East Coast Trip Day 5 & 6

Day 5,
Travel day, nothing to report.

Day 6,

Got off to an early start today and headed for New Orleans.

We stopped at “Laura”, a Sugar Cane Plantation in Vacherie, LA. It was a very eye opening experience to actually see how the Plantation owners lived as compared to how the slaves lived.

 

We were told that you had to be a French Citizen and Catholic to own a plantation in Louisiana.

Sugar Cane Plantations on the Mississippi River in 1858

Approximately 450

Laura Locoul (The last owner of the slave worked plantation) was born when Lincoln was president and died when John F. Kennedy president. Laura sold the plantation for $20,000. 

The Family Tree of he Duparc-Locoul family

 

To own a slave there were rules the Master and the Slaves had to abide by. You will have to click on the photo to read it as the originals were faded.

Rules of Discipline by King Louis of France

 

Runaway Slaves were dealt with harshly. We were told that one slave that ran away was recaptured and branded with Laura's great grandmother Annette Prud 'Homme's initials on both sides of his face. Laura's was just a child and unaware of this punishment until years later. As a result she later sold the plantation for a song at $20,000.

Runaway Slaves from the Duparc Plantation

Slave values were based on age, gender and capability. Even a slave considered a "Lunatic" was worth $10,000. Check out the value of the slaves below.

Slave Values for the Duparc Plantation

When we left the motorhome for the tour, We placed both dogs in their dog kennel. When we finished the tour and got back to the motorhome, we saw Ellie standing in the drivers seat looking out the window at us. Poor Wall-E was still locked inside his. Ellie has somehow figured out how to unzip her kennel.