I’ve heard it several times over the years and on here a few times. What exactly is a “coonass”? Thanks

From my time on the gulf coast it was the same as a Cajun

Someone who lives “sout of eye-tan”

Old Toot

It's what the Cajuns call themselves. It's not derogatory to some, to others it is.

A coonass lives on the east side of the Sabine river.

A jackass lives on the west side of the Sabine.

That's South of I-10 for all you city-boys

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


THIS

Used among themselves mostly. Like blacks calling each other ni^^ers.

They name Landry - Beuadreauex - got a chiken name Roeauxheaux fighten'coeauk

You can call a coonass a coonass even if they aren't they think it's funny .


https://www.bing.com/images/search?...STAB&first=1&tsc=ImageBasicHover

Part black, part French Cajun.

What a raccoon uses to schit.

I lived in Louisiana for a few years due to work. I asked some friends living there and they explained that a coonass is a local redneck. A Cajun is someone that is raised there, grew up with the culture, a coonass is a local good ole boy redneck, They said you can be a coonass, you are born Cajun. I don't know if that's the correct definition but it seemed reasonable to me.

That would be Creole not Cajun, not Coonass.

There is an old apocryphal legend they received the moniker at Chalmette 8 January 1815 from a comment by General Jackson.

Someone from Leweezeeanna or Loozeeanna whichever you prefer but around the SEC it’s usually referring to someone that went to LSU 😁

Could well be but was told it originally came from the District in France that the French came from while in Nova Scotia before the exile down to the Louisiana country.

Das tru too, cher.

Creole is different than Coonass.

DF

Probably so! Never been able to very the other story nor did I find it very credible.

I resembles dat remark....

DF

Whatever they are called, they sure do talk funny. One year, early '70's Crowley Maritime hired a couple shallow draft tug skippers from down there, Morgan City maybe, to run push tugs and lighter barges at Prudhoe Bay Sealift.....honestly the finest small boat/barge handlers we'd ever seen. But, they didn't get invited back in following years. Nobody could understand them on the radio, causing confusion, hull damage and high blood pressure.

Yep.
French, Black and Indian.
A society unto themselves and a proud one.

I never realized how many “Indians” Louisiana had until the Casinos started opening up.

That's not hard to believe....

They do know boats and water, but live in their own world, for sure.

DF

Naw, I’m ugly. 😊

Heh !

Ol' Boudreaux been fishin' down by de bayou all day an he done run outta night crawlers.He 'bout reddy to leave when he seen a snake wit a big frog in his mouf. He knowed dat dem big bass fish like frogs, so he decided to steal dat froggie. Dat snake, he a cotton moufed water moccasin so he had to be real careful or he'd git bit. He snuk up de behine de snake and grabbed him roun de haid Dat ole snake din't lak dat one bit. He squirmed and wrapped hisself roun Boudreaux's arm tryin' to get hisself free. But Boudreaux, him had a real good grip on his haid, yeh. Well, Boudreaux pried his mouf open and got de frog and puts it in his bait can.
Now, Boudreaux knows dat he cain't let go dat snake or he's gonna bite him good, but he has a plan. He reach into de back pocket of his overhauls and pulls out a pint a moonshine likker. He pour some drops into de snake's mouf. Well, dat snake's eyeballs roll back in his haid and his body go limp Wit dat, Boudreaux toss dat snake into de bayou. Den he goes back to fishin'.
A while later Boudreaux feel sumpin tappin' on his barefoot toe.He slowly look down and dare wuz dat water moccasin wit two more frogs

Where are the Redbones in LA. ?

oh bruh dat funny i laugh so hard -me

Have you ever been to the Tunica museum at Marksville? The Tunica sites were the largest find of French colonial trade goods to date. Knew a kid out of Natchitoches who’s uncle did lots of digging there in the 50’s. He had some pretty awesome stuff before Yale univ. and the Peabody museum moved in after the BIG find.

Hahahahaha!

I didn't see that coming.

Starks, Columbia, Oakdale, several other areas.

Then you got the Freejacks. Tangipahoa primarily.

Same here 😊

I have not but have spent time at Poverty Point. There’s also the mounds in Livonia, Louisiana and the mounds at LSU right across from the Field House.

The history of Poverty Point is a deep one.

