"Sylvester Labaddie and the History of a Missouri River Town"

A mural, "Sylvester Labaddie and the History of a Missouri River Town", by noted artist Bryan Haynes of nearby Saint Albans; found at the Hawthorne Inn, in Labadie, Missouri, located about 45 highway miles west of downtown Saint Louis, Missouri, in rural Franklin County.

...It is said that in the early days, just when no one seems to know now, a hunter named Labaddie, accompanied by his son, a small lad, about twelve years old, trailed a bear which he had wounded into this cave. The hunter followed the bear into the cave, under the impression, it may be, that the bear was nearly or quite dead. The father did not return, and the son, after waiting several hours for him to return, became alarmed, and went back alone to St. Louis.

If a rescuing or investigating party were ever organized, its efforts at finding the body were fruitless, the difficulty being probably to identify the locality. In after years a gentlemen entered the cave, and found the skeletons of the hunter and the bear where they had fallen in an unseen but not unequal death struggle, as both had perished. The remains of the hunter were not brought out, for interment, as it being thought the most fitting place for them to rest, was where they were found. The hunter was Sylvester Labaddie...

Photo taken after a delicious lunch here.

History of Franklin County places.