Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 55, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 March 1909 — OKLAHOMA HONEY MINE. [ARTICLE]

OKLAHOMA HONEY MINE.

Jerry > well known oil" man from Sapulpa, related a very odd story to a Democrat reporter today. It was that of a bee sting resulting in the finding of a gold mine of honey th the rock banks near Sapulpa. M. L. Kelley and John Chaney, two prominent oil men of Sapulpa, are the parties Implicated in the story. Mr. Kelley and Mr. Chaney started out Monday morning from Sapulpa to drive to a well they are drilling on the boggy land, seven miles west of Sapulpa. The men were about half way to the well when suddenly they were attacked by a large drove of bees. The bees swarmed about the buggy and the men and horses until they were’ compelled to seek refuge. They whipped on their team and drove to the cabin of an Indian named Watahee. Here they told of their adventure and had the pain alleviated by the Indian, who put some kind of preparation on their wounds. In conversation with the Indian concerning the occurrence they were told of the many bees in the hills and caves about three miles west of Sapulpa. They did not believe this story at first. He said that the Indians around his cabin were getting gallons of honey in the caves every day. This set the oil men to thinking. That afternoon they went to the place he told them of. On their way they met an old Indian woman who was. carrying two palls of sparkling strained honey. This encouraged them. They came upon a big post oak in the field. This had been hacked in several places and the honey was dripping from the cut in the tree into regular pools on the ground, They did not stop at the tree, but went on to the caves. As they neared the rock cliffs they could hear a droning like that of sighing pine trees, so many In number were the bees. As they came closer they could see a kind of black cloud hovering before the rocks. There must have been fifty big swarms of bees around the rocks."

When they were close up to the cliffs they noticed huge cracks in the rocks, and large holes. In these the honey was dripping almost in small streams. There were some twenty buckets and palls setting in the rocks catching the honey. The Indians are said to break the combs of honey with sticks, and let the honey run out into palls. A pall will fill in two days time. It is said that the finding of thia great bee Industry by the oil men accounts for the great amount of strained honey the Indians have been marketing. It was thought before that the Indians raised the bees. The oil men say that the sandstones in the cliffs are just saturated with honey and a little piece of stone in a bucket of water will sweeten it. The discoverers are at a loss to know how the bees came to be there. It is said by Indians and other old timers In this section that about ten years ago an old Indian who had a few bees was killed. It is thought by them that his bees went wild and multiplied and increased in number until at present there are millions of honey makers. —Tulsa Democrat.