The Democratic advocate., 1896-03-21
TRUE TO A MURDEREss.
Romance of North Carolina Moon
sinners Love.


Correspondence of The Washington Post
RALEIGH, n c., Feb. 27.-From
Polk county, in this State, comes thrill
ing story of romance, tragedy, and prospec-
tive marriage, arising out of the illicit dis
tillation of whisky and blockade stilling "
In the town of Tryon City, Polk county,
named for Lord Tryon, who camped for
some time with his army during the
revolutionary war on the site of the town,
there lives family by the name of Paris.
One of the members of this typical noun
tain family was beautiful daughter about
seventeen years old. She was the belle of
the town, and her only deficiency was the
lack of education. Her youth had been
spent in making the farm and helping her
mother with her housewifery. Her par
ents had considered schooling luxury not
to be thought of, and she could barely
read and write her name.
About four miles from Tryon City is the
Paris farm Here the daughter, whose
name is Louise, was raised until she was
sixteen years old, when the family moved
to Tryon City to run a private boarding
house for summer patronage, for which
this mountain town is noted. Adjoining
the Paris farm was the homestead of a
family by the name of Redmond, being
near relatives of the famed outlaw and
moonshiner of South Carolina The son,
Ralph Redmond, was few years older
than Louise Paris, and they saw much of
each other as they grew up. The little
schooling received by Lou was at the log
cabin with Ralph. As they became older
their intimacy ripened into warmer feel
ing, and when the Paris family changed
their residence to Tryon City, Ralph and
Lou were engaged to be married.
DID NOT TELL HIS SWEETHEART.
Ralph was moonshiner, but he had re-
ligiously kept this fact from his sweetheart.
As soon as the family took up their abode
in Tryon City, Louise blossomed into the
acknowledged belle of the town, and
young man by the name of William John
son became desperately smitten with this
rustic beauty. The attention of the town
beaux was something new and novel to
Louise, and her woman's wit soon devel
oped those coquettish manners which most
women possess, and she led the Tryon City
boys merry dance for few months, but
remained as true as steel to Ralph Red
mond.
After some months of general associa
ton of this kind, the young men of the
town gave way to Johnston, who pushed
his suit to the test, and was quietly but
firmly rejected This was dreadful blow
to him. He became fearfully jealous of
any young man whom Louise permitted
to pay her any attention. But as one af-
ter another was politely refused, it began
to be suspected that Ralph Redmond, who
came now and then to see Miss Lou, might
be the happy man.
Johnston knew that it was reported that
Redmond wss a moonshiner, and little
effort brought forth positive evidence that
Ralph had been running moonshine dis
tiilery for several years, but his ''plant
was SO well hidden in the Tryon Mountains
that the revenue officers had never been
able to detect him. The necessary infcr-
nation was furnished Special Agent Van
derford, and this officer laid his plans so
well that he caught Ralph Redmond and
several of his helpers red-handed with the
s.stilr running at full blast
They were all put in Columbus jail, but
with the assistance from their friends on
the outside they all soon escaped and took
to the mountains. Redmonds enforced
absence gave Johnston clear field, and
he renewed his suit Miss Lou treated
him as though he had not addressed her
Heretofore. In the meantime the friends
of Redmond had not been idle, and they
had satisfied themselves that Johnston had
furnished the information to Vanderford
on which Redmond and friends had been
arrested and the distillery seized and
broken up. Miss Paris was informed Of
this fact, and she was fearfully wrought