Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-04-13
aslisesllaneuus geaains.
MANY WILDCAT STILLS.
Moonshiners Still Flourish In Tennes-

II there are those who believe that
the day-or night-of the moonshin-
er is passing away and that with all
the determination and efficiency OF
the modern internal revenue service
the wildcat still is soon to be an insti-
tuition of the glorious past, those ideal
lists should visit Sewer county, east
Tennessee. A report Of the local rev.
enue agent to the government officials
at Washington states that there Is
good reason to believe that at least
twenty-five Illicit distilleries are In
that county at the present time. Rev
enue agents of that section have re-
Gently made several successful ralds
in Sewer and Blount counties, and on
top Of the famed Chillowie Mountain
have disturbed the moonshiners con-
siderably. But it seems that with all
this diligence the man who wishes to
manufacture Ticker" from his own
con" can still find way to do SO
with little likelihood of detection. With
the enactment of the statewide prohi-
bition laws, both as to the sale and the
manufacture Of intoxicants, 1t Is ex-
pected that this form of lawbreaking
will largely increase, owing to the fact
that many good citizens do not be-
lieve in the right or justice OF such
law. The demand for ticker VIII
not only be increased, but the fact
that sentiment is against the law WILL
1t Is believed, operate against its rigid
enforcement.
One of the most ingenious schemes
to make wildcat whisky has just been
discovered by revenue men in Sewer
county. On a recent trip to that coun-
ty the officers were directly over an
Illicit still and had not discovered 1t.
It was underground, and would never
have been found If the proprietor, one
Jennings Cornes, had not been In the
still at the time. Hearing the officers,
whom he supposed to be customers, ne
shouted for them to come down. He
told them where they might find the
entrance, and they went in and arrest
ed him. The ingenious Cornes had ar
ranged pipes so that one carried water
to the interior Of the still and another
conveyed the smoke to the top of the
mountain. Everything was hidden so
that only the accident Of Cornes's pres
ence in the still at the time and his
carelessness in issuing invitations re
gardless" could have got him in trou-
BILE. He was naturally much embar-
rassed when the invitations were ac-
cepted with such charming alacrity
and such disactrous results, and for
his hospitality and his plans he now
faces the United States court at Knox
Vile.
The moonshiners of east Tennessee
are more secure than those OF other
sections of the state by reason Of the
ruggedness of their country-the nu-
merous mountain Businesses in which
they may secure themselves and es-
cape the "revenuers," as they term the
deputy marshals. Moreover, they are
protected in many instances by the
vigilance of their friends, the noun
tain people 1t is another case, or rath-
er the same case, Of the difficulty OF
enforcing a law where the sentiment
of many people is against it. Neigh
bors of the moonshiners, not only those
who get their statewide" from the IL
licit stills, but many who never touch
the intoxicants in any form are con-
tinually doing all they can to protect
the moonshiners. In one Of the last
ads made by revenue officers, only a
few days ago, the officers were engaged
in breaking up a still when two shots
rang out suddenly in the vicinity. They
rushed out Of the still to find who did
the shooting, but could discover no
body. These shots, the officers say,
were the signals to the people Of the
neighborhood to "look shy" and hide
either themselves or all evidences Of
"moonshining" Diligent search failed
to find who had fired the shots and 1t
is also significant to note that in that
immediate neighborhood no other stills
were found and no arrests made.
Al lIS plCSCil ohC VI tie hiNoS io
torious characters among the moon
sinners of east Tennessee is Levi Pat
ty, who the revenue officials declare
has not had a peer since the death of
Hut Amarine. Levi lives at various
places, but his residence proper is In
an extremely mountainous section in |
the vicinity of Sevierville. His we'll
known and often repeated boast is that, |
with one minor exception, he has in
every instance run off or over the dep
uties sent to arrest him. While not re-
garded as a notoriously bad man in
other respects, Levi is the king bee OF
the "blockaders" and "bootleggers" of
the mountains Of east Tennessee. He
declares, those who know him say,
that he can outrun any horse this side
of Arabia and when this mode Of de-
fense is necessary he says he will out
wit the officers by simply outrunning
any race horses they may put them
selves astride of. The officers have
considerable evidence against Levi i'll
they could only catch him. But the
''if' persistently refuses to be remov-
ed. The revenue officials say that "if''
they ever catch Levi they are not go
ing to send him to prison until they
have taken him to Madison Square
Garden and entered him as the worlds
champion in another Marathon race.
They believe that even seriously hand
icapped he could beat Dorando or Tom
Longboat Ito a standstill," or to any
other kind of a still. Practically all
of the mountain people of Sewer and
other neighborhooding counties know
Levi, but it is said one would be kill
ed either by Levi or his friends If he
should decide to become one of those
hated persons in the mountains, an
"informer."
Reports to the government say that
in one instance at least a newspaper
in that vicinity is regarded as being
in sympathy with the moonshiners.
Notwithstanding all this nowerfnl on