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The Hollowmarsh
Nature Reserve
A small network of bayous and swampland
just to the north-west of New London and on the other
side of the Mississippi, Hollowmarsh was originally
intended for the fading Bayougoula or Ishenoca tribe.
However, much of the tribe moved away not long after,
and since then Hollowmarsh has been a nature reserve
teaming with wildlife.
Long ago, the land was Ishenoca territory, and it
is believed that the ruins of a village and even an
Ishenoca bone house still exist somewhere in the area.
However, the tribe did particularly badly after the
1700's, with opposing tribes, smallpox, war and alcohol
plaguing them until they all but died out and those
that remained moved away. In fact, several local legends
refer to a curse that was placed on the tribe by the
Houmas Indians or by some other, unknown source, and
the never name of the reserve traces it's history
back to an Ishenoca myth that the marshland around
New London was empty just beneath the skin, and that
some ancient, malignant spirit lingered there in the
space under the ground, slowly swallowing the whole
tribe.
These days, Hollowmarsh is accessible from the city
via the Hollowmarsh bridge which spans the Mississippi,
allowing New London residents access to the reserve
where they are free to wander and enjoy the natural
world, and, so long as they respect it, perhaps it
will respect them as well.
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