The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-10-31
wnd-cat Stills. Memphis Avalanche. l

lACBRniS AVa48uCuesi
 The wildcat" still is usually quite a primitive affair, consisting of a copper still of small capacity, the necessary worms and one or two barrels or hogs heads in which is kept the mash. The still is usually owned and operated by one family, some male member of which is always to be found at the shed or cabin of brush and logs in which it is located The corn from which the whisky is made is secured from the surrounding farmers or raised by the owners, and the liauor sold to anyone in the neighborhood who IS willing to pay fifty cents a gallon for i, and keep mum. By reason 0t this, eaa- bling them to secure a fair quality of whisky cheap, the moonshiner makes friends of all his neighbors, and as a rule they are ever ready to warn him of inn pending danger, and at the approach of an officer or even suspicious looking stranger all evidences of the still are quickly removed. This fact makes It an exceedingly difficult task to apprehend the violators of the law, and it is neces- sary to use the utmost caution and dis cretion in order to apprehend them at all. The chief source of revenue derived by West Tennessee moonshiners comes from the whisky they sell to storekeepers in small towns, in dealir g with whom they adopt such precautions that while the storekeeper may have an idea, he never knows precisely with whom he is trading.
 These moonshine stills are great re- sorts for the men who dwell in the vicin- ity of where they are located, and on Sat urdays and Sundays and other idle days dozens congregate around them and pass the time drinking, smoking and telling stories. While the West Tennessee moonshiner IS fully as shiftless as his brother in the Tennessee mountains, about whom so much has been written, he is not near as blood thirsty, probably because he has never been hunted so per- sistently, having been allowed, in a man. ner, to pursue his business unmolested by meddlesome off ials. Hence, while many revenue officer has dropped from his horse dead at the crack of the noun taineer moonshiner's rife, there is but one or two instances on record where off, cers have been killed n West Tennessee.
 Years ago when the revenue officers hunted the festive moonshiner in his lair. the method of entrapping them was to in. duce some one familiar with the country, generally a man who had grudge az ainst the moo1shiners or some negro who would, for consideration, agree to pilot the officers to the still. Then dep. uty marshall went to the town nearest to the point he wished to reach, and sum moning posse started out. In all of this it was necessary to preserve the ut most secrecy, as the moonshiners invaria- ply have friends in town to warn them. Plloted by the guide the officers would approach until they could see the smoke ot the still curling above the tree tops, and then charge down. Sometimes they were successful in capturing the men, but gen. erally these managed to escape. The officers always cut up the worm, chopped up the still, tore down the shanty and poured out the mash and whisky that happened to be on hand. A raid on a moonshine distillery is always interesting and exciting because fraught with so much danger, one never knowing when rife ball will tear its way through his body.