Bridge, Phillips, Elam Drainage District News From the desk of Milton Sandy Jr
September 27, 2013
Vol 2013-3
This newsletter is directed to friends and supporters of our efforts to get something done about the repetitive flooding in Corinth and Alcorn County which on May 2, 2010, caused loss of life, public and private property and threatened public health and safety by the massive release of raw sewage into flood waters. If you have news, questions or comments, please fire away.
A Salute to the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District
Flood Threat for September
5/15/2013 TRVWMD crew members Dale Franks, Lee Graham, Michael Burt, Will Hampton, Jim Mullins, Nathan Cooley - at Bridge Creek near Hwy 72 The very last task involved in the five projects approved and completed by the TRVWMD for the Bridge Phillips Elam Concurrent Drainage Districts and the City of Corinth on May 15, 2013, was the removal of a very large, sunken tree, shown above, buried in the bottom of Bridge Creek where it leaves Hillandale Golf Course behind Tractor Supply. The tree was extremely well preserved and when I saw a cross-section when it was cut, a bunch of questions sprung into my mind.
Contact: Milton Sandy Jr 662-286-6087 - Fax 287-4322 - E-mail mlsandy@tsixroads.com
The tree had been completely submerged in water and mud and was quite well preserved (and aromatic). The color was reddish and dark, tight grained, and appeared to me similar to mahogany. It occurred to me that the area where we were standing had once been the site of a very interesting place in Corinth's history. Mr. Henry C. Moore in the late 1800's had established a wildlife park filled with exotic animals, birds and plants which he brought back from many of his travels around the world, particularly South Africa. I wondered if this could be some exotic species he brought back and planted here in Corinth. I called upon our local county agent, Mr. Patrick Poindexter, who among his many other talents, is a student of Dendrochronology, the study of tree rings. Trees develop annual rings of different properties depending on such factors as weather, rain, temperature, soil PH, nutrition, CO2 concentration, etc. in different years. These variations may be used to infer past climate variations as well as determine the age of a tree. When I was a Cub Scout, one of my earliest science projects was a tree slice which I used to count and date the tree rings. Patrick could not tell me the species of tree, but he did, by counting rings, estimate the tree's age at over 75 years old. A few days later, Patrick arranged a visit by a tree expert, Dr. John Kushla, from Mississippi State University, who definitely identified it as a member of the oak family, although he could not be more specific. He could not rule out that it was an African Oak, so my wild imagination still has a little room to roam.
Section of tree pulled from Bridge Creek
Tree is quickly sectioned by TRVWMD crew
As far as I'm concerned, this was a Henry C. Moore tree and I saved a cross section piece to dry and possibly mount sometime in the future. I also gave one to Patrick Poindexter. We are each trying different methods to dry and preserve the pieces which will probably take a year or two because of their high moisture content. Later on in this newsletter, I'll try to relay a little more of the story of Henry C. Moore. But back to my tribute to the TRVWMD. This was the last of five projects approved after the flood of May 2, 2010. In the Spring of 2012, two of the projects were completed. #02-1006-056 from Bridge Creek where it is crossed by CR402 (Shady Grove Road or Fulton Dr Extended South Page 2/18
of the Industrial Park) to the intersection with Elam Creek at the sewer plant was estimated at a cost of $51,000. #02-1006-054 from Elam Creek at the sewer plant to US Hwy 72 was estimated at $80,100. This spring, the remaining three projects were completed. #02-1006-067 on Elam Creek from Hwy 72 to its intersection with Turner Creek near Tate Street estimated at $44,000. One of the major parts of that project was removal of an abandoned railroad trestle blocking the flow of Elam Creek and pictured in Newsletter Vol. 2013-1. #02-1006-055 involved Phillips Creek starting at Farmington Road (Proper St) and extending south to its intersection with Bridge Creek at Hillandale Country Club and estimated at $79,000.
