The River

John-Paul Jackson grew up with his older brothers, David, John-Luke, and John-Mark, on the Mississippi side of the River. Their daddy, Isaac, and their momma, Ruth, raised the four boys on a 20 acre farm near the River, raising cotton, and enough corn, beans, and potatoes to keep the family fed. Every year they would butcher a hog and a calf to keep meat in the smokehouse. When they weren't needed to work, the boys would go to the one room schoolhouse two miles down the dirt road, where they got a basic fourth grade education. On Sunday, the whole family would go to the same schoolhouse which was used as the Baptist Church. There they would meet up with their four aunts and uncles, and a whole passel of cousins.

There were a few other families living not too far away, whose children also attended the same school and church. Becky Sue Chambers was the daughter of one of those families. When David was eighteen, Mr. Markham, the Jackson's landlord, gave David his own 20 acre plot. It was all still in woods, brush, and swamp. It was up to David and his brothers to reclaim the land and make it ready for farming. Mr. Markham allowed David three years without paying rent to get the farm ready for planting. Mr. Markham did charge him rent for the brace of mules and implements he needed.

David and his brothers built a cabin on the first acre they cleared. There was also room for a garden to feed the family. David was able to get some hogs from his family, and one uncle gave him a milk cow. When everything was ready, David asked Mr. Chambers for permission to marry his daughter, and then he proposed to Becky Sue.

On John-Luke's eighteenth birthday, David gathered his brothers together. He told them that Mr. Markham didn't have any more land to rent out to them. Also there were too many young men in the county, and not enough young women. They would have to try their luck on the other side of the River.

John-Luke got his boat ready to cross the River. All of the family was there to see him off and wish him well. He had loaded in the boat those few meager possessions he could call his own. He hugged his daddy, and kissed his momma, then shook hands with his brothers. He got into the boat, got his oars ready, and his brothers pushed him off into the water.

He rowed until he got into the current in the middle of the River. The fast moving water started pulling him faster down the River. Everyone was watching from up on the bluff where they could see down the River. Just before he was swept around the first bend, his boat was caught in a whirlpool. The River pulled the little rowboat down under the muddy water.

He did not survive.

Two years later, John-Mark declared it was his turn, and he was going to try to get across the River. This time, he built a bigger boat, one that he thought would withstand the treacherous currents and whirlpools in the River. He had two sets of oars, in case he lost one.

John-Mark had been watching the River, and waited until after the flood stage had gone down. The River was now a lot slower, and nearly so wide. Carefully avoiding areas that looked like quicksand, the brothers traversed the sandbars down to the River. After saying their goodbyes, they helped John-Mark get his boat out into the water.

The bigger boat was harder to row, but John-Mark was making good progress through the sluggish current. He was already half-way across the River when tragedy struck. He did not see the submerged tree trunk in the water until he was right upon it, and the roots snagged his boat.

He did not survive.

On his eighteenth birthday, John-Paul knew it was his time. For the last two years, since John-Mark's attempt, John-Paul had been studying the River. He looked for the best place to cross. He studied the River for the best time of year to make his crossing. He talked with the old timers to learn whatever they could tell him about the River. From the bank, he watched steamboats going up and down the River.

John-Luke had attempted to cross the River in a row-boat. John-Mark had attempted to cross the River in a larger row-boat. Both had failed. John-Paul decided he would cross the River in a canoe, as the Indians had been doing for a thousand years.

The day finally came, and John-Paul was ready. The parting farewells were even more painful for his parents, after the loss of his two siblings. David and two of his cousins helped him push his boat into the water. It was early morning, just after sunrise. The current was slow and the water level was down. John-Paul had chosen a crossing where there was a sandbar in the River which would give him a refuge if he needed. He paddled strongly, keeping an eye out for snags or other obstacles to avoid.

He was in the middle of the River, in the strongest current. A wave washed over the canoe, tipping it over and washing John-Paul into the water. He struggled to get to the surface, and reach for his canoe. As the River pushed him and his canoe further downstream, John-Paul swam toward his capsized canoe. Once it was within his reach he was able to get it upright, and he lifted himself into it. He had tied his belongings, and a spare set of paddles into the bottom of the canoe. Within just a few minutes, John-Paul was once again making progress toward the bank.

