ioa the Unconquer
able "Maiden
Moonshiner' of
Kentucky, Intrenched f,
in the Roch Hilts,
Has Faced Single
Handed the United
States Government
Officers, and Is
Accused of Wound
ing, Perhaps Mor
tally, One of the
Attaching Parly.
Down behind a natural fortress of
huge bowlders in eastern Kentucky a
woman who has not yet seen hor thir
tieth birthday Is calmly, Intrepidly
nnd successfully defying tho mighty
government of tho. United States.
A few days ago, slnglo-handed, she
beat back a posse of tho best revenuo
officers Uncle Sam could muster. Her
aim Is true and hor belief in her sov
ereign right to make her own brand
of whisky from her own corn is su
premo and immovable.
Mary Fonts, aged 27, Is America's
only moonshine maid, and sho is a
moonshiner by birth, inclination and
training. Hor father was a moon
shiner beforo hor, and tho several ram
mentions of her family hold records
for battle with revenue officers that
any mountnlnccr might envy.
For -10 yenrs tho Heaver Creek dis
trict, on tho Knott-Floyd-Lotohor bor
der, hns been a moonshlno stronghold,
the scene of many a pitched battle
between moonshiners and government
oillclals. Blood of both aides has
stained its narrow ravinos nnd pic
turesque mountain paths. If a record
of lives sold for the mountain brew
had been kept doubtloss tho greater
number of notches would have been
cut by Undo Sam. Hut when it camo
to this woman, this tall, stalwart,
calm-eyed, sure- aiming young woman
on hor native heath, Uncle Sam was
lmflled. Chivalry died hard, oven when
backed by law and justice, nnd to send
his picked shots against a woman was
more than even Uncle Sam wanted to
do. In time tho clash had to conic,
yet tho woman won against tho law
and its nnned oflleers.
Mary Fonts was boriPln tho rude
homo whore sho now distills what Is
said to be tho best brand of whisky
obtainable In all Kentucky. Her baby
eyos studlod tho still, and her baby
ears learned to catch quick, ominous
whispers. Just as the child of tho
proverbial artist accepts poverty as
the price of parental genius, as tho
child of tho king believes that royal
ty can do no wrong, so this child of
the mountains believed that making
whisky without government consont
was tho inalienable right of hill peo
ple I lor parents were ambitious for the
llttlo Mary, however, and sent her to
school, where sho proved except Ion
ally bright, and acquired an amount of
"book learning" which dazzled her
humblo relatives. Hut she nover for
got her lovo of tho mountain life and
never lost her grip on mountain tra
ditions. When other girls were writing notes
to each other or making paper dolls
Mary Fouts whs drawing plcturos of
.stills, and ilnally she presented to her
ustonlBhed teacher a perfect repro
duction of a still. Including tho "worm"
which sho had evolved from somo odd
bits of copper that camo hor way.
During hor twelfth yonr, whon homo
on hor vacation, she made a "run" of
very fair moonshine whisky In nn old
coffoo boiler in her mother's kitchen.
At 10, hor education finished, Mary
Fonts declared against muslin frouka
and cross-rond dances. Sho wan tod
tho froo If hazardous llfo of tho moon
shlnor. A woman moonshiner! Even bold
Kentucky gasped.
WoniQU.thors were who hnd protect
ed their "men," and fought for their
"men" and evon died with their "men"
but a woman who wanted to be a
loador of iun In moonsblnlng, well,
that wns going soma!
A rw ioar later, Mary Iftmts came
Into hor w. Hor father died, and
sho became the head of his household
nnd the manipulator of hlu famous still.
