South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-12-28
FEDERAL RAIDS ON
KENTUCKY STILLS
GROW BLOODLESS
Eight Plants Destroyed, Many
Shots Fired, With No
Casualties.


Raids upon moonsnrne stills in the
mountains q Kentucky have be-
come bIoodless. according 20 govern
ment agents who recently conduct
ed one OF the mos- important raids
made IN years.
Whether the shooting eye Of the
rnountaineer or the secret service
e. gent has become dimmed or wheth-
or the desire for less killing has
reached into the far mountain re-
cesses. IS a disputed point. but the
fact remains that twelve revenue
agents ralded and destroyed eight
large stills in Whitley county, fired
numerous shots. were fired at num-
eroUs times but so far AS Us known.
not a casualty was recorded
Standing IN clumps of sparse
shrubbery on tho top Of knobs along
LuraI Fork ia Whitley county. SEN
tries posted apparently by moon
sinners watched the operations OF
Federal prohibition officers during
the recent sensational raid in the
south America" section Of Whitley
county. according 20 members Of the
party. The raiders from the office Of
chief Field Deputy L. G.. Mcfarland
were reticent about the battle re-
ported 90 have ragged about the stills.
There wasn't thing 90 it, they
were unanimous in saying. we
just went In there and destroyed
eight stills There We're q lot Of
shots fired but how many OF them
We're fred at us We don't know.
That was all there was 10 it,
May Have Been Signals.
The raiders from the local office
were Steve Cornet and Charles
Wlnfrey. who were the leaders OF
the raid, J II. Reynolds and Joe Cav
anaugh They We're accompanied
by Sheriff RenfrO OF Whitley county
and seven deputies.
steve COrnet, after some persua-
sion told Of the raid. We left VII
,iamsburg on the morning Of Dec. @
and went vim Holden. Tenn, the
nearest rIiIrOadpoiut into the sec
tion % Whitley county known TO the
natives Of south America he said
We hunted there for stills I'm the
hoil0ws OF Laurel Fork and Clean
Form. sources OF the Cumberland
river We destroyed eight stills in
all
"Thc first still destroyed was ono
owned by Dewitt Gibson. We ar
rested the three Gibson boys with
out any trouble. They We're at their
home. The next still we believed
belonged 90 q man named William
The next two destroyed were owned
by persons whose names we could
The first day although quite q num-
Der Of shots We're fired in the dis
lance. I could not say positively that
the shots We're fired at us. but think
that possibly they We're signals 90
warn the countryside that raiders
were about. We could see men
standing on the top OF the knobs
where they could see the road wind
ing around the banks OF laurel Fork
which / believe is the cToOkedest
stream in the world. Sometimes It
is hard 10 tell which way IL runs.
THE second dav we continued
the search along the Laurel Fork.
To was at this time that the nearest
20 any real trouble occurred. We
left an old man named Parsons and
another man TO guard the mouth o;
a. hollow while we searched IT,
lust after we left the guards. a
mountaineer popped out from be
hind "a tree. fired several shots az the
guards with "a pistol and ran.
Find Two unsupported Stills.
I'VE gave chase. firing as We ran.
The man feu but when we searched
we could find no trace or him.
This led 20 one Of the amusing In
ciGeuts OF the trip. During the chase
We found tdO stills Of which we had
u0- iukling. The man led my party
directly To an eighty-galIon still
which We destroyed Another sec
lion OF the party. we had become di-
vided during the chase. found the
second still on the opposite side of
rhe hill from that down which the
Fugitive ram We did not find out
who owned either stil.
we then went up a hollow where
Ve found another stiu. This was
a. rough hollow. and we had TO climb
over bouide-s and hang on 20 trees
-o get 20 the still We then started
q the opposite direction Two miles
down another rough hollow we found
ne last still destroyed.
a lot OF shots We're fred on the
second day by both natives and our
selves. but nobody was hurt %
AR Cornet could not say how
much whisky or been was destroyed.
We didn't keep track OF f." he
said
The prisoners taken by the raiders
we're taken to Paineviue and war
r5rts We're left IN the hands OF Sher-
- MIRO nd his mon for aa~,-f-.