The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-19

washington, u u, dec. H.
There is a wooded section not far
from the nations capital which was
once a favorite ground for the
good old southern sport of coon
hunting. Some of the people there
abouts have been known to pay as
nigh as $3.50 70 "a coon doog OF
good reputation. In those parts
you might slap a mans child and
get away with it, but if you kick
his coon dog it is case of fight
or run.
And now most of those expensive
coon dogs are getting fat and stiff
IN the Joints for lack of use, and
the coon hunters are all dis
gruntled. The reason is not any
shortage of 'cooRs, either. The rea-
son is that every little branch and
gully which the 'coons use is now
the home of a moonshine still, and
il you blunder into a still suddenly
and at night with a gun in your
hand, you are more than likely to
encounter a charge of shot.
In some sparsely settled sections
not too far from the great thirsty
cities, there is almost a still in
every bush. Not long ago a posse
was formed to chase a murderer
through the woods of Virginia near
here, and it is said that in l6 miles
OF travel they uncovered II stills.
usually the owners were not at
hand. One of them was seen.
however. He was sitting on a hill
top not far from his still. A large
mock OF turkey buzZards was cir
cling around over the still, attract
ed, as buzzards are, by the odor of
the mash. The man had a repeat
ing hlgh-power rife and he was
shootlng the buzzards as they few
over him in order that they might
not betray the location of his still.
AND he wasn't missin' none,
either" said member of the posse
IN recounting the episode.
The posse decided not to arrest
the man They couldn't prove that
he owned the still anyway.
Still More Stills.
The stills are multiplying at an
astounding rate. No doubt ever
since prohibition there have been
many stills, both for private sup
ply and for commercial purposes,
IN all parts of the United States,
but the great development of this
infant industry is in the Appalachian
mountains and their immediate vi
cinity. AS every reader of ro-
nance knows, it is the mountain
regions that the art of governing
corn into liquor in secrecy has long
been practiced. The mountain men
all know how to do it Before pro-
hlbltion there was a little still hid
den away somewhere in almost
every mountain neighborhood. Its
owner, at some personal risk,
saved perhaps 30 cents on each gal
10 nof liquor he made by eYading
the revenue tax. At best he made
a precariouS living. Everyone who
has read the magazines knows what
he looked like-a gaunt, hawk
nosed citizen, wearing no socks
and carrying in the hollow OF his
arm rife six feet long.
Then came prohibition, and
moonshine suddenly jumped from
a dollar or two a gallon to ten OF
twenty gallon. The result was
inevitable. Create any OppOrtun-
ity for anyone to make easy money
and that opportunity will be used
to the full Nor will a spice of
danger in the least interfere with
the proceeding. And especially is
this true of the mountain men.
They are adventurous fellows, they
are used to breaking laws where
liquor is concerned, they are az
customed to the use of firearms,
are they have a sort of clan loyalty
which makes it very hard for a
stranger TO work among them.
Not only coon hunters, but many