The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-03-16
MOUNSHINER SECRETS.
Insight Into tho Methods Of the Midnight
Manipulatur,.
From the Green,'Nc Hray .v.~,.


Gently encountered veteran mooushiner
who announced. in the course OF conycr-
sation, that he had finally anG iirmly dc.
termincd TO rcinquish the business. Be.
ing questioned AS to Tie cause Of this
rash resolution, he said that moOnshining,
while paying q large profit, WAS now too
risky in the first place, while in the sec.
ond, il was known fact that money
made at it never did its possessor any
good.
you see" he said "moonshining is
very much like gambling. The money
is easy made by taking chances, and it
goes Just MS easy. a man don't think
half as much Of his money when he gets
it working in stills at night"
Having retired from busincs, himself,
he talked freely, and satisfied the curios.
ity Of the daily Ne,rs man on many OBJ.
scure points.
"Pve never understood" said the re-
porter, chow it is that you get your stills.
How and where do you buy them ?"
"Down the country generally" was the
| reply. "You see before the revenue laws
almost every farmer down there had
little dislilcry Oh his place, and those
old stills have been put away ever since.
| Our fellows going down hauling liquor
| fnd out where they are, buy them and
haul them back. We've got them as far
dom rs Edgcfcld, and all through Lau.
rens, Newberry and Abbevillc. There's
no trouble about getting still"
"What does your corn cost you?"
"Eightyiiye cents bushel, and a
bnshcl Of corn will make three gallons
Of good whisky-some contend that they
can get four, but never conid get more
than three"
What does your whisky tIing You ~
Cone dollar gallon"
a moments mental calculation showed
the Daily NcrS man tlAt this paid a
profit of considerably over three hundred
per cent, and he ceased To wonder 1T the
! popularity Of the business, especially
| when it is understood that the United
States tax is ninety cents Il gallon on
whisky, besides the heavy bonds and
large licenses required Of distilers.
How much can you make at once p
"Well, run from forty gallon still
brings eight gallons, and from an eighty
gallon still sixteen"
How long docs it take to make whis.
ky.?" =,
"ren days. We generally have to
work at it about four nights, and tho rest
of the time it works itself"
Here the converted blockader gave Il
long and interesting description Of the
process, which, however, it would be diff
ficult and tedious to put intelligcntly into
print
Where do you sell your liquor ~
"Oh, we'll, we get rid Of good deal OF
it in the neighborhood. Word is passed
around when there IS to be n run, and
fellows come and get their jugs filled. a
heap of it goes among the other mocn.
sinners who July on each other-go nd
help man to drink his liquor. Wien
We git up good stock we put it in
wagons and haul it down through the
country until it's all sold on the quiet
'Do you sell any in the towns 2"
"Oh yes )" with Il wink, "I'ye brough,
it right into this very town here many 8
time. never was in Newberry, but
know lot of it goes there. Then il goes
to other towns = Abbcville, Anderson
lots Of it) and all about there"
"How many men generally work dis
tllery ?"
1.-TWO; one to work and one to watch
l always used to rather work by myself
though, for can listen better than il
there's somebody around to tall; to me
and make me forget"
"Why don't you hide your stills bet
ter?" was the next question, suggested
by recolections of several recent raids
wherein officers had gone directly to
stills, and destroyed them.
An angry light came into the eyes OF
the retired dealer rs he replied
eve do hide cm. They are always in
a branch in some secret place. I've
known 'em TO be under the ground where
nobody in the world could find 'cm who
did not know. The trouble is, that there's
always some no count fellow ready to
sell his soul to the Revenues for five
dollar bill, or a man takes spite against
some moonshiner and gets revenge by
giving way his still. The Revenues
never would find the stills by them
selves. None Of the boys have anything
agin the officers tho. It's only the fel.
lows that tell and git men in Jail for their
rights that we're down on
"Well, but ar'nt the Revenues given
away somc,imes?"
This was gray horse OF another color,
and the moonshiner chuckled rs he m,
swered emphatically That they were.
ave very oftcn," he said, chad word
when they wero out. There used to be
one man here in Greenville that always
sent warning up to Marietta to look out
for trouble, and from there it would travel
through the mountains in hurry. Then
we'd pack our Stills off in hurry and
sink 'em in pools or hide 'em in the
woods, and the revenues wouldn't find
anything"
"Were you ever caught?"
II never was in seven years moon
shining"
Ever in raided place >"
"No. Pvc been where there were
alarms and jerked still out of the fire
and paced it off when it was so hot we
had to put wet bags on it to keep from
burning. You see while we are at work
we generally have man outside, and if
he thinks anybody's coming he shoots a
gun or blows horn. Then we get out"
Is there much 'stiling now? ?''
mo. The boys are sort > scared ou.
close after 'em lately. 1 don't think
there's q still on Duff's mountain now,
and that was the worst place for them
that and Panther mountain. A year ago
there was moro stilling than there's been
since the war. That's the trouble Too
many got into it, and some of 'em were
sure to tell and get all into trouble"
II thought everybody quit Mt the time
of the pardon ?" (alluding to the amnesty
extended by President Hayes in 1877.
"Well, they all did; but, as l tell you,
it's like gambling. It's hard to quit.
First one man 'stilled little and made
a pocketful of money, and showed it to
his friends. and then they were tempted
on gradually, until everybody got at it."
What time do you generally work 7''
uNell yn ,,s1l IN snif onr f;ma IN III a