The Robber's Cave – Lewis, The Notorious Robber
Doubling Gap, Pa., August 2. A favorite and highly interesting feature among the amusements here is to ascend the mountain and obtain a view from Flat Rock. On Monday last a party consisting of several ladies and gentlemen, including myself, made the ascent. All equipped and prepared in suitable costume, we set out about eight in the morning as the sun had cast his golden beams across the towering surround, we soon penetrated thick woods, shrubbery and rocks, following a narrow pathway, excelsior like, upward and onward.
After journeying a half mile or more, following a leader who at intervals sound of his bugle,
which answered back in echo from neighboring cliffs, we reached the celebrated "Robber's
Cave," or lurking place of Lewis, the notorious robber and counterfeiter, who, with his
companion Connelly, and another bandit, hid themselves and prowled in this region.
The cave opens under a large rock, which projects several yards from its bed, and overhangs a yawning precipice. In former times it was artificially embellished and suited to the purposes of its inmates, with a rough wall built by them thirty years ago; immediately in front is a beautiful spring of water gushing forth, pure as crystal and cold as ice, from its bed of rocks, murmuring down the wild ravine in limpid beauty. How long this streamlet has made music in solitude to the wildness of nature is not for man to know, but we tasted of its waters, they were sweet, refreshing and grateful to us wearied pilgrims. The place seems to be just such a one as bandits would select to hide from justice and plan deeds of darkness.
Lewis, the notorious robber, from whom this cave takes its name, was the master spirit of his confederates. At one time his name and fame spread far and wide, whilst he was a terror to the whole Cumberland valley and mountain region round about. Accomplished and successful in his profession, yet he possessed traits of character which, as they stood out isolated, were noble even in depravity. He was reputed to be the handsomest and most perfectly formed man that had been seen: tall, majestic, possessing strength and agility unequalled. In single combat none could withstand his physical powers.
Having been a small boy myself at the time of his career, a resident, too, of the neighborhood, I well remember the fearful stories of his exploits, and can attest to his handsome, manly appearance from once accidentally seeing him as he passed by the home of my boy hood. He measured full 24 inches across the shoulders, was over six feet in height, and altogether of full proportions, yet his hands and feet so small and delicate that the securest irons or shackles could be slipped over them. Owing to this peculiarity, he so often escaped from prison.
It is said of him that he never committed murder, nor allowed it to be done by his companions. On one occasion, after perpetrating robbery, his friend Connelly proposed to kill the victim, alleging that "dead men tell no tales." Lewis remonstrated, and Connelly persisted. Finally, when the bloody deed was about being consummated, Lewis seized his rifle, commanding Connelly to desist, or his life should instantly pay the forfeit. He did so cowering, and the man escaped with thankfulness, minus only filthy lucre.
On another occasion he went to a country house for the purpose of plunder. Finding it inhabited by an elderly widow lady, he told her his business. She said she was poor, had no money, and expected soon to have her property sold for rent. Looking out he saw the officer then coming. Lewis asked the amount of indebtedness. She informed him, and he presented it to her, with an injunction to make no disclosures. He then went out and waited in a retired spot until the constable returned. Stepping up, he demanded the money or his life. The former was given, including the amount received from the old lady for rent, and fifty dollars additional.
Numerous similar incidents are told of him. When in prison at one time, a beautiful young lady, friend of the jailor's daughter, fell in love with him. He broke jail; they ran off together, and were married. So distinguished and varied has been the character of this man, that he was made the hero of a romance, written and published many years ago by a well known gentleman of your city. If his eyes chance to fall upon this letter, he will, no doubt, stir up the musty archive and bring it forth.
The career of Lewis ended in his being shot in the wrist, and captured by a party who went in pursuit. He was put in prison, mortification ensued, and he died from the effects a fortnight after. Connelly and the other companions were shot at the same time, mortally
wounded, and died in a few hours. The spot where they were captured in the mountains is still marked out as one of interest.
The report that large earns of money had been buried near the cave has caused persons to displace rocks in the vicinity and dig for the treasure, but without success.
- North American, August 31, 1854
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The News Chronicle, 1928
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Lewis, The Robber.
A Reminiscence.
From the Indiana (Pa.) Register.
Lewis was the master-spirit of a gang of highway men, who lived by robbing travelers and committing depredations upon residents, chiefly between Chambersburg and Bedford, where they harbored in the forests of the mountains. They were a terror to the community, and western merchants who travelled on horseback generally armed themselves when going to the east, so as to be prepared to repel an attack, and for greater security sometimes went in companies.
It was understood, or at least believed, that some of Lewis' band were stationed in Pittsburgh, where, by mixing in genteel society, and being unsuspected, they would inform themselves of the time when merchants of that city and from parts farther west intended making their semi-annual trips to Philadelphia, and would then find means to convey the intelligence to their accomplices along the road.