And whnt was more, Mary Fonts
mndo a whisky of no moan reputa
tion. Sh6 raised her own crop of
corn and coaxed It as only a farmer
who lovos his growing things can
coax. And then sho made it Into tho
right sort of whisky, pure and un
adulterated. "I would not adulterato my whisky
for any price, nor for tho wholo
world," said Miss Fonts in a recent
Interview and sho meant It. No
head of a great food factory over re
garded tho output of his establishment
with greater reverence and prldo and
nffectlon than does Mary Fouts tho
product of her Illicit still. And down
there In Kentucky when n man wants
tho real thing In whisky ho demands
Mary Fout3' whisky, willingly pay
ing tho higher prlco asked for hor
brand.
Now, of course, tho United States
government, with Its mighty system of
oflleers and spies, was not Ignorant
of Mary Fouts and hor calm, unwaver
ing violation of tho laws. Hut how to
reach Mary Fonts without sacrificing
national pride by spilling the blood of
a woman who sinned only becauso sho
thought It no sin. but hor right, was
a problem even for a great govern
ment. If Mary Fouts would kindly
snenk out of her stronghold nnd mur
der a mnn In cold blood, then the law
might take its course. Hut Mary Fonts
was distressingly poacenble nnd In
dustrious. Sho attonded strictly to
hor own business.'
Mnry Fouots did not come to town
nor haunt highways. Hut she certain
talnly did know hov to guard hor
property, particularly her still. This
had a natural barricade of rocks, and
behind this barricade Mary Fouts kept
a collection of Winchesters nnd am
munition which meant a light to a
finish and it is a sorry thing for a
posso of men to ilnd themselves fight
ing ngninst one intrepid woman wIh)
had been guilty of no greater ofTemso
thnn turning tho product or hor own
land Into cash according to the meth
ods followed by her ancestors for gen
erations. And of those ancestors sho
wns as proud as the scions of English
nobility of the ancestors who fought
under Wllllnm the Conqueror.
Hut something had to bo dono.
Theio wero seven counts against Miss
Fouts. Tho government felt that pa
tience, even with a fnlr woman, had
ceased to bo a virtue. Tho dignity
of tho law must bo maintained, with
out bloodshed If posslblo, with blood
shed if necessary. Hut llrst diplo
macy. A rovonuo otllcor sent to Miss Fouts
by a trusted friend to tho moonshiner
this mossngo In writing:
"Meet us at tho schoolbouso on Den
ver Creek Thursday and promise you
will nover violate tho law, never
inoonsblno any moro, anil wo will see
to It that you are fully pardoned for
all."
"I will nover meet you," wns her
curt roply, and to hor mother sho
said:
"Thoro's no use talking I will kcop
this still going in spite of nil tho gov
ernment. It is n duty to you I menu
to fulfill. Father stilled all his llfo
and stilled good whisky. Thore Is no
reason why wo shouldn't keop up tho
family reputation. Thoy will nover
take me alive." vh Is said to havo
added.
For, you see, Mary Fonts, for all her
contempt of government and tho law,
Is no rude mountain woman of mi
couth bearing and loughor speech. She
In the embodiment of the twentieth
century business womnn n-bloom In
Kentucky hills.
So the qunlnt old Fonts homestead
wns put In n stnto of slogo, The Win
chester wore clenned, loaded nnd
mnde rendy. The revenue men were
sure to come ntter that bold defiance.
And come they did, hondod by Uni
ted States Marshal F. M. Illalr, one or
the most deturmlnod nnd successful
men in the revenue service. With him
was n picked posso and before hhn,
well barricaded by u natural broast
work of Impenetrable rock, wuh Mary
Fonts, the moonshine maid, with Win
chesters and ammunition enough to
stand off an army,
According to the officers' story thoy
pressed forward, and then Mary FoutB
tired. Sho deliberately, say tho reve
nue men, opened the light nnd mndo It
possible for the revenue mon to do
their duty. They returned tho lire,
to a man, but Mary Fonts was wife
behind tho bowlders. Onward they
pressedt nnd for half an hour the ml
mlc, one-sided battle raged, then Dcpu
ty Mnrshal Illram Day fell sorely
wounded, nnd was carried awny on n
stretcher by ills bafllcd companions.
