The Legend of Pretty Boy Dam

A young girls night out.

The Legend of Pretty Boy Dam

          Monique sat in the back seat of Sharon’s 1965 Mustang trying to look self assured.  She was very nervous even though Linda was sitting next to her. Linda’s sister Sharon and her best friend Loretta were in the front seat.  They were talking with a group of teenage boys who were hanging out in the parking lot of Gino’s Drive-in Restaurant in Timonium, Maryland.

It was hot in the back seat of the car even with the windows rolled down.  The humid summer day had not cooled as evening approached.  Monique’s nervousness manifested itself with a habit of biting her nails.  Her mother was always hitting her hand and screaming at her, “Monique, stop that infernal nail biting.  Ladies do not do such things.  Put you hands on your lap and sit up straight.”  That was another thing her mother was always harping on, sitting up straight.  Monique tended to walk hunched over.  Her mother did not realize she discovered a lot of coins, looking down at the ground.  

Monique and Linda had been included in the older girl’s escapades tonight.  Monique frequently went to Linda’s house on Middletown Road for sleep over’s on the weekends.  Sharon and Loretta were seniors at their high school and had tons of friends, and admirers.  The girls were very “bold” as Monique’s mother would say.  Monique thought they were pretty and never seemed to worry about how they looked.  They wore all the latest fashions and hair styles.  Linda had bleached blond hair which was a very daring thing to do at the time.  The other girls at their school said Linda and Sharon were shameful and trashy.  Loretta was Sharon’s best friend.  She was a knock out, with raven black hair that reached to the middle of her back and deep violet eyes.  Monique was just grateful to have friends who accepted and included her in their activities.

The click of the academic girls at school, which included Ginny and Marsha, talked about them behind their backs.  They made up stories about them, which were unbelievable.  Ginny spread it all over the school that the girls were screwing every boy in Baltimore County.  This was of course untrue.  Monique wasn’t even allowed to date or go in cars with boys.  Her father had told her she would not be dating until she was sixteen years old.  This summer she was fifteen and half, only a few more months and she would be legal.  Since she did not have a boyfriend it didn’t much matter whether she could date or not.  Everyone at school would come to believe Ginny and Marsha’s mean gossip no matter what the truth really was.  After all they were the In Crowd. 

Loretta turned to Monique and Linda, “Hey you two ninny’s get out of the car, we’re going inside for a Powerhouse" hamburger ("A banquet on a bun"), "Cheerleader" sandwiches (hot ham and Swiss cheese with mustard), and milkshakes.  Everyone says Gino’s makes the best ones in town.”

Monique and Linda followed them into the restaurant trailing behind as Loretta and Sandy flirted with the boys who were hot on their trail.  Once they had gotten their orders they sat in a booth deciding what to play on the small jukebox player mounted on the wall.  The girls decided on six songs and popped a quarter in the slot.  Their booth filled with the sounds of Herman’s Hermits, Freddie and the Dreamers and The Supremes.

The group of boys which had followed them into the restaurant now congregated at their booth.  The talk was about driving to a reservoir called Pretty Boy Dam.  Monique had never been there, it was a popular “make out” spot for teenagers on Saturday night.  Linda and Monique exchanged glances that said, “Wow we are being included!”  They gobbled their Cheerleader burgers and nosily slurped the thick frosty milkshakes. 

“Let’s get going,” Sharon announced.  “We are off for a joyride.”

Once in the car, Sharon and Loretta discussed the boys they had met and who they were putting dips on.  Loretta was interested in Randy, who drove the Pontiac GTO.  Sharon liked his buddy, Cecil.  He seemed shy, but was really muscular.  Cecil told her he was on the football team at Delaney High School.

“How about you two, did you see anyone who turns you on?”   Loretta said turning back to look at Monique and Linda.

Monique just blushed.  Linda stammered, “No Loretta, I did not see any stupid boy that turns me on!”

At that Loretta burst into laughter. “You two are just too much.”