4/23/2013 Nathan Cooley clears brush while standing in the bed of Phillips Creek
The final, and probably the most rugged terrain, #02-1006-068 involved Bridge Creek starting at the Norfolk Southern Railroad and extending south to where it flows under Hwy 72 beside Tractor Supply, estimated at $71,000. Altogether, these projects totaled $325,100 of benefits to the city of Corinth and Alcorn County taxpayers, without any additional taxes.
More importantly, these drainage projects were done in a manner which would have been extremely difficult to get done as well or as efficiently by any other public or private agency. To illustrate my point, I mentioned the last segment of Bridge Creek was pretty rugged terrain. The east side of Bridge Creek was once accessible by a bridge at the end of Droke Road. That bridge has been gone for about 40 years I'm told. Like General Patton's army, the TRVWMD showed up with a military surplus portable bridge and in a matter of hours was crossing back and forth with their heavy equipment to work on the East side of Bridge Creek.
TRVWMD portable bridge Page 3/18
What is hard to describe and document is the skill and expertise that the crews of the TRVWMD bring to the drainage tasks they work on. The work they do is dirty, wet and dangerous but I have often described watching them work as somewhat akin to watching a group of ballet dancers- they work together so smoothly and efficiently as a team that it is hard to describe.
Portable bridge installed over Bridge Creek at end of Droke Road
The three basic pieces of equipment that augment the chainsaws each crew member wields are the bulldozer, the excavator and the skid-steer. The bulldozer is probably used less than any other piece of equipment. It's primary job is to open access where trees or brush obstruct the crew or other equipment. Many areas are so overgrown, the dozer is necessary to cut a road for access by the men and other equipment. It also is usually the last piece of equipment used on a job to smooth and clean up an area where the excavator or skid-steer have left ruts and tracks, particularly where the ground is wet or damp. The TRVWMD maintains a very long arm excavator which couldn't be used in Corinth because of space restrictions. It was brought back later in the summer and used most effectively on a project for our friend Joe Duncan on the Hatchie River on 5/1/2013 Nathan Cooley pulls cable across Phillips Creek to Will Hampton Page 4/18
the Western side of Alcorn County. The TRVWMD's usual procedure involves clearing working downstream from the most easily accessible side of the creek. The opposite side is reached the hard way by wading, or if too deep, using a small boat. When using the skid-steer, a cable is pulled across the creek which is attached to the tree or clump of brush being cut. The cable is attached to the skid-steer with a large and powerful winch. When using the excavator, the cable is attached to the arm and thrown across the creek by the motion of the excavator arm. The cable is quite heavy and utilizes a unique attachment on the end which allows the cable to be quickly attached and the pulling motion of the excavator or winch, after the tree is cut, pulls the cable tighter and tighter- hence the name “choker cable�. After the tree or Choker Cable brush is cut, it is pulled across the creek onto the working side. This procedure is repeated every foot of the way down the creek.
