rivers, its mudless bottom was all gravel and its channels changed from year to year.
Larry found Clayton wading in knee deep water examining frog eggs deposited on aquatic plant leaves. Thirty feet upstream children splashed in the shallow water while farther upstream older boys jumped off a twenty foot bluff into the “swimmin’ hole.” Between the jumpers and the splashers was a fly fisherman in waders, casting a fly in toward the bank. Larry, wearing a tee-shirt, shorts, and sneakers, emerged from the wooded path by the edge of the river.
“What's the status of that grouping?” Larry asked Clayton, who was only a few feet from the shore.
“Looks good. The eggs are firm and well dispersed,” Clayton responded.
Larry waded out into the clear shallow river. “I've never seen a river so clear. Back home they were pretty muddy. And the water's so warm.”
“The Jack’s Fork is shallow enough for the sun to keep it warm. Frogs proliferate quite well in this warm lazy water,” Clayton responded without looking up, continuing to turn leaves over in his hands to examine the attached eggs. “We’ve collected some good data on the frogs in this area, so tomorrow I want to start collecting data on frogs that live in cold water.” He then raised his head and looked directly at Larry. “Break out the camping gear because tonight we'll be sleeping on a gravel bar at Two Rivers Ranch.”
“The what ranch?”
“Two Rivers. It’s a commercial tourist resort about twelve miles from here where the Jack’s Fork and the Current River hit head on. The water in the Current River is much deeper and swifter, and definitely much colder . . . spring fed,” Clayton explained as he straightened to his full stature and arched his back backwards to stretch his tired muscles. “You’ll see the differences in how the frogs adapt to the colder water.”
The head waters of the Current River had their source at Montauk Spring, a large artesian spring flowing about forty-five million gallons per day. It was located about thirty miles northwest of Eminence and not too far from Salem, Missouri. The cold spring water was perfect for the trout hatchery operated there by the Missouri State Department of Wild Life.
Over the course of the next 125 miles the Current River was fed by almost a dozen other springs, each of which dumped over fifty million gallons of cold water a day into it. The largest of these was located just outside the town of Van Buren, about thirty-five miles southeast of Eminence and was ironically, and uncreatively, named Big Spring . This one spring alone added over 290 million gallons of daily flow to the river. Big Spring was the largest fresh water spring in America.
Most of the Ozark springs were relatively calm, and even though they may produce several million gallons of water daily, their surfaces were smooth and glassy. Not so with Big Spring. The spring’s water gushed to the surface with such force that it appeared to boil out of the ground in violent eruptions, sending plumes of ice cold water several feet into the air.
In addition to the dozen or so major springs, there were dozens of others that flowed between one million and fifty million gallons daily, along with thousands of smaller springs dotting the Current River basin. These springs added half again as much combined water as did the major springs, ensuring that the Current River would forever flow cold and clear.
=/\=
C HAPTER F IVE
Barber Shop
The Eminence Barber Shop was owned and operated by Ezekiel Pyrtle, though everyone just called him Zeek. He descended from a line of four consecutive generations of oldest sons, each of whom had learned the art of barbering from his father.
It was rumored that Zeek’s great-grandfather had been a great hero. He saved the town’s bank from being robbed by giving Jesse James a shave. According to the legend, in 1875 Jesse and his gang had ridden into town intent on holding up the bank. To their
Larry found Clayton wading in knee deep water examining frog eggs deposited on aquatic plant leaves. Thirty feet upstream children splashed in the shallow water while farther upstream older boys jumped off a twenty foot bluff into the “swimmin’ hole.” Between the jumpers and the splashers was a fly fisherman in waders, casting a fly in toward the bank. Larry, wearing a tee-shirt, shorts, and sneakers, emerged from the wooded path by the edge of the river.
“What's the status of that grouping?” Larry asked Clayton, who was only a few feet from the shore.
“Looks good. The eggs are firm and well dispersed,” Clayton responded.
Larry waded out into the clear shallow river. “I've never seen a river so clear. Back home they were pretty muddy. And the water's so warm.”
“The Jack’s Fork is shallow enough for the sun to keep it warm. Frogs proliferate quite well in this warm lazy water,” Clayton responded without looking up, continuing to turn leaves over in his hands to examine the attached eggs. “We’ve collected some good data on the frogs in this area, so tomorrow I want to start collecting data on frogs that live in cold water.” He then raised his head and looked directly at Larry. “Break out the camping gear because tonight we'll be sleeping on a gravel bar at Two Rivers Ranch.”
“The what ranch?”
“Two Rivers. It’s a commercial tourist resort about twelve miles from here where the Jack’s Fork and the Current River hit head on. The water in the Current River is much deeper and swifter, and definitely much colder . . . spring fed,” Clayton explained as he straightened to his full stature and arched his back backwards to stretch his tired muscles. “You’ll see the differences in how the frogs adapt to the colder water.”
The head waters of the Current River had their source at Montauk Spring, a large artesian spring flowing about forty-five million gallons per day. It was located about thirty miles northwest of Eminence and not too far from Salem, Missouri. The cold spring water was perfect for the trout hatchery operated there by the Missouri State Department of Wild Life.
Over the course of the next 125 miles the Current River was fed by almost a dozen other springs, each of which dumped over fifty million gallons of cold water a day into it. The largest of these was located just outside the town of Van Buren, about thirty-five miles southeast of Eminence and was ironically, and uncreatively, named Big Spring . This one spring alone added over 290 million gallons of daily flow to the river. Big Spring was the largest fresh water spring in America.
Most of the Ozark springs were relatively calm, and even though they may produce several million gallons of water daily, their surfaces were smooth and glassy. Not so with Big Spring. The spring’s water gushed to the surface with such force that it appeared to boil out of the ground in violent eruptions, sending plumes of ice cold water several feet into the air.
In addition to the dozen or so major springs, there were dozens of others that flowed between one million and fifty million gallons daily, along with thousands of smaller springs dotting the Current River basin. These springs added half again as much combined water as did the major springs, ensuring that the Current River would forever flow cold and clear.
=/\=
C HAPTER F IVE
Barber Shop
The Eminence Barber Shop was owned and operated by Ezekiel Pyrtle, though everyone just called him Zeek. He descended from a line of four consecutive generations of oldest sons, each of whom had learned the art of barbering from his father.
It was rumored that Zeek’s great-grandfather had been a great hero. He saved the town’s bank from being robbed by giving Jesse James a shave. According to the legend, in 1875 Jesse and his gang had ridden into town intent on holding up the bank. To their
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