1
HEAVY FORESTS AND HILL5
GIVE SHELTER
TO ".STILL " WORKERS
Exciting Experience of Revenue Agents in
Running Down Illicit Distillers Battered
"Stills" and Supply of Whishy at Customs
House Tell Story of Capture Made in Se
cluded Oregon Spots Notorious Moonshiners
Tahen in Oregon BacKwoods.
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX. PORTLAND. OCTOBER 8, 1911.
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WHILE Oregon la not listed In
l"ncle hn'i bonk aa on. of th
leading "moonshine" states of
th t'nlon. the revenue department her
lias had no easy time In th port weed
ing out wayward distillers and keep
ing "moonshine" whisky or Mountain
l.w. as It Is better known, from th
market. And thereon hangs many an
Interesting experience.
A look at tha "still-room" In tha
basement f the Custom-bouse shows
a Ant' a battered and broken "stills."
and a plentiful supply of outlaw boo ma
In varl-sised bottles and Jucs. telling
minr stories of fnrle P.m's trurlei
In tha Oregon backwoods. Foro of
tha spirit on dUplsy I about a half
dosen X proof by this time, while soma
of tha rest Is of comparatively recent
brew, harms- been taken In ralda on
outlaw distillers In recent months.
The moonihlner operates In Orfn
for two reon: First, because whis
ky and brandy manufacturing1 doas
not require much energy and Is Inex
pensive, and second, because the whla
kr ran readily be sold at a price many
times itrester than tha coat. The moon
shiner generally Is a man who belleTes
It Is his right to make ll.juor without
Interference from the Government. I'n-
fortunately for the moonshiner, tne
Government has been unable to sea the
matter In the same llcht. and the re
sult has been that Oregon haa donated
liberally to the supply of moonshine
prlsonera In the federal penltentlarlea.
In catching them by numerous tricks,
revenue asenla have had experiences
here which would make some of the
escapades of the Southern moonshine
raiders seem tme.
The real oll-tlme moonshine corn
and molases whisky has already been
a scarcity In Oregon, on account of
the scarcity and hieh price of corn, but
fruit Is so plentiful and rhesp that
moonshine branltrs hare rarely been
on tne scarcity list.
The main part of moonshlnlng la
Oregon dates back from alitht to la
years, when roads, revenue scents and
whisky were all scare In the back
wood, and during which lime the
manufacture of the outlaw spirits waa
not such a dangerous vocation as at
present. As roatls have been built, the
districts more thickly settled and reva.
nue sirnii more skillful and plentiful,
the conditions have chanced, until now
the amount of moonshine wnisay man
ufactured In Oregon Is small. If any at
all. Tha Government acenta aay there
Is none suffice It to say there Is none
they know about. Condttlnne are Just
as favorable at present for the manu
facture of moonshine spirits aa they
were In the earlier daya. but the busi
ness Is more crowded with chancea.
The tiovernment. by experience, has
learned how to trace moonshiners, and
the vocation leavea too many footprints
to make It possible for the operations
to be continued any great lencth of
lime, apparently no matter how well
protected and how far away from
civilisation.
woooahlner Face Many Daacvrs.
In the first place the moonshiner has
to art his still and unless he Is an ex
pert tin worker he la unable to maka
"It himself to answer the delicate pur
pose of brewlnc whisky or brandy. The
.er vices of the tinsmith Is the first step
which leaves open a trace for the keen
cent of revenue acenta. The second
lancer Is In taking the "stilt" to the
scene of action, which must be on a I
tream of water. If everything coea
well In ccttir.g the plant started, then
romea the dancer of selling tha liquor
without Oeteciion and the danirer of
the "still" being traced by the sedi
ment In the stream or by the wind
blowlna; the scent of the mash to the
nostrils of revenue acents or their
friends. There Is dancer In buylnr
rorn or fruit and there Is dancer of the
revenue events coming upon the atlll
by accident.
A nolchbor or chance paaserby may
ONCE there waa a tired Denlxen of
the lilg Town whose home was at
the end of a Hallway In a Rat-hit
Warren known aa Minnehaha.
It waa not a Tenement because he
had to pay I a Month for a com
pressed Pulte overlooking t0 acres of
Gravel Roof.
Sitting back la his Morris Chair with
hla Feet on th tiny Radiator he would
read In the Sunday Taper all that Bunk
about the Dowa-aod-Outa of th Cly
hiking back to th Soil and making
00e a year raising Radishes.
He saw th Pictures of the Waving
Tree and th Ore wing Crops and th
oleacinous Natives and he yearned to
get out where he wouldn't hear the
Trolleys la the V-rn!r. and the Kid
rould get Ml'.k that came from a Cow.