5/1/2013 Skid-steer and excavator on Phillips Creek south of Norfolk Southern rail crossing Page 5/18
Most of the timber and brush on these projects was first cut into 5' lengths and then pushed into piles which were then picked up by the Corinth Street department and transported to the city vegetation refuse sites. In more remote areas where the TRVWMD works, the piles are made into “windrows” which may be left to biodegrade, provide wildlife cover, or be otherwise disposed of. The “windrows” are enmeshed tightly enough to prevent movement in the event of flooding. My first contact with the TRVWMD was with chief engineer, Richard Bryant. Along with Steve Wallace, Executive Director, they promised help with our drainage problems shortly after the flooding of May 2, 2010. Three 4/23/2013 Excavator loads Street Department dump with one of 30+ loads of trees and brush removed from years later, I'm pleased to say they certainly delivered on their promises. We should wish all Elam Creek government agencies worked so well. My purpose in trying to document what I've observed about the work of the TRVWMD, both here in the City of Corinth and on other projects in Alcorn County, is I believe it is hardly known and not sufficiently appreciated. Much like our plumbing which is seldom a matter of thought when it is working well, becomes of life-changing importance when it is broken. Most of the work of the TRVWMD goes on in areas so remote, few people ever see them in action. Their work here in Corinth was a rare exception. I'm pleased to have been able to observe and document. On May 23, 2013, the
7/15/2013 TRVWMD long boom excavator clearing the Hatchie
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BPECDD held an Appreciation Luncheon for the TRVWMD crew. On August 1, 2013, Joe Duncan with the Hatchie Drainage District also recognized the TRVWMD crew with a Fish Fry luncheon. Both occasions were made possible with the help of Patrick Poindexter at the MSU Extension Service, Sandy Mitchell with the Alcorn County Soil Conservation District and Stephanie Sandy, local historian. As I look back over the work that the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District has completed here in Corinth and Alcorn County, I cannot help but appreciate the wisdom, leadership and luck that led our past supervisors to become one of the original seven counties who joined together to create the TRVWMD. Our drainage canals here in Corinth and Alcorn County are part of almost 1,500 miles built here in the hill country of Northeast Mississippi since the turn of the last century. By the time the TRVWMD was first created in 1962 (the year I graduated from high school) most of the history of that drainage work had all been forgotten. The TRVWMD 5/23/2013 Alcorn Board of Supervisors President has fortunately filled a giant gap in our Lowell Hinton expresses appreciation to TRVWMD Field preparedness to maintain this forgotten Supervisor Mike Phillips at BPECDD Appreciation drainage infrastructure which is essential to our Luncheon ability to continue to safely live and work the land which was developed as a result of this drainage work over 100 years ago.
The Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District this year celebrates 50 years of service to the people of Northeast Mississippi. The TRVWMD was created at the time of the completion of a major water resource which itself was almost 100 years in the making, the Tombigbee River Waterway. The TRVWMD has accumulated half a century of experience in using modern equipment and manpower to solve the evolving problems with our water and historic drainage infrastructure in Northeast Mississippi. We recognize and salute the staff and personnel of the TRVWMD, working largely behind the scenes, as unsung heroes in the lives of the people of Northeast Mississippi.
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Henry Clay Moore's Park in Corinth, Mississippi
Most everyone my age remembers and enjoyed the movies featuring Indiana Jones. George Lucas created one of the most popular fictional film heros of all time in a series of action adventure films during the 1980's. In 2003, the American Film Institute ranked Indiana Jones as the second greatest film hero of all time. Largely forgotten now, but Corinth can claim a swashbuckling adventurer – Henry Clay Moore - as part of the history of our city whose adventures were almost as unbelievable as any of Indiana Jones. This was at a time before the invention of automobiles or airplanes and when most residents of Alcorn (then part of Tishomingo) County lived their entire lives without ever adventuring outside the county. Moore's Park was near the end of Liddon Lake Road where the back nine holes of Hillandale Golf Course are located, behind and near Tractor Supply. The area is near the junction where Phillips Creek ends as it joins Bridge Creek in the middle of the golf course. Bridge Creek flows South past Tractor Supply, under Highway 72, and beside where Liddon Lake was once located. Bridge Creek turns West behind Wal-Mart and continues West to the Tuscumbia River. All of this area was dredged by the Bridge and Phillips Creek Drainage Districts around 1913 with the aid of a dipper dredge and a little over 2,000 pounds of dynamite. This is where the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District finished their last project in Corinth in 2013, one hundred years later, and removed the huge oak tree shown at the beginning of
