£4 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. it, \<&'2, 
to moralize on the divine dictum that "the way of the 
tfansgessor is hard." 
The Long Lake cave remained a secret until a few 
years ago. For years after the Quackenbushes were sent 
to the penitentiary, and during the period of the gold ex- 
citement in the latter part of the sixties, no suspicion of 
this cave was entertained, although a syndicate purchased 
the "big rock" and adjoining territory. 
Prospecting was carried on and search was again in- 
stituted for the mythical "Meyer's Cave," but without 
practical results. During the past few years prospecting 
has been pursued for asbestos, galena, silver and mica. 
Some mica mines have been opened at the head of the 
lake and carried on with success. These things caused 
a stir in mining circles and once more the Meyer's cave 
illusion was revived. Some conjectured that it was lo- 
cated further to the west, and either on Loon or Part- 
ridge Lake. Others considered Long Lake or Marble 
Lake the favored locality, "while a retired druggist, who 
possessed means as well as faith, and had obtained an 
authentic copy of old Meyer's instructions, began opera- 
tions at the "big rock." 
It so happened about this time a resident of the town 
of Peterborough became acquainted with a man in Michi- 
gan who had been one of the original parties carrying on 
coining operations in the Long Lake cave years ago. 
This person bad left Canada years before the Howie- 
Quackenbush affair took place, but, on account of the 
notoriety which some of his old comrades had obtained, 
he gave this country a wide berth, lest his name might 
become mixed up in their confidential disclosures to the 
detectives, or referred to in their transactions. 
From this person was obtained a description of the 
cave, with directions where to find it. He also mentioned 
one Jesse Ireland, if alive, somewhere in Ontario, who 
could assist him. The lot was located and secured, and 
a company formed to carry on mining. Prospecting 
went on briskly and a search instituted for the where- 
abouts of Ireland. Considerable blasting was done on 
both sides of the river, test pits were sunk at different 
places, but the stubborn rock refused to give up its 
secret, and no cave was discovered. However, just as 
work was about to be abandoned, Ireland was located, as 
a hotel keeper, at the town of Port Perry. 
It appears that Ireland, when a lad of about twelve 
years of age, had been taken by the parties in the 
capacity of cook on one of their excursions to the cave. 
They secured his silence, but managed to keep him in 
ignorance of the real object of their visit, or of the 
serious consequences which might result from their acts. 
For a consideration Ireland was induced to assist the 
miners in finding the cave. 
Following the directions already received, he carefully 
examined the locality where prospecting had been carried 
on. Years had elapsed since he had been there; then 
he was a lad, but now an old man. The virgin forest 
had been cut away, frequent brush fires had swept over 
the land, new growth of timber had sprung up, and the 
face of the country was changed. He was puzzled as to 
the exact locality. Having returned by the circuitous 
route before mentioned, he said that he must find the old 
trail to satisfy himself before proceeding further with 
his search. "That the old trail followed up the river 
through Marble Lake to the Massinau, thence through 
that lake and up the river at its head, where it turned 
off to Mink Lake. That, at the south of that lake, and 
alongside of a stream were two large rocks, upon one of 
which would be found certain marks. If his supposition 
proved to be correct, then he was on the right spot, for 
the old tree with marks upon it pointing to the mouth 
of the cave could nowhere be found." 
Old lumbermen who had shantied in the vicinity and 
cut timber around Mink Lake, and who were thoroughly 
familiar with that locality, told him the country had been 
cut over, burnt over, and no such rocks as he described 
were in existence. He, however, persisted, and following 
up the trail as mapped out by himself, on the south side 
of Mink Lake, some twenty miles from the supposed 
locality of the cave, he found the two rocks, and upon 
scraping the moss from one of them, there were revealed 
the marks sought for. Being thus assured he returned 
to resume the search. 
The entrance to the cave which had been used by the 
counterfeiters was very small, admitting only one person 
at a time. It had been, when abandoned by them, care- 
fully covered up with stone and other debris and thor- 
oughly concealed, and when Ireland came to look for 
it, it was overgrown with underbrush. 
