The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-08-27
A LEGEND or THE CUMBERLAND.


swallow every thing as il comes fresh
from the lips of the narrator, and no
matter how impossible il may be they
believe and "inwardly digest" all they
hear and relate il TO others as though il
were as true as holy writ. The incrcdu-
lous, on the other hand, doubt all they
hear, and hardly believe what they see
with their own eyes. There are, how
ever, those Of another class, a sort of
go-between, who believe all they hear
that is at all plausible. The story lam
about To relate may be believed or not
believed-just a5 the reader chooses;
but | am assured by the old lady from
whom heard the narrative that she re-
ceyed it from an old gentleman whose
veracity was never doubted. The story
dates back into the early history Of Ten
nessec and Kentucky, when the Indians
occupied large portion Of this section
Of country. Between GAINESVILLE,
Tenn. and Eddyyille, Ky, on the
Cumberland River, there is "A cavern
which can only be entered by diving in
to the water, and which has no other
light than that reflected from the bottom
OF the river. The exact spot is now un-
known, although some of the oldest citi-
zens in the neighborhood have an in
distinct recollection of having heard of
the cave in their boyhood. 1t was re-
Gently discovered by a young Indian
chief, while one day diving for his gun,
which he had dropped from his canoe
into the river opposite the cave. The
Indian youth who discovered it for a
long time kept the secret Ia himself,
and would often resort to il in his lone
" hours, where, by the aid of his flint
and piece of dry wood, he would kim
die "A fire and enjoy himself looking at
the magnificence of the scene a. the light
reflected back millions of beams from
the numerous stalagmtes and stalacttes
of gigantic size and fantastic forms, and
displayed to his vision hundreds Of ave-
nues, grottos, and cataracts, unsur-
passed for their wonderful appearance.
In order 10 carry dry wood into the
place to furnish light for his investiga-
ton, he would carefully sew it up in
skins, To keep it from coming in contact
with the water as he Owed into the cave.
The cave was about 80 feet wide and
about the same in height. In the course
of time this young son Of the forest be-
came enamored with beautiful daugh-
ter of one of the backwoodsmen in the
settlement, BY the name of Robertson.
The girl, contrary 10 the wishes Of her
parents, reciprocated the feeling which
of course put the parents on their guard,
and the daughter was placed under the
strictcst surveillance But ''love
laughs at locksmiths, ~ and on one oc-
/ IL hlrau-,.
on account of an expected attack from
some unfriendly Indians proving in
the neighborhood, the girl was induced
by the lover to go with him to his beau
tiful retreat, which he doubtless de-
scribed to her in as striking language as
did Claude Melnotte his palace by the
lake of Como to the fair Pauline. He
related to her the dangers surrounding
the entrance to the cave, and persuaded
her 10 place implicit confidence in his
courage and knowledge of the locality
and obey his instructions to the letter.
The young chiefs name was Wallahalla
and the girls name was Agnes Robert
son. In those days the daughter Of a
| backwoOdsman could swim, ride, and
handle gun with all the dexterity and
skill of their fathers and brothers. Ar
irving at the place the lover disappear
ed beneath the surface of the water and
the maiden quickly followed him, TO
find the cavern surprising even the
magniiicence and grandeur SO beauti-
fully portrayed to her mind in the ma
tive tongue Of her Indian lover. Here
he informed her she must remain As his
prisoner until he gained the consent of
her parents to their union. Wallahalla
then departed to return soon after
with dried venison, corn, wood, the
rough cooking utensils of those abo-
riginal times, and bedding and such
articles rs were necessary for her COM
fort. He then bade her adieu, threat
ening her with death If she dared to
leave the cave during his absence. Re-
turning TO the settlement, Wallahalla
found that the place had been attacked
by the foe and the village burnt to the
ground. The parents of Agnes mourn
ed her as dead, or lingering i'll cap
tivity to which death would be far pre-
ferable. This was providential to the
lovers. The young chief was loudest
in his lamentations over the lost girl,
and at the war-dance of his tribe swore
the direst vengeance against her cap
tors. All the male portion of the set
tlement, together with the friendly
tribe to which the young chief Walla-
halla belonged, started in pursuit of the
foe to rescue the girl from her certain
fate of death or degradation. After a
long and tedious march they
came upon the enemy in the neighbour
hood of where Metropolis City, Ill.
now stands. a furious battle was
fought, in which the attacking party
headed by young Wallahalla, dealt death
and destruction TO their foe until their
ammunition was exhausted. AT this
moment the enemy was reinforced, and