Sharon scolded Loretta, “Come on don’t tease them.  They have a hard enough time at school; this is supposed to be a fun night out.”

“O.k., o.k., whatever you say.  Sorry kids.”  Loretta told the girls putting large emphasis on the word kids.  Sharon pulled out of the parking lot on York Road, following the car load of boys out Beaver Run Road and onto Shawan Road.  Before long they were driving on Beckeysville Road, leading into the Reservoir parking lot.

“Well Loretta,” Sharon commented as they pulled into the nearly filled parking lot.  “Here we are again back in the country.  I was looking for a night of fun in the city.”

“Hey, you did not have to follow these guys, you know.  I am not breaking your wrist,” Loretta replied.

“I know,” Sharon said.  “Besides, we have the squirts with us, and this will be an early night anyway.”

Sharon’s mother, Roxanne had insisted they take Monique and Linda with them if they wanted to go out Saturday night.  Roxanne was divorced and had a date herself.  There would be no one at home to supervise Monique and Linda.  She was not breaking her date, and was looking forward to hooking her latest boyfriend into marriage.  So far her plan was right on schedule.

Sharon parked next to their new friends, Cecil and Randy.  They proceeded to get out of their cars and walk to the path leading down to the Falls.  “Aren’t you guys coming with us?” Sharon inquired of Monique and Linda.

“No, you go ahead we are going to hang out here,” Linda told her sister.

Linda and Monique opened the back doors of the Mustang and lounged as they took in the sights.  “So Monique, this is what it is all about.  Seems rather boring to me.  We could have stayed home and looked at a stream,” Linda complained.

“I don’t know,” Monique replied.  “It is really exquisite here, and a lot cooler then at my house.  The Falls are really huge.  I had no idea.”

Just then two Triumph Bonneville motorcycles pulled up next to their car.  The young men driving them nodded a hello and the one closest to the car asked, “Do you girls mind if we park here?”

“No, go right ahead,” Linda said with a sweet smile.

“Hi my name is Shawn, and this is my friend Bobby.  We rode here from Baltimore, this is a great place.” They appeared older then the guys Sharon and Linda had met.

Monique thought Shawn was cute.  He was about her height with a warm engaging smile.  His long blond hair draped over the collar of his jacket.  His friend Bobby was good looking too. Bobby was tall and slim with a square chin and blue eyes.  They looked so cool dressed in blue jeans (with the cuffs rolled up), engineer boots, and motorcycle jackets.  To Monique they looked as if they had just walked out of a Marlon Brando movie.

Linda chimed right in, “Hi back.  I am Linda and this is Monique, my best friend.  We rode here with my sister and her friend. They have gone walking to the base of the falls with two guys they picked up at Gino’s.”

“Do you mind if we keep you company until they get back?” Shawn asked the girls.

“No,” Linda answered.  “Not one bit.  Come on Monique let’s get out and stretch our legs.”  The girls walked over to Shawn and Bobby.  “There is an empty picnic table over there we can sit and get to know each other better,” Linda told them.

Linda seemed to be getting along great with Bobby.  They were talking softly and totally ignoring Shawn and Monique.  It had grown dark and a brilliant full moon was rising in the starless sky.  Monique felt a peacefulness engulf her.  The peacefulness she used to feel when she sat in a Mulberry tree as a child.  She realized Shawn was asking her a question.

“Have you ever heard of the Legend of Pretty Boy Dam, Monique?’

“No,” Monique answered.  “I did not know there was a story about this place.”

“There is always a story Monique.  There is always a story,” Shawn whispered.

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“When I was a little boy, my Grandfather used to bring me here to go fishing.  He always had a story to tell.  Each time we came here he would tell me a little bit about the people who had lived here.  He always left the story unfinished.  So I was usually eager for the next fishing trip and the rest of the story.  I will condense it as best I can and get to the love story part for you,” Shawn told Monique with a wink.  Monique did not realize she was falling under Shawn’s enchanted spell.  She was hooked, she felt like he was reading from a book written just for her.

