The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1919-07-10
Bis MOONsH|NE PLANT
FOURTH OF JULY CANYON
CAPACITY OF so GALLONS A DAY
SUPPLY ANY BRAND
OF BOOZE.


description of a Kentucky moonshine
still and its discovery by government
revenue officers has no parallel with
the facts surrounding the Illicit manu-
facture Of liquor being uncovered by
Sheriff r. L. Quarles and Deputy In
ternal Revenue Collector w. A. Cole
today, says the Occur d'Alene Press.
The anonymous tip to the sheriff ;
the camouflage of the distillery plant;
the arrest of woman, and the secrecy
with which the officers have been
working, lends fairy tale plot to the
unusual news story.
The scene of the moonshiners ac-
tivities is laid in the timbered noun
tains, above Burns Summit, on the
Mullan road, or Fourth of July can
yon road. Here, by the side of a
mountain creek, the moonshiners were
prepared to produce so gallons of IL
licit liquor day, and to place it on
the. market, labelled with any one of
a number Of brands Of bonded whis-
ky.
Sent the Plat.
Sheriff Quarles received the anony-
nous information as to the location OF
the plant several days ago, when the
telephone rang and a mans voice in
quired, do you want to catch an IL
licit still in operation?" On being in
formed that the sheriff would like
nothing better, the informant went on,
Beyond Burns Summit, a quarter Of
a mile, is located an air station. This
is just blind for distillery. Three
hundred yards up the mountain to
the east Is the location Of the STILL"
Then the informant hung up, but the
next morning Sheriff Quarles received
e neatly drawn plat through the mail,
showing the location of the road, the
distances from the air station, and all
necessary data, geographically cor
rect.
Deputy Internal Revenue Collector
w. A. Cole, was then called into the
case and in company with Sheriff
Quarles and Deputy Sheriff Berry a
surreptitious trip was made up the
canyon road to the scene Of the ILL.,
cit still. They found that watch
man was on duty at all times at the
air station, and that the moonshiners
carried on their operations only be-
tween the hours of 900 p. m. and
dawn. Darkness precluded any effort
to reach the still through the woods
and the officers returned to town.
Nightly visits were made until Tues
day night, when the officers swooped
down on the still, finding that the
moonshiners had hastily left after
tearing down their rock furnace, TAX
ing along the copper kettle and worm,
but leaving a partially filled key OF
spirits. This the officers destroyed
after taking a sample for analysis.
Find Evidence.
A search was then made for the hid
den utensils, and the officers were re-
warded by finding the 5-coil copper
worm, buried $50 feet up the creek
from the distillery Then search OF
the air station and surroundings dis
closed small key Of corn mash
whisky in the house and standard
whisky cask containing over 30 gal
Ions of the spirits, was dug UP behind
the house.
A motor truck was sent up the can
yon in charge Of Deputy Sheriff
Skogstad. In the meantime, the cop
per kettle, in which the corn mash Is
prepared was dug up about 800 yards
up the creek from the original distil-
lery location.
A thorough search Of the surround
ings disclosed the most elaborate
moonshining plant known anywhere
according to Mr.. Cole. Part of the
equipment now in possession of the
officers are five United States inter-
nal revenue hydrometers, delicate
instrument used by government men
in gauging the specific percentage OF
alcohol to the gallon Of distilled spir-
its. How they came into the posses
sion of the moonshiners is problem
atical.
A copper plated thermometer to
register the degree Of heat was part
of the equipment and a manuel for
gaugers Of spirits was found, we'll
thumbed over
Other equipment discovered by the
sheriff and federal officer, and now In
their possession, are:
Five barrels of pint TASKS, besides
broken lot.
A case Of labels, containing the or
i.iral labels of all we'll known brands
OF spurious liquors. including sunny
book, Cedar Brook, Old Pepper, Ole
Crow, Old Private Stock, Proctor
Knott, Guckenheimer, and In fact al
most any brand Of whisky one nign
name.
Tinfoil tops, designed so that ever!
bottle could be properly sealed wer'
in the loot in plentiful numbers.
A 1o-pound jar of caramel, usei II
the coloring Of the distillery products
Two suit cases, containing adde's
accessories to the plant.
An automatic shotgun. Sprinslle"
.t-An n mr.