What will happen to Mary Fouts
doponds upon tho outcomo of Day's
wound. If it provo fatal, as tho doc
tor's predict, Mary Fonts will havo to
faco a charge of murder without the
mitigating plea or solf-dofenso, nnd
Undo Sam's sense of chlvnlry will
not bo violated. Hut nt the time of
writing. Mnry Fonts, tho moonshlno
maid, relgnii undisturbed In tho Ken
tucky hills, calmly "stilling" tho corn
colored brew that Is tho prldo and
Joy of Kentucky connoisseurs.
OFFICER BUTTONS GOWN.
New York Patrolman Aids a Pretty
Miss Out of Difficulty.
A young woman camo out of ono of
tho residences fuclng Washington
squnro, Now York city, garbed In u
princess gown. Sho hesitated u mo
ment, looking doubtfully at tho loafers
on the park benches nnd forlornly up
Fifth avenue. Then sho wont over
to Policeman Georgo Donnelly, who
was standing nt tho corner gazing
with an olllcial eyo upon tho grass.
"I beg your pardon, but will yon
do mo a favor'" sho said, with slight
ly bolghtened color.
"Sure, miss," replied tho olllcor In
his best manner.
"Will you plenso button my dress
for mo?" sho entreated, In apparent
calmness.
"What?" gasped Donnelly.
"I said, would you please button
my dress? Those princess affuirs ore
so tight that I just can't gel my arms
up. Thoro are three buttons I cannot
reach."
Sho turned her hnck on tho police
man, and his staring gaze traveled to
a point mltlwny between her shoulder
blades and stopped. Thore ho saw
some lace, a thin line of hluo ribbon,
and
"Cortulnly, miss," said tho guardian
of tho law whon ho realized tho ne
cessity, and ho began tugging at his
gloves.
"Oh, 1 am so sorry to trouble you,'"
tho young womnn fold, "but there
wnsu't a soul in tho house, and I am
very anxious to get uptown."
"No trouble at all," tho pollcomnn
Insisted, nnd stulllng his gloves In his
pocket ho took a llrm grip nnd started
to work.
"My lingers aro all thumbs," said
Donnelly.
"Yes, Hint's tho trouble," replied
tho girl, oncouraglngly. "Ono button
conies loose while you try to fasten
tho next ono."
"I'll havo It in Just a minute." And
then, after somo moro endeavor, tho
policeman straightened up with an
nlr of sutlBfaction.
"Thank you very, very much, offl
cor," said Miss Washington Square,
composedly. "I knew I could depend
upon you." Then she pushed her way
through a crowd that had collected
and ollmbed I'pou n waiting stage.
Donnelly mopped his hontud brow.
"U s n gny life," snld he. "Well, tho
city hires mo to proesrvo ordor nnd
decency, and I guess I done It that
time."
MARRIAGE BY PHOTOGRAPH.
Some Defensive Movements Undertak
en by Japanese In America.
The Asnhl Shlmbuu has an article
which throws an Interesting light on
the question alluded to In our last Is
sue, nantoly, marriages by photo
graph between .Inpancso residing In
Atuerlcn nnd their countrywomen In
Japan. It nppoars that two move
ments of a solf-defonslvo nature havo
recently been organized by .Inpanoso
residents In tho United States.
The first Is a crusado against gamb
ling by tho Chinese, u vlco which Is
Indulged In on such a scale and which
Involves such evil results that the
presence of Orientals In general be
comes object lonnble In the eyes of
American citizens. Japanese agitation
for the suppression of this vlco prom-
Ises to hnvo tho result of clearly dlt
fercntlatlng them from Its practlco.