“This whole area used to be populated by the Susquehannock Indians.  The name Susquehannock means, “People of the Muddy River.”  Everywhere you looked you would have seen forest and dense undergrowth.  Below the falls the tribe the Quadroque maintained a permanent encampment.

The Dutch settled this area and said the Indians were an exceedingly tall and superb looking race.  They were great warriors and extremely proud people.  They farmed in the spring planting corn, beans, and squash in the fields near the village.  When the planting was completed small groups of men would leave for the summer, moving south to temporary sites on the Chesapeake Bay.  There, they would fish and gather shellfish.  The warriors would return in fall to harvest their crops and hunt.

By the 1700’s, the tribe that was settled here had acquired a small herd of cross bred Shetland Ponies.  Some of the ponies had been obtained though trade with the Colonist; others were captured during summer travels to the Chesapeake Bay.  There, on the Island of Chincoteague, wild ponies roamed which had escaped from shipwrecks.

In the village lived a bewitching Indian Princess named Singing Water.  She was tall with deep brown hair that reached her waist.  She was not a spoiled child.  Singing Water worked alongside her mother and the other woman of the village.  She was very accomplished in all the Indian arts from basket weaving to honing a knife.  Singing Water had two great wishes.  First, she wanted to have a pony.  She would be 15 years old very soon and hoped her father, Chief Blue Thunder, would grant her wish.  Singing Waters second wish was to marry the warrior Rushing River.  He was tall with a deep voice, noble and heroic.  Rushing Water was an excellent maker of a variety of weapons.  He had taught Singing Water to craft weapons and to hunt.  It was assumed by everyone that they would marry on Singing Waters next birthday. 

One morning Chief Blue Thunder asked Singing Water to walk with him to the corral.  “Singing Water today is a good day to pick out a Pony,” he announced.  “Which one do you like?”  Singing Water could not believe she was really getting a pony and was so excited.  She was a very proud Indian Princess and did not act like a child. 

In her best princess voice she answered, “Father, I thank you for the privilege to own a pony.  I choose the white and gray stallion.”  Chief Blue Thunder did not think this was a very good idea; the pony was high spirited and would have been a better ride for a brave.  He had given her free rein to pick a pony so he could not say no.

“Have you thought about a name for him?” Chief Blue Thunder asked.

“Yes, I have,” Singing Water replied, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice and remain dignified.  “I shall name him Pretty Boy, as he is the prettiest boy pony in the herd.”

“That is a fine name,” her father replied.  “Just remember he is half wild and be careful in your training.”  With that said, Chief Blue Thunder walked back to their home leaving Singing Water to enjoy her new friend.

Singing Water could not wait to tell Rushing River about her wonderful pony.  It would be some time before she would see him.  He and some of the older braves had taken a group of young boys on the summer trip to the Chesapeake Bay.  They would be back in another passing of the moon.  In the meantime, Singing Water started training Pretty Boy.  The pony was responsive to Singing Waters gentle hand.  Before long she was riding him whenever she could sneak away from her mother and the other old women.

The braves Golden Eagle, Moon Silver, and Pawnee Killer, who had gone to the Chesapeake fishing, had not returned by the third New Moon of the summer.  They had been away for nearly four months.  Chief Blue Thunder decided to send Blue Horse to locate them.  As another week passed with no word of them, Singing Water was becoming worried.  Everyone in the camp was feeling uneasy.  Indian travelers passing though the area told them about the war in the south.  The Iroquois were bitter enemies of the Susquehannock tribes.  Fighting had broken out again between the Susquehannock and settlers.  The Iroquois had been quick to take advantage of the situation and assisted the settlers in destroying Indian settlements.  There was talk of brutal atrocities and smallpox had broken out again. 

During the afternoon of the full moon, Blue Horse arrived back in the village.  When Singing Water saw him her heart fell.  Blue Horse arrived with only four of the younger boys and Pawnee Killer.  Everyone ran to meet them shouting, “What has happened Blue Horse, where are the others?”

