The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-11-05
THE SECRETS OF A KENTUCKY CAVE.

Owen county, Ky, for the murder of one
Parrish, his fatheT-in-law. This hanging
was witnessed by seven thousand people, /
and was attended by many dramatic and un-
usual circumstances. All of the leading
daily paper of Louisville and Cincinnati pub
hShed graphic and extended accounts Of it,
and the Northern press congratulated Ken
tucky ON having within her borders twelve
fearless jurymen who were not ashamed to
do their duty. Shuck protested his inno-
cence of the crime on the scaffold, but left
written confession partially eXculpating him
self and duplicating five other men in a series
of robberies and murders without parallel
in the annals of crime. Three Of these five
men were brothers, and the other two were
father and son. Their names were Goodrich
and Simmons. Old Jim Simmons, the patri-
arch and chief of this tribe of cut-throats,
was very remarkable, although an illiterate
man, and possessed unbounded influence
over the minds of his associates. Jack, his
son, was, if the statements of Shucl1 are
true, the most inhuman wretch who e7er
escaped the gallows lie was the principal
or accomplice in seven MURDERS and was
concerned in numerous robberies and moon
shine whisky affairs. He lived several years
in western Missouri, and while there was
accused of being member of Jesse James's
gang of assassins and bank robbers. The
three Goodrich brothers were farmers living
near the Kentucky river, and were consider
ed hard characters by their neighbors and ac-
quaintances.
/ Four of these individuals were arrested
and lodged in Newcastle Jail, but Jack Sim
mons, the worst of the lot, escaped, and,
notwithstanding large rewards were offered
/ for his apprehension, dead or alive, managed
| to elude the vigilance of his pUrSuers. Sew
/ enty-tive men surrounded the woods in
which he was believed to be concealed. lie
. was seen oIice and six shots were fired at
him. One of the shots appeared to take ef-
! feet, but he contrived to escape. Nothing
/ more was ever heard about him, and he was
/ supposed to have fled to Texas or the Black
Hills.
"King Jim,' as the papers dubbed him
and his pals were tried by Judge Smith, of
Henry county, and held over without bail to
await the action of the criminal court 4
short time after the trial mob of masked
men, forty or fifty in number, rode into New
castle at midnight, surrounded the Jail, com
PEELED the jailor to give up the keys, unlock
.
building, marched them to a stone bridge
near town and hung them from the parapets
an awful but doubtless fitting end to such
wretches. Many belated traveller wander
ing at night through tlh dark and gloomy
rayineS that border on the Kentucky river,
had met more horrible death at ther hands
No mans life was safe if he ventured in
I king Jim's" dOminions with roll of money
in his pocket, or gold watch on his person.
This account of Shuck and his associates is
essential as an introduction To the remainder
of this narrative.
On the 18th of last month John Barnett
and Andrew Hawkins two reliable gentle
men, living near I.ockpOrt, had occasion to
look for some missing cattle that had wan
dercd from their pastures. After a search
of several hours the cattle were found
browsing on the rich blue grass that grows
luXuTiantly at the foot of the Crows Nest, -
the fanciful name given by the natives to a
high and rocky hill in the neighborhood of
LockpOrt. After resting for some time, Mr..
Barnett's attention was called to an opening
in the side of the hill that resembled the
mouth of 4 cave. Surprised that he had
failed to notice this on other occasions. he
saw at the foot of the elevation thick cedar
tree, or, rather bush that for many years
had grown on projecting ledge of rock i'm
mediately in front of this hoe. thereby eff
fectually concealing it from the view of the
passer-by. In the storm of the preceding
night this bush had been uprooted by the
wind and had rolled to the bottom. thus re-
yealing the existence of the opening.
After a brief consultation the two men
decided to climb up and ascertain if the hole
was nearly cave. They quickly made the
ascent, and as Mr.. Hawkins happened to
have some candles among the goods that he
had purchased in Lockport that morning,
they resolved to explore the aperture if il
proved to he a cavern. When they arrived
at the hole it appeared to be the mouth of an
underground passage of considerable extent
They boldly ventured in, and after crawling
along for twenty or twenty-five feet they
suddenly found themselves in an apartment
about twenty feet square. 1t had the ap-
pearance of square room, and was tolera
bly, well lighted from an aperture in the side
or roof.
, After looking around they were amazed
to find conclusive evidence going to show
that it had at one time been inhabited by
human beings. In one corner they found &
b rude bench roughly made of stone, and on a
nail driven in the rock they saw hanging an
old worn suit of jeans clothes. mildewed and
rotten from long disuse and exposure to the
damp air of the cave. In another corner the,
found a pallet Of straw, and on this bed the,
were Mortified to behold CHASTITY skeleton
The flesh had left the bones and the hail
had almost disappeared from the head. q
: the foot OF the bed they noticed 4 tin box
, Hastily getting possession of this box they
rapidly made their way to the upper air, an,
} in an hour were in Lockport engaged in mar
rating to a gaping crowd of rustics thei
wonderful adventure in the bowels Of tn,
earth
The tin box was opened, and its content
exposed to the eager gaze of the crowd l
contained two gold watches, a full set o
counterfeiter's plates and tools, package q
counterfeit notes, package of bonds, sup
> posed TO be stolen from 4 bank at Sedalia
: Mo, and a large revolver with the name q
, Jack Simmons roughly carved on the handle
: All doubts of the identity of The mysteriou
skeleton were removed, and the notoriou
robber, counteTfeitcr and murderer, JAG
Simmons, was, without doubt, the man VIII
persisted miserably in that lone cavern i'm TIA
: Kentucky river hills.
= = \ few days ago the remains were remove
: from the cave and given to DR.. Long, a
Bethlehem, who now has them in his POI
> session The doctor ascertained from an e.
animation that bali had pierced the rigl