One day in the late 70"s David Raia and myself were out shooting our longbows. David ask me if I had ever been down the Cahaba river canoeing. I told him I had not, but always wanted to. He felt the same and it was his understanding that the river had Red Eyed bass, something rare in these parts. We decided that we would make plans to go real soon, on a wild adventure.
We got the old canoe out and went over our equipment to make sure that everything we might need was included. In the meantime word got out as to what we were planning to do. Up drove Eddie Haywood and Stoney Johnson. They ask if they could come along and we told them that if they could come up with another canoe, we would love to have them join us.
The day finally came and we loaded the two canoe's and all our equipment on the back of David's daddy's truck and started out. David and I rode in the front with his daddy and Stoney and Eddie rode on the back of the truck, on top to make sure that nothing fell off. After a forty mile drive we turned down a small dirt road that led to the bank of the river.We wasted no time to get the canoe's in the water and our equipment loaded. David and I were the first to push off and start paddling. We had told his daddy that we would call him once we made it to Centreville, Alabama. We figured that it would take us at least two and one half days to make the trip, if all went well.Little did we know the dangers that lerked ahead of us.If we had known, this trip would have been canceled. With all the close calls that would take place later on, it was mad to continue, but we were not aware at this time.
The Cahaba river is one of the longest free flowing rivers in the south. It's very senic with many rapids, beautiful foliage and towering rock cliffs. It was home to the Creek Indians in their day, not to mention some good fishing. We paddled long and hard, as we wanted to get as far downstream and away from civilazation, before we made camp. Right before dark we pulled up to the mouth of a small stream taht entered the river. The water coming forth, was running into the river at a fast pace and was cold as ice. We felt that this would be a good place to pitch camp, for our first night out.
That night we stayed up late, as we were excited about finally being on the trip and could'nt wait to see what adventures lay before us all. We talked about archery and I told a few stories of my own. The only other sounds that spread across the nigh sky, was the crackling of our campfire,the insects of the night, frogs calling to their mates,and an old owl doing the same. A beaver would swim up behind us from time to time and dive down splashing his tail, throwing water on us. Looking back, it makes me wonder if he was trying to tell us to go home, before it was to late. I don't think that the other's felt inside what I did, but my Indian blood did make me stop for a moment and wonder. At last we retired to bed.
After breakfast we paddled downsteam for another two miles to where the ittle Cahaba creek flowed into the main river.Out of the mouth of the creek, came three canoe's with two college students in each. It was some city boys, out with their girlfriends enjoying their conoeing. When the looked up from paddling and
saw us coming downstream behind them, one of the fellows hallowerd out, "Here comes deliverance""lets get out of here"!
I guess we did look the part. I had on cut off jeans, no shirt, and low cut tennis shoes and a skinning knife on my side. David was dressed the same, other than he had his ballcap turned around backwards. Eddie was wearing long pants, a coonskin cap and a knife on his side that looked like Jim Bowie's. He also had a 22 pistol strapped to the other side holstered backwards, like Clint Eastwood. Stoney was wering long pants, no shirt and Apache high top fringed books.Our bows and arrows were riding on top of everything else and could be easily seen with brightly colored feathers from afar.
We must have given them quite a scare, as two of the canoe's took off like Rossco and never looked back. The third canoe wasn't going anyplace as the fellow in the front of the canoe was paddling forward, while his girlfriend in the back was paddling backwards, screaming at the top of her lungs. We caught up with them and they both held their arms up over their heads, as if she thought that we were river robbers. They being from the city and not accustomed to seeing outdoor people, must have really scared them stiff. We pulled up alongside and told them that we meant them no harm. We explained that we were on a canoeing expedition of our own, headed downstream to Centreville, Alabama. Also, that we were planning to do some bowfishing for carp, garfish, snakes and spinning reel fishing for red eyed bass. They seemed to be relieved and the fellow ask if we may have a beer or two. I guess he wanted it to settle down his nerves. His girlfriend said they had a case iced down upstream aways, but had lost it all when their canoe turned over in the rapids. I told him that we didn't. We pushed apart from them and paddled away. David looked back and called out to them good luck and "Oh by the way","We did hear some banjo's playing back around the bend"."So you might better get going and not be caught out here alone, after dark". The girls mouth flew wide open, and she hit her boyfriend with her paddle, the back of his head and told him,"Get paddling""Now!"I've never seen two people paddle so fast. This time at least they seemed to be paddling in the same direction.
