Blockading 1909

Well, here is something I never heard of.

From “The Dispatch – Wednesday Nov 24, 1909, Lexington, N. C.”

“Jim Sprat, a white farmer living on the Catawba river in Mecklenburg county, was arrested last week on a charge of blockading, because he had in his house a complete blockading outfit, still, worm, cap, etc. He was placed in jail at Charlotte. When arrested he made no kick, but got in the buggy quietly and said that it was the first time he had ever been pulled.”

What is blockading?

I suspected that blockading was making liquor because of the “still” mentioned but I had never heard the word. I did a search on Google for the term blockading and got lots of hits; but none which said anything about liquor or illegal act.

There were medical sites, navy sites, history of war sites, maritime law sites but nothing about why anyone would get arrested. There were several blockade runners’ references but nothing on blockading. I even put in “blockading kit, still, worm” but did not get any hits.

Finally, when I put in a search for “still for making whiskey blockading kit” I got the web site I had been looking for.

What is Moonshine? from wiseGEEK web site.

So now I know a new meaning of a word which I would have never connected to liquor; thanks to a small item in an old, North Carolina newspaper.

I wonder what it was called in other parts of the country.

Thanks.

To View the Original item,
Select The Dispatch in box below:
Item is above the punching bag ad.
Item is on: Page 4, Col 3