I was down in Baton Rouge at a truck stop. I had heard this word "coon ass" and it sounded like an insult to me. There was a little Cajun gal there at the desk. I said to her "Do you consider the word coon ass to be an insult?" She said "No, not at all."

I said "If I called you a coon ass right now would you be offended?" She said "No it is not an insult."

Guess who’s family owned the Poverty Point site??? LOL! He’ll probably be along in a minute.

Poverty point stones are MOST intriguing !

One of my favorite tribal names from Louisiana is Attacapa. Chittimacha is the other!!!

Copy so a Cajun. Thanks gents. 👍

North LA and south LA are like two brothers that enjoy one another's company but are pretty much nothing at all alike. It's Coonasses and Rednecks, but we get along. Different world down in deep south LA.

“Coonass” refers to the people of the bayou and swamp areas of South Louisiana settled by the French. The term comes from the rings on a coon’s tail. The folks in the bayou country of South Louisiana would walk through the bayous and swamps with few or no clothes. As the water level would rise and fall, they would have sunburn/tan lines that looked like rings up an down their body like the rings on a coon’s tail.

So they called that “coonass.”

Good one!

I always wondered what a coonass was.

Haha

What about the Germans in south Louisiana? They been there longer than the Acadians. Louis XV sent them in!

For a Reason!!!

There's another ethnic subgroup in LA, Redbones. They're largely in Western LA.

During early times, there was a no-man's land between English and Spanish legal jurisdictions. Outlaws would often end up there, avoiding the law. After the Battle of New Orleans, Jean Lafitte's pirates were pardoned, a lot of them North African Arabs. Some stayed in the state.

Redbones tend to be clannish, don't like outsiders, at least in olden times. They tend to be darker skinned, but don't show much if any African influence. To me, they don't look much like American Indians.

Just picture Omar Qaddafi, short, stocky, stout built. That's why I think the Jean Lafitte influence makes sense. That's my theory.

Speaking of Indians, when casino money started flowing, everyone with Indian blood wanted in. The certified Indians were pretty quick to close the books. A lot of folks had no solid genealogical documentation, so they were (and are) out. Who said blood was thicker than money.....

Interesting state, Louisiana.

Now, who can say we not diverse...

DF

Here is your answer, the term “Cajun” was pronounced Ca-Hoon by the Spanish and morphology brought it to “Coon-ASS”. The origin has absolutely nothing to do with raccoons.

The term “Poarch Monkey” was coined with the merger of Poarch Creek Indian Tribe with Negros. It morphed into “Porch Monkey” for Lazy Negro.

“Raising Cain/Cane” is a phrase from the Mobile Alabama area where folk would party on Joe Cain’s (refounder of Mardi Gras) Grave. Mobile Al is the oldest Mardi Gras in the nation.

Here is another interesting bit of history

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...ast-american-slave-ship-found-in-alabama

There are quite a few.
Schwartzenberg, Grevemberg, Hoffpauir.

But they fell in with the Cajun ladies and,,,,,

Only thing Yankees know is it gets hot here in the summer and we know they can’t cook worth a s hit!!

Yankees are anyone north of Shreveport.

LOL! Yeah I got a good friend in Abita Springs. Harmeyer. Hadn’t see him in years.

Abita is a nice area. It got inundated with Nawlins types.

Does anyone ever say..."gimme some o dat coonass"?

Wow! You guys are a wealth of interesting history.

Regarding rednecks, even New Jersey has some. In the south of the state we have the Pineys, living in the Pine Barrens (where the Jersey Devil lives). In the north, we have Jackson Whites, a bunch of mulattoes living in the hills on the border of NJ and NY since the British threw the Dutch out of New Amsterdam.

When there is a possible casino involved, "Indians" come out of the woodwork. Our Jackson Whites tried to declare themselves Native Americans and get some goodies.

Dirt Farmer,

That "no mans land" you speak of was known as "the Redlands". And they enjoyed some pretty well established autonomy. ( As you well know!).

Other post are fiction on the original subject, mine is fact

However! Some of us have drank a gallon or two of "coondick"!

The germans came into Alabama first then spread to Louisiana

Coonass foreplay is mostly like, “gitindetruck, bitch”.

Do you know why? 😉

I I went sneaking down to the red light area and axed for some... "coonass" what I should expect?

