The Worthington advance., 1900-01-12
eAV FQ q q q ONEY
A Mine of ssvc cetnesas Discoyercd III e
Wonderful Missouri Came


s Asnatural cave Of honey is the latest
addition to the riches Of Col. Moses G..
/ #Wetmore, Of St. = ounis. III his cavern Of
honey has just been discovered on Col.
Wetmore's 7,0oO-acre game preserve
in the Wildss Of Taney county, 60 miles
south Of Spring gfeld, Mo. It is a large
cave hidden from view in one of the
stisolated spots of the Ozark noun.
tain region. 45.E
The bees have probably had undis-
#puted possession of the cave for many:
years, for it. appears to. be literally
filled with honey, just like a hive in a
s'Well-lxept apiary. How far into the
side OF the mountain this cave ex-
tends is an unsettled question. The
mouth of the cave is about six feet in
diameter and it presents front of
solid honeycomb. While the bees APP
pear to be of the common species,
they are unusually hostile.
There are few wilder spots on earth
than the. Ozark mountains in fancy
county. But few men have had the
bravery to; approach the place. The
discovery was made by William HINT,
who is in charge Of Col. Wetmore's
game preserve as keeper, As soon as
Hunt found the hidden treasure he
communicated with Maj. George H.
Mccain, Of Springfield, who is asso-
ciated with Col. Wetmore in the own
ership5 and management of the. pre-
serve. Maj. McCann made a trip to
Taney county, to see the novel bee-
hive, taking with him a party of
Springfield friends. Maj. McCann
made as thorough an inspection as
the hostility of the bees would permit,
and he is now devising plans for har-
vesting the honey: If this cave is like
the average Ozark mountain cavern,
it is all the way from one to two miles
in length, and if the honey is built
solidly from end to end, there are tons
of it. The bees may have only woven
web Of honey at the front, or they
may have filled the entire space. This
is a question that will soon be deter
mined, for Maj. McCann expects to
employ experienced beekeepers and
have a thorough exploration made.
This remarkable beehive is novel
ty within a novelty, for Col. Wet
more's preserve is well worth a thou
sand miles of travel to see. TIE col
onel and his associates have stocked
1000 acres with game. They have
animals, fish and birds of almost
every species, but they have made no
arrangements for bees. Now that ma
ture has supplied that omission the
game preserve is menagerie such as
cannot be found elsewhere. A barbed
wire fence OF II strands surrounds the
place. and White river, most roman
tic stream, navigable for small boats,
flows through it. On a river bluff a
thousand feet above the water stands
1.-The LODGE which shelters Col. Wet
more and the distinguished visitors
who frequently accompany him to his
hunting precincts.
Col. Wetmore. is the owner of the
only bathtub in Taney county. Tt is
located in '"rhe LODGE The finest
herd of elk in the United States. it is
claimed, roams through the woods of
this preserve. There are deer hv the
hundreds. Wild turkeys are so nu-
merous they cannot be counted. The
rivers are alive with fish. About the
only thing lacking is buffalo, and Col.
sVetnao NOR and Cann are now
negotiating for a herd. This preserve
is IS miles from the nearest railway
station, and it is reached over as
rough wagon road as can be found
anywhere in America. But here in
this wild spot ''The LODGE is carpet
ed with the softest of velvet, the win
doWs are draped with the costliest of
curtains, there is a. grand piano, a
mahogany sideboard, with a fortune
in silverware, and many other furnish
ings that are not to be found else
where in this region.-Chicago Rec
ord