A Pale Horse Rides In

Starting in the 1500s, changes came to Southwest Louisiana. A foul air blew in from the east and sickness and pestilence reigned. It was a dark time for Louisiana. Change is rarely easy, and the wheel of circumstance dictates that as one group is rising, another group is falling.

The Site of the old Green Acres Nursing Home and an Ancient Native American Burial Ground

While Cuz Raoul was absorbing as much energy as he could from the Ishak, a new people arrived. A pale people that sailed in from Eastern lands that were uninhabited the last time Raoul had laid eyes on them. 

As the native people dwindled, Louisiana became filled with new people and new ways. Eventually, a darker people arrived. A people that had a fire in their belly despite their forced settlement. And, they brought something with them.

The notorious spirit, Papa Legba. 

You see, up until now, our friend Raoul controlled the area from the Sabine River to what we now know as the far side of the Atchafalaya Basin near Baton Rouge, and the Gulf of Mexico up to about Ville Platte. Papa Legba was in the magnificent city of New Orleans, but he wasn't happy with just that, no.

Our benefactor Cuz Raoul had to use all the strength he had syphoned from the Ishak, breaking his promise to the Calcasieu in the process. No longer could he help he native peoples, he had to put everything into defending his territory.

On cold moonless nights, you can still hear the cry of the Calcasieu and his people all across Southwest Louisiana. 

Just close your eyes and be still. 

They can still be heard in the running of the water, the screech of the barn owl, and the howls of the coyotes. 

They haven't left, no. Their spirits are simply waiting. Waiting for the time to rise again. 

During the war with Papa Legba, Cuz Raoul had many adventures. Of course, there were fierce battles, but there was also time for love with the Creole Aphrodite, Erzulie. Along with this, was an unlikely friendship with Agwé; however, this was not enough. 

The war took quite the toll. The Ishak people were near decimated and almost forgotten, and Cuz Raoul's land was reduced to a small square from roughly right above Dequincy to the North and the Gulf of Mexico to the South, and the Sabine River to the West and the far side of Welsh to the East - Southwest Louisiana. 

There is a reason we are all so connected, and it isn't just because of geography. Cuz Raoul is there in the energy of the area. Always present. And he binds us all together. 

Now, dear reader, I understand that you may be interested in a lot of Raoul's stories about his time with sea creatures, the dinosaurs, and Native Peoples - I am, too! - but I can't tell those stories right now. 

Cuz Raoul only shows me certain things, and he is nudging me forward - closer to the present day.