The Meeker herald., 1897-03-13
she SELLS MOUNTAIN DEW.

eHE SELLS MOUNTAIN DEW.
whsn the Rsvsass 0aesrs cens -
Arrest Her She says, -Taks Me-.
From the Atlanta Constitution: Bet
" Aullens 10 the largest woman In
Tennessee. She lives In . little log
house on top Of Newman's ridge, In
the mountains OF Hancock county.
whore she earns . living by the sale
Of illicitly distilled whisky in open de-
hance Of the government officers. who
have time and again been sent to ar
rest her. but have never been success
ful Her avoirdupois IL about $40
pounds. and this accounts for the NO.
man never having been arrested. It
was in the fall Of the year Just passed
that visited the Mullens home, In
company with the revenue officers from
Knoxville. The place where she lives
q sixteen miles from the railroad. and
BY no means easy Of access. Al you
near the foot of the ridge where the
woman lives you can see her cabin
on the top. A conveyance cannot wend
Its way to the home, and those who
wish to see the largest woman In Ten
nessee. and one who has caused more
talk than any other woman in the
state. have to leave their conveyance
behind and make 1t on foot up the
steep mountain side. Approaching
the house. the nrst thing out of the or
dinAry which attracted my attention
were four mounds In the back yard.
which, upon inquiry. learned were
the graves of her husband and three
sons. the latter having given up their
lives In mountain fights and had been
buried in the yard, where the mother
could turn from her bed In the little
house and gaze at the spots which con-
tanned beneath their grassy sod all
that was mortal of those who were
10 near and dear to her. For years the
woman has been bedridden. Not that
she 10 sick. but her immense size 10
such that she Is unable to walk or
move around like other people. Her
husband was for years an invalid, and
the family was without visible means
of support until Betsy conceived the
idea of selling whisky. There are any
number Of Illicit stills in the noun
tains near by. and just across the line
In Kentucky, and with their operators
Betsy made arrangements for her
supply Of mountain dew" It ID
brought to her in stone jugs. and from
her bedside she can reach down and
pour out any amount Of whisky which
the patrons Of her place may desire.
In open defiance of the law has Mrs.
Mullens carried on this method Of
liquor selling for years. The federal
grand jury has indicted her time after
time. and ofiicers have been sent to
arrest her, but that was all. They
would come to her bedside and serve
the papers, but could not take her to
court or to Jail. Her size banned them.
It would take half dozen strong men
to carry her out of the house and
when the outside was reached they
would not be able to get her to the
road At the bottom Of the ridge, a. II
II impossible to get wagon to the top,
where her cabin Is located. Every
time the officers call at the house she
simply laughs and says. Take me II
you can" The officers cannot take her,
and that is the end Of 1t. In Mrs. Null
lens will be found the personincatios
Of ignorance. Her knowledge Of the
world II confined to a radius of three
miles Of her home. She was born
near the place where she lives, and
has never been OF the ridge. Never
saw the little county town of Taze-
well, the county seat of Tazewell coun.
ty. and has never seen n railway
train. although she is at present near
ing the fftieth milestone Of her mon.
otonous life. She delights in havins
visitors call to see her and talks inter
estinEly. During all the years that
Mrs Mullens has been confined to her
bed she has seen her three sons and
husband pass to the beyond. She could
not attend the funeral services at the
little church, which 10 situated several
miles from her home, and the funeral
services. II such they might be called,
were held In the rooms where thA
mother and wife lay ON the bed, and
their bodies were laid to rest Just out
side the door in the back yard. where
she could witness the interment. The
woman takes her misfortune good
naturedly. and says that she will con-
tinue the sale Of whisky until her time
to die has come, and then she. too,
expects to be laid to rest beside the
bodies Of her husband and sons in
the little plot in the back yard,
known - the family burying ground
Of the Nullens family.