Cruising the Mississippi on the Delta Queen

The U.S. Congress has decided that the Delta Queenthe governor confiscated their lands and forced them
should not continue operating on America's riversto leave. Some returned to Europe, some moved to
beyond 2008. The famous river boat has been host toother parts of Canada, some to areas in the colonies
three U.S. presidents and a princess as well as filmlater to be the United States. Over the next decades
stars and well-known business leaders and statesmenthousands of Acadians from all these areas began
of our time.moving to southwest Louisiana. The name Acadian
The Delta Queen is celebrating her 80th birthday. Igot shortened to Cajun. Their bonds were close and
hope when I am celebrating my 80th I will be astheir culture survives today.
surrounded by music, loyal friends and fun. ThisWe will be visiting several of the towns that still
traditional paddlewheel steamboat has been cruising upmaintain the traditions.
and down the Mississippi and its tributaries forWhether it's Cajun, zydeco, or swamp pop, Cajuns like
decades, recapturing the days when hundreds ofto dance. A Cajun band played several afternoons
steamboats plied these waters. In fact, dozens ofand evenings on the boat, plus Walter Kross and the
steamboats were tied up, one after the other, all alongRiverboat Five played jazz and dance music to
the docks in port cities.continue our taste from New Orleans. Shows each
Delta Queen is a part of history, an American treasure,night also contained some great ragtime, and the
making the steamboat days live again for those wholounge pianist sang hilarious old vaudeville songs.
still have the opportunity to cruise her. In fact the DeltaWe were scheduled to go to Morgan City first, but
Queen has been named a National Historic Landmarkyou need to be flexible on river cruises, and that night
and a member of the National Trust Historic Hotels ofbecause of fog a couple of barges got stuck on a
America. And she has been inducted into the Nationalsand bar and we could not get past them. So we
Maritime Hall of Fame as a vessel that made anwent instead to the port of Iberia. There were shore
outstanding contribution to the maritime industry, in facttours past sugar cane fields and old plantations to St.
the only vessel still operating that is in the Hall of Fame.Martinsville and to Avery Island where rock salt is
She used to cruise along the California coast, then inmined and Tabasco sauce is made and thousands of
drab grey was a troop ship in World War II, thensnowy egrets come to nest. In St. Martinsville the
guided by tugboats came through the Panama CanalCultural Heritage Center has a mural depicting the 1765
to her present cruises on the Mississippi River and itsarrival of the Acadians in Louisiana, a genealogy
tributaries.center, and exhibits on free people of color in Louisiana
Our cruise was a week roundtrip from New Orleanswho before the Civil War were active in business,
so we arrived early enough to wander the city, walkedowned plantations, and indeed sometimes had large
the French Quarter, bought a nice print of a jazznumbers of slaves of their own. You could also visit
pianist at the French market, took the trolley ($5 forAcadian Village with authentic Acadian structures
the day for unlimited rides anywhere on any route),including the home of senator and Hadacol inventor
searched for an internet center, and then since it wasDudley LeBlanc.
cold and windy, headed back to the boat for the firstThe next day we cruised to Morgan City. There were
of many hot chocolates always on hand along withmore sugar cane fields, and rice fields (which are later
chocolate chip cookies.flooded for raising crayfish), and bayous and large
Walking around the Delta Queen is like a walk throughcypress trees that were crucial to building houses and
history ... Victorian furnishings, Tiffany-style lamps, somethe railroad in the development of the area. We visited
leaded glass windows, tin ceilings, mahogany trimbeautiful Oaklawn Manor, built in 1837 and now the
everywhere, and rocking chairs and a swing forwardplantation home of former Louisiana governor Mike
on deck 2. Large prints of old riverboat scenes are onFoster and featuring a large collection of John James
many walls. The dining room which also serves as theAudubon carvings and prints. Audubon spent many
show lounge has old Siamese iron bark flooring, nowyears in this area. And we visited the Wedell-Williams
honey-colored and smooth after being cleaned of theAviation Museum, with Wedell's famous plane that
grime when that level was used for cargo.broke the world speed record in 1933.
Since the boat has an all-wood superstructure (the hullNext stop was the port at Krotz Springs, and our tour
is steel clad) there is no smoking allowed in cabins or inguide on the bus played a guitar, sang songs, and told
the interior public rooms.stories about his memories as a boy of sitting in the
It has an old steam calliope and the ship's bell thatbayou with his father, building a fire, their food cooking
sounded out landings for the steamboat that Markin a big black pot. Another guide talked of their family
Twain rode downriver in 1883. The calliope at the stern,land and how they grew and shipped sweet potatoes,
built in Cincinnati in 1897, is played at departures froma big crop in this area. We visited the Academy of the
the river towns, usually by the band's piano player, butSacred Heart and heard their stories from Civil War
occasionally by passengers, and one night by thedays when soldiers were camped outside. And we
captain. Typical of the casual family atmosphere onvisited the Chretien Point Plantation built in 1831, often
board, the captain also played the piano at the partyused as a set for films, including Gone with the Wind.
