languid to chase me. 1 hunted fo
the water bucket. When l finall.
lifted my face out of It and hat
opened my bunged-up eyes with con
siderable difficulty, I saw a sigh
: which added pang to my misery
There on the edge of the clearing wa.
that old bear. He was sitting on hi
launches, fairly hugging himself witt
his front paws and chuckling to him
self at the fix I was in. My gun wa
, over by the shed. By the time coul'
get 1t the bear was gone, and all tina
was left for me was my mournfu
thoughts.
"'That blamed old bear said Uncl
Jabez, concluding his sad story, 'ha
fooled me three times, but 1 am go
ing to have my revenge if it takes al
winter. No big black bear can dam
age and insult me and hope to live t.
a good old age
II tried to console Uncle Jabez,
concluded Deacon Todgers. "'Then
bees blamed you for getting then
drunk l told him, but it didn't com
! fort him.
t "'That's the worst of it, he replied
] in sort of saddened way. M
3 character is gone, even with m
r bees' IN. Y. Sun.
= The Professor Explains.