Night Fun and Nightmares

"Three men accused of kidnapping and triple murder escaped from the state penitentiary late this afternoon. The men are believed go be headed toward Southeastern where two of the men have relatives. If you spot these men do not attempt to stop them. They are considered armed armed extremely dangerous."

Of course, no such thing occurred but was the sense in going out to Lover's Leap without a scary story and a pretty girl? It sure wasn't a place for parking because everyone in town knew about it including my father who came out there and told me to get my ass home, now. Nevertheless, it was fun scaring the girls even though they knew a most every story ever told.

After midnight things changed. Hands disappeared in the summer darkness right before your eyes. Things started moving about and occasionally bright eyes would appear near the ground and that's when everyone quieted down, afraid to speak too loudly for fear of what or who might be out there in inky night.

It was not unusual to scare each other and leave, making up some excuse like, "this is so boring" or "this is so juvenile," when in reality we were about to piss our pants. Sometime, my older brother Fuzz, Paul Bradley and Poon would get there before we did and jump out of the bushes once we had been there for a few minutes. That stuff wasn't funny.

The entire point in going was for a cheap thrill and a little snuggling. No one ever stayed long because car after car came to "The Leap" as we called it sometime. Everyone said that entire area was haunted, but no one ever took it seriously. Native Americans once lived in that area long before the land fell to the white settlers. The story is that a young man from the Chetopa tribe and  beautiful Cherokee princess from another group fell  in love, but their tribes would not let them marry.

In their desperation to be together, they jumped off the cliff and killed themselves so they could be together in eternity, according to the legend, which many say is true. The story says that in the spring and summer the spirits of the young man and the princess wander among the rocks and on some moonlit nights they can be seen standing on the cliff holding hands.

I never saw them, but friends told me they had seen them on a night in June when it was unusually cool for that time of the year. Jimmy Frisco and Nettie Pouncil swore they saw both of them just as the legend said. Of course, we didn't believe them or we never admitted it. We went out to "Lover's Leap" during the day light hours and found nothing. On our way back down between the rocks a ceremonial headdress feather floated down out of no place and landed on my shoulder, but before I could touch it, it blew away on a cool breeze and disappeared.

I often wonder if anyone goes out by "The Leap" anymore, probably not, but if anyone takes a notion, walk softly and look for eagle feathers, like those worn in a  headdress.

NOTE: At least two people died after falling from the outgrowth and many more escaped with injury. Dates scratched into the rock go back as far as the 1880's.