The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 53, July 1949 - April, 1950 Page: 345
538 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
The colorful folklore is portrayed in nineteen short stories
that accurately reveal the thoughts, manners, customs, religion,
joys, and sorrows of these people. For the most part they lead a
simple life with a limited knowledge of the world beyond their
particular region. They are satisfied with what they have and
what they know, to a great extent, and have little desire for
any other way of life than that which they have learned from
their parents and their grandparents.
Dr. Ballowe was physician for thirty-five years to these peasant
folk of French descent. He brought thousands of them into the
world, attended them during illness, and thus had an excellent
opportunity to study and observe their peculiar way of life. He
seems to have possessed an innate penchant for studying the folk
lore and mores of the region as he journeyed thousands of miles
in pirogue, on horseback, and by automobile to minister unto
his patients.
The author has done a commendable job in preserving these
folk tales but this reviewer desires to point out that this folklore
belongs to only a part of Louisiana and that a relatively small
geographical area. It appears trite and unnecessary to say that
such folklore is not a history of Louisiana. However, Dr. Ballowe
has given us a glimpse of the manners and customs of only a small
portion of the people of French descent. Louisiana is a state with
a complex culture blended from the three great colonizing na-
tions of Europe, namely, France, Spain, and Great Britain. It is
a state with a diversity of geography, and climate, and various
fauna and flora.
The University of Louisiana Press has maintained its standard
of excellence in editing and manufacturing the volume.
GARNIE WILLIAM MCGINTY
Northwestern State College345
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 53, July 1949 - April, 1950, periodical, 1950; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101126/m1/421/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.