Way Down Yonder in Plaquemines

By Janice P. Buras

A Louisiana historian presents the definitive history of Plaquemines Parish, the rich land that encompasses the mouth of the Mississippi River.

“Way down yonder, at the mouth of the Mississippi River sits a land like no other on this continent. A land occupied by man but belonging to a force greater than he.” So begins Janice P. Buras’ history of Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish (County). Land, however, is an imprecise term. The Plaquemines could be more accurately described as marsh, or swamp, or even water. Yet this isolated area has also been home to people of many different cultures throughout the history of Louisiana.

With some of the most fertile soil in the world, the varieties of plant life found in Plaquemines are almost as numerous as the many stories that arise on its riverbanks. In her crusade to spread the word about her beloved Plaquemines Parish, Buras has published a monthly magazine highlighting its people and events. Now this dedicated local historian has written the definitive history of this unique corner of the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 30, 1996
• ISBN: 9781455613915

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

PASSAGEWAY TO THE NEW WORLD

The coastal peninsula of Plaquemines Parish, in the state of Louisiana, juts out into the Gulf of Mexico. Through its very center travels the Mississippi River. Many who have never been to the area believe that the city of New Orleans sits at the mouth of the river. Not so. A world exists below that point that teems with historical significance. A world that has lost much of its heritage to the wrath of mother nature and her child, the Mississippi River.

Written words and a few deteriorating landmarks are the only remaining evidence of the lost communities at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The river builds up deep silts, forming rich lands along its path. Years pass; man establishes homes and businesses on the river's gifts, only to have her change her path or devour the soil beneath them.

The life that is not disturbed by the river is by no means secure in this part of the world. Periodically, monstrous hurricanes destroy what man and river has built, making life at the mouth of the river uncertain and perilous.

For years after the New World had been discovered the misty mires of the river's delta rested undisturbed. The Mighty Mississippi was constantly depositing silt from the lands of the Rockies and below to form lifted lands at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico.

One hundred and fifty miles of alluvial soils formed along the banks of the Mississippi River to form Plaquemines Parish. The name Plaquemines, from the Indians, means Persimmon, so named because of the abundant trees loaded with yellow fruit that grew in the area.

The extraordinary makeup of the terrain in the delta can only be surpassed by the extraordinary flavor of its population, a mixture of races representing almost every continent in the world. The result - a unique society unlike any other to be found.

Accounts of who was actually the first to explore the delta have never been recorded. A 1507 Admiral's Map by Americus Vespucci indicates a small peninsula jutting into the Gulf of Mexico with a large river to its east. The map shows a three-clawed extension of a river on the peninsula that extends into a large body of water.

In speculation, these could easily be explained as the three main passes branching from the Mississippi River toward the Gulf of Mexico that are a part of the terrain of lower Plaquemines Parish. But, many historians feel that Vespucci's travels didn't advance that far into the Gulf, leaving an unanswered question as to who first saw the lands and placed them on a chart.

Spaniard Alvarez de Pineda traveled the Gulf coast in 1519 and logged a very large and very deep stream he dubbed River of the Holy Ghost. Early historians thought that he may have found the Mississippi Delta.

But he and his men spoke of gold-filled Indian huts and redskins of towering heights living alongside tribes of dwarfs. The explorers told embellished stories of Indians wearing decorations of metal in their ears and noses, all contradictory to what life would have been along the marshy lands of the Delta.

Nevertheless, these tales strengthened a search for Cities of Gold in the New World. It also increased the probability of someone discovering the great river known today as the Mississippi and the mouth of that source.

Pamphilo De Narvaez sailed to Florida in 1528, searching for the Cities of Gold. The records of this entourage are some of the first showing proof of man at the mouth of the river. The group fought humidity, mosquitoes and inclement weather in their search for the baroque cities they had heard tales of from their predecessors. Indian massacres along the eastern Gulf coast ultimately left Narvaez's expedition hopelessly lost and without vessels.

