BIG SWAMP BIG BAYOU

[Music] good evening ladies and gentlemen this is jack douglas there is something mystic and appealing about swampland country and tonight we're going to visit two of america's most famous swamplands okefenokee in georgia and the bayous of louisiana this is your armchair vacation and mine too the big swamp the big bayou [Music] [Applause] okefenokee has many claims to faith among them it is the headwaters of the swanee river but vacationers expect more and they get it listen to the noted historian and okefenoke expert mr liston elkins talking to our producer bill southworth [Music] we like to think of okay for one of the most beautiful and entrancing wilderness areas in america as a place where people can enjoy life and relax and enjoy the wonders of nature it isn't a horrible terrible uh fearsome place that a lot of people think and that's the general attitude toward a swamp country it is full of beauty full of charm there's no animal or no formation no insect nothing in the swamp it's going to do you a lot of damage it's the safest place i know to be it's the headwaters of the famous swanee river with stephen collins foster immortalized in his famous folk song old folks at home we love to think that people can come to okefenokee and really enjoy the wonders of nature well bill decided to see for himself his guide is johnny hickox a lovable character who knows okefenokee as you and i know our own names now as you cruise through this majestic swampland your mood changes with each mile at first you're inclined to be spellbound by the awesome size of it 660 square miles and then you may be terrified even panic-stricken wondering how johnny could ever find his way out but after a few minutes you just relax and enjoy the splendor of one of america's largest swamps [Music] uh tell me johnny what does okie finoki actually mean the word okie pinocchio is an indian word meaning land of trembling earth so i believe i can show you better than i could answer that question uh you notice this island here conviction to get out on is that float what this is is matted vegetation which have accumulated here year after year and uh got so thick here until this vegetation will grow on it these trees and tanks oh you see how this shakes back when you walk on it occasionally you fall through here this is why this is called okefenoke as a like i say the indian word meaning land of trembling earth this is a pitcher plant found here in the swamp uh you notice here on the top of the plant has a little lip over it and shaped just about like a water pitcher now this is one of the few plants here in the swamp that actually live on insects well to see if i can pull one of these out the insects comes into the plant up here and uh it gets trapped in here here's another interesting plant uh called the golden club uh the old timers gave this plant uh the name of neverwet you know that you take one of the leaves here dip it down into the water and see how the water all rolls off of it it's always dry here's a very interesting plant found here in the okefenokee swamp uh this is called the soap bush let me show you how this works strip off some of the leaves and uh see if i can get a lot of your work there for you uh the old-timers call this poor man soap you notice here you get a pretty good lather uh probably the old-timers get in here and want to wash their hands while they had the soap right here in the swamp with them yes soapy suds from the leaf of a bush oh there are hundreds of fascinating things to see at okefenokee for example this is the sundew plant a water plant that sort of secretes a sticky substance which in turn entraps insects and as for the lovely water lilies well you could if you had the time count them by the millions in this unspoiled wilderness [Music] being in a launch with a lot of people is somewhat easier on the nerves the swamp doesn't seem quite as scary with people about heifer trail takes us to the source of the swanny river immortalized in stephen foster's classic old folks at home this sign always gets a chuckle to fargo and all points south if you know how well the wise old bart owl probably knows how but he's not much on conversation he spends most of his time watching swamp spiders spinning webs or the clucking owl keeps a sharp eye peeled for gators alligators all over the place now frankly i don't think that even the park officials know how many alligators there are in these 660 square miles however while the gators are certainly ugly creatures they're not nearly as ferocious as crocodiles and really there's no danger involved but just to play it safe the guides carry loaves of bread aboard each lunch and toss slices all along the way just to keep the gators happy johnny's passengers are in for a jolt these grisly reminders of what can happen in a swampland tell us that we're at skull lake this sign is upside down but in the waters of mirror lake it reads right side up these graceful tall trees are also reflected in the water but the water lilies are actually growing beneath the surface of the shallow lake this 80-foot observation tower is one of many under construction and here without the slightest exertion except climbing up you can look out over miles of timber and looking below you can study the habits of swamp pets such as george the egret now george is probably the most widely photographed egret in america the serpentarium at okefenokee has the expected variety of serpents among them the yellow