the rule of red and green gold

Every plant pointed out by Captain Tony had either a medicinal purpose, was edible or could be used in the capture of something edible, or was poisonous. One item was a knob on the side of some tree used by the Indians for alleviating toothaches. Another was a leaf, when crushed and rubbed against the skin, repelled mosquitoes. He pointed out a tiny vine that was used as a string and when fastened with some sort of leaf and some thorns it would be used to lure shrimp and fish for a meal, “if ya’ll stuck out here.” He pointed out bay leaves and the “knees” of bald cypress. He told the history of the logging industry in the swamps and how it took men earning 6 cents an hour over an hour to cut down the monstrous giants that he called “green gold.”

Captain Tony pointed out places on natural levees that he had camped over the years and proudly said he had every one of his children camping at this one idyllic spot beneath a “grow-back” cypress festooned with flowing Spanish Moss. Grow-back’s are bald cypress that the logging industry in the area either left behind because they were too small at the time or have begun to grow in the 80 years since the logging company took their massive profits and moved away.

Captain Tony is a “100% coon ass” or Cajun who has lived along the Bayou Black all his years and his Atchafalaya Basin Backwater Adventure Tour in Gibson, Louisiana was speckled with antidotes of his life on these waters. He warned us against bumping our heads on a wasp’s nest that hung from a tree just over the water and told us how one night while gigging frogs with a buddy he did whack one and they came after him. He said he was just wearing coveralls and no shirt, “on accounta the heat,” and the wasps got in under the bib of his coverall and in his panic slapped at them with a frog he had caught. He spoke about his son who had gone out one night to catch frogs himself and came home with a 3 foot alligator in a sack. He pointed out the Rule of Red for plants and said anything with this color was poisonous … with exceptions. He warned us not to touch bulrushes with their razor sharp leaves he offered us a taste of edible hyacinths, their delicate lemony taste and soft purple and yellow hues belying their ability to choke off the waterways if left unchecked. He pointed out the alligator off in the distance that was as afraid of us as we were of them, but he did not offer to feed them…as other tours do. Nor did he try to sing! Thankfully. No, Captain Tony was real and knowledgeable. This was not a “show” but a learning experience. Part of his excursion was through the Tiger Bayou which was pristine and primordial and labeled the most beautiful in Louisiana by the National Geographic. As we slipped through the water on our 3 hour tour… we were very much alone and we were in very good hands if the tiny ship was lost. Captain Tony had everything covered.

You can reach him at 985-575-2371.

Smelling of laurel and hyacinths Janet and I said good-bye to the Captain and then meandered our way along the coast. After a wonderful diversion down LA317 that ended at a windswept camping area right on the edge of the Gulf, and stopping at a riverboat casino to lose big; $3.00 in penny slots; we took the scenic byway LA182 that meandered through towns like Morgan City and Franklin (where the first Tarzan film was shot) and Jeanerette before ending our day’s journey in Lafayette. We did not eat that evening; instead we had filled up on a loaf of doughy and sweet bread at LeJeune’s Bakery in Jeanerette (www.lejeunesbakery.com). After we unpacked we drove a short distance to Breaux Bridge to listen to “French Music” at Mulate’s. The Cajun restaurant was decorated floor to ceiling with business cards and had winded old men draped over banisters because their wives wouldn’t stop dancing!

Thanks for reading…
-greg