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The American cattle industry started on the Cajun prairie almost a century before that of the one in Texas . The cattle industry in the Cajun prairie dates back to 1739 when the areas first cattle brand was recorded in the French ' brand book.' The cattle traction started with Captain Antoine Bernard d'Hauterive, a French colonial official, offered to help the Cajuns who were refugees from Canada by agreeing to lend settler families eight cows and one stud bull for a period of six years, afterwards the settlers would return nine cattle and half of the offspring produced . The colonial era cattle were mainly Spanish longhorns and used on Cajun ranches called vacheries . The cattle ran wild, making the brand book very important. Pieux fences were used mainly to keep cattle out of farming areas . The Cajun vachers learned their cattle raising techniques from the Spanish vaqueros and Indians such as the Avoyelles Indians . Cattle were driven over cattle trails to the town of Washington, and from there into New Orleans . The modern day cattle industry in Louisiana is still dominated by Cajuns .
True Mardi Gras from the prairie cajun capitol, Eunice Louisiana, chicken chasing, music, good times to be had!!!
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