Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1910-08-06
When Plain6eld
Doomed

ctu SfOken Oh ctmeou Jones as SinAlNke
simeon. He was an old bachelor and
lived alone. lie had no opinions, ON
Politics or religion; he m,de his living
by working for other folks by the
day and by raising crops on his two
asres OF land. When amy one asked
why Simeon was simple the unly rca.
SON given was that he had once been
offered $500 for his place and refused
10 take Il.
All OF a sudden at a particular date
il was discovered That rlainiield had a
mineral spring, n pirates cave and a
hill from which an Indian maiden had
lcarcd 10 her death. Resuit--a boom:
result-the organization OF the Plain
Held Hotel and land syndicate. II
purchased the crest of INDIAN Maiden
bill one day and set about the erection
of a summer hotel the next or course
property went ul,-all but Simple Sim.
cons Two acres. The land company
Expected To get that Ut the same old
.,riee when II got around To make the
'ifcr. The hotel land and Simple Sim
ans joined for a distance. When the
'oIcl w,ls completed Its southern We.
;nldn was within ten feet OF the line.
IN due time, which was when the
.yndicaie got good and ready, II offer.
Il simple Simeon $400 for the land
L. shook his head. Then 500 was
n1er,d. and when he refused II he was
1,l,-l IN idiot. The hotel opened with
mother boom. Among its first guests
we're Professor Chiselhurst aud Mrs.
Riplun. lie was u naturalist and she
4 puci. He was u bachelor and she a
widower They took TO each other.
Ulic July day. when there were sixty.
live guests In the hotel and the syndi-
Gale was expecting every minute that
Simple Simeon would call and accept
their offer. that individual appeared I'm
front OF the south yeranda aud erected
Il rude bench. When he had finished
the job and departed the professor and
the poet descended the steps and sat
on the bench TO coo. They thought
very kindly of Simple Simeon for put
Eng IL there. Next morning II was no.
ticed that the bench was occupied by
two beehives. and the industrious In
sects could be seen flying in and out as
they earned their wages
Professor Chiselhurst had been anx-
ious to deliver lecture on natural his
tory. Here was his opportunity. He
offered the widow his arm. aud the
couple walked down the steps and
over to the hives. The professor clear
ed his throat and began TO talk. He
had cane In his hand and fourEshel
it as he talked. Ire stated that the
honeybee had been known for 10000
years. Egypt used TO be fairly swim
ming In milk md honey until the trust
got In nnd raised the price.
The bee mus not be mistaken for
the bumblebee. The latter was only
big loafer OF n bee. content TO sit on
the fence all summer and die Off at the
coming Of freezing weather.
TAnd now. ladies and gentlemen"
said the professor as he stepped back.
I'VE come TO the hive itself. The bee
hive is an emblem of industry"
Here the professor. carried away
with his enthusiasm, tapped on one OF
the hives with bis cane. The Lees re-
sponded nobly. They had been inter
rupted In their industry and now
poured forth 10 see what was up. The
first half dozen lighted on the natu-
falist, and as he began TO execute ~.
barn dance there was hearty applause,
from the veranda The next assert.
ment hit the widow, and everybody
was, prepared to applaud her when the
insects began 10 come thicker and to
look higher, and the circus began.
There were shrieks. yells. oatlis and n
rush for shelter. but n bee can follow
where a human being can squeeze
through. They followed They buzzed.
They were emblems OF industry MS
well as the hives. Hardly person In
the hotel, from manager down TO dish
washer. escaped. 1t took half day
of smudging and smoking and using
brooms and busters to clear the house.
and tho guests began 10 depart with
the bees. Inside OF two days the last
had vanished. Tie poetess and the
naturalist were among the last. and
she faced him with swollen eyes and
said:
professor. what fool you were TO
rap on that beehve."
widow, what a silly thing you were
TO write poem OH bees" he retorted
as he got his mouth open for the first
time for hours.
And meanwhile what about Simple
Simeon? Men had rushed to him and
threatened him, but the bees were his
and on his land. He did not propose
to remove them. and they did not go
until his two acres had been sold for
n Thousand, dollars. and the cash was
In bis hand. He just grinncd ana
looked simple, and they hurried up TO
give him his money. When tie prop
eriy was transferred and the indus
trious bees and their emblens hau
been pitched Into the pond the hotter
began advertising for guests. No one
responded. It was closed to reopen
another season. hut SC still stood emp
~. 1t is untenanted today. The boom
came and doomed. and then the bot
tom dropped out. Today the mineral
L.. r.NGN 4