Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-11-10
THE LOUISIANA ,NAlaANs.
Remnant of the People from Arcadia
who Were ideaIized by LonsfeIiow.

Fi"" me t41CJgo q SfN-
1.-THE Louisiana 'CaiJans," said South
erner to a reporter, ''are peculiar class.
They were originally French, coming to
this country long years ago and settling
IL what WAS then called Arcadia, in Nova
Scotia and In Upper Canada. They were
/ driven ont by tue British and were after
ward imnortaliHed by Longlellow in his
'kYangeline.' Gaunt, yellow, and black
barred, They are at all times distinguish
able from the other residents OF the Mis-
slssippi region in Louisiana, where they
1 have lived since their expulsion iIom the
north.
They do not seem clannish. They
/ generally manage to have an acre or two
OF land with little sh&nty. Occasionally
! one becomes the manager OF small store
. where the negroes Eet their tobScoo and
whisky. There is much athcitv between
a 'Caiian and negro, Neither is salts
led without Il dog, but l think q negro
treats his d0g better than the 'Caja Jan does.
Neither OF them will do any more work
than is absolutely necessary for susten-
ance, while both Of them place great faith
in the river as provder.
"ln the spring the 'Caijan first mends
his nets and lines, then cleans his gun,
and then, if ne has time between fishing
and hunting, looks after his crop. Rice
TO the nearest mill, where it is ground at
the rate If three for one. AS he has only
TO SOW his rice broadcast In the spring
and wait for 1t 10 ripen, mis- agricultural
laOorS are not eXhaustlBg. The most
laboriOus time is when the blackbir get
at the rice. The large planters employ
regular forces of men and boys TO kill or
frighten them off. | know of one man who
last year paid ST., 700 for services ano
T.
blackbirds out of his fields. The 'Caijan
manages better than This. AS his field is
small be does the work himself, and the
birds he kills serve as food for himself and
family. He takes his position in fence
corner and sits there ali day, his dog
fetching in the birds as he kills them. He
uses less than thimbleful of powder ard
about twenty, five shot. With this load he
will bring down bird at every shot, and
sometimes two or three.
The bird season having ended. he
turns his attention 10 the 'sardInes' that
begin to run in the river. These. with
the addition of crawfish and little game,
keep the pot boiling till the crop is ripe,
on the proceeds of which the 'Caijan lives
out the winter, only to go over the same
routine the following year. IL he raises a
colt it is sold to some steamboatman,
who, in return, brings up calico or cloth
ing from the city and retails it at about
double its cost.
eff the 'Caiian goes to church at all. it
is TO one Of the many little Catholic
churches that line the banks Of the Mis-
sissippi all through Louisiana.
''The 'CaUan's horse is always a small
I one. He rides In a long lope, and spreads
his feet at every jump in manner that
has made current the phrase rides like a
'CaUan.' The animal Is never fat and
never clean-twO characteristics in which
he closely resembles the rider. Like his
master he is the personihcation OF en-
durance.
1.-The language of the class is a French
! patois, and as ungrammatical as is a
Negroes English. In spite of poverty,
filth, ideness, and the ever-present fever
ana ague, they are contented and peace
ableO