To me this is showboating. You're talking about rural Mississippi/Arkansas people potentially at the stick. Depending on which way the wind was blowing, assuming he was dusting cotton, crossing the river twice is not uncommon. I haven't talked to the company yet to get the lowdown on what they precisely witnessed, but they're just as paranoid as the rest of us.
It's not an event in my book. Showboating is my take.