Tho second movement hns for its
Immedlnto outcomo this idea of Jiup
tinls by photograph. Thoro nro nbout
100,000 .Jnpunoso in tho United States,
and fully 90 per cent, of them load
slnglo lives. Such a condition was
tolerablo so long as a settlor's object
consisted meroly In earning as fast as
posslblo enough to return home. Hut
in view of the antl-Oriontnl spirit now
prevailing In the United States, tho
Japanese resldonts sec that tho only
practical remedy lies In becoming per
manent sottleiB, and In carrying out
Hint program a wife Is a prlnio esson
tlal. To return to Japan, however, for
tho purpose of providing himself with
n wife moans not only that a man
would have to Incur great oxponse,
but also that It would bo moro than
doubtful whother ho could re-enter tho
states subsequently. Thorofore, tho
only fonslblo alternative Is to got a
wife over from Japan without going to
fetch her.
All this appears to have been an
ticipated very clovorly by tho well
known Mr. Sblnianiikl, a prominent
Chrlstlnn. Somo time ago ho estab
lished In the Kolslkawa suburb of
Tokyo an institution called the Hyok
kokal, which may bo freoly translated
SelMIoIp society.
The Inmaten of this Institution,
mostly graduates from girls' high
schools, receive education In nil sub
jects likely to bo or practical utility,
such us housekeeping, cooking, sow
ing, typewriting, otc. In fact thoy aro
expressly equipped to be the wives or
Japanese settlers In the United
States.
It Is between this Institution mid
the Japanese settlers that photo
graphs havo been exchanged, and by
this means the settlers aro enabled
to obtain helpmates whose qualifica
tions anil record aro known and
whoso appearance Is rendered familiar
by tho photographs. Tho Idea Is that
If tho settlors thus marry and bring
up families, their sons will becoino
nnturallzed American citizens, nnd by
degrees tho antl-Jnpaneso fooling In
tho United States will dlo out. Tho
conception seems eminently practical
anil useful, nor can wo doubt for a
moment that tho .Inpancso authorities
In Tokyo will refrain from Interfering
with the program. Jnpnnoso Weekly
Mall.
Horses with Mustaches.
"I've got a rarity, a horse with a
mustache," said a cabby.
Tho horso doctor looked tho ungain
ly animal over.
"It Is a rarity," ho said, "a inustncho
so highly developed. Lots of horses
havo Incipient, Chlnesollko mustaches,
but your nag has tho inustncho of a
grenndlor a regulnr soup strainer,
oh?
"Mnyhow nnd tho other lending au
thorities lay It. down that n mustache
Is tho surest sign of n low-bred horse.
Certainly no ono can dispute your an
Imal's claim to low brooding. Phila
delphia Bulletin.
The Hero of Petticoat Pass
By J. O.
(Copyright, by Slio
Tho shortest route between the high
veldt nnd tho Loydonburg goldjlelds
winds through u long kloof or gorge
which, onco upon n time, was the
scene or a very tomnrknblo battle. On
account of the sulphurous smells from
numerous hot springs nnd the weird
electrical discharges, visible nt night
between its Ironstone cliffs and pin
nacles, the kloof Itself was originally
known as Sntan's Firebox. Hut later
when. In tho war with the Mncntees,
tho Boorn were routed and one night
upwnrils of 100 women and children,
hotly pursued by a roglmont of Knllrs,
lied screaming through tho kloof, tho
name wns significantly changed to
Petticoat pass.
Hut, although the pass was usually
Interesting, Its inhnbltnnts were vastly
moro so. Between the southern gate
wny nt Stcolpoort nnd Its northern out
let, near Leydenbuig, a wonderfully
Intelligent race of baboons hns lived
for centuries high up among the Iron
clad precipices. In course of time tho
whlto hunter camo nlong with his
deadly rlllo and occnslonnlly picked
ono or them oft tho rocks, Just for the
fun or the thing, and when the Kntlrn
took a notion to poison thorn for the
sako or their teeth, thon the baboons
lu Petticoat pnsB wero drlvon to do
fond themselves. In n word, thoy be
gnn to throw stones. So long us the
wngons and tho horsomen kept mov
ing all was well, but when thoy loi
tered or stopped tho whirring of peb
bles through the nlr, nnd occnslonnlly
tho appearance of enormous bowlders
cut looso from tho crags above nnd
shot down through tho nlr llko can
non balls, never failed to remind the
loiterers that they wore trespassers.
