Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-08-20
Horrible Death.

A distiller named Jones, who lived with
his family near the lower bench OF the
Big smoky Mountain, had been annoyed
a good deal bv the reyenue-rangers last
fall. and determined TO change ms loca-
ton and business TO more secluded
spot.
To carry out this purpose he selected
the head of deep gorge some Tour ihiies
distant, walled in with cliffs, where our
ing the winter, assisted by some OF MS
friends, he erected log building As
soon as the cold weather was over ana
the spring fairly opened, the still ana
other things necessary were moved 10 the
place, and the work of violating the hev-
enue laws was resumed. Several runs
were made and Jones began To congratu
late himself that he had at last found
refuge beyond the prying eyes OF the
Government hirelings, where he could
pursue his avocation in peace.
The still-house being some distance
from where his family lived, Jones rarely
visited them more than once in a fort
night Everything went on well enough
until about four weeks ago when ne
failed TO appear at the accustomed Tune.
Nothing was thought of this Tor day
or two, but when another week elapsed
without the return of Jones the family
became alarmed, and thought that he
had been captured by revenue Jayhawks
and carried TO Knoxville, or some other
place where violators of the law are
occasionally convicted and punished.
The alarm was given through the sparsely-
settled neighborhood. a small number
of men gathered, and, accompanied by
Mrs. Jones and her son, youth OF ten
or twelve years of age, they started up
the gorge in the direction OF the stlii-
house.
On reaching the building they founs
the door closed and fastened, and no sign
of Jones or any one else could he seen:
Mrs. J. called the name of her husband
several times; no response, however,
came back to relieve her anxiety. But
upon attempting to force an entrance
they were greeted with those peculiar
notes of warning which the ear of the
East Tennessee mountaineer never fails
to recognize. The door was at once
broken down, and a sight met them that
caused all to start with fright and hor-
ror.
The form of the distiller lay upon the
floor, with eyes starting from their sock
cts, the ltdluEcs hubby AloboieN' "nN
body swollen to twice its usual proper
tons, while the whole interior OF the
building was alive with rattlesnakes,
some in coil and ready for battle, but the
larger proportion stupid and inert, as
though they had been imbibing literally
of the illicit fruit of the still. The moth
er and son fled horror stricken from the
place. A consultation was had, and, as
it was impossible to rescue the body OF
poor Jones without mourning fearful risk,
it was determined to reclose the entrance
and other apertures and fire the building,
which was done The party stayed until
the house was entirely consumed and
nothing remained but the now useless
still and the calcined bones of the miser-
able distiller.
1t is supposed that Jones had built his
mandatory close upon den OF the
deadly reptiles in the overhanging cliff,
and that, attracted by the heat, or posi-
bly, the fumes of the whisky, they found
their way into the building in large num-
bers after he had closed the door and lay
down to sleep.-Atsens (Tenn.) Post.