THIS MRAPL IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE
ARKANSAS HUMANITIES COUNCIL AND THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE
HUMANITIES.
MEANDERING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN HALF OF ARKANSAS FOR
269 AND THEN ANOTHER 90 MILES INTO LOUISIANA BEFORE EMPTYING
INTO THE WASH TAU RIVER NEAR STERLINGTON, BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW
HOLDS THE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE LONGEST BAYOU IN THE WORLD
WITH A WATERSHED OF ALMOST ONE MILLION ACRES. AS FAR AS BAY
OH DIVERSITY IT'S RANKED AS ONE OF THE TOP STREAMS IN NORTH
AMERICA.
BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW IS TRULY A WONDER OF NATURE. IN FACT, A
NATIONAL TREASURE, BUT IT HAS LONG BEEN OVERLOOKED AND
NEGLECTED IN AMERICAN HISTORY FOR ITS CONTRIBUTION IN
DEVELOPING THE HEART OF THE DELTA.
LOUISIANA DESIGNATED ITS 90-MILE SECTION OF THE BAYOU AS
A NATURAL WILD AND SCENIC RIVER, BUT IN ARKANSAS THE
BAYOU'S POOR WATER QUALITY HAS DOGGED SIMILAR STATE
RECOGNITION.
SINCE THE MID-1990'S DR. CURTIS MERRELL, PRESIDENT OF
THE BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW ALLIANCE, HAS LED PRACTICALLY A ONE-MAN
CRUSADE TO SAVE HIS BELOVED STREAM ALONG WHICH HE GREW UP
ON, FISHED IN, SWAM IN AND FLOATED ITS WINDING ROUTE.
ONCE WE RESTORE THE WATER QUALITY TO WHAT IT WAS OVER 100
YEARS AGO. YOU CAN IMAGINE WHEN THE INDIANS WERE HERE AND
WE CAN RESTORE IT. IT CAN BE TURNED AROUND. WE'RE MAKING A
LOT OF PROGRESS WORKING WITH FARMERS AND SECOND WE WANT TO
GET MORE WATER INTO THE BAYOU OOPBD WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF
WORKING WITH MAJOR AGRICULTURE WATER DISTRIBUTION PROJECT ON
THAT AND WE THINK THAT HOLDS A LOT OF PROGRESS. WE WANT TO
RESTER A LOT OF WETLANDS THAT HAVE BEEN DRAINED AND RESTORE
WILD HARD WOOD. A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA THAT STEAM
BOATS USED TO RUN UP AND DOWN THE BAYOU, SOME OF THEM CARRIED
AS MANY AS 500 BALES OF COTTON AND 30 OR 40 PEOPLE. WE WANT
TO TELL THE PEOPLE OF ARKANSAS FIRST AND THEN THE NATION AND
THEN THE WORLD ABOUT THIS MAGNIFICENT STREAM AND THE
HISTORY OF IT AND HOW IMPORTANT IT HAS BEEN TO THE NATIVE
AMERICANS AND THEN THE PIONEERS, THE EXPLORERS AND HOW
IMPORTANT IT HAS BEEN IN YEARS BY AND IS NOW AND HOW IT WILL
BE IN THE FUTURE.
THERE SUSPECT ANY BETTER WAY TO REALIZE AND APPRECIATE WHAT
BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW HAS TO OFFER UNTIL YOU PHYSICALLY GET ON IT
AND FLOAT IT.
ON THE ARKANSAS SIDE WE MADE OUR FLOAT TRIP WITH DR. BILL
LAYHER, WHO SMETIONIZES IN FISHERIES, WILDLIFE, WETLANDS
AND RIVER RESTORATION AND HE'S ALSO FLOATED THE ENTIRE LENGTH
OF THIS BAYOU.
>> WHEN I MOVED HERE I WORKED FOR THE FISH AND WILDLIFE
SERVICE AND I WAS STILL A STREAM RESEARCHER BUT CONDUCTED
RESEARCH ON RIVERS REALLY MORE OR LESS NATIONWIDE BUT MOSTALLY
THROUGH THE MIDWEST OF THE COUNTRY, BUT WHEN I CAME HERE
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I'D EVER BEEN ON A BAYOU, SO TO
SPEAK, ALL THE RIVERS I HAD BEEN IN WERE EITHER BIG MUDDY
RIVERS OR TYPICAL RIVERS WITH BOULDERS AND THAT KIND OF
THING. WHEN I FIRST CAME DOWN HERE AND HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO
GET ON BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW I WAS TOTALLY IMPRESSED BY THE
CYPRESS TREES. SOME OF THEM ARE ALMOST A THOUSAND YEARS BUT
IT WAS ALMOST LIKE GOING BACK AM PRIMEVAL IN TERMS OF LOOKING
AT IT. I REMEMBER THAT DAY WAS FOGGY AND MISTY AND IT WAS
UNIQUE I GUESS TO ME AND MAYBE THAT WAS MY FIRST ATTRACTION TO
IT. MOST OF MY LIFE I'VE STUDIED FISH POPULATIONS AND
THAT SORT OF THING AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS DOING HERE WAS
ACTUALLY DEVELOPING SOME WATER FLOW MODELS AND HOW THEY AFFECT
FISH FOR USE IN OTHER PLACES BUT AS WE STARTED SAMPLING HERE
I THINK TO DATE WE'VE COME UP WITH 117 SPECIES OF FISH IN THE
BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW WHICH MAKES IT RANK, THERE'S ALWAYS A
LITTLE BIT OF DEBATE BUT IF YOU THROW IN THE MUSSEL SPECIES,
THE FRESH WATER CLAMS, I THINK THERE'S 35 SPECIES OF THOSE,
YOU ADD THOSE TWO TOGETHER AND THERE'S MORE OF THOSE TWO
GROUPS OF ANIMALS IN THIS STREAM THAN MOST STREAMS IN
NORTH AMERICA, WHETHER YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT CANADA OR THE
UNITED STATES, I THINK BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW RANKD THIRD IN BIO
DIVERSITY IN HOW MANY AQUATIC SPECIES THERE ARE. ALTHOUGH
SOME OF US LIKE IT LOCALLY IT REALLY HAS NATIONAL
SIGNIFICANCE BUT MOST PEOPLE PROBABLY AREN'T AWARE OF IT.
WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH ESPECIALLY LAND OWNERS BECAUSE
MOST OF THE LAND IS PRIVATELY OWNED TO GET THEM TO RECOGNIZE
THE IMPORTANCE OF IT FROM A BIOLOGICAL STANDPOINT, AS WELL
AS JUST AN ESTHETIC STANDPOINT.
IT HAS A LOT OF HISTORICAL VALUE AS WELL. I'M SURE IN
TALKING TO OTHER PEOPLE YOU FOUND OUT THEY USED TO USE IT
TO TRAPS PORT UNION TROOPS, CONFEDERATE TROOPS IN THE CIVIL
WAR, A LOT OF STEAM SHIPS RAN THE BAYOU, ESPECIALLY IN THE
EARLY DAYS OF THE PLANTATIONS AND ALSO IT WAS USED FOR LOG
RAFTING TO GET THE LOG RAFTS EITHER TO SOUTHERN ARKANSAS OR
DOWN INTO LOUISIANA TO SAWMILLS SO IT'S IMPORTANT FOR A LOT OF
DIFFERENT REASONS.
