American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-07-26
VOL. XXIII.
THE SUPERVISORS STORY.


met my friend the supervisor. l had til,
| pleasure of an evenings conversation
with him, an evening and morning, as
| may say, for we didn't go to bed all tina
night. and the tots oftoddy reached a tota
| that caused Reason to totter on her throne
We were conversing, amongst othe
| topics, upon Fenianism: and l remarked
| to my friend the supervisor, that l felt ;
| little tender in touching on the theme, fol
that didn't exactly know, although
was certain, he-was a ScOtchman, whether
he miphtn't be an Irishman as well
You'll bear in mind that we'd reached thu
stage of our ''toddy tournament which
might be termed the melee Tor the mellow
in the vernacular), anyhow, we were get
ting mixed in our ideas.
And l am not surprised at that same -
said Sandy for l lived many years in
Ireland, when l was Just gauger, and
grew so intimate with the Irish, that my
tongue got a twist that it's never recover
ed from to this day. And to tell you tho
truth, it was the pleasantest country &c
live in of all the islands of Great Britain
Why, a man who was IA Crown officer, and
had ready money once a quarter, was
aquil to a lord and there was something
in the air of the country that was whole
some te that degree, that We might be
drinking whisky all the day, and be never
a penny the worse for it at night. l was
in wildish part of the country, up among
the boys of Tipperary. l was just raw
laddie then, upon my appreciation as ii
were, and l was gcy active, we may be
sure routing about the country hunting
for stills and shebeens, searching aud
wives barrels" trying to spcer out some
thing that might be a feather in my cap,
and bring me speedy promotion. But
never a drop of pothecn or the Whit of a
still | could come across, though they
were swarming about me the whites.
But one day, rs l sat on the top of a bit
hillock, looking over the wild country,
and thinking of the braes o. kirkokyrie,
l spied man coming along wee bit
track over the moor, and he was as fou as
the laird o. Craigdarroch.
He was a stranger 10 the parts, too, and
didn't know the face of me, and he came
rolling and soldering along to where l
was sitting.
God save you, friend" said L.
'.The saints purtect you!" said my
friend
''Its the decent drop o. liquor you get
up there bcyant."
BE me soul, it is"
"And it's decent gossoon that sells it, :"
| went on.
Indeed, he isl
beyant?"
''There's lashings of it."
maybe ye'd like "a drop more of that
same?"
Indeed, would"
'sThcn I'll be for treating you, friend !"
and linked my arm with his, and away
we went over hill and dale, while we
came to a lone hut in bit hag or dingle,
where there was a reck of peat smoke,
and bit of a bummling noise that was
the poor fellows inside singing. Well,
my friend gave sort of countersign that
l couldn't see the trick of, and he and l
both walked in and sot down on heap of
turfs by the door, and called for the pc
theen, and 1 paid for it, and never one
of them was the wiser. But they hadn't
got the still there. l found that out; it
was up among the boys somewhere, and l
was hoping they'd let drop something
that'd give me line to where it was,
when all of a sudden there dropped in
little man, a grocer from the town, and
the shine from the door as it opened upon
me lit up my face, and in the surprise of
the moment he sang out:
Lads, we've got the gauger among ye."
There was a great kish of turf just be-
hind me, and before l could stir hand,
somebody had clapped it over me like an
eXtinguisher, and what with the dust OF
the turf, and a wheen few trifles that was
among it, and the reek and the stink, l
didn't come to my senses for a minute or
two; and when popped my head out of
the basket, never soul was there but the
old grandmother snoring away in her old
chair by the fire.
But though they saved their still, they
couldn't get over the selling of the drink;
that was plain enough against them;
against Terence Mccarthy, that is, who
lived In the cabin. He was just the cats
paw of the men that worked the still; but
he got all the punishment, more's the
pity! Well, 1 summoned Terence, and
got him fined hundred pounds; and as
there was nothing in the world in his hut
but the old turf kish as I'd kicked the
bottom out of, and his grandmother's
chair that had been matched with a bit of
oat straw, took out body-warrant, as
we call it, and made up my mind I'd have
to take my friend to Dublin Castle.
Now, Ireland's different country alto
gether from this; and after we'd had our
sessions, and the magistrates had signed
the warrant against poor Terence, we
went into the public-house close blythe
whole lot of us, magistrates and all-and
began to drink whisky like fish.
SANDY, me boy" said Mike Hackett-
we remember Mike?-" Sandy, isn't it
trembling We are with apprehension" He
was very particular in his conversation,
was Mike. "Isn't it shaking We are, from
the crown of your occiput 10 the very
phalanyes of your pedals at the job you've
got in hand to incarccratc Terence Macar-
thy?"
They say twas he shot the bailifr,"
one.
''Nivir one than he murth cred the
sherif1's officer" cried another.
"Oh, he'll take Il detachment of drag
oons from Killoo," called third.
Come" / said nj last getting rather
cross the way they was chatting me;
''come, I'll bet Il gallon of pothecn with
any sportsman in the room, that I'll take
the boy to Dublin Castle all by myself"
'Donc with your cried IA dozen voices.
And / was booked for about Il hogshead
of whisky before | knew where | was.
But | wouldn't 90 back; only when the
of the drink was out of me, |
felt as if I'd IA deal rather have left it I'M
done, for they were wild lot were the
Macarthys, and it was wild country they
lived in
The weather came on wet, remember;
and 1t was nearly a week before | could
get across from Shillaloo to Terence Mac
arthy's cabin, which was in the barony of
Tullabardinc; though where the barony
went to, and who was the baron of il, was
a matter | never could know the bottom
of
1t was just the dusk of the evening
got to the top of the hill that looked over
Tercncc's cabin; and a dismal hole il
seemed, that same little bag or dinglc
There was bit pool of black bog water
at one end Of it, and at the other was
Tins cabin-just heap of turf, with Il
hole for the smoke to come out.