During the seventies, feuds were of common occurrence even in a part of our highly civilized Illinois, specifically, Williamson county, where entire families were almost exterminated until the state and county courts finally found courage and interfered, eventually succeeded in abolishing the evil.

In the South, such feuds still prevail, particularly in the mountainous regions of Kentucky, Whitley county for instance. At Corbin, within recent days, one of these affairs reached its climax. For years, two families, Shotwell and White, mortal enemies, displayed particular ambition in assassinating each other and the former, in disparagement of its significant name, emerged as the vanquished.

Remarkable, but perhaps not, is the fact that these sanguinary feuds are mostly found in those regions of the south,where no "non-English" immigrant ever appears, and where the bonafide inhabitants are almost invariably descendents of pure English stock.

Thus, this far reaching decadence is not attributable to a "heterogeneous foreign element," a conclusion which the English-American nativism so persistently tries to apply in divers cases of depravity.

Other crimes and transgressions among the feudists are rare, with the exception of their "moonshine" distilling operations, which often lead to a serious conflict with the government's revenue officers, and occasionally the wild, romantical tax dodgers face the federal court in Louisville.

But, in so far as the state of Kentucky is concerned, nothing 3intrinsically definite has thus far been attempted to abate feuds.

The Republicans of Kentucky are even accused of favoring these mountaineers, because most of them belong to that party....

Attempts were even made to prove that these men of the mountain fastness were responsible for Geobel's death. It came to naught. These wild fellows are not clandestine murderers, they face their enemies, gundin hand....[No other German items appear, nor racial comparisons. Details about Goebel are not available. Translator]