We traveled at least another three or four miles and the river began to close in with limestone cliffs that must have reached upward two hundred feet. David said that he had been told about an Indian cave in the cliffs,so we were watching out for it. We were paddling on slowly and finally, there it was. It was hidden behind a large boulder. If we had been paddling faster, we would have missed it for sure. We pulled our canoe's up close to the rock and tied them off. We went inside and it lead us completly through the cliff. When we exited out the other side, it lead to some real large table rocks, and the overhanging trees formed a canopy of perfect shade from the summer sun, that had been beating down on us, ever since we started our trip. We decided we would eat some vienna sausage and crackers or sardines, as we planned to eat some fish we had caught further back upstream. David and myself had killed a couple of nice size gar and planned to eat the tenderloan out of them as well. The cave and rocks around us had Indian marking on them, so we new that we were in a special place. We stayed for a short while and then left. We hadn't paddled from this cave location, much more than a mile, when we passed thru some rapids. We took the right side of the river as it seemed to be the best choice to go through. Eddie and Stoney made it through with no problems. Next, David and myself started through. Eddie and Stoney were waiting on us, just drifting along, when all of a sudden Eddie hollered out, "Snake" at the top of his voice, pointing to my right side.We couldn't stop as we had commited ourselves to the run.My right shoulder was passing within four feet to a shelf on the rock wall. I looked and sure enough laying on the shelf was a trophy cottonmouth. He was poised, ready to strike me in the shoulder. Guess he had been asleep laying there in the hot sun, when Eddie and Stoney pass by, causing him to be alarmed. Afterwards, he must have realized that here comes another something, so he got ready to make a strike at the next one that passed by.
When I saw his mouth wide open, I thought I was going to get bit. At the last second I heard the crack of Eddie's 22 pistol and also heard the bullet go buzzing by my nose, hitting the snake somewhere below the head. I looked back and saw the snake fall into the river and turn belly up, twisting and dying.
We paddled over beside Eddie and Stoney's canoe. I said to Eddie,"Boy that sure was a good shot"."How did you shoot so good from a floating canoe?" He said, "I didn't think about it, I just drawed and shot". I said to him, "Sometimes luck can happen at the right time". We were so far back in the boomdocks, there would have been no way to survive a snakebite.
We traveled further downstream fishing along and catching some beautiful Red Eyed bass. We added them to our stringers being towed behind the canoe's. A short time later we came upon some shoals. The water was running over some rocks creating a slide of sorts. We paddled straight in and decided it would be a good place to go for a swim and cool off from the burning sun. Our backs looked like saddle leather from going without our shirts since we had left. I was first to slide off the rock into the pool that lay below. Boy, it felt mighty fine and refreshing. Next came David and behind him Eddie giving his impression of a Tarzan yell, while doing a cannonball splash at the end of the slide. We all swam over to the river bank.David and Eddie sat on the bank while I walked back up to the top of the rock.Stoney had just made his entrance into the water and instead of swiming out as we had done. He was trying to swim against the current, back toward the slide rock. The current was strong and he had made a major mistake, from the start. He hadn't removed those Apache boots, he had on, much less the long pants that he was wearing. The boots were tied tightly about his knees, as is custom. Now that they were wet, they were all real heavy, and Old Man River, was pulling him down. I called out to him, as it looked to me that he was in trouble and beginning to struggle."Stoney" "you gonna make it?" He said, "Yes sir" "I think so". About that time he began to look as though he was climbing a ladder and began to panic, going under. I called out to David and Eddie for help. I dove straight in and once I got to within arms reach, he grabbed me and forced me under the water, trying to climb to the top. I swam back up to the surface from his backside and pushed him with all my mite, toward the bank. Each time I would do this, it would force myself to go back down towards the bottom, taking all my strenght. I remember the fight I was having, like it was only yesterday.Each time I would push and be pushed myself back down, I would tell Old Man River, "You can't have him".
I was fighting Old Man River, for his life as well as my own. Stoney, was his parents only child and their pride and joy. They had alot to be proud in him, as he was and still is a fine young man, that I too think the world of. His parents trusted him to go anywhere with me and new that I would look after him always. No words of sorrow, would have ever been enough, if I hadn't fault the way I was doing, letting the old man get him.I finally was down to my last and third push, when David and Eddie could barely reach his hand and pull him ashore. I rose to the surface and managed to make the bank and David helped me out as well. Our hearts were about to bust from our chests. Stoney and I laid there for several minutes without speaking a word. Finally Stoney said to me, "Mr. Hill" "You saved my life" "Thank you". I answered, "No problem, I wasn't going to let you drown alone"."Do me one favor". He said, "Whats that?"I said "Get them dam Apache boots off". He said, "I plan to".
My grand daddy had always said that you could have a good time on the river, but you should always respect it. He said that it didn't matter how good a swimmer you were or how tuff a man you thought you were. Always remember "Old Man River" is a bigger man than you will ever hope to be and he will get you if you ever let your gaurd down.
After a short rest we paddled another five miles and came upon a sand bar upstream fromt he bridge across the river at Centreville. We spent our last night there. We cooked the bass we had caught on the fire and baked some potatoes in the coals. We turned in early that night as we were dog tired.
It has been many years since this trip took place and we all have never talked about the close call Stoney had. We were four young men that went searching for fun,laughter and adventure. I will never forget the canoe trip I took with some of the finest archers and outdoorsmen you could go anyplace with. Also I will never forget the good fight I fault with Old Man River.Thank you Big Daddy for your advice.Jerry Hill......................
Topic: Cahaba-Old Man River (Read 424 times)
