The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1895-04-20
SMUGGLERS' CAVE.

The Indian name means ''Beantiful
Water, and beautiful water it truly is.
Every variety Of scenery il presented to
the view Of the visitor Is be sliaes over
the surface Of the iake-aounrains, val
leys ard ua,inlatins plain, Jagged rocks
and cultivated fields, pretty Il1tle vii
lagos nesting III the valleys and stately
summer residences 0f Canadian and
AMERICAN l~ailiia:a;res. The lake IS dot
ted with many Islands, I.rcn and small.
the nost Important Ct EsEe!i i Province
island, ca Y iucu is married. the i3ounl-
airy line ditiGia: tho United States
from t~@af!a. This, toe. IS the oaly is
land il tie I.l.a tilat las ;.isv sign CT
habita,i9a. Twas purchased s,.Ic years
age by Iii. IRG4:.i.i Of NV Na,la, who
erected g I-@Idsoiae sGla!:Iar residence
near is e II, AID rs CITE ED of his
island t,GHso isfa the Dominion and the
other uG4er Tic sway OF the stars and
stripes he co., ea!earate Eoninien day
or one part Ct his do2ai.Isous and hide
pendence day On tie oss1er.
1t is no Try intention to exto} the
beauties Of tho lake, bit merely to re-
late II Of TIE nany legends concerning
it which gro to.d by .'old residents"
This legend concerns Skinner s island,
opposite Owls fyead, o., more properly
speaking, ~Sl;iu9er's .case, situated; as
M end Of The island. Ally Il who has
visited the lake will recollect it. From
the deck CT the steamer the caye looks
like an onen doorway. But from tie
deck of 6 steamef i; not tho best way {
see it, and | determined to examine it
more closely. While stopping st Owls
Head I took : ro~lo:t, end in company
with an oil fisherman, started to ex-
ploro tho ave But l WIS sadly diaap-
pointed, fer instead Of SEEING q lar-a
cavern capable CT holding "a cargo Of
struggled goods, Is l y55s led 10 sup
pose, the opo@iag was barely large
enough to contain u boat, and il was
impossiblefer rs to stand uprighta ct the
farthest end. The cave was worth visit
ing, however, being completely lined
with a dwarf growth of weeds, the rays
of the sur, shining on the water and
rejecting uEon the sides, giving it all
the colors CT tho rainbow. A snake Or
two lay coiled up i'll soGe Of the Grey
ices, while minaows spertol at its
mouth. Twas about to express my as
tonishment to Ing guido ct tho small
ness Of The plaee wihca he ferestelled
me with IT, tu4..E:
"Well, sir, what do va think Of it,"
why I returned, Il AN disap-
pointed. expected to sec quite Il large
cave, but see only a small hole in the
rock. Where is the store.ouso Of the
famous Skinner? Where the place
where he used to keep his arms and
ammunition? Where theaGngeon where
he confined his captivcs::3
Hold or, sir, said my guide, land
l will tell you the story as it was told
to me by my father. OF course I cannot
vouch for the truth Of ali the details, as
he was not q witness of tho occurrences. "
We drew the boat to the mouth of tho
cave, seated ourselves, lighted our pipes,
and my guide spoke as follows:
"At tho beginning of the present cen
fury smuggling was extensively carried
or both ways across the border, but
principally from the United States into
Canada, and many ii bold adyenturer
entered into the business. One of the
boldest OF these was Captain John Skin
ner. He was an Englishman and early
in his career commanded a sort of pri-
vateer that used to smusele goods from
different ports i'll the United States and
Canada. He had associated with him a
band of the boldest spirits Of the time.
James Jackson, hislieutenant, was won't
to declare that he cared neither for
mar mol devil How it came about !
do not know, but Captain Skinner lost
his ship, and when next heard Of here,
together with several members of his
crew, including Jackson, settled OH the
Vermont border, half of his house being
situated III Stanstead county, Canada,
and half i'll Derby, VI. He kept what
was supposed to be a general store, but
it soon got to be noised abroad that the
place was a rendezvous for the most no.
torious of the smugglers. It was known
that large quantities of goods were taken
into the store, but robody ever saw
them come out again.
1T was known that The snlugglers
must have some secret hiding place to
store their goods, but nothing could be
discovered. Officers were constantly on
the watch, the place was raided, the
footsteps of Skinner and his band were
logged Whenever they left the old store,
rewards were offered BY both govern