The Bootleg Gang at Sims' by Payson Sibley Wild
In Egyp, where liquor is officially banned but bootleggers still supply drinkers, a rowdy bunch at Sims' is arrested and fined by Justice Herford after causing trouble, provoking them against the town's hymn-singing, church-going majority. Seeking revenge, the men secretly haul a dead horse into the church at night, hacking it apart and scattering pieces inside, leaving the horse's head on the Bible. The sexton cleans up and services continue silently. The next week someone shuts cows in the church, and later the bootleg gang dynamites the building and flees. Enraged, the congregation tracks the culprits using hidden trail markers and bloodhounds, chases them to Hick'ry Run, then tars and feathers every one of them and holds them under guard. The offenders end up breaking stone as punishment, a new church is built at Sims', and the congregation again worships in peace, while the bootleggers no longer dare cross that church's people over liquor.
By Payson Sibley Wild · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Ballad, Comic Verse · 772 words
First lines
Yep, Egyp's dry; 'z a gin'ral rule / They ain't much doin' in likker; / Saloons is skurce 'z a breedin' mule, / An' shy 'z a nestin' flicker. / But fokes kin git it-"bootleg stuff"- / An' hev a reel good souse, / Tho' most o' them that does it 's tough, / An' allers startin' rows.
Onct down ter Sims', so people tell, / A bunch o' pickled runts / Raised sev'ral kinds o' p'tic'lar cain / An' pulled some rowdy stunts. / Now 'Mersion 's pop'lar thar ter Sims', / Some 'd ruther hev 't than eatin's; / More 'n half the fokes sings Baptis' hymns / An' goes ter all the meetin's.
Similar titles
- The Man From Goondiwindi Q by Andrew Barton Paterson
- The Quest Eternal by Andrew Barton Paterson
- The Maori Pig Market by Andrew Barton Paterson
- The Ballad Of That P N by Andrew Barton Paterson
- The Sausage Candidate A Tale Of The Elections by Andrew Barton Paterson
- Commandeering by Andrew Barton Paterson
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — The fundamental literary form is a narrative poem that tells a story through verse, making this the primary literary form and structure.
- Ballad — This employs the traditional ballad form with folk origins—a narrative poem presenting a dramatic story in verse typical of American folk ballads.
- Comic Verse — The primary tone is humorous, employing dialect-based comedy, slapstick situations like the dead horse in the church, and ironic reversals.
- Satire — The narrative satirizes religious hypocrisy, showing self-righteous Baptists engaging in violence and vigilantism despite their moral pretensions.
Tags
bootlegging · prohibition · revenge · church desecration · sacrilege · tar and feathering · mob justice · punishment · rural community · Baptist · narrative poem · vernacular poetry
What this Textopian page supports
The Bootleg Gang at Sims' is listed on Textopian as a short story by Payson Sibley Wild, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Payson Sibley Wild
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Narrative Poetry, Ballad, Comic Verse, Satire, Western/Frontier Literature
- Length: 772 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Bootleg Gang at Sims' by Payson Sibley Wild
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph