One “dark tempestuous night” a flatboat passing the Cave is attacked by the robbers; a fierce and bloody combat follows. The Outlaw discovers among the passengers the very girl who had discarded him for another—and still alive. He stabs her in the heart and then—

“He raised her body from the floor,
And hurled it to the foaming wave,
Her white robe red with streaming gore,
A fitting shroud for such a grave.”

The battle continues. The Outlaw kills man after man, when to his surprise he finds himself facing the very man he thought he had killed in Virginia. The two recognize each other instantly. They draw daggers and The Outlaw is slain. And the boatmen, so runs the story, exterminate the band of robbers at the Cave.

“The morning breaks, the fight is o’er,
Peace smiles again upon the shore ...
Yon arching cave is lonely now,
The tenants of its holds have fled,
Or on the hill-top’s rocky brow
Are sleeping with the dead....

No more those cavern’s walls will ring
With sounds of mirth and rioting,
And peacefully along the tide,
The laden barks will slowly glide;
Their crews no more will deem they see
A robber’s form in every tree,
And grasp their rifles and prepare
For deeds of blood and carnage there;
But as they pass along the shore,
Will pause and rest upon the oar,
And tell of many a bloody tale,
The legends of yon gloomy vale;
And travelers, with curious eyes,
Will view its chambers in surprise,
And scarce believe that where they stand,
Was heard the clash of brand on brand,
And yonder yawning cavern’s gloom
The Outlaw’s dwelling—and his tomb;
But rather all they hear they’ll deem
A fable, or a fairy dream.”

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Libraries used in the preparation of this book.

Chicago: J. Christian Bay’s Private, Chicago Historical Society, John Crerar, Newberry, and University of Chicago. Cincinnati: Cincinnati Public, Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, and Young Men’s Mercantile. Frankfort: Kentucky State Historical Society, and State Library. Jackson: Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Lexington, Kentucky: Lexington Public. Louisville: Young E. Allison’s Private, Filson Club, Louisville Free Public, and R. C. Ballard Thruston’s Private. Madison: Wisconsin State Historical Society. New Harmony, Indiana: Workingmen’s Institute. New Orleans: Gaspar Cusach’s Private, Howard Memorial, Louisiana Historical Society, State Museum, and Thomas P. Thompson’s Private. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Society. Washington: Library of Congress.