The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-07-23
REVENUE Men
FAIL TO STOP
MOONSH|NERS
Traffic In Illicit Whisky Continues
Unabated.
EVERY APPROACH IS WATCHED

-
Lookouts Prepared to Shoot First and
Ask Questions Acknowledgment.
ate Men Of Hills Spend Day In VII
lagos, Make Mountain Dew" at
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 I'm the shadowy ecess
c 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 moo
sinners as "revenuers." have failed to
stop the industry. Many government
officers have met death In their unsuc-
cessful efforts to locate the mountain
stills and to arrest the m~oonshiners.
Prohibition Aids Moonshiners.
The moonshine business has been
made an unusually fiourishing bust
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. II 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 m~oonshine
district.
Travellers are not welcomed In the
moonshlne country. A stranger tour
ing the mountains can expect at airy
moment to see a rifle barrel CLEAN
from out OF the underbrush and at the
same time receive a warning to leave.
Should the visitor. however. be vouch-
| ed for by mo~untaineers who can guar
antee that he Is not a ~"revenuer." q
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 mou~ntaineers
maintain that the corn Is raised for
commercial purposes and for fodder.
very little OF the grain Ii devoted to
| these ends.
The mo~onshine business thrives In
the autumn after the crops have been
harvested. In the spring and summer
the stills are mol operated extensively,
owing to the fact that the moonshiners
are busily engaged In taking car 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
Genes the smoke from the fires is not
visible and as a result detection Is not
easy.
The mountaineers Of the moonshine
districts are supplemented. but hos
pitable. They will take the stranger
In, feed him and keep him overnight.
He Is watched continually, however.
The 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
churchgoers. Every Sunday they 60 to
the nearest church. Sometimes .
m~oonshiner may meet an enemy In
church. They will leave the service
and shoot at each other with big-cali-
her rey0lvers. II 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 moonshiners take great pleasure
in going to court. They will bring Z
lawsuit against q neighbor on the
slightest pretense. The man who loses
will likely secure revenge by shooting
the winner.
The accurate shooting Of the manu-
s~acturers Of mountain dew" make \
dIficult to arrest the ~m0Onshiners. and