Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-17
What better could they dol

and cussed, that they'd ruther encourage
| licit distilIon, as the revenoo officers call
1t, than to pater'nize Hazards store.
Il was riding long one day last fall, about
| twenty miles back in the mountains and |
| met up with a fellow 1 used to know when
| | was young and worked at peeing bark for
| the tanneries
I'VE rode along together and finally 1
aXed him # he was not doing a little moon
| shining onst in while. He laughed and
| lowed that maybe he might work up a lit
| tie of his spare corn and apples, some
| times. But L make good liquor, he says;
| none OF the stuff you buys around here
" That shore is bad liquor / says, and
what on airth is it made of, Bill?' l axed
him.
II tell you Jim' he says. what they do;
| they distils some alcohol from grain, puts
| in some plug tobacco to give it color, some
pizen oak vine to make it bite some Shawn
| soap tc give it a bead and it shore is the
hghtin est liquor you ever See.'
And it shore is continued Mosely. II
remember a political meeting we had onst
acrost the river and back in the hills. A
| fellow was runnin' for sheriff wild, reck-
less good-natured sort of fellow. He was
as brave as a grizzly bar, but powerful
| fond of liquor and fightin'. 1 think he was
| maxim his campaign on them two Qualifi-
cations. 'lowin' that a sheriff who would
not fight at the drop of the hat was not a
pubic-spirited officer and that one who
| would not take drink every chanst he got
was At subject for Impeachment.
his meetln was nelO at a place CalleO
Turkey Neck, a collection of four or five
houses, a post office and seven saloons.
This candidate for sheriff. whose name was
Potter, rented one of the saloons and
stocked 1t with whisky. l suspect that he
got some of his moonshine friends back an
the hills, that he promised to protect, to
put up the liquor, for it turned out to be
some Of the brand that my friend Bill de-
Scribed as the "hghtin est liquor.
well, the people came in for miles
around, a-hossback and in wagons, the
wimmen folks sittin' in chairs in the wag
gins. Every newcomer would waltz up to
Potter'S headquarters, he called his
place, and take a drink. The speakin' was
due to begin at o'clock, but when that
hour arrived big dispute was goin' on
between Candidate Potter and a fellow who
was runnin' against him. named Jinkins,
as to who should speak last, this bein
joint debate. Potter finally proposed to
call of the speakin' and settle the matter
with fist fight. He was to pick out five
of his men and the other fellow five on his
side, and the whole bunch was to fight:
whoever cried enough first was to drop out
and the last man left was Ito decide the
battle. Whichever side won was to have
the votes of the other side for sheriff.
when the wimmen folks heard of this
deal they run screechin' to take the knives
and pistols Off the fellows. 1t was to be
square fist fight and no cuttin' and no
gougin'. When all was ready, and they had
all taken final drink they started in. The
boys was crowded around, standing on wag
gins, store boxes and chairs, each side
cheerin' their own fellows. 1t was an awful
fight. Finally only two was left. the two
rival candidates. They fit and fit until
close to shutdown. and then had to call 1t
a draw. Neither one wanted to go through
the thing again, and they finally agreed
that It was to be draw in the election,
was concerned, and that none of them
should vote in the election for sheriff. TO
this day the incident is known as the dis
franchisement Of the Turkey Neck section"