Cornelius C. Duson, [b. August 31, 1846] was a legendary Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 lawman. He was the sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana from 1874 to 1888. During his career, he was known for his dogged determination.

Famous exploits

In one case, he single handedly chased two fugitives from Opelousas to the Red River

Red River (Mississippi watershed)

The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...

. There he killed one of them in a hand-to-hand fight. He wounded the other man and brought him back to Opelousas to face justice.

His most famous case was his capture of Louis Rousseau. Rousseau had fled the state after allegedly committing a murder in the town of Ville Platte. Duson tracked Rousseau for months, and found him in the Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

 of Oklahoma. Louis Rousseau was captured and brought to trial. Louis Rousseau was hanged on June 8, 1877 in what was the first execution of a white man in St. Landry parish in 30 years.

In another well known case, a John Sonnier eluded capture for nine years after being indicted on two counts of murder in 1871. Several years after his indictment, Sonnier returned to St. Landry Parish. He narrowly escaped Sheriff Duson and disappeared. After some determined questioning, Duson located Sonnier in Brazoria County, Texas

Brazoria County, Texas

Brazoria County[p] is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located on the Gulf Coast within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. Regionally, parts of the county are within the extreme southern-most fringe of the regions locally known as Southeast Texas. Brazoria County is among a...

 where he was working as a prison guard. Sheriff Duson enlisted the help of two Texas officers to capture Sonnier. John Sonnier was captured and sentenced to life in prison.

History

CC Duson was the son of Cornelius Duson McNaughton, an Irish Scotch Canadian infamous for rebelling against the English in Canada. At age 21, he started work as a deputy sheriff in 1867, under Sheriff James G. Hayes. Hayes and Duson had been friends since the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 when they met as POWs in a POW camp in Washington, Louisiana

Washington, Louisiana

Washington is a small town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,082 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area....

. James Hayes was assassinated, and the job of sheriff went to his younger brother Egbert Hayes. As sheriff, Egbert appointed Curley as his executive assistant. Curley Duson held this job until 1872, when he campaigned for the office of sheriff in 1872. During his career Duson was known as a crack shot with a pistol

Pistol

When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

. In 1882, an Opelousas newspaper reported that Sheriff Duson has killed 96 alligator

Alligator

An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....

s with 96 shots from a boat near Morgan City

Morgan City, Louisiana

Morgan City is a city in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census....

, Louisiana. The same article mentioned "Duson got his man in Texas, for murder north of Chicot." The wording and placement of the news implied that his capture of the wanted man was commonplace.

In 1906, Curely Duson was appointed to the position of US Marshal for the Western District of Louisiana by President Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

.

Among Curley Duson's accomplishments, he was instrumental in founding three towns in SW Louisiana; Eunice

Eunice, Louisiana

Eunice is a city in Acadia, Evangeline and St. Landry parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 11,499 at the 2000 census.The St...

, Crowley

Crowley, Louisiana

Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The city is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", because at one time it was a major center for...

 and Mamou

Mamou, Louisiana

Mamou is a town in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,566 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mamou is located at ....

. He also helped found Acadia Parish in 1886.