Taking a crowbar and sounding at the bottom of one 
of the test pits, Ireland struck several heavy blows; at 
length the crowbar went through, showing that had the 
prospectors gone only four inches or so further they 
would not have required his services. The opening was 
easily found and the debris removed. Ireland remem- 
bered that on his former visit the cave had bfen damp 
and the air very bad, causing every one of the party to 
be laid up with sickness upon their return home. Birch 
bark and other inflammable material were ignited and 
thrown in; after this the discoverers descended. Here 
was found' unmistakable evidence of an occupation long 
ago- the initials of some of the old habitues were found 
cut in the rock and implements coated with rust lay scat- 
tered about. But the dies and other counterfeiting im- 
plements had been left in a corner of the cave over which 
a portion of the roof had become detached and had fallen, 
burying them beneath tons of rock. 
Mining operations were therefore prosecuted with 
more vigor but with indifferent results. One result of 
finding the counterfeiters' cave was to stimulate pros- 
pecting throughout this vast region between the settled 
townships and the great corundum belt. Some good 
mines have been opened, but the country has been as yet 
merely scratched over. Rich leads of gold, silver, galena, 
antimony and mica, etc., await the prospector and the 
enterprising capitalist. The lakes and streams abound 
with different kinds of trout, while bear, beaver, mink, 
otter martin and deer roam through the forests. Part- 
ridge are plentiful, and no portion of Ontario affords 
finer scenery, greater facilities, or easier access to the 
sportsman, to the artist, or to, the prospector. 
It now remains to determine, if possible, - upon what 
basis the story of "Meyer's Cave" rests. 
The writer has it from grandchildren of old John 
Mevers now grown gray, and they positively affirm that 
the old man made two trips to the treasure cave: that on 
the first occasion he brought specimens of native silver 
from which their grandmother had made up rings 
and other articles; that they had seen these articles in 
their young days; that the old man died firmly believing 
such a cave as he described did really exist; that the In- 
dians had taken him into the cave; that he had seen it, 
and had brought away specimens of silver and that, had 
his canoe not capsized, causing the loss of his effects 
along with the silver, substantial evidence of its exist- 
ence would have survived his decease. It is certain that 
he related his story with an earnestness which carried 
conviction to others. Like the lost mines of California 
and Arizona, there must be a grain of truth out of which 
to manufacture even a fable. It is possible that caves 
exist in the rocks and mountains which surround the 
Massinau. May it not be possible that the Indians fur- 
nished the specimens and the crude old hunter was taken 
to some cave now filled up or concealed by falling rock 
and deceived as to the nature of the substance which he 
saw? 
I leave this subject for the curious to conjecture and 
for the enthusiast to continue his search. 
Such is the history of "Meyer's Cave" up to the 
present. More money has been wasted, more time lost, 
more discussion, theory, conjecture over this "will o' the 
wisp" than has been expended upon all other illusions 
which may have cropped up since the settlement of these 
midland counties of Ontario. E. B. Fraleck. 
The Hermit of Moxie* 
The death of the hermit of Moxie tract, a section of 
timberland and lake in the northern part of Somerset 
county, Maine, has been reported by the tote team driver 
of Lane & Murphy's crew, whose logging operation is 
a few miles above. 
The hermit of Moxie has for many years "enjoyed" a 
rather peculiar reputation in Maine. In the first place 
he has been the most persistent poacher in that section, 
but the character of the man and of his poaching has been 
such that the authorities have not been anxious to stir 
him up. Secondly, the hermit has won more consider- 
able notoriety as the proud possessor of several hundred 
cats. It has been stated by some lumbermen that at 
times he had about him nearly five hundred of the felines. 
But as no one to my knowledge ever had the opportunity 
or the patience to count the grimalkins, I will not vouch 
as to the number. But the man who found him dead 
states that there were nearly two hundred cats on the 
premises when the recent gruesome discovery was made. 
The hermit of Moxie had vowed himself to the self-set 
task of keeping those cats in meat. Therefore he was a 
poacher. When the cats were hungry he killed a deer. 
Even if the hermit had been arrested he would have been 
a burden on the State in the insane asylum. And the 
cats would have become wandering nuisances in the 
woods. 
The discovery of the hermit's death was made in the 
following manner: The tote team driver, on account of 
a "riffle" in the ice of Moxie Lake, found it necessary 
to make a detour of a mile or so out of the "bushed" 
road across the ice. 