BUT, AGAIN, MOST PEOPLE JUST ARE NOT FAMILIAR EITHER WITH
ITS HISTORY OR WHAT IT IS NOW.
FOR OUR LOUISIANA FLOAT ALONG BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW WE TEAMED UP
WITH JOE COOPER ROLFE WHO WITH TYPICAL BAYOU DESIGN, PROVIDED
US WITH A WOODEN PIROU
IT'S A REALLY NICE FLOATING STREAM IN MID-SUMMER, IT'S
LIKELY SPRING FED. UNLIKE A LOT OF THE STREAMS AROUND HERE
IT DOESN'T GET ALL HOT AND TEP I HAD IN THE SUMMER MONTHS SO
IT'S A NICE RIVER TO FLOAT AND YOU CAN GET OUT AND GET ON
SANDBARS AND GRAVEL BOTTOMS JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE. MAKES IT
PARTICULARLY PLEASANT AND OF COURSE AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION
FROM MOORISH PERISH, WE HAVE 70 MILES OF IT SO IT CAN BE A
MULTIPLE DAY ADVENTURE FOR ANYBODY THAT'S GOT THE NERVE TO
CAMP.
NOW, THE POSITION -- PORTION OF IT OF COURSE IN LOUISIANA IS
PROTECTED WHICH IS A GOOD THING, UNLIKE IN ARKANSAS.
>> RIGHT, IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST STREAMS WHEN THEY
ESTABLISHED THE WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT I BELIEVE, I'M NOT
GOING TO SAY THE YEAR, BUT SOME YEARS AGO, IT WAS IN THE FIRST
BATCH THAT WAS PROTECTED. AND IT'S PROTECTED FOR ITS ENTIRE
LENGTH IN LOUISIANA EXCEPT ONE MILE.
>> WE WERE ALSO ACCOMPANIED ON THIS LOUISIANA SIDE OF BAYOU
BARTHOLOMEW BY CHEMIN-A-HAUT STATE PARK MANAGER RUSS BRANTLY.
>> WE'RE GOING TO START HAVING GUIDE SERVICES AND TAKE GROUPS
OF PEOPLE FOR RIGHT NOW AND WE'RE WORKING ON DEVELOPING
ACCESS TO SEVERAL POIPLTS ALONG THE BAYOU. FOR THE FIRST
STAGE, I GUESS, YOU COULD FIGURE A HALF A DAY TRIP BUT
FOR MOST PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE JUST STARTING OUT I THINK THAT
WOULD BE SUFFICIENT AND AFTER, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
TO KEEP WORKING AT IT BUT HOPEFULLY PRETTY SOON WE'LL BE
ABLE TO HAVE REALLY LONG TRIPS AS WELL, MAYBE EVEN SOME
OVERNIGHT CAMPING.
>> AND LIKE WE'VE BEEN DOING HERE, A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK
WILD ALLIGATORS IN A BAYOU, YOU KNOW, BUT THIS IS BEAUTIFUL.
>> YEAH, IT IS. IT'S DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, I TELL
PEOPLE AROUND HERE WHEN I FIRST REALLY STARTED PAYING
ATTENTION, THIS -- THE BAYOU LOOKS KIND OF LIKE A RIVER IN
ARKANSAS, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S NOT, THERE ARE NO MANMADE DAMS
ACROSS IT. THERE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE, ANYWAY, AT
LEAST IN LOUISIANA. YOU KNOW, IT JUST IS NATURAL, YOU KNOW,
AND THE SPRINGS ALL UP ALONG AND DOWN ALONG THE BANKS AND,
YOU KNOW, YOU COULD LITERALLY STOP AND DRINK OUT OF THEM.
IT'S GOOD CLEAN WATER. IT'S JUST A REAL NEAT EXPERIENCE.
>> THE FRENCH, THE EARLY FRENCH, NAMED THIS SLOW
MEANDERING STREAM BAYUK, WHICH MEANT TO THEM A SLOW MEANDERING
STREAM. AND THROUGH THE CHANGES OF LANGUAGE IN
LOUISIANA IT FINALLY BECAME BAYOU AND IN ARKANSAS AND NORTH
EASTERN LOUISIANA IT'S BAYOU SO IF YOU HAVE A GOOD LINGUISTIC
EAR YOU CAN JUST ABOUT FIGURE OUT WHERE HE'S FROM BY HOW HE
PRONOUNCES THIS EVER-CHANGING WORD.
THE BAYOU WAS, IT ALLOWED THE OPENING UP OF THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THIS DELTA AREA. WE HAD THE ARKANSAS RIVER, WE HAD THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER, BUT THIS PARTICULAR PART OF SOUTHEAST
ARKANSAS, THERE WAS NO WAY INTO EXCEPT ROADS SO MUDDY THEY WERE
ALMOST IMPASSABLE.
BUT THIS BAYOU PROVIDED THE TRANSPORTATION ROUTE AS WELL AS
AN EARLY EXPLORATION ROUTE AND SO IT, I CLAIM, IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING AS FAR AS OPENING UP THE INFRASTRUCTURE
OF THIS DELTA AREA DOWN HERE. AND I REALIZE THROUGH
INTERVIEWING ALL OF THESE PEOPLE WHO GREW UP ALONG IT HOW
IMPORTANT IT WAS IN EVERYONE'S LIFE. RECREATION, BAPTIZING,
PICNICKING, BARBECUE AND FISHING, HUNTING, FROGGING, THE
WATER WAS SO PURE THAT I INTERVIEWED MANY PEOPLE THAT
ACTUALLY DRANK BAYOU WATER OR DRANK THE SPRING WATER. OF
COURSE (INAUDIBLE) BEFORE THE AUTOMOBILE AND BEFORE
TELEVISION, IN THIS AREA THE BAYOU WAS THE PLACE TO BE AND
PEOPLE UP AND DOWN IT FROM PINE BLUFF TO STERLINGTON,
LOUISIANA, LIVED ALONG IT, HAVE A DEEP APPRECIATION AND LOVE
FOR IT.
I JUST LOVED MY LIFE GROWING UP AND EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE
LOOKING AT IT FROM THE OUTSIDE SAW IT AS A VERY, VERY HARSH
LIFE, IT WAS HARD WORK, IT WAS HARD WORK, BUT IT WAS WONDERFUL
ALSO BECAUSE FAMILY LIFE IS JUST SO IMPORTANT AND MY
PARENTS TAUGHT US THAT. WE HAD A VERY CLOSE FAMILY, CHURCH AND
SCHOOL WAS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT, SO I ENJOYED
CHILDHOOD. I ENJOYED LIVING ON THE BAYOU, IT WAS WONDERFUL.
.