given for repeat cruisers.At the next stop, St. Francisville, were many
The engine room, open to passengers, has the originalantebellum houses. One tour was of the Rosedown
old steam engine that drives the big red paddlewheel.House, built in 1835, and The Myrtles, a West Indies
Parts are sometimes pirated off the engine of sisterstyle home, supposedly haunted. The other tour was
ship Delta King, now serving as a restaurant inof Greenwood Plantation, a grand old home lovingly
California.restored by owner Richard Barnes who personally
There is even reputed to be a ghost on board -- theshowed us through the rooms it took him 16 years to
ghost of Capt. Mary B. Greene, of the Greene familyrestore. Many movies were filmed here. This same
who owned the steam boat for decades after thetour went to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at
boat was a troop ferry in California. She had both aAngola, a maximum security prison where prisoners
Master's and a Pilot's license. Knocking soundsfarm their own produce on 18,000 acres, hold an
sometimes are still heard in the cabin where she diedannual "Wildest Rodeo of the South", and participate in
of a heart attack and it is said she still walks themany educational and work programs, including an
decks.inmate band. There are 5,000 prisoners here, all with a
Delta Queen has accommodations for 17450 year sentence or longer. The longest escape time
passengers. Cabins are air-conditioned and have a-- three hours. They sell t-shirts saying "Angola -- A
private bath with shower. Higher category stateroomsGated Community".
also have a tub. Some cabins open only onto anOur departures from the river towns visited are
outside deck; others open into the interior.accompanied by loud calliope music. Every day a
The staterooms have been lived in by many famousriverlorian talks about the river and steamboat days.
people including Presidents Carter, Truman, andOne day we could fly a kite from the top deck.
Hoover, Lady Bird Johnson, Princess Margaret, theIn between it was just relaxing on the river, watching
Vanderbilts, Errol Flynn, Helen Hayes, to name a few.the shore go by. It was too chilly for alligators so we
The loyalty to the Delta Queen is one of the highest indid not have the opportunity to take a swamp boat trip
the cruise industry. Most passengers on our cruise hadto see alligators or birds in the bayou.
been on Delta Queen cruises previously, some bookingThe last day was spent in Baton Rouge. We docked
a different itinerary every year ... lower Mississippi,beside the Mississippi Queen and passengers could
upper Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee ... with the goal ofvisit back and forth. Shore tours included such things
experiencing them all. One man on our cruise, fromas a tour of the destroyer USS Kidd and Memorial
Virginia Beach, had cruised on the paddlewheelers 81Museum, visits to historic homes and plantations, and to
times. The frequent cruisers all said that they liked thethe old capitol building to hear stories of Louisiana
fact that the boat was small and it was casual. Onegovernor Huey Long, assassinated one day on his
veteran cruiser, not on our cruise, has cruised with theway to his office. I chose the Cajun Heritage Tour to a
company more than 100 times.Fais-Do-Do dance party on the bayou at the Cajun
The Master, Capt. Gabriel Chengerry, began his careercommunity of French Settlement. We sampled Cajun
on board in 1968 as night watchman and has beenappetizers of alligator, crayfish, boudin, and jambalaya,
Master since 1976.and were taught some Cajun dances, then were given
The Delta Queen has many theme cruises -- Civil Warthe opportunity to spend the next half hour dancing
history, antebellum plantations and gardens, Mardi Gras,with the dance instructors. This was one tour that I did
golf, quilts, fall foliage. Each of them is like a step backnot want to leave.
in time.That night on our way back to New Orleans, there
Our cruise was on Cajun heritage. There werewere bonfires and fireworks along the river in our
lectures on Cajun history and about the history of thehonor. The century-old tradition started so Santa Claus
river and the river towns we visited. Much of the US(Papa Noel) could find Cajun children at Christmas
Cajun population is in the small towns from the moutheven though they were back in the bayou. On
of the Mississippi River west to nearly Texas andChristmas Eve there will be more than 100 such fires
north to about 300 miles.all along the banks of the river.
Acadian (Cajun) culture has been in Louisiana forWe had gone through many locks and under many
almost 300 years. Acadians formerly lived in easternbridges, steamed along on the Mississippi River, the
Canada; then when the English took control there afterAtchafalaya River, several canals, and the Intracoastal
war with France, they made a deal to remain neutral inWaterway, for a total of 518 miles.
any future conflicts if they would be left to live inCurrent status: The Delta Queen, despite please to
peace. But a new governor in 1755 ordered them toCongress from thousands of followers, was not
swear allegiance to the crown of England. When theygranted permission to continue cruising and is now a
refused and reaffirmed their desire to remain neutral,restaurant on the river.