terrain July/August 2021
47
T
he first smack to the face feels like an ambush. I windmill my arms, untangling myself from a dense spider web. I swat silk from my hair and neck. Hoping the sneaky web- spinner didn't hop inside, I flip open the hood of my hiking shirt. Before I think to stop walking, I stumble through another web and repeat the entire process. I'm hiking the Whites Creek Trail through dense woods of the Irish Wilderness in the southeastern Missouri Ozarks. So far, nothing is quite like I planned. For one thing, it's 6 a.m. in early July and I'm already sweating through long pants and sleeves. Demonstrated by all the spider webs, plus poison ivy encroaching on the branch-strewn trail, most people don't hike in the Ozarks during midsummer. Smart people. I learned about the 16,227- acre Irish Wilderness years ago, when passing through on my first paddling trip down the Eleven Point National Scenic River. Ever since, I wanted to explore the interior on foot. Learning more about the outlaw history of the region only deepened my curiosity. During the Civil War, a community of Irish immigrants vanished amid the violence of guerilla warfare fought throughout the border states. One such band of Confederates was the ruthless Quantrill's Raiders, who traded vengeful atrocities with pro-Union guerillas. Among these murderous raiders were later bandits like the infamous Frank and Jesse James. After the war, as entrenched political violence lingered throughout Missouri, a series of daring robberies began, with the targets typically being Unionist- controlled enterprises. The first was a bank in Liberty, Missouri, in February 1866. Next came a bank in Richmond, Missouri, where three citizens were killed during a shootout. Another bank was robbed in Russellville, Kentucky, in
OPPOSITE TOP:
Current River headwaters. (MIKE BEZEMEK)
OPPOSITE BOTTOM:
The infamous Jesse James.
CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT:
Four scenes from the Irish Wilderness. (MIKE BEZEMEK)
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