Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-08-01
A Story of Mountain Moonshiners.
M.Quad.

] make no bones about telling you
that Pm an out-and-out friend of the
Southern moonshiner. | know he
makes whisky in defiance of the law,
but were situated as he is I'd defy
the law just the same. I've eaten
with him, slept in his house and
watched with him beside the still,
hidden away in a mountain gulch,
and there isn't one mean trait in his
character.
The moonshiner, in ninety-nine
cases out of a hundred, makes whis-
key that he may make bare living.
His little mountain farm will grow
a few acres of corn, but the product
isn't worth drawing fifteen or twenty
miles to market. Converted into
whisky it will bring him money
enough to buy his necessaries. He
doesn't ask for more, nor could he do
better. Pve met dozens of them,
and / never found one whose income
from the still was a clean dollar a
day. It's against the law, of course,
but the mOonShiner knows that law
stands between him and decent food
and clothes, and he asks you if he
has not right to live.
One afternoon as / halted at log
cabin up in the North Carolina noun
tains puff of black smoke suddenly
poured out of the chimney. had
seen such things before. 1t was a
signal. l was received kindly
enough, but it wasn't ten minutes
before two men entered the house,
each carrying a rifle. Had | been
spy 1 shouldn't have had time to
breathe prayer. l had pass word
which made them friends in mo-
ment. Two hours before had seen
a posse of men eating lunch among
the rocks just off the road. l believ-
ed them to be Federal officers raiding
the mountains after stills and | at
once put the people of the cabin on
their guard. Nice sort of business
. for a loyal citizen, you may say, but
let me tell you something. l had
seen twenty-five moonshinerS cooped
up in a room twenty feet square in a
South Carolina jail-every man pen-
niless, half-fed, ragged and been
awaiting trial for four or five
r months. l bought dollars worth
Of tobacco to divide around, but 10
the lord of creation in the shape of a
deputy marshal refused to let them
have it, and poured out his abuse on
us all. l had that episode in mind
when 1 saw that posse hiding in the
= woods.
l went up to the still with the two
men. 1t was situated in dark and
3 narrow gulch which branched off a
larger one. Seven or eight farmers
: were interested in the still and not
!. one had averaged 81 per week out
4 OF it. They were simply using up
+ corn for which no market could be
:, found. Before night came there
J, were thirteen men and boys there
Q with rifles or shotguns. A barricade
i of rocks was built across the gulch
and every man swore to die there il
}. need be. | not only helped build
that barricade, but after it was
finished / went with one of the men
on scout down the main gulch. ]
had in mind the sight of eight or ter
poor devils whom / saw tried in q
United States court and sent tC
Albany prison on long sentences
Some of the deputies perured them
selves on that trial-lied in shame
full manner, and they were afterward,
called liars and dared not resent it
A few of'us wanted to make up {
purse for their families, but the Unit
ed States Gar, in the shape of mar
shall, menaced us with his vengence
"They are coming ~
1t was an hour after dark on {
summers evening. Down the rocky
bed of the gulch we heard the posi-
picking its slow way along, and WI
returned to the barricade. Thirteer
men crouched down behind thu
rocks to wait. Every one had beer
told to fire at the word, and every
one meant SO obey. That volleS
would sweep the posse off the face o
Of the earth.
"Hist! Here they are !"
1t was almost midnight darkness
in the smaller gulch. The raiders
came down as far as its mouth anC
halted. This was the still they wer
after, but they were not certain as Il
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