Pelican Pouch

There's treasure buried beneath Texas soil or stowed in caves covered over by stones. It might be the mother lode that's waiting to be uncovered or some Spanish pirate's chest of jewels and doubloons. Nearby a ghostly figure walks the dunes, or is it just an illusion brought on by the approaching dust storm? In this new mass market edition, J. Frank Dobie has collected accounts of some of the best known tales of booty hidden in Texas hill and dale as well as some eerie stories and the origins of Texas flowers, names, and streams. You will learn about "The Enchanted Rock in Llano County," "Lafitte's Treasure Vault," and "The Holy Spring of Father Margil at Nacogdoches." These lively stories reveal the love for adventure, independence, and mystery that has made Texas the state it is. And just as Dobie hoped, with these tales readers from all over can see the "richness of their own traditions." Dobie believed that worthwhile literature about this region had to be derived from an understanding of its life, lore, and history. Legends of Texas indirectly led to the founding of the Texas Folklore Society, the nation's second oldest folklore organization.

These stories reflect the Creole way of life during the transitory post-Civil War period.

This heartbreaking story of two Acadian lovers separated during the expulsion of the French settlers from Nova Scotia has become one of the most enduring, endearing, and popular poems in American literature. In this edition, the story is enhanced by the new insightful foreword by Henri-Dominique Paratte. Longfellow's epic marks a stylistic shift from reflective lyrics and ballads to a longer tale in verse. The English edition contains sixty-one pages of notes and explanations, which make this an excellent study guide. Readers will discover even more about the poem that will for eternity move those "who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient . . . who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion." The renowned Pamphile Le May French translation is also available. Although not originally written in French, the beautiful language is perfectly suited for the poem and, in fact, would have been the mother tongue of Evangeline herself.

Witch? Sorceress? Daughter of Satan? Thief? Saint? Born in 1794, Marie Laveau reigned as, the undisputed Queen of the Voodoos for nearly a century. Her beauty and powers were legendary, and caused her to be the subject of wild gossip throughout her life. She passed on her secrets to a favorite daughter, who helped her dominate the underworld of voodoo in New Orleans.

These stories reflect the Creole way of life during the transitory post-Civil War period.

When The Grandissimes was first published in 1880, the book was criticized for its portrayal of forbidden love and the clash of cultures during the Reconstruction. Since then, the novel has been considered a masterful critique of racial and social inequality that resonates with readers even today. Cable's work has been compared to that of writers as varied as Balzac, John Kennedy Toole, and Henry James.

At the turn of the century, people outside of New Orleans viewed the city through the eyes of journalist and author George Washington Cable. His writings portrayed a tropical European city nestled on the banks of an American river still teeming with the literary, artistic, and social developments of a late Renaissance. In his own romance with Louisiana, Cable came upon many stories written by its denizens. While Cable assisted some authors in finding places to publish their works, there were many stories he kept for himself. Much of this collection can now be found in “Strange True Stories of Louisiana.” "They are mine by right of discovery," writes Cable. "From various necessities of the case I am sometimes the story-teller, and sometimes, in the reader's interest, have to abridge; but I add no fact and trim naught of value away. Here are no unconfessed 'restorations,' not one. In time, place, circumstance, in every essential feature, I give them as I got them strange stories that truly happened, all partly, some wholly, in Louisiana." “Strange True Stories of Louisiana” is Cable's compilation of seven unusual, factual accounts of life and history in the area. They include tales of two French sisters who made the dangerous trek to the unsettled lands of North Louisiana at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Focusing on New Orleans, Cable adds the story of "The 'Haunted House' in Royal Street," which spurs the imaginations of ghost hunters more than a century after its original writing. There is also a diary account, in its first published form, of a Union woman trapped behind the battle lines during the Civil War.

The classic account of moving from slavery to freedom, by the celebrated African-American educator and university founder. Booker T. Washington believed that every man and woman deserved a chance, regardless of their skin color. This classic work of literature, originally published in 1901, relays the story of a man born into slavery who, once freed, pursued education and racial equality. This new edition of Booker T. Washington's autobiography features a foreword from media personality and advocate for the advancement of African Americans Mychal Massie. In his story, Washington details his childhood and recounts his often-tumultuous transition from slavery to free life. His unwavering efforts eventually led to the founding and evolution of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, a college created to further the education of African Americans. The distinguished author and educator remembers such notable speeches as the Atlanta Compromise in 1895 and recognitions from Samuel C. Armstrong and President McKinley. Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) was born into slavery and freed after the Civil War in 1865. After completing his education and teaching at Hampton Institute, he headed the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Upon giving his famous Atlanta Compromise Speech, Washington became a national figure and received an honorary master's degree from Harvard University and an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College. The publication of “Up from Slavery” garnered Washington an invitation from Theodore Roosevelt to visit the White House, the first given to an African American.

Originally published in 1946, Voodoo In New Orleans examines the origins of the cult voodooism. The lives of New Orleans's most infamous witch doctors and voodoo queens have been re-created in this well-researched account of New Orleans's dark underworld.

Louisiana is known for its rich, complex cultural heritage, but even in Louisiana, the question "What is a Creole?" is often answered in a number of ways. In Creoles of Louisiana, George Washington Cable knowledgeably addresses this question with precision and aplomb. Originally published in 1884, Creoles of Louisiana builds on earlier explorations of the lives of the white descendants of early French and Spanish immigrants during the transitory post-Civil War period. Cable wrote faithful portrayals of the Creoles, with a pioneering ear for the dialect that earned him an acclaimed place as a leader of the local colorist movement. From the early settlement of Louisiana, to the trials of the War Between the States, to the yellow fever epidemic, and on to "Brighter Skies," the chapters chronicle the Creoles' experience in the Pelican state. New Orleans emerges as a town carved out of the wilderness of the bayou, and together, city and citizens flourished.

At the turn of the century, people outside of New Orleans viewed the city through the eyes of journalist and author George Washington Cable. His writings portrayed a tropical European city nestled on the banks of an American river still teeming with the literary, artistic, and social developments of a late Renaissance. In his own romance with Louisiana, Cable came upon many stories written by its denizens. While Cable assisted some authors in finding places to publish their works, there were many stories he kept for himself. Much of this collection can now be found in Strange True Stories of Louisiana. "They are mine by right of discovery," writes Cable. "From various necessities of the case I am sometimes the story-teller, and sometimes, in the reader's interest, have to abridge; but I add no fact and trim naught of value away. Here are no unconfessed 'restorations,' not one. In time, place, circumstance, in every essential feature, I give them as I got them strange stories that truly happened, all partly, some wholly, in Louisiana." Strange True Stories of Louisiana is Cable's compilation of seven unusual, factual accounts of life and history in the area. They include tales of two French sisters who made the dangerous trek to the unsettled lands of North Louisiana at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Focusing on New Orleans, Cable adds the story of "The 'Haunted House' in Royal Street," which spurs the imaginations of ghost hunters more than a century after its original writing. There is also a diary account, in its first published form, of a Union woman trapped behind the battle lines during the Civil War.