The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-09-02
AMONG THE M00NSIIINERS.
THE MEN VINO TORK IND EROLIC ~
THE LIGIIT or 1IfJ; MOON.
The Origin Of the Moonshine Whiskcy-Ifow
the Liquor IL Mndc-Its Taste where n
II Hidden The Fate Of R-vcnue Spies


The conflict between Federal and State
Courts in South Carolina over the shooting of
Ladd by Il rnitcd States Marshal under the sup
position that he was Redmond. u noted Illicit
distillcr has again drawn public attention to
the moonshincrs. These men live in the noun
tains Of west North Carolina. northwest South
Carolina East Tennessee. and northeast Gcor-
gia. The country il wild. the soil excellent and
there il u fair sprnkiing of hcrdcrs aud farm
cr-. The people are reasonably honest and
passahly industrious. hut they lack thorough
knowledge of hrning They seldom manure
the ground. Moving machines and cultivators
are not sccn. Farmers plough aud reap. hut
eat their grain within sickle aud use plough
SO light that 1t can ho lifted tu the shoulder with
one hand. hs the roads are rough aud the
mountain streams frequently brdgclcss their
products do not reach Il market. There are
neither railroads nor iclcgraphs. Silver is
scnrcc. and grccnbagkS more than scarce.
Easy-goug trappcrs and hunters turn farm
hands few days in each year. and take tin. g.
pay in produce. Houses are poorly furnished.
Chairs with cowskn bottoms are u luxury. and
guests at nrst-cuss hotels usually sit upon
rough board benches while eating their meals.
Antique clocks reach from tho floor to tho cell
ing. and are wound by pulling II cord Home
spun garments arc worn. and the hum of the
spinning wheel is heard in nearly every house,
Most Of the travel Is upon horseback. Women
rid" as skiliully rs men, The writer drove
forty miles and did not meet vehicle. The
country. Is not u network Of turnpihcs Thou
sands upon thousands Of unicm'cl acres lie
between the roads, over which branded cattle
roam at Will. These lands are rdccd with
towering mountains and scanned with rocky
delics. iurllnE brooks and dashlng waterfalls
Ill the ar Win music.
The inhabitants are srf.sustaining. They
export but little aud import less. They live on
same ~ Northern farmer drinks cider They
call II sweet mHsh before the war very man
either made his OWE whiskcy or sent his corn To
the still. and gut his sweet mash ia return. less
the disttilrr~ percentage. the same as u North
crn farmer runs his apples To cider press. or
draEs his grain To- u Srist mill Mhiskcy was az
rec ~ water II was iound in every house.
Prracher-. d"acuu-. church trustees and their
wives nnd daughters. huslwhnck"rs. and slaVcs
drank IL az fhEu.liu drink Deer or frrh'n-
mon red wine. No ouv thought of dcclalmiig
against it. With possibly few exceptions, 1t
WIS rated ncNt H. hog and hominy. and could he
bought at from fifteen To- twenty cents Il gallon.
At the close oi the war the honest mountain
GERS heard that they must nay a taN of a. per
gallon un their flVorite beverage. They were
thundr rstru'k. Tho tax seemed To them par
ti'uiarly unjust. Tho same rate on beer in
Germany. or rcd wine in Franco, Wnnld cr, aig
a ttNoiuuon. me muuntahr'rs h"WtN r. hdd
had enough lighting. They protested AMI uuc~-
toned tho r,Eht ui tie Federal Government 60
Impose $50 cSorbuni u rate upon what thcy re-
gurdcd rs % necessary ut ilic. state rights were
aS~crtcd and they refused 10 pay the d' m3ud.
~ they were unr'prcSrntrd lu Congress
when the law Wis passed they quoted the exam
plr set by our iOroiatlicgs when the British Par
Lament imposed a tag ON tea.
IN army of Coz 'rumcnt on 'iplS locked to
the mountains. on hy one W,Il-,uown stills
wore destroyed. THOR owners could moi pay
only Tor homo con-umi ton. ANA the noun
uInc'r~ would noi lAj tWp dollar, and a quar-
ter a gallon for What they had bc"n getting for
twenty cents. II ticy tot,d corn 60 the stills
tlIey NrrD obliged to allow tho diSlilrr his Irr-
crutsgr ami pay two dollars pcr gallon Tor tIe
dsu.laiiuu. The who's country wur imuoNcr.
-Ard aud a farmer WIN two dollars capital
WAS regarded WIN envy. There was not enough
ready money "a the mountain, 10 buy a home
stead for "a freedman. what was 10 ir, dome,
The wnlsH'y mus, hc had Many thought that
tiey could not live " thout il.
