Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1885-11-12
y}}istellaueons Reading.
STORIES OF M0ONSHlNERS.
SOUTHERN MOUNTAINEERS IND NOR7II-
IRN DISTILLERS
1From the New York Sun.

SOCIHERN -iNH 'OAIH-
ERN DISTILLERS.
[From the New York Sun.
The recent troubles with manufacturers of
illicit whisky in Georgia and Tennessee, the
revenue officers say, were only small affairs,
and do not indicate that the business has
seen a revival The moonshiner Of the des-
perate kind may be said to have had his
day, and the bloody ventures in which he
has figured will soon be romantic episodes
in the history ofa bygone generation. The
thrilling stories of whisky smuggling along
the Scottish coast, which Wilson compiled
in his '"Tales of the Border" do not surpass
in bloody outlawry the annals ofm fmoonshine
raids in the United States in the casualty
period from 1875 to 1881, wherein twenty
five revenue officers were killed and fifty
four wounded. The collisions between the
wildcatters and Government posses during
those years revealed startling clanship
among mountain desperadoes. Persistent
hunting of the illicit makers OF mountain
dew and the destruction OF their stills fnal-
ly indicated such a determined policy OF
suppression that recent years have not been
marked by frequent occurrences CT murder
Gus resistance. So many were the obJec-
tions urged to the often undue cruelty of the
raids that amnesty became a feature in the
policy of treatment for offenders. Yet the
moonshner revels in his mountain detile,
and his dew is quaffed all over those South
ern regions where the native demands more
eXhilaratiOn than even lofty scenery sup
plies. In the Caroinas, Georgia and Ten
nessee the wildcat still abides in profusl"n
and seclusion.
The "independent distiller" has a very
simple establishment. No railroad line de-
termines its location, and no improved ma
chiney is introduced. In some mountain
gorge, where the smoke from his still i'm
perceptibly mingles with the atmosphere
before it ascendS above the SUBMITS, he
rears his rude log cabin. Dense brushWood
lines the solitary path that winds in toward
the place. There must be stream of water,
and cold spring water at that, in which the
worm may be submerged when the vapor IS
condensed into whisky. The copper still
has capacity of but few gallons. Often 1t
is so small that, when raid is scented, the
owner bears it away upon his back. A lew
mash tubs complete the outfit. Corn meal
for the mash is obtained from trusted per-
sons. The village storekeeper supplies
his share and receives the "blockade" WhlS-
kew in return. But the thirsty native also
contributes even the last peck that his fami-
ly has stored for bread, and gets glOriously
full on the untaxed juice. Sometimes the
moonshiner raises his own corn, and finds
that cheap labor can be paid from his illicit
profits, and idleness secured for himself.
He confides in his shiftless neighbors, and
on days when the low wine is "doubled"
into whisky they congregate about and IN
dulge in the cheap decoction to whatever
extent their very limited small change will
NT,,{, iS not ral n.
forming is never from high motives, bnt
only when insult impels revenge that
banishes the thought Of the personal loss of
whisky, or when a Government reward
captures cupidity. The mOOnshiner is wary.
Not only does he hate the infOrmer with a
passion that forebodes eventual death, but
he charitably seeks to save him from treach-
ery He gets him to chop some wood for
the still, to carry water, or do something
else connected with the illegal work, and
then his poor, ignorant mind is filled with
discourses on the penalty of being an ac-
complice.
The motive of the Government raid is
the enforcement of law. If all the revenue
out of which the Government could have
been defrauded by these illicit stills had
been collected it would not equal the cost OF
their suppression. The raids are organized
by collectors, and only when some guide
can be found who will lead the posse to the
place. There is no proniscuOus search for
the mOonShner. Some infOrmer is first re-
Warded, and the exact lair thus located.
Former mo0shiners have turned inform
ers. In the Barker settlement in Geor-
gia a notorious old bl0ckader, Uansard,
gave AS his only reason for betraying his
neighbors that he had been on the other
side long enough to find out that it did not
pay. But the usual temptation is a $50
greenback. Woe betides the informer. lie
felt for him is not less than that known
among the Irish peasantry. He is Waylaid
at night, and his corpse tells no tale to the
dawnng sun. The Federal official during
the storm and stress period of the revenue
raids Jared no better. The aroused moon
sinner vented his rage by mutiating stock,
burning houses and destroying farm uten-
sfls. If the officer could be decoyed into
some remote spot he never left it alive.
Even women, suspected of being guides,
have been attacked by these disguised des-
peradoes and beaten nearly to death.
The chronicles of these raids furnish
many bloody chapter. The outlaws that
figure in the encounters seem to fall short
of true criminals in character. The illicit
distiller always bases his avOcatiOn upon a
natural right to use his own as he chooses.
He embraces the notions of the Pennsylva-
MIA rebelionist in earlier days of the nation.
Ignorant of the reasons for an excise tax,
he resists, and resistance with him is to
the death. The wildcat distiller, standing
defiant in his mountain pass, misses the
heroic qualities of a Leonidas, because
cheap whisky brings sublimity down. He
feels that he is unduly oppressed. His dis
tilaton is measured bya few gallons, while
in Northern cities he believes the Illicit
stills produce immense quantities. The
collector has mercenary calculation of fees,
and hence his arrests are as numerous as pos
sible.
The former kings of the alcohol traffic in
these Southern retreats have passed out of
current history. Old Berrong of the High
tower River region in Georgia, the villain-
Gus Redmond in South Carolina, Campbell
Morgan in Tennessee, Null in North Caro-
lima. have all abdicated. Morgan was one
of the most desperate blOckaders who ever
defied Federal posse. He had a distilery
in Jackson county, Tennessee. 1T stood IN
hollow, surrounded by densely wooded
hills. 1t was fortified, and had menaclng
appearance. The doors were double lined,
and portfolios were seen from every side.
Early in 1873 Deputy Marshal Davis, with
fully armed posse of eight, started to
capture this stronghold. When the party
came within 100 yards, Morgan halloed for
them to halt, and threatened to kill the last
man if they advanced. The posse pressed
forward. Instantly the firing was opened,
and volley after volley was exchanged:
The contest proved an unequal one, and
Morgan begged for quarter. He was order
ed to come out, and quickly obeyed. One
of his arms was broken, and two fingers
had been shot from his left hand. Ills
wounds were bandaged, and he was left
of Il ,iaCr lnn eli