Fifty yards from the far bank, he was in a backwater, protected from the current, when he saw a twelve foot alligator in the water, watching him. The gator sank out of sight, and evidently swam away. John-Paul kept paddling until he struck a sandbar on the Louisiana side of the River. He managed to pull himself out of his boat, and collapsed on the sand.

He woke to find a shadow across his face, cast by a vision of loveliness standing between him and the blazing sun. She was standing there on the sand, in a blue cotton dress and barefoot. She had brown hair worn down her back, brown eyes and a dark complexion, much like a tan from the sun. He squinted his eyes to get a better look, and tried to sit up. The woman bent down to help him.

"Hello, I'm Evangeline. Who are you, and where did you come from? Are you an angel sent to me by my Bobby Lee?" she asked all at once.

John-Paul tried to respond, but his throat was parched, and sand coated his mouth. He motioned to Evangeline that he needed his water jug from the canoe. Once he had taken a long drink, he replied as well as he could to her continuous stream of questions.

"I'm John-Paul Jackson, and I'm no angel. I came here from Adams County Mississippi, across the River. I don't know where I am, but I'm glad to be here in one piece. Speaking of angels, Miss Evangeline, you look as close to a heavenly being as I could imagine one being right now."

"Oh, I'm not a Miss, I'm a Mrs. I'm Mrs. Bobby Lee Boudreau. My Bobby Lee was fishing on the River one night, and never came back. I come down to the River every day, looking for my Bobby Lee, and I found you. The River took my Bobby Lee, and now it's given me a John-Paul. Praise the Lord, he does work in mysterious ways."

After drinking more of his water, John-Paul and Evangeline, call me Evie, managed to pull his canoe up the bank away from the River. Gathering up his meager belongings from the canoe, and putting on his brogan shoes, they walked about two miles up a trail leading through the woods and swamps, away from the River.

"Evie, would I be wrong to say I noticed you seem to be in a family way? Would you and Bobby Lee be expecting a child?"

"Yes, I'm about four months along. We're hoping for a boy. This is our first, you know." She talked as if Bobby Lee was still alive and coming back to her and her unborn child.

They finally came upon a small group of cabins, all built up on stilts, along the bank of a bayou. Each cabin had a boat dock extending into the bayou, with a few small canoes tied up. Fishing nets hung from underneath the cabins.

Evangeline led him to the cabin where she lived with her parents, John and Anna Fontenot, since Bobby Lee had disappeared. Bobby Lee had built a cabin for them before they were married, but she wouldn't stay there alone. She explained to her father how she had found John-Paul on the riverbank. She told her mother that God had sent John-Paul to her, since he had taken Bobby Lee away.

Over supper that night, John-Paul explained how he had come to try to cross the River from Mississippi, to get to Louisiana. He was hoping to settle down here, and make a living and raise a family. Evie sat next to him all through the meal, not taking her eyes off of him. She had never seen a man with such pale skin, blue eyes and blond hair. Her background was Cajun French, and his was Scotch-Irish.

There were times during the meal that John and Nora would be speaking to each other, and even Evie would respond to them in a language with which John-Paul was unfamiliar. Even when they were speaking English, there were times he could barely understand their meaning, and they would sometimes use some unfamiliar words.

After supper John took John-Paul out onto the veranda facing the bayou, and sitting in the homemade rocking chairs, offered him a pipe and some of his tobacco. The two men sat in quiet contemplation, while the women cleaned away the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Mr. Fontenot proceeded to tell him Evie's story.

"As you can see, this is a small community cut off from just about everywhere. Folks grow up here, and hardly ever get away to anywhere else. The farthest I've ever been from here is a little town called St. Anne's. My daddy took me there with him once when he was selling some furs. My Evie has never been out of this camp, except to go to church down the road.

"She met Bobby Lee Boudreau at church when they were just kids. The Boudreau clan has a camp pretty much like this one just down the bayou a ways. Kids out here in the swamps don't have much of a chance to get out and meet anybody, so everyone assumed at an early age that Bobby Lee and Evie would grow up and get married someday. Bobby took an empty lot here, and built a cabin for him and Evie. He cut the logs out of the swamp, and built it all himself with his own hands. Of course, he had all the help he needed from the other menfolk here, but you know what I mean.