>> IT'S A GREAT THING FOR RECREATION AND PARTICULARLY IN
THE FIRST PART OF THE 19TH CENTURY AND 20TH CENTURY. THE
SETTLEMENTS BEGAN HERE ALONG BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW I WOULD SAY
IN THE 1830'S AND 40'S BUT THE PEOPLE REALLY BEGAN TO MOVE IN
IN THE 1850'S AND THE COMMERCE WAS ABOUT, WAS ALL BASED ON
BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW. NORTH AND SOUTH, MOSTLY TO THE SOUTH,
DOWN TO MONROE, LOUISIANA AND ON DOWN TO THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER AND NEW ORLEANS, THAT WAS THE WAY THE CROPS WERE SHIPPED
OUT, THE SUPPLIES BROUGHT IN, YOU COULD FLOAT DOWN BAYOU
BARTHOLOMEW AND I SAY FLOAT, GO BY BOAT OR STEAMBOAT, AND YOU
COULD GET -- LEAVE THISARY AND BE ON THE STREETS OF NEW
ORLEANS IN 4 DAYS. COMING BACK IT TOOK A LITTLE OVER A WEEK
YOU WERE GOING UPSTREAM.
MY FIRST MEMORIES OF BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW IS THE PEOPLE WHO
FISHED HERE AND THE PICNICS AND THE BAPTIZINGS THAT WE HAD.
BACK IN THOSE DAYS THIS -- I'M SPEAKING OF 1930 AND 40 -- YOU
HAD OPEN RANGE SO YOU HAD ALL YOUR CATTLE AND HORSES AND
MULES AND HOGS TOO, THEY WOULD RAN ON AN OPEN RANGE SO THE
BAYOU BANK WAS CLEARED OPPOSITE AND YOU COULD WALK AND GO DOWN
MOST ANY PLACE WITHOUT THE WEEDS AND TALL GRASSES SO YOU
COULD JUST STOP ALONG ANYWHERE IF YOU WANTED TO GO FISH OR
PICNIC OR WHATEVER. AND SO THAT WAS MY FIRST MEMORY AND
THERE WAS A LOT OF BARBECUES AND THAT TYPE OF THING AND IT
WAS JUST THE PLACE OF RECREATION WHEN PEOPLE HAD TO
MAKE THEIR OWN RECREATION AND THEY WEREN'T DEPEN DEPBLT ON
TELEVISION AND THE INTERNET AND ORGANIZED SPORTS AND SUCH
THINGS AS THAT, YOU JUST MADE DO WITH WHAT YOU HAD AND BAYOU
BARTHOLOMEW WAS THE BIGGEST TREASURE THAT WE HAD IN THIS
PART OF THE COUNTRY.
.
>> WELL, UP HERE AT THE COAST OF SDAKRY WAS A SHALLOW BANK
AND USUALLY HAVE IT IN THE SPRING AND THEY WOULD GO WADE
OUT THERE ABOUT WAIST DEEP, PREACHER WOULD COME BY, SOMEONE
STAND WITH TOWELS AND STUFF, HE WOULD DIP THEM UNDER, DRY THEIR
FACE AND THEY WOULD GO BACK TO THE BANK RIGHT THERE IN BAYOU
BARTHOLOMEW RIGHT UP THERE NEAR ZACHERY. HAD ONE GOOD PLACE
THERE, SHALLOW BANK THAT GOT DEEPER AS YOU WENT OUT. THERE
WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE GOT BAPTIZED THERE.
>> AT THE AGE OF 5 I WENT OVER TO THIS REVIVAL AND I BECAME A
CHRISTIAN AND SO I WENT HOME THAT NIGHT EXCITED TO TELL MY
BROTHERS AND SISTERS ABOUT MY DECISION AND MY BROTHER SAID,
NO, YOU DON'T. WHEN THEY BAPTIZE YOU ON SUNDAY THEY ARE
GOING TO BAPTIZE YOU IN THE BAYOU AND THAT'S THE SAME PLACE
WHERE MR. LEVI CATCHED THOSE GARS AND MY HEART SANK BECAUSE
MR. LEVI WAS A GENTLEMAN WHO LIVED IN OUR COMMUNITY AND HE
WOULD SET A TROT LINE AND HE WOULD SET GARS AND FOR A
5-YEAR-OLD, A GAR LOOKED LIKE A SHARK.
WELL, SUNDAY CAME AND THEY WOULD DRESS US IN THESE BOARD
OF BAPTISTMAL GONES AND THEY WOULD MARCH US DOWN AND WHERE
THE DEKUPBS HAD COME PRIOR TO THE BAM TICHL AND THE DEACONS
WOULD LEAD THE MINISTER OUT THERE BETWEEN THE GOAL POST AND
COME TO THE BANK AND TAKE THE CANDIDATE FROM THE BANK OUT TO
THE BAPTIZED.
ORIGINALLY THERE WERE ABOUT 20, 25 KIDS IN THIS BAPTISMAL
SERVICE ON SUNDAY AND BECAUSE I WAS CONSUMED WITH THE FACT THE
GAR WOULD BITE MY FACE OFF AND I WOULD JUMP BEHIND A KID, AND
JUMP BEHIND A KID. I'M 5, I'M AFRAID, MY BROTHERS ARE
STANDING ON THE SIDELINE STILL MAKING THOSE GAR FACES AND MY
HEART IS POUNDING. AND SO I REALIZED THAT AT THIS POINT
THERE WAS ONLY MAYBE 4 OR 5 OF US LEFT AND I HAD JUMPED BEHIND
EACH KID WHEN IT WAS MY TURN TRYING TO DELAY MY TURN IN THE
BAYOU. SO MY FATHER LOOKS AT ME AND GOES, WHAT IS YOUR
PROBLEM? STOP THAT. AND EVENTUALLY I JUST BROKE THE
STRING THAT HELD THE GOWN TOGETHER AND WE DIDN'T LIVE TOO
FAR, I RAN HOME. MY DAD OVERTOOK ME, SAID, WHAT IS YOUR
PROBLEM? HE TOLD ME GAR WAS GONNA BITE MY FACE OFF. IT
TOOK ANOTHER 5 YEARS FOR ME TO BE CONVINCED OF MY FAITH IN GOD.
.
>> I WAS BORN IN 1933 IN JONES, LOUISIANA, OUTSIDE OF
LEGION FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, WE CAME BACK IN 1939 AND
MOVED TO A LOCATION ON BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW, LITERALLY ON THE
BANK. THE BACK PORCH ALMOST HUNG OUT OVER THE WATER. WE
HAD NO WELL, NO WATER SUPPLY, WE USED THE WATER SUPPLY FROM
THE BAYOU YEAR ROUND AND WE USED IT FOR DRINKING WATER,
WASHING, WHAT HAVE YOU. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS UNIQUE,
THERE WAS NO ELECTRICITY, THIS WAS PRIOR TO WORLD WAR II, AND
OCCASIONALLY WE MIGHT GET A PIECE OF ICE IF WE WERE LUCKY
FROM A TRUCK BUT IN ORDER TO KEEP THE MILK COOL IN THE
SUMMERTIME WE DUG OUT THE SPRINGS IN BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW ON
A BANK SIMILAR TO THIS THAT WAS FLOWING COLD WATER, PUT A BOX
IN AND PUT A LITTLE DOOR ON IT AND SHELVES IN IT AND WE STORED
THE MILK AND BUTTER IN THAT SPRING HOUSE.
