The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-02-13
Down In q Deep Tunnel.
Columbia State, Feb. 8.


Slick moonshiners who have for years
been making study of ingenious meth
ods to evade the United States Revenue
laws are simply not in 1t with the South
Carolina dispensary law evaders. But
they are not 80 liable to have their in
genuity outdone by "informers" as the
Carolina liquor man is. His way is a
hard one. When he feels safe and secure,
down come the Constables, knowing
where to look for the lair of the tiger, and
forsooth he is ousted.
Yesterday lair was unearthed right IN
the heart of Carolina's Capital, which was
almost in the bowels of the earth-a lair
which rivals that of N North Carolina moon
sinners, who dived through a rivers
waters to reach the mouth of their under
ground distillery. 1t was away down
Under the cellar of the store of Messrs.
Platt, Hook q Shull, and the whole con-
struction of the underground tunnel,
particularly the manner Of concealing the
way of entrance, way masterpiece OF
ingenuity. It is safe to say that it would
never have been discovered had not som0
informer needed the 2O cents gallon re-
ward offered by the State. Az result
the owners of the liquor-whoever they
are-have about 81, 800 less than they had
Yesterday morning, for between 300 and
Zoo gallons of good liquor was found and
confiscated.
The search Of the place was made by
Liquor Constables Speed, Davis and
Beach, Trial Justice Constables Cooper
and Hartip, and Sergeant Moorehead and
Officer Sheppard and Strickland of the
police force. They swept down on the
place in the forenoon, and Mr.. Ed. Shul
was 30 abusive, so Constable Speed says,
that he ordered him locked up in the
stationhouse. Officer Sheppard took him
away.
The owners of the store refused to
allow the officers to 60 into the store, but
opened up the cellar. The building is
were ushered into runs only about half
Way, At the rear end was solid earth
and plenty of it. The officers knew what
they were doing, however, for they sent
for shoyels and spades and began to dig
into the wall Of earth. After digging
forward about six feet, their instruments
struck air and they soon got into the rest
of the cellar. They went in and searched
all around. On one side, next to the
brick wall, was what appeared to be the
solid foundation of large chimney, run
ming on up through the building. On
this their attention centered. Pretty
soon they began to cut into the brick,
and in a short time they gaZed through,
and, by the ,fickering light Of candle,
they could see that the chimney was
false one; that inside ladder ran up
wards and there was neat little bar with
all necessaries inside. They cut the hole
larger and got inside. They could see
the bottom Of an ingenious trap door IN
the floor, which could not be detected
above, as it was covered by shelving.
But the liquor had not been found, and
the real ingenuity of the hiding was yet
to be seen. The Constables looked around
the inside walls Of tho chimney and to-
wards the outer wall they finally discov-
cred door about four feet high. They
broke this down and stood at the mouth
Of long dark tunnel running back into
the .bowels of'the earth." A man could
almost stand erect in the neatly con-
struoted tunnel. Then the exploration
Of this tunnel began. The Constables
went on and on until they struck point
where the tunnel divided and branched
in opposite directions, and then the liquor
was in sight. There was about forty feet
Of tunneling, and the earth taken out OF
1t had been used to make the false back
to the cellar. 1t took the Constables until
about 4p. m. to get out all the liquor
stored in the tunnel. And there was lots
of it. In all the Constables estimate they
got nearly 400 gallons. There were %
five gallon Jugs, 20 five gallon demijohns,
18 boxes, formerly containing "Octagon
soap,n but found to contain 80 pint bot
ties each; and Is or 20 five gallon kegs.
The liquor Yves all hauled to the State
dispensary during the afternoon.