The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-27

How 1t Is Made in ireland.
From the London Globe.


ing how inland revenue officers and po-
| licemen were outwitted when in search
for "potheen" stills. The present writer
will confine himself to a few illustrative
incidents within his own knowledge.
| In the hottest days of the Land League
there was an active politician in Cork
city who was in the habit of securing
| supplies of ''potheen" from the outlying
districts and distributing it among
| considerable number of customers. A
| willy man of much resources he was,
! and though suspected by the police he
managed to escape detection. At
| length, however, so carefully were the
approaches to the city watched that
the 'pothcen" merchant was unable TO
introduce a gallon of contraband stuff.
His customers grew impatient and
thretened to go back to tn illegal arti-
Gle. He was at his wits end what to
do when bright idea struck him.
Those were the days of proclaimed
Land League meetings, especially in the
neighborhood of Cork, which was a
particularly hot quarter for land
grabbers." The "potheen' man, man
of some political influence, went out to
an adjoining village, called a few of
the leading spirits together, reminded
them that they were growing apathetlc
and exhorted them to show a good eX-
| ample by organizing a great pubic
demonstration without delay. His ad-
| vice was acted upon; members OF Par
lament were invited, and accepted the
invitation to the meeting, and excur-
sion trains were arranged from far and
near. Altogether it was to be a great
day in Ireland Those who really car
ried through the arrangements for the
meeting were perfectly sincere. In due
time the meeting, as anticipated, was
4 proclaimed" But the proclamation
did not keep the people away. Rather
did it add to the numbers. The ex-
element when the day for the meeting
arrived was at fever heat. Bad work
was anticipated, and every available
policeman in the city and surrounding
districts was requisitioned. Even the
military were held in readiness.
IT was a wild day-a day of stones
and batons to be followed by many
prosecutions for breaches of the peace.
But while police and people were liter
ally at each others throats the gentle
man who originated the meeting was
getting his consignment of Illicit whis-
key into Cork without so much as a
spare constable being available to
watch. The 'potheen" came in milk
cans, in egg boxes. and even in emf
grant trunks, with alleged emigrantS
accompanying them. 1t was curious
fact that all the vehicles made their
way to public houses all over the city.
When the police had recovered from
the labors and excitement of the pro-
| claimed meeting they learned how they
| had been outwitted, and were in very
bad humor over the matter. Those
i who fought the police on that Sunday
| afternoon never suspected that "po-
| them was at the bottom of the whole
business.
Quite recently a police inspector of
| the writer's acquaintance had re-
markable experience in Connemara, the
| Headquarters of the "potheen" making
in the West of Ireland A special num-
Der of constables, armed with long
pointed poles for probing haystacks
| and the like, was told off to detect and
prevent Illicit distillation. Large guam
| titles of whisky were known to be
made for consumption in the County
Glare, the fiery liquor-patent provo
cation of moonlighting-being con-
| veyed across Galway Bay in turf hook
| ers, sometimes finding a refuge in the
| Arran Islands en- route. Well, detec-
tions and successful prosecutions We're
| numerous, but one notorious still
owner baff1ed all the attempts of the
police Finally this man was driven
into so close corner that he had to
| transfer his plant on board a large
| nOukeT anu carry OH MS QlSLllllnS
night out at sea, when this rugged and
rough part of the coast permitted.
Hiding in the creeks and the sounds
between the many islands off the main
| land, the ingenious diStiller escaped
detection for time. At length, how
ever, the police inspector, with his
force divided into two sections, each in
a canvas canoe, or "curragh'-a very
| frail but very serviceable craft-came
| he oh NfI Il ta H.. Il
of night in a sound from which he had
no chance of escape.
A hooker carries long oars as well
as sails, and the only hope of the
! daring smuggler was to run down the
frail canoes by prodding them with the
| long oars. He gave orders to his crew
accordingly, and had there been time
to carry them into effect down the ca
noes would have gone in a twinkling.
But the police inspector was prepared
| for desperate measures, and he or
dered one of his men, "a sharpshooter
| with the revolver, to fire. AS the con-
| stable raised the deadly weapon there
was an immediate cry of Surrender
| and boat and plant were captured and
taken to the nearest station without
| further trouble. The experiences of the
special police in hunting for stills
through Dogs and mountains, and
among the crags of the islands of Con-
| nemara, are sometimes as exciting as
chase after De Wet. A favorite trick
of the willy "potheen" mongers is to
bury the casks in the lands of persons
who are not likely to be suspected. In
one of the islands of Galway Bay the
solitary magistrate had a considerable
section of the land i'm his possession.
'Potheen" in transit for Clare was
sometimes buried in the magistrates
land, entirely without his knowledge,
of course.
Great was the laugh in the island and
further afield when the magistrate was
prosecuted for having Illicit whisky
concealed on his premisesl He was
fined according to law. and it was some
time before the Lord Lieutenant order
ed the return of the money. The ISL
anders looked upon il as a distinct
grievance, that they could not evade
the law by concealing whisky in each
others premises. 1t may be some time
before Illicit distillation is extirpated
in Ireland. but that it is dying out
steadily is happily the case. Its in
fluence has been most demoralizing
and ruinous. Brawls at fairs and out
RACES of various kinds can be traced to