Elton, Louisiana: Ceaser's Mardi Gras Chicken Run

Ceaser's Mardi Gras Chicken Run 2016. Elton, Louisiana.

Saturday was the annual Ceaser's Mardi Gras Chicken Run in Elton, Louisiana. This particular run is a junior offshoot of a Ceaser's run that an elder generation puts on. That one takes place in or near a town called Soileau, if my trailer companions were correct.

Ceaser's Mardi Gras Chicken Run 2016. Elton, Louisiana.

Friends and I arrived at the Elton-based run about 10 or so Saturday morning. Inside the stable, there was a wood fire blazing within a drum. Two men, an uncle and his nephew, tended big pots of neonatal gumbo. It would be ready for eating by the time the trail riders returned to base in mid-afternoon. 

Ceaser's Mardi Gras Chicken Run 2016. Elton, Louisiana.

Flatbed trailers with folding chairs were parked in the pasture and alongside the road. Horseback riders began to arrive, either riding over from nearby homes, or via horse trailers and pickups. A family event, trailer and horse riders included children, adolescents, and adults.

Ceaser's Mardi Gras Chicken Run 2016. Elton, Louisiana.

Albeit tiny, Elton attracts me because it is a cultural intersection of Coushatta Indians, Creoles, and Cajuns. Once our ride got underway, with trailers leading and horses following, we wound our way through the village.

In front of a Baptist Church, the retinue stopped for drink replenishment, to use the port-a-john, sing, and dance. Was there irony in our stopping in front of the Baptist Church, a bastion of teetotalism? Or does a Baptist Church in South Louisiana take on some of the laissez-fairedness of the Catholic Church in some matters?

I held the reins of a man's horse while he used the port-a-john. The port-a-john rattled and shook from the jostling of its attached trailer bed, enhanced by the nearby rocking sound of speakers that accompanied our street merriment.

Presently, we pulled ourselves together and reloaded, after which we proceeded to an open field. There, the hosts facilitated some chicken runs ... um ... let's call them chicken tosses, into the air, with children ready to run them to ground.

Ceaser's Mardi Gras Chicken Run 2016. Elton, Louisiana.

(Just so's you know, there were four chickens to start with. One escaped into a residential area after an exciting chase by the kids. The other three ended back in their shared cage, having survived several chases. The chicken in the gumbo we enjoyed when we got back to the home base was not so fortunate, but we had not been introduced to her previously.)

Ceaser's Mardi Gras Chicken Run poster 2016.

In the video below, one of the men led a traditional Mardi Gras song in French:

And then more dancing, of course!

Eventually, we returned to our trailers and horses, and made our way back to base. The gumbo was ready - so welcome on this chilly afternoon.

A slide show of the day below:

A fine day.

Elton, Louisiana: On My Way to the Powwow: Liberty Cemetery

Liberty Cemetery, near Elton, Louisiana

I'm on 190 going west, on the way to the Coushatta Powwow in Kinder, Louisiana. I've just left the weekly Saturday jam at the Savoy Music Center, and I've checked out the roseate spoonbills and taken a first glance at the village of Elton.

I see a large sign pointing to a road on the left, Liberty Cemetery Board. I drive up a-ways, turn around, and go check it out.

The first things that grab my attention are the fence around the cemetery property entire, then the fence around the garden of graves, and then the Puritan meetinghouse-esque chapel.

Liberty Cemetery, near Elton, Louisiana

My rational, mature brain feels soothed by the serene plainness of the chapel within and without.

But it is my irrational, Flat Earth brain that enters, half-way expecting to startle a psychopath camping out in a dusty corner. Or slavering dogs.

Liberty Cemetery, near Elton, Louisiana

The pews are marked with family names and memorials.

Liberty Cemetery, near Elton, Louisiana

There is an empty altar. I do not inspect it for sacrificial blood.

Liberty Cemetery, near Elton, Louisiana

Two small rooms flank each side of the altar, perfect hidey-holes for aforementioned, imaginary madman to lunge out at an unsuspecting visitor.

