district packed their tolxicco into hogsheads after the 

 fashion of the Atlantic seaboard districts. But planters 

 elsewhere in Louisiana put the leaf in carottes, or rolls 

 of tobacco, made by covering a bundle of leaves with 

 canvas, and rolling the bundle into a hard cylinder 

 about 15 inches long, four inches thick and weighing 

 about four pounds, using a winch that drew rope 

 around the roll. After several da\'s, the rope was re- 

 moved and rewound to assure its tightness so that the 

 tobacco would not too easily dry out. 



After the carotte dried and its shape was fixed, the 

 cloth was removed and strips of bark were attached 

 at intervals along tiie carotte to help protect it. The 

 tobacco was flatboated down the Mississippi to New 

 Orleans, inspected at a public warehouse and prepared 

 for overseas shipment. The tobacco was rarely turned 

 down by warehouse inspectors because of the custom- 

 ary douceur discreetlv dropped into the inspector's poc- 

 ket. This "gratuity" became a well established practice 

 and was not considered a bribe. 



The descriptions of much of the colonial tobacco by 

 French authorities of the time make it clear that Louisi- 

 ana tobacco grown two hundred years ago was quite 

 similar to the Perique cultivated todav. 



But the time was not yet ripe for the steady growth 

 of the tobacco industry. The middle to latter part of 

 the 18th century saw great international turmoil and 

 strife that had tremendous impact on the area as it 

 changed hands several times. 



u, 



nder Spanish domain 



As the French and Indian War came to a close, Spain 

 won control of Louisiana. Under the Spanish, Louisi- 



23 