OF COURSE AS TIMES GOT BETTER THROUGH WORLD WAR II, YOU KNOW,
ELECTRICITY BEGAN TO COME AROUND BUT THE BAYOU WAS ALWAYS
THE CENTER OF THE COMMUNITY FOR BAPTIZING, FOR SWIMMING HOLES,
THERE'S NOT A BOY AROUND THAT DIDN'T LEARN TO SWIM VERY
QUICKLY OR HE FELL OFF OF THIS BANK INTO THE DEEP WATER. I
CAN REMEMBER LILY PADS, HYACINTHS, OWING IN THE
BAYOU. WE DON'T SEE MUCH OF THEM TODAY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT
HAPPENED TO THEM, BUT THEY USED TO GROW SOLID AND YOU HAD
TROUBLE WITH YOUR FISHING LINES WHEN YOU WERE FISHING IN THEM.
PEOPLE DIDN'T IRRIGATE BACK IN THOSE DAYS SO THEY WEREN'T
DRAINING THE WATER OUT OF THE BAYOU AT THE RATES WE DO TODAY
SO YOU DIDN'T SEE IT THIS LOW IN THE SUMMERTIME UNLESS THERE
WAS A PROTRACTED DROUGHT.
DRAINING THE WATER FOR IRRIGATION IS ONE OF THE
OBSTACLES FACING BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW TODAY.
.
>> THE PROBLEM COMES USUALLY IN THE SUMMER AND ESPECIALLY
LATE SUMMER, LOW FLOWS. HISTORICALLY THE BAYOU DID GET
LOW AND THERE WERE PLACES, WELL, THAT YOU COULD EASILY
WALK ACROSS IN THE SUMMERTIME AND YOU COULD BEFORE IRRIGATION.
BUT WHEN YOU ESPECIALLY PUMP THE WATER OUT DURING THAT LOW
FLOW YOU ACCENTUATE THE NATURAL SEASONAL DROUGHT THAT OCCURS
EVERY YEAR AND OF COURSE THAT RESTRICTS FLOW EVEN FARTHER AND
CREATES MORE OR LESS DEAD POOLS AND ELIMINATES SOME FISH
PASSAGE, DECREASES THE AMOUNT OF HABITAT. I BELIEVE ONE TIME
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS DID A STUDY AND INDICATED THEY
THOUGHT THAT DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS 89 PERCENT OF THE VOLUME
OF THE WATER COMING DOWN BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW WAS PUMPED OUT FOR
IRRIGATION.
>> ON AN AVERAGE THERE'S ONE IRRIGATION UNIT FOR EVERY MILE
OF THE 269 MILES BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW FLOWS THROUGH
ARKANSAS.
>> SOME OF THOSE ARE QUITE LARGE. SOME OF THEM WE WERE IN
THIS CANOE AND SOME OF THEM HAD INTAKES LARGE ENOUGH THAT
ACTUALLY PULLED THIS CANOE TOWARD THE INTAKE, IF YOU CAN
IMAGINE. SO THEY HAD BIG DIESEL ENGINES ON THEM BUT
THERE'S A LOT OF WATER MOVES OUT. IF YOU COULD PERHAPS PUMP
SOME OF THAT WATER INTO OFF STREAM STORAGE SOMEWHERE DURING
THE WINTER AND THEN HAVE IT AVAILABLE IN THE SUMMER, IT
WOULDN'T HAVE NEARLY AS DRAMATIC AN IMPACT.
REALLY TO ME ONE OF THE BIGGEST OBSTACLES IS THE ACCESS
PROBLEM. AND IF YOU CAN GET ON THE WATER OF COURSE YOU CAN,
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GO ESSENTIALLY WHEREVER YOU WANT
IN A CANOE OR A BOAT OR WHATEVER IT HAPPENS TO BE, BUT
JUST FINDING THAT POINT TO GET IN I THINK IS PROBABLY THE --
UNTIL YOU GET SOME PEOPLE OUT HERE TO REALLY LOOK AT IT
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF IT.
.
>> THERE'S ONLY A HANDFUL OF ACCESS AREAS ALONG THE BAYOU
AND CONSIDERING ITS LENGTH, THAT'S NOT NEARLY ENOUGH. ONE
OF THOSE AREAS QUITEFITTINGLY HAPPENS TO BE THE DR. CURTIS
MERRELL BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW ACCESS.
>> THIS PARTICULAR SPOT IS USED, WE COUNT AS MANY AS 17
BOAT TRAILERS OUT HERE AT ONE TIME, BASS BOATS, RIGHT HERE IN
THE MILDS OF PINE BLUFF. WE'RE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF PINE
BLUFF. PEOPLE FISH OFF THE BANK, NUMEROUS PEOPLE, AND THEY
CATCH A LOT OF FISH OUT HERE. SO WE'RE REAL PLEASED THAT
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HELP MAKE THIS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
>> THE BAYOU'S MEAGER BEGINNINGS LIE JUST NORTH OF
THE CITY OF PINE BLUFF IN A FERN-LADEN AREA THAT'S ACTUALLY
LOCATED IN THE BACK OF A FARM.
>> EVEN THE HEAD WATERS AREA OF THE BAYOU IS JUST AS PRETTY
AS THE REST OF IT AND FOR 369 MILES DOWNSTREAM UNTIL
LOUISIANA, THESE WATERS HAVE BEEN THE SOLE BEING AND
LIVELIHOOD FOR MANY A PEOPLE DATING BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS
ALONG THE WORLD'S LONGEST BAYOU.
IT WAS THE CLEAR CLEAN WATERS OF BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW PLUS THE
FERTILE LAND THAT ATTRACTED THE VERY FIRST INHABITANTS.
ARCHEOLOGISTS TELL US FROM THEIR EXCAVATION THAT NATIVE
AMERICANS HAD SITES ALL ALONG THE WATERSHED DATING BACK TO
MORE THAN 3,000 YEARS. THEY HAD PERMANENT HOUSES,
CEREMONIAL PYRAMIDS AND MOUNDS. THE OLDEST SUCH MOUND IN
ARKANSAS IS LOCATED JUST NORTH OF THE LOUISIANA LINE NEAR
WILMOT IT DATES BACK TO 1200 BC
.
>> THESE ARE WHAT WE CALL POVERTY POINT OBJECTS OR PPO'S.
THEY COME IN A VARIETY OF SHAPES, SOMETHING ON THE ORDER
OF 60 OR MORE SHAPES HAVE BEEN DEFINED.
THESE WERE MADE BY HAND. YOU CAN HOLD IT LIKE THAT AND SORT
OF SQUEEZE IT AND HOLD IT LIKE A UNIVERSAL JOINT AND THERE YOU
ARE. AND THEN THIS ONE IS CALLED SORT OF A BARREL SHAPED
ONE CALLED A FINGER SQUEEZE KIND. SOME OF THEM HAVE
MULTIPLE FINGER SQUEEZES ON THEM.
