CHAPTER IV 



PIRATES IN THE MOUNTAINS 



K [TURNING to my camp after rambling 

 all day in the mountains I found two 

 men pitching a tent near by. They were 

 discussing pirates and piracy. We were in an 

 out-of-the-way region in eastern Kentucky. A 

 few widely scattered, picturesque characters 

 were the only settlers. There had been feuds, 

 I knew. But pirates! Could it be that a few 

 had left the sea and found refuge in these wild 

 mountains ? 



"Over there," explained one man to the 

 other, "was a remarkable case of piracy." He 

 pointed to the wild section in which I had spent 

 the morning alone. I postponed supper and 

 stepped over to hear more of pirates. 



"Young man, these mountains are infested 

 with pirates," said the geologist. "To-morrow 

 we are going out to see where a pirate recently 

 captured and beheaded a river. Would you 

 like to go along?" I would. These men were 

 out studying erosion, geology, adventures of 

 rivers and related subjects. During the evening 



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