STD, mostly.

Being on the jackass side of the Sabine River lets us know quite a few Coonasses. All I’ve known were stand up people. You may not like what they tell you, but you can count on it being the truth.

true, dat.

Expect to get something on you that Bon Ami won't wash off.

Boudreaux and Thibideaux go to new orleans for da first time and dey walking down St. Charles street and dis woman hollered down at them " Come up here I give your sumptin’ you never had before!" Boudreaux looks over and says, " Wat she gonna give us, leprosy???"

Damn that made me laugh out loud!!

LOL !

chérissez ceux qui cherchent la vérité, méfiez-vous de ceux qui la trouvent!

😉

Voltaire

Voltaire was a Fuggin Coonass ???
Grins

I just loves dem jokes like dat one and da one slumlord tole!

Honorary!

Just to interject some music into the equation.

I lived in Shreveport area twice, for a total of 4 years. My uncle lived in Boutte (SW New Orleans) for many years. I loved the coonasses down South, and that's what I still call my buds in Shreveport area. My uncle and his family called them yankees. All I know is they are great outdoorsmen, great at having fun, and great cooks!

Here’s a good one:

Kaywoodie,

My wife is half Cajun and half Czech (her dad is from Fayette county). She refers to herself as a "BO-Coon"

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

That's funny,

But, I bet that family's food is good!

butt f-ucked

“Attacapas Landing ” is on the southeast end of Lake Verret. Some history there.

Our family property was once owned by Lafayette as part of a gift to him for his service to young America.

The Moteasuhs were another tribe of interest up until the end of the Plantation era, post Civil War.

You turd!

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

My Dad says that he's a Yankee because he was born near Winnsboro La.

That Moteasuhs tribe is kin to the Moanbacks.......

Incestual group.

Don't forget the Holdedos.

I heard the bullets whining and the sirens wail
Took half the cops in Dallas county to put
this coon-ass boy in jail - CDB

LOL. Haven’t heard that Charlie Daniels song in a long Damn time, Mike! Hope you are doing well !

Hey Neal, I'm still kickin'.

So it's a french speaking cracker?

Another name for Cajun people. The North Louisiana Red necks use it as a derogatory term. The Coonasses use it as an affectionate term for each other.
There are Cajuns that live North of Interstate 10 but it isn't far North. I work with a bunch, about half the Crew.

Jack, I think you nailed it !

Thanks ! I had forgoten that tribes name.

This Cajun joke really should be told in person to get the full effect but here it goes.

A Cajun buys a Montana drop camp hunt for the trifecta, Mule Deer, Elk and Bear. The outfitter takes his pack train and leads the Cajun way in the back country and drops the Cajun off at his campsite.

He asks the Cajun how long he wants to stay before he rides back to pick him up. The Cajun said "tree days" The old outfitter says" three days ! you'll be lucky to kill deer let alone a Elk and a Bear too ! But the Cajun is insistent that he can do it in 2 days the 3rd day is to do a little fishing.

Unable to change the Cajuns mind the outfitter leaves him.

On the 3rd day the outfitter tells one of his wranglers to saddle up and we'll go check on that crazy Cajun. But when they arrives at the Cajuns camp they are astonished to see a great 4x4 mulie, a 6x6 elk and a large bear hanging from a game pole. The outfitter goes over and inspects the animals and then walks over to the Cajun and says " I can't believe you got all three animals, Nobody and I mean no body takes three trophies like that in 3 days. There only one thing puzzles me, the deer and elk were shot perfectly through the heart, but the bear has holes in both paws and one hole right between the eyes, how did that happen?

The Cajun replied Oh, the bear was tryin to get the Q-Beam out of his eyes......

Pretty sure a coonazzz is a guy who’s willing to eat what all other right minded Cajunz won’t, and killz all the coil deer each year in ‘bamy and ol miss. I’m also pretty sure Coonazzz is a compliment, at least to some of the guys I’ve hunted with.

I can only go by old stories of kin folk, they said they were slaves. If it ain’t that, I don’t know for sure. Had kin folk through another line that were supposed white slaves here in “the new world” even before the Mayflower landed, they had whaling colonies.


Black folk had it bad didn’t they…Victim mentality

A Cajun momma’s wisdom:

Ole lady hanging out clothes and heard a car drive up. Went inside and her daughter threw her bags on the floor.