In making the circuit of the dangerous place he passed 
near the island on which the hermit has lived for many 
years. A dog accompanied the team. Suddenly the 
canine sniffed in the direction of the island and set off 
full tilt across the snow on a trip of investigation. He 
approached the island, so the driver noticed, in a zig-zag 
course, occasionally snuffing at tracks in the snow and 
then lunging ahead with a short yelp. The driver knew 
all about the hermit and his cats, and understanding that 
the dog had winded the colony kept on without thinking 
especially of the matter. The dog disappeared among the 
trees surrounding the little cabin of the lone resident. 
In two minutes there was a mingled sound of yelping and 
caterwauling that made the teamster's blood run cold. 
Out of the woods on to the level surface of the lake came 
rushing the dog. He was leaping, twisting and rolling. 
On him stuck cats of all kinds. More were following, 
looking for a chance to dig in a clip. As soon as he had 
torn loose from one bunch another group was ready for 
the attack. Now, the driver liked his dog, and he didn't 
want to see him made into ribbons or Hamburg steak. 
So he halted his team, seized his whip and started for the 
battlefield. The dog kept on coming and met him half 
way with a dozen of the persistent cats hanging to him. 
The man drove into the ball of dog, snow and cats and 
by vigorously lashing all concerned managed to disen- 
tangle his pup and to send the cats scurrying back to the 
camp. 
The dog was badly damaged. One of his ears was 
nearly clawed off and blood was oozing from his nose and 
back. He licked the wounds that he could reach and 
ki-yied in a melancholy manner. The driver decided to 
walk up to the cabin and remonstrate with the hermit. 
Furthermore, the driver thought it rather strange that 
the hermit hadn't appeared at sound of the conflict. 
When the dog noticed the direction in which the driver 
was going he sneaked back to the sled. He had investi- 
gated cats all he cared for that day. 
About the cabin the man found cats strolling and 
"meraouwing" dismally. The animals seemed to be in 
distress. Cats receded from behind trees as he ap- 
proached. Many of them scratched hastily up the clawed 
corner posts of the camp and perched on the roof, growl- 
ing and spitting at him. Occasionally slashing with his 
whip to intimidate such of the creatures as made a far- 
off stand and humped their backs at him, the driver ap- 
proached the camp and knocked on the little door. There 
was no answer from within. The door was pierced by a 
small hole, evidently designed for a latchstring. but the 
string had been pulled in. Therefore the bar within could 
not be raised. 
After some effort the new arrival was able to peer m 
at the dingy, cracked glass as his eyes became accustomed 
to the inner darkness. All about in the room the eyes of 
cats, green and amber with reflected light, glared at him. 
Many of them were wailing pitifully. Others growled and 
spat. They were of all shapes, colors and varieties. The 
hermit himself lay in his bunk, his face toward the light, 
and after a minute of scrutiny, followed by repeated 
pounding on the glass of the window, the driver decided 
thrt the old man was dead. Several of the cats were 
perched on the body intently surveying the stranger, and, 
as the man continued to pound, more of the animals 
hopped up, as to a refuge from threatened danger. 
The driver decided not to brave the possible dangers 
of entering, and posted back to his team. When he ar- 
rived at the camp he reported the matter, and after tea 
that night a number of the crew took lanterns and went 
down to the hermit's cabin. In the night the scene in 
and about the place was doubly grisly, cats scampering 
here and there with shrill or hoarse waulings, and the 
glow of their eyes appearing from behind every tree. 
The old man was indeed dead, and had evidently been 
dead for some days. Food piled beside him on his chair 
— or rather bones and the remnants of food — indicated 
that probably he had been confined to his bunk by ill- 
ness for some days before his decease. 
While the men were in the camp one of them set his 
lantern on the stove. It was decided that the cabin 
should be cleared of the cats, their entrance hole stopped 
up and the matter reported to the authorities. But while 
the men were shooing the cats out, one of the stampeding 
creatures leaped over the stove, knocked off the lantern 
and the spreading, blazing oil ignited the browse of the 
hermit's bunk. The men tried to put the fire out with 
snow, but the blaze drove them out and the camp was 
destroyed, together with the body of its inmate. The 
cats fled into the woods and climbed the trees, shrieking 
like demons. A few of the animals were burned in the 
fire that destroyed the old cabin, but the most of them 
are at large in the woods there at the present time, at 
least such as are able to survive. 
