The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-03-27
MOONSHINE ROMANCE.
A Wedding Interrupted and a MUIR
der Took Its Place.

----
Moonshine whiskey is no good. For
whiskey to be pure it must be care
fully made; there must be a distilla-
ton lasting a certain time to eliml-
nate the impurities of the liquid, and
the pipes and worm must be OF the
best copper and entirely free from
foreign substances. None OF these
rules can the moonshiner follow when
most of his attention is taken up In
smothering the smoke from his ire
and watching for vigilant revenue
officers.
1t is an easy matter to get a little
.'moonsnine whiskey.n In certain To-
calities there are hollow stumps, IN
which the purchaser places a bottle
and a piece of silver, This is gem
orally done late in the afternoon, and
the next morning the bottle will be
filed with mountain dew and the
money will be gone. 1t Is a very sim
| pie transaction. All one has to do is
to have the wonderful stumps pointed
out to him.
To describe a moonshiner's still IS
impossible, for there are no two alike,
no two located in the same kind OF a
place, and no two made after the
same plan. They have been found in
caverns dug in the side of hills; under
huge rocks shelving from the noun
tain side; in natural caves, with hol-
low trees upon the surface of the
earth utilized as smokestacks; in
creek bottoms, in old barns, in
swamps, on the mountain tops, any
where that the mountaineer thinks
may be safe from the watchful eyes
| of the government officers.
The moonshiners, as a general rule,
are brave and fearless. A few years
ago among the moonshiners in the
Fulton county prison was Walter
Blackman. On the night OF Decem-
Der 10 Blackman and a Miss
| Hicks we're to be married. The guests
had all arrived, among whom was a
young man named George Blakesley,
who had been a sutton for Miss Hicks
hand. Blakesley was a mountaIneer
himself, or had been, but had lately
travelled about considerably. The
Justice was preparing his papers n
the bride and groom made their APP
pearance from an adjoining room.
There was a sound OF horses feet
upon the frozen ground outside. More
| guests arriving? In a few moments a
dozen revenue officers armed to the
| teeth entered the room and placed
| Blackman under arrest. The bride
groom was taken to Atlanta, and
there was no wedding.
At the trial Blakesley was the prin-
cipal witness, and he testified as to
how he had pointed out the spot
where Blackman's still was located
and then told the officers OF the we'd
ding.
Blackman was sentenced to twelve
months imprisonment. As soon as
| the trial was over Blakesley fastened
back to the home of Miss Hicks and
told her that her lover had been sent
to prison for life. For three months
| afterward Blakesley pressed his suit,
and Miss Hicks finally married him.
1t may have been Blakesley's inten-
| ton to wait until the twelve months
had nearly expired and to then move
to some other place with his wife
At the end of six months Blackman
was pardoned, and the story of the
interrupted wedding had something
to do with the Executive clemency.
Biackman went to his home, and
was told of Miss Hicks marriage. He
placed a Winchester on his shoulder,
rode over to where Blackesley was
living, and calling him to<the door,
| shot him through the heart. Riding
| hastily away he disappeared in the
woods. and has never since been seen.
dfIoaafu To7tr110L