The Savannah morning news., 1902-02-16

shine Country without Being Sus-
pected-The Chief Flat Top stili
Was Reached After Midnight, hut
the MoOnshtncrs Had Gone-Three
Were Afterwards Captured-The
Leader Has Evaded the officers
for Thirty Years and Has sworn
Never TO BE Arrested.
BY CLIFFORD SMYTHE.
copyright, 1902. by Clifford Smythe)
The man who pitches his cabin in
some mountain wild, collects a band of
followers and makes his living by
methods that fall under the censure of
government and society, is in all real
ity a more picturesque character than
the Rob Roy and the Doone of popular
fiction. He is regarded with supersti-
tious terror by his neighbors. His
daring exploits become the theme of
wondering gossip, while his success in
eluding capture wins him the homage
due to a hero.
While such conditions and the out
laws that make them are rapidly dis-
appearing from the JEitca States,
try where they still exist, wild re-
a;ons that are the barn Of Ire United
States marshal, and where the moon.
sinner is king.
Into one of the most notorious of
these districts, thirty miles from the
town of Hinton, in the countries of
Mercer and Raleigh, West Virginia,
Dan Cunningham, prince of govern
ment detectives, invited the writer to
accompany him on a three days raid.
For some time past the outlaws in
this far-off region, known as the Flat
Top country, had escaped the active
attention of the marshals Office at
Charleston. AS a consequence the man
ufacture of Illicit, or "moonshine"
whisky among them had reached Sc
rious proportions and a raid by the
best officer in the service became in
eyitable.
Moonshining is an art that glories
in "a nomenclature and process of its
own, but briefly, 1t is the Illicit meth
cd by which corn or rye is turned
into whisky. The moonshiner selects
as the scene of his labors some spot
conveniently near a running stream
and secure from outside intrusion.
Such spot is usually found at the
bottom of a steep ravine hidden by
though sometimes cave in a hill
side is selected if the approach is suffi-
ciently precipitous to insure against
unforeseen invasion by the ever-dread.
ed government officer. A stone fur
mace, a copper still "a copper or tin
worm, the mash" tubs, and the
barrel or hogshead to receive the
plant or distillery.
When everything is in readiness the
corn or the rye is put into the mash
tubs and cooked by scalding water be-
ing poured on it. After it is thorough
ly cooked 1t is given another INNER
sion and allowed to stand for a Pc
riod of from three to four days, dur
ing which it passes through the pro-
cess of fermentation. The result is
light sort of beer, or sour mash.
This is then poured into the copper
still and boiled. This still is closed
vessel with an average capacity of
from one to two hundred gallons. It's
manufacture is prohibited by law Into
the itop of the still is inserted the
worm hollow tube with a series of
conNolutions and open at both ends.
As the mash boils in the still 1t turns
to vapor which finds it's way into the
worm The latter is either submerged
in cold water, or else water from the
adjoining stream is poured over it.
This contact with the cold congeals
the vapor inside and 1t runs out in
liquid form into the receiving hogs
head. 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 hogehead as before This
second run is called doubling" and
the product is the high wine or
whiskey At the time when the three
raiders heard sof the still near Flat
Tor. the moonshiners were said to be
ready to make their first run-that is.
turn, the beer into singlings or low
wine.
It was necessary for us to pass
through near thirty miles of moon
shine territory and in country. where
travellers of any kind being scarce,
every stranger receives a degree of
scutiny that is difficult to avoid.
Carrying Winchesters, also, after the
hunting season is over is a hard mat
ter to explain to the inquisitive. Dan,
the deputy marshal, tucked his, there
fore. under his coat and volunteered
the information to the few people who
were met on the road that the writer
who exhibited an ungainly- camera
box on his back, was the surveyor of
a new railroad line was taking
pictures for his company. This APP
parently allayed suspicion and the
raiders seemed to have a fair chance
to walk quietly in on the moonshiners
at their work and capture the entire
party.
BY evening. however, this hope was
dispelled. We had scarcely reached
Flat Top when from the surrounding
mountains signal guns We're fired and
beacons lit. Not a soul was seen and
these evidences of an aroused COM
munity were anything but reasuring.
over a road that eluded us more than
once in the intense darkness. Nothing
could be more weirdly impressive than
this stealthy approach in the black
silence of the night, through a hostile
country, hampered by all the obstacles
that the toughest section of the AL
leghanies could present. No houses
were passed until within a mile of
the place where the moonshiners were
at work. Here a strange spectacle
came into view that caused each of us
an Involuntary shudder. The house of
one of the moonshiners was burning.
Not soul was visible not a sound
could be heard except the roar of the
flames and the occasional plunge of a
kissing log to the wreck-strewn ground
beneath. What tragedy was marked by
this confiagration, what midnight orgy
or deadly mountain feud, none of the
raiders hurrying through with blanched
faces loming through the circle
of fire could fathom 1t was
mountain home gone, and possibly
an entire family OF these strange peo-