The Red Cloud chief., 1901-12-27

Large Store Of Sweets Laid Up In
Hidden Places.
Tons of the Treasure Taken from the
r1owsrs Of the s~outhwestsrn
Desert - Great sport for
Bosey Hunters.

Honey HunteFs.
The greatest crop of honey ever
known In Arizona 10 that Of the pres
n year. The average product of the
territory Ia somewhat in excess Of
1000, 900 pounds. This year il will be
far in excess OF that amount--prob-
ably double. The greater part Of
this honey will find a market in Chi
cago, reports the Chronicle.
Strange as IL may seem, the mes
quite and cact. which flourish with
out water, provide the bees with a
honey far superior to that from cul-
tiyated plants, and the blossom and
fruit of the cactus are ever better
than the mesquite blossom. The
most handsome of desert flowers
grow on the hundreds of varieties Of
cactus. One of the most beautiful is
that Of the Cereus Giganteus, the or
gan cactus, generally known by its
Spanish appellation Of the ~"Saguara,"
Arizona's most typical plant, that
towers in great, green, fiuted shafts.
the most conspicuous and oldest sub
ject on all the plains. In the late
springtime each saguara Is crowned
by . mass of brilliant. silken white
flowers. sometimes over 100 In u
bunch. Each blossom 10 about four
inches across. Nearly all develop to
fruit. the '%petshays," the most
palatsblc Of the wild products. and in
the blossom and the fruit the wild
bees and the tanned ones And the es-
sence of honey. The prickly pear, the
night-blooming ceseus. the sholis, tk1
doubly barbed terror Of the desert,
the ocatills and many others give
honey to the bees. while the wild
10 Of the rocks and the thousands
Of smaller flowers aid in furnishing
the most delicately favored honey
known to the apiaries.
In the Salt River valley bees wori
for a longer period than in any Other
locality, a crop of 200 pounds o.
honey 30 each hive being not unusual
while an average of 100 pounds fol
the season is maintained. From
Phoenix and Tempe alone are shippe,
about 100000 pounds of honey eacl
year, nearly all of it being separate,
or strained.
The wild bees Of the desert an,
mountains provide an interestin;
study and honey-hunting is II mos
unique sport. which is not without IL
dangers, but with recompense suhl
GENTLY delightful to repay one for 2
difficulties. In the cavities of tn
highest rocks the bees gather /
great swarms and store their suppl
OF food. With remarkable sagacit
they choose the most Inaccessible
spots and frequently find place
which battle all ingenuity OF eve III
Indian, the most persistent seeker {
honey. Frequently great boards
honey are found in caves and dow
the sides of steep cliffs, where tho,
sands of bees have stored the
products for perhaps scores of year
and sometimes as much as IA tho
sand pounds Of honey are taken fro
such places. The Indian bee hunt,
many times risks his life to obta.
the nectar OF the wild bees. al
y swings himself at the end OF a frs
rope. far down the sides Of a ste,
precipice. Neither is his danger en-
ed there, for IL not well protect,
!, from the onslaught of the bees, som
times In dense swarms OF thousand
he is likely to become a victim Of Il
angry defenders. Indeed. not loi
since "A Papago young man was stui
n 30 badly while robbing a wild hi
that he died soon after his conrad
n had pulled him up to the top Of &
. cliff.
On the desert, too, the bees ina
v their homes, sometimes swarming
' the shell of the decayed cactus a
z often in caves along arroyos and I
y beds Of the large streams. Very oft
p they swarm close to the agricultul
districts and il is a frequent and We
easy thing for the ranchers TO gath
them into hives and hold them. q
" raucher a few miles southeast
~ Phoenix has On his property a SIN
isolated butte, nea the top OF VIII
is "A small ave From this piece
rock the owner has gathered hor
enough TO pay for his ranch. SIEVE
years ago a great warm OF bees s
"a tied in the cave and the owner I
gradually tanned them, and each y,
" gathers from 1000 to 1000 pounds