- What early wandering wayfarer
- First stood at the Overlook,
- And viewed that expanse of river,
- Shaped like a great fish hook?
- Was he a soldier from H. Vincennes?
- Or a friend of Daniel Boon?
- Did he see it first in the early dawn,
- Or the light of an August moon?
Was he fleeing the crowed east?
Or leaving the pioneer west?
Was he trapping the fox and beaver?
Did he stop here perhaps and rest?
As his eyes swept up the river,
And then downstream descend,
Did he for see then that rivermen
Would call it "Horse Shoe Bend"?
I often think of this traveler
And I feel akin to him.
For I have stood in his footprints there,
And marveled from that brim.
History does not record his name.
We only know that he saw
A piece of natures handiwork, Horse Shoe Bend - Ohio River
So perfect - and without flaw. Leavenworth IN
- Claud Carter