"Bobby Lee had the cabin finished when Evie turned nineteen, and they got married in the church on the first Sunday that the parish priest came. It was about four months later that Evie told us she was going to have a baby. She and Bobby Lee were so excited, I'm telling you.

"Bobby Lee made his living pretty much like any other man in the swamp. He had his boat, and he would fish and hunt. He ran his traps every day, and sold furs to the fur trader that comes around about once a month. He would also sell alligator hides, and snake skins. He had his trot lines staked out on the bayou, and would check them every day, collecting the fish he caught and rebaiting the hooks. He did all right, and I must say his daddy taught him well.

"Bobby Lee kept talking about going down to the River. He talked about how big the catfish grew, and the big gators there in the backwaters. I warned him about the dangers there, the River is not like the bayou, but he didn't listen. He would go to the River, and stay gone for two or three nights. Each time he went, he would come back with a string of big catfish, or some furs. Then one day, he didn't come back. After he was gone for a week, we knew he wasn't coming back. Evie wouldn't give up, she kept going to the River to look for Bobby Lee.

"Bobby Lee's cabin is empty now. Evie won't stay there alone. You're welcome to stay if you want, or we can show you the way to St. Anne's from here. If you want to stay here a while, we can let you stay in Bobby Lee's cabin. I'm sure Evie won't mind. She seems to have taken quite a shine to you. She is really convinced God gave you to her to replace Bobby Lee."

JP had moved his meager possessions into the empty cabin that night. He had his bedroll, a change of clothes, some extra socks. He found the cabin was still furnished from when Evie moved out. He had a bed, and a kitchen. There was a small woodstove that was for cooking, as well as heating the cabin on those rare days it was needed. There was one coal-oil lamp for illumination, and the bathroom was a one-holer at the end of the dock over the bayou. Water was carried from a community well on the side of the camp uphill from the bayou. There was a washtub on the back porch for bathing. Water was heated on the stove and carried to the tub.

It had been a long, eventful day for John-Paul. It had started with saying goodbye to his family, and setting out to cross the River. That led to his rescue on the riverbank by the prettiest girl he had ever seen. Now he had a belly full of good home cooking and a warm, soft bed to lie in. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Oh yes, there was a pillow on the bed, and blankets too.

During the night, John-Paul had a dream. He dreamt there was a warm, soft body lying next to him in bed. When he woke, he smelled coffee and bacon. There at the stove stood his angel from yesterday, in a pink gingham dress, fixing his breakfast. He wondered if this was going to happen every day.

It did.

---

So John-Paul Jackson moved into the Fontenot camp. He got to know Uncle Jack, John's older brother, who was married to Aunt Tildy. There were Evie's two older brothers, Tommy and Joe, and their wives Dorothy and Mildred. Uncle Jack's boys, Roger and Abe, lived nearby as well, with their wives Ruth and Joann. As you can imagine, there were kids running around everywhere.

Uncle Jack, being the eldest resident, was the unofficial mayor of Fontenot camp. Every Saturday night, there would be meeting in the center of the camp, in what served as a town square. There were benches set up there, and tables. As the men were sitting around and discussing whatever needed discussing, the women were busy getting the real party ready. There would be red beans and rice, cornbread, roast potatoes and corn on the cob, fried catfish, and of course, boiled crawfish. For anyone with had room for desert there was blackberry cobbler, made from wild blackberries the kids picked along the bayou.

Once the food was ready and laid out on the table, the business meeting was over. Conversation came to an end until everyone finished eating.

Tommy had been the first one to speak in the meeting, before dinner. He cleared his throat, and was recognized by Uncle Jack, by a nod of his head.

"I'd like to welcome John-Paul, and make him feel like one of the family. I know our sister, Evie is quite taken with him, and that's a good thing since she lost Bobby Lee. It's just that I'm afraid of getting John-Paul confused with Daddy, whose name is also John. Couldn't we just call John-Paul JP instead?"

