The Cave in the Mountain: A Sequel to In the Pecos Country

In Short

First published in 1894 as a dime-novel western for young readers, Edward Sylvester Ellis's frontier narrative follows teenager Fred Munson and his Irish companion Mickey O'Rooney after they become separated in a vast southwestern cavern system. Surrounded by Apache warriors led by the formidable chief Lone Wolf, the pair must rely on tight teamwork, luck, and the woodsman skills of the veteran scout Sut Simpson. Moving through subterranean tunnels, rugged mountain passes, and desert canyons, the companions face subterranean drop-offs, grizzly bears, and ambush. The story endures as a fast-paced slice of 1890s juvenile serial fiction.

The Story

The action opens deep inside a vast cavern system where young Fred Munson and his companion, Mickey O'Rooney, have been forced into hiding. While Mickey catches up on much-needed sleep after a taxing guard duty, Fred tries to hunt down a elusive wild wolf that has been lingering near their subterranean camp. His pursuit leads him into a labyrinth of treacherous drop-offs, crevices, and disorienting dead ends. When he finally stumbles out into the open air via a hidden opening, he discovers that a band of Apache warriors has encircled the area. Mickey remains trapped in the depths below, while the Apaches peer down the mouth of the cavern, attempting to lower a heavy lasso to capture or draw out the fugitive inside.

Fred watches from the brush, managing to sneak up on an unsuspecting Apache sentinel who is holding the lasso line. Using stealth and his revolver, Fred startles the warrior and asserts control over the top of the shaft. When an Apache warrior attempts to climb up the rope to surprise him, Fred shoves a pistol in the warrior's face, forcing the exhausted climber into a rapid slide back down to the cave floor. Soon after, Mickey himself makes the grueling, manual climb up the lasso. Exhausted and out of breath, Mickey scrambles over the ledge just as a hostile gunshot clips his clothes, reuniting the two friends on the surface.

Reunited but marooned without proper transport or supplies, the duo makes a breaks through the surrounding mountain territory. They endure a series of sharp crises: Fred is chased down a wooded slope by a massive grizzly bear, firing his revolver into its nose and barely escaping before falling to the ground; later, the pair must dash their steeds at a breakneck gallop down a narrow, hundred-yard-wide canyon while running past an Apache signal-fire.

Help arrives in the form of Sut Simpson, a seasoned, straight-shooting frontier scout who knows Chief Lone Wolf of old. Sut guides the pair through high passes, teaches them how to navigate Apache tactics, and sets about procuring horses for their long journey back toward civilization. After reclaiming stolen stock and maneuvering past hostile scouting parties, Sut, Mickey, and Fred ride toward the new frontier settlement of New Boston along the Rio Pecos.

Upon arrival late in the afternoon, they find the embryo town destroyed. Lone Wolf’s warriors have burned the unfinished houses and wiped out the settlement. The trio spends hours gathering the remains of the fallen settlers, burying them in a common trench using a shovel they salvaged from the ruins. Continuing toward Fort Severn, they bury additional victims along the trail. Reaching the fort on the second afternoon, they find only eight survivors—six men and two women—who managed to outrun the attack. Their leader, Caleb Barnwell, has perished, leaving the survivors to reckon with the harsh reality of the unyielding borderlands.

How It Unfolds

Lost in the subterranean shadows Fred Munson leaves his sleeping companion Mickey O'Rooney to track a mysterious wolf through an uncharted cavern system. He loses his way among sudden rents, rockfalls, and side passages, eventually stumbling onto a daylight opening high on a mountain side.

Guarding the cavern mouth Surfacing near the cave's upper mouth, Fred discovers three Apache warriors attempting to haul up anyone inside using a heavy mustang lasso. Fred sneaks up on the sentinel, takes control of the rope, and forces an ascending Apache warrior to slide back down to the bottom.

Escaping up the lasso Mickey O'Rooney makes the grueling climb up the hanging rope himself, emerging from the dark pit just as a enemy bullet passes through his coat. The two friends exchange stories of their separation, share a brief ration of saved food, and begin moving through the mountain brush.

