Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-10-02
DAILY STORY.
WHEN THE BEES sWARMED.


they started out for the fifteenth trip
Mexican Charlie" had his plans all
laid. He was Mexican half breed.
and when you have such man look
Tout for devitry. He was hanger on
around the stage stations for hun
Idred miles up and down the line. He
was gambler, Il horse thief and sus-
Ipected of murder. and he had the nee
essary qualifications to make him
leader of other bad men. He was
two months making his plans, and
they were laid for the complete wipe
out of the entire party. He didn't pro
lDoSe to leave single man alive to
| identify him aftarward.
When the roundup was completed
the outlaw gang numbered an even
twenty men. and all were armed with
Winchesters and revolvers. The route
was gone over and the spot finally
settled on for the attack was midway
between Forts Davis and Concho.
There the rude mountain road wound
upward for half Il mile. to pitch sud
denly into a ravine with walls fifty
| feet high and its length half Il mile or
more.
| To collect nineteen outlaws together.
! hide them away for week, hold
them steady and fit out Il part of the
number with horses and arms was no
sli ght undertaking. but the half breed
successfully accomplished it, and that
without arousing suspicion. On the
| first day of certain July the outlaw
band was posted in the ravine, and the
10
bring him to the spot at about noon.
| Whites and Indians were at peace
| and the country quiet. and the pay
master and his escort had not the
| slightest hint of the reception the out
| laws had in store for them.
1t may have been known to the
mountain Indians that the caves and
creviceS in the walls of the ravine
were inhabited by wild bees. but it
certainly was not to the whites. They
had bred and swarmed there for
years. On this July day there was an
angry buzzing high above the heads Of
the outlaws. but they gave it no atten-
ton. The rocks were warming up aud
the bees getting ready to swarm.
Scouts had been sent forth To find
sands upon thousands of the hot head
ed insects were ready to swarm out
and follow their leaders to new homes.
Stretched on the shelves or posted
behind powders. the outlaws were
waiting for their prey. They got the
signal that the escort was coming
across The fiat: then that il was tOiling
up the long hill; then. after Il mo-
mcnt's wait, that ii was about To enter
the ravine The half breed had told
his men over and over to fire to kill,
TO wipe out every soldier at the first
voilcy. but he told them again. There
were twenty bullets for eleven men
and every outlaw having rest for his
rifle and target not twenty feet
away.
OF a sudden one Of the bee scouts
settled down on the bare hand of Ole
of the outlaws. He sought to flick ii
off. and the insect stung him and flew
away. 1t would seem as if it flew mp
to the others and warned them of the
trespassers and melted them TO battle.
Within n minute perfect cloud of
them descended. They were angry
and excited and looking for a fight.
The outlaws could make no defense
against such an enemy. In thirty sec
Onds they were almost literally cover
cd and being knitted in a score of
places. and just as the two troopers
at the head of the escort reached the
head Of the ravine the ambuShcrs fed
down it with shouts and yells of pain
and terror
Their horses were half mile below
The bees followed the men to the
horses and attacked the latter and in
Il few seconds there was 4 wild stam-
pede Some Of the animals came up
the ravine. and some went down. and |
the shoutS of the outlaws were echoed |
and re-echoed by the shrill neighs of
the half maddened horses.
The paymaster could not tell what |
had taken place. except that the wild |
bees had come out He was forced to |
order n retreat. and there was no |
pause until the outfit had dropped |
back a full mile. Then scouts were |
sent forward and after Il time made |
a pretty good guess as to what was |
I'D The bees seemed to be out in |
millions The roar of their wings as |
they buzzed up and down was like a |
strong wind in the treetops. and as |
swarm met swarm they fought among !
themselves until the rocky trail was |
covered with their bodies.
Not until near shutdown did the in
sectS seek their new homes and quiet |
down and allow the escort chance to
pass unscathed At the lower end of |
the ravine were two dead men-out-
laws who had been stung to death.
Farther down were three men who
were blind. helpless and raving. Ri
fes. belts and camp outfit had been
thrown away, and not one of the des-
peradoes had got away on a horse. |
or the horses the escort captured nine.
The others had gone tearing over the
mountains in mad fight. OF the fif