Ia all aeri cultural districts Their" are men who
hayo a natural dislike 10 farming. They Will
hunt. fish. drive Stage burn lime. or do any
the 'front.' They began To- distl whi~k"y sur
rcutiuVusiy, AMI we're uphgld by Tie eommu-
nlty. Ninc-t'utiS wore rolll'hing Young i'i-
lows. WIN spent much of their tam" squirrel
shuufiu. and batting and dhnrln.. iuhI-. Tho
huwk like eyes ana htak-. No ioS or deer WAS
M re- wary ur knew tho mountains better
Little still. Hainr NJ like mushrooms. The
WlrN WAS don" in lonely dclis and wild noun
tan gorg"e. ON moonlight nights the rough
u.'trns w.r" drr, ticd. and the cool iuuuniaiu
aIt WA, laden with the pdor Of sweet mash The
boys were busy. Ih"Y carried corn Ia the stills
| OH turtr backs. aud returned with d,TnOhu, ui
| liquor which Was poured INTO pl'klo bottles or
Whatever WAS handy. and distributed among
/ the farmers. OCCASIONALLY q little ulonuS rs
| rrrelNcd nut pay sas generally taken IN prod
! ure. once an odd hu. vas given IN payment Tor
| gallon of whiskey ami change received IN
! ligS. A. most oi the work was done in the
| hEht OF the moon. the bQye were dubbed moon
| sinners. ana sweet mash was known u moon
shine WhlsN-y. 4 barrel of TIA" stun kept It's
'ii.tiiler IN provendcr for II month.
From that time to the present thcre hns been
| but little variation ia the process ui dlstIla-
| ton. In some cases seven or eight men club
| together and make u barrel or more "A night.
a. IL
| villages and the boys rcc"ive cash for IT, Moon
! shlnr whisky IS plentiful IN such places ~
| AShtVilc. II unreasonable. Rutherford Muir
| ply. and Charlotte. y. G., SpatianhurE. Pick Ms
| Court House GrcCnyllr. lOrANlllc. Anderson.
| Abbcviile. and lAurensville. ), c., Morgnnton,
| BairsNllle. Clayton. Clarksvlllc. Hariwrll, and
| Athens Oa.. and Maryaville. GreenNllle. N'w-
| port. SevicrVille. ana Benton. Tenn. Occasion
| ally "a trW barrels reach Charleston Whining
| ton Savannah. ana Knoxville but very few
| gallons 10 over ia" border. Tho color OF the
| PREPARED liquor Il light yellow. Some of II.
| However. il rs clear ~ Mexican aguurdicntr or
| Cninose rice rum. Tn" nountain'crs prefer
tue latter. The former sclis more readily IN
| villages and cities. To an educated New York
| or kentucky palate llS taste L. calnplenoy and
! dlsagrrcable. II ScOrchca the gullrt On us
way down and once down makes u man feel Hs
| though carrying redhot Erapeshot IN his
! stomach. \ kcntucklan says he felt rs though
| BE- had swallowed an electric cat backwards.
Three fingers viii upset stranger, but n
genuine mountain"er never sucrumhs Ia less
than half gallon. II II frequently sWret"ned
| with honey or mOlassos. This improves the
taste. ana makes II an nsdiuus drink for nov
ices. Weli-swoetenod. 1t Will throw AN unsus-
| pocting Yankee under Il table quicker than
| pgguOg
Despite the dangers surrounding them. the
| moonshncrs seem to live happy life. They
| are courteous and ohllging to strangers. aud
| Kind aud hospitublc. They scorn pay for ser
vices rendered them. A man with million is
| perfectly sate among them; but Woo bct lr ~"
! revenue SPY. His lie IL not worth "A shurk.
| They Kill him rs readily a. u bulgarian Chris
| tian butchers "A Turk. In the long run. they
| hold their own with Government oilcluls
uyenEing every death on the first opportunity
| never SAW moonshiner with n woOlirn shirt
| saw none with undershlrts They wear I'M
| hlcached cotton shirts, aud pass the summer in
! their shirt slroves. They run Ia soft felt hats
| and broud hrogans. They delight IN weird
| negro hymns. and the mountain glens echo
their songs, At times they meet IN rude taycrns
| ON Cross roads and haye glorious blow-outs
| seasoned with the music of tho fiddle and banlu.
They are tail and we'll formed and climb the
| crne1 like goats. ircompleNions are ruddy
! and clear. and they wear their hair long. They
| are welcome guests IN all farm houses. for the
hearts of the farmers are bound Ia them with
| bonds uf steel Some are church members, and
| regular attendants at quarterly meetings. They
! cache their whiskry in the mountains. have
! walked with thrm IN tho most obscure noun
| tain paths. There Was no house within miles.
At the slightest reference Ia Whiskey. ono of the
| uurty Disappeared and quickly returned with