The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-13

Thoroughly American. too. long. thin.
angular m muscular. A party Of ave
OF IN stopped at . mountain cabin for
the night, and knowing Il would be
dimcuit to induce the host to accept
beating about the bush a. much as I
could:
"rNow, look here. I come from New
York and In New York we are Gus
toned to pay for what We get. ! should
like very much to square this up with
He didn't look angry: he looked
hurt. We uns.' he said. is all pore
folks, but because we I'M In pore we
dom low that anybody II goin' to stay
in the woods when we uns has q roof
to shelter them. Say. we uns like you
uns. and why can't you stay with US q
week. This 10 a specimen Of their hos
pitality.
"A typical m~oonshiner II q mountain
eer they call Dave. Dave IL six feet
eight inches tall and humpbacked. He
has four notches in his gun. each one
marking the fate of a revenue ofhcer.
When I first saw Dave he was sitting
by a fireplace in his house. In the Are
place was a large wash boiler made
Of copper. On the boiler were a barrel
and apparatus that looked wonderfully
like q still. I asked a native what Dave
did about the revenue of1cers He un-
folded like q Jackknife and said:
The revenue officers don't always
get thar. Dawes been thar 20 years,
Inc he Is thar yet
But how does he manage? I asked.
""wal. when the event oficer goes
to the cabin the conch shell goes foot!
foot! toot! and Dave hears II. Then
thar Is q pun Of smoke in the mounting
up yan-way, n thar amt no wit
nesses.'
I'VE stopped at the Widow Drew's
one night. Her husband had been kill
ed by q man a few months before.
over the bed I noticed a bullet pouch
and rife. Nothing had been said about
the killing Of her husband. and II might
nave been supposed that We did not
know of the circumstance But that
night I remarked to the young boy Of
the family.
do you suppose you could kill him
with THAR pointing to the CUR
He was a bright. handsome. curly
headed little fellow. without the slight
the soft. low dialect of the region:
ct car hit a squirrel In the eye. md
! calkilate his eyes bigger nor q squir-
rel's.'
Not long before we left there ] saw
the man who had killed the Widow
Drew's husband working in a corn field.
He had a Winchester rifle leaning
against the fence and as ne moved in
his work he moved the rife with him.
There was no reason for his having a
Winchester except the determination
Of the curly-headed little boy who could
hit a squirrels eye. j am sure that
some day he will have this man.
II met an interesting young desper-
ado OF the region IN the train. He talk
u T. 49, H..
try about the most gruesome things.
do you like niggers?' he asked in
a soft. liquid voice.
II replied that In my situation i did
not wish to express myself.
well. i don't he went on. Say.
do you know that I've a friend who
has killed seven niggers. and when he
kills eight he is going to a a medal
for a chawm. Do you believe in
chawms?'
II assured him that I did. that at
that particular minute / had a rabbits
foot in my pocket.
DO you know he continued, II
knew a man who had SO cases against
him. and my uncle-if you read the pa
pers you know my uncle-said to the
jedge:
"."Now. see here, jedse. my client
has got SO cases against him. Now, I
don't want 10 plead all my life for my
client. so I'll tell you what I'll do. You
throw of 81 cases and III plead the
other one" Sartinly. sah." said the
jedge. An say, do you know my uncle
won his case and got $4,000 and a good
friend.
There are not many people of this
kind left in the region. Twenty years
ago when ! was there. they were plen-
tiful, but those who are left are dying
off and are simple reminders of an old
type"