West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1897-09-02
MOONSHINERS.
WILD CAT" DISTILLING IN the
SOUTHERN STATES.
An interesting Article From An Old
Prestoniau Way Down i'm Alabam,


Northern papers thrilling stories
about "moonshiners;" their heroic
self.defense when molested bv Off
GERS; their wild, free life and their
unerring rifles when pointed At
marshals. All this looks more like
hctlon than reality, and we natur-
ally class the moonshiner with tho
co"ooy-as u thing Of the past. We
see him in all his glory in the in
definite, hazy past, and as he is
painted for us, even admire him
But he does not impress ma ne a
present, living reality. For this
reason have been pleased to have
an opportunity to get acquainted
with him in flesh and blood. ms
well as in fanciful story.
stopped off in a small railroad
town IN northern Alabama some
lime since, and as the day was cold
and rainy, l went into store
across the street where bright fire
was burning. A number Of mon
were sitting around the fire. and
we soon got to talking about hunt
ing Ihey spoke Of the abundance
OIL turkeys, opossums, &c., and told
marvellous tales of their skill in
shooting game. | asked if there
were any wildcats. There was 81
fnce few moments, then very
laxative middle aged man remark
eu' wildcats, | should say Thar
IS one III every hollcr." A siguif.
cant laugh passed round the COM
pany, but | was totally at sea. Soon
after, however, l learned that "wild
cat Is the name applied to Illicit
stiils all through Alabama and
Georgia, and that the man who
spoke was, himself, the most motto.
rious wild CATER" in those parte
That night | was awakened nv .
noise IN the road which passed in
front Of the house. On ljstenipo
closer | found it to be a passing
wagon carry ng something
that ratified like load OF wash
boilers. heard no one speaL
1he SOUND soon died away in the
distance. The next morning in.
qulred what it was, and was frankly
informed that it was some "wild.
caters" who had bsen spotted and
were moving their still to new
place Of concealment.
This excited my curiosity more
chan ever, and | was very anxious
TO visit one of these notorious in.
8 itutions. The United States Mar.
shals are hunting them so much
that it IS neither easy nor safe for
" person, especially a stranger, to
approach them. However, learned
where there was one, which had
come out OF It's conceaIment from
the pine thickot frequented only by
owls and "wildcats," to a slightly
more accessible place, where it was
Licensed to make up apples and
peaches.
made arrangements to visit this
one. Two men who we're acquainted
with the roads and the persons
running the still, offered to accom-.
pany me. We mounted our mules
one morning very early and began
or circuitous journey over the
b oxen country. The roads are
3 ndy, but neither stony nor muddy,
aud we're shaded for the most part
from the burning sun by the over.
hanging branches Of oak and pine.
We passed held after field extend
ing for a quarter Of a mile, green
with corn or cotton. All the cleared
land ia sight was planted IN these
commodities, there being no pas
tnres kept up, as the grasses grow
knee high in the woods and form
abundant pasture Of the best kind.
We passed many country houses
nearly all were built after The char.
scterisiic style Of Southern archi
tccture-onc story, twice az long as
broad, with wide.opcn hallway
extending through The middle and
a porch extending The whole length
in front. At one Of these houses
Che tomptingIy exposed melons and
Che hearty request Of The folks
cansci as % stop and help our.
selves.
Not far from there we left The
cleared land behind and followed a
trail into the forest. The timber
at frat was pfno. brf tbis ,.l.