It is stated by those who have called in times past at 
the hermit's cabin that he was a French Canadian who 
tramped through from the Megantic region many years 
ago and built a cabin on Moxie. He brought several 
cats with him, and during all the years he has lived there 
has devoted himself to the task of rearing and feeding 
the animals. 
Many of the cats have wandered away into the woods 
and have scattered all over northern Somerset. Loggers 
in northern Penobscot have seen cats around the camps 
that were undoubtedly estrays from the hermit's colony. 
Some of the animals are not larger than the common 
house tabbies. Others are much larger and can almost be 
called wildcats. Northern Maine woodsmen and hunters 
assert that any domestic cat taken into the forest will in 
a short time develop wildness and will commence to shun 
the fireside and the ordinary comforts that felines enjoy. 
The common cats cross readily with the "black cats" of 
the woods and with the coon and even with others of the 
smaller folk of the forest. Therefore some of the types 
that are met with in the woods of Maine would puzzle the 
naturalist. 
Cooks in the logging camps say that nearly every 
morning they find cats on the roof of the camps, nestled 
around the funnel for warmth. Sometimes after the men 
are gone into the woods the cats can be cajoled into the 
dingle — or camp shed — by scraps of food. But the ani- 
mals are always on the alert, and will suffer no one to 
approach. 
One cook tells me that nearly a dozen of the cats made 
their home on the roof of the camp and in the edge of 
the clearing all winter last season. There was an open 
place at the brook near by where he got the water for 
the camp. He relates that several of the cats developed 
great dexterity in fishing. A cat would squat for a long 
time at the edge of the ice, perfectly motionless, staring 
into the water. All at once she would make a dab and 
out she would hook a fish, flapping on the ice. 
Others of the cats catch squirrels and rabbits, and in 
fact most of them, descended from the domestic tabby of 
indolent, luxurious manners though they may be, show 
that they are perfectly well able to take care of themselves 
in the woods when it comes to a fight for subsistence. 
Once in a while one is captured, and the fur is found to 
be much closer than the covering of the ordinary cat. 
In this connection it may be stated that a trapper near 
Nahmakanta Lake captured several fisher cats and mated 
them with the halfwild cats of the woods. He succeeded 
in raising some half-breeds that produced a good quality 
of pelt and has carried on this unique industry for some 
time. He makes money enough for his simple wants — 
mostly tobacco and pork and beans. As there are also 
one or two goat farms in operation in northern Maine, 
it is consoling to think that when the paper mills have 
cleaned off all the spruce and hemlock there will still be 
opportunity for further industry on the much hacked 
acres. Holm an F. 1 Day. 
Adventures in Tropical America. 
VIU. — A Dangerous Road. 
While traveling among the interior mountains of Cen- 
tral America exploring for mines, and in some haste to 
reach a district where" some good finds were being re- 
ported, I came to a place where all the road had been 
washed away by unusual rains, and my oinly way to go on 
was over a little used trail, well known to be rough and 
dangerous. I preferred this, however, to turning back, 
and gave little heed to tales of accidents and death told by 
my guides. 
At first the way was only rough, not dangerous, but 
presently we came to a steep mountain side, where a 
fall would mean destruction. A little further on the trail 
became so steep that I determined to walk down and 
drive the mule ahead of me ; but she would not go, and I 
had to mount and ride before she would undertake it. 
This was rather a novel ride ; the mule could not take a 
step it was so slippery, she simply set her feet and slid 
from one bend in the trail to the next, and then turned 
carefully, and slid on down; it was coasting on mule 
back, interesting, but rather hard on the mule, and when 
we reached better ground she was so frightened that to 
manage her was difficult. Further on the trail became 
soft, a sticky red clay, in which the mules sank almost 
to their knees as they struggled on down the mountain. 
The trail was very imperfect, only a narrow strip trod- 
den out by passing animals, and the first thing I knew my 
mule was standing on a small log that had been placed 
to mend about 12 to IS feet of the track where it had 
broken away. Here two or three animals had been killed, 