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this newsletter. Henry Clay Moore was born near Corinth in McNairy County, Tennessee, on October 23, 1852, the son of Washington Franklin Moore and Elizabeth (Saunders) Moore. Mr. Moore was a very private person and left little in the way of personal, first-hand accounts of his adventures. What little we know is usually from newspaper accounts, hearsay and family stories. Mr. Moore would have been around ten years old when the Civil War came to Corinth. His family was well off by comparative standards, owning 1,200 acres of land, a family of slaves, and a cotton gin near Michie by the census of 1860. Like most in the South, their fortunes undoubtedly suffered during the Civil War and by 1875, Henry C. Moore was shown in a business directory of Corinth with a grocery business on the Northeast corner of Waldron and Fillmore Streets where the Alcorn Chancery building is located today. In 1876 Moore left Corinth and traveled to Mexico to go to work for a mining enterprise. The California Gold Rush had ended by 1855 but the transcontinental railroad had been completed in 1869 which opened the world from east to west and likely facilitated the return of some “49ers� who had made the arduous journey to California when the gold rush began. Henry was likely influenced by someone with past experience and knowledge of mining and geology. After the Civil War, the South was a pretty economically depressed place. Henry Clay Moore was apparently drawn to mining and the lure of undiscovered mineral wealth when he left Corinth for Mexico to begin a career of adventure, discovery and mining. Across the world, diamonds had been discovered in South Africa near Kimberly around 1868. In 1870 another young man, a year younger than Moore, by the name of Cecil Rhodes had been sent to South Africa to work for his brother who managed a cotton farm there. After his brother's cotton farm failed, Rhodes and his brother moved to Kimberly in 1871 where the supply of easily accessed surface diamonds had begun to run out. Financed by N M Rothschild & Sons, he succeeded over the next 17 years in buying up all the smaller diamond mining operations in the area and formed De Beers Mining Company. Since that time, De Beers has maintained a virtual monopoly over the supply of diamonds worldwide and controlled their price and availability. Rhodes' vast diamond wealth allowed him to embark on his political ambitions which made him the most influential man in South African and British Imperial history of the last century. The continuing scholarships established from his estate still remind us of his lasting influence- Rhodes Scholars. Gold was discovered in 1886 in what was previously the Transvaal, formerly an independent state settled by the Dutch Boers, in an area where the present day South African city of Johannesburg is located. The area of the historic Witwatersrand Gold Rush is famous for being the source of 40% of the gold ever mined from the earth. It was around this time that Henry C. Moore left Mexico and Lobengula, Matabeles King Page 9/18
went to South Africa to pursue his fortunes. Further North of the Transvaal where gold was discovered was an extremely remote, interior area of South Africa which was to later become Southern Rhodesia and today is Zimbabwe. Lobengula was the King of the Matabeles who were originally a branch of the Zulus who had migrated north to flee from the Zulu King Shaka, who we all remember from the 1986 TV series. Lobengula was the ruler of a remote area of Southern Africa which was surrounded on all sides by colonial powers who were vying to control and exploit the vast mineral resources being found throughout the largely unexplored country. Henry C. Moore at some time after 1886 went into Lobengula's territory and on October 12, 1888, the Corinth Herald reprinted a Cape Times August 27, 1888, report that Moore had gained the concession of mining rights to Mashonaland, a Providence in what later became Rhodesia, then Zimbabwe. Today, in Zimbabwe the area is a tobacco-growing district