Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-08-07
THE MOONSHINERS
OF south CaroIina-The wild. Rocky
and almost Inaccessible Country
Terra IncoSnIta even TO their
NeIghbOrs in the Valley.
Why they DistIII their Corn into Wits
ky-A Big Margin OF PrOfit-NO
Other Way to Get Money to
Buy Clothes Historic
MoonshIne Memo
randa-
New York World I

!
lers on the one side and the internal revenue
officers on the other The facts are derived
altogether from personal observation or the
sworn evidence now on file IN the courts of
the State. The moonshiner of the noun
talns was born and grew up in the practice
of his peculiar trade some years, and indeed
for some generations, before his adversary,
the deputy marshal, was appointed, or in
deed could be appointed under the law. 1t
Is mistake to suppose that he Is an old Of
fender. He Is In fact a creature of to-day.
True he has long been distiller, but he has
not always been an Illicit one. The law found
him pursuing profession which he had prac-
tised from his youth up and made that sin
to him which had not been a sin before. With
the law, sin came. His father had distilled
before him without m0lestatlon and with
conscience void of offense-as the law was
not. His art was indeed hereditary. His
father had inherited it from his grandfather,
who in turn had learned it from his great
grandfather, and so on upward through sue
cessive generations. The practice, moreover.
was not only an ancient one; 1t was as wide
spread as ancient. Said an old farmer, a
resident OF the mountainous and dlstiliing
district in question, to me: SAT any time be-
fore the late war | could have stood in my
front door there and blown my old hunting
horn, and its sound would have been heard
In at least dozen still houses in my neigh
bOrhood. Everybody used 10 run his own
still then" A similar blast, sounded from
one Of the more remote of these would in like
manner, as | was further informed, have
been heard at another dozen stills beyond.
This illustration should suffice 70 show the
extent to which the then not illegal practice
carried on amid the mountains at the
time indicated. The war which followed did
not have the effect of decreasing the number
of these dlstillers, but rather increased them,
as the blockade to which the south was sub
= -
only market which had ever existed for the
sale OF their single salahle and now more than
ever desired and difficult to be obtained artl
Gle Of merchandise. The country itself is
rugged and wild beyond the conception of
any one whose good fortune it has been not
to be compelled to visit 1t In either private
or Official capacity. Lying as it does IN the
very heart of the older States of the Union,
1t Is to-day veritable terra inc0gIaitid TO the
citizens of these States, and even 10 thou
sands of people who are born and live all
their years within sight and within few
hours Journey OF the forbddIng rocky walls
which mark its confines. A haggard ana
worn youth from New York, who recently
Travelled one days journey Casually reckoued
at fifteen miles, into this region with a light
buggy, declared to me that he walked most
of the way owing to the necessity Of reheV
ing his horse on the ascents and nom pre-
cautionary motives in the matter Of the des-
cents, and ascents and descent made up the
entire distance. The mountaineers use sleds
for the most part, and where wagons can be
employed at all, from ten to twenty bushels
of corn are accepted as a fair average load for
two horses or mules. In several places the
roads actually cross themselves In ascending
the mountain sides, and the traveller finds
himself crossing his own track at acute an
giles In order to pass from the inclioe to anoth-
er. The single crop raised In the valleys and on
h,lIs
is Indian corn, and this grows most luxu-
riantty wherever it is planted. The difficult
ties OF its cultivation are, however, great,
and but little more can be grown than what
is absolutely necessary for the support Of the
families of the actual tillers of the soil. The
people are very ignorant and very poor, and
| the male members of each family represent
| the entire working force on each farm. There
are few or no negroes IN this section, and
there is consequently no ''help" available for
employment either In seed time or harvest.
Labor saving machines are unknown, aud all
the work of the planter Is done, as it has been
done for generations, in the most primitive
up with great labor, the seed Is planted by
hand and the crop in many cases is actually
transported from field to barn in sacks borne
upon the backs of those who gather it. And
after all this expenditure of hard labor the
resulting yield is most meager. Nothing but
corn is made. The greater portion of it is
laid I'D for bread until another difficult crop
can be raised. A second small portion is fed
to few pigs to be finally converted into ba-
con, the only meat ever to be seen on the
planters tables, where it is seen in small
quantities three times a day all the year
round. Still another small portion must be
sent to market and sold in order to pay taxes
and DOCTOR bills and to buy clothing and the
thousand and one little necessaries OF the
humblest home life. That portion which is
thus sold must be hauled from twenty to
fifty miles Ia three or four days Journey In
order to reach the market towns along the
lines OF the nearest railroads. From ten to
twenty bushels constitute load. A few years
ago this corn sold at prices ranging from one
dollar to one dollar and twenty-five cents per
bushel. At these figures maximum load of
twenty bushels was worth from twenty to
twenty dollars, and from this amount In
his pockets the baretooted farmer was COM
PEELED first to pay bis taxes, the remainder
only being left wherewith TO purchase "a
spring supply of sugar, salt, coffee. shoes,
calico, pins, etc, for the use of his family
for months together. Their houses are how
els, their food is scaDty in quantity and poor
Ia quality, while their dress consists for the
most part of the coarsest or thInnest material.
The father and mother are generally bare
footed, the children are always both bare
footel and bareheaded, with but little dress
their bard and meager fare are apparent in
the saliow complexion which characterizas
all the inhabitants alike. There is no extra
money to waste on any luxury, not even the
luxury OF primary education, and the Conse-
quence OF this Is that not one in a score can
read, and books and papers are almost an
known IN mountain homes. This was the
| condition of affairs at their best estate. Is it
to be wondered at that these people generally
aYailed themselves of the single opportunity
presented to them of enhancing the value of
their produce by distilIing it into whisky,
which process at the same time trebled its
value and greatly reduced the trouble and
expense of its transportation. A bushel OF
corn, worth one dollar, yielded by distiiatiou
at least two and one-hat gallons Of whisky,
which sold at from one dollar to one dollar
and fifty cents per gallon, an advance of from
three hundred to four hundred per cent upon
the value OF the raw material, value which
was further increased by the fact that the res
ldue after distili alton was no whit less valu-
able than before Tor the purpose OF fattening
stock. These facts were generally under
stood, as already referred to, and the extent
of which had been sufficiently indicated. At
ter the war what is known as the Airline
railroad, which skirts the Piedmont region,
was opened. Corn was at once poured into
the State from the west, and its price fell
from one dollar per bushel to forty cents
thereby reducing these people to the last ex-
tremity of povt rty. The farmers twenty
bushels of corn now represent only eight dol
lars, and this amount would not pay the ex-
pense of transportation to market, as the
following calculation will show:
Hire OF wagon and two horses and driver for four
days, at 81 Oh per DAY q
Feed for two horses and driver four days. at 75c
per day OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES 3
=
sale of 20 bushels corn at 4Oc per bushel. ..,. s
In other words, the farmer paid nine dol
lars for the privilege of hauling his corn to
market, and was one dollar out of pocket by
the transaction when the corn was sold. This
calculation is based upon the experience of
one who tried it, and as the expenses are
placed at the minimum rates, the example
may be considered as of general application.
The same load of corn, if at first converted
into whisky, could have been conveyed to
market at about one-half the expense, and
- foil