El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-28
THE TEXAS BEE QUEEN"
Agnes Say Owns a Honey Ranch
Worth Thirty Thousand Dollars
She Has No Nerves and is Not
Afraid of Anything in the World.

/ bee hunter IN the west FOR years Sne
has daily risked her life in the pursuit
| of her vocation.
The word fear seems to convey nc
meaning in the mind OF this remark
able attractive frontier heroine, says
the Minneapolis Tribune.
| L: is a cor. remark that h has
no nerves. bC; i. is more probable that
she has c-nc1led herself by careful
training 10 disregard the particular
| character ol danger that she faces ev-
cry day.
Agnes Say is the only daughter OF
an old pioneer Iidian fighter, known
from San Antonio to the deserts Of Ari-
IONA as Old Sweetkiller. from the fact
that he was always looking OUT for
bee trees and bee caves, and it was
seldom that he was found without a
cup of honey or a piece Of honey comb
in his shot pouch.
Great Bee Hunter.
He was a fearless ranger and a good
trailer, but his comrades frequently
intimated that h buzZ of a bee was
liable to throw him of his guard. 1t
was always conceded that Old Sweet
killer was the most expert bee hunter
in the state. and on accoun of the in
variable success that attended his ex-
petitions in search of honey his ser
vices as a ranger were highly appre-
ciated.
Whenever provisions became scarce
he could always find a bee tree Oh a
little crevice in some bluff where the
harbingers or civilization were storing
their food. A company of Indian fight
ers considered themselves supplied
where there "a plenty of honey n
venison in camp.
Sweetkiller achieved great notoriety
and much praise while serving as a
ranger and e hunter under such ia
nous old veterans as BigfOOt Wallace.
Jack Hayes and Rip Ford.
After the Indians had been driven
out of the country he settled in the
Guadalupe mountains, and, knowing
no other way to support his family. he
devoted his whole time to his favorite
pursuit. There was always an album
dance of honey in S~weetkillers cabin,
and his few neighbOrs were ever sup
piled with the same delicious article
of food.
The old Texan raised two ons and
one daughter. These boys soon be-
came as expert in their inherited call
ing as their father, and as they became
older they became venturesome.
Few bee caves in the lofty cliffs
were beyond their reach If they could
ascend the great natural walls by
notches in h rocks they would
soon find some other way to reach
the bee caves.
Their sister. Agnes. frequently ac-
the boys IN their X
in search of honey. and as she
older she developed a taste for
climbing which led her to
perform many featS that astounded
the boldest mountaineers.
She was much lighter in weight
than her brothers. and h soon proved
she possessed steadier nerves and
decidedly more activity than either of
them.
Other advantages which were early
in the young girls mind and
character led her to take a deeper in
terest in the peculiar vocation that
Sweetkiller had a%pparntly transmitted
to his children.
She had learned to read I'M write.
and she had made the discovery that
money could be made By Gathering
and shipping honey. About four years
ago this fearless young girl began the
business of gathering and shipping
honey systematically.
Queen of the Bees.
Thanks to her courage and good
the family now owns a bee
ranch that is valued at $50. 900. and no
young woman in western Texas is bet
ter dressed than the one Who has
Justly won the title of Queen of the
Il have had my hare of climbing"
the Queen of the Bees. for it re-
quires nearly all of my time to attend
to our domestic swarms. but l some
descend upon a particularly rich
and rob the wild cliff jewellers
a lew hundred pounds of their
precious possessions.
Some of these caves are rich. In
one instance We o more than 81 900
worth of honey from one cavern. I
visited some of the Hottest
for the purpose of securing a Wig
orouS queen to mix with my tame bees.
have found that the largest and best
workers occupy the loftiest places in
the sides of the bluffs"
The most perilous situation that she
ever was in occurred about a year e.
She was in a locality hat she had
never visited before. and. while sus-
in the air in one of the gloom
canyons OF the Hondas. some 300
above the water, she was suddenly
by a kissing voice, and upon
around h saw two enormous
perched on a ledge only a few
feet away
Attacked by Birds.
She signaled to be drawn up, but
he birds did not allow her to ESCAPE.
Both few at her face. %shrieking like
"I had a large knife in nv hand.
I defended myself as best I could.
0ne of the eagles cut a cash in my
'Orehead with his talons and blood
blinded me. l realized that the boys
we're drawing me uD. but I feared that
he enraged birds would tear my eyes
,ut before ! could escape.
''They were beating me with their
wings and cutting my flesh with their |
sharp claws. I kept striking at them