Last updated: September 29, 2020
Place
Leaping Rock
J. Borden
Quick Facts
Location:
North side of the waterfall (to the left if you're facing the falls) along the cliff line.
Significance:
Used by American Indian warriors for centuries to display their bravery.
Amenities
2 listed
Audio Description, Scenic View/Photo Spot
Early explorers noted arrows stuck in the cracks on top of Leaping Rock. They learned from various tribes that warriors, to prove their bravery, jumped from the cliff onto the top of Leaping Rock roughly 12 feet away and jammed an arrow into one of the cracks. It was also said that occasionally, a woman might refuse the attention of a warrior until he had shown his bravery by jumping onto Leaping Rock.
One Mandan warrior told the painter George Catlin, “I am a young man, but my heart is strong. I have jumped on the medicine-rock - I have placed my arrow on it and no Mandan can take it away. The red stone is slippery, but my foot was true - it did not slip.”
It was a dangerous ritual. Catlin wrote about seeing a Dakota father mourn the death of his son, who had slipped while making the attempt. On July 4th of Joseph Nicollet’s famous 1838 expedition, 25-year-old John C. Fremont (who later became a famous explorer and Civil War general) jumped onto Leaping Rock and placed an American flag on it.
You may notice inscriptions on the surrounding rocks from early settlers. While we value their memory, please do not leave your own markings on rocks or trees!
One Mandan warrior told the painter George Catlin, “I am a young man, but my heart is strong. I have jumped on the medicine-rock - I have placed my arrow on it and no Mandan can take it away. The red stone is slippery, but my foot was true - it did not slip.”
It was a dangerous ritual. Catlin wrote about seeing a Dakota father mourn the death of his son, who had slipped while making the attempt. On July 4th of Joseph Nicollet’s famous 1838 expedition, 25-year-old John C. Fremont (who later became a famous explorer and Civil War general) jumped onto Leaping Rock and placed an American flag on it.
You may notice inscriptions on the surrounding rocks from early settlers. While we value their memory, please do not leave your own markings on rocks or trees!