Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-09-01
DAILY SHORT STORY
catskiII Legend.


On either side of the creek a rock
stands some thirty feet above the bed,
separated edge from edge by some fif-
teen feet. The spot is hidden among
the trees, and one passing along the
road near by would scarcely find it I'M
less instructed where to look for it.
There are many explanations as to
why it is called Fawn's Leap. Which of
these is correct is hard to tell. One Civ
en- by mountaineer whose ancestors
have lived in the region since the oriGi-
nal Dutch settlement is as follows:
In the early days Dietrich Van Pelt
came from Holland and settled at the
foot of Kaaterskill Glove. just above
what is now called Palmville. His
daughter, Katrina (at the time the
family came to the mountains she was
about fourteen years old, was verita-
bic mountaineer. No height was too
steep for her TO climb, no cliff so alb
rupt but she could stand upon its edge
-unmoyed. In vain her parents tried to
keep her at home, warning her against
the wild beasts or, worse, the Indians
who We're moving reStleSsly up and
down the sides of the forest covered
mountains. She did not fear the beasts.
and as for the Indians whenever she
met them she came home loaded with
birch bark baskets. beaded buckskin
pouches or some variety of trinket.
When Katrina had grown to be
symmetrical girl of twenty, n number
of Dutch families had settled near by,
one, the Van Santvoorts, on n cliff
where now hang the dwellings COM
prisinG Twilight Park. Cuban Van
SantvOort was, like Katrina, a natural
climber. He met her one day beside
the Kaaterskill fall, and it was there
that he wooed her and their troth was
pliEhted. One day he gave her fawn
he had captured and tanned. She made
u pet of Ii and afterward took Ii with
her in all her rambles.
The first trouble between the settlers
and the Indians was on account of Ka-
trina, and this not from hatred, but
from love. y young brave. Leaping
Water, became desperately enamored
of her and begged her father to give
her to him in marriage. OF course the
offer was declined. one day Katrina,
accompanied by her fawn. climbed to
the top of what is called Profile rock
and stood looking down into Kaaters-
kill Glove. Opposite were High peak
and Round Top. to the left and south
n broad stretch of country and the
beautiful Hudson river. The only
sounds were the swayinG of the trees
in the wind and the tumbling of the
waters in the creek below.
Suddenly Katrina was startled by a
l.
-I-eaplng Water stood beside her, He,
pleaded his cause. ut first humbly; but
as she firmly put him aside he grew
wild, threatening that if she persisted
I'm her refusal he would jump with her
in his arms off the precipice. He
showed such fixed resolution that Ka-
trina was constrained to temporizc
with him and agreed to take the mat
ter into consideration. Then Leaping
Water took her to an Indian village n
short distance from the rock.
The little fawn, accustomed only to
white people, was far more frightened
than Katrina at the grim savages.
Katrina noticed this, and it occurred
to her to tie a message to the fawn's
neck giving information of her condi-
ton and send the fawn out, trust
ing that it would make for home. In
her pocket was a bis of paper, and,
dipping a pointed stick into berries,
she wrote, I'm Leaping Waters pow
err AS the fawn was leaving the VII
lage Leaping Water espied the bit of
paper about it's neck and gave chase.
Down the rocky side of the Glove
bounded the slender legged fawn, and
N lnG airAI hi
He might easily have sent an arrow
into its heart; but, though he was Il
savage, he could not kill the pet Ka-
trina loved. So he followed over the
natural paths made by the rains,
treading on the stones, the tangled
roots, here and there sinking in soft
mud. The trees hkl the fawn from
him, though he could hear it crashing
through the underbrush. and now and
again he caught Il glimpse of its dun
body or a white spot on its tail. The
little animal, having been tanned, had
lost some of its natural agility, and by
the time it ed the bottom of the
Glove was IL nigh exhausted, while
| Leaping Water was close upon it.
Striking the creek where the two rocks
form chasm, the fawn was moving
so swiftly that there was nothing for
| it but to jump. Gathering what
strength was left, it shot to the edge
of the hither rock ard, concentrating
its strength into one terrific leap, light
ed on the rock beyond. There it fell
dead.
Meanwhile Cuban Van Santvoort had
left his home with his gun in search of
game and was moving down the Glove
on the opposite side. Hearing some an
;mal descending beyond the creek, he
thought TO get deer and made his
way in the direction the sound was
moving. AS it approached him he APP
preached it, both finally reaching the
same place at the same moment. Ka-
frina's faryn foil Mt GnIinn,s fent and