Fort Mill times. (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, March 03, 1910, SUPPLEMENT TO THE FORT MILL TIMES, Image 9
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"1
AMONG THE MOONSHINERS
OF THE "DARK CORNER" ?
# J. Stewart Price in New? and Courier.
Behind the snow-capped mountains of
the pretty Blue Ridge, not so many
miles to the northwest of Greenville,
lives the genuine "moonshiner" of
whom so much has been read by the
public and sn in private life.
There, o: t .hose stately hills, 1
live men woo .... ..licit whiskey and
just as much of it as those on the other
side. Perhaps the most interesting
part of the life of these people is not ,
the kind of,whiskey they make, how
mey mane it, wnen tney niaKe. it, out
their frankness and openness to every
man or woman who cares to "tote fair"
with them.
No better evidence of the traits of
these ruddy mountaineers can "be had
than at this time when the snow is on
the ground. A stranger going through
that land will be watched with an
eagle's eye, but if he proves that he is
a man ?that is, a man in the true
sense of the word?he will be welcomed
to their homes for shelter until the
roads are fit for him to continue his
journey.
The other day in the "Dark Corner,"
when the snow was falling in solid
Bheets, a strange^ was seen driving
through that part of the country in a
buggy- The storm grew severe, exceptionally
severe for this part of the
country, but knowing that he was a
stranger and having heard so much
about the "hatred" of the mountain
people for "spies," and thinking that
they might suspect him of bring one,
he attempted to drive on. It was
desolately cold annd the traveller
wanted shelter, but was afraid to let
his wants be known. His hope, however,
was realized. A big, burly man
of the hills came riding down the mountain
road on a mule with a sack of corn
stretched across the animal's back, and
asked the stranger, "What's yore
destinashun?" Upon being informed
by the lonely occupant of the buggy
that he was bound for North Carolina.
the mountaineer in all frankness, said:
"Partner, it's tu cole for you to
make their trip ter-night, and you had
better go home with me, wher yu will
be out of the cold and so yer hoss can
be fed."
Coming as it did, that frank and open i
welcome completely" changed the
stranger's view of the much criticised
moonshiner and together they drove
back down the road and across a small
trail to the home nestling snugly in the
thickness of the pines that the traveller ,
had just passed.
A fire was burning in the big oldtime
fireplace, and, after standing before
it a few minutes, they went to
the kitchen where a substantial supper
was spread. "It's awful weether fur
a stranger to tackle these bad roads;
and 'specually whin its snowing so.
Why, stranger, _yu would have gotten
lost in these hills had you 'tempted to
go on futher."
With the plainness which the moonshiner
liked, the stranger replied: "I
had heard so much about the mountain
people not liking strangers that I cared j
to tackle it instead of stopping. I
appreciate your kindness and will always
feel differently toward you. You
are kind and good and by this act of
Pnnuir^iiro ion T o m nrvrt
w<intv4\,&aviuu a am wumuu^uij vvjivinccd
that the people of the "Dark
Corner" are people whose traits are
just as noble as those who have every
advantage in the thickly populated sections
of the country."
It afterwards developed that the
stranger was a newspaper man from
. one of the big papers of the East, for
the mountaineer received a copy of his
paper with a long story about the life
pf the moonshiner, much of which was
devoted to the hospitality of the people
living in the foothills.
Not so very long ago a newspaper
man of this city went on a raid with
the revenue officers and State constables
in the "Dark Corner." They
were gone for three days, and returned
? to the city with four prisoners. These
four men were mere youths, the sons
of two families and their means of
support. They were caught "in the
mv ?, uo mc vmiiv vi r? any . uciui ui ni|^~ ,
ing them* to Greenville, the officers
carried them to their homes to get
changes of clothing. On arriving at
the homesteads, their mothers, old and
aged, broke down and cried. The tears
were not from grief that their sons had
committed some offence, but because
they were to be carried away to the I
city to face the laws of the United
States Government. V
bile the officers went off some dis- i
tance to get their horses near the home ;
of the last two; the other two men '
being brought on to this place, the
newspaper man was left in charge of
the prisoners. He felt a peculiar tingle
at his heart, and the thought came to
him, 4 4what have these people done to
me?"
Walking over to one of the men he
? said that his mission with the officers
was not one of malice, but was for the
purpose of learning something of the
life of the moonshiners, and while the
men were left in his charge, a small
man, against four big six-footers, he
was simply acting as a temporary
, . >* - *.
SUPP]
m&rshall and that he had the kindest
feeling in the world for them. The
leader turning around and facing the
newspaper man, said: "We we.a
caught fair and we gave the officers
our word that we were going to Greenville
with them. If we cared to give
trouble, it would be easy enough to
| close the doors of the house and drive
the raiders away at the point of those
rifles over there in the corner. But we
are going without any trouble. Turning
he said to his mother: "Fix the
! gentleman something to eat, for he
will get good and hungry before we
reach Greenville." The good old lady
I WAS rrrmo lint n four mlnnfoe
announced that food was ready and the
reporter ate to his heart's content.
