The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-01-01
Truth Stranger !
Than F'iCkiOn
True Story of Life Among the Moonshners of the
Blue Ridge.
BY j. G. l.. HARRIS.

and the fln0l happy ending, Is conflneC
to the brilliant and fertile imagination
of well known writer's. who cater fol-
the literary tastes of the general public
Frequently in the busy beehive of th,
people who make up husting towns there
are constantly occurring romances an(
love scenes, now and then II tragedy
commingled with the devotion of a
woman, and the self-sacrifice of a man
for her to whom he has trusted the
keeping of his first and youthful love.
Such Il true story, occurring in the coun-
ties. of Rutherford and Henderson in
this State, among the foothills of the
blue-capped peaks of the Alleghanies in
the year 1871. with the conclusion near
the fiourishing town of Waco. in the
State of Texas, twenty years later, is
that which follows:
Shortly after the war Illicit distillinG
in the western part of this State was
carried on to much greater extent than
it is now. In those days the moonshin-
ers lay around their BLOCKADE stills
rs they are called, with their guns in
their hands and they usually fought the
revenue officers when they came upon
the scene of action to cut up the still
and destroy the liquor. And the feeling
against the law was so great that it was
worth as much as the life of any per-
son who had knowledge of the running
of "a blockade STILL for him or her to
give information to the revenue officers
of this fact. AS soon as it was definitely
known that Il certain man had become
an .'informer" ON the. blockaders, he
was marked for death and sooner or
later his doom overlook him. and he
was found in some secreted place with
d bullet-hole through his head.
In the year 1871, there lived in the
county of Rutherford about ten miles
from the court house near the road
leading from Rutherfordton to Marion a
man by the name of Henderson Adair.
He was an honest. sturdy mountaineer.
who had raised large family, and
had known what it was to work hard
all his life for living. He was a most
uncompromising old line Wing, and be-
fore the war his word was law and
gospel on election day at MacMahans
precinct After the war he became an
ardent Republican,. Among his family
at this time were two grown sons
Columbus and Govan. These boys We're
.chips off the old block They We're
radical Republicans and were intolerant
of the views of their neighbors. They
were courageous and aggressive and had
many enemies in the county. They had
many fights. During the war they were
strong Union men and delighted in pilot
ing Federal soldiers who had escaped
from the Salisbury and other Confede
rate prisons, across the mountains and
into the Federal lines. Of course all
the Confederates were their avowed
enemies. Under the sway of this family
MacMahan's precinct was as largely
Republican as it had been Wing. For
these reasons the Adair family had
many enemies among those whom they
delighted to denounce as the "secesh,"
meaning those persons who had favored
the war against the Union.
Like NEST of the mountaineers. Old
Man tAdai9 and his boys .despised the
law which forbid their distilling the
grain which they raised without the
payment Of tax of two dollars on the
gallon as it was in 1871, and they did
not hesitate to violate the law by run
ming BLOCKADE" distillery. They re-
scented what they were pleased to term
the inherent right Of the people" to do
as they pleased with the products of
their own hands as their fathers and
grandfathers before them had done.
They deemed it most outrageous de-
privation of their rights of civil liberty
that they must pay a tax on whiskey
and brandy. They never ceased to be
at war with this law 1t was the one
black spot on the record of the Republi-
can party that at times almost made
Old Man Adair and his boys and neigh
bors vote the Democratic ticket
A near neighbor of the Adairs was
man by the name of Martin Baynard.
At this time he was a married man with
three children. His wife-Sallie-was
known far and near as the prettiest wo-
man in the county She had been well
at female school in the town
of Hendersonville. She was a perfect
blonde Her hair and eyes were as
black as the wing of "A raven, and her
cheeks We're red and rosy with perfect
health. Her features and form were
such as would have made the admirers
of the Greek Slave of Powers die with
envy. She was a most expert horse
woman. No man of her acquaintance
backed horse more gracefully or Sc
curely than she. She rode to the
hounds in all the fox hunts and gener-
ally carried off the brush. She handled
Il rifle and shot gun with great skill. As
a girl. she was beloved and petted by
all who knew her, and as long us she
lived in Rutherford county she retained
the good will and esteem of all her neigh
bors. The word of Mrs. Baynard III all
social matters was as equally the law
and gospel as was that of old man Hen
derson Adalr.
Martin Baynard was a rough, uncouth
son of the mountains. His education
was limited He possessed very little
property, although he earned good
living for his family. That ne was very
inferior to his wife in every respect was
apparent to all who knew this ill-mated
couple. How pretty Sallie Morgan came
to marry Martin Baynard was mys-
terry to all who knew her. 1t was
talked that she had been engaged to
some young man while she was at. school
IN the town Of Hendersonville. and that
it had been broken off, and in the re-
bound she had married Martin Baynard,
who had been i'll love with her ever since
they went to school at the "White
L u.