>> 1200 BC
>> YEAH, 1200 BC AND THEY GO BACK A FEW HUNDRED YEARS
EARLIER THAN THAT.
>> AS TO WHAT THESE PARTICULAR ARTIFACTS WERE USED FOR, THE
NATIVE AMERICANS DURING THAT TIME PERIOD COOKED THEIR MEALS
BY WHAT IS KNOWN AS HOT ROCK COOKING. BUT IN THE DELTA,
ROCKS WERE FAR AND FEW BETWEEN SO THEY MADE THEIR OWN ROCKS.
YES, ARTIFICIAL ROCKS.
>> WE FIND THESE THINGS IN SORT OF NESTS, CLUSTERS, IN
BURNED PIT FEATURES WHERE THE INDIANS DID THEIR COOKING AND
IN SOME CASES WE FOUND PAIRS OF PITS OF THEM, ONE WHERE THEY
HEATED THE THINGS UP AND THE OTHER WHERE THEY PUT THE HEATED
POVERTY POINT OBJECT IN, THEN PUT WHATEVER MEAT OR WHATEVER
IT WAS TO BE COOKED IN AND THEN COVERED IT OVER AGAIN. AND
ULTIMATELY THEY LEFT THESE THINGS IN THESE PIT FEATURES
DUG INTO THE GROUND AND THESE BECAME UNINTENTIONAL TIME
CAPSULES THAT LET US KNOW IN AN INSTANT WHAT THE INDIANS WERE
DOING AT THAT PARTICULAR PLACE IN TIME.
>> THE BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW NAME IS ATTRIBUTED TO TWO DIFFERENT
ACCOUNTS. FIRST IT'S SAID TO BE NAMED FOR A YOUNG PARISIAN
WHO PERISHED DURING THE SECOND LASALLE EXPEDITION DURING 1867.
IT'S ALSO ATTRIBUTED TO THE PREDOMINATELY FRENCH-SPEEBLGING
SETTLERS IN THE LOWER VALLEY. BEING TRUE TO THEIR FAITH THEY
PAID HOMAGE TO SAINT BARTHOLOMEW BY NAMING THE BAYOU
IN HIS HONOR.
THE SOUND OF A STEAMBOAT MAKING ITS WAY UP THE BAYOU
CHANGED EVERYTHING. THE SHOUTING OF STEAMBOAT'S ACOMING
WAS A WELL-ANTICIPATED ANNOUNCEMENT.
WHEN THE FIRST STEAMBOATS BEGAN MAKING THEIR WAY UP THE
BAYOU FROM LOUISIANA DURING THE EARLY 1830'S IT MARKED THE
BEGINNING OF A GOLDEN ERA FOR BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW AS A MAJOR
THOROUGH FAR FOR EXPORTING COTTON AND OTHER GOODS AS WELL
AS IMPORTING GOODS TO COMMUNITIES. FINALLY THE
INTERIOR HAD BEEN OPENED UP TO THE REST OF THE WORLD AND THE
PEOPLE WHO LIVED ALONG THE BAYOU REMEMBER THOSE DAYS TO
THIS DAY.
>> THE STANDING HORNS AROUND THOSE BENDS AND IT WAS A BIG
BEPLD THERE. IT WENT AROUND AND EVERYBODY WENT TO SEE THEM
AS THEY WENT BY. AS I SAID, I WAS JUST A CHILD, BUT I
REMEMBER BUT IT WASN'T A BIG BOAT. IT WASN'T A GREAT BIG
BOAT.
>> I REMEMBER STEAMBOAT, FRED LEE, ALL THOSE BOATS COME AND
LAND AT THIS PLACE. THEY WOULD LAND THERE, GO UP, THE ROUST
ABOUTS UNLOAD THE BOATS AND EVERY TIME THEY CAME, WE'D COME
AND 3 4 F1THE BOATS THEMSELVES
STOP ALONG, DON'T THINK THEY WERE BIG BOATS, THEY WOULD HAVE
TO PULL THEMSELVES ALONG THAT WAY COMING UPSTREAM AND CUT
THEM OFF AND GET ALONG. THEY WERE JUST VERY SMALL BOATS.
WHEN YOU GOT -- THEY WOULD STOP ALONG AT THE DIFFERENT
SETTLEMENTS AND PLANTATIONS AND UNLOAD SUPPLIES AND IN THE FALL
PICK UP COTTON AND OTHER THINGS TO TAKE BACK TO MARKET.
WHAT YOU ARE SEEING OUT HERE NOW, IT'S AT THE LOW STAGE BUT
BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW USUALLY EVERY YEAR IN THE SPRING OR WINTER,
MOSTLY IN THE SPRING, IT GETS TO BE MUCH MORE OF A BIG STREAM
AND IT WOULD BE 12 OR 15 FEET HIGHER THAN MY HEAD HERE AND IT
DOES THAT EVERY SPRING PRETTY MUCH. MAYBE IT WILL MISS ONE
YEAR OUT OF 4 OR 5. SO THAT'S WHEN THE BOATS WOULD COME. THE
BOATS WOULD COME IN JANUARY TO APRIL OR MAY AND THEY COULD
NAVIGATE MUCH MORE THAN THEY COULD NOW WITH THE CONDITION
IT'S IN BEING SO LOW. SO THAT MAKES, IT WAS A WAY IN AND A
WAY OUT AND A LOT OF FUN ON THE BOW WHEN YOU HEAR BUT AT LEAST
YOU COULD GET AWAY AND YOU COULD GET BACK.
>> THERE WERE 94 DOCUMENTED STEAMBOATS THAT TRAVELED UP AND
DOWN BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW BUT BAYOU STEAMBOATING WAS
STEAMBOATING AT ITS WORST AI LONG WITH ALL THE OBSTACLES AND
THE BAYOU BEING SO NAIR NARROW, THERE WAS ANOTHER
HAZARD, FIRE, FIRE COMING FROM THE STACKS THEMSELVES IF THEY
HIT OVERHANGING TREES AND CAUSING A FIRE. ALSO THE STEAM
BOILERS WERE A HUGE THREAT BECAUSE OF EXPLOSIONS. TO THIS
DAY THE REMNANTS OF 8 STEAMBOATS THAT BURNED ARE
SUBMERGED IN THE BAYOU AND ARE VISIBLE ONLY DURING PERIODS OF
LOW WATER. ONE SUCH SITE IS THE BIG HORN WHICH BURNED AS A
RESULT OF A LIME CARGO FIRE.
FOR MORE THAN 130 YEARS, WHAT REMAINED OF THE BIG HORN'S
WOODEN HULL LAY CLAIM TO THE BAYOU'S WATERS UNTIL RALPH
CANARD OF LOUISIANA STUMBLED UPON IT WHILE HUNTING.
>> I WAS JUST DRIFTING DOWN THE BAYOU, SQUIRREL HUNTING,
AND I KNEW THE BOAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THIS AREA.
AND I'M LOOKING UP IN THE TREES AND I WAS NEARLY BY IT BEFORE I
EVEN NOTICED IT BECAUSE I'M WATCHING THE SQUIRRELS, I'M
JUST DRIFTING DOWN THE BAYOU AND THAT'S BEEN 30 YEARS AGO.