What’s wrong baby?
Momma I’m leaving that bastard.
Why baby?
Cause all he wants is drinking beer, LSU sports and anal sex, I’ve had it.
Ohh baby that’s bad.
Yes it is momma and before we married my little pa tutti was the size of a silver dime and now it’s as big as a silver dollar!
Ohhh baby dats bad but can I ask you something?
Of course momma.
Dats a new BMW out there?
Yes momma.
And when you visited a few months ago you had a new Audi?
Yes momma.
He’s the most successful oilman in Houston?
Well, yes momma.
You took two vacations last year?
Yes momma.

And you gonna give up all that scchitt over 90 f’kn cents!!!

They were brought in by The King because the French males would not farm. Most went native and enjoyed the life in the woods. The Germans were all about farming and cutting trees down! Most came from Alsace and Lorraine regions. This was around 1720-30. There was a quote from Louis Juchereau de St. Denis while he was commandant of the Poste des Nachitos that the only way he could tell the difference between his men and Les Sauvages was his men had beards!

There were also several regiments of Germans in Louis XV army. Some were sent to Martinique. And many ended up at Mobile, And other frontier posts like Manchac, Marapas, Toulouse, and Nachitos at one time or another. They had the option to settle when their tour of duty was over.

Here’s another interesting story;


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casquette_girl

Yup, it basically means Cajuns. They, nor anyone else I know, considers it to be a derogatory term. It's always been used in a fun, endearing manner as long as I've been around them, which is all my life.

Ironically, it comes from the French word connasse which basically means "stupid bitch" or "c*unt" in French. Most coonasses don't know that though. I didn't know that until I had a French friend tell me when I started talking about Louisiana Cajuns and mentioned "coonass" to him, then he snickered and told me what it meant in French. At any rate nobody seems to take offense to it and I know many fine coonasses.

Spot on! They are kinda archaic terms but Louisiana French is 17th-18th century French! So!

Check out the tail flash on the Louisiana ANG F-4. Coonass Milita They used it until 1992 if I recall correctly - I am surprised that they were able to use it that long.

drover

Literal interpretation

🦫

JUD

Some here don’t know what a coonass is.

I lived with 2, 1 in front of my house
1 lived next door

For 9 (nine) years.

Ain’t got nuttin to do with Injuns.

Go down to Tangipahoa Parish or better
Thibodaux, La

Take a translator with you.

That’s easier than TRYING to describe.

This one........should bring some memory cells to life.


https://youtu.be/qznZEN7xNRo

Lived in baton Rouge for about two years, post-Katrina, contemporary for Gustav.

Still have a place for that culture, wife hated it.

Am down there a lot on business.

One of my buddies down there called me when coach "O" had his successful run at Lsu and said it was great to finally have a coach without an accent. I still laugh about that one.

Nuthin to see here, move on

Nuthin to see here, move on

I read that with Justin Wilson’s voice in my head, had to search it out-

I know the young lady very well who was the site director at the Landmark Inn SHS there in Castroville. She left last year and went back to teaching school in San Antonio. She and sometimes her husband reenact with us at La Bahia, Washington on the Brazos, and San Felipe. She is a helluva cook!

Nuthin to see here, move on

Just repeating what my hunting friends in Plaquemines and Acadiana Parishes explained as their understanding of the word back in the ‘70’s. Back then there was not a Spanish speaker in the area, much less being widely spoken.

French was their primary language with English for guests and business up on the highway. They lived there for generations.

Really good people in my experience.

Thibideaux the sheriff came back to Boudreaux's house, after Mama Boudreaux called him about Boudreaux being missing a couple three days. He said " Well, Mo-Ree, I got some bad news and I got some good news. Mama said, " Gimme the bad news, first". Sheriff said " We done found Boudreaux down the bayou, the alimagator done got to him" . Marie said " What's the good news?" Thibideaux said " We done picked a dozen blue crab off of him."

Not the Spanish I’m talking about but you are wrong about “spanish speakers” not being there in the 70’s. My brother N law’s whole Mexican tribe from El Paso have been in Plaquemine since the 50’s. And many more hispanics all over the area. Spanish have been all over Louisiana even before the Acquisition from France. And, the area is slam full of Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, and much more. Many of them even work for my uncle, the owner of Community Coffee.

