Chapter 130

Following the rope ladder, Lorraine climbed up the deck of the Jackdaw.

Katrina obviously knew Lorraine's cross dress in advance from Carmen and others. She naturally greeted Lorraine and held out her hand at Lorraine.

Her hands were cold, soft but powerful. The process of shaking hands was crisp and neat, just like those determined gentlemen.

Lorraine couldn't help smiling: "you've worked hard these days."

"Return to Zhao, Captain, the Jackdaw is ready."

"Everything..."

Lorraine knew that Katrina's everything was not an excuse, and the Jackdaw was indeed ready for smuggling.

Through the slup type purchased privately by Leonard, the two sides established contact early.

Catalina registered the Spanish ship jackdaw under the remote command of Lorraine.

She is now a legal Spanish civilian ship. More accurately, she is a black merchant ship without legal business license, just like the beauty of Attis.

Her shipowner is Donna Linka, a second-generation immigrant born in New Orleans, and now the captain is herself, Edward kenvi, a third-generation immigrant from Baton Rouge.

All the related figures are false, and even in Louisiana, where registered residence management is messy and multi party forces are entangled, it is difficult to verify.

To what extent?

Lorraine took a deep breath and patted the main mast of the ship. "Take off the pirate flag, lift the sail and set sail! Gentlemen, let's go to the new world for gold."

"Go for gold!"

"Go get rich!"

"Wow!"

……

The Jackdaw set sail, followed the outer edge of the Cayman Islands, obliquely crossed the Yucatan Strait, rested on Peres island for a night, went north across the Gulf of Mexico, and finally came to a huge sea swamp six days later.

This is the world-famous Mississippi River Delta.

The surging Mississippi River is the father of water among the Indian population. It originates from the Great Lakes and flows through the vast land of New France. Along the way, it gathers tributaries and carries endless sediment. It has deposited this huge impact fan in the Gulf of Mexico, which is 24 to 80 kilometers long and covers a total area of more than 12000 square kilometers.

The rivers are scattered in this alluvial fan and turn into rivers of different width and depth like capillaries, cutting countless deltas to form swamps and Sand Islands, which reach the most extensive shandelur islands of the delta.

This arc-shaped island chain has become the gateway of the Delta, separating the ocean from the swamp.

This is also the only channel to enter New Orleans. The average water depth is only 6.5 meters, which not only cuts off the possibility of battleships entering and leaving, but also the giant ship of the Jackdaw can only be careful on the main channel. If there is no navigator familiar with the local hydrology, he will never dare to rush into this restricted area.

Lorraine ordered the Jackdaw to hang the flag of "blood and gold" symbolizing Spain, anchor off Breton Island on the southern edge of the shangdelul islands and put down the submachine boat.

He called acharin: "acharin, protect Carmen and Katrina, hire a pilot on the island, and we enter the port from the northwest main channel."

Acharin blinked: "Captain, I'm the gunner."

"I know you're a gunner, but New Orleans is more friendly to the French and Spanish. I hear they don't like to speak English."

"It seems that the British are the enemies of romance, which is a consensus."

Acharin shrugged helplessly, boarded the assault boat and assumed the important task of protecting flowers.

Not long after, they boarded the ship with a pilot with a long gun. Carmen whispered to Lorraine, "pilot three shillings at a time, but Mr. Charles is willing to sell the hydrographic map of the main channel drawn by himself for ten pounds."

"Did you buy it?"

Carmen nodded and put a roll of parchment into Lorraine's hand: "I only paid 50%. Whether to pay the remaining 50% after arriving in New Orleans or leave him in the delta to feed the crocodile depends on your verification."

"Shoulder the heavy responsibility..."

The jackdaw, which had obtained the pilot, set off again, entered the delta between Breton Island and grand gorzi Island, and sailed slowly and smoothly into the offshore swamps of the delta with only one longitudinal sail.

The two banks are picturesque, waterfowl flying, crocodile walking, and snow mound like sandbars dotted among the green grass, like pearls, reflecting dazzling brilliance in the sun.

The most common one here is a large seabird called brown pelican. It has a long beak mixed with green and white, a dark brown neck and gray feathers. It often walks in the shallow water and occasionally flies out in groups to the sea to eat.

Lorraine put most of his experience on the newly obtained hydrographic map.

Five broad channels with twists and turns like bird's claws are outlined with dark lines. The data on the channel are dense, clear and accurate. It not only marks the grounding points that must be bypassed, but also marks the shallow water channel with a depth of three to four meters. Although the cold crow can't get in, it can be used by smaller ships, Play hide and seek with powerful enemies in this complex water.

