Garretson, South Dakota - Devil's Gulch - Jesse James' Big Jump

In 1876, Jesse James robbed the bank in Northfield, Minnesota. Jesse and his brother headed west toward Dakota Territory. They then went separate ways, trying to shake the posse. The lawmen were literally right on the heels of Jesse, as he and his horse stood on the precipice of a dizzyingly high bluff; this was Devil's Gulch. A fifteen foot gash in the rocks separated him from the other side and freedom. Supposedly he spurred on his horse and actually leapt across the canyon, evading the posse and eventually linking up with brother Frank. There is now a foot bridge at Devil's Gulch, spanning the chasm that Jesse James jumped over during a pursuit. Fact or Fable? Either way, Devil's Gulch is an amazing geological curiosity in southeastern South Dakota. [Brenda Bennett, 06/25/2005]