The Rifles of Old Kaintuck

This editorial cartoon originated in the Chicago Record-Herald but was published in the Indianapolis News on June 9, 1909 and was a commentary on the backward culture alive and well in Kentucky at the time. This was prompted largely by the comments of Dr. Goethe Link who won the hazard race portion of the national championship balloon race hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on June 5, 1909. Link, who piloted the balloon Indianapolis, escaped rifle shots passing over Kentucky. Farmers in the area were either confused by a strange object, mistook it for something else or were extremely territorial. Regardless, Hoosiers who were traditionally in rivalry with Kentuckians could not resist the opportunity to poke fun at their southern neighbors. The joking was a bit unfair as farmers from Brown County Indiana through Tennessee were taking pot shots at all the balloonists in the event.