The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1896-08-01
Plenty OFT Wndcat still..

come with me and we will go over into
Cyclone Streak.
Plenty OF Wildcat stills.
So far as know, and SO far back as
the records run, nothin very good has
| ever come out of Cyclone Streak, unless
it mought be few great gobs of fun.
1t is a wild and rough and reckless
scope of country, with strange and
pecurious people. The woods are full
of wildcat stills, and they make moon
shine whisky in them parts even unto
the third and fourth generations. 1t
would seem like everybody is kin to
everybody else in Cyclone Streak. 1t
| would seem like the revenue officers
got in there amongst EN- and found a
big copper still and two or three barrels
of white ink" as Aunty Lucas were
wont to say. They tore up the still and
emptied the barrels right there on the
spot. In the meantime they had run
in on Billy Bledsoe and two or three
of the Hawkins boys runnin the thing
in the dead hours of night-caught EN-
in the act, as it were. So consequential
ly Billy BIedsoe and the Hankins boys
have now gone to Jail in reply to papers
of complement from the general gov
eminent.
But from what they say about it
neither one of the gang knowed any
thing for certain about the still to start
with. They had started on camp
fish that night and jest happened to
Of Il he
there in the swamp Under the circum-
ference of the surroundins they didn't
think it was any harm to shove up the
chunks and take a drink in passin.
That is the way they sung the song at
first, but the revenue officers were
on the trail, and they het the
ground SO hot under the boys till they
had to change the time. Then they all
owned mp to running the still for
that one round, but they swore
the thing belonged to old man Steve
Hawkins, the uncle of the Jankins boys.
Now old man Steve swears he never
heard tell of the concern before. To
hear him tell it, he never did see but one
wildcat still in all of his born days, and
that belonged to old Buck Ridley.
Since writin the above Luke Blcdsoc,
secont cousin to Billy, rid by to tell
me that old man Steve Hankins is row
talkin through different hat. The
revenue men come down on him last
Saturday and called on him for the his
tory of that still. Whereas old man
. Steve went over there in the swamp
and examined the shattered fragments
of the thing and then swore by the
Twin and the dead that it was the prop
erty of old Buck Ridley--the same one
which he had borrowed to make a run
- years ago this summer. Neverthe-
less, old man Steve had to pack up few
dirty duds and go to jail.
BY this time things are warmth up
considerable over there in Cyclone
Streak. 1 am lookin every day to hear
from old Buck Ridley, which, accordin
to the evidence in the case, he is the
man which owns the still at the present
writin. But when you get the next
news / will bet the best mule on the
place that old man Buck never owned
no wildcat still. Raley don't reckon
he would know one if he was to meet
it in the gig road.
AS everybody knows there are
stills and stills-plenty of stills over
there in Cyclone Streak. But it
would seem like they don't belong to
anybody in particular. Billy Bledsoc
and the Hawkins boys got caught run
min the machinery and climbin up
around the producements thereof, but
they jest Mapped to find the ding
thing" If it didn't jest naturally grow
up there out of the ground, / reckon
the last cyclone must of blowed 1t in
from somewheres up in the hill country
1t may be that the revenue men thin;s
they have got dead open-and-shutc case
for the government but they don't know
tSe people of Cyclone Streak. They
may break q few kindred ties, and bring
on q general family disturbance, and
blow in whole lot of time and money
But finally at last they will find out
that that wildcat still has belonged 10
everybody in Cyclone Streak more Or
less, but to nobody for certain.
One Bottle OF Sorry Goods.
sTallin about the troubles in Cyclone
Streak" says Andy Lucas to me the
other day." that makes me think Of the
time when me and WIN Tom Pickens got
holt Of the onlyest bottle Of rale sorry
goods have ever saw. never did run
very deep on the still business, you nm
derstand, Rufe, but don't have to stop
.xd An ~r<,.s that harn a1x.roze - =. u