Liberty Cemetery, near Elton, Louisiana

The best I can tell, there's no electric power in this building. I imagine the window shutters are opened during memorial services, letting in natural light. If anything happens here at night, it's probably best not to know.

Liberty Cemetery, near Elton, Louisiana

The angel is androgynous. I like that.

There is some word that Liberty Cemetery is haunted. From another site, there's this story from "Greg:"

You can ask anyone that lives in the town of Elton if you sincerely want to see a ghost or something they will tell you without a doubt that you can go any night to Liberty Cemetary. I have been 5 maybe 6 times with friends and each time it only took minutes to notice that something was not right with this place you feel something in the air something that feels like its watching you and that you should not be there. I've heard of stories of people being chased down the road on foot from something screaming at them and their car not wanting to start; even stories about a little girl that sits on her grave every night waiting for her mother to come visit her but she never goes!!! I on the other hand have only heard voices giggles and laughs of children. Ohhh!!! Yeah, I almost forgot; there is a church on the far end of the cemetary that is extremely old that it has been closed down for probly 50 years or so. But... well to tell you the truth I haven't even heard of anyone even getting close to the church because they dont make it but maybe a few yards inside the cemetery without being freaked out by something.... Don't believe me? pshhhh.. try it yourself.

Elton, Louisiana: On My Way to the Powwow: A First Look at a Cultural Intersection

Not the usual mural in Acadiana. Elton, Louisiana, showing its Indian heritage. The hills must be an example of artistic license. June 2015.

A cultural informant told me about Elton.

A jailhouse, a train, a white picket fence, and a red something that holds something. Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

Elton is a village on 190 between Eunice and Kinder. Which may not help most people much in visualizing its location. So let's say it's about two hours west of Baton Rouge. And it's east of ........well, hell, you'd have to go a really long way west to make it east of something most of us would recognize. So let's come at it from another direction - it's about an hour northwest of Lafayette.

Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

Population about 1200.

Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

My cultural informant told me that, at one time, Elton was a tiny confluence of Indian, Creole, and Cajun tribes. Even today, he said, you might find it difficult to completely follow a conversation amongst old-timey locals because of the rich, intermingled dialects. 

Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

So when I decided to go to the Coushatta Powwow, it was a happy surprise to see that Elton was on my way there. I'd already stopped to visit the Savoy Music Jam and gawk at roseate spoonbills. The wet drizzle kept me in my car, but I saw enough to make me want to go back for a drier look-see in the future.

A train blew through while I pondered the meaning of the jailhouse and the red storage structure in the city park. Surrounded by a white picket fence.

Very nice.

Here is a bit of history on the Coushatta Tribe, which has a base on the edge of Elton. There are a couple of stories at this website, but for me, anyway, the recordings were too choppy to listen to. Don't know if the issue is on my end or the server end. There is more historical information about the Coushattas at KnowLA (Encyclopedia of Louisiana).

Elton, Louisiana: On My Way to the Powwow: A Glory of Pink Spoonbills

Roseate spoonbills, Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

I was on my way to the Coushatta Powwow in Kinder, Louisiana. I'd already stopped for a look-see at the Savoy Saturday Cajun Jam, and despite the drizzle, I was feeling good, and things just got better when I spied - holy moly! - roseate spoonbills trolling for crawfish right before my eyes!

Roseate spoonbills, Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

As a detached observer, I get to appreciate the birds' pink beauty and grace, while farmers who raise the crawfish in their commercial ponds might view the birds as thieves. There were other partners in crimes present, as well:

Roseate spoonbills, Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

Roseate spoonbills derive their pink color from the crawfish shells they consume.

Roseate spoonbills, Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

I love that we will soon have a new postcard-stamp series with birds, including the spoonbills:

June 2015 release of USPS postcard stamps, coastal birds. Credit: USPS

Here's one of two videos I took of the spoonbills feeding:

Both videos become annoyingly jerky in movement, and not in that artistic cinema-verité way. But the first 10-15 seconds give you a terrific glimpse into the activity.

What a treat for me to see these birds alongside the road!