The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1893-08-29
ROLLED IN A BARREL.
The Unpleasant Experience of a
Government officer.
He Was or Duty, But That Didn't Count
"A Tennessee Moonshiner Spotted
Him and He Had to
Be Punished.


Along in the '7Os, said guest at a
Detroit hotel the other evening, ac-
cording to the Free Press, Il was z
deputy United States marshal in Ten
nessee, and you will find it on record
that brought great many moonshin-
ers to law I'm free to admit that
feel sorry for most of them, but they
were law breakers and it was my duty
to hunt them down. In the summer of
1876 got month off and determined
to do little prospecting for minerals
in the Cumberland mountains. My
headquarters were at Clinton, almost
south of Cumberland Gap, and one day
! got ready and started off, having
pack on my back and a revolver on my
hip.
AS wasn't looking for moonshiners,
it did not occur to me that would run
any risk. In fact, | hadn't done any
work to speak of in the direction of
the gap and fattered myself that
would not be recognized up there as a
revenuAr Everything went all right
for three or four days, and then hap
pened along to house raising one
afternoon. The event had called about
thirty mountaineers together, and for
the first ten minutes | was royalty en-
tertained Then an old chap came out
of the bush and gave me away to the
crowd. He was an old mountaineer
whom I had captured and convicted
about twenty months before, and he
was sent to your house of correction
HI, n.4.. I. II
months.
81 stood up and lied like trooper,
for my life was at stake, but he was
equally earnest in his assertions
About half the crowd believed me and
the other half him. If they'd all be
lieved his story it would have been
good-by to earth with me, for those
men do not regard it as crime to put
revenue officer under ground. AS the
case stood they didn't think it just to
kill me, but yet they wanted to ap-
pease the wrath of the old man who
had suffered Imprisonment 1t was
therefore, decided to give me ride in
barrel They had a big one and a
stout one with water in it. They
emptied out the water and ordered me
to get in. Of course | protested and
argued and coaxed, but it was no go.
To save myself from greater violence
got into the barrel and they tied ropes
over the open end to keep me in.
Just in front of us was side hill
which descended into valley a quar-
ter of mile away. To tell the honest
truth, didn't anticipate it was going
to be much of a shower, as the saying
is, and was glad to get off so easy.
expected to be little dizzy at the end
of the voyage, but that wasn't going to
use me up. When all was ready they
tipped the barrel over and let 'er go
Gallagher. l hadn't got fairly started
before | found that ! was off in my
calculations While it wasn't a tight
fit as to breadth, being a small man,
it was as to length. Having to scrouch
to save my head, l couldn't get brace,
and simply ratified around like pea
in a quart bottle Gentlemen, / hope
to live thousand years, and if | do
shall never forget one turn of that bar
rel 1t was like nothing above or be-
low the earth. 1t was a sort of COM
bination of going up in a balloon, fall
ing down a coal mine and being
whipped around shaft revolving five
hundred times minute. | wouldn't
have believed that anything created
by the hand of man could revolve as
fast as that barrel did.
sit makes me seasiclS to even tell the
story ! felt as if my head and legs
had been severed, and the pieces were
tumbling over each other. Talk about
an eternity of timel Why, have al
ways believed it took that barrel
ninety days, with three days grace
added, to get down that hill and half
way across the valley | was in it
when it finally stopped, but had lost
consciousness long before. They took
me out and carried me to cabin and
put me to bed 1t was one hour before
came to, and two days before | could
stand on my feet. | was 'barked
from head to heel, and it was week
or more before anything would stay on
my stomach. When | finally felt able
to walk the whole earth seemed to be
rolling over and over, and | had to
hire a cart to get down to Clinton. 1t
was full year before was entirely
rid of the sensa ton, and | tell you
never want another experience of the
sort. Tie me onto wild horse la
Mazeppa-ride me on a rail-give me
seat on the back of a Texas steer or
Kansas cyclone, but don't roll me in
barrel down side hill in Tennessee OF
any other state"