So he car up hla Job In th Box
factory and moved out to Jasper Town
ihlp and tackled Intensiv Farming.
He had been Precinct Captain In th
Ate Ward and by applying Metropolitan
Methods at the Tap Primaries he su.
vee.ted la breaking Into the Iectslature
and soon owned the Farm en which be
lived and two others besides.
Moral: One can get close to Nature,
even In the Country.
...
ONE dsy a regularly appointed Hank
laspeetor weat Into a Stronshold
of Finance situated In a One-Nlcht
Stand and found th President of th.
Institution crying all over the Blotter.
"Why thee tears?" asked th Of
ficial. "Are th Farmers paying eft
their Mortgages?"
-Worse than that." replied the El
d.r'.y Maa. whoa S.d W Makers were
a, Tower of Strength la the Community.
VV are ntrtsg upon aa ra of Ex
carry the "tip" to the Government.
Kach year of the development of th
state makea the dancers more numer
ous and the vocation more unsatis
factory. The only real attraction 1
the bljr profit and the easy work
Whisky which can be manufactured
for less than IS rents a ration sells fo
aa much as 11.50 a gallon and brandie
brine even more than that.
As a rule the patrons of moonshiners
desire the effects of the whisky rathe
than the taste and that makea the
hu.lneea Rood, especially In mining and
lumber camps, where legitimate whts
ky la scare or exceedingly costly. "Da
co-red or "Red-eye snakebite are
mild In comparison with the cenulne
backwoods moonshine product. say
revenue scents who have been obliged
to try both.
Oregon moonshiners who have been
found are mostly foutherner who
have mlR-rated to thla part of the coun
try after being .forced to vacate the
IUue Rldpe or some of the other notor
lous moonshine districts of the Aouto.
They are aa a rule typical backwoods
men who have as their principal li
the spurning of society and the op
posing of revenue agents. They can
see the revenue officer In but one light
a vandal whose buslnesa. It la to
cheat honest people out of a legltl
mate llvlnr. The moonshiner think
he haa a much right to make and sell
liquor without paylnc the Government
for the privilege aa he has to be on
earth without a license. That, cou
pled with a knowledc of how to use
the rifle and the bowle-knlfe and brew
whl.ky are usually about the extent
of Ms education. His talent In other
lines a-enerally Is limited to some voca
tion hich helps his business.
Mowstahlae Raid la IMS.
The last real moonshine rstd In Ore
con remembered by the present revenue
acenta In the service was that In 101.
when the notorious "Lum" Davis was
taken after a lone hunt In the wood
of Eastern- Oregon by John TV. Mlnto,
then a revenue agent, and Al Roberta,
a Deputy United 8 la tea Marshal.
Reports had beeaj received by David
M Dunne, bead of th local revenue
office, that moonshine whisky had ap
peared In the districts about Hunt
Incton and Baker City. Mc Mlnto
made a number of trips to both towns.
but for a lone tlm could ct no trace
of tne moonshiner. Finally, when he
waa seriously doubtlnc th moonshine
report, he learned from a tinner In
Baker City that a man named Davis
who lived In the mountains bad had a
"still" manufactured some time before.
With thla clew Mlnto started a bunt
which resulted In Davis' whereabouts
brine ascertained la a general way. It
waa learned he waa aomewher In Ore
con near th Snak River. Mlnto
called upon the United States Marshal's
office for help, and Deputy Roberta
waa detailed.
The two officers rented a team and
hired a driver who was familiar with
the country and started out to make a
lencthy search. Th driver waa not In
formed of the purpose of th trip or
of th nam of th man wanted, for
fear he might bav a reason for not
wanting Davis captured. For days th
country waa scoured very carefully
with no results. People met along th
road were asked for th location of
houses tn th mountains and many re
ports gleaned In this way war run
down without th Davis cabin being
located.
It waa learned by th driver after
severil daya that Davla was th man
wanted and he knew exactly where th
cabin was and Informed th officers
they were far away from th place.
They retraced their steps and wended
their way through a rugced country
along a rough road about three miles
from the Bask River until they got
In range of Davis house. He had
heard them coming and started down
th road. When the officer wero
suddenly conf.-n ited by Davis they sa
luted him wltn a pleaaant good morn-
k tni began aaking question. Mlnto.
