190(j 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



181.1 



crops. 1 found llie Kocky Mountain bee- 

 plant growing along the sides of the railway, 

 and out into the tields over miles of territory. 



We approached the region of where the 

 Black Hills commence, a little after day- 

 light, and you may be sure I was up and 

 dressed, and on the watch for the first appear- 

 ance of any thing in the way of mountains. 

 The transition from rolling land to hills, and 

 from hills to mountains, was so gradual that 

 it was impossible to tell where the one end- 

 ed and the other began. The most noted 

 change was when we changed cars at Buffalo 

 Gap to take a special train for the hot .springs. 

 As we approacheil the springs I nf)ticed the 

 track winding between the hills along a little 

 stream. As we got further up. and really in- 

 to the mountains. I noticed steam rising from 

 the stream, indicating that it was hot water in- 

 stead of cold: and ju.st below the .springs there 

 is a volume of hot water sufficient to furnish 

 power for mills and for other purposes. 

 This hot water starts out almost everywhere 

 in the town, ft'om over a hundred springs, 

 all giving more or less volume of water of 

 different temperatures. 1 was able to find 

 imly one spring of cold water in the region. 

 1 believe the general opinion is that the wa- 

 ter l)ecomes hot in consequence of the differ- 

 ent chemicals it meets and dissolves in its 

 way to the outlet. I think there are few if 

 any of these springs that are hot enough for 

 a real Turkish l.'ath: but several of the sani- 

 tariums have a heating-plant to rai.se the 

 temperature up to the desired point. Bath- 

 houses and swimming-pools are some of the 

 finest I ever saw in any land or any city. 

 The water is so transparent that, even at a 

 depth of clear up under your arms, you can 

 look down and see the sparkling pel)bles 

 mixed with the white sand that covers the 

 l)ottom of the pool. The water is pure and 

 clean because of the great volume that con- 

 stantly goes in and comes out. 



Some of these swimming-pools belonging 

 to tlie great bath-houses are froiu 100 to 150 

 feet long, and perhaps half as wide, and in- 

 closed with glass, something after the fashion 

 of greenhouses, so they can be used winter 

 ami summer; and I assui'e you it is exceed- 

 ingly pleasant to be able to take a bath, where 

 l)oth the air and water are just right to be 

 comfortable, at any season of the year. But 

 before I tell you any thing more about the 

 baths I shall have to digress a little. 



There are some magnificent buildings in 

 Hot Springs, made of native stone quarried 

 from the mountains. Some of these are as 

 handsome buildings, in fact, as one will find 

 in almost any town or city. But they are 

 not all as handsome in.5ide as out. 1 did not 

 patronize the highest-priced hotel, for I usu- 

 ally get comfortal)le quarters for $3.00 or 

 $-2.o0 a day. I dislike to find fault, but I al- 

 most always get the blues, even if I do not 

 get sick, when I am given a room where the 

 bed loo/xf! as if a th(jusand people had slept 

 in it. and some of the iilankets s)nrll as if 

 five hundred of the thousand had l)een users 

 of tobacco. I told y<ni in our last issue that 

 I was troubled with mv old maladv. malari- 



al fever. Well, 1 hopeil the health-giving 

 medicated springs of the Black Hills would 

 fix me up; but I felt sui-e I should not get fix- 

 ed up very fast if I stayed in t/ial hotel, and 

 I was thinking of some good excuse for leav- 

 ing after I had had just one meal on the 

 premises. By the way. I almost always get 

 more or less homesick when I am first dump- 

 ed entirely into a strange town where I do 

 not know a man. woman, or child. I know 

 this feeling is wrimg. and it often In'ings up 

 that little prayer, " Lord, help! Lord, help 

 me to be of some use to tliis people." I think 

 I said almost out loud something like the 

 foregoing as I crossed one of the beautiful 

 bridges right in the center of the town. 'Sly 

 first move was to hunt up some place where 

 they would be likely to sell honey, and I had 

 gone to almost every grocery in the place 

 without finding any honey at all. when I saw 

 some in a window. They said it came ivora 

 Denver, so th.at did not help me to find a 

 bee-keeper. By the way. the proprietor of 

 this place would have his crate of honey 

 standing on the fioor so the sections lay hori- 

 zontally, just as they do when you put your 

 honey on a plate. I tried to explain to him 

 that he should tip his case over and lift out 

 his sections edgewise; Imt he thought he 

 knew his own business. Just as 1 went out 

 I asked him if he was sure there was no one 

 who kept bees anywhere in that region. He 

 replied: 



••Why. Huebner, who lives up on the hill, 

 used to keep quite a lot of them; but I gue.ss 

 he let them go, because he has so much other 

 business." 



'•What is his other business, pray?" 



• ' Why, he keeps a sort of hotel or plai-e 

 for resorters." 



•• There," said I to myself, '•if that man 

 has ever kept honey-bees he knows some- 

 thing of our people: and I .shall have a good 

 excuse to tell them at the hotel that • I have 

 found an old friend,' etc." 



I climbed the beautiful curving road that 

 led up to the top of a hill overlooking the 

 city. Mr. Huebner was indeed a busy man; 

 but his face brightened up when I told him 

 who I was. But he looketl troul)led when he 

 informed me that his hotel or building was 

 already full. 



•'But, Mr. Huebner, you r/nist find a place 

 for me somewhere. I am sick and homesick: 

 but if I get up here with you people I am 

 sure I shall be well." 



Just then a merry party was starting off 

 to a bath-house. I got iii with the ci-owd; 

 and when I oft'ered to pay my fare the driv- 

 er said it was not any thing if I was going 

 to take a I)ath. The hotels and l)ath-houses 

 together furnish free transportation to their 

 customers. Now let me finish what I have 

 to say about hotels. 



At that great handsome hotel that looked 

 so nice on the outside I paid $2.00 a day. At 

 friend Huebner's it was about half as much. 

 My room was small, but it was as clean and 

 sweet as you will find things in our best 

 country homes. There was not a great 

 amount of stvle, and no colored waiters at 



