The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-06-05
Col. Watts ON Gunlnnas.

Speaking aboutcyclones, 2 remarked
l'ol Dick Watts, reminds nue. of the
lime when was running moonshine
+iistlllery in the mountains of southern
NentHckY. That was some TWENTY-FIVE
or thirty years ago, and | am not afraid
10 refer to it, as the statute of limitation
bars any proceeding that any of my en-
| emles might desire to bring against me
were they acquainted with my past life.
and several others were opening a lit
tie copper still, not much bieoer'n
wash-boler, in the vicinity of Bald Knob.
a mountain peak in Lincoln county,
Our still had capacity of about four
and ene-haif gallons day, and we ran
her TO her full capacity but after de-
dueting leakage and drinkage, we hard
~ ever barreled six quarts day. One
week we run short of material and were
compelled to shut down To pass away
the time we concluded to get up shoot
lng-match for beef You've heard tel
OF beef shooting matches? Well If You
haven't I'll tell you all about EN-. All
the people living within circuit of
twenty miles or so chip in and buy a
good fat beef 1t is slaughtered and
divided up into four quarters, making
tour prizes to be shot for The hide and
tallow constitutes another prize, and
the lead shot into the target goes to the
man making the sixth best score Well,
we got up our match, and when the
shooting took place there must have
been something in the atmosphere that
made my nerves sort of shaky, for
couldn't hit nothing The best could
do was 10 win the lead and some of il
was buried in the tree we had shot at
fully three inches deep The whole gang
had gone away and left me picking out
the bullets, and had succeededin gou0-
ing EN- all out except three OF four,
when suddenly heard a noise like the
blowing off of mud-valye on a steam
boat, | looked over toward the west
and was Mortified to see a tremendous
cloud sweeping right directly for me at
the rate of about a thousand miles a
minute. Directly under the cloud was
something that looked like an immense
balloon. The lower part of it trailed
along on the ground, sweeping trees
and everything before it. Trees, houses,
fences. and whole cornlieids. for miles
aud miles, had been lifted up aud car
ried along before that terrible whatever
twas, and when | first got onto the
thing it must have been lowing fully
folIr or five hundred acres of all sorts OF
stuff, | never saw such a sitht in my
life, and | don't want to again. She
was steering straight for me, and was
just about to commit my soul to the AL
mighty and ask forgiveness for having
ever started moonshins still. when the
blamed thing yeered to one side and
shifted over toward Bald Knob. You
better believe felt relieved. for the way
that cyclone Chats what scientific men
aftcrward called it, struck that knob
wouldn't have left enough of me, had it
swept down on me. to make a wiener
| wurst of. The whole top of that noun
tain was torn off rs clear as though il
had been hewed off with an AK. and left
it as bald rs a bahy'S head After that
it was called Bald Knob But that cy-
clone put stop to my moonshining for
it had dumped half of Bald Knob and
four or five acres OF farns and their I'M.
provemcntS that it was towing RIGHT on
| top of onr still, burying it about 24O feet
| deep, | came to Louisville after that
| and went into Legitimate business This
is tie first time that have ever As much
| as mentioned anything about that cy-
clone. - Louisville Commercial