Fleeing the mountain grizzly While gathering wood or heading toward camp, Fred encounters a gigantic grizzly bear that pursues him down a steep, rocky slope. Fred empties his pistol into the brute's face, drops to the ground after a stumble, and barely escapes the monster's reach.

Running the canyon gauntlet Mickey and Fred mount their horses and gallop down a narrow, hundred-yard-wide canyon, expecting an ambush from the overhanging walls. They push their steeds into a dead run right past an Apache signal-fire, successfully cutting through the bottleneck without taking hits.

Joining forces with Sut Simpson The fugitives link up with veteran scout Sut Simpson, who brings essential woodcraft, a spare silver-mounted revolver, and deep knowledge of Chief Lone Wolf's tactics. Sut leads them along high mountain ridges and helps them acquire additional horses from passing warriors without unnecessary bloodshed.

The ruin of New Boston Sut, Mickey, and Fred arrive at the Rio Pecos valley to discover that the settlement of New Boston has been burned to the ground by Lone Wolf's forces. They use a recovered shovel to bury the fallen settlers on site and along the road, finally reaching safety at Fort Severn where only eight survivors remain.

The People

• Fred Munson is an adventurous, resilient youth whose curiosity frequently gets him into dangerous scrapes, such as wandering into uncharted cave passages after a wild beast. Armed with a revolver and quick reflexes, he stays loyal to his companions, refusing to abandon Mickey even when a quick escape on an Apache mustang presents itself. By the journey's end, he matures into a capable frontier traveler.
• Mickey O'Rooney is Fred’s warm-hearted, brave Irish companion, whose jovial humor and lively banter persist through intense physical trial. Whether enduring a grueling climb up a hanging rope or making a running dive into forest brush to flank an enemy, Mickey balances lighthearted jokes about "Donnybrook" dances with a strong moral streak that refuses to allow cold-blooded killing.
• Sut Simpson is an experienced border scout who knows the terrain, the local native languages, and Chief Lone Wolf from past encounters. Marked by scars and hardened by years of wilderness life, Sut provides practical survival skills, subtle woodcraft, and crucial guidance for the young travelers, showing surprising generosity despite his rough exterior.
• Lone Wolf is the formidable Apache chief operating in the Pecos region, whose tactical strategy relies on coordinated ambushes, capturing live prisoners when advantageous, and launching decisive strikes against encroaching settlements like New Boston.

In Its Own Voice

"Be the powers, but I'm so tired I'm spaachless, wid not even the strength to let out a whistle."

Mickey speaks these words to Fred in a hoarse whisper as his head finally clears the mouth of the dark cave after a punishing climb up a lasso.

"I don't want a horse if we've got to murder a man to git the same."

Mickey pleads thus with Sut Simpson when the veteran scout prepares to ambush an approaching Apache rider solely to take his mustang.

"If any of 'em got away, they've reached Fort Severn, but I don't think thar's much chance."

Sut Simpson offers this grim evaluation while surveying the smoldering, silent ruins of the short-lived settlement of New Boston.

What It's Really About

Beneath its serial adventure plots, the book explores the precarious nature of human life on the nineteenth-century western frontier. It contrasts the reckless optimism of white expansionists—personified by the doomed leader Caleb Barnwell—with the unforgiving realities of a landscape controlled by skilled native defenders. The narrative poses fundamental questions about loyalty and survival: what do companions owe each other when surrounded by immediate danger, and where does practical self-defense end and unnecessary violence begin? Through Mickey's insistence on mercy and Sut's cold survival logic, the story weighs frontier pragmatism against basic human decency.

Why Read It Today

Readers of historical dime novels, vintage adventure fiction, and late-nineteenth-century American literature will find this volume a swift, entertaining specimen of its genre. Ellis writes with dynamic pacing, delivering continuous physical action—cave escapes, bear pursuits, wild horseback dashes, and high-stakes woodcraft—that keeps the plot moving forward without pause. The dialogue carries the distinct flavor of period pop fiction, complete with phonetically rendered Irish stage-dialect and stylized frontier jargon. While modern readers will quickly spot the period tropes, melodramatic setups, and simplified depictions of border conflicts, the core dynamic between the central characters retains a genuine warmth. It offers an authentic look at the low-cost serial books that captivated young readers over a century ago.