The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-21
CREOLEs AND THEIR LIFE.
Mr.. Cable Tells Who They Are, and How He
Came to Write About Them.


Came to Write About Them.
Interview in Chicago Tribune.
"Were you born in New Orleans Mr.. Cabe!"
Eyes, born and brought up in that city
by the way, how did you first happen to
strike the fruitful field in which you have been
carrying on your literary laborsF
"Wel, it was a sort of an accident, was a
free lance in New Orleans for a time, doing work
on the Picayune, and | was called upon to write
up series of articles embOdying the past his
tory and present conduct of the charitable inst-
buttons, churches and schools of that city. You
know they are all old, and in writing these arti-
Giles | was obliged to delve considerably into the
old traditions of New Orleans. These articles
brought out good deal about old creole life IN
the city. and they attracted good deal of atten-
ton. This brought to my notice the field OF
work you refer to-.
'WhatEwere your first literary sketches"
Those short sketches published in Scribners
and recently collected by the Century company
and printed in a volume called Old Creole
Days The first of these was 'Sieur George,
which was printed in the old edition The last
edition includes that little story entitled Mad
anne Delphine'
Had you any particular object in view in
writing DR. SEWER at present running as
serial in the Century"
well, particularly desire to call attention
through it to the impractical education in
America. The schools teach the young to know
butnot to do. am glad to see that manual
training is gaining foothold."
How do you pronounce DR. SEWER by the
wayl'.
and it is from an old name, originally known
among the Huguenots. DIR. Sewer had very
little patients with the Creoles,"
do you find in New Orleans at the present
day any of the type you have individualized as
Narcissep
''Oh, yes. indeed Thousands of them. You
will find Narcisse in every bank and counting
room in the city"
an g. 10
generally possess mistaken identity of the
Creolel"
YES and find that many Northerners be
lieve the creoles have negro blood in their
veins. l am always glad to give the definition of
the name creole 1t is correctly applied to ma
tives of the West Indies the FlOridas, and
Louisiana, whose ancestors came to these Ter
ritores direct from Europe, where they had
descended, from the European Latins They
are mostly white, and the pure creole,
who has pure white complexion,
is very proud. Natives of Mexico and
South America call themselves creoles, | be-
lieve but they are not recognized as such by the
pure creoles. Then there are the descendants
of the European Latns, who came to the
Southern States after first going to NOvia
Scotia These are properly called Arcadians,
and they are the small farmers of southern
Louisiana"
Were they slaveholders7"
''No, not to any extent. If by chance any
one of them acquired few slaves and a steam
sugar-house, he at once called himself a Gre
OLE
"A9e the creoles patriotie2"
VERY They will fight for their country, but
the country of a creole does not extend very far
beyond the range of5'his naked eye. In Jack
sons time the creoles said they would fight to
defend city, but not State and they had con
siderable trouble with them at the time"
DO the creoles figure much in commerce in
New Orleans, now}"
"Oh, yes When they controlled Louisiana
cd on al of heir trad p will
France and Spain. When the Americans came
in upon them and began to carry on trade in the
great Mississippi valley, the CT ales did not like
it, and for long time they held aloof from the
Americans. But now you hardly find in
New Orleans an exclusive creole entertainment
Business transactions have brought the heads of
families together socially there have been mar
rages between Americans and creoes. and at
every creole entertainment you hear English
sentences with the French For a long time the
creoes drew their social lines very closely but
the ties of business have overrdden them. Now
the creoles do great deal of the banking in
New Orleans, and they import the wines, olives
dates, etc, still keeping up. in a measure their
commercial relations with France and Spain.
do you find in the city any traces of old
creole architecture}'
Yes, quite frequently. And when they re-
build they observe the old forms. l remember
that was asked in the East if the cathedral
down there was not a very old building and
when said that the old building had been torn
1852 my questoner was very much surprised
The French quarter, so called, is becoming
more circumscrbed, and the creoles are set
Ting all over the city now.
Has the French Market changed much within
your recollectionr
''The buildings around it have changed but
the same people are there, dressed in the same
old fashion. They all speak English, however
You seldom find any one in New Orleans now
who does not speak English"
"How is it that the creole French is so differ
ent from the pure FrenchF
well, the creoles are an indoent people who
live in a warm climate and they relax in every
way-even the muscles of the throat relax, and
they talk with lazy drawl."
"Have they ever found fault with your pen
pictures of themr
.'WelI, they did not like The Grandissimes.'
but my Sketches Modified them somewhat. But
one of these sketches relating to certain fam
lily of creoles caused good deal of trouble. The
family told the paper to call off their dog and
they would hold back their terrier The sigma
ture of Benedict Arnold would have made
white mark on the record of old Wilkinson,
whose grandson stopped the sketches This
grandson shrugged his shoulders and said to
me; Sometimes it is unfortunate to have ances-