Here is an article about one we lost in 2019.

https://www.waltergabriel.com/blog/...y-of-crewmember-found-one-still-missing/

I’m always here to help if y’all wanna learn something, especially the truth.

A real Cajun would say North of I-10....

DF

I was raised South of Alexandria at Latanier (French for palmetto), which is roughly on the Redneck/Cajun "Mason Dixon" line. On down Hwy 1 South towards Marksville is Fifth Ward, pronounced "Fit Ward" by the locals. A couple of communities on the way include Poland and Echo.

My Dad loved to tell the story that during WWII, an old Cajun was sitting on his front porch at Echo with his shotgun. Asked what he was doing, said he heard on the radio that the Germans had taken Poland, be damned if they were gonna take Echo....

Provincial thinking not too uncommon among these folk.

DF

Now dats funny !

Nuthin to see here, move on

There are coonasses and then there are corndog coonasses.

All SEC fans know the difference.

After the Treaty of Paris in 1763. And the Spanish Bourbons took over Luisiana, the retained most all the original
french govt. Officials. Their new governor was Alejandro O’ Reilly. One of the Irish “Wild Geese” in the service of Carlos!
Probably the most famous of the "Spanish" French officials was Athanase de Mézières y Clugny. The son in law of the famous french explorer Louis Juchereau de St. Denis.

Quite an interesting fellow. Look him up.

Kaywoodie, I’ve done some editing.

Thanks for the history motivation, I shoulda known it was too deep for most.

The Spanish predated the French, Natchitoches is older than New Orleans. It was a Spanish outpost on the Red River, later the Cane River, when the Red bypassed it, creating an oxbow.

During the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Celebration, the French were getting all the accolades, the Spanish seemingly not getting the attention they deserved. While New Orleans was all aglow entertaining things French, Alexandria got the Heart of Spain exhibit. We are the "heart of Louisiana", thus the name.

Asked how we got such an event, the answer, "we asked". Gov. Blanco was instrumental in putting it together. Rare artwork and artifacts that had never left Spain were shipped in two 747's to Alex and were exhibited in our museum for several months. 80K people viewed this exhibit. It was quite an event. Amazon has the Heart of Spain book that shows the artwork.

DF

The Spanish could never make a go at Natchitoches because they could not get along with Les Sauvage as well as the French. They retired back across the Arroyo Hondo to a hill amongst the Adai Caddo that became Bot a mission station and the Presidio Los Adaes close to present Robeline. It was the capital of Tejas for almost 70 years until it was moved to Bejar. That is also an interesting story. I highly recommend this he father of Texas History Herbert Eugene Boltons "Texas In The Middle Eighteenth Century”.

One of the most interesting quotes I came across was from the journal of Francois de la Harpe. Circa 1720 ish. There in your neck of the woods Dirt Farmer, he mentioned that "one of the Canadiens killed a whistling deer at the rapides!"

Lots of interesting history out there. Too many just gloss over it, take what they have for granted.

I really enjoy learning about those things.. Wish more people were of that mind set.

Kaywoodie, I always enjoy your historical posts. You've spent the time to study it.

DF

Kaywoodie, Birdwatcher and the departed (from The Campfire) Shrapnel always have some interesting history lessons.

Dirtfarmer, when the old retired Mayor of Saint Francisville brought up the fact of the deep Spanish history hereabouts,,,The Historical Society (Hysterical Society) wanted to nail his ass to a tree.

Natchez, Mississippi is a bit prouder of their Spanish heritage.

Natchitoches is a very historically significant city/area. It was the northern terminus for the Red River at the Grand Encore. So much happened there. Grant even refused to burn Natchitoches. He stated it was one of the most beautiful cities he had seen. Maybe not so much now. 🤣

It was the hub of the salt, bear oil, deerskin trade for the colonial French. Also thanks to the likes of St. Denis, 1000’s of head of clandestine Spanish beeves and horses went down river to New Orleans. So much bear oil went down river it kept New Orleans lit!!!

There is so much that went on there.

A funny story! There is a group around Natchez that does colonial Spanish reenacting. Many years ago they came and participated with us for our Christmas event at Ft. St. Jean Baptiste SHS at Natchitoches. This coincided with the city of Natchitoches festival of lights weekend.