I GOT TO LOOKING AT THEM TIMBERS SO I PULLED THE BOAT
OVER THERE AND WALKED AROUND AND IT'S GOT TO BE, I FIGURED
OUT HOW LONG IT WAS, I KNEW THEN THAT'S GOT TO BE IT.
>> WHAT LED TO THE FINAL DO YOU SAYING OF THE STEAMBOAT ERA
ON BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW WAS THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD AROUND
1890. BUT BAYOU LIFE CONTINUED AS IT ALWAYS HAD ON PLANTATIONS
AND FOR THE WORPKERS SUCH AS CHARLES GRAHAM OF BAXTER,
ARKANSAS, WHO GREW UP A SHARE CROPPER'S SON.
>> THERE WAS THIS THING MY DAD SAID, IF YOU DON'T BREAK A
HUNDRED, WHICH MEANS YOU'VE GOT TO PICK A HUNDRED POUNDS, IF
YOU DON'T BREAK A HUNDRED I'M GOING TO WHIP YOU. WE WOULD GO
TO THE FIELDS, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND I, I HATED PICKING
COTTON. I WOULD DRAG THIS 9-FOOT COTTON SACK ALL DAY
THINKING IT HAS TO WEIGH AT LEAST 250 POUNDS. I'M DRAGGING
IT, I WOULDN'T WEIGH IN UNTIL THE END OF THE DAY. I'D DRAG
THIS CRAZY THING SO YOU GET THERE, YOU PUT IT ON THE SCALE
AND HE WOULD SAY 69, 69 POUNDS. SO MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS GOT
TO WHERE THEY FELT SORRY FOR ME WHEN WHEN THE LAND OWNER OR
THE FOREMAN IN THE FIELD WOULD SAY LAST ROUND WHICH MEANS YOU
WOULD GO DOWN AND BACK UP AND IT'S OVER RS THAT'S ALL THE
COTTON PICKING THEY WOULD DO THAT DAY, MY BROTHERS AND
SISTERS WOULD HAVE ALREADY PICKED THEIR HUNDRED, THEY
WOULD GIVE ME THEIR HUNDRED, I WOULD GET TO 101 OR 102 WHICH
WOULD SPARE ME FROM GETTING A WHIPPING WHEN I GOT HOME IN THE
EVENING.
>> IT WAS GRAHAM'S BOYHOOD DREAM TO EVENTUALLY OWN THE BIG
HOUSE ON THE LAND WHERE HE HAD PICKED COTTON AND LATER IN
LIFE, AFTER BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL GOSPEL RECORDING
ARTIST, GRAHAM CAME BACK HOME TO ARKANSAS AND HIS DREAM
FINALLY CAME TRUE.
>> MY BROTHER HAD CALLED ME PROBABLY ABOUT A YEAR BEFORE,
MOVE TO CALIFORNIA, HE SAID GUESS WHAT HOUSE IS ON THE
MARKET? I SAID BAXTER. HE SAID YES.
SO AFTER GOD WAS SPEAKING THAT TO MY HEART, I LEFT MY MOTHER'S
HOME, I DROVE OUT HERE AND I PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY ALMOST
TWO HOURS AND I JUST SAT IN THE BACK OF THIS HOUSE SAYING GOD,
IF YOU ARE SAYING COME HOME, IS THIS A PART OF THE DREAM THAT
I'VE HAD AS A CHILD FOR THIS HOME? AND SO I KEPT IT IN MY
HEART, I PRAYED AND IT WAS PROBABLY ANOTHER COUPLE OF
YEARS BEFORE IT WAS ACTUALLY TRANSACTED AND I AM NOW LIVING
IN A PLACE THAT AS A LITTLE KID IT WAS A DREAM JUST TO LOOK
INSIDE AND AN EXTREME DREAM TO EVER OWN IT AND SO IT'S BEEN AN
AMAZING JOURNEY.
>> ONE OF THE SONGS CHARLES GRAHAM REMEMBERS SINGING WHILE
GROWING UP ALONG THE BAYOU AND ATTENDING REVIVALS IS ONE
THAT'S APPROPRIATELY NAMED, WADE IN THE WATER.
WADE IN THE WATER, WADE IN THE WATER CHILDREN, WADE IN THE
WATER, GOD'S GONNA TROUBLE THE WATER. I SAID, WADE IN THE
WATER, WADE IN THE WATER, CHILDREN, WADE IN THE WATER,
GOD'S GONNA TROUBLE THE WATER.
>> IT WAS SACRED TO US, IT WAS WHERE I WAS BAPTIZED, IT WAS
OUR RECREATION WHEN DADDY CAME HOME FROM WORK, THIS IS WHAT WE
DID. WE WENT ACROSS THE PASTURE TO THE BAYOU AND ON A
SUMMER DAY OR SPRING OR FALL DAY IF IT WAS WARM ENOUGH WE
HAD OUR WASHCLOTHS AND OUR BAR OF IVORY SOAP BECAUSE IF IT
FLOATED DOWNSTREAM YOU COULD GET IT, AND WE BATHED THERE.
OF COURSE, MAYBE I SHOULDN'T SAY THIS, BUT ABOUT TWICE A
YEAR MY MAMA WOULD HAVE TO POUR A LARGE BOTTLE OF GREEN WORM
MEDICINE DOWN US. THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT WE WERE SWALLOWING
OR DIGGING OUR TOES INTO IN THAT BAYOU, BUT IT WAS A BIG
PART OF OUR LIFE AND THE BIGGEST PART OF OUR LIFE, I
GUESS, OUT THERE. IT WAS, YOU KNOW, PLAY TIME, RECREATION, IT
WAS SPIRITUAL, AND THAT WAS WHERE DADDY ACTUALLY -- IT WAS
MORE TO HIM. HE HAULED IN MASSIVE QUANTITIES OF FISH. HE
SOLD FISH IN THE COMMUNITY. FISH WAS A BIG PART OF OUR DIET
AND ALSO THE FROG GIGGING WAS A BIG EVENT. MY BROTHER AND MY
DADDY AND MY BROTHER'S FRIENDS WOULD GO FROG GIGGING AND MAMA
WOULD FRY UP THE FROG'S LEGS. HEY, IT WAS A MAINSTAY FOR US.
>> YEAH, I MEAN I HAVE SOME MEMORIES WHEN I WAS YOUNGER OF
THE BIG LOGGER-HEAD TURTLES BIG DADDY WOULD FIEPLD IN THE WATER
AND HE WAS AN EXCELLENT SWIMMER, IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE
HOW LONG HE COULD STAY UNDER WATER AND STAY AGAINST THE
KURPLT. CURRENT. HE WOULD ACTUALLY PLAY WITH THE THING IN
THE WATER AND IT WOULD PROPEL HIM ARMED. THEY ARE AMAZINGLY
STRONG IN THE WATER. WHEN HE GOT TIRED OF DOING WHATEVER HE
WAS DOING WITH THEM, HE WOULD STEER IT FOR THE SAND BAR AND
WHEN THOSE FRONT FLIPPERS WOULD DIG INTO THE SAND, HE WAS VERY
QUICK, HE WOULD GRAB THE BACK END OF THE TAIL AND FLIP THEM
OVER AND WE WOULD HAVE TURTLE SOUP.
