Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-02-18
MOONSHINING BEAR STORY.

When Joe Stewart was first appoint
ed deputy United States marshal for
this district year ago, says Will
Transport, Pa, correspondent, one
piece of information transferred to
him by his predecessor was concerning
a moonshine whisky plant suspected
to be in operation somewhere in the
Kettle creek region of Potter county.
From a cook at one of the lumber
camps Stewart learned that whisky
was brought to the men in gallon demi-
johns by an old man named Reeser, who
lived near New Bergen, on the head
waters of Kettle creek. Consequent
ly he visited Reeser's home to trace
the whisky if possible. He was met
at the door by as pretty young wo-
man as he ever set eyes on. This was
Reeser's daughter Priscilla. She said
her father was down the creek on an
errand. 1t was cold, blustery day,
and Deputy Stewart limited that man
needed something to warm him In such
weather. Priscilla seemed to under
stand, and from q shelf back of the
stove took down long-necked bottle,
poured about five fingers into tum-
bier and handed it to Stewart. The
whisky was raw, and obviously moon
shine, although Priscilla said as she
pushed the bottle back on the shelf
that they got it at Coudersport so as
to have little in the house in caB
of sickness.
Having traced the whisky so far,
Stewart left the cabin and hunted
around for the still. He soon got into
trackless waste of snow and laurel
and hemlock. There was no sign of
track or path, and he was about to
give it up in disgust when he heard
the loud chattering and squealing of
black bears. In a few moments, out
on the snow from a hemlock thicket,
came two nearly full-grown bears. As
soon as he clapped eyes on them Stew
art saw that something was wrong
with them. They were staggering,
and one of them was carrying small
demUohn.
"By thunder !" thought Stewart,
"those bears have found old Reeser's
STILL"
Presently the bears stopped to take
drink. The one. with the demijohn
raised it to his mouth, and the pull he
took was so long that the other bear,
becoming impatient, grasped the demi-
John and soon was getting on the out
side of copious draughts of whatever
the jug contained. Stewart remained
in hiding back of a big maple, and
when the drunken bears went shamb-
ling off into the forest he couldn't help
laughing at his queer luck and the
queer sight of two bears out on jam
boree. 1t was the easiest thing in the
world for Stewart to back track the
bears through the hemlock thicket,
and, although the course taken was
somewhat wabbly, he succeeded in
following the trail. 1t led back to the
foot of the mountsin, along the side of
the mountain to deep but narrow ra-
vine, in the bottom of which was a
little stream. He followed this ravine
for nearly half mile, when suddenly,
at a sharp turn, where an overhang-
ing ledge of rock formed a sort of
cave, he found the still. 1t was evil
dent that somebody had been at work
there not many days before, for tracks
were plentiful. One of the tracks, too,
was that of a woman-a pretty, slen-
der foot-and visions of Priscilla help
ing her father at the still fitted through
the head of Deputy Stewart. And
here, too, pushed further back under
the rocks, were eight demijohns full of
whisky, demUohns such as the thiev-
ing, drunken bears were carrying.
Reeser and Priscilla have been held
for trial at court on the charge of il
licit distilling. But Stewards most
valuable witnesses refuse to obey his
subpenas-the bears who drank the
moonshine cannot be brought into
court.