We put them up in there own quarters in the caserne. They built a big blazing inferno in the fireplace which was designed for small cooking fires. Being made of mud and stick. About 2 a m the hearth was smoldering good and woke them up. They went and found the site ranger and very gingerly woke him with a “Bubba, the fort is on fire we are sorry!"

Bubba went ballistic! LOL! They had awaken just in time as got it put out. It hadn’t really burned much. Fire dept shows up. Big excitement. And I being the post commandant in my own quarters, slept thru the whole ordeal.

Thats the story of the Spanish Marines trying to burn down the fort!!! After feeding them and showing them a great time.

Before Capt Shreve blew up the Red River log jam to open up Shreveport, paddle wheelers went thru Caddo Lake and Big Cypress Bayou to the Marshall, Jefferson TX area where there was quite a hub of agriculture and trade, lots of wealthy folks.

DF

Yes the area was known as “Spanish Lake”. Even in colonial times you could poll the pirogue all the way to present east Texas! And north of the Adai hills. Caddo Lake is the only remnant remaining now.

That is funny, had a good chuckle....

DF

During the Natchez indian war the locals burned and massacred the French garrison at Ft Rosalie close to present Natchez Miss. I think it was across the river. I can’t remember. Anyway a very evil French commandant at Rosalie treated the indians very bad. So they decided to throw a big feast for the French. When all the French came to dine, they got knocked in the head!! Circa 1730ish.

So they headed to do the same to Ft. Baptiste. St Denis receive the word that the Nat hez were on the way. So he sends a msg to the Spanish commandant at Los Adaes of the impending attack. And warns them they will probably be next. And he thinks it would be a good idea to consolidate their forces against the Natchez. The Spanish commandant agrees. BTW, their entire dialog is conducted in Latin as neither understood the others tongue!

So the Spanish arrive at Bapriste. They are all mounted troops called “soldados de cuera” for the think leather jerkin they wore. They had not one working escopeta ( carbine). I believe they numbered beteeen 50-70 soldados. I can’t remember actual number. They were issued French fusils.

The Natchez managed to burn down 1/2 the fort. But they are repulsed by the joint French/Spanish force ard are chased back to there village and eventually received a what for when addition troops arrive from down the Mississippi.

Kaywoodie and dirtfarmer are y’all familiar with an eclectic group known as “The Chasseurs”?

Their hub of activity and then to points far away was Nakatosh and they’d go out for months at a time harvesting bear, deer, about anything they could preserve in bear fat and sell.

There was a good article on them in Country Roads magazine a while back.

Those were the guys that didn’t like to farm like I mentioned earlier. LOL! Chasseur as you probably know, means hunter

Du Pagé wrote in the 1760’s that Natchitoches stank to high heavens from the alligator excretment in the bayous (seven islands made up the village). And they were there because of all the deer carcasses brought in that remained unused and wasted. Hogs were the primary food source amongst the french there. (As in the old adage manger de lard). And deer hair scrapped from the hids was in such abundance that it was used as temper in the mud used as chinking on the houses.

A nasty place in some areas. Apparently there were LOTS of bears too! LOTS!!!

On another note concerning Native waste of resources. Same thing discovered at the Gilbert site in Rains county Texas. Lots of French trade goods and remains of compete deer skeletons in situ, unbutchered. The site was a
Simply a place they brought the deer and skinned them. And French traders were there to receive the skins. Deer hides were big business in europe. Every bit as big a beaver would be a bit later on!

There was lots of wasted resources that were thought could never end.

I’ve seen commercial fishermen throw mounds of trash fish and game fish up on the banks for alligators to keep the alligators out of their hoop nets and trammel nets. Also very large catfish that had no significant commercial value.

Kaywoodie in Tales and Lore of The Big Thicket I believe there was a gent named Uncle Ben Brackin who supposedly killed over 300 black bears.
I think I recall that correctly.

Friend that grew up their and a self-ascribed coonass said it was derived from a french word. I will butcher the spelling but something to the effect of cunai. Long "I" sound at the end. IIRC he said it was slang/derogatroy word used to describe poor folks in that part of the world that became coonass.

