Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1922-07-24
MOONSHINERS NOT
ALWAYS GUN TOTERS
Mountaineerss Not All Trouble
Makers But Friends and :,
Hoepitable
(Ky AHsocfated Pressl

|oliSltopI1 ., AA$. July L.,
Typical mountain moonshiners of
| Kentucky are not always OF the.
gun toting and trouble making
kind it is proven to news cores
] pondents by visits into the noun
tain region in this. area of the
state. The mountaineer type of
moonshiner, however, is contin-
ually on the alert for deputy
sheriffs, prohibition officers and
/ revenue agents.
After trip of 80 or 40 miles
/ into the mountains the corrcr-
/ pondent was escorted to a moon
/ sinners log shack, made from the
rough timber of the hillside and
| carefully arranged on a founda-
/ tion of stone.
1 "Bill' greeted his visitors with
a keen eye, bit of suspicion.
but with a friendly note in his
\ shout of welcome, stranger. ;"
/ Proper inquiries whether any
squirrels inhabited an adjacent
| mountain side where a newly
beaten path had been noticed
4 brought the answer that squirrels
! were scarce and none were found
Fin the woods. Further inquiries
/ regarding the path finally forced
I Bill" to admit that he visited the
| hillside every day but never
/ learned if any stills were there.
| Within a short time, and when 4
/! friendly spirit developed (the Wis
| itors having impressed the moon
sinner they could be trusted
some mountain dew" or in the
language of the cities white
| mule was produced from a small
/ cupboard within the single room
| of the cabin, over which hung d
religious picture and other arti-
cles of religious nature. On the
! opposite side of the room over
the bed of the moonshiner was a
! rifle of heavy calibre, an auto
matte pistol and a small calibre
revolver. The contrast was uni
que.
A pot of home grown string
beans cooked in mountain style in
large iron kettle hung over a
! fire near the hut. Fingers were
used as forks for the mountain
/ GERS luncheon aid moonshine
furnished the refreshment.
A small drink of the mountain
dew" by the correspondent al
most brought sunderland a la
/ Dempsey. Inquiries as to the age
of the liquor brought the answer
"Thet's today's stuff"
/ Hospitality of true southern
! quality will be found among the
mountaineer residents if you are
a FRIEND" if an enemy-beware.
or as BILL" explained it, snakes
in the mountains are killed"
Bill makes his farm a payable pre-
\ position for his wife and children,
/ who were attending church at the
time of the correspondents visit,
. and by occasionally cutting some
! timber. His interest in world af-
fairs is not limited, and weekly
| trips to the nearest postoffice fur
nishes him with newspapers from
I the outside" These are read
Fby one member Of the family, by
lamp and candle light to the 9th
ers, and often last throughout the
\ week
/ The moonshiner's home from
J the. outside has an tlffinT1itj1lg a B.
pearance. but once within the
home, while. some Inconvenience
+ are found, the impression of
cleanliness is produced. The low
ceiling forces a man of ordinary
/ height to stoop. The board floor
may creak, but it is solid and
high and dry. In winter cold
cold winds are Shut out by the
mud plastered between the cracks
of logs, and by the board and pa.
per lining of the inner walls. Heat
is furnished by an oil burner and
cooking is done on a coal range.
Oxen teams haul coal to the home
during the fall months. A yoke
of oxen pulling a load of timber
along the narrow mountain road
explains the manner which enable
i the mountaineer to obtain all the
sizeable logs used in constructing
his home
| Resources and resourcefullness
gained only from the CLOSE to
nature" life OF the mountaineers
enable them to succeed where the
ordinary citizen would barely get
along, but the resourcefulhess is
coupled with the fear of the law
and the belief in hereafter.