and a town is located there still known as Moore's Concession. Later, Cecil Rhodes obtained a concession from Lobengula for all of Rhodesia. By most accounts, Lobengula was promised a long list of things by Rhodes which never made it into the final agreement. Since Lobengula couldn't read, he never knew what he signed. Presumably to perfect his own title, Cecil Rhodes purchased Moore's Concession for some consideration of cash and shares in the British South Africa Company. The source of Moore's reputed great wealth will probably never be known- whether it was this mining concession, gold, or other ventures. Moore was an avid hunter and also could have achieved great wealth at this time from the ivory trade. A June 14, 1904 article in the Weekly Corinthian reprinted a New Orleans, LA, Daily Times story which reported that “Henry C. Moore of Corinth, Miss., has shot more than 1,000 elephants and has the finest private collection of zoological specimens in the world.” The famous British explorer, David Livingston, had visited the same area of present day Zimbabwe in the 1870's and observed that “...In passing the Elephant Marsh, we saw nine large herds of elephants; they sometimes formed a line two miles long.” Whatever the source, Henry C. Moore, returned often to his home town and shared some of the fruits of his adventures. The Corinth Herald on June 6, 1895 reported: "Mr. Henry Clay Moore, after spending some weeks with relatives and friends in Corinth and vicinity, left last Friday evening, via New York and London, for Cape Colony, Africa. Mr. Moore will, perhaps, be gone one year, ere he returns. He expects to ultimately close up his business transactions in the far East and return to his old home, Corinth, and help us build up the country. We are pleased that he made this decision; and look forward eagerly to his return." Another Corinthian news account of Nov. 12, 1922 told his story in a very colorful manner: “Henry C. Moore, 70, who has a lifelong Corinth address but who has actually lived most of his life both amid dense and dangerous jungles hunting wild animals and amongst prestigious and powerful royalty shoring up his considerable fortune, leaves again this week on yet another exciting trip. His destinations? Central America. South America. And southern Africa. He knows these exotic lands as well as anyone, having spent much of his life in these areas.
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Mr. Moore, an intensely private bachelor, says, “I know I’m growing old, but I can’t stay away. I am happiest when pursuing the wild game of the jungle-land, when veering off the beaten path of civilized men and exploring for the unknown. So long as the call of the wild echoes even faintly, I suppose I’ll have to respond.” He says he will be back in Corinth in a few months, but he doesn’t know for sure. Sitting in his office chair, Mr. Moore stares gently at the nearby stuffed lion named Lobengula, as he absently muses, “No man who invades the distant, dangerous interior of Rhodesia can tell when he might return – if he ever does.” Mr. Moore is waiting for his new passport to arrive from the State Department in Washington, D.C. He is also expecting government permits to come in that will allow him to bring back some live animals and exotic birds. Since Mr. Moore began taking these fascinating trips more than 40 years ago, he has brought back all manner of wildlife for his own zoo on the outskirts of Corinth, for the Overton Park Zoo in Memphis, and for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. His favorite animal from all his travels seems to be the lion, Lobengula, mentioned above. Mr. Moore didn’t kill Lobengula. He captured him and kept him as a pet. After several years, he donated
Moore's Museum was in 3rd building on left, with balcony and arches him to the Smithsonian Institution zoo, and the lion became a main attraction there. The zookeepers
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were deathly afraid of Lobengula, saying he was the most vicious animal in captivity. However, on one of his visits to the Smithsonian, Mr. Moore drew near to the lion’s cage and called out “Lobengula!” in an African language. The lion roared immediately and rolled over happily like a house cat. This feared king of the jungle allowed Mr. Moore to rub its stomach, scratch behind its ears, and tug playfully on its gigantic mane. The zookeepers were speechless. When the lion died in 1907, Mr. Moore obtained the body and stuffed it for display in his office and museum in Corinth. But now, the silent, mystery man of Alcorn County has again heard “the call of the wild” and will soon be on his way searching for excitement and adventure at an age when most of us simply long for the rocking chair on the front porch.”