Everyone signified their agreement by a round of humpfs, and nodding heads. John-Paul took the opportunity to speak.

"Tommy, I want to thank you and thank you all for taking me into your family. I came here with just the clothes on my back, spit up on the bank by the River. If Evie hadn't found me, I might have died. There was already one big gator giving me the eye. I have no problem going by JP if it reduces any confusion."

Uncle Jack and John undertook to teach JP the ways of the swamp men. All of the men would work with him to teach him hunting, fishing, and trapping. They would make sure he had all the tools and implements he needed. It wasn't long before JP was one of them, able to hold his own.

---

John Boudreau and JP were sitting on the veranda enjoying some fine pipe tobacco.

"You know, you and Evie have been living together in that cabin for about three months now. I was just remembering, the parish priest is due to be coming by here pretty soon. In about three weeks I believe. He only comes around every three months."

John then sat back, and smoked his pipe. JP could take a hint as well as the next man.

"Mr. Boudreau, you and your family have been more than kind to me, and have taken me in and made me feel like I am one of your family since I got here. You have a lovely daughter, and Evie and I are quite in love with each other. I know we have been living together as if we were already married, and everyone has accepted that. But you are right, we need to make it right in the eyes of God and everyone else. Sir, may I have your permission to marry your daughter?"

John slowly stood up from his rocking chair, and put down his pipe. JP stood up as well, in respect. John reached out to JP and locked him in a bear hug, choking back tears. "Of course you have my permission. Welcome to our family, son."

Later that evening, JP and Evie were lying in bed, regaining their breath after consummating their love yet again. JP turned to Evie, looking deep into those captivating eyes.

"Evie, there's something I need to ask you. Your father and I were talking earlier, and I asked him about this.

You know, you and I have been living together here for about three months. I've loved you from the day I first saw you on the riverbank, and I believe you feel the same.

Evie, I want to be here to take care of you and our baby for as long as you will have me. I want to have more babies with you, as many as you want. I want to grow old with you, and together rock our grandchildren and great grandchildren on our porch.

Evie, will you marry me?"

They were married in the church, and two months later, Robert Leonard Jackson was born. Otherwise known as Bobby Lee.

---

It occurred to JP after Bobby was born, that there was no milk in the camp for children. He thought about a milk cow, but a cow would require more pasture land than they could provide in the camp. They couldn't afford to buy feed for it. So he thought about goats. He brought it up at the next Saturday night meeting, and everyone thought that might work. Each family chipped in what they could, and JP and Roger and Tommy left for St. Anne's to buy some goats. Two days later they came back with a billy goat and three nannies. The best thing about the goats was they would eat nearly anything, and they flourished while keeping the brush and swamp grass trimmed around the camp. When a baby goat was killed by a bobcat one night, they started keeping them penned up more. The women milked the goats every day, and also made goat cheese.

When Bobby was six months old, Evie wanted to take him to visit the Boudreau family. Charley and Susie Boudreau were Bobby's grandparents after all, and had only seen the baby once, when they came to the Fontenot camp after Bobby was born. Evie felt it was only right that Bobby's grandparents should have close contact with their only grandchild, and JP agreed.

While they were staying in the Boudreau camp, JP got to know Charley Boudreau, and Bobby Lee's older brothers, Sam and Jeff. The Boudreau's had dogs, Catahoula hounds that were trained to hunt coons at night. JP had known people back in Mississippi that hunted coons with dogs. The Fontenot's did not. Sam and Jeff took JP hunting with them one night, and he decided that was better than using traps. When they left for home, Jeff promised JP he would bring him a brace of trained coon dogs after they raised them from puppies. Sam gave JP a .22 caliber pistol and a box of shells, and a carbide lantern.

---

By the time Bobby was six, the trail from the Fontenot camp to the parish road had been expanded to a sort of road, passable with a wagon pulled by a team of mules. No one in the camp could afford a car or truck. The fur trader would drive his Ford Model-T pickup to the camp once a month. When a car was heard coming down the road, it was quite an event for all the kids living in the camp. The kids included Bobby Lee, his four year old brother Adam and his three year old sister Mary Anne.