The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-02-11
STRENUOUS sTINGERs.

"I read in one of the -lagazines re-
Gently something about tho sting Of the
bees" said citizen to the New Or
leans Democrat, "and | was reminded
or an experience l had with a friend
some time ago while in the country.
lie was ploughing over behind a small
clump of hills, and they were well
wooded almost down to the fence line.
II is a section which is noted for max
ing wildcat whisky, and this fact threw
me off the track, as will appear here
after. l was approaching my friend
from the hillside. l was riding. Sud
denly thought he glanced at me, and
at the tine he rushed around hurriedlv
TO the singletree, unlocked the trace
chains, threw them across the horses
back, and the animal struck out on
dead run down the turning row which
split the ravine. My friend followed
and 1t was race for who laid the rail
as they say in the country. l could see
through II all in a minute. My friend
had been making moonshine whisky.
and he thought was a United States
marshal. l split my sides laughing
over the thought of the thing, and
then struck out down the ravine after
him. / Travelled some distance before
catching sight Of my friend and his
morse. Finally l found them close to
a branch, and my friend was stooping
down occasionally, picking up some
thing and smearing it on his hands
lace and neck. Hello, Bill 1 said
smlllngly, 1 guess you thought was a
United States marshall United States
II he said, almost uncivilly. 4
ploughed up hornets nest And sure
enough he had, and both the man ana
the horse were as knotty as a hickory
limb as the result of it all. The bee
may be good singer, but the hornet
Is the fleetest thing on wings when II
comes to using the stinger with swift
ness and effect. That reminds me
of the curious methods Of bees and
thirys of that sort in singing" the
narrator continued. Take the honey
bee, for instance. Now, the honey bee
is what you might call a lazy. clumsy.
oocile sort of singer. Really. the bee
is awkward when compared with other
insects. The humble bee is a trife
more vigorous, and there is a deal
more of what one may call action in its
movements. 1t is a striking sort OF
sting, and l have seen children almost
knocked down by these heavier mem
bers of the bee family. II is a mean
sting to handle, too, and does not yield
so quickly to treatment. The hornet
and the yellow jacket sting on the
wing, as it were. They do their work
quickly, but thoroughly, and they gen
orally leave a record behind them tina.
they would have no cause to fee
ashamed of if they had this elemen:
in their makeup. But there is my old
friend, the wasp. 1 want to speak of
him. He is the prince of stingers. You
may not forget him so quickly when
he stings you. He leaves a sort of
waspy taste in your mouth, and it is
anything but pleasant, and it is a taste
you will remember even after the years
have gone by. The wasp is a lingering
sort of fellow. He lovingly and ca
ressingly stings, perches for a while
on ones neck, l may say, and then
huns about his business. But really,
while the wasp fingers longer than
other insects while singing he also
shows more anger, and is probably the
most spiteful member in the list of
singing insects"