Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-02-27
A GRAPE BRANDY BONANZA.
An Underground Reservoir of
Brandy Discovered.
Hay Growing Over Pipes
of Spirits.
THE LOS ANGELES DISTILLERY IN
A TIGHT PLACE.

We have all read of rivers flowing
with milk and honey, and we have
heard of oceans of whisky in Ireland
and elsewhere, but 1t has been left to
Los Angeles, prolific Los Angeles, to
produce underground lakes of brandy.
The Los Angeles distillery has for some
time been in the hands of the Revenue
officers, on suspicion that it had man.
ufactured more grape brandy than it
paid revenue for. Lately it was per-
mitted to resume operations for the
purpose of working up the stock, but
at no time was it entirely free from
the talons of the American eagle. A
couple of days ago we noticed our old
friend l.. M. Foulke, Federal Super
visor on the street, and to our inquiry
of what he was doing down here he
said,
NOTHING.
Now we happen to know Foulke
does not travel around on that sort of
business, so we said nothing, but kept
our eyes open. A little later we no.
ticed Deputy Internal Revenue Col
lector Mayhem, from the San Fran
cisco office, leisurely reading the signs
about town. We happened to know
that May yhew is as sharp as lightning
and generally detailed to look after
distillery business, so we fell into q
train of thinking but said
NOTHING,
Kinder slow like to ourselves, and
opening our ears took a stroll around
where Federal officers most do congre-
gate. First we met Deputy Gauger J.
r. Briefly, who looked as demure and
innocent AS though he never smelled
a gallon of illicit brandy in his life.
Next we encountered Deputy Collect
ors Hall and Wheeler trying to make
out why the big wheels of a wagon did
not overtake and run over the little
ones. Clearly these gentlemen were
ready to say
NOTHING
To any. and all questions we might
ask, so we didn't ask any. But we
kept thinking and wondering, and
finally in fit of abstractedness we
walked over the bridge to the Los An
geles Distillery. Here our attention
was attractedto to a.number of vineyard
lists who had sold their grapes to Mr..
TarbOx, manager of the distillery, and
had not yet received their pay there
for. Mingling with these gentlemen
we soon discovered that there was
something wrong with the distillery;
that Foulke, Wheeler, Mayhem, Hall
and Briefly were nosing around there
and acting for all the world as though
they smelled large sized violation of
the Revenue Law. Our perceptions
began to brighten over the prospect for
a real, live, interesting item. From
that moment until last night we
worked as anindependent government
detective all on our own. hook, and
this is what we found out:
UNDERGROUND WATTS.
In hidden away corner of the dis
tillery the officers dug small shaft,
and at the depth of foot or so they
struck perpendicular iron pipe with
a plug in the end. This plug they
drew out, and one of the keenest scent
ed OF the party-we suspect it was
Hall or Brierly-applied his nose to
the opening and shifted. He shifted
again and then swore he smelled grape
brandy. The pipe was sounded and
proved to be six feet deep, with the
lower three feet filed with spirits.
This was a phenomenon with which
few except certain distillers and reve-
nue. officers have had experience, and
the officers decided to follow up the
cropping in the hope that it would lead
to great bonanza. The sequel will
show that they were not disappointed.
They set party of miners and sappers
at work, who followed down the pipe
to where it ran off in horizontal di-
rection. They then followed it about
one hundred feet, and just where it
ran under shed used as a deposit for
grape boxes, they came upon prize
in the shape of wooden tank about
ten feet deep and perhaps sixteen feet
in diameter, level full of fine grape
brandy.
ANOTHER TANK,
Similar in size and also full of brandy,
was found little beyond the first and
partly under wagon shed. The tops
of these tanks were about eighteen
inches under ground, and the surface
of the ground was carefully planked
over. In the wagon shed it was easy
to raise the contents with pump.
The two tanks contain about $4,000
gallons of brandy. There is room
around there for half dozen or more
of these tanks, and though We have
discontinued our investigations the
party of miners and sappers still prose-
cute the search.
UNDER THE HAY
In the barn we found thirteen pipes of
brandy carefully slowed away, which