The Wabash Raft Trip

By Caleb Ader

Energetic, overjoyed, excited. This was the way I felt before we started down the river. How did I feel after we set out on the water? ULTRA-Energetic, ULTRA-Overjoyed, ULTRA-Excited. These are just some of the adjectives I could use to describe what I saw and what I experienced on the Wabash raft trip. As we drifted down the Wabash, the signs of pollution were horrendous; there was a bus that was one fourth of the way submerged in the Wabash as it was, and at its high point the river would almost cover one half of the bus. If that’s not pollution I don’t know what is. The bus in the water does have an up side, because it was probably placed there to prevent bank erosion, but it is now a form of pollution.

I saw much plant and animal life, and observed a lot of foliage. I was able to observe many trees, and identify them, because, prior to the raft trip my class did a project of collecting leaves, and identifying the trees that that leaf came from, so I was ready for this part of the trip. Another point of high standing with me was the animal life. The most abundant animal I saw was fish. Well, mostly I saw Asian Carp-they were everywhere. They themselves are pollution. Introduced in the 1970s, these pesky fish have spread widely because when they are fingerlings, they are mistaken for a common bait fish. Asian Carp are very adaptive, mate very often, and use up the resources of the native fish. In addition to being a nuisance, they also pose a threat to the average fisherman. Certain specifies of Asian Carp, such as the Silver Carp, are known for their leaping ability, and can jump up into the boats and injure, or even kill the fisherman, by hitting him in the head. These peculiar fish are known to leap from the vibration of an outboard motor, or a small electric charge sent through the water. We experienced one instance where a school of Silver Carp got caught up in a branch that had fallen in the water. Then about 15 or 16 fish started jumping all over the place trying to get out of their branchy prison.

After we got to the sandbar we had lunch and then the learning began. The first station my group went to was Senator Waterman’s. At his station we learned about the French fur traders, and how the weeping heart on a tomahawk meant that they were a friendly trader. At the second station we discussed the water table. At the third station we tested water. We learned about Global Positioning Systems at the fourth station. We then rowed to Hutsonville and helped put the rafts into the trailer. All in all, I had a fun day.

8th grader at Rural Community Academy in Graysville, Indiana