Asheville, Dec. 27—Merrimon and Baird Whittemore, two men released from the county jail yesterday on $1,000 bond each on charges of manufacturing whiskey, followed the capture by deputies Thursday morning of five men in a dugout shielding a 60-gallon still, are back in jail. Guy Metcalf, a neighbor also living in the Barnardsville section where the men were captured, is also behind the bars.
While John Bunn, a county officer, and two other men were digging up a pipe line which ran nearly a quarter of a mile from a spring to the dugout, near the Whittemore home, Thursday night, they were fired upon by one of the three men now in jail.
A pistol duel between Bunn and the three men objecting to the removal of the pipe line resulted in the retirement of the attacking party. Deputies of Sheriff John A. Lyerly’s department Sunday night located the three men and landed them in jail where they are to be arraigned on charges of resisting an officer, carrying concealed weapons and assault.
Further investigation of the dugout reveals the fact that it is one of the most complete still sites ever discovered by the officers in this section. Entrance to the 12 by 12-foot room carved out of the mountain side was had by means of a tunnel about 30 feet long.
Heavy timber supports braced the sides and roof of the underground room. Running water piped from a spring a quarter of a mile from the dugout made it possible for persons to carry on distilling without going out of the cavern.
From the front page of the Charlotte News, Dec. 27, 1921
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