AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL-. 



559 



wrapped on the end of a stick, and was 

 blowing the smoke into Mandy's eyes 

 and the hive. 



"Hi, dar ! you fool nigger! Stop 

 blowin' smoke in mah eyes, er I bust 

 you ober de head wid dis pan !" 



" How you specs Ise gwine to make 

 all de smoke go one way, huh ?" replied 

 Sam. "Keep yo eyes outer de way. 

 Dars er lot uv 'em now — ketch 'em !" 



Mandy made a dash at the entrance 

 with a cloth she held, and covering the 

 entrance and alighting-board, she held 

 fast, while excited and angry bees buzzed 

 about her head, occasionally stinging, 

 judging by the way she bobbed her head 

 and uttered excited grunts. Sam re- 

 treated promptly when Mandy dashed 

 the cloth over the entrance, and from a 

 safe distance gave instructions. 



" Hoi' 'em tight, niggah ! Don' let 

 em git loose !" 



" Bettah come heah and blow dat 

 smoke, 'stead ob stannin' dar and talk- 

 in'." 



Thus admonished, Sam cautiously ap- 

 proached. 



" Now hoi' dat 'lasses 'n I feed 'em !" 

 A light dawned on me, and with diffi- 

 culty I repressed a hearty "Haw, haw, 

 haw !" 



Sam and Mandy were about to feed 

 their bees. Sam had a 'Small stick, and 

 Mandy turned up her cloth cautiously, 

 and when a bee appeared Sam pinned it 

 with the stick, and from the end of an- 

 other small twig a drop of syrup was 

 dropped on the poor bee's head. 



"Dar, honey; eat yo se'f full. Poor 

 little fellah was hungry. Aunty Mandy 

 feed urn." 



Thinking things had gone far enough, 

 I put on a veil I had brought, and ap- 

 proached. Sam espied me first, and 

 arose with a broad grin on his black 

 face, which quickly changed to a howl 

 as a bee " kissed " him. 



" Gosh a-mighty ! U-u-u-u-u !" sput- 

 tered Sam. " G'way frum hyar ! Lem- 

 me 'lone, pesky debbil, yo !" 



Mandy pulled her cloth from the hive- 

 entrance, and quickly retreated behind 

 a tree, where she laughed long and loud. 

 " Ki, yi, fool niggah git stung ! Hi, 

 hi, hi ! Reckon ef Brudder Jones har 

 yo talk dat ar way, he gib it to yo 1" 



Matters finally cooled down. Sam 

 was consoled by the word-picture of the 

 honey he might get next fall, and the in- 

 furiated bees returned to the hive. Man- 

 dy's face, upon examination, was found 

 to have no less than a dozen stings in it, 

 yet no swelling appeared. 



"Don't min' um," quoth Mandy. 

 "Only fool niggahs make er fuss ober 

 nothin'" — with a sidelong glance of con- 

 tempt at Sam. 



" Wuh ! wouldn' min' er common little 

 bee-sting eeder. It war de king-bee 

 wat stung me !" 



Mandy was forced to subside at this 

 startling statement of facts (?), but 

 she looked doubtful. 



"What were you two doing?" I in- 

 quired. 



"Feedin'de bees, boss," replied Sam. 

 "Mandy cudent wait, kase she sed de 

 bees was mighty hungry, so we jest 

 gwine to feed um." 



" How were you going to do it ?" 



Sam described the process as I have 

 related it, and ascribed its invention to 

 Mandy with an alacrity which made me 

 think he suspected the method was not 

 what it should have been. I could not 

 repress a hearty laugh at the conclusion, 

 at which Mandy looked crest-fallen. 



"How yo do um, Mars Frank ?" she 

 queried. 



"Why, Mandy, you just take these 

 sections out, having this super empty, 

 then set a dish in on the frames, fill it 

 with large, clean chips from the wood- 

 pile, and pour syrup over them. Close 

 the hive, and leave it till next evening. 

 Then I would advise you to repeat the 

 dose, and if honey does not come in 

 soon, you might feed them once a week 

 until it does." 



" Well, I 'clare to gracious ! who ebber 

 tink ob dat? Tink I hab to feed ebery 

 bee by heself." 



A broad grin had by now overspread 

 Sam's face, thougb it was one-sided on 

 account of the swelling caused by the 

 " king bee's " sting. 



" Who er fool niggah now ? Hi, hi, hi ! 

 Gwine to feed um wi' er stick ! Bettah 

 git er spoon, nex' time, n' tie er bib on 

 dere chin, hi, hi !" 



Sam's mirth was brought to a sudden 

 close by the fat hand of Mandy coming 

 with a resoundiiig slap across his cheek. 



"Bettah button up dat big lip ob 

 yourn. Specs yo didn' know any bettah 

 yose'f." 



Peace being restored, I gave them 

 some further instructions regarding the 

 best location for their hive, and about 

 keeping the weeds down around it, and 

 told Sam whenever they wanted further 

 help, to call on me. I had them feed 

 the bees, and giving them an old smoker 

 I had brought along, I left them to their 

 own devices once more. How they got 

 along with their bees I may tell you in 

 the future, if this interests you. 



Darktown, Blackland. 



