The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-29
IN DEAD MANS CAVE.
The Reminder of a LynchinE Found
by Prospecting Party.


From the Washington Star
I'm Harlan county Kentucky" said a
man from that state, 1.-The mountains rise
as high as 4.5OO feet, and 1000 footer is
considered not much of a rise. On one OF
these lower hills is a hole in the ground
which for forty years has been known AS
Dead Mans Cave. This holes diameter is
about ten feet at the top. How deep it is
is not known, but stones dropped into
it have never been heard to strike bot
tom, and a spool of thread 200 yards long
has been unwound into it and still did
not reach the end. Recently some inter
estng facts have developed concerning 1t
and the story that goes with it.
1.-THE story is, and it is evidently true.
that not long before the war a noun
taineer was guilty of some offense which
deserved lyhching, and as hanging SEEM
ed to be too good for him and burning
had not yet become popular it was de-
cided to let him down into this cave In
full possession of his faculties, so he
might think over his crime and die of his
own accord, thus relieving the commun-
ity of the killing Being duly tried and
found guilty by Judge Lynch, he was TAX
en- to the cave and carefully let down
Until something like 200 feet of clothesline
had been used up. Then those on top let
go the rope, and it disappeared down the
hole. Naturally enough, no more was
Heard of the offender after that, and the
community settled once more into peace
and quiet The hole up to this time had
never been given a name. but in honor OF
the event just narrated it was called
Dead Mans Cave, and the story and the
crime and the one inhabitant of it became
2 tradition. H1f
Now for the denouement Three
months ago was down in that country
setting up a sawmill for a lumber COM
pany, and 1t became necessary for us to
sink a well to get a regular water supply
The mill was located In a valley on the
other side of the hill in which Dead Mans
Cave was, and about three hundred feet
below it. When we had sunk the well 50
feet or mere our drills one day surprised
us by dropping through the bottom and
disappearing. We knew that meant
cave below, a not unusual condition in
cave countries, and, thinking we might
find water, we opened hole and proceed
ed to get into the cave. Tt wasn't more
than a dozen feet in depth, and seemed to
be a narrow passage leading back toward
the mountain and ending about five hun
dred feet in the other direction. The pass
age was smooth and dry and. providing
ourselves with lights and leading strings
to find our way back, we set forth on an
exploring expedition. Within one hundred
yards of our starting point the floor be-
came sandy, and we found prints of hui
man feet. A mile further in, the foot
prints growing more numerous as we pro-
ceeded, we came to the skeleton of a hui
man being. with the clothes still on it,
though they crumbled away at our touch
The cave had become much higher here,
and not far beyond the skeleton we
caught a faint CLEAN of light from above.
Going forward cautiously, as there were
indications Of a break, we came out upon
a shelf hanging over a chasm at least 90
feet wide. Looking far up we could see
a faint light, and lying on the edge OF the
shelf was a rope about 80 feet long, which
crumbled at the touch, as the clothes on
the skeleton had done. We got around
the chasm by a side passage, but found
nothing beyond except spreading Of the
cave into branches and large chambers
and these we were afraid to explore as
we might get lost.
1--WE told our story outside, and after
the skeleton had been brought to the sur
face, or such parts of II as did not crum-
BILE, the old settlers examined the connec-
lions of the cave that we had discovered
with the Dead Mans Cave, and at once
concluded that we had found the remains
of the man who had been lynched so
long ago, and they promptly buried the
homes in field far removed from conse-
Grated ground. Coming to such a conclu-
sion as the facts seemed to warrant, il
was believed that when the lynchers let
go the rope their victim was near the
shelf on which we found his skeleton, and
had dropped to 1t without injury With
such light as the hole above afforded he
had evidently tried TO sound the depths
below him, leaving the larger part of the
rope hanging over the brink. where 1t
had rotted and dropped down, the section
we had found remaining. The footprints
indicated that he had felt his way back
and forth along the passage through
which we had come for a mile or more,
and had at last in despair lain down for
cher where he would be cheered by even
so little as the faint stream OF light COM
ing down from above 10 be with him I'M
I'll the end. lie may have taken his own
life, but there was no sign that he had,
and he no doubt starved 10 death. IL was
pretty hard lines, and burning at the
stake would have been less lingering, but
the way of the transgressor is hard, and
1t is OF his own choosing"
Ibid you find water2" inquired a prac-
teal minded man.
Yes" responded the story teller. show
ing pleased appreciation OF the inquir-
er's interest, I'VE found Il in another well
we sank"