The determined group was not going to easily give up life or their thirst for wealth. In an effort to survive and to quench their lust for gold, the group fabricated two crude boats from available materials, fashioned ropes from their horses hair and used their spurs to shape spikes. The piteous group then made a meal of their horses before setting sail further westward along the coast. Unknowingly, the group was traveling toward the river that could open the doors to the vast North American continent.

One stormy afternoon after a month of sailing the men took notice that the waters below were gray-brown and murky. They thought they were still some distance from the coast in what they assumed to be the salt waters of the Gulf, but brown waters meant land was near.

When the group lowered containers into the fathoms below they were surprised to taste fresh water, confirming their belief that they were close to land. Jubilated, they searched for an entrance to the river, venturing toward the fresh water source ahead. Thoughts of a safe haven before them rejuvenated the haggard group. The struggles of their gruesome journey were momentarily placed behind them.

Nearer they drew toward the opening of water flowing through the land just ahead. The boats began to toss and pound as they approached the treacherous current, eddies, and waves where the river meets the gulf. The brave crew fought for two days to enter the river before their ships were separated.

Desperation spawned Narvaez to issue his last order to the crews; everyone should do what he thought best to save the ships. A fatal last command. The ships were lost and most of the party drowned including Narvaez.

There now remained only four wretched souls of the original party of several hundred. Because the boats were swamped near the mouth of the river, it is assumed by most that the remaining crew traveled the lands of the Delta before setting out on a miraculous journey through the South and Southwest. These were the first assumed steps on the Mississippi Delta in Plaquemines Parish.

The conclusion to the story of the four pathetic survivors of Narvaez's crew is a sad and woeful tale that should be mentioned out of respect for the stalwart, tenacious band. The group resumed their travels and search for treasures on a westward course.

Eight years later, fellow Spaniards in the California area along the Pacific Ocean witnessed the four men's end to their wanderings. Exhausted, bedraggled, and disillusioned the group never found the great riches they had dreamed of in the new world.

The next recorded visitors to the river's mouth began under the supervision of Hernando DeSoto. Officials records show that DeSoto led a cruel and terrorizing expedition from Florida through the current southern states. He and his band of men tortured and murdered all Indians along the way in retaliation for not meeting their demands for gold.

During the trip DeSoto died along a river and his men fled the area and hostile Indian tribes via a large stream flowing southward. The men had stumbled upon the Mississippi River. They battled the surges of the river for five hundred miles until they reached the Gulf, a trip haunted by constant attacks of fighting red men.

Thus, a flight of terror by treasure seeking Spaniards opened a door to the entrance of the new world. Their documented facts gave prove to the theory that three passes of the Mississippi were the entranceway to the continent. However, their unpleasant tales of the horror along the river discouraged any development or exploration along the region by others for nearly fifty years.

A small number of secret and obscure explorations by the Spaniards were conducted during those years but their discoveries were never shared. A greedy and devious plan of secrecy had been developed by the Spaniards to prevent other countries from entering the river from the Gulf and possibly claiming the lands. The river was left off of some Spanish maps or the gulf was identified as a lake. On other Spanish maps a large number of Spanish settlements were recorded to discourage outside interests from other countries.

The few true records of exploration and detailed reports by the early Spanish explorers are a part of the lost mystic surrounding the mouth of the river. Over the years all documentations were destroyed by fires and other calamities in Cuba and Spain.

Meanwhile, the French had ideas of their own; a trip on the waterways reaching from the north to the southernmost corridor could place the French on the valuable lands of the delta. France considered the North American continent open territory; they recognized no validity in Spain's claim to the new lands. Robert Cavalier de LaSalle, a former seminarian, embarked on an expedition from the lands of Canada on December 21, 1681, with a vision of occupation of the entire Mississippi Valley by France.

LaSalle and his crew of forty-nine people floated down the river making occasional stops at Indian villages along the way. The men in this entourage had been accustomed to lives of gentlemanly leisure or monastery enclosures. They were now rugged