Black Hand Gorge

Described as the most well-known legend in the county, the legend of the Black Hand tells the origin of the hand that once marked a cliff along the Licking River near Toboso. The legend describes a contest for the beautiful Native American princess Ahyoma (or Ayohmah). Two men, Wacousta and Lahkopis, held a competition for her hand in marriage by seeing who could bring her the most scalps. One version states that the younger warrior, Lahkopis, bested the elder, Wacousta, by one scalp. Wacousta, his pride wounded, supposedly chopped off his hand with a tomahawk and threw it against the cliff before disappearing into the forest, never to be seen again. Another version recalls that Wacousta was the winner, but the princess still preferred Lahkopis, so the two ran away together. Wacousta pursued the couple, and a fight ensued where Lahkopis cut off the hand of Wacousta before they all tumbled off the cliff. Wacousta's hand clung to the wall where it blackened and remained as a warning to the tribe. The hand-print no longer remains on the cliff. It was destroyed in 1828 during construction of the Ohio-Erie Canal. Some believe it may still be lying in the river below the cliff where the rocks had been blown away by dynamite.

D.F.