Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-04-20

His final monosylable Of ''Time''
Whose cadences iantistically rhyme
To the rolling and the tolling OF the bells!
CAVE OF DEATH.
One Of tile Horrors of War" Accidentally
Unearthed in Atlanta.
From the Atlanta (C;a) Constitution
When. indeed. shall we cease to con-
front the evidences of our late civil
war. We cry out against the renewal
of that unfortunate strife in the arena
OF politics and we meet upon each
others native soil and shake hands in
renewed fraturnity to the glorious
music of the union. But every
day nearly we are brought face to face
with some relic, some lasting effect, or
some before undeveloped horror of
those days Of bloody and destructive
war. A new and startling horror of
those times was unexpectedly unearth.
cd in this city yesterday evening and
caused thrill Of sadness to pass
through the community. Wefeel con-
tlicting emotions in committing the
sickening story to print, for it is one
of those dreadful calamities-one of
those unwritten Iliads of individual
experience in suffering woe and death
which made our war seem criminal
and sickened men with horror. This
latest discovery is one which suggests
more terrors than any we have ever
before encountered and will bring
home the most startling memories to
our citizens.
Yesterday afternoon man living in
the square bounded by Rawson,
Frazier, Martin and Clark streets, and
whose name is Hokes, engaged negro
man to bring his plow and turn UP 4
small patch Of ground upon which the
garden was to be made.
The negro man came and plowed up
the lot. and had nearly finished his
task, just before dusk, when the
strange event of which we write trans.
pired. AS he was upon the last rows
near the fence, up the hill at the back
of the lot, he says he felt at one GER
tain spot a yielding of the earth as he
plowed over it during three trips
across the lot. The matter did not 1T.
tract his attention at these times, and
it was not until the fourth crossing of
the spot that his horses foot nearly
broke through the soil. In moment
after the point of the plow struck
under and lifted up a rotten plank,
which broke as the plow passed on,
the man releasing his hold upon the
handles Of the implement and stepping
back to avoid passing over the danger
Gus spot. AS the plank broke several
clods and handfuls of dirt fell into the
small hole thus made. but did not ap.
pear to fill it up in any degree.
The negro man stepped down to the
house and told Mr.. Hokes that there
was an old we'll there at the back part
of the lot where he had been blowing.
Mr.. Hokes had never heard of such
thing before, and went out to see it.
Procuring an AK the two proceeded to
the spot and began to pry up and pull
off the planks, in order to know the
extent Of the well, and what to do to
reopen it for use, or to fill up again.
The boards showed resistance, and
when one had been broken and pulled
away it was found to he q solid inch
plank spiked down with large spike
nails. When three OF them had been
removed the opening was large enough
for the light to be shown in. The ne
gro man got upon his knees at one Of
the edges and peered into the dismal
looking excavation. but suddenly re-
coiled, and with affrighted looks, ex-
claimed:
"Great God, what is that down
there!''
Mr.. Hokes knelt down and looked in,
and in the faint light could discern
what appeared to be a human body.
He was startled beyond expression,
and could not think for a moment
what to do. But recovering himself
he called to some of his neighbors,
who came over, and together they
pulled away the boards. which slanted
down hill, very much like a country
cellar door, and seemed to have been
nailed together to form door them
selves: They were completely torn
away in few minutes, and the light
of a couple of lanterns was turned In
upon the cavern thus uncovered.
A ghostly picture more horrible than
ever in it's Rembrandt light and shades
from the lantern flames, met the gaze
of the wondering men.
There was room set in the side of
the hill, of sufficient size to accommodate
two persons comfortably for sleeping
purposes, being about seven feet in
width, ten feet long and six feet high.
1t had been walled in with plank, and
the board roof supported by wooden
pillars, all now rotten and crumbling.
The dirt had sifted through, and
mould gathered until the interior was
0ne.third filed with them almost, and
the place had all the 0dor and athmos.
phere of q tomb. of living sacrifices,
and such it proved to be. Out of the
dirt and rubbish and oozy mud made
in the hole by the recent rains seep-
ing. there protruded the bones of a
human body
Spades were at once employed, and
soon the remains Of some unfortunate
person were unearthed. With them
were brought out the portions of a bed,
rotten and hardly recognizable; an
iron pot and two knives and one fork,
an old plate, one mouldy and decayed
boot and fragments of other articles of
domestic use, including the bail of a
water bucket and the bowl of a tin
dipper. There are still in the place,
doubtless variety of other fragments
of such articles of convenience. The
parties present were filed with aston
ishment and wonder, and could not
make out why all these things should
be in this strange place. They dispos.
ed the bones in one place, and more of a
kind were found than belonged to one
human body and the evidences are that
two luckless mortals persisted In that
cavern Of death, probably In a man.