Mention his name anywhere else and it won't ring a bell, but say Joe Cain in Mobile, and, well, it's almost like saying George Washington.
Joe Cain was only a city clerk in 1866 -- a time when Mobile was occupied by union troops. In an effort to renew the city spirits, Cain decided to revive the now abandoned celebration of Mardi Gras by dressing as a mythical Chickasaw Indian chief . . . his name? Chief Slackabamorinico.
Joined by his group of friends known as the Lost Cause Minstrels, Cain would parade through the streets of downtown in sight of the Union soldiers, and the citizens of Mobile.
Cain's revelry is credited with reviving Mobile's Mardi Gras, but his efforts might have been forgotten had it not been for Julian Lee Rayford.
In the Fashion of Cain himself, Rayford reminded the city of Joe Cain's contribution to Mardi Gras, reviving Cain's Indian Chief character, a reincarnation that still walks the streets of Mobile every Sunday before Fat Tuesday during the Joe Cain Parade.