In a friendly way. got out of th wacon
to talk with Davis and ask him about
travagance. Th Tillers of th Soil
are no longer Hewing Wood and Draw
ing Water. They ar now hewing Holes
In the Atmosphere and drawing Gaso
line. Not many Tear a ago th Simple
Agriculturist drov Into Tovm In a
South Bend Wagon with Red Rosee
painted on the Dash-Board and stopped
at the Bank long enough t tl a Chat
tel Mortgage on his Cow, with Interest
at t Per cent a Month, payable In Ad
vance. Nowadays he comes sipping up
in a This Tear's Model of th Koko
mobtle with Torpedo Body. For-Dors
and Red Cushions and draws out his
Balance so that he can get Extra Tires
and a Speedometer. Every Hlrd Hand
has become a Chauffeur and th Jay
that usd to wear Ooah-ding-tts and
drive aa 159 Pelter now wears Goggles
and drive a Roadater with foar Lamps
hung out la front of It."
-why ar you annoyed by these Evi
dences of Prosperity?" asked th Of
ficial. "The humble Farmer ha been
the Goat for 1000 Teara Now he Is
catching Even by burning np th Turn
pike whll th City Peopl who feel
sorry for him ar sleeping on the Fire
Escape and saving op to see the Mov
ing Pictures!"
-loo do not grasp th full Horror of
th Situation." aald th President ef the
Bank.
"If all th Reubs withdrew thslr De
posits In order ta buy thee expensive
11100 Cars, our Reserve will be so de
pleted and Normal Conditions so badly
disturbed, that possibly I will bav ta
Cancel my Order for that f 7000 French
Limousine whirl I nicked out at the
New Tork Show."
Whereupon be resumed his Weeping.
Moral: It Is Time to call a Hill
(Copyright, 1)11. by George Ade.)
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th country and the chances for nln-
Ing and farming and th two In tlm
became Intimate. Mlnto's first prog
ress was decidedly cautious, aa his
ears tickled with storlos he had heard
about Davis' disregard f?r tb lives of
revenue agents and Intruders In gen
eral. Tha two men were seated on a
bank of dirt drawing pictures of tha
road and surroundings, when Mlnto
reached around Davla and grabbed a
long, ugly-looking bowle-knlfe from
avis hich top boot anj explained to
him that he was under arrest. Davis,
n Southern style, realising that he
waa caught, did not resist and did not
a lk. He let the officer find out
things for themselves. Going to his
cabin, they began looking around, but
found no trace of a still ur.tll they
went up the sldehlll Into th thick
brush. There they uncovered a well-
constructed distillery, with th fumes
of whisky still fresh In the air.
They then returned to Davla cabin
and uncovered odd conditions which
they learned later were the result of
an old romance. They found th oor-
ners of the cabin well provided with
Winchesters and ammunition. In on
of th rooms they found a Chinese wo
man and two half-breed children, vv 1th
their presence hinged a tale. About
4 years before tnat time, it waa
learned. Davla had first entered the
8nak River district. He had made
his way to the Snake River by stage
to Wild Goose Rapids. On th stag
had been, besides Davis, three wealthy
Chines mining men and a Chinese girl
who had been stolen and was being
taken to th mining camps for a slave.
The party had started across th Bnake
River In a boat, when Davis suddenly
whipped out a gun and took charge of
th situation. On th Oregon side of
the river he took the girl and sent the
Chinamen back across the river. He
made hla way Into the mountains and
IN
1 - THE-19J1 FABLE OF THE FLAT-BWZiLEE.NX)
LIFE IN THE OPEN. 2 THE 1911 EAgLE OF
THE LOCAL PIERPONT WJrlO WAS TROUBLED
in vSPiirr ND-Kor wnuour cau.se.
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THE: TILl.KRa Ok' THE
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built his cabin, keeping- the Chinese
woman in the house.
She had remained with him for 14
years, when the moonshine raid was
made, and had two handsome children.
They were all broken-hearted when
Davl was taken away.
Davla Seat t Penitentiary.
Davis was brought to Portland, con
victed and sent to th Federal Peni
tentiary. He was TO years old then,
and Is thought now to be dead. He
was a typical Southern backwoodsman.
Hla moonshine business In Oregon had
been carried on In a systematic man
ner. He was a good hand with th
violin and had become the fiddler at
the dances held In th district from
time to time. When be took an en
gagement to fiddle for a dance he also
took the contract to furnish th re
freshments. His whisky made him
popular and he rarely missed landing;
tha contract to play for dances. In
this way he disposed of most of his
moonshine whisky at a good profit and
took comparatively small chancea of
getting caught- He raised much of
his own corn and had a couple. of hogs
at his still to eat up th mash after
th whlaky had bean taken off.
