The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-03-28

light depths of a laurel screened gorge,
 through which rushes crystal stream
 of water. Sometimes the apparatus Is
 housed in a cave which has been exca- vated for that purpose in the side of the | mountain gorge, but as a rule 1t is in
 the open air. being simply covered with
 a roof of split boards The dwelling of the operator is seldom nearer than a quarter of mile.
 l The apparatus used is not complex; a I copper still. dubbed the copper" about 1 eighteen or twenty inches in diameter 1 and of equal height; a coil of copper 1 pipe several feet in length, called the 'worm;" several tubs or casks for hold l ing the mash and for catching the drip
 pings from the worm; mash stick or
 stirring fork, and a small, narrow bot 1 tie in which to test the liquor--these ar ticles comprise the entire outfit. The l still is set over a furnace, while the
 warm, with one end connected to the | copper, rests in 8 barrel of running wa i ter from the stream near by.
 The process of making moonshine whiskey is quite simple consisting of four different steps: First, scalding the cornmeal and allowing 1t to fer
 ment; second, the addition of malt and
 a second fermentation; third, boiling or
 distilling the beer for "singlngs," and,
 fourth, boiling the singlings.
 Coarsely ground cornmeal is carried to
 the still, and a certain quantity, de-
 pending upon the capacity of the appa- ratus, is stirred in boiling water until
 it is thoroughly cooked. This is called
 mash" and is about the consistency of an ordinary dough. It is allowed to stand in the fermenters in which it was mixed for twelve to thirty-six hours After fermentation has taken, place wa ter is added and the mass broken up with a mash stick. When it is free from Jumps and about as thick as but termilk it is called beer" At this | stage the liquid is not an unpleasant drink; in fact, large quantities of it are l consumed by the moonshiner and his | family and friends.
 Rye, or more commonly corn malt | (from a handful or two to eight pounds to the bushel of meal or tub of beer), is then added to the beer, and it is again allowed to ferment, this time from eev- to n.nety-siX hours. At the end of this second Fermentation the cop per is filled with a semi-liquid (still called beer) and boiled off.
 The steam condenses in and passes off the worm, and the first drip- pings are called "singlings." When the strength of the beer becomes exhausted the refuse, or 'pot tal," is removed and fresh beer put in it's place. As soon as enough singlinss are accumulated the still is filled up with this liquid and it is redistilled. The product of this latter and final step in the process is corn or proof spirits.
 With the crude apparatus and meth )ds of the moonshiner a bushel of meal will yield about two gallons, of whiskey, whereas the same measure of grain ;hould yield three or more gallons under methods.
 Contrary to common belief, moonshine , vhiskey is generally of very poor quail ty. These mountaineer distillers have title or no knowledge of rectification, 7 md fusel oil is therefore present in it's f rieinal proportions; besides, the li- luor is sold before it has had time to . .ge. Strange as it may seem, more- yer, adulterations are quite often used, uch as tobacco or buckeye bark, for T dding to the intoxicating quality of weak liquor, and the addition of soap !, r lye to make it hold good bead" | Aocording to the moonshiner good, un- T dulterated liquor when shaken in IT ottle will contain numerous bubbles on q he surface. If four or more of these s ubbles remain against the edge of the q ottle for some minutes it is said to h hold good bead" Notwithstanding he poor quality of the average moon hine whiskey. however, the unadulter- ( ted article is not infrequently equal to (