The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-01-08
DEN OF THE OUTLAWS,
The niding Place of the Missouri Bandits
Discovered in Minnesota.

ST. PAUL, MINI. Dec...19-When
the Missouri outlaws came to Minnesota
for their great series of daring robberies
in 1876 they lived for a considerable Pc
riod in an inscrutable hiding place out
amoug the hills of the valley of the Min
nesuta river, to which they would slip
away from the officers of the law in their
forays for horses and food. Where they
went nobody was able to discover, and up
to Yesterday their subterranean retreat
had not been found Shortly after noon
yesterday party of hunters set out from
LeSueuer, and when in Lake Prairie
Township, Nicollect County, ran across
the cavern home of the banditti in q
most remarkable manner.
While walking along the Barney Fay
ravine John Tindal stumbled on
bowlder, fell and rolled down r declivity
thirty feet to the bed of Indian Greek, a
small stream running into the Minnesota
river. In attempting to scramble back
up the bank, he discovered an old
weather. beaten door, which was held to
it's place by couple of pieces of leather.
The door stood partly ajar aud opened
into an apartment as dark as midnight,
and az mysterious rs it was dark. The
young MAJ, shouted to his companions,
who promptly responded, and after care
full surveying the eXlcri"T ut the myse-
rious Premises, anlerl wass"nt t'r and
thorough exploration Of the interior
was commenced.
The first apartment entered was com.
mon dug out, only about eight feet
square, aud bad seemingly been used as
a sort of ante.room, with earthen floor
and walls, but on the back end or side a
space Of about six feet was covered from
the ceiling to the ground floor with
hewed logs stood on ends and close
together. In these were numerous nails,
driven apparently for the purpose OF
hanging clothing. A careful exsmina-
ton, however, revealed the fact that
these logs formed blind" door which
led into room 20 feet long and l6 feet
wide, along one side of which hunks
were arranged something after the fash.
ion of berth on steamboat, and from
the number of these at least thirty per.
sons had found sleeping accommodations
in this secluded and mysterious place of
abode.
This room contained several benches
and stools, an old table, tin plates and
cups, kettles, No. cook stove, and va
rious cooking utensils. In one corner
stood an old box on end, which had evil
dently served as cupboard, near which
was found a rough box which had beea
used as -four chest. This box was par.
titioned off and one end contained some
thirty or forty pounds of buckwheat
-four. Several old, faded decks of play
ing cards, few old newspapers, and a
badly dilapidated copy of "Kit Carson"
we're found scattered about on the rude
slab Aoor
One of the hunters began running over
the leaves of the book and out of it fell a
letter from Frank James to James
Younger in reference to the stealing of
some horses.
The letter aroused the curiosity of the
visitors, and the task of taking up the
slab floor was soon completed, but no
new discoveries were made until the old
box which acted the lart of a cup board
wss pulled down. Behind it was another
opening or door leading into another
apartment, where horses had been se-
creted, the room or artificial cave being
amply large to accommodate twenty at
time. Eighteen hitching:posts we're
driven some three feet apart, and each
post supplied with square box for feed
ing. Old curry.combs and brushes we're
also promiscuously scattered about,
which indicated that the stolen animals,
Tor such they no doubt were, were well
cared for.
On one of the hitching posts an old,
worn out vest was found, in one pocket
of which was rs cents in the old fashion.
ed 25-cent paper money, and part of an
envelope, which bore the address ~. S.
Rivers" but the postofice was torn off.
IE rummaging about skull and other
bones belonging to a human being were
found uuder a pile of partly decayed
cornstalks. 1t will be remembered that
Cole Younger carried wounded man
across his horse in front of him from the
streets of Mortified the day of the fight
and the body is evidently that Of this
member of the gang of outlaws.
The place is as impregnabIe as Gibral-
tar, and tweuty men, with plenty Of food
and ammunition, could hold it against q
regiment for a month. The straogest
feature about the matter is what has
become of the hundreds of carloads of
dirt which must have necessarily been
taken out in order to give the room
which is found there. The only possible
way to get to it with a horse is to follow
the creek bed from its head, some FIVE
miles West, at the edge of the prairie,
and then there are places which would
seem absolutely impossible TO animals.
To reach the cave with any kind of a
vehicle would be utterly impossible.
The only theory advanced as TO what
became of the dirL which was taken out
in making this rendezvous which sounds
at all plausible is that the place was
built by a band of horse thieves under
the notorious Conway in the early 70's;
that several years were consumed in dig
ging, and that the loose earth was
dumped into the Irdian Greek, which in
early days was quite stream, and car.
ried down the steep decline by the water.
Members of this gang of thieves evidently
joined the Younger-James outlaws in
1876 and piloted them to this grewsome
earlhen rendezvous, as they could never
have found it without assistance. The
Missouri outlaws fed Southwark from
the cave the next day after the fight at
Mortified, in which six men wero killed,
and Cole, Jim and Bob Younger were
captured in Blue Earth County, tried
and sentenced to State prison for life