NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/625084
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016 • NEBRASKAland 39 W hen one looks up at the steep-faced sentinels, it's not hard to surmise how they got their names. Perhaps it's our fear of falling that makes the observer's mind imagine a body jumping from the ridge above hundreds of feet to the hard ground below. The alliterated toponym Lover's Leap has been used throughout the ages, capturing the imaginations of those who marvel at the natural wonders. An Internet list names 25 Lover's Leaps from coast to coast and many more throughout the world. The Cornhusker State is overlooked on the list but it is home to at least five topographical features named in such fashion – three in the west, two in the east. In 1949, University of Nebraska professor Louise Pound gave recognition to Nebraska's rocks in the scholarly journal Western Folklore. In the article "Nebraska Legends of Lovers' Leaps," she writes about four such geological formations, one each in Banner, Dawes, Knox and Nance counties. In the essay she tells of the romantic tragedies associated with each precipice, all of which involve Native Americans. "With monotonous sameness the beautiful maiden, daughter of a stern chief, leaps to death from some steep cliff," Pound wrote. "More rarely, her suitor leaps also. These legends of suicide purport to be of Indian derivation and Indian tradition; as a rule they are vigorously championed as such. But skepticism is in order, I am convinced, when tales associated with definite local sites are told of Indian courtships with tragic outcome." Why all the stories involve Native Americans may merely be for effect, she wrote. She surmised that legends are told about history, and the Native Americans of course preceded the Euroamerican storytellers – the explorers, hunters, trappers and soldiers who were relaying the tales. So, in celebration of Valentine's Day, here are the legends of the Lover's Leaps in Nebraska. Regardless of their historical authenticity, we can't help but be intrigued by the tales. Banner County Nebraska's westernmost Lover's Leap is in the Panhandle, near Harrisburg. Legend has it the young daughter of a Sioux Indian chief was in love with a young brave of her own tribe, but was ordered by her father to marry an Oglala brave who offered his finest ponies for her hand in matrimony. On the eve of the marriage, the young maiden and her sweetheart escaped with two of the horses. After the two were seen and captured, the angry chief had his daughter whipped and her lover killed. The next day, the young maiden appeared to be taking things well, however – dressed in her wedding attire and humming throughout the village. She sang her way up to the top of the escarpment, her tune turning increasingly sad along the way. As all watched and listened to the weird, yet sweet, singing, she stood at the eastern edge of the cliff and raised her arms to the sun. "A dozen braves rushed after her, but before they could reach her, she threw aside her blanket and stood for a moment as a statue of bronze in the morning sun. Then with a cry to her dead lover, she leaped over the cliff and was crushed to death on the rocks below." Love on the Rocks Lover's Leap butte on private property south of Harrisburg in Banner County. Photo by Justin Haag. By Justin Haag and Jenny Nguyen At least five rocks in Nebraska have names derived from a common theme: Lovers meeting their demise. ILLUSTRATION BY TIM REIGERT