Lorraine was very satisfied with the professional level of the pilot and asked Carmen to settle the balance after successfully bypassing the fifth grounding point.

The navigator who made a lot of money became more hardworking, pointed to the trees with different shapes on the sandbar, and taught Lorraine the know-how and experience of chartless navigation.

After sailing for ten hours, the Jackdaw finally sailed out of the Delta and into the wide and deep Mississippi estuary.

The surge was obviously large, but the sailors on board were relieved. The Jackdaw meandered close along the river bank and finally berthed slowly into the busy wharf berth of Mississippi River port before nightfall.

Standing in the towering bow, Lorraine looked at the prosperity of New Orleans in the afterglow of the sunset.

This is a strange town. The city is built along the river like a new moon.

In front of the wharf is a large church square, with a circular fountain in the middle, and a majestic church with a towering bell tower in one corner of the square.

Outside the church square, families are closely connected without gaps. On the mottled old wall, the carved railings on the second floor and the small balconies are covered with green hanging flowers and plants.

Those more publicized homes have to hang colorful Carnival beads in the green, with several statues of birds and animals interspersed between flowers and plants, or hang a few strings of copper wind bells swaying with the wind, so that the city that is already full of strong tropical flavor is more like small hanging tropical rain forests.

The street is another scene.

Residents along the street cover their private space tightly. The doors are mostly protected by carved pig iron anti-theft doors, and the windows are often covered by colorful wood plates to prevent people from peeping into the indoor scene. They look exclusive and closed.

What is open is mostly shops, guns, swords, ready-made clothes, food, as well as brothels and pubs that can not be lacked in the wharf area. Every family wants to replace every wall with glass and expose everything in the room to the street view.

The streets are full of pedestrians.

Men, women, blacks and whites, especially Lorraine can often see blacks in tuxedos get off the carriage like European gentlemen, and chat and laugh with whites accompanied by Indian attendants in bright national costumes.

This opened Lorraine's eyes and couldn't help sighing: "I never thought that one day I could see black gentlemen in the white world..."

Carmen smiled behind him: "the essence of politics is compromise and integration. The new world has sold too many blacks, and many early pioneers are not of noble descent. It is not difficult for them to get together in the process of pursuing rights."

"But the blacks in New Orleans did not open up the people's Liberation in the early stage." Katrina came bravely. "They gained power only 10 years ago."

Through Katrina's mouth, Lorraine heard a strange history of the city.

In 1719, under the guidance of the Indians, the French built New Orleans on the only highland of the Mississippi estuary.

They didn't pay attention to this harbor deep behind the delta until the precious beaver skin became the most important export port of leather goods in the new world.

In the process of hunting, the French controlled the whole main stream of Mississippi and established the broadest colony in the new continent, called New France.

But then Britain rose.

France ceded nearly half of the land of New France to Britain. In order to seek allies, France gave New Orleans to Spain in the Danfeng Bailu agreement.

Then the dog blood began.

The French in New Orleans did not know that they had been abandoned by their king.

In 1762, New Orleans belonged to Spain. In 65, Spain sent its first governor. In 68, the French in the city jointly launched a peaceful coup with the Germans and drove the governor out.

The treachery of the French made Spain very angry. The new governor was ruthless and decisive. He caught all the rebellious French with a banquet and shot and killed five people on the military parade in front of the church.

The Frenchmen in the city were interrupted and only indulged. They even stopped calling themselves French and called themselves Creoles.

White people are white Creole, black slaves and Indians are black Creole. They want to use this childish means to make the Spanish governor put down his vigilance against them and facilitate them to launch another peaceful rebellion.

However, they failed.

Since both white and black people became Creoles, the governor pushed the boat and allowed the black slaves in New Orleans to redeem their freedom, setting off the first black slave liberation movement in human history on the land of New Orleans.

Over the past decade, many black Creoles have owned industries, and some have joined Parliament. They are dead set on Spain, because of a name, the French have completely lost this important port.

Lorraine and Carmen listened with interest. When Katrina finished, Lorraine smiled and thanked.

"You have increased my knowledge. What makes me happy is that you are willing to take the initiative to share stories with us. This is the way to get along with real companions."

"In fact, I didn't come to you to share the French stupidity..." Katrina bit her lip. "You've been busy with business a few days ago. There's something I can't find a chance to give you. It's the booty of the black mamba war, or... It's the sequelae."