>> AND WHEN THE MELONS BECAME RIPE THAT WOULD BE THE TIME FOR
THE BIG WATERMELON FLOAT DOWN THE BAYOU.
>> YOU KNOW, JUST THE TYPICAL DAY WOULD BE WHEN WATERMELONS
CAME IN SEASON, LIKE I TOLD YOU EARLIER, WE HAD A HUGE GARDEN
AND WE PUT EVERYTHING UP. BUT WHEN WATERMELONS CAME IN SEASON
AND WE WOULD SWIM, WATERMELONS FLOAT, THEY ARE BOYANT, WE
WOULD TOSS THEM AROUND LIKE A FOOTBALL. YOU COULD RIDE ON
THEM, LAY YOUR BELLY ON THEM AND YOU WOULD FLOAT. WHEN WE
GOT TIRED AFTER AN HOUR OR SO, WE WOULD TOSS THEM ON THE BAR
AND WE WOULD EAT THEM.
ANOTHER TRADITION WE HAD CENTERED AROUND THE BOG TOO WAS
GATHERING MAYHAWS. THERE'S AN OLD COUNTRY SAYING WHEN THE
MAYHAWS BLOOM WHEN THE WATER'S UP, THE BERRIES WILL BECOME
RIPE AND DROP IN THE WATER IN THE SPRING AND YOU CAN GET OUT
THERE WITH A NET AND SCOOP THEM UP AND THAT'S HOW WE GATHERED
MAYHAWS. THERE'S NOTHING FINER THAN MAYHAWS JELLY. THERE'S
THE BEST TASTE TO IT.
>> LAJANE VINSON SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST, HER ACCOUNT OF
HER BAYOU BAPTISM.
>> MY UNCLE WAS THE PASTOR.
>> IT WAS CALLED RIVERSIDE BUT WE WERE ON THE BAYOU, GO FIGURE.
>> WE DIDN'T HAVE A BAPTISTRY IN THE CHURCH SO THEY WOULD
HAVE THEIR BAPTISMS DOWN AT THIS LITTLE PLACE BELOW PORT
PLEASANT BRIDGE. SO ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW, 30 OR 40 PEOPLE
FROM THE CHURCH WOULD GO DOWN THERE ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON FOR
THE BAPTISM AND I WENT DOWN THERE, MY UNCLE WAS STANDING
OUT IN THE WATER AND HE SAID, NOW COME TO ME. AND I TOOK A
FEW FEET -- A FEW STEPS INTO THE WATER AND I REALIZED I WAS
IN TROUBLE BECAUSE AT THAT TIME CAN CAN SLIPS WERE STILL PRETTY
BIG AND THEY HAD DECIDED, MANUFACTURERS OF SLIPS HAD
DECIDED THAT YOU COULD PUT A LITTLE INNER TUBE IN THE BOTTOM
OF A SLIP AND BL IT UP SO YOU COULD PACK LIGHTLY BUT HAVE THE
BIG CAN CAN WHEN YOU WANTED IT. SO MY SLIP WAS BLOWN UP. I
TOOK A FEW FEET IN THE WATER AND I REALIZED I WAS IN
TROUBLE. I HAD TO WORK REAL HARD TO KEEP THAT SLIP DOWN THE
WHOLE TIME AND MY MIEPLD WAS NOT ON HEAVENLY THINGS, NOT
THAT AFTERNOON.
>> THERE'S JUST SO MANY STORIES. WE FARMED, WE ALWAYS
WERE FARMERS. AND AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK MY DADDY WOULD TELL
US TO PUT YOUR HOE AWAY, WE'RE GOING TO CATCH FISH FOR SUPPER.
WE WOULD ALL GO TO THE BAYOU AND GO FISHING AND NEVER FAILED
TO HAVE PLENTY OF FISH FOR SUPPER. IT'S THOSE KIND OF
MEMORIES THAT, IT BREAKS MY HEART TO SEE THE BAYOU WATER
ALL MUDDY AND DIRTY NOW BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT IT USED TO BE.
>> ALMOST HARD TO IMAGINE HOW CLEAR THE WATER WAS LIKE YOU
ARE TALKING ABOUT.
>> IT WAS CLEAR, JUST AS CLEAR AS IT COULD BE. BECAUSE ALL
THE SPRINGS, ALL THE WAY UP AND DOWN, WAS BUBBLING CLEAR WATER
UP IN IT. THEN PEOPLE FARMED WITH MULES AND HORSES AND
DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE DRAINAGE RUN OFF INTO THE BAYOU FROM THE
FARMS. THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE. AND I GUESS JUST TIME MAKES A
DIFFERENCE. PEOPLE THROWING THINGS IN THE BAYOU AND IT'S
JUST FILLED UP.
>> HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?
>> SAD, VERY SAD. BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL THING.
YOU COULD GET IN A BOAT AND SPEND HALF A DAY JUST DRIFTING
DOWN THE BAYOU AND YOU COULD SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT BIRDS AND
SQUIRRELS AND YOU COULD SEE THE DIFFERENT ANIMALS SWIMMING
AROUND IN THE BAYOU.
>> EVERYBODY'S GOT THEIR DIFFERENT OPINION, BUT WHEN YOU
GET RUNOFF FROM THE FARM AND IT MUDDIES UP THE WATER AND THEN
YOU GET SEDIMENT IN THERE AND A LOT OF THAT I THINK COULD BE
FIXED BY NOT FARMING UP TO THE EDGE OF THE BAYOU. I DON'T
THINK THEY NEED TO DO THAT. IT'S JUST, IT'S NOT THE SAME
STREAM IT WAS WHEN I WAS A KID.
>> YOU KNOW MY FAMILY'S BEEN UP AND DOWN THIS BAYOU SINCE
BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR. WE'VE LIVED IN SEVERAL TOWNS UP AND
DOWN IT. THE BAYOU HAS BEEN A BIG PART OF MY LIFE,
EVERYBODY'S LIFE, IN THIS AREA. I USED TO VISIT MY COUSIN RIP
WHO STAYED IN BOYVILLE AND WE DID SWIM IN THE BAYOU, ALL
RACES OF KIDS. WE HAD A GREAT TIME, LIKE HUK HUCKLEBERRY
FINN THEN IN LATER YEARS I FISHED IT, DID A LITTLE HUNTING
P MY FATHER AND HIS BROTHERS DID THE SAME THING. I PLAYED
UNDER THE SAME BIG TREES THEY PLAYED UNDER.
IN LATER YEARS I BECAME SORT OF AN ENVIRONMENTALIST AND I
GOT CONCERNED ABOUT LAND CLEARING, WHICH WAS SORT OF
ANTITHETICKAL TO MY FAMILY HISTORY. BUT I LIKE THE GREEN
BELT MAINTAINED UP AND DOWN THE BAYOU AND RESTORE IT TO ITS
PRISTINE CONDITION.
