The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-02-11
He gentle art of
Love passed 81

! there really is such thing going on
outside of the pages CT our dl2lect
/ stories-it proves interesting 70 the
/ catohers and the caught, to say the
least. While talking recently with q
/ prominent deputy marshal of West
Virginia, who has done much to dis
turb the usual security of many law
breakers in this direction, he laugh
ingly replied to my question by repeat
/ ing it:
Unpleasant work, this hunting men?
Why, of course it is, my boy; no man,
+ unless he is savage at heart, likes 10
! hunt fellow-u1an down like var
mint no matter how bad he is; but
work is work, wherever you go, and
we can't all be chooSers. No, I've had
very few narrow escapes-we leave
those to our brethren in the books
that you fellows are always trying to
make about us; all we try TO do Is to
try and not let the sinners make any
escapes at all, narrow or otherwise!
These illicit distiliers, by the way, are
not the desperadoes the people imagine
them to be; some OF them are good fell
lows underneath-if their good traits
have been covered up by their manner
of living it isn't their fault so much as
their misfortune. OF course, for the
old men in the business / have no
sympathy, for they have nc excuse to
offer, but it is fact that great many
of the younger men go into it because
they can't help it-being forced toit by
circumstances, as it were. As for their
fighting qualities, they are much like
their friends and neigh bors, the noun
tain panthers, or painters, as they
call them. Both the men and the ami
mails will fight when cOCnered or
wounded. but if you give them the
chance they prefer in almost every in
stance to vacate, and leave you the field
free.
There is one strange thing about
the business, however, and have never
understood it. Why should these men,
great, strapping, healthy mountaineers,
Co to breaking the law to make a hv-
ing, when they might make much bet
ter wages working like honest men on
their farms or for other farmers? 1t
LQuSB DC tue 1oEc o. 'EAClLCA41CEN COA II IL
them which makes them manufacture
poor whisky and sell il to poorer men,
coming miles in the night do so some
times, and risking the chances of being
nabbed and put IN the pen for several
years, all the while. They are smart
men. too, and it takes an officer with
the com bined instincts OF a detective
and an old fox to deal with them with
out their suspecting you OF being
Tev'new man
"a week ago we captured eight of the
hardest tickets that have ever graccd
this dishonorable business, and it was
one OF the neatest captures we've ever
made ! got wind OF them and sent
one OF our men, whose face they didn't
know. up TO where they were lie pre-
tended he was stranger il the coun-
try, and had lost his way and asked
them 20 keep him over night he's an
freshman with fGA stock OF native
barney, and he talked them into it be-
fore they knew what 10 say. Re stayed
that night, and seven more Of them.
for he was such good story-teller
that he kept them laughing half that
night with bis yarns, and they asked
him the next morning TO stop with
them lie took them right n with that
ely tongue Of his, N fact OF course
be stayed and Gshed and hunted with
them, but though they limited a. their
business and what it was and always
had plenty q new whisky 10 crlak,
they never let him know where the
still was located and lie could only
guess at the distance from their cabin
By the time i took them TO 70 and
come. A. the end Of week. having
found ont all 1Ecy seemed inclined %
let him know. he slipped oct oae morn
ing between dark and Gay slght and lit
out down the mountain % whore We
were waiting Tor him We went back
with hin- and walked Il CT them be-
fore they knew T. Yes, slF, Everyone
cf eHnAa sSE5s us1H E2SS I'D ACG