In their Intercourse with tho out
sldo world the baboons mndo no dis
tinction between black and white until
ono duy an event took place that prac
tically closed tho pass to tho black
races forever.
At tho Stcolpoort end of the pass
tho Knllrs began to oncronch. Thoy
built huts nnd planted gardens on tho
fortllo slopes near the portal. With
angry demonstrations tho baboons pro
tested, but tho Knllrs wero Indifferent
to the clamor. But whim tho sugar
enno ripened the baboons In the night
time swooped down from tho crags
and bellied themselves to what thoy
considered their rightful shnro of tho
hurvest, whereupon tho Kafirs, who
thoroughly undorstood tho peculiari
ties of baboon nature, plnyctl upon
them n villainous trick,
Ono dny, in plain sight of their
enemies, who" wero watching them
from tho heights above, tho Knllrs
brought n numbor of largo calabashes
filled with a poisonous liquid nnd
placed them In u row lu one of tho
gnrdens. Then they went through tho
form of protending to wash tholr
faces with tho stuff, after which thoy
left tho calabashes lu tho gnrdens and
dopnrted. Watching their opportunity,
tho bnhoous camo down to Investigate
the business and, being unable to re
strain their heredltnry Impulse to lin
Ituto the proceedings of others, thoy
forthwith washed their faces lu tho
poison and scampered awny again. In
n short tlmo tho venom bognn to work,
tho IIohIi fell from tholr fnces, and
finally a number of them died In great
agony.
For many ilnys afterwards travelers
through tho kloof reported nn ox
traordlnury state of affairs. Thoro
was much excitement nnd jabbering
nnd much pitiful crying and calling to
each other from cliff to cliff. But
when tho period of mourning was over
tho baboons settled down to business
tho business of war. The prepara
tions thoy mndo for hostilities with the
Kafirs wero astonishing. Baboouv
wore summoned from far and near,
nnd the population in tho kloof was
soon doubled. Thoy divided thorn
selves Into companies under londors.
They worked llko beavers, and boforo
long huge cairns or stones appeared at
intervals along the routo, nnd nt
places where the crags rose almost
perpendicularly from the roadway
great bowlders wero rolled to the edge
of the precipices, and oven lodges
wero undermined and made rendy to
slide down and overwhelm the In
vaders.
From the day when these urrungo
meuts wero completed tho baboons
paid no attention whatever to whlto
men, nnd after two or three unfor
tunate Kafirs had been stoned to denth
and torn to pieces the black race gave
Petticoat pass an extremely wldo
berth. Consequently, the splder-llko
wutchers up In their fastnesses hud ti
long time to wait, but the whirligig of
time brings nbout Its opportunities for
rovenge, even to baboons.
Just outside the Stcolpoort end or
the pass Max Plticus, a Gorman trader,
conducted n small store for the ac
commodation or travelers. On the
day the baboons wero poisoned, Max
wus riding through the kloof, nnd
came across a llttlo hoy baboon,
whose fuco was terribly burned by the
action of tho acid. The little fellow
was crying plteously, and Max look
him up In his nrms uud carried him to
tho store, whoro Max's mother, who
had some knowledge of remedies, doc
tored him so successfully that his eye
sight was saved. For several months
her curious little patient was very
shy and wild, but tho good woman was
Indefatigable In her offorts to lame
Fagan
- ttory Pub. Co,)
him, nnd finally she wns rewarded
with astonishing success. As tho
young baboon grow up ho became very
much attached to his benefactress, nnd
there wns no mistaking his gratitude
But one morning, to the great stir
priso ot Mother Plncus, n young lady
bnboou camo down from tho hills nnd
begun to mnko lovo to Stoffel. Nearly
a week passed beroro sho finally trl
uniphed and led him away.
