View Comments I was deputy sheriff in three Tennessee counties! Jesse James Bailey told UNC Asheville historian Louis Silveri in 1972, talking about his brief term as sheriff of Madison County, 1920-22, during Prohibition.
Sometimes, Bailey would get a good lead for instance, a fellow might get mad at his neighbor (and) say, Well, Ole John s a-stilling or a-handling liquor and when Bailey went to investigate, the moonshiner would jump the boundary to Unicoi, Greene or Cocke county. Tennessee violators would likewise hide out in Madison County. I inaugurated a new technique, Bailey related. He went to see the Tennessee sheriffs and said, Now, boys, I ll tell you what I ll do; I ll make you a deputy sheriff from Madison County. You turn around and make me a deputy sheriff of your county . (And then) by golly, we d come to the state line, and we d go right on over! . I had a lot of fun being sheriff, yeah!