Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-16

Copyright, 1902, by Clifford Smythe.)
I"1HE man who pitches his cabin in
some mountain wild, collects a
~ band of followers and makes his
tW7SY1 living by methods that fall under
the censure Of government and
society, is in all reality a more picturesque
character than the Rob Roy and the Dcone
OF popular fiction. He is regarded with
superstitious terror by his neighbors. His
daring exploits become the theme of won
dering gossip, while his success in eluding
capture wins hin the homage due to a
hero.
While such conditions and the outlaws
that make them are rapidly disappearing
from the United States, there are a few
sections Of the country where they still
exist, wild regions that are the bane of the
United States marshal. and where the
moonshiner is king.
Into one of the most notorious of these
districts, thirty miles from the town Of
Hinton, In the counties Of Mercer and
Raleigh, West Virginia, Dan Cunningham.
prince of government detectives, invited
the writer to accompany him on a three
days raid. For some time past the out
laws in this far-off region, known as the
Flat Top country, had escaped the active
attention of the marshal's office at Charles
ton. AS a consequence the manufacture Of
Illicit or "moonshine" whisky among them
had reached serious proportions and a raid
by the best officer in the service became in
evitable.
Method of MO~OnshinIng.
Moonshining is an art that glories in a
nomenclature and a process of its own, but
briefly, it is the Illicit method by which
corn or rye is turned into whisky. The
moonshiner selects as the scene Of his la
bors some spot conveniently near a run
ming stream and secure from outside in
trusion. Such a spot is usually found at
the bottom Of a steep ravine hidden by a
thick growth Of laurel bushes, although
sometimes a cave In a hillside is selected
II the approach is sufficiently precipltous to
insure against unforeseen invasion by the
ever-dreaded government officer. A stone
furnace, a cope still, a copper or tin
worm" the mash tubs and the barrel
or hogshead to receive the whisky eonstis
tute the moonshiner's plant or distillery.
When everything is in readiness the corn
or the rye is put into the mash tubs and
cooked by scalding water being poured
over 1t. After it is thoroughly cooked IT
is given another immersion and allowed to
stand for a period Of from three to four
days, during which it passes through the
process OF fermentation. The result is a
light sort Of beer, or sour mash. This is
then poured into the copper still and boiled.
This still is a closed vessel with an aver
age capacity OF from 100 to 200 gallons. Its
manufacture is prohibited by Jaw. Into the
top Of the still is inserted the worm, a hol-
low tube with a series Of convolutlons and
open at both ends. AS the mash boils in
the still 1t turns to vapor which finds its
way into the worm. The latter is either
submerged in cold water, or else water
from the adjoining stream is poured over
1t. This contact with the cold eongeals
the vapor inside and 1t runs out in LIQUID
form into the receiving hogshead. The first
run from the still is called "singlings'' and
produces a low wine. This low wine is
boiled again in the still, passing through
the worm into the hogshead as before.
This second run is called doubling" and
the product is the high wine or whisky. At
the time when the three raiders heard Of