The Spanish had the area around Natchez (Spanish West Florida) until 1763 when they lost it to Britain in the seven years war. The Brits handed it back to Spain in 1783 after losing the American Revolution. The U.S. annexed it in 1810.

I have a friend that owns a lot of timberland in the area north of Natchez to Port Gibson along the Mississippi River. He said that when he's had the titles searched he's gone back to the Spanish land grants on some of them. He bought one piece of property that was supposed to be 700 acres and after he had it surveyed it turned out to be 1200 acres. A lot of it had never been properly surveyed along the river and the boundaries are all screwed up.

Spanish vara leagues and French arpents! Gotta love em!

Old surveys along a constantly changing River is a challenge to this day. With valuable mineral deposits, ownership becomes critical. Some make a lifelong career sorting thru deeds and surveys. My brother retired from the Louisiana State Mineral Board; that was his job. Figuring and collecting royalties owed the State was what he did. Frustrating but interesting. Glad it was him, not me.

DF

Some rivers even change names! 😉

Some things you just gotta experience. What a coonass is right now is HOT and hoping not to get wrecked by hurricanes again this year.

I had a farm on the Cane River below the dam, extended to the Red Dirt hills. It was in arpents. I-49 cut it in half. I sold the halves to different buyers.

DF

Then I’ve driven thru it! LOL! Yeah. Look at those old surveys. Those arpents were long and narrow and usually terminated at a navigable waterway.

That describes this tract to a "T"....

Once sliced in two by I-49, one could get to the Cane River part by exiting at Derry and following the Cane River.

The other half could be accessed by back roads that follow Bayou Derbonne.

DF

Always heard born north of I-10 you are a redass born south of I-10 you are a coonass.

Among the many truths that’s another one.

when I first clicked on this thread I thought it was gonna be about a fungal infection or something, like baboon ass or it’s ilk lol.

French Law.

Look at the picture map of Plantations along the Mississippi River from New Orleans up to Natchez. Very prevalent in illustrating the river’s access

I have one of these maps framed in cypress that came from a slave outhouse in West Baton Rouge Parish along with more of the same of framed prints by the artist, Robert Rucker.

Close enough.
Grins

I have spent my life near the Bayou Teche. There are several towns with roads named 40 Arpent.

Arpent can either be a linear measurement or a square measurement.

From the web:

The arpent, a French system of land division, has left a lasting mark on the landscape, which is still evident today. Measuring between 2 and 4 arpents wide and 40 to 60 arpents from bayou to marsh, this system facilitated a coexistence with a constantly fluctuating landscape.1, 3 (A single arpent is approximately 192 ft., and a square arpent, also known as an arpent, is approximately 0.84 acres.) Commonly referred to as a “long-lot”, the arpent granted residents access to the bayou for transportation purposes, natural high ground for building, areas for cultivation, and fishing within low lying marsh. The natural change in topography channeled water from high to low ground within each parcel. This system enabled and sustained a distinct lifestyle organized around a unique and increasingly fragile environment.

Hard to believe now that the Teche and the Lafourche bayous were once the main channels of the Mississippi River.

There was a great documentary years ago called Old Man River (I believe) and it was 1 hour per episode on Monday through Thursday with the total 4 hours shown all together on Friday. It covered the eons of the various channels that the river varied from over time up to the present course.

yep

Army Corps works hard to keep it from rechanneling thru the Atchafalaya to Morgan City, which would wipe out Morgan City, leave BR and NO with much less river.

DF

Coonass - is a Cajun.

It is derived from the fact that in the Summer time, they tan black.

... but have white stripes on the parts normally hidden.

...so they look kinda like raccoons.




GR

I heard one say he was a Cajun by choice, not by birth.

No argument here.

They know how to “pass a good time”. And they do know how to cook. Yankee food seems sorta bland in comparison.

DF

That would be my family.



Lots of Redbones around Boyce, Simpson, Flatwoods, Burnstown area.

Add Pitkin, Sugartown to the list.

DF

Being an outfitter for quite a few years I had a lot of Louisiana hunters. I didn’t have to say a word. Within five minutes upon arrival a coonass made damn sure I knew he wasn’t a redneck. Upon arrival a redneck wanted me to know for damn sure he wasn’t a coonass. Always laughed, I could tell without them telling me. Them boys didn’t like each other. Always had to watch the Louisiana hunters real close. They’re hard on game populations. That’s why they came to Texas to hunt, not much left and home. They only know two seasonings, salt and pepper. Always a lot of fun but you better damn sure s keep a tight rein on them.

