LES FRERES MICHOT
TRADITIONAL CAJUN MUSIC
1973
Michot Brothers paddle from Arkansas to the Gulf of Mexico through the Bayous and Rivers of Louisiana
April 17 - May 9, 1973
***
Lafayette Daily Advertiser
April 17, 1973
Steady Rains, High Water
No Barrier To Canoe Trip
Undaunted by steady rain and rising waters, two young Lafayette men, Tommy and David Michot, set out today on a one-month. 500 - mile canoe trip down the length of Louisiana.
The canoeists, sons of State Superintendent of Education Louis Michot, left Lafayette this morning and plan to put their canoe in on Bayou Bonne Idee, near Bonita (in North Louisiana near Bastrop) this afternoon.
The brothers will float and camp along the Ouachita and Red Rivers, and Bayous Black, Boeuf, and Teche before taking out at Patterson.
Although this is the longest trip the pair have attempted, it's not their first. Both experienced canoeists, Tommy, 22, and David, 18, have taken extensive canoe float-trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Ontario, Canada.
Photo caption:
OFF TO THE RIVER - High water and rains were no deterrent to two sons of Education Supt. Louis Michot, who are planning to canoe from Bastrop to Patterson. Shown as they left Lafayette this morning are, from left, David Michot, Lynn Comeaux and Tommy Michot. The Michot boys will make the trip. Comeaux is driving them to their departure point near Bastrop. Staff Photo by Manuel Chavez. SEE BELOW FOR IMAGE.
***
Lafavette Daily Advertiser
May 12, 1973
Brothers Tell Of Canoe Trek
It may not have been “white water" or raging rapids and forbidding waterfalls they had to traverse, but two Lafayette brothers, Tommy and David Michot, did have an exciting canoe trip when they floated down rivers in Louisiana from Arkansas to the Gulf.
Looking a little weary and bedraggled, the pair pulled their 17-foot canoe and their gear from Bayou Teche at Patterson on May 9, 23 days and 360 miles after they had embarked on their journey through the flood - swollen rivers and bayous of eastern Louisiana.
The Michot brothers began the float trip April 17 when they put the boat in at Bonita, on Bayou Bonne Idee, and when it was over, they had used 17 waterways for traveling, and had crossed through portions of 14 parishes.
Throughout the journey, the pair maintained a log, or daily journal of experiences, and they recorded the wildlife and types of vegetation they observed along the way.
Although they carried enough food to sustain themselves and made periodic treks into nearby towns to replenish supplies, Tommy and David attempted to “live off the land" whenever possible. They write of killing and cooking snakes, squirrels, and other animals, and they nearly had a meal of roast armadillo but it got away.
The first few days of the trip were rough going because of heavily - wooded streams and channels clogged by water lilies. As they wrote in the journal, April 19, about starting out, “Bayou Bonne Idee, c'est une mal idee!' Impossible to pass now because of lilies (which) made the bayou impassable and non-navigable." They eventually hitched a ride with a state Highway Department truck to Boeuf River about four miles away to continue the trip.
Weather made problems for them also, particularly the almost regular thunderstorms that drenched the state throughout their trip. April 25 was their first sunny day, according to the log, but even that day was marred by a violent storm in the early morning.
To speed their slow moving craft along (they estimated average speed at 3.16 miles per hour), the canoeists rigged a makeshift sail from a couple of paddles and a poncho. “Worked pretty good when we had a tail wind,” they noted.
While the trip was marked by serene, almost lonely hours on the water and camping along river-banks, the Michot's were treated well by people they met along the way who offered water and food to the young travelers. A few evenings were also spent with friends and relatives who lived on the route.
***
STATISTICS for the canoe trip:
Start date 04/17/73
End date 05/09/73
Total Miles 360
Total Days 23
Total Hours Paddling 114.05
Average Distance 16.40 miles/day
Average Speed 3.16 mph
Average Paddling Time 5.00 h/d
Waterways 17
Parishes 14
WATERWAYS
Bayou Bonne Idée
Boeuf River
Lake Lafourche
Irwin Lake
Bayou Lafourche
Ouachita River
Black River
Red River
Avoyelles Parish Swamp
Bayou Nachitoches
Lake Long
Lake Didier
Bayou des Glaises
Bayou Boeuf
Bayou Courtableau
Bayou Teche
Lower Atchafalaya River
PARISHES
Morehouse
West Carrol
Richland
Ouachita
Caldwell
Franklin
Catahoula
Concordia
Avoyelles
Evangeline
St. Landy
St. Martin
Iberia
St. Mary
Tommy and David at their grandmother's house on the Lower Atchafalaya River at the end of the canoe trip, 1973 (Photo by Pat Smith Michot).
Map of Louisiana showing the route (in dark green and circled in yellow) of the canoe trip of 1973; entire state (left or top) and zooms of the northern (middle) and southern (right or bottom) portions of the route.