. Highways and byways of the South. nds, and proceeded to investigate closer. Theneighbors hung over the picket fence and advised,though sometimes scattering and seeking safety at agreater distance when the bees came too close. Thisrunning away seemed to me rather unnecessary, and Iheld my ground until a bee lit on the tip of my familiarity on the part of the armed and angryinsect was too much for my equanimity, and I couldnot resist the impulse to dash it off. That was a fatalmistake, and the bee left its sting. Oh, how it hurt!and I beat an inglorious retreat, and did not return to
. Highways and byways of the South. nds, and proceeded to investigate closer. Theneighbors hung over the picket fence and advised,though sometimes scattering and seeking safety at agreater distance when the bees came too close. Thisrunning away seemed to me rather unnecessary, and Iheld my ground until a bee lit on the tip of my familiarity on the part of the armed and angryinsect was too much for my equanimity, and I couldnot resist the impulse to dash it off. That was a fatalmistake, and the bee left its sting. Oh, how it hurt!and I beat an inglorious retreat, and did not return tosee whether the old man lost his swarm or not. The hives in which the bees were domiciled werespoken of as gums. Usually they were simplyoblong, upright boxes of home manufacture ; but inearlier times sections of hollow black-gum trees served I04 Highways and Byways of the South the purpose — hence the name. Black-gum hives canstill be found, and I saw several in a house yard abouttwo miles from the settlement. There were sixteen. Bee Gums hives in all ranged along the fence, and about half ofthem were genuine gums. While I stood near the gate looking at the gums, aman appeared in the house door and invited me to Among the Georgia Crackers 105 have a chair on the porch. The courtesy and friendlycordiahty of the Southern people were always a marvelto me. The stranger is at once made welcome, yourentertainers home is yours for the time being, and thefamily will all do their best to make your visit agree-able to you. I accepted the chair proffered me, but Ibegged off when the man and his wife, who had alsocome out on the porch, suggested I should go insideand play on their organ. They told me a large pro-portion of the homes in the vicinity had acquiredorgans within the last few years, and that certainmembers of each household had learned to play hymntunes. I could see the instrument through the opendoor with the enlarged portrait of avbaby in its coffinhung over it. From the po
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjohnsonc, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookyear1904
