The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1922-12-15
RUNNING DOWN
MoONsA|NERs
Sheriff Wilson and HIS Assistants
Catches an Outfit Red Handed
Manufacturing Booze.

time and again that he is one OF The
most active and efficient sheriff in the
state. He is terror to evil doers as ne
is always on the keen lookout and
when he scents case is up and
a coming. He may not always land his
game. but failure is not because he
does not try. He is especially Nemis
is on the trail of the bootlegger and
mOOnshiner, and a tip will put him
on the road at any hour under any
circumstances. Weather does not stand
in the way of the chief If there is a
law breaker in sight, and if he does
not get him it is not because he does
not try-and he generally gets him.
To meet ELI Wilson one would not size
him up as a peace officer with rec
ord for efficiency in that office. He is
a quiet, unassuming, genial individual
with none of the ear marks Of law
enforcer, but under that quiet exterior
there Is patience, pluck and per-
sistency. He never hesitates to take On
any kind Of a job where arrests must
UC houSS anu WhCu hC Sues Jul dAtcr
a man ne keeps going until he nails
the offender If it is winthin human
possibility to do the mailing.
The latest raid in which Sheriff
Wilson has taken part was pulled off
Monday evening and the particulars
are taken from the Okanogan Inde-
pendent:
It's never too cold weather for
sheriff Eli Wilson to go out after
D0Otleggers. Monday night, when tie
thermometer was registering around
zero and dropped rapidly. he set out
from Okanogan on a trip of $50 miles
to catch moOnshiner. Tuesday morn
ing when the thermometer at the
court house registered 10 below zero,
he got back from his trip with three
men arrested In a cabin where moon
saine was being made.
Frank Bartell. Harry Hulet and
Harlan Bleyhl, all Of Twisp, were the
men brought in. A fankth, Graylord
Bartell, for whom there was no room
in the car, was also arrested and left
in Twisp on his promise and the guar
antee Of other persons, that he would
come to Okanogan for trial.
A stop at Methow showed that the
thermometer there was 10 degrees be-
low zero. Tie officers left Twisp at
midnight and tramped four miles
through the snow to cabin in the
hills where they had information that
moonshine was being made.
When the officers knocked at the
door Of the cabin, Bartell tried to es-
cape through window in the rear.
but was captured. Coal oil had been
spilled on the floor in what Bartell
admitted was an attempt to burn the
cabin In order u destroy the evidence
before the sheriff could seize any.
About twenty gallons Of wheat
mash, as many gallons of stuff that
had ben run through the still once,
and eight gallons of finished product
were found. All of the material was
destroyed except one gallon of moon
shine which was saved as evidence.
.r still full Of Iha IN AMI the coil
were brought back with the men.
The moonshiners were caught red
handed, as they were running off some
Of the liquor at the time the sheriff
and his deputies broke into the door
Bartell is believed to be the ring
leader, and he protested that the other
men In the cabin were wood cutters
who were staying there for the night.
ITS late for wood cutters to be up"
Sheriff Wilson remarked as he order
ed all the men to come with him.
The arrest of Bartell adds another
proof to Wilson's reputation that he
gets them sooner or later. Bartell had
another outfit working near his latest
plant short time ago, which was
visited by the authorities on three Diff
ferent OCCASIONS. Each time Bartell
happened to be out.
The first time the mash had just
been prepared and was not in condi-
tion to be run off. On the second visit
the mash was ready to be run Off. but
Bartell was nowhere to be found The
officers were unable to visit the plant
the next night, but came up the fol-
lowing night when they discovered
that Bartell had made mess of
moonshine during the preceding night
The officers wrecked his plant
which Bartell now claims he had sold
the day before to another man for