Where does the phrase in cahoots come from?

I found a new etymology site, World Wide Words, that promises to be hours of fun. Or as much fun as a strong believer with a descriptive language view can have reading about a prescriptivist's (would you rather I said peevologist) take on the observable aspects of language performance.

Well, the articles are fun to read and might interest many others.

For instance, read this writer's take on the new advertising gimmick that resulted in a bank being called Cahoots.

The article also has a little bit about the possible origins of that word/phrase (used to be in cahoots, remember?) and the connotations attached to that phrase.

Source:

World Wide Words