Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-06-22


I fall out one Ii very apt to report" the
others still. The reporter In promptly
shot by the man betrayed. who In
turn Is shot by n member Of the muir
dcrcd mans family. This murder liz In
like manner avenged and so a blood
feud Is started that may last for gen.
cratiOns and until the males on both
sides are cxtcrminatcd with the cx-
ccption OF a single survivor who owes
his safety to the fact that there Is no
body left to kill him. or course, not
all the blood fcuds start in this way.
but most OF them do and most OF the
others arc in some way connected
with the use of whlskey.
: Yet one sees almost no drunkenness.
Indeed, ! do not remember to have
seen drunken man in the mountains.
Young and old. male and female. use
the home made liquor in some parts
Of the mountains, and often without
any perceptible effect. Perhaps their
, consciences have something to do with
their immunity, they do not know they
are doing wrong. To them whiskcy
means no more than water. BY that
mean there IL no stigma attached to
its use, they speak Of it with
perfect frankness and they simply can
not understand the point Of view Of
one who considers its use a crime.
The efforts OF the Government to
suppress the moonshner make one
think OF very large man In hopeless
pursuit Of a very small flea. Down
comes ponderous hand right over
that fiea-but the flea isn't there. 1t
is somewhere else. The moOnshiner
knows his mountains; when he is
caught he isn't caught. II he Is a
wise man. instead Of shooting and
really getting into trouble, he stands
out Of sight In the bushes and watches
the revenues cut up his still. He also
watches them search-in vain-for the !
stuff" he has hidden OUT and which
Is far more valuable than the still that
made II. Before his enemy's back is
fairly turned he has another still in
fun operation, little farther up the
stream perhaps. or on another equally /,
convenient water course, for often the |
moonshncr has an extra retOrt in a |
safe place in case some accident should
befali the one in use.
One who knows the lives OF the !
mountain people. and particularly the
cannot withhold all sympathy from the !
moonshincr. on mountain slope far
from any market is his cornfield. often
lying at an angle that makes it's re-
naming there little short OF miracle
His corn liz his sole wealth. il must
buy the clothes for the family, if they
have any. He cannot tote il down
the mountain. and If he could ii would
h.1
But IL he can still IT up he can
easily transport the product and yet
more easily dispose of it. There Is
always a market for corn in this form
From one bushel of corn he can make
can sell for 81 30 gallon. If he pays
a Government tax of Sl15 gallon il
Is plain he cannot live. So what is
poor man 10 do? He knows what to
do, and the really successful moonshin- |
er Is the richest man in his COM
munity. Not all moonshiners are sue
cessful. however, for IL requires a good
deal Of executive ability to engineer
so delicate business on a scale large
enough to pay well. There are stills
running at profit that would open |
the eyes of the incredulous stranger.
bht " hilc tl lI'St treTt are dozens |
of little ones hidden on the wild noun
tain streams that do little more than
supply home needs.
Naturally the State lines are favorite
moonshine localities. for when the
skein of his life becomes tangled by
revenues and spies the moonshincr
needs another state handy to step into
where he can mediate in peace and
incidently attend to the Spirituous
needs of his bretheren. The south
Carolina dispensary laws forbidding
the sale Of alcoholic liquors outside the
dispensaries. has embittercd the life Of
the South Carolina moonshincr. or
course he evades the law. but 1t is
difficult and dangerous to do so Con-
sequently he has come as close as he |,
can get to the North Carolina State
line. greatly to the gain of the con-
usuous mountain regions in pietur-
csqueness if not in morality-Boston