The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1875-11-03
The Whisky War.

NeWmah hldge IS small rough
mountain, on the Northern border of
Hancock county. For years 1t has been
well known that Illicit distilleries were
at work in the deep, dark gorges of the
Ridge, making large quantities of wills
ky and brandy, which liquors have been
distributed all over East Tennessee,
Southwest Virginia and Western North
Carolina, and secretly sold. Efforts
have been made at various times to sup
press this illegal traffic and to capture
and punish the manufacturers of the IL
licit liquor, all of which proved fruit
less. 1t had been given out and was
generally understood that if any United
States officer went into the Ridge he
would be shot, and from the reckless
and desperate character of the mountain
men who had made the threats there was
every reason to believe they would be
carried iEto execution. 1t was hard to
find an officer who was willing to risk
his life in such an uneven fight, where
hes was almost sure to be secretly shot
from some dark laurel thicket without
even a sight of his murderer And so
the whisky business went on year after
year. Wagons, with an old bed-stead,
a few chairs, a pot and skillet; a dark
looking man and slutternly woman
might occasionally be seen slowly NOV
ing along our roads. OF course people
took them for ordinary movers" only
going from one neighborhoodt to another
in search of better home, but the Sin
itiated' knew there was a barrel or
en-galion keg of crooked whisky con-
ceaIed under the household furniture.
In this way, and in various other ways,
liquors have been peddled from New
mans Ridge in large quantities for sew
eral years. The traffic had grown to be
an extensive one, but of late it has re-
ceived check, and promises to be en-
tirely broken up soon.
This change in tie affairs of the Ridge
has been brought about chiefly, as we
learn, through the energetic action of
Mr.. Thomas J. Berry, who has of late
been acting in the capacity of Deputy
Z. s. Marshal. Berry is a very quiet,
harmless looking man, but he is as cum
ming as fox, as watchful as mink and
as courageous when occasion demands
as lion. He has been assisted in his
work in the mountain by Col. Berry
who is equally well fitted for an enter
prise of the kind, and who, when he un-
dertakcs job, is not apt to stop short
of complete success. They have already
destroyed something over twenty dis
tilleries, the last one only few days
ago, and Mr.. Berry says he thinks the
last one on the Tennessee side of the
line has "gone up" There are suppos-
ed to be several on the Virginia side
yet in operation, but Berry has no au-
thority to cross the line, into another
District, so these fellows will work on
with impunity for the present. 1t might
be a very good idea for the Government
to make Tom Berry Marshal for that
part of Virginia for while It would
not take him long to bring the last one of
those crooked whisky" fellows to terms.
He has straightcned out things in Han
cock-nOw let him go over the line and
try the Virginia molungeons a hitch
Mr.. Berry has not broken up these
distilleries without running great risk
and exposing himself to danger. A less
courageous or less prudent man would |
have been murdered, and Tom may yet |
be. He has been shot at several times, /
and so has Col Berry, but thus far they |
have come off unframed.
1t has long been reproach to revenue |
officers in this section Of country that
these men were permitted, without IL |
cense and almost uninterrupted to defy |
the law and the Government, and man
ufacture and sell whisky by thousands |
of gallons. II is to be hoped that the /
whole of this illegal traffic will be sup
pressed now.