rat snake the pine bull puff adder the indigo or gopher snake and the king snake which is not poisonous but attacks and kills poisonous snakes now frankly i get shaky just watching pictures of these things but the serpentarium has more to offer quite a show for example a show in which johnny hickox tosses fish bait to a red-breasted chicken park which will swoop down and try to catch the food in midair while in flight this is slow motion yes that was a miss but watch this streamlined action the hawk will catch the food with its claws again slow motion and here's another successful try the hawks are actually so fast but if we did not use slow motion we'd never see the action [Music] here's another favorite of all visitors to okefenokee blackie the black american bear and he's a cutie [Music] watch okefenokee has been the actual setting for many hollywood movies and obviously small dinghies or rowboats have been used in these films such as lure of the wilderness with jeff hunter gene peters and walter brennan swamp water is probably the best known of the films made at okefenokee and it starred dana andrews and baxter and again walter brennan well we spent 10 days in this water wilderness and saw perhaps 10 percent of it but even a shorter visit just a single day will leave you with indelible impressions the reaction of vacationers like the blackburns is typical this is blackburn how do you like the oaky finoki swamp i think the swamp is one of the most worthwhile things on the atlantic coast it's the one place that we can see nature in action just like it used to be mr blackburn what is your opinion of the oaking pinocchio swamp well i thoroughly enjoyed the okie pinocchio swamp park i've been in 40 states this year and i visited most of the attractions in the united states i consider this one of the outstanding if not the outstanding natural attraction in this country for those who can't stay overnight is an especially rewarding experience it is silent serene and to use just one word we're flying over the southern part of the state of louisiana and this is bayou country the word by you the choctaw indian word by the way is bayou means small stream or a marshy inlet and there are so many streams and inlets here that as far as the eye can see the bayou appears to be a forest flooded with water and yet this is not a true swampland the early acadian settlers called the bayous dead streams but this was erroneous there isn't a single stream or ever that cannot be navigated by some form of boat or piranha that isn't a swamp fire down below merely excess burning gas from an oil refinery new orleans is for the majority of vacationers the gateway to the bayou country and don't worry about being able to afford a helicopter there are excellent riverboat cruises aboard the voyager which is docked just a few blocks from downtown new orleans the voyager is a 64-foot diesel-powered steel boat that leaves the toulouse street dock at about 10 a.m and returns at three in the afternoon a five-hour round-trip bayou cruise for just a few dollars [Music] more burning gas at a refinery [Music] the voyager leaves the mississippi at the algiers locks and once through the locks the course is south and slightly west into the bayou country by way of the algiers canal now these locks are necessary because the canal is from one to three feet below the level of the mississippi within minutes after clearing the locks were in bayou country mile after mile of cyprus oak and spanish moss now notice as we pass a few isolated houses that they're built on pilings as a safeguard against bayou floods indian mound cemetery is the ancient burial ground of the french and cajun settlers and their descendants cajun is the abbreviated vernacular for acadian and as we know acadia in nova scotia was the original home of many french canadians who were deported in 1755 and found a new way of life in the bayous of louisiana and today more than two centuries later the cajun influence dominates bayou country just as in new orleans the flavor is decidedly creole but now let's disembark we'll leave the voyager and set out on our own and here as at okefenokee there are lovely secluded little spots which make it easy to understand why the cajuns came and did not leave this watery wonderland [Music] to own a shrimp boat such as these at morgan city well that's every bayou boys idea of heaven on earth like their cajun forebears who were forced out of nova scotia these people are a fishing people and fish is as much a staple of their diet as french bread we cruised some of the inlets with mr paul a bear a localite who promised that we would catch lots and lots of fish well as it turned out paul did the fishing and we gave him a few laughs with our high school french mostly they fish here for white perch and bass but if an eel takes the bait paul won't throw it back you'll see many families mom and dad and the kids fishing the bayou streams and marshes togetherness isn't something they work at it's a part of their life and here's another familiar sight a man rowing a but toe and then this upright position he claims he can roll all day without tiring because you see he pushes against the oars instead of pulling them these men are trappers and when the game is scarce they'll hunt for this giant-sized edible mushroom most commonly found on the bark of the willow tree they told us that the trapping had been fairly good of light and these were neutrophors drying and curing on the line this