Moore's Park along Bridge Creek was opened in 1902. The area was subject to flooding back then as it is today. The Corinth Herald, April 3, 1902, reported: "The water mills of the surrounding country were greatly damaged in the flood of last week. The John Leach mill was washed off its foundations, while the dams at Hinton's mill, Vanderford's and many others were badly washed out." "The Mooreville Park Co. have added several more fowls and animals to their collection in the
park. The fish lake dam was severely tested during the recent deluge and was only saved by hard
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work. It will be improved and strengthened soon." "From all reports all the bridges except one of the three levees, Smith Bridge, Polk and Whitmore, were washed away or badly wrecked during the flood last week. We have heard of no more lives being lost, but many head of cattle and colts were drowned." (Weather records show Corinth received 8.27” of rain over 2 days on March 28-29, 1902) The Weekly Corinthian, August 24, 1904, reported “H.C.Moore...purchased over $12,000 worth of … animals to add to his collection at Moore Park. He had been trying for sometime to secure a pair of buffalo and … succeeded in purchasing three, a bull and two cows. He also bought some fine specie of deer. A number of European geese and other fowl have lately been secured.” In addition to his museum and park in Corinth, Moore purchased the Idlewild Hotel near Indian Creek where it enters Reelfoot Lake near Samburg, TN, and kept it for his own hunting and fishing use. Judson C. Martin, owner and editor of the Weekly Corinthian was a friend and frequent companion. The Weekly Corinthian, June 3, 1902 reported: "A trip to Realfoot Lake, enjoying the hospitality of Mr. H. C. Moore ... A Corinthian representative, with Mr. Moore made the trip this week ... Leaving Corinth at 9:30 at night a three hours sleep ended at Union City [TN]; a double team awaits, the liveryman assures us they are the 'best babes' we ever drew rain over, and off in the moonlight we are gone ... The 18 to 20 miles to Mr. Moore's 'Idlewild' station on the Lake are covered in two hours and a little more ... Mr. Moore owns valuable property along the lake shore, about 300 acres of rich farm and timber. At his 'Idlewild" sets a commodious hotel building ... This house is not used except when Mr. Moore visits ...."
Lobengula, the lion, named for the African chieftain who granted Moore's Concession was donated by Moore to the National Zoo and died in 1907
As a historic observation, it is ironic to me that two pioneer aviators came from our area of Northeast Mississippi and both used lion cubs to garner a little extra publicity in their careers.
Dick" Merrill and Princess Doreen. ( National Air & Space Museum Archives)
Roscoe Turner and Gilmore (National Air and Space Museum Archives) Page 13/18
Roscoe Turner was Corinth's native son and Henry Tyndall "Dick" Merrill came from nearby Iuka. Henry C. Moore's Museum on Waldron Street was such an attraction, I am sure both boys visited a stuffed Lobengula and were influenced for a lifetime. Roscoe paid for his lion Gilmore's retirement and visited him at the animal farm. News accounts of Roscoe's visits with Gilmore in the 1940's are almost identical to the story above of Moore's visit to Lobengula in the National Zoo. When Gilmore died, Roscoe had him stuffed and preserved and he resides today in a cooler of the Smithsonian archives in Washington. Henry C. Moore's museum in Corinth had to be an unbelievable attraction of its time. The Weekly Corinthian, June 24, 1902 reported: "Work on the interior of Henry C. Moore's museum and palatial reception rooms, on Waldron street is nearing completion and within a few days will be open to the public. The place has been greatly overhauled with very expensive mechanism and artistic touches. A fine polished oak stairway leads to the apartments; the floors are of polished work in mahogany, oak and maple in parquette design, giving the appearance of tiling and to all practical uses much better and more comfortable than the mineral floor surface. The display of mounted animals and birds which form the museum, has been greatly enlarged and larger glass cases are arranged in neat position. In the front, adjoining the museum, is an elegantly furnished room for the use of Mr. Moore and the comfort and convenience of visitors. It has all the appointments of ease and luxury, being richly carpeted, ceiling and walls done in elegant oil paintings, fine Eastern oak wainscotting, and furnished with everything that is needed for comfort. A library will form part of the furnishings, and it is the owner's purpose to put in a fine piano with pianola attachments, when he returns from his European trip this summer. At the head of the stairway to the left and adjoining the reception room is a pleasant, cozy 'den' for the use of visitors as a 'smoker.'" In the partitions of this place fine silk curtains of rich lace linings and elegant insertion