AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



245 



Sam and MaMy "Keep Bees." 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY A. B. KEEPER. 



" Hello, Boss !" 



" Hello, Sam !" said I, looking up 

 from my work with the bees, to see a 

 colored man who lived a quarter of a 

 mile away, coming up with excitement 

 plainly visible on his ebony features. 



"Give me a bee-box, quick. Mars 



" What's wrong, Sam ?" T inquired. 



" Oh, Lordy, Mars Frank, I'se a gone 

 nigger. Send fer Brudder Jones. Please, 

 Mars Frank, pray a little, so's I can die 

 easy !" 



" Why, what's wrong, Sam ? You're 

 all right. It's only a bee-sting, I guess." 



Sam's face immediately cleared. 



"Golly, Mars Frank; nebber tink of 

 dat. Tink a rattler bite me, Tought I 

 wus gwine to Glory, suah, dot time. 

 Um-m-m-m-m ! but he hurts!" 



" Well, Sam. I suppose you want a 



A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCENE MISSED BY 



Sambo. — " Dat's jes' my luck. 'Pears like ebery time I finds a wild honey-bees' nest, 

 dem pesky ants jes' chase up an' down my neck like it was a race-coahse." 



Frank. Me an' Mandy [his wife] done 

 cotch a swarm ob bees !" 



" That so, Sam ? How did you do 

 that?" 



"Laws a massy. Mars Frank, dere's 

 been mighty 'citing times roun' our 

 house fer de las' 15 minits, 'n don' you 

 furgit it ! Mandy done got stung tree 

 times on er nose. Say, Mars Frank, fer 

 de Lawd's sake, wad you suppose Man- 

 dy's nose'll look like now ? Spects she 

 done haf to tote it in er sling for er week 

 — haw ! haw ! — Whoop ! Gosh, a massy — 

 um-m-m-m !" suddenly yelled Sam, ex- 

 ecuting a fair imitation of an Indian 

 war dance, and clapping his hand to the 

 calf of his leg. Evidently a stray bee 

 had been squaring accounts with him. 



hive for your bees." 



" Dots wat I cum after. Mars Frank." 



" Well, what kind do you want ?" 



" Am dey two kinds ?" 



"Oh, yes, Sam; there's a hundred 

 kinds, but I only keep two." 



" Wat's they wuth ?" 



" Well, Sana, you had better look at 

 them." 



Leading the way to the honey-house, I 

 showed Sam the hives. 



" Now, Sam, this is what is called a 

 movable-comb hive," said I, taking out 

 one of the frames of a dovetailed hive. 



" Wha' dat, Mars Frank ?" 



"A movable comb means one you can 

 take out of the hive and replace at any 

 time, and thus examine your bees." 



