The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-09-15
WOMAN AS MooNsHINER.
Experience of a Former Revenue Off.
 Ger In Tennessee

Experience of Former Revenue Off. Ger In Tennessee
 During a session of the United States District court at Nashville, Tenn. a professional inforner approached me cautiously in the corridor of the custom
 house and asked me in stage whisper
 what I would pay him if he would lead
 me to moonshine still. I told him
 that the amount paid was from four to
 twelve dollars. paid nothing for find-
 ing the still, but would employ him as
 guide" at the rate of four dollars per
 day, and as guard" at the same rate,
 provided the latter was necessary He
 told me that when he located 1t he
 would write, and that I must be sure
 and meet him and follow his directions.
 About a month after this interview I
 received a letter from him telling me to
 come to Lawrenceburg on a certain
 day, and after dark to start out on the
 Waynesboro. road. Six miles from
 town, at a double log house, the roads forked, and I was to take a plain left hand road. follow this for four or five miles, and I would arrive at house
 With we'll on the side of the road
 that had long sweep over it. After
 passing this about one hundred yards I
 was to take path leading up a hollow
 10 the right, follow this path about a
 mile until 1 came to a cross-hollow
 turn up the right-hand hollow, and blow
 my whistle and he would meet me- No
 one but revenue officer would start
 out at night to destroy citizens prop
 erty, endure the hardships and fatigue, and run the risk of being ambushed and killed upon such information, es- pecfally when 1t was known that the author was infinitely meaner than the party to be despoiled and arrested.
 In company with deputy marshal and local revenue officer, I arrived at Lawrenceburg on time, and from inqui- ries learned that the section I contem- plated visiting was difficult of access, owing to its rugged character. We hired horses at the livery stable. and after supper sailed forth We had but little difficulty in finding the rendez- Vous and our guide, though the latter was so completely disguised with lamp black and sheepskin whiskers as to be unrecogniZable, to me at least. My first interrogatory was: "Who Is run ming the still?" He declared that he did not know; that he had come upon it while hunting, and did not dare to approach close enough to ascertain. He carried us through, the woods, along what I took to be a hog trail, over an extended ridge, down into a ravine, where we found small branch couple of feet wide and as many inches in depth. Turning up this and following it for several hundred yards, we approached deep cove, the adjacent hills arising probably one hundred feet. Stopping us in front of heavy undergrowth springing from the swamp formed by the branch spreading put over the bottom, he told us that it was about one hundred yards beyond. We divided our forces, two of the party over the swamp and going up on the opposite side, the guide and my self going up to the right We moved IS cautiously as the Indian surprising lis victim, and when within twenty oaces a low signal was given and we ;prang forward.
 It was unoccupied.
 We found a furnace with a nice fif- een-gallon copper on 1t and the dry wood piled up around ready for start | ng, a long crane-neck connecting the | copper boiler with the "worm stand" n which was copper worm, some hing unusual, as they are generally | made of lead; mash tubs and barrels | ull of beer ready for distillation. The | pparatus was under a brush arbor | made by driving four posts in the | round, with forks at the top, and the | whole inclosed by mailing poles to the | osts. This was done to prevent stock | rom trespassing upon the premises. The floor was dirt. I was struck with he neatness of the place. The floor ad been swept with bundle Of witches that was setting against ger barrel. We could destroy the still t any time, but considered it of higher importance to capture those who opera ed it. We therefore concealed our elves, determined to await the arrival the operator. It was now about hree o'clock a. m. We could hear hickens growing on the hill above us, nd, after daylight, voices, indicating nat there was a settlement near us. bout seven o'clock we heard persons