Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-04-15

! wives and daughters are uncomm0plv
ouXom, c0mely and attractive desnite
| tneir horrible surroundings, but as a rule
Ine women are tall, angular and sallow.
/ que, no doubt, to ''sauff dipping" which
consist n rubbing snuff upon the gums
/ duced.
The process of manufacturing corn
WHISKY is primitive. The grain is ground
ana maze into mixture called "mash.N
/ wnlch remains undisturbed until il
reaches a point OF fermentation known to
/ the dlstiller as ''ripeness." 1t is then nut
INTO huge covered copper boiler, the ton
| Oh when contains long spiral tube that
/ passes through trough of cold water and
! empues into the whisky barrel. When
neat IS placed under the boiler fun of
mash the steam from the mixture passes
1 up through the spiral tube, is condensed
/ oy the cold metal (where IL passes
through the water) into a LIQUID,
/ when drops into the barrel pure
/ corn whisky, one drink of which
/ VIII scorch anything except the
lronclad stOmachs of these mountaineers.
Inc whisky is colorless. and when it has
STOOD Two years is fit to drink, having
lhen taken on pale yellow color. This
color is deeped by the addition Of burned
almond pits, or brown sugar scOrched in
pan. 1t costs about so cents a gallon to
make the whisky, taking the average
| price OF corn in this country. The dew
AS the Illicit whisky Is callod-sells
from 81 % 30 81 80 a gallon, afording a
handsome profit. Many of these moon
sinners have heard that there is a Demo.
cratic President, and they are ignorant
enough to believe that this means Gree
whisky and no taxes" They hove, there
fore, in some places relaxed their yigi-
lance, IN consequence of which the reVr-
nue. men have made some important seiz.
ures lately.
The distillers show wonderful ingenuity
in locating their stills where they are MOI
likely to be found. Often the machinery
which is bought piece by piece in diff
ferent towns, to avoid 1etaction-is placed
III one OF the mountain caves that abound
in this region, and the distllirg goes on
at night, so that the smoke may not 0e
visible to the revenue detectives. And
woe to any suspicious character who
chances to be found lettering in the Vi
cinity of one OF the stills; he would be-
shot down like dog. In Rabun county.
Georgia, the entrance to one of the largest
and finest stills in the State is through "a
hollow chestnut tree. The builders OF
the secret chamber eXcaVated the dirt
and carried it away in baskets; and as
no revenue officer, however clever
he might be, would 90 through
the forest searching Tor hollow trees, the
still has remained undisturbed for six
years, during which time it has turned
ont nearly or quite 22,000 gallons of the
dew" which is carried to Gainesville
and sold. The smoke from the cave
which is IA by % feet, rooted with planks
is carried through pipe. laid in a terra
Gotta box, to the top of the tree. The
d1or to this hollow tree is covered with
bark, and nothing but the closest inspec-
ton would reveal its existence. All the
work Is done at night, and the still, boil
ers and work of excavating the room cost
about $l,500. 1t is owned by three men,
who have contracts to supply no less than
thirteen dealers in that part of the State
and in Western North Carolina. Both
the red and the white corn whisky are
made, and there is a profit of about sixty
cents on each gallon.
Other cOntrivances, showing equal
cunning, exist all through the "mOon-
shine" oOuntry-if the tales told by the
distilers themselves are to be believed.
At present there is a we'll established
''secret service" attached to the moon
sinners government. In every impor-
tant town spies are stationed, who by
means of carefully arranged signals give
warning of intended raids. When the in
formation that the ''revenue hounds" are
coming is positive the distilers usually
| bury all their machinery. 1t is only
through carelessness upon the part of the
distillers that the revenue men can make
q capture. 1t is impossible 0 ascertain Just
how many revenue men have been killed by
the moOnshiners since the establishment
of the tax, but two or three hundred is
said to be modest estimate. Almost
every revenue spy is know by sight to
the eyaders of the law, and if one be found
anywhere near one of the stills he never
escapes. On one or two occasions reve-
nue. Ulcers have been flayed alive, and in
1874, il Rabun county, Georgia, one was
bnrned at the stake. In 1876 one of the
Marshals at Gainesville received pack
age containing two human ears. They
are believed to have belonged to a scout
named Campbell, who was never heard of
atterward. But if person goes, as the
writer did, unarmed into the moon
sinners country, tells the truth
about his business and gets recon-
mended to one or two leaders, he will be
treated with uniform consideration ana
courtesy Recommendation must come
from persons known to the dstillers. A
gentleman in Gainesville gave the writer
peculiarly shaped flask of whisky and
told him to present it to a certain indi-
vidual who kept a hotel in upper Georgia.
This was the letter Of recommendation;
IL proved to be an ''open ses lme" every
where. The writer received Information
and kind treatment, which under other
circumstances probably would not have
been YUuchsated, and had the satisfaction
of visiting the "Chestnut Still," the most
famous one Of the hundreds of secret dis
tilleries in the uD country. The attention
of the Board of Home Missions is respect
fully called to the condition Of affairs de-
scribed.