Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-09-08
GAVE CITY.
The Concord Stages stopped by
Two HighwRymen and Eight
Passengers Robbed of
Considerable Money
and JeWelry.


The Concord stages between Nam
moth cave and Cave City, in Edmon-
son county, were captured by high
waymen Friday afternoon, and the
passengers in both robbed of every,
thing they carried. So dashing and
yet so cool were the performances that
they would have reflected credit upon
the taste of that prince of romantic
freebooters, the well-remembered
Claude Duval, Of last century. Al
this season of the year Mammoth cave
is visited by thousands of tourists and
sight-seers, who are usually people OF
means, furnishing fat pickings for. the
rObber. One of the routes to the cave,
and the one selected by the large ma
jority Of its visitors, is by the way Of
the Louisville & Nashville railroad to
Cave City, and thence by the Concord
stage to the cave, which is about eight
or ten miles distant. The stage is
through a lonely and rocky region,
and about midway on the route it runs
through a dense wood, which adds
considerable to its dreariness.
About six o'clock Friday evening,
while the coach from the cave was
coming to Cave City, it reached this
wood, and while coming through the
narrow road in a walk, two men,
one mounted on a thin, black thor
oughbred horse, rode out of the dense
forest, and dashing up to the stage
covered the driver and passengers
with their revolvers and called a halt.
The stage was pulled up, the driver
was ordered down and to the door Of
his vehicle, and then calmly dismount-
ing and holding their horses by the
bride. reins, the work of delivering
the booty began. The rider of the
black horse, a man about thirty years
old, with a struggling red moustache
and beard, was the leader and spokes-
man. He was rather small, not APP
pearing to be wei five feet six inches
in height, and would weigh about l40
pounds. He had light-blue eyes, a
pleasant smile, and distributed his at
t%entions to the defenseless party of
eight passengers with a sang froid and
easy p~oliteness which did much to al
leviate their feelings. His accom-
plice was about the same age, with
black whiskers and m~oustache, rather
ragged in trim, and had a pair OF fine
black eyes. He was rather slow in
his movements, but the business in
hand suffered nothing for that.
Come out Of the stage, please" said
the spokesman, in a light, high-pitched
voice.
The passengers looked through the
open windows and saw the muzzle of
the impassive revolvers covering the
whole length of the vehicle, and as
there was not a weapon in the party as
large as a pen-kniie, they could not
resist or parley. There were seven
gentlemen and one lady in the coach,
and the lady naturally was nervous
and alarmed. In the excitement and
hustle attendant upon rising and
leaving their seats, Mr.. r. S. R0un-
tree, of the Milwaukee Evening Wis
c%onsin, who was making the trip with
relatives, slipped his book and
gold watch under the cushion of the
seat.
Very few words were spoken, though
the highwaymen seemed impatient and
ordered them to hurry up" As
each gentleman stepped out he was
covered with the muzzle of a revolver
and told to take his place in line and
hold up his hands. The lady, q daugh-
ter of Hon. r. H. Rountree, of Leba-
non, KY, was permitted to remain in
the stage. After the passengers we're
all out, the leader Of the two villains
tossed his rein to his accomplish who
covered the line, while the spokesman
proceeded to rife their pockets, talk
ing pleasantly as he went,
j. E. Craig, ir., OF Lawrelceville,
Ca, lost 500; Hon. r. H. Rountree,
Of Lebanon, KY, handed out a hand
some gold watch, valued at 5000, and
$55 in cash; S. w. Shelton, of Cal
hOun, Tenn, gave up about $500;
Miss Lizzie Rountree, of Lebanon,
Tenn, lost nothing but her rings, one
of them a handsome diamond; s. H.
Frohlichstein, Of Mobile, Ala, lost
1913; w. q. Welsh, of Pittsburg, lost
SOL and a handsome watch. r. S.
Rountree, OF the Evening Wisconsin,
Of Milwaukee, saved his money and
watch as stated. Hon. r. H. ROM.
tree feels very sore over the loss of an
elegant engraved watch which was
presented by Hon. j. Proctor Knott,
the member Of congress from the
Fourth district.
The spokesman of the marauders
explained that they we're not high
waymen, but were moonshiners, and
were pursued 50 hotly by the govern
ment officers that they were compelled
to have money to get out of the coun-
try. He asked each passenger his
name and place Of residence, and
noted them down, saying that some
day he would repay them their losses.
When he came to Dir. Craig, of Geor-
gia, he remarked that be hated to
take his money, because he had fought
in a Georgia regiment during the war,
but the Ease was a desperate one, and
he was compelled to do it.
When Miss R.ountree gave her
name and place of residence at Leba-
non, a pleased smile lighted up the
robbers face, and he asked:
DO you know the misses of leba.,
nom"
Quite well" answered the young
lady
80 do l." he rejolned, "and they
are Dice girls. Give them my regards
when you see them, and tell them
that | will make this right some day. "
After getting all the valuables in
the party, the marauders returned the
pocket books with the railway passes
and tickets, and giving the passengers
Qrlara "a Uof - unannA1A ard wn1a "a