About th same time reports were
received of a similar moonshine plant
across th Bnake River, and months of
hard work was don In th efforts of
th revenue officers to locate It, but
they never located the plant. There
have been other plants traced In
Southern Oregon, and even near Port
land. Moat of these were distilleries
where brandy waa made of peaches,
pears, apples or other fruits. Many
other arrests have been mad from
time to time.
The system of making; moonshine
whisky is according to established
rules which originated In the South.
The first process In making the real
SLANG
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01U ARB ti LOM-tB UKW1.0 WOOD
whisky Is the securing of corn. This
Is ground up to a meal and placed In
a copper "mash tub," where water la
applied and the product is allowed to
ferment. The fermentation Is allowed
to go on for four days, after which
th product Is ready for the cooking
vat, which Is also of copper. This vat
Is placed over a stove, usually "built
In the ground. At the top is a tube.
which Is provided to catch the vapor
from the fermented corn and draw it
Into the stilt A slow fire Is placed
nnder th cooking vat and kept burn
ing for several days until the fer
mented mash Is dry. The vapor rising
from the mash goes through the tube
Into the still, where It Is transformed
Into liquid. This liquid is Tne nn
Is tied, whisky, and when drained off is
ready to be placed In storage or sent
to the market. It appears about theH
color of water, but generally is col
ored to meet the demand of th user,
who generally gauges his taste on the
color.
Th Government on legitimately
make whisky demands a revenue of
1.10 on a gallon , which makes
the price to th consumer high. The
moonshiner can snake the product for
IS cents a gallon or less. In Oregon,
and can sell It at a good profit at from
60 cents to II. The peach and other
fruit brandies are stilled In th same
manner as whisky.
Many tricks are resorted to to dls
pose of th whisky. In soma cases It
Is said the product is shipped to other
states where it can be done without
detection. The moonshiner places the
whisky in a barrel and places the
barrel In another larger barrel. All
around the whisky barrel he places
potatoes so that the shipment looks
like a barrel of potatoes. He ships
this way to a friend who desires to
get whisky cheap.
Generally the moonshiner makes
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A.D BRAWl.VG WATER.
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i .a - s vie . - ,in mf-m ft irjtnt -
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enough whiskey in a month or two to
last him the entire year. After getting
his brew complete he stows his supply
away In the ground and very care
fully hides his still. He Is then will
ing that revenue agents look his place
over because there Is no sign of moon-
shining. During bis idle time he grows!
nis corn and lays in nis stores ior an
other season of brewing. He gen
erally selects the middle of winter for
his work when It is not so easy for
revenue agents to trace him either
MemoirS of Sherlock Holmes
CONTINUED
swinging his lantern and peering down
Into the hole.
" These are coins of Charles the
First,' said he. holding out the few
which bad been in the box; "you sea
w were right in fixing our date for
the Ritual.'
" W may ' find something else of
Charles the First,' I cried, as the prob
able meaning of the first two ques
tions of the Ritual broke suddenly upon
me. "Let- me see the contents of th
baar which you fished from the mere.'
"We ascended to his study, and he
laid the debris before me. I could
understand his regarding it as of small
lmnortance when . I looked at It, for
the metal was almost black and the
stones lusterless and dulL I rubbed one
of them on my sleeve. -however, and It
glowed afterwards like a spark In the
dark hollow of my hand. The metal
work was In the form of a double
ring, but It had been bent and twisted
out of its original shape.
" Tou must bear In mind.' said I.
that the royal party made head in
England even after the death of the
King, and that when they, at last fled
they probably left many of their most
precious possessions buried behind
them, with th intention of returning
for them in more peaceful, times.'
" "My ancestor. Sir Ralph Musgrave,
was a prominent Cavalier and the
right-hand man of Charles the Second
in bis wanderings,- saio my ineno.
"'Ah, Indeed!' I answered. 'Well,
now. I think tnat reany snouia give
us the last link that we wanted. I
must congratulate you on coming into
the possession, though tn rather a trag
ic manner, of a relic which is of great
intrinsic value, but bf even greater im
portance as an historical curiosity.'
" "What is it, menr ne gaspea in
astonishment.
It is nothing less than the ancient
crown of the Kings of England.'
The crown! . .
Strange Sights on
CONTINUED
wllllnfr tn tftlm the TTeavenlv Pilot on
board to bring you to a safe harbor.
There is no doubt that sin pays wages.
nut tne wages ot sin is ueaui. juu
v. n i I r. i n , th, Ravlnr endured the
cross, despised the shame, to set you
rree irom your em, uuu ii c
lim, you are oavcu. w uicj " ' " r.