>> I THINK I STARTED ON BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW AROUND 1946,
PROBABLY. IT'S VERY SPECIAL TO ME STILL TODAY. AND I LIVED ON
THE BAYOU, I PLAYED ON THE BAYOU AND I LOVED IT. AND I
STILL DO TODAY. I TAKE THE GRANDKIDS OUT, TRY TO EDUCATE
THEM ABOUT THE BAYOU. THEY LOVE IT AND ENJOY IT. AND IT'S
A WONDERFUL PLACE AND LIKE I ALREADY MENTIONED, I'D LIKE TO
GET THE BAYOU BACK LIKE IT WAS IN THE OLD DAYS: CLEAR AND MORE
WATER IN IT, WHERE WE KEEP WATER IN IT.
>> IT'S A BIG LETDOWN, REALLY A LOT OF THE POLLUTION IN THE
STREAM, PEOPLE JUST DON'T DO IT ON PURPOSE BUT MAYBE THEY WILL
REALIZE WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO THIS STREAM AND HARD TO TAKE SO
MANY PEOPLE AND IT WILL COME BACK.
>> WHAT IS COMING BACK SLOWLY BUT SURELY ARE THE SPORT FISH
IN BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW THANKS TO THE RESTORATION WORK BEING DONE
BY THE STREAM TEAM WITH THE ARKANSAS GAME AND FISH
COMMISSION.
UTILIZING ELECTROFISHING TECHNIQUES, FISH ARE COLLECTED,
WEIGHED, MEASURED AND THEN RELEASED BACK INTO THE BAYOU.
>> WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS KEEP THE HABITAT IN GOOD ENOUGH
SHAPE SO THAT THERE'S PLENTY OF HABITAT FOR ALL THESE DIFFERENT
KIND OF FISH: CATFISHES, BASS, BLUE GILL, CRAPPY, BUFFALO.
WHAT WE TRY TO DO IN PROGRAMS AND IN THE STREAM TEAM PROJECT
IS WORK WITH PRIVATE LAND OWNERS, WORK WITH THE PUBLIC,
IT'S A WIN-WIN SITUATION. GET THEM OUT HERE TO KIND OF BUY
INTO THIS IDEA THAT THEY OWN THE WATER, THEY OWN AT LEAST
PART OF THE BAYOU ALONG WITH OTHER LAND OWNERS, AND SO KEEP
THE HABITAT IN GOOD SHAPE, KEEP ARKANSAS A NATURAL STATE.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ALL TRYING TO DO HERE.
>> AT TYPE OF RESTORATION WORK THAT'S BEING PLANNED ALONG THE
BAYOU IS WITH SOME OF THE OLD PLANTATION HOMES SUCH AS THE
TAYLOR HOUSE ON THE HOLLYWOOD PLANTATION NEAR WINCHESTER,
ARKANSAS.
DR. JOHN TAYLOR AND HIS WIFE, MARY, MOVED TO ARKANSAS FROM
KENTUCKY AND DURING THE 1840'S HAD THIS HOUSE BUILT WITH THE
HUGE CYPRESS TIMBER FROM THE BAYOU. THE TAYLORS NAMED IT
THE HOLLYWOOD PLANTATION AFTER ALL THE STANDS OF HOLLY TREES
SURROUNDING THE HOUSE.
.
>> IT'S BASICALLY A GEORGAN PLAN FROM ENGLAND IN THE 1600
WHICH WAS BROUGHT OVER HERE. IT MADE GREAT SENSE. MOST OF
THE BARNS ARE MADE THE SAME WAY. IF YOU HAVE A DOG TROT,
AN OPEN CENTRAL PASSAGE, THE WIND GENERATES AND BLOWS
THROUGH THERE AND THAT'S GREAT FOR COOLING. THE LIKEPORT
HOUSE, LIKE VILLAGE, IS THE SAME SORT OF HOUSE. IT'S
FRAMED, IT'S BIG, IT'S A GONE WITH THE WIND TYPE HOUSE.
ANYBODY WITH ANY SENSE WOULD CONSTRUCT A DOG TROT IF THEY
COULD AND WITH PORCHES, OF COURSE THIS ONE HAD A KITCHEN L
WHICH IS NOW GONE, SO IT'S A TRADITIONAL FORM AND
BEAUTIFULLY DONE AND BEAUTIFULLY PRESERVED.
IT'S AN IDEAL PROJECT FOR PRESERVATION IN PLACE. IF YOU
MOVE THIS HOUSE INTO DUMAS OR MONTICELLO IT WOULD JUST BE
ANOTHER HOUSE BUT HERE IT'S IN THE ACTUAL SETTING WITH THE
MOSQUITOES AND ACTUAL ALLIGATORS COMING UP OR
WHATEVER, SO PRESERVATION IN PLACE IS JUST A PERFECT
OPPORTUNITY FOR THIS SORT OF THING.
DR. TAYLOR DIED IN 1884 AND UPON HIS REQUEST WAS BURIED
HERE UNDER THE HOLLY TREES IN THE FAMILY CEMETERY ON THE LAND
HE LOVED BY THE BAYOU.
.
>> IT'S MYSTERIOUS. IT'S DIFFERENT. IT'S QUIET. IT'S
AWAY FROM ALL THE NOISE, TO-DO AND ALL THAT. IT HAS HISTORY,
IT'S IMPORTANT AND I KNOW ALL OF THAT BUT IT'S JUST A PLACE
THAT WHEN I GET ON THE BANKS OF AND START CANOING OR WALKING OR
WHATEVER, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THAT'S THE PLACE TO BE.
>> AIN'T NO PLACE LIKE THE BAYOU, I'LL TELL YOU.
>> MORE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS SORT OF THING. ONE
OF E THINGS I THINK IS MISSING IN PEOPLE'S LIVES TODAY
IS THE CONNECTION WITH NATURE.
>> I FEEL LIKE THAT WE HAVE A LOT TO OFFER THE PEOPLE, NOT
JUST IN THE LOCAL AREA BUT ALL ACROSS THE NATION.
>> I LOVE HUNTING, FISHING, I LOVE THE OUTDOORS AND I JUST
THINK THIS IS A MAGNIFICENT STREAM THAT NEEDS TO BE
PRESERVED AND RESTORED AND PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT.
>> THERE'S NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH I'D WANT TO LIVE OTHER
THAN HERE. YOU FEEL CLOSE TO GOD AND IT'S JUST PEACE AND
CONTENTMENT. TILL THE GOOD LORD CALLS ME HOME, I WANT TO
BE HERE.
(CHURCH BELL RINGING).
(SOUNDS OF BIRDS).
(MUSIC) WADE IN THE WATER, WADE IN THE WATER, CHILDREN,
WADE IN THE WATER, GOD'S GONNA TROUBLE THE WATER.
I SAID WADE IN THE WATER, WADE IN THE WATER, CHILDREN, WADE IN
THE WATER, GOD'S GONNA TROUBLE THE WATER.
THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE
ARKANSAS HUMANITIES COUNCIL AND THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE
HUMANITIES WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDING BY.