The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1885-04-16
LOUISIANA CREOLES.

1
In visiting New Orleans, you nat
urally observe among the different
races of people, the peculiar caste of
complexion of what is known as the
Louisiana creole. Many definitions
have been given but few are correct
as to what races constitutes creole.
Information from creole, ought to
be given credence more than from
any other source. Creoles are all
born from French and Spanish or
from French and German parentage.
but never from French and Anglo
Saxon parentage, but often from
French and Italian utilization.
Whence it follows that the creole is
essentially a descendent of the Latin
races. None of their members have
emerged from England, Ireland No
va Scotia, Canada or the Colonial
States of this country when under
the domination of Great Britain.
The distinguishing feature, therefore,
between the Creole and Americans
is that one negatives and the other
derives from an Anglo-Saxon ances-
try.
The two races merely differs as to
their ancestral origin; as to the rest,
the Creoles and Americans of Louis
lana are as wealthy as the other, as
cultivated and refined, as educated
and polished, as political and com
mercial as the other, and they all
speak the English language as cor
rectly AS their American brethren,
in business or sOciety-but, when at
home, i'll the family circle and at the
family table, the Creoles speak but
French. English prevails in the
American household only. A differ
encc in this respect, however, must
be drawn between New Orleans Gre
oles and the Creoles of the country
parshes-the latter, with less facili-
ties, are less acquainted with the
English language, and speak exclu-
sively French, with but few excep-
tons their newspapers being almost
universally published IN French,
whereas, in New Orleans, where the
Crcoles, in a population of 100000,
number about, and well nigh 100000
thereof, they have but one newspa-
per published in their ancestral Ian
guagc. They have held and contin-
ne to hold, with their American
brethren, the highest Offices of State
and parochial Importance, from the
Governor down. The Creoles of
Louisiana are noted for their hospi-
tally, high sense of honor and do
nestle habits. They are the true
conservative element, and are all
Roman Catholics without exception.
They speak French as correctly and
dramatically as in Paris or Lyons,
and Frenchmen coming there on bus
mess or recreation are surprised to
see how this is so Justly so. Many
Creoles of position annually travel to
France, and seldom 90 elsewhere.
There are now what are called the
Creole negro.
No such lineage as Latin parent
age can of course be ascribed to the
Negro race in Louisiana or elsewhere.
Why are they then called Creole ne
groes in contradiStinction of their
American negro brethren! Simply
for this: that when slavery existed.
such negroes as were the slaves of the
Creole families and were taught their
language, customs and manners were
proud, after the war, Of declaring
that they were of Creole origin. as
they were ignorant of their natural
origin, and those negroes who had
been the slaves Of the American fam
lilies of Louisiana of Anglo-Saxon de-
scent, were naturally inclined to call
themselves American negroes.
There is in Louisiana another class
of negroes, belonging neither to the
Creole nor the American element.
who never were slaves, and who
therefore have their own genealogy
and peculiarities, and are more re-
fined than their colored former slave
brethren. The Creole negro has a
gibberish of his own, called in Louis
lana patois. 1t Is of French perfume
but is bouquet of languages, com
posed Of words Of almost every Ian
guage, but principally Of simplifed
Frenel..