. T.' 1 I U TtTonriovin v Rntf Tn -
night." I watched the score or so of
men who were lined up to get a free
bed. There were sad faces there
there were hard and bitter faces, and
hopeless faces faces that dissipation
.a it. m.rlr nn. For a moment
the bitter lines were softened, and as
one tf tne men puuea nis raggea cap
over his eyes I saw his lip tremble,
v - - ..icrVi t want Hown ro the JerrT
McAuley Mission. The testimonies you
will hear tnere may noi oe eiesaui, uui
iiov are eloauent. if sincerity and
earnestness count for eloquence. "God
has kept me irom onns one
i. " iiij.in hnlH on f o Sad'B
wceo.. " vw -
salvation. It's easy to slip back, and
God knows I want to make good."
, -i. nv- hv m a V not be
1. liti i.j ui .
couched in orthodox language, but they
are tne real tning. um
me stood up and prayed. "God, you
i wh,t r wn i am doing all 1
can. It's up to you now. 1 am trust
ing you. 1 know yon won i.
tt-v. - T tint wnt in 1 thought
maybe I could give a quarter. By tb
time I had. Deen mere a "111JUU1 '
dug up a dollar bill instead of the
quarter, and before the meeting was
over I had decided that a dollar bill
would feel lonesome without another
keep it company.
Here is what got to my pocketbook:
by the streams, or roads or the scent.
Sometimes people in the woods make
the whisky or brandy for their own
use as medicine but Uncle Sam is just
as strict with them as with the mar
ket moonsiner. Revenue agents say
the days of the moonshiner In tha
West are about over with but never
theless the agents are continually on
the watch and admit that at any time
they may round up more of the out
law distillers, perhaps right here in
the city.
FROM PAGE 3
' " 'Precisely. Consider what the Ritual
says. How does It run? "Whose wa
it?" "His who Ts gone." That was
after the execution of Charles. Then.
"Who shall have It?" "He who will
come.' That was Charles the Second,
whose advent was already foreseen.
There can,' I think, be no "doubt that
this battered and shapeless diadem once
encircled the brows of the royal
Stuarts.'
" 'And how came it in the pond?"
"'Ah, that is a question that will
take soma time to answer.' And with
that I sketched out to him the whole
long chain of surmise and of proof
which I had constructed. The twilight
had closed In and the moon was shin
ing brightly In the sky before my nar
rative was finished.
" "And how was it then that Charles
did not get his crown when he re
turned? asked Muegrave, pushing back
the relic Into Its linen bag.
" Ah, there you lay your finger upon
the one point which we shall probably
never be able to clear up. It Is likely
that the Musgrave who held the secret
died In the Interval, and by some over
sight left this guide to his descendant
without explaining the meaning of it.
From that day to this it has been hand
ed down from father to son, until at
lait it came within reach of a man
who tore its secret out of it and lost
his life in the venture.'
"And that's the story of the Musgrave
Ritual, Watson. They have the crown
down at Hurlstone though they have
had some legal bother and a consider
able sum to pay before they were al
lowed to retain It. It am sure that if
you mentioned my name they would be
happy to show it to you. Of the woman
nothing was ever heard, and the prob
ability Is that she got away out of
England and carried herself and the
memory of her crime to some land be
yond the seas."
(Copyright, 1911, by Sir A. Conan Doyle)
New York Streets
FROM PAGE 5
"Brother Walker wants your prayers
to help him get a Job. His need Is
great. If we had any money I would
i have helped him. He is trusting the
Lord. When I saw him today he and
his wife and their child bad not had
anything to eat today nor yesterday,
but both he and his wife are full of
courage and faith. It Is hard on ber,
for she Is going to have a baby soon.
Pray for him and ask the Lord to send
him to some one who will give him
work."
After the meeting I said to the lead
er: "Is not that an exceptional case
you mention?" "Oh, no;" he answered,
"we have hundreds of such cases.
Sometimes It makes me sick at heart to
think that I can do nothing to relieve
them. They don't want charity. What
they want is work. Sometimes It is by
the merest accident that I learn the
people I visit are suffering from hun
ger. - They are too proud to let It be
known. I often think of the wealth
of our rich people and how a mere pit
tance of what they waste and what
they would not miss would be life it
self to some of those with whom we
come In contact."
A few doors from this little mission
on Twenty-ninth street Is the Old Hei
delberg, the meeting place of the
street-walkers and their all-too-willing
prey. New York is like a painting
by an impressionist. In places the col
ors are laid on vivid and raw. Every
where you see violent contrast. Wall
street and the moss-grown stones in
Trinity churchyard- luxury and vice
wealth and want Broadway and the
Sower the Hudson tubes and the
horsecara. FRED LOCKLET.