Here's the Wikipedia article on the Old River Control Structure that keeps the river on it's present course. If the Corps of Engineers hadn't built it the river would have already switched to the Atchafalaya Basin. Pretty fascinating.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_River_Control_Structure

I always heard that if you’re from the south you’re a dumb fugk and that Texans are ten steps beneath that.

Coonass is a controversial term in the Cajun lexicon: to some Cajuns it is regarded as the supreme ethnic slur, meaning \"ignorant, backwards Cajun\"; to others the term is a badge of pride, much like the word Chicano is for Mexican Americans. In South Louisiana, for example, one can often see bumper stickers reading \"Warning — Coonass on Board!\" or \"Registered Coonass\" (both of which generally depict a raccoon’s backside). The word’s origin is unclear: folk etymology claims that coonass dates from World War II, when Cajun GIs serving in France were derided by native French speakers as conasse, meaning \"dirty whore\" or \"idiot.\" Non-French-speaking American GIs allegedly overheard the expression, converted it to the English \"coonass,\" and introduced the term back in the United States. There it supposedly soon caught on as a derisive term among non-Cajuns, who encountered many Cajuns in Gulf Coast oilfields. It is now known, however, that coonass predated the arrival of Cajun GIs in France during World War II, which undermines the conasse theory. Indeed, folklorist Barry Jean Ancelet has long rejected this theory, calling it \"shaky linguistics at best.\" He has suggested that the word originated in South Louisiana, and that it derived from the belief that Cajuns frequently ate raccoons. He has also proposed that the term contains a negative racial connotation: namely, that Cajuns were \"beneath\" or \"under\" blacks (or coons, as blacks were often called by racists). Despite efforts by Cajun activists like James Domengeaux and Warren A. Perrin to stamp out the term’s use, coonass continues to circulate in South Louisiana and beyond. Its acceptability among the general public, however, tends to vary according to circumstances, and often depends on who says it and with what intention. Cajuns who dislike the term have been known to correct well-meaning outsiders who use the epithet.

by pastorchik September 29, 2003

Texon, surely you jest. I think there’s a misunderstanding in reference to bag limits. For instance we have a 60 day duck season at 6 ducks a day, that’s 360 ducks a year. You not limited out until you reach 360. And btw I damn sure aint no coonass.

A coonass is like a redneck, but without the intelligence.

I just know that in certain circles in Louisiana it is not highly regarded. Results vary considerably.

Like where in the state you happen to be....

DF

I've worked and lived among them for 39 years. If you don't belittle them they will treat you like family. If you belittle them they will Screw you every chance they get from now on. They have an inferiority problem. They know their ancestors were driven out of Canada as undesirables years ago. They are loyal people if they trust you and.count you as a friend.

Absolutely.

Show them true friendship and respect, you'll have no better friend.

Pizz on'em and they'll reciprocate with interest.

BTW, here in Central Louisiana, many Avoylles Parish natives trace their heritage from France, not Nova Scotia. So, techically, although they're French, they're not true Cajuns, but no one around here spits hairs over fine points.

I've been called a Coonazz by friends from other states, even here on the Fire. But I'm about as Anglo as one can get. Still from Louisiana, one can expect to be labeled Cajun/Coonazz. It goes with the territory. To me, it'a a badge of honor.

DF

Why were they driven from Canada?

I think it had to do with the French and Indian wars and conflicts thereafter.

The British forces overpowered the French forces and the Brits expelled the French locals from the area.

Friends who have visited that part of Canada report seeing French Cajun names among the current inhabitants. Maybe the Brits didn't get them all expatriated.

Reportedly it was a hard time for them, many died. Those that made it must have been a tough bunch. And, seems that heritage persists to this day.

DF

It looks like the history has been covered. Is there something in particular that somebody wants to know?

If I remember my geography, Florida is in the south. If you from the south, you can't help it, but if you moved to the south.....what kind of smart are you? LOL

Is a Cajun still a Cajun after he crosses the Sabine?



DF

Or asked another way. How far from the LA border does he have to be before y'all let him call himself a Texican...?

DF