The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1901-11-30
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Moonshiners iIA Ireland.


Despite the amending activity Of the
police, 1poteen, Illicit whisky, is
brewed in large quantities in Ireland.
Numerous arrests and convictions have
had no permanent effect in stamping
out the .spoteen runners and in all
likelihood the people will always be
within reach of a sup of tn crathur."
A running" sad to relate, in most
cases usually follows one or more Of
the poorer families being plunged into
debt. A COW, pig or other animal may
have died, perhaps the potato crop is.
not up to expectation, or the oats have
given a small return, and there are q
few pounds necessary to settle with the
landlord. AS it takes "a very small
capital to start a "'still," soon the news
is flying across the hills and boys that.
there's goin to be a chance to kill a
dhrop Of the rale thing .s q
From the oozy depths Of turf banks
the several parts Of the still are UNI
covered, where they are hidden from.
the quick eyes Of the "blue coated gen
tlemen.' On a dark night the still is
set up in some desolate anu forsaken
corner, and always in a place where
the entire countryside can be searched
with the naked eye. =5E
Preparing for Poteen.
In the western parts Of Connaught
and the islands lying a few miles off
the coast in the Atlantic ocean the
'spoteen Worlin''' is carried on to a
great extent. Here the people have
changed little during the last one hun
dred years land few of the common con-
veniences Of modern civilization are
known. An instance of, this backward
ness is illustrated herewith, where a
woman sits grinding oats for poteen in
a ,quern, the same crude mill that was
used in the Holy Land in biblical
times, and is still used in that country.
The quern is simply two stones fitted
together. A hole in the top stone. re-
ceives the grain, which is prepared for
grinding by being dried over the turf
fire in an iron pot. By turning the
top stone the grain is passed through
the stones, and finally falls from the
rough side into white cloth spread
on the ground for its reception. Nearly
all the 1aeal consumed by the natives
of the districts mentioned is ground in
quecns, the crushing Of oats for poteen
being only one of it's many duties.
A 'frale Irish still' is shown at work
in the second picture. The liquor is
just beginning to trickle through the
worm into the cup, and until there is
a "tidy sup Of spirits in the, small
keg the children will superintend mat
tiers. Long experience, in spite of
their tender years, has made these
'gossoons'' expert brewers, and more
than once the sargent an his min
have been fooled by these tricky
youngsters. r p: +
Simple in Construction. @r
The simplicity of the still will be
seen at a glance. The turf fire sends
the steam through the connecting pipe
into the copper worm in the barrel.
The barrel is filled with cold water,
which condenses to steam and sends
it forth 9Th ginuine stuff
Little attention is paid to the age of
poteen in Ireland. The worm works
very slowly when compared with the
demand for the output, therefore age
becomes a secondary matter. In fact,
it drops out Of the reckoning alto
gether. There is only one case on rec
ord of poteen tripenin',' and that was
when it was buried in a garden and
it's place of concealment forgotten.
However, that is another story.
When 'wee dhrop'' has been sue
cessfully run public interest in it
reaches an acute stage. If the still is
located On an island in lake, as is
often the case, at a given time the
'cots," long, hat-bottomed boats, will
be seen shooting out from the shores
Of the mainland and making for their
destination by circuitous routes. The
cots are beached at different places,
and left in positions admitting Of ready
escape. Soon the fringe of natives
around the still grows into we'll de-
fined circle. i.
The runner" of thestill stands over
the key Of liquor with tin cup in one
hand and with the other keeping a.
firm grasp on the wooden '"tap'' that
draws off the poteen. In bottles Of all
shapes and makes the liquor is car