The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-05-23
CorporaI York, Battling for the Lord" Slew "a Germans in Machine
Gull Nest. and With Five Assistants Captured 132 of the
Enemy, Including Four Officers - Was Willing
to Drill. but Not Kill.

without saying n word. And he didn't
mean TO be unSociable. either. Cor
poral York took after him.
THE York estate comprises 40 acres
Of land, of which part is rich bottom
land, but most is Hill country. The
house has n room on the ground
floor. which is dining room, sitting
room and all, While the loft is every
body's bedroom. The kitchen is Il
~lean-to, built against the house. The
farm crops are cGtn and hay and the
live stock consists of a pair Of mules,
a cow, some hogs and chickens. All
about the place is nll virgin timber.
Lived Life OF a Pioneer.
So Corporal York. before he went to
war, lived in the One-rOOm house in
a clearing, which vas the usual home
of the American pioneer, and the life
nc lived was just such n life rs his
forefathers had lived for generations.
When not engaged I'm tilling his 40
acre farm he commonly went hunting.
All OF the men Whereabouts go hunt
Ing and are good shots. but York
was especially efficient with the rife.
The standard and favorite game OF
the section Is the squirrel. Every man
has a squirrel dog, and q good one Is
worth $35 or $40. The dog trees the
squirrel, and the hunter shoots it
always through the head, SO as not to
mangle the meat. If you want TO know
hnw (NnrnnraI Vnrly lnarnaI 10 Chnnk
try to knock a squirrel out of a tall
hickory tree with a rifle, shooting al
ways for the head. They also hunt
foxes here, running them with dogs
and bringing down the swift quarry
from a stand" On autumn nights
coon hunting is In order. The COO
Is chased up a tree by the dogs.
In the old days the tree was then
always chopped down, so that the dogs
and the coon could fight II out, no mat
ter who owned the tree or how valu-
able IL was. Recently, owing TO the
high price Of lumber, a sentiment
against cutting down a $40 tree TO get
a 81 COO has developed, and this Is
regarded with contempt by the old
timers as a sign of the degenerate mod
ern mercenary spirit.
The law In this section Is whatever
local custom approved, and II does not
approve Of restricting a mans personal
freedom. This Is a fact or prime
Importance to the understanding Of
Corporal York. Every man here car
ries a gun, and Is prepared as a mat
ter Of course, to shoot anyone who
presumes to trespass on his prem
ises.
Men Make Their Own Liquor.
Every man who wants to do so
makes his w whisky. keeps 1t In his
house and drinks 1t when he pleases.
Stills are operated somewhat quietly,
In Difference to federal regulations, but
the revenue officer does not intrude
much. 1t would be impossible here
to enforce the Mann act, the Harrison
drug law, the prohibition law, or any
other law which involves opening bag
gage and invading premises. These
people stand by the Constitution as 1t
is written, not as IL is interpreted.
lnelT CTeeu Ill DTlel. Is lHdL us iOuS as
a man does not interfere with anyone
else, no one has a right to interfere
with him. That was the gist OF Pat
rick Henry's bill Of rights.
Like most men who value their lib
erty, these mountaineers have a strong
sense Of justice. They believe In the
proper use Of liquor by responsible
persons. When a couple of bootleggers
came into the n~eighborhoOd and began
selling whisky to boys, a posse was
organized and the bOotleggers dlsap-
peared. The law was not invoked.
Mo%untaineer Is Religious.
Next to his personal freedom. the
thing that a mountain man takes most
seriously is his religion. He believes
In the Bible as the source Of truth, and
as a. guide for human conduct.
In these regions the church Is a
place Of sincere worship. a place Of So
cial gathering and an emotional expe-
rience. No doubt In all remote re-
gions the church takes somewhat the