Later the men were tried in the United
States Court here and convicted, paid
their fines and went back to their
homes. They visited the newspaper
man while in the city and together
they had quite a pleasant chat.
In company with Special Police Hendrix
Rectm, who lived in the mountains
for years, State Constable Reuben
Gosnell, in his day a "moonshiner" of
the first class, and others from Greenville,
the writer went on a big hunting
trip not so many months ago. Using
a big motor car, the '.rowd of seven
left the city early one morning and
reached the foothills about 8 o'clock.
They had a great day, killing many
rabbits and quail, and being treated
royally by the people. While rambling
over the hiils, the writer was shown by
one of the mountaineers piloting the
party the ruins of hundreds of illicit
distilleries, where no doubt thousands
of gallons of whiskey had been made.
In talking with the people many
pretty little stories of human interest
came to light. One of the party of
mountain people that joined the crowd
from the city, told of an incident that
occurred in the "Dark Corner" not
many years ago, when an old man and
his son were captured, being charged
with making illicit whiskey. The
evidence against the son was strong,
but that against the father was circumstantial.
The old man, thin and
gray, had been to the spring near the
distillery to get some water and the
I raiders rushed in on the distillery. The
son was first captured and as the father
was near the plant, he was also arrested.
But the old fellow was innocent
of any wrongdoing, having given
a promise years ago to quit making
whiskey. The son spoke to the officers,
and in a frank manner said: "Fa's got
nothing to do with this place, for its
mine and I am the one to take, not
him." This was an admission on the
part of the son of his own guilt, but
showed the real devotion to his father.
Had he not spoken in this way, perhaps
the father would have been taken
away, too, and tried for aiding and
abetting in the making of illicit whiskey.
But the prettiest story yet told about
the moonshiners is one that came to
light about three weeks ago, when the
officers made a big raid in the "Dark
Corner." It concerns three girls,
maidens of some 18 years who Kept
watch on the hill tops for the approach
of the officers, insuring the safety of
brothers and sweethearts at work at
a big distillery on the branch below.
For days this big distillery flourished
and many gallons of whiskey were
made. The officers hunted high and
low for it, but could not find it. After
days of diligent search it was located
from the top of a hill by a little streak
of smoke that could be seen curling up
from the pines. Following this sign,
the raiders worked their way across
hills, over gulleys and through bushes
to the outfit.
Stationed nearby, however, were
the girls, and as the raiders came
through the stubble, an Alarming cry
sounded from the crest of the hill and
the "moonshiners" dashed off down
into the valley below and disappeared
hurriedly. The girls made their presance
known to attract the officers' attention,
and as soon as they were discovered
there was a ruffle of skirts and
away they darted through the woods.
This is but an instance of the devotion
or the mountain women to their
fathers, hlishnndn
hearts.
As long as there is corn, "moonshine"
will be made in the "Dark
Corner" for the distillers believe that
it is their Godgiven right to do what
they please with their corn, and as the
markets are so far away, anil the price [
of corn not sufficient to w arrant their
hauling it so far, they figure that the
only reasonable course is to turn the
grain into whiskey which always bring
good prices.
r
Touring Car $950?
FORD AUTO]
LEMENT TO THE FORT I
HALLEY'S COMET. !
i
Now that Halley's comet is rapidly '
approaching the earth, and is soon to 1
become an object of great popular interest,
the public will desire to know .
the leading facts concerning this fa- 1
mous celestial visitor, and to learn '
something of its eventful history. In
jual nuav jrai t Ul UIC ucavcnt) It 13^ III ^
present, when and where it may be
seen best, when it will be nearest the
earth, and what danger, if any, is !
there of a collision with our globe, are 1
some of the questions that are natural- '
ly asked.
It is not yet visible to the naked eye,
and as it is approaching the sun, it will '
soon be lost in his rays till about April j
1, when it will reappear in the morning
sky ahead of the sun. On March 24 (
it win be on the opposite side of the
sun from us, and on April 20 it will
pass its perihelion at a distance of
54,000,000 miles from the sun.
From that time till May 15 it will be
a glorious spectacle in the morning '
heavens. On May 18 it will pass di- 1
rectly between the earth and the sun,
when it will be only 12,000,000 miles j
from us. As it sweeps rapidly by us '
it will pass from the morning to the
evening sky again, and after a few
weeks it will bid us adieu for its long
journey into the depths of space, not
to return to us again in three-fourths
of a century.
As it rushes by us on May 18 it will
pass directiy over the disc of the sun,
and a fine opportunity will be afforded i
to test by observation the size and "
character of the nucleus. If it consists
of solid particles of considerable
size, or of dense aggregation, it will
be projected as a dark mass against
the bright face of the sun, but if it is
composed of gas only, or of very small
particles widely diffused, it will pass
across the sun as an invisible mass.
