St. Bernard Parish contains a large community of Spanish descent. Sometimes referred to informally as "Spanish Cajuns", the are descended from Canary Islanders. This linguistically isolated group eventually developed its own dialect. The settled along , a relict distributary bayou of the Mississippi River. According to , who was in Louisiana from 1719 to 1738, ( is 'steer' or 'ox' in French, thus means 'land of oxen') was named in that period, presumably due to the presence of domestic or feral cattle there, and not because of bison ( in French). This settlement was called and by Spanish officials, but was also called (Spanish for 'land of oxen'). Saint Bernard, the patron saint of colonial governor , was used in documents to identify the area.