Lewis was a young man of handsome appearance and agreeable address, and it was said he
supported his mother and sisters upon the fruits of his unlawful pursuit. His more immediate
Associates were Conner and Connelly, who, at the time of which we are speaking, kept among the gorges of Sideling Hill, where, at a distance of several miles, from the public road, they had erected a shanty, which was well supplied with provisions and other comforts with Lewis, after remaining about Bedford and Bloody Run as long as he could do so without exciting suspicion, or until he had received letters which he expected, would resort and remain for days and weeks, concerting measures for robbing some unsuspecting traveler or for obtaining booty in some other way.
Persons who have travelled the turnpike between McConnelsburgh and the Crossings of the
Juniata will remember Reamer's tavern on the eastern slope of the mountain and Nycum's in the western, the intervening distance being about eight miles, which formerly presented little else to the eye than scrub-oak thickets, interspersed with rocks and fallen timber, with here and there a slight opening, through which the cattle feeding during the summer had trodden paths which served the hunter as a guide and passage when following the game along the mountain range in winter. It was, indeed, a gloomy road, with nothing to break the monotony, save, perhaps, occasionally the cawing of a crow as she hovered overhead, or the sudden bound of a deer aroused from his lair by the noise of approaching footsteps and the lonely traveler, as he wended his way slowly up the steep ascent, now urging his jaded steed to greater effort, and now relieving it by leaping from the saddle and walking by its side, would long to gain the summit, where he might proceed more speedily and with more comfort to himself and his animal.
On ascending the mountain from the west, one sees now on the south side of the turnpike a patch of cultivated ground, embracing several acres, which has been cleared for a number of years, but was a dense forest at the time to which our story has reference. It was here, immediately opposite the cleared field, that Lewis performed one of his most daring exploits, and which, led to his arrest and subsequently cost him his life.
It appeared from what transpired afterwards, that Lewis had received intelligence from some of his gang, of an individual carrying a large sum of money going eastward on horseback, and that Lewis and two of his associates were on the look-out for him, ready to make an attempt at securing the rich prize whenever it should come within reach. From some cause or other, however, that individual's departure was delayed; but about the time designated by Lewis' spy, a Mr. McClelland, a merchant in Pittsburg, started for Philadelphia to purchase goods, travelling on horseback and having in his saddlebags some two thousand dollars in silver. He had got to Nycum's on Saturday evening, where he remained until Sunday morning, and then early prosecuted his journey, thinking to breakfast at Reamer's. As he was walking his horse up the mountain and when he had proceeded several miles, he espied, some distance ahead, a man, who wore a slouched hat and an ill-fitting, somewhat tattered coat, walking rather awkwardly, his body inclined forward, now shooting diagonally across the road, and then, taking up and balancing himself, moving on again in a straight line. As McClelland neared him, the man once or twice looked around, exhibiting a pair of blackened eyes, as if he had been recently engaged in a fight; and McClelland inferred from his whole conduct and appearance that he had been in company drinking and got himself handsomely pummeled, without having been sobered by the operation.
As they approached the summit, McClelland gained upon the fellow, until at the point which we have been endeavoring to describe he was about passing him; but at that moment, and before he suspected any danger, he found himself dragged from his horse, the drunken man, as he had taken him to be, having sprang upon him at a single bound, while in the same instant a man with a cocked pistol jumped up from either side of the road, the one seizing the horse's bridle and the other coming to the assistance of their leader, who was no other than Lewis himself and who had assumed this disguise to prevent suspicion. The two men who had been lying in wait were Conner and Connelly and there can be no doubt but some one of the gang had seen McClelland the day or evening before, and that they had prepared themselves during the night to attack him in the morning. Had he tarried at Nycum's until later in the day and perchance got some company, he would most likely have been permitted to pass unmolested, and the counterfeit drunkard, who, with painted eyes and tattered garments, had been seen staggering along the road, would scarcely have been thought of again.
The spot was well chosen by the robbers for the accomplishment of their purpose. On the north side of the road, for a distance of at least a quarter of a mile, the woods were more open here than at any other point on the mountain; and whilst McClelland was hurried off by two of the men among the thickets his horse was galloped at full speed through the open space, so as to be out of sight, should any person chance to come along the road. Having commanded M'Clelland to observe silence if he did not wish to have his brains blown out, they led him onward for several miles, the other man with the horse bringing up the rear, until they reached the robber's hut, which had been constructed of light logs and covered with bark, where they halted and forthwith entered upon an examination of their booty. After ascertaining the amount, Lewis turned to McClelland and smilingly said he was "not the bird they had been watching for, nevertheless these were pretty rich pickings" and he and his associates were amply compensated there by for their trouble.
