I had an epiphany today at work inspecting a truck in Lafayette. I finally understood why and how Evangeline Parish became Cajun. From reading historic writings by Winston De Ville and other hard reality stuff like genealogy, it all clicked. Yes. The French people that dominated the area were all super rich from France. They left France for an even better place - The great Imperial St. Landry Parish. It was better than France. Read De Ville's writings on this. It's very real. Paradise on earth. People like the Fontenots all had mansions. They were all rich, intellectual and educated. Every single one of them. They all kept alligators as pets. They were so well to do that they played with their gators and ate caviar every night. They even, sadly, lost the French language and developed a strange unworldly language. It was truly weird.
Now, a few Acadians settled in some, still unknown area, and created "Cajun" culture. Stuff such as CrawTators and Popeyes Fried Chicken. They even invented gumbo and Mardi Gras and all the good stuff we know today. They, and only them, kept the French language we know today as Cajun French.
Now, read some history. Not the stupid crap you see on the Net, but real reality history. It's important. After the Civil War, the "Creoles" lost all their awesome wealth and didn't know what to do. They turned to the Acadians or Cajuns for help. The Cajuns showed them how to speak French, cook gumbo, smoke meat, celebrate Mardi Gras and be happy.
It's amazing crap. It really is. Now, to this day, it's unknown where this pocket of Acadians lived in isolation within Evangeline Parish. Mamou?
Louisiana, where we live, is real. But there is another layer. A reality. The downtown Eunice library has plenty of real stuff. Mixed with all the fantasy. Go out the door and you see fantasy. The reality inside the library is dusty. Because the fantasy is more fun. And people turn away from reality.