Johnny Cash was bigger than life. But while the
details of the music legend's life and career have become the stuff of myth,
in reality Cash had a dark side that was even darker than you might know.
Like the time he almost single-handedly caused the extinction of an entire species.
How did it happen? Well, to explain that,
first you have to understand who Cash was and what he went through.
In his 71 years on Earth, Johnny Cash encountered enough trials and tribulations to last multiple
lifetimes. Born during the Depression, the future country and rock 'n' roll legend grew up poor in
northeast Arkansas. At the young age of 12, his older brother Jack died in a gruesome accident,
and their father took it out on Johnny — as dramatized in the biopic "Walk the Line."
Years later, he rose to great fame as a musician
but also famously dealt with drug and alcohol problems for much of his adult life.
The heartwarming version of his story says that once he fell in love with future wife June Carter,
he sobered up, got clean, and went straight. And they lived happily ever after.
But that's typically not how life with an addict works.
During his darkest times, when his substance abuse was at its worst,
Cash could be more than just self-destructive - he could be destructive, period.
That led to numerous run-ins with the law,
but one incident that has been nearly forgotten was arguably the worst of them all.
On June 27, 1965, Cash went camping with his nephew Damon Fielder at California's Los Padres
National Forest. According to “The Los Angeles Times,” both men argued for most of the trip,
as Fielder was bothered by his uncle's heavy drinking and pill-popping.
According to Fielder, that night Cash, apparently feeling the need to keep warm,
made a fire. Unfortunately, the fire quickly spread out of control
and ended up destroying more than 500 acres of land and killing 49 critically
endangered California condors. Fielder believed that his uncle might have been
so wasted on booze and amphetamines that he allowed the blaze to go out of control.
Given the circumstances, it was no surprise that investigators held Cash liable for the fire.
While giving his sworn testimony in court, he told a different story from that of his nephew.
He claimed that a malfunctioning exhaust pipe on his camper was to blame for the blaze, quipping,
"I didn't do it, my truck did and it's dead, so you can't question it."
He also didn't appear to show remorse after his recklessness nearly caused an entire species
to go extinct, allegedly saying at one point, "I don't care about your damn yellow buzzards."
Per “The Vintage Times,” Cash was ultimately found guilty and fined
$82,000 for accidentally causing the wildfire. The California Condor, meanwhile,
officially went extinct in the wild in 1987, but breeding programs in captivity
have allowed the species to rebound slightly to just over 500 individuals in recent years.
It was far from the last time Cash's addictions would get him in trouble, not just with the law,
but with his family and closest loved ones. Despite the happy ending "Walk the Line" gave the
couple, Cash's marriage to June Carter wasn't all a fairy tale. Johnny and June's son, John Carter
Cash, revealed that, while his parents ostensibly had a perfect marriage, behind closed doors,
"[...] the suffering continued and it worsened, if anything, throughout the years."
That's because, according to “The Culture Trip,” Cash suffered the
first of what would become several relapses in 1977. After entering rehab that year,
he was drug-free once again ... only to relapse in 1983, again in 1989, then a fourth time in 1992.
"I could hear them talking around my bed, I'd be in a fog,
I could hear them talking about 'he may not pull through.'"
In his book, "Anchored in Love: The Life and Legacy of June Carter Cash,"
John Carter Cash went into greater detail about his parents' substance abuse
issues and oftentimes turbulent 35-year marriage.
However, he stressed that Johnny and June truly had “long-lasting” love for each other, saying,
"My parents’ love for each other lasted throughout their whole life [...] they didn't give up."
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please call the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Administration's 24/7 National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. That's 1-800-662-4357.