ONTOLOGY
SEQUENCE 6
BY DANIEL McCASOWAY
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THE MOUNTAIN BOAT CHRONICLES
PART I
- - A JOURNEY - -
BY ARMED MOUNTAIN BOAT
ON THE RIVERS TRADEWATER & PATOKA
INTO THE UNCHARTED HIGHLANDS
OF KENTUCKY & INDIANA
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We meet our guides at this remote outpost on the Upper Tradewater.
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Mountain boats must be powerful and strong. They are made
from hardened steel billet and armed with mortar and cannon.
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Our journey up the mighty Tradewater begins. Tree covered islands dot the stream.
Flesh-eating baboons are said to inhabit many of these islands. We do not stop.
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Our seasoned captain steers us clear of the danger.
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In places, the granite channel narrows to only a few hundred feet.
We are ordered to man the artillery while negotiating these passes.
The jagged peaks of Broken Jaw Mountain fill the sky in the distance.
From here the Tradewater turns right into the equatorial jungles of Kentucky.
Our destiny lies to the left, somewhere along the mysterious Patoka River.
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Wild mules are a major problem here. Descended from mules left behind
by the Lewis & Clark Expedition, their population has soared. They have
eaten all the vegetation on top of this mountain. They tend to inhabit
the high ground because it is the only place the baboons will not go.
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On the third day we reach the daunting rainforests of Crawford County.
Feral mules and cannibal baboons are scarce this far up. Their numbers
have been depleted by an indigenous population of giant mutant lemurs.
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A picturesque shoreline draped in mist beckons us to a pause.
The captain informs us that a landfall here would only result in disaster.
Instead, we bring more ammo up from the magazines and stack it on deck.
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The famous Bloody Neck Ridge is 14,692 feet above mean sea level.
The eerie cries of thousands of lemurs echo down from the mountain.
A native legend says that the lemurs are cursing all who pass here.
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At dusk on the fifth day we reach Outpost Charlie on the quiet waters
of Lake Orengawa. Trappers here tell us of a lemur attack that morning
that crippled their Swedish cook, killed ten sled dogs, and left a journalist
blind in one eye. The tension level on our boat is nearing the breaking point.
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We join an armed hunting party to track down and the kill the savage lemurs.
It is now that the true usefulness of the mountain boat becomes evident.
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For two days and two nights we track the lemurs ever deeper into the
mountains. Then, in this remote alpine plateau, we begin to close in.
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Our mountain boat seems at home in this rocky terrain. But just as we
are about to catch the enemy, our fuel supply becomes critically low.
We continue the pursuit on foot. The coarse sedges confound and ensnare us.
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Troubling signs litter the brutal theater all around.
As night falls, we hear the lemur's cries growing closer...
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OTHER ONTOLOGIES
Sequence 4
Sequence 5
Sequence 7
Sequence 8
Sequence 9
Sequence 10
Sequence 11
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Thank you for visiting this website.
Comments and questions are welcomed.
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Please contact Mr. McCasoway at the email address below:
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daniel@mccasoway.com
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