Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-11-01

, re'ugc zen the 1rtrcuy,s wr5c uu hDs
tral small cave bWrs tn
name e VI, kmny's cave II l. reached by
climbing Gown by he prcclpiruus .iies Of The
CT A. in one ot the most romantic and 'eauu.
tul portions Of the grove. When point 90
= feet below the summit Of the cliti IL reached
n huge rock ia seen; turning the corner o
, This rock abruptly, amid wav ny evergreeus
moss and terms. II small hole in the rock opens
lis dark throat to the sun Enterirg a smsl
chamber in the living rock is discovered d
passage through which it is necessary
, to crawl on hards an knees, lead.
to second and pitch-dark chamber In this
chamber there is small natural shelf in The
rocky side OF the cavern, near the root. Her.
= n msn could hold an army at bay with the
simplest wearon; here 1t il said that the
wretchcd Mckinney lay for hours, while hi,
pursuers were searching every foot OF the
ground in the vicinity for him. The Il ,ur OF
the little cave is covered with the bones and
skulls OF rabbits and squirrels which havc
been drow, Ell by the toxes and serpents
which inhabit it,
As our torches light up the cave and throw
weird shadows on it's rocky ,ors, the picture
OF he wretChed out. law ri es before our eyes
crouched in terror he lies painting in the
little r Cky den; he hears the bay
ing OF dos, and the voices o.
the men who are hunting him /;
his breath comes in : b. and there are cold
drops on his brow Without there is perfect
peace; the soft cooling OF the doves and he
sleepy tones OF the waters ss they murmur
through their rocky bed, forms n wondrlus
contrast 10 the strife and unrest that is raging
in the breast OF the horrible murderer in the
cave, caught like rat iu trap.
. In one Of The other caves which Mckinney
u'ed as n hiding place, the rude utensils with
which he cooked bis primitive food are still
shown. He was member OF one OF the most
daring bands OF robbers which ever in'esred
Ohio. With Allen Grsndstaf, leader OF the
band, these desp rado's were terror for
miles around, and many ghsstly tale OF
their deeds is related with shuider, by the
side OF the tire-places in the lonely cabins 10
the mountains on n''r nights. Henry
/ Hope, remarkably intelligent man, and the
post master Of Paint" since the time OF
Buchanan. tells the story Of the capture OF
Mex mmey in graphic style.
"Mtklmmey was raised in this vicinity,
said he, "but committed no crimes until he
went to the west, to Wyoming, and Colora-
do. While there he became one OF the most
daring and murderous derpersdoes ia the
whole wet; his deeds were on every tongue:
his murders made every one shuddpr
at The mention OF his name when he re-
turned to Onio, he came back to the haunts
OF bis boyhoOd, and lost no time in ioinirg a
band OF cut.throats here Many hundred
dollars has that garg chuked on, OF the farm
ers In this vicinity. Their deeds finally be-
came so notorious that something had to be
done. Detective John r. Norris, of Spring.
held, undertook the job of breaking no the
gang. He worked up the case in mssterly
style and finally compelled Mckinney to
lake to the caves. remember his capture
well. One Thank'giving day the word went
round from 'arm ioue to farm house in the
mountains that Mckinney was in Allen
Grandstafs cabin "A lovely and iesolate little
log house in a clearing in the hills. Nearly
two hundred farmers grabbed their guns and
maze up D rty to capture him. Armed
wi h every COT ivable weapon, the mem bers
o. the party drew great circle around the
cabin, and gradually closed 10 on it, when
they had completely surrounded il, NCKim- |
mty showed himself at the door. One Of the |
party, Young man named Jones, who was
Intimately acquainted with Mckinney, vol |
un'eered TO go in and tell him how des- |
refa'e vas his chance OF escape. All held
their breath a. the young man entered !
with one OF those intuiJions, one OF tn So |
flashes OF genus winch criminals OF en- have. !
suddenly seized him with grip of iron and
he d him close to his own toy. He then
calmly walked out the door holdlng fast to
Jpues, and secure in the fact that no one
would shoot. because they could no, avoid |
hilting Jones, as well rs him eli In this |
way the despersdo walked slowly towards |
the woods, compelling Jones 10 walk with |
him as shield, and followed by the entire |
army OF puisuerE. ln the course Of the walk |
through the woods giant oak was reached !
AS hchImmey and Jones reached this tree
number saw heir chance for a shot jus, as |
Mckimmey was walking hehird the tree and
~hlle Jones wss protected BY its trunk, the |
t-s rang our, and Mckinney tell, struck
by several bullets He was ON bcund ard
taken TO the H llsboro Jail, and after his trial
and conviction, sentenced to the Ohio peui.
tentisry, where he is now one OF the mos, |
noted couvic's. ....
Drtec'ive Norris got out a pamphlet de- |
failing The life and capture of Mckinney, |
which is very interesting and which is in the |
libraries OF many Springfield people. ..
The vicinity Ci Rocky Fork and RaiK ,ro
acquires new interest AS the scene OF the boy-
hood of Governor-elect Foraker. ...,.'
Tue roTdheFs were raised only a few miles !
from here" said Postmaster Hope. "Judge
foraker's father formerly had mill near
Rainsboro which is no longer running. Tue
future governor was raised aud educated in
this vicinity. Ma y time be has sat on
that identical counter which you are leaning
against He explored all the caves and knew
the country around here like book. The
little country school.ho in which his first
lessons were conne1 can s'ril be seen"
While the postmaster was speaking, his
sentences were punctuated by the booming Of
cannon, the sound Of which was wafred over
the hills from Rsnsboro where the boyhood
friends and neighbors OF G. G)veruor-elect For
aker were ratifying his election with fire.
works and oratorical accompaniment. last
Tuesday evening.
What an opportunity for moralzngl
Foraker and Mckinney Both pupils in
the lIuIe country school. house In the hills;
both Learning from the same books aud from
the same teacher both spending their idle
hours in the enchanting gcenery,
which nature has created in this
happy region, and how d lfrrent were
the uses they made of the ssmc ele-
ments Of lite. One abstractrd honey aud am.
orosia from things good aud f-ir; the other
IOisOl. Both were tt atIDpl ~ ,,,r.I ,r..,.l !