CABILDO - PAGE 2

CHITMACHA BASKET SCRIPT

. The Chitimacha grew corn for tortillas and other types of baked goods. They also went fishing and hunting for food and other needs. A large part of their diet was filled by the abundant variety of shellfish. Indians used two kinds of nets to fish, one made of vines that stretched across frames and put into the bayou's opening, and a funnel-shaped wooden trap that is still used today. Chitimacha Indians hunted a number of different animals, including bear, deer, and cougars. They killed smaller animals such as rabbits or squirrels with blowguns and darts.

The Chitimacha have long been known for their basketry. These baskets were created out of cane reeds colored with a natural dye. They were then woven into geometric designs Chitimacha Basketry can be known as a truly handmade basket, because after the cane is gathered, it is split into long strips. The split cane is then peeled with their teeth, or when the basket maker becomes elderly and as no teeth, they grasp the end of the cane under the chin and peel it with their fingers. The cane is dyed again for the designs, the cane is then peeled a second time. Usually, the designs mimic living creatures like black bird eyes, snakes, hearts, turtles, and alligators. The Chitimacha are the only people besides the North Carolina Cherokee to retain these symbols'. The reasons for the exclusive use of red, yellow, and black are lost in time. After the second peeling the cane is then ready to be used in baskets. Cane with joints the farthest apart are chosen purposely in order to give the surface of the basket a smooth appearance.

HITMACHA BASKET SCRIPT

. The Chitimacha grew corn for tortillas and other types of baked goods. They also went fishing and hunting for food and other needs. A large part of their diet was filled by the abundant variety of shellfish. Indians used two kinds of nets to fish, one made of vines that stretched across frames and put into the bayou's opening, and a funnel-shaped wooden trap that is still used today. Chitimacha Indians hunted a number of different animals, including bear, deer, and cougars. They killed smaller animals such as rabbits or squirrels with blowguns and darts.

The Chitimacha have long been known for their basketry. These baskets were created out of cane reeds colored with a natural dye. They were then woven into geometric designs Chitimacha Basketry can be known as a truly handmade basket, because after the cane is gathered, it is split into long strips. The split cane is then peeled with their teeth, or when the basket maker becomes elderly and as no teeth, they grasp the end of the cane under the chin and peel it with their fingers. The cane is dyed again for the designs, the cane is then peeled a second time. Usually, the designs mimic living creatures like black bird eyes, snakes, hearts, turtles, and alligators. The Chitimacha are the only people besides the North Carolina Cherokee to retain these symbols'. The reasons for the exclusive use of red, yellow, and black are lost in time. After the second peeling the cane is then ready to be used in baskets. Cane with joints the farthest apart are chosen purposely in order to give the surface of the basket a smooth appearance.

Cotton Gin

By: Brooke Harper and Raymond Oller.

This cotton gin represents a rather small, mobile version of the larger cotton gin found on many southern cotton plantations in the early 1800s.

The cotton gin was used to separate the cotton bole from the seeds, so that the pure fibers can be spun into textiles. Invented by Eli Whitney in the 1790s, the cotton gin enabled the reduction of labor costs in the processing of cotton. As cotton seeds had been removed by hand before the invention of the cotton gin, the new invention made this process much more efficient and cost effective.

After the 1790s, cotton emerged as the premier plantation crop in Louisiana and other southern states, because planters viewed as a very profitable crop after the invention of the cotton gin. By the early 1800s, planters in the lower Mississippi Valley began expanding cotton production, and the demand for labor to clear the land and tend to the crops led to an expanded domestic slave market in Louisiana. Hence, the population of enslaved persons in Louisiana increased from 12,290 persons in 1803 to 331,726 persons in 1860. Cotton was mainly grown in the Red River Valley and in the Mississippi River parishes above Baton Rouge.

GLAPION ARMOIRE SCRIPT

This armoire dates to the 1790s in New Orleans. Armoires were used for storage during a time when homes did not contain closets, as they do in modern homes. This armoire was made from black walnut and native cypress, which is rot resistant and easily available.

The armoire represents the Creole furniture style that is identified with New Orleans and the Lower Mississippi Valley. The armoire contains several elements that reflect French style. The dainty cabriolet legs, as well as the scalloped lower moulding and the crown moulding on top all reflect the French influence of the artisan Celestin Glapion, who made the armoire. Glapion was a Free Man of Color, of whom there was a large population in New Orleans. Most Free Persons of Color were skilled artisans, and provided necessary artisan work in the sophisticated frontier port of New Orleans in the colonial period.