old cabin was restored by mrs virginia kyle purely for nostalgic reasons on the back lawn of her home and chatting with mrs kyle our bill southworth asked her about voodoo in the bayou country well bill voodoo is still very much alive in the via country it started out as a casual hobby and has ended up as a very fascinating research project i have uncovered some of these trinkets and powders this feather brushed in your path will bring you good luck a snake skin will give you power over someone the salt spread in the corners of your room will keep out the evil spirits black eyed peas are for good luck and if you pour this brick dust over your steps no enemy can cross them then i have this wonderful one here follow me man if uh someone is after a lover they merely have to wear this and the man will follow them we also have the fast luck powder in case you need a little quick look along the way and then we have this string with the seven knots that they wear around their middles to cure any stomach distress or heart trouble backache the caulk on there has a very special significance because held on the third string it will stop nosebleed and then i have this get-together powder which i'd like to sprinkle on you so that you will someday return to the bar country from voodoo talk let's turn to the gayety of a mardi gras rehearsal well it's not the mardi gras in new orleans but the women's organization of kaplan in vermilion parish is every bit as proud of its mardi gras as the folks in the big city the purpose of this annual regalia is to preserve the old acadian customs and traditions of the bayou the plates and the shoots of rice for example symbolize the home the french demitasse cup and saucer symbolize friendship shared over a cup of coffee etc this was merely a costume rehearsal for queen jambalaya king gumbo and members of their court they urged us to stay for the real mardi gras but our time was limited and we couldn't accept their gracious invitation at the small city of rain known as the frog capital of the world we were invited to yet another rehearsal now this one involved four beauty queens and the fattest sassiest frogs i've ever seen these bayou frogs highly regarded by gourmets the world over averaged more than a pound and a half each anyway this was a training rehearsal for the international frog derby and the beauty queens are the jockeys no they don't take to the whip as in racing they just prod the frogs with their footsies now three of the frogs did admirably but if this one doesn't show some interest he's going to wind up at jack wiles to be shipped to a gourmet's table perhaps harris they say that if you can't speak french you will before you leave the bayou and like it or not even the telephone company is best known by its french designation this moss-covered complex of old buildings is not a deserted plantation it is a factory a factory sustained by these acres and acres of red peppers and i mean red hot burning peppers now this factory on avery island in the bayous is one of the world's leading suppliers of tabasco sauce now three to five years after the peppers have been hand-picked and fermented a vinegar base is added and each barrel is stirred eight hours a day for five weeks then modern machinery takes over [Music] avery island's most prominent citizen e a mcelhany created the famous jungle gardens 200 acres of sanctuary for man and beast this chinese garden is merely a small section of the overall landscape and the temple by the way enshrines a buddha with a fantastic cops and robbers history a history dating back to the 12th century the jungle gardens at avery island this above all homes is the pride of the bayou country this is shadows on the tesh built between 1831 and 1834 by a wealthy planter david weeks now after the war between the states the shadows and its exquisite gardens were almost totally neglected until the end of world war one there's much more to the story and you'll hear it and you'll feel it when you visit the tesh bayou saint martinville is one of those places that our program calls a must for every vacationer to louisiana and the bayous in the courtyard of this handsome church by the bank of a glassy smooth stream you can sit and let time pass by in the shadows of the evangel and oak the meeting place of evangeline and gabrielle immortalized in longfellow's classic poem the real life evangeline emmeline was her name is buried here and you may wish to donate a coin for the maintenance of her resting place just a few feet from the oak tree you'll see this statue too long fellows evangeline a statue donated by one of her most devout admirers the actress dolores del rio church point in the bayous is a place we'll never forget the parishioners say goodbye to the priest and then climb aboard their horse-drawn buggies for the trip back home from church yes this is a rural community but that isn't the answer it is simply a matter of custom and a stubborn desire to cling to the old ways you know about 20 years ago oil was discovered in this area and car salesmen poured in to sell the oil rich farmers shiny new cars well the salesman struck out the oil happy farmers bought shiny new buggies yes they do have cars but when they go to church they prefer the horse and buggy carriage it's a sure sign that the president does not always wish to forget the past [Applause] these are country people in the bayous and they like just about everything country style including their music and dancing you