Daily camera., 1897-06-25
MAKING MOUNTAIN DEW.
It Is an Easy Matter When Once
the Still Is Obtained
Some Interesting Points Given by
One Who Has Been Engaged
in Producing Moonshine
Whisky.

mountain dew" are loath to tell how
it is done. They reason, and not with
out good sense, that it is dangerous
secret, and therefore it is matter OF
some difficulty to persuade one to tell
his secret. The "moonshiner" knows
that the very minute he starts brew,
that minute he is a criminal in the eyes
of the law. His individual views as
TO the criminolity of his act do not at
al coincide with the law on this sub
icct, however. The moonshiuer be-
| ewes that he has as much right to con-
vert his corn into whisky as the gar
lener has to make sauce out of his
tomatoes, or the grape grower to distil
the juice of his fruit into wine. That
is the way he looks at the crime of illicit
Cistilling. All the laws in the kingdom
cannot change his view of the matter
He imagines that the government has
particular spite to vent against him, and
therefore he regards civilized man as
his ruthless enemy. He holds the offi-
Ger, whose sworn duty it is to enforce
the law, in as much odium Is society en-
tertains for the moonshiner. He will
stubbornly insist that he is more sinned
against than shining.
The moonshiners of this country
have been unjustly compared to the
%mugglers who infest the mountainous
regions of Europe and traffic in con-
traband commodities and articles. AS a
rule, they are not as desperate a lot as
Trey are painted. Some have slain to
,.Totect themselves from what they
deem unjust and outrageous laws, but
hat is done by men in other walks of
life, and such are not denominated des-
peradoes.
But this is digressing from the sub
il ct. How is mountain dew made?
The idea of the average person whose
environments in life have been such as
Tould afford no opportunities for
cleaning the secret of the moonshiner,
would take in some fine chemical proc
sss that could not have originated in
any but college professor mind, and
yet the way in which the rugged noon
s.1irer makes his "dew" does rot in
cludc anything that the college student
encountered in his study of chemistry,
rom purely practical point ofview.
The process is simple. The moon
fhiuer sends his corn to mill to have it
-r,uId. IL is converted into meal, the
me as is used to make corn bread.
is meal is rut in a tub or barrel of
oilirg water. In this way it is cooked.
i; sits until i is cool enough to burn
lie hands when they are put in it. 1t
stirred up well and then put in the
Till. Ihesstill is then filed with cold
:, ater. After that the malt is added.
alt is made by putting corn in water
nd letting it soak two OF three days,
= until it sprouts. Then it is malted.)
The malt is ground the same as the corn
as and to every bushel % corn isadded
jO single handfuls OF malt. The malt
lnd the cold water are added at the
t sours, which requires several days.
In that time it begins to work or fer
ment. A crust, or cap, as it is called by
he moonshiners, of bran forms on the
.op of the water. This cap is blush in
oIor 1t is not disturbed at all. In
short time this "cap" settles to the bot
tom where it came from. The weight of
the solidified mass of bran or huslls
causes it to sink. The fire is then start
ed under the still and it is only matter
OF two or three hours until about two
gallons of whisky have been distilled.
txyo
uf dew which he can sell for from
two to five dollars, as the needs of the
purchaser may justify, and he has con-
sumed six days and a bushel of corn in
making it. Thus one bushel of corn
ields two gallons of whisky, which may
bring, in the moonshiner's market,
from four to ten dollars. About 30 gal
tons of water are used to brew one
ieushel of corn.
DO moonshiners buy or make the
stills?" asked the representative of the
oung man who explained the process
Of making the whisky.
They are bought" he answered;
though I have known of people max
ing their stills. A STILL he continued,
noting the inquisitive look on the faces
Of his listeners, SIS large copper ket-
lie, shaped like a cistern. They hold
from so to 60 gallons. Over the neck
of the still cap fits the same as
one joint of stovepipe fits over
another. From the top of this
cap an arm runs out about ten
inches long. To this arm is attached
the worm. Well, the worm is a coil of
pipe about IL feet long. 1t is through
this that the evaporation of the steam
from the still passes. The worm is
,coiled in the flake stand, which is filled
with water for the purpose of keeping
the worm cool. If the worm was not
thus cooled no evaporation would take
place, or at least not Immediately. The
other end of the worm runs out of the
take stand into the mouth of funnel,
which is placed in the keg or jug that
catches the run. From the time the
fire was started under the still until the
brew is finished has consumed about
two hours"