The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1894-06-13
CANINE sENTlNELS.
How a Noted Moonshiner Evaded
the Revenue Of1cers.
BY the Aid Of His Faithful Dogs The InicIt
DIstiIIer Was Enabled for Long
Time to Carry on His Ne
farious RusIness.

The most noted monnt3ineer in West
Virginia. and perhaps in Kentucky
and North CarOlina-Jim Day-has at
last been captured The government
officers have been trying to arrest Day
for over fifteen years, but failed on
every occasion Day. who IS a tail,
muscular. shrewd-loolsiug fellow, has
been running Illicit stills for over if
teen years. During this time he had
sometimes as many as a dozen stills
running at one time. The stills We're
located in the depths Of the primitive
forests OF in caves in the mountain
sides, long distance from roadways
and trails. The stills were always
located near some prominent height or
at point from which guard or spy
constantly on the alert-could overlook
all approaches and advise his c0mr1n-
ions of the vicinity of suspicious look
ing Stranger In iiftesa years Only two
of Days stills have been captured and
destroyed On each of these occasions
Day and his men all made their cs-
cape. Time and gain revenue officers
have attempted TO waylay ard ambush
Day. They found roads and trails over
which it was known he would be
forced to travel and they then placed
squads in ambush. but. according to
the st. Louis Republic, although Day
had been seen or traced along the road,
he always slipped through their fingers
without a sctateh-
st last the secret of his success in
-. L
Day had a number Of thoroughbred
dogs which he had trained TO scent out
revenue officers or strangers and 10
notify him of their presence long be-
fore they could come in sight. When
travelling over the routes or trails lead
ing TO and from any of his stills two OF
Days dogs always trotted along in
froat several hundred yards. taking op-
posite sides OF the road. Two would
fan back in the rear and one would
advance like a scout on each side In
case Of an ambuscade the dogs in front
would scent the presenee of the deputy
marshals before they got within one
hundred yards Of them. They would
then return quickly TO their master
and inform him by their actions of the
presence of the enemy. Day would
then take To the woods to the right or
left, with q dog in advance, and pass
around an ambuscade without being
seen. In case pursuers should come
up behind. Days dogs, which had been
trailing along. would quickly hear or
scent them, and then would hurry for
ward to their master, who, knowing by
their actions how close the enemy was,
could easily evade them. With such
guards it was almost useless for the
officers to attempt to capture Day.
They often gave up the search in dis
gust, TO start out a month or two later
reinvigorated and encouraged by ru-
mors or reports of spies, to fail again
and again. Day could be heard Of in
Mcdowell county one day, and the
next some one from Taswel. in Nir-
ginia, fifty miles away, would report
that he had been seen in that section.
he proved to be an ignis fatuus to the
officers, and although they could hear
of half dozen stills running in as
many places in the mountains, the
officers in the entire fifteen years were
successful only in capturing two of mis-
stills