I
The legend of Mount Bonnell is among the half dozen most widely known
Texas legends. It has been printed again and again, both in prose and
in verse; it is still told in many quarters; and the details of the
various versions have come to a wide divergence. So far as I can learn,
the oldest printed account of the legend is that given by Morphis,
published in 1874. For other accounts, the reader is referred to the
bibliography.
In the main, there are three versions of the legend: first, the Morphis
account in which an Indian chief steals a Spanish belle, who is rescued
by her lover only to perish later with him at the cliff; second, a
version, the details of which are similar to those of various other
Lovers’ Leap legends, in which an Indian maid and an Indian brave make
an interdicted elopement and are finally forced to the leap; third, a
version in which an Indian maiden in love with a white man is forced to
a precipitate death. It is an interesting fact that all the versions
hitherto printed follow very closely the Morphis story, all being
revampings of it. Noteworthy variations seem to exist in oral accounts
only. As Morphis’ history has long been out of print, his version of
the legend is here reprinted.
The word Antonette belongs to no language: the French spelling is
Antoinette; the name in Spanish is Antonia. No lady of pure Castilian
blood would have borrowed a French translation for her name. Yet
Antonette is the spelling generally given in the legends.