borders will be hung; these curtains were made in Paris by special order. The embellishments, decorations, etc. throughout the entire floor have been put in with an artistic and painstaking eye to harmony in color and design. When the building is completed the exterior will be adorned with a porch in stone and brick of the Moorish style of architecture." Unfortunately, the entire block containing Henry C. Moore's museum and the Opera House burned in the great fire of December 28, 1924. After his death on July 26, 1930, Moore's park went untended until Hillandale Country Club was expanded in 1966. My friend, engineer Robert Scott IV, recalled such an amazing description of its condition at that time that I'm pleased to add it to our drainage history by inclusion in this newsletter. Today, ownership of Hillandale Country Club has passed to Mr. James Daniel, owner of SMC Recycling. I understand Mr. Daniel himself is known for bringing wild animals to Corinth, being the keeper of the “Shiloh Road Gorilla� of some local fame. Perhaps he will continue the historic legacy of Henry C. Moore along Bridge Creek. Page 14/18
The Back Nine by Robert A. Scott IV, PE, PS In the summer of 1966 I had just finished the eleventh grade at Kossuth High School and assumed the duties that I had “enjoyed” for the past several years as a surveyor’s helper. I had earned a place on my father’s crew a few years earlier and had gotten to be a pretty fair “hand” as head chainman, rodman, and sometimes instrument man. I remember Tom Strickland was working his way through engineering school at Mississippi State at the time and had worked for Daddy during prior summers. Tom was the crew chief for an important job just awarded to Scott Engineering Company to mark the boundaries of about 65 acres of bottom land belonging to Mrs. Gammel just north of the Hillandale Country Club. It seems the country club was to acquire the property in order to develop nine more holes to add to the nine already in existence. The back nine added to the front nine would enhance the club’s status by bringing it up to the regulation eighteen holes. Sixty-five acres is not a big task for any surveyor with modern equipment. However, in 1966 as it is today, there is more to marking property boundaries than starting out to measure from a stick, fence corner, iron pin, or the like and heading in a direction dictated by a compass, or global positioning system equipment. I am sure someone (probably Daddy, or Tom Strickland) had done the appropriate records research in the courthouse, interviewed the buyers, sellers, and neighbors and had done some reconnaissance work at the site. I do not remember the first few days’ work, as it was uneventful and easier going in the beginning. It became more difficult and exciting later. But in the beginning we were given some directives about where to start, what direction to go, what to look for, and what information should be gathered along the way. Out of curiosity I dug up the file in the office records today and found very little indication of the details of the day-to-day activities for the Gammel survey. A typical entry in the surveyor’s notebook would give the names of the workers, their duties, the serial number of the transit that was used, the date, and the weather conditions along with the notes for distance and direction and appropriate sketches. Notes were generally understated, such as the note for the weather conditions for one day in July: “Clear and hot.” The territory in question is prone to flooding in recent years as it lies near the confluence of Bridge and Phillips Creeks. These creeks have been the object of recent improvements to prevent such flooding under the auspices of the Bridge Phillips Elam Concurrent Drainage Districts and the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District. I recall some miserable days on my dad’s survey crew in the winter when the first thing that happened was that you got your feet and clothes wet and stayed damp, chilled and aggravated for the rest of the day. It was the winter episodes that taught me the value of good shoes and appropriate clothing for outdoor work. In the summer of 1966 the Gammel property was covered with dense underbrush under a scattered canopy of larger trees. The underbrush consisted of saw briers, honeysuckle, and an assortment of bushes such as huckleberry, oak, hickory, gum and others. The vines of the saw briers (Smilax rotundifolia) formed “a dense and impenetrable thicket” just as indicated in the
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dictionary.
Figure 1. Common greenbrier thicket (Smilax rotundifolia)
Figure 2. Smilax aristolochiifolia The photograph in Figure 1 does not indicate how tough these vines are to clear out of the way in order to drag the chain and to obtain a clear line of sight while doing a survey. I can tell you that your brush hook, or kaiser blade, must be well honed to be able to get much production. These briers were like trying to chop through a tangle of bailing wire.
