The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1894-02-23
CANINE SENTINELS.
How 9 Noted Moonshiner Evaded
the Revenue officers.
By the Aid of His Faithful Dogs The Illicit
DistilIer Was Enabled for Long
Time to Carry on His Ne
farious Business.

The most noted mountaineer 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 tall,
muscular, shrewd-looking fellow, has
been running illicit stills for over fif-
teen years. During this time he had
sometimes as many as a dozen stills
running at one time. The stills were
located in the depths of the primitive
forests or 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 compan-
ions of the vicinity of suspicious look
ing strangers. In fifteen years only two
of Days stills have been captured and
DESTROYED. On each of these occasions
Day and his men all made their es'
cape. Time and again revenue officers
have attempted to waylay and 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 sctatch.
At last the secret of his success in
evading the officers became known.
Day had number of thoroughbred
dogs which he had trained to scent out
revenue officers or strangers and to
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
front several hundred yards, taking Op-
posite sides of the road. Two would
fall back in the rear and one would
advance like q scout on each side. In
case of an ambuscade the dogs in front
would scent the presence 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 a 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 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 Taswell. in Vir-
ginia, fifty miles away, would report
that he had been seen in that section.
He proved to be On ignis fatuus to the
officers, and although they could hear
of half a dozen stills running in as
many places in the mountains, the
officers in the entire fifteen years were
successful only in capturing two of his
stills.