In 1916, the Sparks Brothers circus came to Kingsport, Tennessee and during a performance on September 11, Mary went mad and crushed circus employee Red Eldridge. The 30-year-old 5-ton elephant, valued at the time at $8,000, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death.

   On September 13, 1916, Murderous Mary, who was said to have killed seven other employees before Eldridge, was hung in front of a crowd estimated at 2,500 people at the Clinchfield Railroad Yards in Erwin, Tennessee.

   The full story can be found at: http://www.blueridgecountry.com/elephant/elephant.html

   This was a hunting method practiced by the Cherokee Indians until early settlers came to this area of the country. The two groups quarreled immediately because the Indians didn't believe in lining in the areas they hunted. One story involving the quarrels between the Indians and the settlers tells of an angry Indian who would disrupt weekly spiritual practices the settlers were having. On Sundays the settlers would gather for worship service on the riverbank (where our customers now camp). The angry Indian would cause a ruckus up on top of Looking Glass by whooping and hollering. When the settlers finally paid him attention, he would moon them. To the Indians, this was the ultimate revenge against the settlers, because to embarrass your adversary was the ultimate retaliation. Do you think revenge was achieved?

• In 1492 Columbus sailed the Nolichucky River? That's what our raft guides say, and if you've ever argued with them, you know not to dispute this. Some also think that instead of Plymouth Rock, the Pilgrims landed on Big Rock, which is about 5 miles downstream from the restaurant.
• While everyone knows that the first successful flight by the Wright Brothers was in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, it was those unsuccessful ones that the history books don't mention. Some folks say that what was thought to be the first flight took place right on top of the Devil's Looking Glass, and ended right where the restaurant is built.
• Pearl Harbor ... rings a bell for a lot of folks all over the world. Those same folks who believe the above tales claim that the Japanese first bombed the raging waters of the Nolichucky. When they didn't get enough press, they headed west and got the attention they desired.