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Figure 2 shows a botanical artist’s rendition of one of the many varieties of saw briers found in our region. Audubon could appreciate the pretty red berries, the curly tendrils of the shoots reaching out to embrace more territory, the shiny heart-shaped leaves, and needle sharp thorns on the stems. I just found out that the vines that were such an impediment to the progress of the survey crew and literally a bloody nuisance in the way they tore at our flesh and clothes were loaded with medicinal properties. It turns out that the saw brier and its cousins have been identified by herbalists from as early as 1590 as useful in the treatment for such maladies as syphilis, psoriasis, gout, and premenstrual syndrome. Plus, it can be used to make a tasty root beer. As we got deeper into the wilderness, the previously undisturbed rest enjoyed by all manner of creatures was jarred into angry activity due to our presence. Yellow jackets were plentiful, but being seasoned surveyors we brushed off the numerous attacks of these pesky creatures as if they were mere mosquitoes. We were so miserable under the onslaught of heat and briers that bugs were just inconvenient. Further into the jungle it seemed that every swing of the bush ax into a clump of the sometimes pretty and artistically arranged saw briers unleashed a swarm of big red wasps. Back then I had not read about the wonder of nature around Walden Pond as described by Emerson and Thoreau. So, all we could do was run when we hit those clumps of saw briers as we were first attacked by those giant, blood red, blue-winged wasps whose stingers must have been a quarter-inch long and dipped in a combination of strychnine and rattlesnake venom.
Figure 3. Red Wasp (Polistes Carolina) We rose to the occasion, however. Someone on the crew mentioned we ought to “burn them out.” Whereupon we proceeded to Biggers Hardware and purchased a pump-up garden sprayer that consisted of a galvanized metal tank equipped with an internal mechanism similar to a bicycle pump to pressurize the contents. A hand-actuated spray nozzle was attached to a length of hose so as to conveniently and typically direct the bug spray onto the cabbages or tomato plants. We were on a mission: we had murder in our hearts and vengeance on our minds. We
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filled the spray can with ethyl gas and proceeded back into the jungle. Any suspicious bush got a healthy dose of gasoline followed by a lit and thrown wooden match. Few red wasps escaped the fiery holocaust. It was very satisfying to mete out such complete revenge for the stings that we still felt. It became routine after a few hundred feet of brush chopping, gas spraying, and burning. Our overdone revenge on the now defenseless insects must have been frowned upon by a higher power because “karma” soon evened the score. Our methodology for murdering the wasps was: spray, step back, throw match, and watch the poor creatures try to get away from their burning homes. Having perfected this technique we looked with relish at a large undisturbed nest covered with two-inch long red wasps square in the middle of the line we were running. Tom Strickland sprayed a good dose of gas on the nest and I quickly threw the big wooden kitchen match onto the dripping bush. Flames burst from the bush reminiscent of those observed by Moses on Mount Horeb and instead of diminishing, the flames grew bigger! I looked at Tom whose face was pale beneath the smut of the fires we had started. He yelled, “The handle’s stuck! I can’t turn it off!” The fire was literally coming through the air along the stream emanating from the stuck nozzle. Tom waved it this way and that way as we dodged the deadly flames; knowing that at any moment the flames would reach Tom and the tank and we would all become a large-scale version of what we had done to the wasps. Well the episode ended happily for the humans when Tom pointed the nozzle straight up overhead and arched it back down the trail we had cut. The flaming arch extinguished itself for lack of fuel somewhere in mid air ten feet over our heads. Except for the entire event being burned into my memory, there are no notes in the survey book about the wasps or the gasoline. I am glad I survived those pre-OSHA days. I perceive a big gap between then and now; between the wilderness and the manicured back nine; and between misguided, simplistic approaches and well-engineered solutions.
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