Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1919-09-03


Night, and Co to Church on Sunday
Travellers Not Welcome In Moon.
shine Country.
The traffic in moonshine whisky In
the mountain Businesses of Kentucky
and Tennessee continues undated, de-
spite the efforts of the government to
put an end to the Illicit distillation of
liquor. In some quarters the volume
OF business done by the moonshiners
has even increased. Their output has
been supplying thousands of peo-
pie with booze" In an otherwise dry
territory.
The moonshiners are desperate men
and skilled marksmen. They have
succeeded in concealing their stills In
the forbidding mountains of the South,
and their friends and neighbors are
banded together to protect the indus,
try. Lookouts stationed in the wood
ed valleys and in the shadowy recesses
scan every approach and are prepared
to shoot first and ask questions after
ward. 1t is for these reasons that Off
GERS of the internal revenue depart
ment, Familiarity known TO the moon
sinners as ''revenuers," have failed to
stop the industry. Many government
officers have met death in their unsuc-
eessful efforts to locate the mountain
stills and to arrest the moonshlners.
Prohibition Aids Moonshiners.
Tho ronnnnChtro
made an unusually fiourishing busl-
ness recently because of the numerous
localities that have gone "dry' as a
result of local option laws. Despite
the heavy penalties for operating a
still, there have been few convictions.
The center of the moonshine district
is in Kentucky and comprises Clay,
Laurel, Leslie, Knox and Jackson coun-
ties. These neighboring counties are
In the southeastern part of the state,
and but a short distance from the
Tennessee line. It has been estimated
that there are at least 20 moonshine
stills in Clay county.
In Clay county, home of feudists,
where for years good craftsmanship
has been the only price of safety to
members of the fighting families, the
moonshiners and their associates are
said to be more numerous than in any
other part of the state. London, in
Laurel county. is the nearest railroad
point to the heart of the moonshine
district.
Travellers are not welcomed in the
moonshine country. A stranger tour.
ing the mountains can expect at any
moment to see a rife barrel CLEAN
from out of the underbrush and at the
same time receive warning to leave.
Should the visitor, however, be vouch-
ed for by mountaineers who can guar
antee that he is not a "revenuer," a
curious stranger or a possible enemy
to the moonshine industry he is free
TO enter the danger zone. Very few
strangers, however, can secure this
personal guarantee of safety.
Raise Their Own Corn.
The moonshiners raise their own
corn to be used In the manufacture of
whisky. While the mountalneers
maintain that the corn is raised for
commercial purposes and for fodder,
very little of the grain is devoted to
these ends.
The moonshine business thrives In
the autumn after the crops have been
harvested. In the spring and summer
the stills are not operated extensively.
owing to the fact that the moonshiners
are busily engaged in taking care of
their grain and garden truck. During
the day the men spend most of their
time in the little mountain villages.
After nightfall, however, they gather
around the stills. When darkness
comes the smoke from the fires is not
visible and as result detection is not
easy.
The mountaineers of the moonshine
districts are supplemented, but hos
pitable. They will take the stranger
n, feed him and keep him overnight.
de is watched continually, however.
Inc houses are mostly one-story log
cabins. There are no carpets and the
planks in the floors have wide cracks
between them. Despite their Illicit
business, the moonshiners are devout
tehurchgoers. Every Sunday they go to
the nearest church. Sometimes a
roonshiner may meet an enemy In
church. They win leave the service
and shoot at each other with big-cali-
Der revolvers. If one of the mountain
GERS is lucky enough to survive the
shooting affair, he may return to
church and hear the rest of the ser
mon.
Lawsuits Popular In Mountains.
The rnoonshiners take great pleasure
In going to court. They will bring
lawsuit against a neighbor on the
slightest pretense. The man who loses
viii likely secure revenge by shooting
the winner.
The accurate shooting of the manu-
fscturarg of stTf1ounrafn deyvu mako N