The following morning, however, ho
roturuod, nnd after watching him for
a dny or two, Mother Plncus concluded
that considerable business was mixed
up with his lovo affair. Indeed, the
Boers, who relate nlmost Incrcdtblo
stories about the intelligence of these
colored baboons, clnlm that tho em
bassy of the maiden wns merely u
trick to seduce him from his nl
luglnnco to his benefactress nnd that,
on his llrst visit to tho kloof, Stoffel
wns Immediately appointed to tho
leadership of tho baboon army on ac
count of his preeminent Intelligence
and knowledgo ot tho outside world.
One dny a horseman galloped up to
the storo nnd reported that wnr ltnd
broken out between tho Boers nnd tho
Mncntees nnd that the baboons In the
pass wore ovldontly nwnro of tho fact,
for swnrms ot them wero coming down
frroi tho heights nnd wero preparing
frttrouble. Ten days later the Boers
wero defeated with considerable loss
nt Johannes Kop nnd, encouraged by
tho tidings, tho Mnpock Knllrs flow to
nrms and rusliod up tho valley towards
Steelpoort, burning nnd Blaylng. At
their approach tho women and chll
drou on the farms Hod in terror, and
Just before nightfall nearly 100 of
these panic-stricken refugees ontorcd
the puss, with a largo commniido ol
Knllrs closo at tholr heels.
Tho story or tho encounter that fol
lowed between tho baboons nnd tho
Knllrs Is derived partly from the ac
count of tho Boer women, but prln
cipally from u survey ot tho battle
Held on tho following day. A few ol
Reported That War Had Broken Out.
the hindmost or the refugees hnd al
ready been captured whon, In pnsBlng
through n narrow defile, the Knllrs
wore iiBsailod by n llorco rain of
stones rrom tho surrounding cliffs. Un
dismayed, tho Kafir horde- pressed on,
hut tho roadway beneath them hnd
been undermined, nnd whon enormous
bowlders, railing hundreds or foot
through tho nlr, smashed through tho
thin crust, great pits woro laid bare,
Into which the Kafirs llounderod, and
wero then mercilessly pelted with
fusllludcB of Hharp-polntod rocks. Hut
tho real lighting occurred whon tho
Kafirs, 111 led with dismay nt the
carnage that ensued In tho pits, en
deavored to rotreat.
On tho following morning n very
pathetic sequel to tho battlo occurred
when Stoffel, grlovously wounded,
dragged himself hnck to his old .homo
nt tho store. It was u painful nnd use
less Journey, ror tho buildings had
been burned to the ground and nothing
remained but tho Binoulderlng embers.
But Stoffel bud como homo for a
dellnlto purpose. Ho ut onco began
to scrapo and dig among tho ruins
until he succeeded lu finding a tvw
rags nnd a small bottle containing
some liquid. Tondorly ho Htnnchud
the How or blood with tho rngs and
emptied somo or the fluid into tho
wound. Feeling no bettor from tho
application, ho sought other ruga and
another bottlo. His rnlth lu tho reme
dy wns supremo. In this wny his eyes
hnd been cured, nnd In many other
eases ho had witnessed tho successful
application of ragu and bottles. But,
growing weaker and woukor, IiIb
thoughts naturally turned to his kind
foster-mother. Despairingly, ho
glanced from sldo to sldo. Many n
timo ho had watched for hor homo
coining. Then ho tucked his pitiful
fuco under his forearm nnd curled
himself up, Just llko n dog going to
Bleep. Looking down upon him you could
havo counted the almost Imperceptible
htart beats under tho gray, shnggy
covering one. two, three nnd then
Stoh'el, tho hero of Petticoat pass, wus
dead,
La