Blue Horse stood very still until the clamoring had stopped.  “They are all dead.  They were massacred by the Iroquois.   We could not bring them back for burial.”  The mothers of the missing boys began wailing death songs and crying for their lost children.

Singing Water ran to Blue Horse and grabbed him by the arm.  “Not Roaring River.  He can’t be dead; he is the bravest of all of you!

“Yes dear Singing Water he is lost to us,” he answered hanging his head.

Chief Blue Thunder had been standing at the campfire listening to what was being said.  Finally he spoke.  “This is very bad, another war.  We do not have the strength in numbers to make a stand here.  It will be better for all of us to move as quickly as we can to the south.  There we can meet with other clans.  This is no longer a place of safety for my people.”  Chief Blue Thunder set his iron gaze upon everyone who was gathered in the cycle.  “It is done.”

He turned to Singing Water.  “Walk with me child, I am heavy of heart and need the comfort of my family.”

Singing Water’s mother joined them as they walked back to their teepee.  In the darkness of night crying could be heard in the encampment.  Singing Water tried to be strong and not cry in front of her parents.  She knew their hearts were broken and they would face grim decisions in the next few days.  When it was quiet and she could hear her father snoring, she crept out of the teepee.  Singing Water ran to the corral blinded by her tears.  She jumped into the enclosure and walked to Pretty Boy.  She buried her face in his soft neck sobbing, “Why did this happen to us? I have lost my love, oh Pretty Boy,” she cried.  Pretty Boy turned to nuzzled her hair and whinnied softly.  Not thinking of the danger riding at night would be, she quickly mounted her dear pony.  Grabbing his mane she directed him to the small fence enclosing the corral and with one swift kick they were sailing over it. 

She spurred Pretty Boy on faster and faster, galloping as fast as the tears streamed down her face.  She headed for the top of the falls.  Even in the darkness they both knew the way, up and up she rode, until they were almost to the top.  All of a sudden the earth began to give way under Pretty Boys hooves.  They were sliding towards the rocky edge of the falls.  Singing Water could not hear anything but the roar and rush of the churning waterfall.  “Steady Pretty Boy Steady “she screamed.  The earth suddenly broke away and they plunged into the falls disappearing in the darkness.”

Monique turned to Shawn (he had not spoken for a few moments) “What happened next?” she asked.

“That is the end of the story.  They were never seen again,” Shawn replied.

Monique began to cry, “That can’t be, what a terrible ending!”

The moon had moved directly over the falls by now and Shawn pointed to it and said, “Monique don’t cry, they live forever.  Look at the moon.  You can see her riding him over the falls.” 

Monique looked at the top of the falls searching for an Indian Princess riding a gray and white pony.  She looked as hard as she could but did not see anything.

“So Monique, now you know the Legend of Pretty Boy Falls,” Shawn told her.  “And it appears your friends are walking back to their car.”

“We had best be getting back,” Linda added.  She and Bobby were getting up to leave.

“Will I ever see you again Shawn?” Monique asked boldly.

Shawn smiled his winning smile and answered, “Sure, if you want to.  Give me your phone number and I will take you for a motorcycle ride sometime.”

The girls said goodbye and Shawn and Bobby waved back as they roared out of the parking lot on their Triumphs.

Sharon and Loretta were already in the car.  Loretta could not wait to tease them. “Looks like the brats have boyfriends.”

“We do not have boyfriends!” Linda replied.  “They were just some guys hanging out for a while.  We did not think you two were ever coming back.”

Loretta laughed, “Whatever you say.  Hey is anyone ready for some ice cream?”

“Sure sounds good to me,” Sharon added.  “Let’s get going and we will stop at Nibbie and Clinks”.

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Monique looked out the rear window and just like Shawn had said, there in the moonlight at the top of the falls she saw Singing Water leaping over the falls on a white pony named Pretty Boy.

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