The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-05-08
WAS WELL HIDDEN
How Q Moonshine Still Was Dis
covered and Destroyed.
III Smokestoek Was Thought for Some
Time 70 Be . smoking TPes-An
Adroitly Concealed Retreat
Of Law BYeaIors.

The discovery of smoking tree" in
the mountain wilds near the Big Butte,
about twenty miles southeast of this
place, led to the disclosure of one of
the most perfectly concealed wildcat
distilleries known to the oldest man in
the revenue service.
The tree was found one night not
long ago, says the St Louis Globe
Democrat, by party of young mon
while out hunting, and the report OF
the phenomena caused great excite
ment. A party was being organized to
visit the arboreal wonder, but it was
abandoned by a second report, pur-
porting to come from one of the orig
inal finders, that the whole story was
a fake. The sensation soon died out,
but not until it had reached the ears of
clew, and went over in that region at
once. He was surprised, however, to
find, on reaching the locality of such
great excitement a few days before,
that he could learn nothing of the
whereabouts of the tree. MOst Of the
mountaineers told him that they had
never heard Of it before, while others
laughed and said it was only hoax.
This confirmed his opinion that there
was something Illicit at the bottom Of
the smoking tree" but, after spend
ing two days in futile search for in
formation, he was compelled to return
without even finding one of the young
,x,ar1 %ho
he still kept up his efforts on the sly.
however, and was rewarded recently
by finding a young man who agreed to
to show him the tree for certain re-
muneration. Negotiations were en-
tered into at once, and the day follow
ing the persistent officer had the plea
sure of destroying the best hid still he
had ever seen.
1t was located near mountain road,
in a cave which was at least three hum
dred yards in length and ran like a
tunnel from one side OF small noun
tain almost through to the other. The
entrance was small. and was almost
entirely concealed by the bushy top Of
a tree which had been felled directly
over 1t. Once inside, the officers found
q great tunnel-like cavern, the ceiling
Of which was thirty feet high in some
places. In the blind end of this irregu-
lar grotto was well-equipped still OF
good capacity; the mash tubs, flake
stands and barrels were all convenient
,ly arranged. There was small stream
running across the cave about twenty
feet from the still, from which water
was obtained by dipping it up with a
bucket But the most remarka BILE
feature of this underground distillery
was the cunningly-devised contrivance
for concealing the smoke. The moon
sinners had discovered that about thir-
ty feet from the end of the cave in
which the still was located stood q
dead chestnut tree. about three feet in
diameter at the butt and hollow to the
very top This end of the cave had
probably at one time been open also,
but had been filed up by an enormous
eerthslide from the top Of the noun
tain There was, therefore. nothing
except earth from the still inside to
the tree without, and these daring
men had actually dug a small tunnel
from the end of the cave to the tree,
thus allowing the smoke to enter its
hollow beneath the ground. There be-
ing no openings In the tree near the
earth, the smoke could not escape un-
til it reached the crevices and wood
pecker holes In the rotten top, sixty
feet in the air.
1t was this remarkable stack" which
the hunters had seen and started tho
report of the smoking tree" not
knowing the true source Of tho smoke.