190 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1 



Gold is supposed to be proof against acids; 

 but this cyanide is a solvent where the acids 

 can not touch it On another page I have 

 told you about going out of the city to find a 

 lodgingp'ace. Well, when I stepped off the 

 trolley-car I asked a stranger the way to a 

 hotel. He said it was perhaps a quarter of 

 a mile away, and that I might not find it 

 alone; but be said if I was not in a hurry he 

 would show me the place. I noticed that he 

 was partly crippled; and as he had several 

 packages to carry I offered to assist him. 

 We chatted pleasantly on the way, but it 

 was so dark we could not see each other's 

 face. I hade him good night when we sep- 

 arated, and thought no more about it. I had 

 planned to take, the next morning, a trip up 

 to the summit of Bald Mountain, on an ore- 

 train. When I arrived at the little depot of 

 Blacktail Gulch I found I had something like 

 an hour to spare. By the way. did you ever 

 before hear of such an outlandish name for 

 a town as "Blacktail Gulch"? It seems as 

 if the name alone ought to kill it. even if the 

 saloons, so plentiful there, did not. Well, I 

 suppose the name came from the black dirty 

 water that goes rushing and tumbling down 

 the hills. It is the "tailing" of the great 

 <ryanide-plant. Well, while waiting for the 

 train I thought I would go up and get an ex- 

 ternal view of that cyanide-plant, even if I 

 oould not go inside. Before all the doors 

 was the legend. "Positively No Admittance!" 

 Across the broad open doors of the engine- 

 room was a heavy bar of wood, with "No 

 Admittance" on it. I went up and leaned 

 against that bar, and was admiring the 

 beautifully kept engine and other machinery. 

 As the engineer came around I said, "My 

 friend, I will not ask to l>e admitted, but I 

 suppose the company will not object to my 

 looking over your beautifully kept massive 

 engine as far as I can see it from where I 

 stand." He smiled pleasantly, put out his 

 hand, and said, "Why. stranger, somehow 

 your voice sounds familiar to me. Where 

 have I seen you recently?" And, strangely 

 enough, it seemed to me as if his voice sound- 

 ed familiar. Finally we both burst out 

 laughing. Said he, "Why. you are the chap 

 who helped me carry my bundles up from 

 the depot last night. It is funny if I can not 

 invite you in on my own premises." 



I said something about not wishing to 

 break the rules. 



"Break the rules?" he said. "Why. if any- 

 body makes any .objection I will just tell 

 them you are a friend of mine. I am sui'e, 

 Mr. Boot, you will not steal any of our se- 

 crets " 



Then he took me all over that great plant 

 — one of the largest in the world, and ex- 

 plained as well as he could, t-o as to get into 

 my comprehension, how they managed to 

 get the gold out of that dirty water. By the 

 way, some of the big round tanks filled with 

 muddy water were big enoi<gh not only to 

 hold a good-sized dwelling, but a j)retty fair- 

 siztd meeting-house, steeple and all. These 

 were the dealing-tanks. Machinery stirred 

 up the ground oi e and w ater, and then the 



gold, being so much heavier, settled to the 

 bottom. This settling does not get it all, for 

 there are many complicated processes to go 

 through with in order to get the last particle 

 before thfi dirty water is allowed to get away 

 and run down among the hills from Blacktail 

 Gulch. 



Twisting and turning up the mountain by 

 daylight was inspiring. In ordinary railway 

 travel the road follows along the canyons so 

 we do not get any such view as is seen by 

 the tourist who climbs to the mountain-top; 

 but this ore-train goes almost to the very 

 summit of Bald Mountain. The view from 

 the top, of the city of Terry, S. D., is partic- 

 ularly grand. Teri'y is handsomer, even if 

 it is smaller, than either Deadwood or Lead. 

 Beautiful native evergreens cover a great 

 part of the mountains near this region, which 

 adds very nmch to the scenic beauty of those 

 grand Black Hills. 



The weather was quite warm and sultry 

 when I took the train for Rapid City, my 

 next stop. Just about dusk I manag^Kl to 

 get a seat near an open window, and was 

 greatly enjoying the delicious breezes per- 

 fumed by the resinous pine-tree-j along the 

 railway. While sitting there the conductor 

 touched my shoukler and asked if I would 

 not take a seat with the gentlemau across 

 the aisle and let a woman with some children 

 have mv place. Now, i shall have to own 

 up I hat I felt a little crossover being depriv- 

 ed of the fresh air, and of being asked to sit 

 beside a very commonplace-loi»king man. 

 I was tired and hungry, and I suppose that 

 is one reasim why I did not rebuke that self- 

 ish spirit; but pretty soon I was ashamed of 

 myself Let me digress a little. Ever since 

 that incident I told you about ("Blankety 

 Branch " ), the man who went about announc- 

 ing who he was, etc., I have been a little 

 more careful about telling folks who I am 

 unless they particularly inquire. Besides, I 

 did not feel very much in a talking mood as 

 I sat down by that commonplac^e-looking in- 

 dividual. Pretty soon he said meekly, 

 "Stranger, didn't I hear you say you came 

 from Ohio?" 



I assented. 



" What part of Ohio, if I may inquire?" 



I told him I lived about thirty miles south 

 of Cleveland 



" Why, then you must be not very far from 

 the Root people at Medina." 



At this 1 began to smile and took a better 

 look at the m in. He seemed to be quite an 

 honest- looking old farmer, after all. When 

 I ti'ld him that I was one of the Roots — in 

 fact, that I was A. I. Root himself, he slapped 

 his hand on his knee and then extended it to 

 me for a shake. He explained why he was 

 interested in this wise: 



"A year ago a swarm of bees lit in one of my 

 app'e-trees. I hived them in a l>ox, and then 

 began to inquire of a neighbor something 

 about how to manage them He said he. had 

 some books that would tell me, and he gave 

 me one of your journals to read. 1 read it 

 all through. Home talks as well as the bee 

 talk, and I liked it so well I asked him for 