It iB not improbable that the earth at
that time may become involved in the
nebulosity of its tail, but the matter
composing the tail is so extremely tenuous
that the earth will in nil nmho.
bility pass through it without any sensible
effect. The transit of the comet
across the face of the sun will take
place during the night on the western
hemisphere, and hence we could not
see it anyway, but astronomers on the
opposite side of the earth will doubt- i
less observe this phenomenon with
great care. j
The possibilities of a collision of the
earth and a comet, and the probable
results of such an occurrence, have
often been discussed, but owing to our
ignorance of cometary masses, such
discussions are little bettor than speculations,
Thst such a collision is possible
no one will deny, but the proba- i
bility of it is extremely remote. If a
comet of small size ana density should
run full tilt against the earth, our atMade
41 Bali
With Only <
Read in our Farmers' Ye
1910 how a planter in Te
made 41 bales of cotton
record breaking yield, anc
drought?the worst in yean
$2,098.47 for this crop. Yo
By U
Virginia-!
I ertil
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SALES OV
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KLLL TIMES, MARCH 3,
t '
mosphere would probably prevent seri>us
damage. A brilliant meteoric
jhower would doubtless be witnessed,
but that would be all. But if a large
meteor of great density should collide
with the earth the results would doubtess
be more serious. Aside from the
mpact of the solid masses against the
;arth, the gasses suddenly diffused into
our atmosphere might be fatal to life.
Halley's comet received its name
trom cximunct Halley, a distinguished
English astronomer, who observed it
in 1682 and who predicted its return
in 1759. His prediction was based up)n
the fact that its orbit in 1682 was
learly identical with that of 1607 and
1531. He also found in history references
to remarkable comets in 1456,
1301, 1145 and 1066. As the interval
between the return of these comets
was about 75 years, he concluded that
they were one and the same body, and
this conclusion proved to be correct.
The history of Halley's comet, as it
las been traced back through the ages
ay its period of 75 years, is quite
?ventful. In 1066 it was regarded as
the forerunner of the victory of William
of Normandy. Its size then was
equal to that of the full moon. In 1456
its tail reached from the horizon to the
zenith, and the wildest excitement prevailed.
Indeed, at every return of
this remarkable comet the nations of
the earth have looked upon it with awe.
Its first recorded appearance was 130
B. C., when it was supposed to herald
the birth of Mithridates.
At this return the conditions will be
very favorable for a magnificent view
of this historic celestial visitor, and
the impressions made upon the minds
of those who behold it will doubtless
remain through life.
OVER
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If so, let me figure with vou. I can I
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grade of material at the lowest prices.
No jobs too large, none too small.
A. A. BRADFORD
Builder and Contractor, Ft Mill. S. C.
MITCHELL HOTEL,
(Formerly Nicholson Hotel)
CHESTER. - - S. C.
Rates, $2 Per Day and Up.
S W. Mitchell, Proprk.or.
es of Cotton
One Mule
:ar Book or Almanac for
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l with only one plow, a
I he had a nine weeks'
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^T^HREDIhiA. ^1 price-list mentioning this ad
ESTABLISHED 1037
^^assai^sslifip JOHN WHITE & CO.. Louisyiua Kx.
^Hunting Creek Corn Whiskey it the finest piece of
goods that the science of distilling has ever produced, this SM
Co*H is a very broad sutement but we are willing to back it by .fjU^vQR
our reputation.
It costs moremake HUNTING CREEK. CORN
now than it did when we first began but, it was the best \^y|
V qHEnp' that could be made then and so it is to-day?in spite of (pfl
the increased cost. pF j|
HUNTING CREEK CORN WHISKEY is very II
^ mild, mellow and palatable with a flavor all its own,
which all imitators have failed to produce. Its unquestioned
purity makes it, when needed, the doctors favorite prescription. ' *
The same QUALITY ALWAYS?It never VARIES.
PRICE-LIST
IGal. 2 Gal. 3 G.I. 4G.1. 4 Qa. 6Qt. 12Qt>.
Hunting Greek Corn $3.00 $5 60 $ 8 25 $10.00 $3/25 $5 00 $ 8 25
Coopers Laurel Valley Corn .... 3.25 6 25 9.00 12.00 3.50 5.25 10.00
Iredell Corn ZM 3.60 5.25 6.75
Old Tiroes Corn 3.75 7.10 10 50 12.75 4.00 6.35 12.00
Couch's Pride Cora 2.75 5.00 7.35 9.65
Cascade Rye 5.00 6.75 12.75
Macdon Rye 3.50 6 60 9.50 12.00 3.75 5.35 9.75
JaccoRye 3.00 5.00 8.25 10.00 3.25 4.75 8.75
Original Cascade. $12.00 per rase.
Express prepaid?No charge for packing. Complete price-list sent free of cost
Every thing in Wines and Liquors.
Remit P. O. or Express Money Order.
J. A. COUCH, Mgr. Ship. Dept.
tin j. a. Mcdonough company,
P. O. Box 718. RICHMOND, VA.
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