Evening star., 1902-02-15
MOONSH|NER IS KING
The Recent Raid of Last
Stronghold.
POSED AS SURVEYORS
RAIDERS PASSED OVER AN IL
LICIT STILL AREA.
Country Sympathizes With Outlaws
and Gives Them Warn
ing.
POSED AS SURVEYORS

Written for TIE Evening Star by Clifford Smythe.
The man who pitches his cabin in some
mountain wild, collects 4 band of follow
ers, ana makes his 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 DoOne
of popular fiction. He Is regarded with
superstitious terror by his neighbors. His
daring exploits become the theme of Won
der:ng gossip. while his success in eludins
capture wins him 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 whore they still
exist, wild regions that are the bane OF
the United States marshal. and whore the
moonshintr 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. W. Va. Dan Cuuuin CHAM, prince
of government detectives. invited the
writer TO accompany him on a three days
raid. For some time past the outlaws in
this far-of region, known as the Flat Top
country, had escaped the active attention
of the marShdI's office at Charleston. As
a consequence the manufacture of Illicit.
o. .'moonshine" whisky among them had
reached serious proportions and a raid by
the best officer in the Service became in
ev;tahle.
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 rye IS turned into whisky. The
mOOnShiner selects as the scene of his
labors some spot conveniently near a run
ming stream and secure from outside in
trusfOn. Such spot is usually found at
the bottom of a steep rdyine hidden by a
thick growth Of laurel bushes. although
sometimes cave il hillside IS selected
If the approach is sufficiently precipitouS
to insure against unforeseen invasion by
the eTer-dreaded government officer. A
stone furnace, a copper still, copper or tin
worm the mash tubs and the barrel
or hGgshead to receive the whisky, consti-
tute the moonshiners plant or distillery.
Coming Thro' the Rye.
When everything is in readiness the corn
or the rye IS put into the mash tubs and
cooked by scading water being poured over
1t. After 1t IS thoroughly cooked it is given
another immersion and allowed to stand for
a period of from three TO four days, during
which 1t passes through the process of FER
mentarion. The result Is q 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 average capa city
OF from 100 10 2I gallons. Its manufacture
Is prohibited by Law. Into the top of the
still is inserted the worm. hollow tube
with q series of convplutions and open at
both ends. As the mash bois in the still It
turns 10 vapOr. which finds its way into the
worm. The latter is either submerged IN
cold water. or else water from the adjoin-
Ing steam is poured over 1t. This contact
with the cold cDngealS the vapOr inside and
II runs out in liquid form into the racev-
ing hogshead. The first run from the sill!
Is called "singlings' and produces lew
wine. This low wine is boiled again in he
still, passing through the worm into the
hogshtad 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 the still near
Flat Top the moonshiners were said to lie
ready 10 make their first run-that is turn
the beer into singlings, or low wine
1t was necessary tor TO pass through