The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-06-29
HIDING WHISKEY.
ingenious Continuance Of Illegal
Liquor DeaIer-A Wonderful
Barrel.

selling. furnish many novel episodes.
10 successfully evade the law the
saloon keeper must not only have his
liquor hidden go as to defy the Keen
est search, both day and night, but he
must be constantly on guard against
spies in the pay OF prosecuting
officers. In spite OF all difficulties
there is hardly a village in eastern
Connecticut in which there are not
viclators oft!e law, who make good
living besides paying heavy alter the
agents have hunted them down. TIE
large factory villages in which the
10 license system is il force are
fruitful field for Illegal liquor selling.
The employees are crazy Tor alcoholic
stimulants. and any one who is able
to furnish it to them is sure OF an
income of from $4,000 to 81, 900
year. The business is sometim es
done by the proprietor OF village
restaurant, but oftener by a mill hand,
ree-and-easy fellow with large
circle OF acquaintance. In Occum,
village few mites north OF Nor
wich, a Jolly young Frenohman, Moses
Lambert, was convicted in the Nora
wich City Court of sixteen distinct
violations of the law in one year, and
vac sentenced to pay fines and costa
in each case ranging form 500 to 1920.
In all his caees appeals were taken to
the Superior Court, and nearly all OF
them were marked of the docket OF
that court by the States Attorney,
the usual fate OF the cases brought by
the prosecuting agents. NotWitn.
standing his drawback, Lambert
makes money. He smuggles HE
whiskey into the village at night.
The hunt for illegal dealers il going
on continually, the raids being made
generally just before dsybreak by
agents who nave ridden in light
buggies al night. Two men. the
agent and his deputy sheriff. ride
together. The suspected man ia
awakened by ing at his back
door. The demand followes: "Open
your housed We are liquor officers"
He hastily complies, and the officers
search the dwelling, by the light of a
lamp carried by the owner. from
cellar to garrett. Not q Granny
escapes inspection. Closets and
pantries are inladed wearing apparel
Is searched, feather and straw beds
are:ripped open, floor boards are taken
up, tables are sounded for double
drawers, the hearth stone is pried up
and the chimney is peered into.
Next the barn and horse stables, the
hay lofts and the we'll are searched,
and then sink drains and stons walls
ere looked after, the proprietor
loosely assisting in the search and
cracking jokes at the of6cer's ex>
pense.
Often a cunning liquor seller will
hood wink the agents for years be-
fore the hiding place Of his liquors
is ferreted out. 1t bad been long
suspected that Ell st. George, of
Putnam, in Windham County was
selling liquors contrary to the law.
His house vas visited by men
at all hours. who apparently had no
business with him, but several
Investigations by spies resulted fruit
less. On last Saturday Constable
Davis and Herman Carver entered
st. Georges place and after long
search discovered q pipe in the
ceiling OF his reception room. BY
pulling up boards and cutting away
plastering they traced it to tank
containing several gallons of whisky
between the floors in an upper story.
On the same day these officers sur
prised Anthony Murphy In the same
village. Anthony welcomed them
with smile and said: "Search all
you want to, gentlemen; you'll find
no rum about my place. There's
nothing stronger than cider here.
and that's in that barrel over there"
| He pointed carelessly to a cider
cask in corner of the room. The
officers Looked the barrel over care,
fully and smelt of it.
sect a glass, Andy" said one of
them. Andy got the glass, end the
officers turned the spigot. Out ran
stream of sour Old cider. Next
the officer got hammer and
kHOCk0u Cut llc DUuS. I1o lUHoloI
his official nose into the vent.
"Cider, t,ue's yer born!" was his
comment. Then he noticed a peg
on the rear end of the barrel.
might as well try this, too, Andy"
he said. Mr.. Murphy's countenauce
fell. The peg was pulled oat, and
the constable drew a glassful of Old
Crow whisky.
"Quite a barlel," he said get
ting off his knees. "Did you invent
1t, Andy? Going to get a patent ?"
There are two apartments in the
cask.
A few weeks ago prosecuting
officers, at er eearchiug a boarding
house in the early dawn at Yer
sailles, and descending 20 the broad
kitchen, noticed that the dinipg
room table was sipgularly corpu-
lent. They rolled it over two or
three times, there was o!aehing Of
wicker. covered glass, and 4 gallon
OF whisky trickled out on the floor.