Wild River Page #2

Now start getting the land cleared.

What do you mean I got her off?

What's holding you up?

I've been here one half day.

Yes. There's a possibility

that Biggs was right,

the only way to get her off

may be by force.

We can't use force.

What?

I'm sorry. I can't hear you.

A couple of senators

have got their teeth into us.

They'll use any incident

to destroy us.

I know that.

I'll call you in a couple of days.

Right. Goodbye.

You wanted to see me?

Too bad about this afternoon.

Old Joe John is unpredictable.

What do you want?

Ma says you got an apology

coming to you.

She's sorry about what happened.

Cal and Joe John are sorry.

Carol, she's sorry, too.

And me, I'm all busted up

about it.

If you come tomorrow,

Ma will talk to you.

You better hang them up,

they'll get crinkled down there.

What time?

Any time.

We don't go no place.

The say that President Roosevelt

has a new government, you know.

It's called the New Deal.

What do you think of that?

You know anything

about Mr. Roosevelt, son?

Yes ma'am.

I tell you Mr. Roosevelt

is gonna flood this island.

Yes, sir.

He's going to take the best land

in these parts

and put it right smack

under the Tennessee river.

You know these politicians,

they gotta get the votes.

Yes, they gotta get

the votes somehow.

So the President, he sits up there

in that big White House,

and says, "This country

is just going to the dogs. "

And the only way he can figure

to do anything to stop it

is to put my island under water.

What do you think of that?

I'm telling you this

because our friend,

in this end cabin here

sneaked off last night.

Yes, sir.

He just slipped out with his family,

in the middle of the night.

I ain't blaming him.

I ain't blaming him

because nobody wants

to be put under water permanent.

But I'm telling you all

right now,

don't go sneaking off

in the middle of the night.

Any of you want to go?

Any of you want to leave?

The ferry is down there

waiting for you

just any time you want to go.

Nobody keeping you here.

Hi.

You go off and join the government.

I understand they're gonna

put you on relief.

Now you just go

and get yourselves relieved

any time you want.

Me, I ain't going.

Sam.

Yes, Mrs. Ella?

How's "Old Blue"

running these days?

He's all right, Mrs. Ella.

I decided I gonna buy

"Old Blue", Sam.

What's that?

You heard me,

I said I want to buy "Old Blue".

How much you want for him?

I wouldn't want to sell "Old Blue".

I didn't ask

if you wanted to sell him.

I say I'm gonna buy him.

I gonna give you...

I'll give you 15 dollars for him.

What's the matter?

He ain't worth more than that.

No.

He ain't worth nothing,

but I ain't selling him.

You gotta sell him

because I'm going to buy him.

How am I gonna buy him

unless you sell him?

I don't know,

but I ain't gonna sell him.

Sam Johnson,

You is selling him.

No I ain't gonna.

"Old Blue" is mine and I ain't

gonna sell him even to you.

You ain't got no right

to make me.

That's true, Sam.

And come to think of it,

I don't have the right.

You see, young man,

Sam and me, we don't sell.

Sam don't sell his dog

and I don't sell my land that

I've poured my heart's blood into.

Joe John.

Joe John is real sorry

for what he done yesterday.

Ain't you, son?

That's all right, Joe John.

Mrs. Garth,

sometimes it happens

we can't remain true to our beliefs

without hurting many people,

and I'm afraid

this is one of those times.

You're the only person

who hasn't sold here.

That's all right with me.

Granma.

Yes, Carol?

What?

Nothing.

Young man, do you know

anything at all about land?

I believe so,

that's why I was sent down here.

When you go back to the ferry

pick up a handful of soil.

That's real bottom.

Thousands of tonnes of it

are being washed away every year.

Mrs. Garth, you don't love

the land. You love your land.

You know the Tennessee River

is a killer.

Year after year

it's taken many lives.

Isn't it plain common sense

to want to harness it?

You know what that will mean?

Today, 98 of the people

in this valley have no electricity.

The dam will bring them

the electricity.

I expect that's what you call

progress, isn't it?

No, sir.

I don't.

Taking away peoples souls,

putting electricity in place of them

ain't progress.

Not the way I see it.

We're not doing that. We're giving

them a chance to have a soul.

And it isn't just this dam.

It's dam after dam after dam.

We aim to tame this whole river.

You do? I like things running wild.

Like nature meant.

There's already enough dams

locking things up, taming them,

making them go against

their natural wants and needs.

I'm against dams of any kind.

You can get me off by force,

I reckon.

It won't take much force,

but it will take some.

That's the only way

you'll ever get me off here,

because I ain't going

against nature

and I ain't crawling

for no damn government.

Mrs. Garth, we don't want

to put you off by force.

What's going to happen to you?

Me?

I'll show you.

If you come with me,

I'll show you.

Now, read it out.

"Woodbridge Garth,

born 1839, died 1889".

Now that one.

"Ella Garth,

born 1853, died... "

I stay right here

in this land.

The water would never

come up this far, would it?

Young man,

my husband come down this river

in a flat bottom boat

when he was nothing but a boy.

There wasn't even a road

anywhere then.

He was looking for an island.

And he took this one.

That near field there

was all trees, you know.

That one down there

nothing but a damn swamp.

He cleared it.

He drained the fields,

he cleaned the brush,

he cut down them trees.

He worked himself to death

just to make these fields

and he told me never to get off,

and I ain't.

I ain't.

I'm getting a little tired.

Goodbye.

Why haven't you gotten her off?

You know what's coming.

Don't look to me. I was born here.

I know what she's talking about.

You've gotta believe it,

if she has to leave, it'll kill her.

People don't die as easy as that.

There's some people like that.

We'll get her a nice house

with a radio, a modern kitchen.

You don't know her.

You love her, don't you?

And you're afraid of her.

Not really.

I think if anyone has a chance

of reaching her, it would be you.

Was that your little girl?

I have a little boy, too.

One of those men

isn't your husband?

My uncles.

Where's your husband?

I'm sorry.

How long have you lived here

with here?

Since my husband died.

We lived on the other bank,

in a white house. Did you see it?

Yes, I did. Yeah.

Well, when he died,

I just locked the door

and took my two babies

and come over here to Granma.

How old were you when he died?

Nineteen.

Nineteen?

And you have two children.

I plain gave up.

But Granma doesn't believe

in giving up.

Yes, I kind of gathered that.

She gave me her savings

and sent me off to Jennings college

to better myself.

I tried it a whole year,

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