Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1894-06-14
CHAPTER L


man who was registered at the Lexing-
ton (Ky.) military academy as Surden
Bench, aged twenty-five. got up about
three o'clock In the morning and, taxi
ing eight hundred dollars belonging
TO the academy and his fellow-students,
decamped.
The significance Of the circumstances
at the time arose from the discovery OF
the deliberate and ingenious method
pursued by Bench TO accomplish his
purpose. lie had conceived some kind
OF town celebration and induced the
young men 20 write home for funds.
lie also succeeded in getting them TO
make him the depository Of the money,
which according TO the books amount
ed to eight hundred and hfty-four dol
lars. lle Disappeared from Lexington
and all the efforts Of the faculty and
the authorities 10 trace him failed.
II IL now known that when he left the
academy he struck across country to
the Salt river, where he had skin In
hiding and presumably Il negro CON
federate. with characteristic Ken
lucky impulse, the young men Of the
school held an Indignation meeting
and offered the eight hundred dollars
10 anyone who would capture him and
turn him over to the authorities. This
reward put upon his trail several
western deputy shcriffs who tracked
him TO Cairo, ILL.,, where IL was sus-
pected that he had changed his boat,
bought ammunition and supplies and
set Oft down the Mississippi, travelling
generally In the night and hiding In
the bayous during the day.
Deputy Sheriff Col. Abner Pctingill,
Of Frankfort, published In the Louis
vile journal year later communl-
cation setting forth that his party had
tracked lIcnch to u bayou, somewhere
between Tiptonyillc and Fulton, ON
the Tennessee shore, where the fugi-
tive had sunk his boat and struck
through the wild tract Of country cN-
tending to what IL known us the "lligh-
land Kim, in Henderson county. This
communication is curious in one state
mcnt. II says: 1--WE discovered, after
much tedious searching, the sunken
boat and then struck his trail In the
woods. We had not followed IL far be-
fore we came to the conclusion that he
was accompanied by woman"
Col. Petingill then states that II was
his belief and the belief of his party
that Bench met with an accident some
where on the Rim, for all traces of him
disappeared, and after camping out for
two weeks In the wilderness and dis
covering no new trail the party re-
turned.
The fuct Is Bench had accidentally
discovered the Lurnn cave.
In his cndeavor to escape from his
pursucrs, he had struck straight up the
rim and In jumping from one of the
upturned cretaceous strata he had
landed upon depression which gave
way beneath his weight and he fell
perpendiculnrly into a crcvicc twelve
feet deep. This crevice has since be-
come famous as the Laran portal.
At its bottom he discovered the de-
scent which led TO the arena and hav-
ing exploited the place, he and his
companion lived there until the follow
ing winter. Az soon rs he felt salts
fed that the search was given over, hc
sent the woman out for supplies and
built u brush house over the opening
10 conceal II from the negroes who
brought them game and provisions.
They must have remained In and
about the Laran cave very nearly three
months.
In that time Bench made u very
thorough investigation of 1t and pre-
pared maps and Typographical dia
grams OF the surrounding country
Some OF these drawings may now b,
seen at the Government museum NJ
Rock Island. and, considering the rude
means ut Deuchs command, they are
singularly careful and accurate speci
mems Of cartography.
In those three months Bench hat
conceived and worked out one OF tn,
most astounding and gigantic schemes
with which the history of audacity an,
indomitable will makes us acquainted