The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-19
NINE OUT OF TEN MOONSHINERS
 FOREIGN BORN
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 most nonentity, and the once pre- va1ent fad of home- brewing is rap idly on the decrease.
 It is in the mountains of the south ern and border states on the Mason and Dixon line that moonshining is dying hardest, but there, too, it is dying. Prohibition agents in those sections occasionally find the bad man" of the still unregenerated by the tightening coils of the law about his illicit calling, but his clan is less numerous than formerly.
 There the occasional desperado in the whisky business still speaks. with the voice of the rifle and revolver. In those hills and fastnesses the moonshiner is the native son of our soil, not the criminal product of Flu rope generally encountered in the larger cities. And the native moon- sinner is a far more cunning and dangerous outlaw than the foreign born. On his stamping ground where every tree is a sentinel and every winding trail a highway, he fights the government agent with an inti- mate knowledge of the battlefield and with a host of natural allies.
 O o o
 A Pistol Battle.
 
 internal revenue bureaus force of moonshine hunters, now on the pro- hibtion enforcement force, set out with companion not long ago to ap- prehend moonshners whose activi- ties had been reported The two men travelled cautiously through the woods as they neared the spot where the still was situated. After hours of slow progress, during which they made their way so silently that even the tell-tale snapplng of twig be- meath their feet was avoided, they looked down, at the edge of the tim Der land, upon a cleared space where the still was in full operation.
 It had been built close to d narrow river, tapping an abundant supply Of fresh water. Two men were engaged in the routine occupation of choppins wood and tending the fire. A canoe was drawn up on the river bank and tied with a rope to stake driven ill the ground Between the prohibition agents and the still there was a belt of cleared land, perhaps one hundred yards in width.
 As the agents debated their next move, the two men at the still saw them, threw down their implements and ran for the canoe. The agents, pistol in hand, started in pursuit. Some difficulty was experienced by the fleeing men in launching the
  ing rapidly, the fugitives plunged into the river and started to swim across.
 At the same moment there came a voney of bullets from the opposite side of the river. The agents dropped to the ground, unhurt. A gentie mound gave shelter to one; the stump of felled tree protected the ether Bullets rained about them. kicking up a miniature cloud of dust They did not reply to the fire but lay still, waiting for what was to come.
 Pursuit And Death.
 When the swimming men gained the further shore, carried down stream by the current, their con federates, apparently believing the and ran to meet them. The llttle group was about 150 yards from the agents, but such distance means lit tie to men trained in marksmanshlp' The agents were armed with re- volvers that carried accurately more than twice that distance.
 They took slow aim and fired. There was immediate confusion among the group on the further shore. One of them dropped, the others ran for cover. As they fled' the agents emptied their reVolVers
  law in sight, and firing from the further shore had ceased, the agents ran to the canoe, cut the rope, ana padded across the river. Ihey quickly picked up a trail or ploou and followed it short distance to ~iunn of trees where the outlaws had tied their horses. Men and an in,als were gone. In their haste, inc outlaws had cut the brides, leaV- ing part of them dangling from the saplings. .u tho .gents found one of the outlaws, ly- inc where he had fallen. His life was ebbing, but with grit worthy or a better cause, he refused an oiieI of water or any other minlstratl0n' Almost his last act was to shafe ie his fist, with waning strength m their faces He died within few
 Two of his comrades likewise paid with their lives the penalty or thelr lawlessness. Two more were padIE ,vounded One man alone escaped unhurt. Prohibition agents of the southern mountains shoot hard and
 Going back to the still, the agents destroyed 1t. They found fully equipped plant, a quantity or mash @ and "beer" and four 5O-gallon bar rels filled with moonshine.
 Carefully Planned Ambuscade.
 Later, the agents learned that not withstanding their stealthy progress through the woods, they had been seen by the moonshiners' confed- crates about an hour before their arrival at the still, and that the moonshiners had prepared for their coming The main body of outlaws had moved across the river into an ambuscade, with the purpose of kill ing the agents when they appeared. Two men purposely remained behind to signal the raiders arrival. The canoe had been prepared for their escape, but the rope that fastened it had been tied too tightly. That little mishap caused the outlaws ly- ing in ambush to withhold their fire while efforts were being made to un- tie the knot. for fear of hitting their own fellows.
 Stirring tales of battle between agents and mountain moonshiners abound in the files of southern pro hibition offices. Sometimes the moon- sinners womenfoll turn, like tigresses. to aid their kind. Then