Note 40 — Paying the Penalty
Reading edition
The fact that the names Murrell and Mason sound somewhat alike is sometimes the cause of confusion. For example, occasionally one hears that Little Harpe cut off the head of Murrell, whereas Harpe was hanged when Murrell was four or five years old.
On a map of the Ohio, compiled 1911–14 under the supervision of the Ohio River Board of Engineers on Locks and Dams, Cave-in-Rock is erroneously designated Merrell’s [sic] Cave.
One absurd tradition has it that James Ford’s first wife was a sister of Murrell, and another is to the effect that both Ford and his wife were related to Mason, Murrell, and the Harpes.