Waconda (Great Spirit Spring)

According to an Indian legend, Waconda, a beautiful princess, fell in love with a brave of another tribe, but a blood feud prevented their marriage and drew the tribes into battle. During the fight, an arrow struck the warrior as he stood on the brink of a spring, and he fell mortally wounded into the waters. Waconda, overcome with grief, plunged in after him. Believing her soul still lived in the depths, the tribes for countless ages brought their sick to drink the healing waters, celebrated victories there, mourned losses there, and cast into the spring some token from the Great Spirit. Waconda Spring is a mineral pool about fifty feet in diameter, set in a curious limestone basin.

Kansas · United States