Conner and Connelly then proposed they should put McClelland to death alleging as a reason that if he were set at liberty be would inform on them and might cause their arrest; against which Lewis stoutly protested and at the same time handed to McClelland his
watch and ten dollars, saying that would carry him back to his family and friends. This done
preparations were made by the robbers to start with the money taken from McClelland to some place where they would deposit it for greater security, and he was told that if he offered to move from the spot before their return, his life should pay the forfeit of his temerity. That they intended to return has always been doubted, and it has been judged, and with very good reason, that their object was to induce him to remain there during part of the day, whereby they would have gained ample time to get out of harm's way before he could give the alarm and start anybody in pursuit. In order to make sure work, however, they produced a pint flask filled with whiskey and ordered him to drink freely, thinking no doubt that by so doing he, a man unaccustomed to strong drink, would soon fall asleep and might not awake for many hours.
McClelland thought the liquor contained some deadly poison and the robbers were taking this method to get rid of him; and knowing he was in their power and that if his death bad been resolved on all his pleading for life would be unavailing, he concluded to die with as little pain as possible, and therefore, to their great surprise, drank the entire contents of the flask. Fortunately, however, the liquor was not poisoned; but the robbers thinking their prisoner had taken enough to answer all their purposes, now left, after ordering him to lie down in a corner of the cabin.
M'Clelland was now alone. The incidents of the morning clustered around his mind, and his
distress was indescribable. Within the space of a few hours all his earthly hopes had been
blasted. He was not only beggared, but in all likelihood doomed to die, perhaps in a few
moments, away from his friends and kindred, where his body might become food for vultures and wild beasts and his requiem should be the winds as they passed howling over his bleaching bones! He pictured to himself the distress of his family consequent upon his sudden and mysterious disappearance, and their fruitless conjectures in regard to his fate, and then ran with his mind's eye over the pages of their future history, lamenting their desolate and forlorn condition as they should be drifting without an earthly protector on life's wide ocean, tossed by the waves and exposed to the tempest. But he felt admonished to dismiss these reflections and turn unto others. Every moment he expected to feel a deadly stupor coming over him, and ever and anon he cast his eyes upon surrounding objects to assure himself that all was not a dream and that he was still in possession of his reason. Such was the intensity of his feelings that it counteracted the effects of the spirits which he had swallowed, and impelled by that love of life which clings unto man to his last moments, he ventured to ascend to the roof of the shanty and then cast inquiring looks far into the forest, anxious to ascertain whether the robbers had actually taken their departure or whether they were still loitering about, awaiting his death. In a slight opening in the woods at the distance of half a mile he at length espied them, pressing on with all possible speed, and in a moment his resolution was taken to attempt his escape.
Mounting his horse he entered a ravine nearby, which he judged must lead him in the direction of Reamer's and then urging the animal forward as fast as the nature of the country permitted, he kept in the ravine, leaping over rocks and fallen trees, and in an incredibly short time reached the point he was aiming for, where he gave the alarm and urged immediate pursuit. We may here remark that among those back woods men who employ most of their time in hunting and fishing, Sunday is not generally reverenced as it should be, and it will therefore cause no surprise to learn that when M'Clelland arrived at the tavern just mentioned he found there some half a dozen or more of rugged mountaineers, who had called in for their "bitters" preparatory to starting into the woods in quest of game. No sooner were they made acquainted with the robbery that had been committed than they volunteered to go in search of the robbers, and in a few moments had all things in readiness and set out, resolved to do their best. The hunters had a general knowledge of the topography of the mountains, directed their steps toward a point some distance beyond that designated by M'Clelland as the one where he had last seen the robbers; having reached which, they divided into two parties and moved some distance apart, and in this order had not proceeded very far when they espied the objects of their search, by whom they were seen likewise at the same instant.
The robbers tried to escape by running, but before they could get beyond the reach of the hunters rifles Lewis was wounded by a ball, and one of the others killed, whilst the third escaped unharmed. Lewis was secured and carried to Bedford jail, there to await his trial, but afterwards made his escape and was pursued, and whilst rowing himself across the West-branch of the Susquehanna in a canoe, was shot dead by one of his pursuers.
While in prison, Lewis stated that he had concealed a large sum of money under a rock, the
specie in a vessel and the bank bills in a bottle near a small stream on the west of the Allegheny mountain; and after his death diligent search was made for the treasure, by different persons and at different places but it is not known that it has ever been found, and the probability is that it had been removed by some of Lewis' associates.
Had Lewis' mind been directed into the right channel and subjected to a proper course of
training, he might have lived an honor to himself and his family and been useful in his day and generation; but having a penchant for the romantic and lawless, where he could indulge his passions without restraint, be became alienated from society, an outcast and a by word, and in his death we have but another proof of the truthfulness of the proverb that "the way of the transgressor is hard."
- The Raftsman's Journal, March 26 1856
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The Life and Adventures of David Lewis, the Robber and Counterfeiter: The Terror of the Cumberland Valley. / Edited by C.D. Rishel
This pamphlet begins with historical accounts of Cumberland, Bedford, and Centre counties in Pennsylvania, and describes the various locales where Lewis holed up, such as his famous cave hideouts; a den in Pine Grove Furnace; dwellings on Hanover Street, etc. This is followed by Lewis's own accounts of his exploits—all of which contributed to his legend.
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