The Swamp

The Swamp. . , The enslaved Africans who worked as cooks on the plantations had access to food supplies which aided runaways. The cypress swamps of Louisiana became a magnet for runaways and free blacks. A common bond developed between the African runaways and Native American tribes. Consequently, the two groups resisted capture together, plotted together, helped one another escape and intermarried. They developed a shared knowledge of medicine, geography, agriculture and technology., The Africans who were brought to America were forced to make use of plants and herbs available in the regions they had to live. Many had knowledge of the plants that were brought with them from Africa, but knowledge about the unfamiliar environment was taught to them by the Native Americans. It was also the vegetation of the wilderness and seeds sown by many, which provided the sustenance needed for the freedom seekers of the Louisiana Underground Railroad., Inset Captions, . The creole song. Bas de Flueve, tells us that these free people of the swamp gathered berries dwarf palmeettos roots, and sassafrass and went New Orleans to trade, Bas Du Fleuve. , Little ones without father, , Little ones without mother, , What do you do to earn money?, For making tea we collect sassafras , For making ink, we collect pokeberries' , And that's how we earn money.