United States The Lovers' Leap at
Hawks Nest State Park in the town of
Ansted, West Virginia, along the historic
Midland Trail, has a drop of from a high
cliff overlooking the
New River Gorge. The promontory was named "Lovers' Leap" by settlers, and has acquired a
legend involving two young
Native Americans from different tribes. The most notable Native American legend can be found in
Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Blowing Rock Mountain, outside
Blowing Rock, North Carolina, has a similar legend of a young lover leaping from the cliff and instead of plunging to his death, is saved. In this version the lover is saved by the blowing wind which sends him back into the arms of his sweetheart.
Wills Mountain has a Lovers' Leap overlooking
Cumberland Narrows on the west side of
Cumberland, Maryland. It is above sea level and made up of oddly squared projections of rock from its top all the way down to the
National Road (U.S. Route 40) below. The city of Cumberland and the surrounding states of
Pennsylvania and
West Virginia may be seen from this point.
Mark Twain in
Life on the Mississippi writes: "There are fifty Lover's Leaps along the
Mississippi from whose summit disappointed Indian girls have jumped."
Princess Winona is one such legend, in which the daughter of a
Dakota chief leaps to her death rather than marry a suitor she does not love. The south coast of
Jamaica at
Saint Elizabeth Parish has a Lovers' Leap above the
Caribbean Sea. Lovers' Leap is named after two enslaved lovers from the 18th century, Mizzy and Tunkey. According to legend, their master, Chardley, liked Mizzy; so, in a bid to have her for himself, he arranged for her lover, Tunkey, to be sold to another estate. Mizzy and Tunkey fled to avoid being separated but were eventually chased to the edge of a large steep cliff. Rather than face being caught and separated, the lovers embraced and jumped over the cliff. The story was used as the basis for a romantic novel. ==See also==