Cave Mummies & Other Haunts

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is one of the highlights of the Jesse James' adventure thus far.  As the largest underground cave network in the U.S., it boasts 412 miles of caverns. About 15 miles are open to the public through guided tours. I took a 2 mile, 2-hour guided historical tour and another 2-hour tour the next day focusing on geological formations. The video shows the cave entrance where immediately the temperature drops 35 degrees.

 

The cave is considered one of the world's largest haunted places and with so many unexplored sections, it is easily conceivable how people could get lost or bury bodies without detection. In the 19th century when the cave was privately owned, preserved bodies were discovered and flocks of tourists came to see the cave mummies. Many accounts tell of apparitions appearing, shoving people, blowing out lanterns and/or emitting strange noises. The only shoves I received were from the 69 other people on my tour. Lots of strange noises from complaining teenagers (I'm cold. How much longer?) and the many Captain Obviouses (It's dark. Look at that rock. There's stairs.)

In 1838 when the cave changed ownership, a young slave Stephen Bishop (aged 16) became a tour guide. He was the first man to map the cave system, discovering many new areas of the caverns, including the underground water system and the "eye-less" fish and crawfish native to the cave. He was a very popular tour guide and saved his tips from touring. When he gained his freedom, he bought a piece of land close to Mammoth Cave and built a homestead.

apparitional light

The James' Brothers official and unofficial visit to Mammoth Cave occurred in 1880. There were 15 in their party including a Mr. Roundtree from Lebanon, Kentucky and his "comely" daughter Lizzie. No one knew the identity of Frank and Jesse. On the 3rd day of their visit,  they took a full day excursion in the caves with a guide named Garvin. Here is an excerpt from the Glasgow Times account.

"When they stopped in the part of the cave known as Bandit's Hall, someone asked the guide if there had ever been any REAL bandits in the hall. Frank James stood up and made his little speech. 'Folks, there's bandits in the hall now. I'm Frank James and the gentleman sitting over there with Miss Roundtree is my brother Jesse. We've been together for three days now and I thought we ought to be a little better acquainted...' And he sat down. The members of the party thought it was a good joke and shouted, 'Hold on to your wallets, we're being held up.'"

The next day Frank and Jesse held up two stage coaches on their way to Cave City, relieving the passengers of their money, and jewelry, then departed on horseback. The accounts say that they stopped in the hotel in Cave City and Jesse returned Lizzie Roundtree's jewelry, but probably not all her rings, since his wife Zee was wearing one on the day of Jesse's murder. Accounts say that the outlaws hid in Mammoth Cave, as well as Outlaw Cave in Cave City, while alluding the law.