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BRINTON S LIBRARY OF
ABORIGINAL AMERICAN LITERATURE.
NUMBER IV.
A
MIGRATION LEGEND
OF THE
Creek Indians,
WITH A LINGUISTIC, HISTORIC AND ETHNOGRAPHIC
INTRODUCTION,
ALBERT S. GATSCHET,
OF THE U. S. BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY, WASHINGTON, D. i_,
VOLU M E I.
Nape y.ai /lipyair' a-KiGTsX'j'
a/iftpa raura tu>v ypsvwv.
Epicharmus.
PHILADELPHIA:
D. G. BRINTON.
1884-
a.
V»> w iih ■•-,. SU s_
UNIVERSITY:
v
\
Li aire Art i
Copyright,
By Daniel G. Brinton.
PHILADELPHIA :
Pkess of Wm. F. Fell & Co.,
1220-24 Sansom Street.
LIBRARY
OF
American
Literature.
No. IV.
EDITED BY
D. G. BRINTON, M. D.
PHILADELPHIA:
1884.
PREFATORY NOTE.
In the present work, Mr. ' Gatsctiet has carried out a much needed
investigation. The tribes who inhabited the watershed of the north shore
of the Mexican Gulf must always occupy a prominent place in the study
of American Ethnology, as possibly connecting the races of North and
South America, and those of the Valley of the Mississippi with those of
Anahuac and Mayapan.
Years ago the general editor of this series stated, in various publications,
the problems that region offers, and on finding the remarkable legend of
Chekilli, translated it and published it, as pointing to a solution of some of
the questions involved. This legend has, at his request, been taken by Mr.
Gatschet as a centre around which to group the ethnography of that whole
territory, as well as a careful analysis of the legend and its language.
The first volume contains the general discussion of the subject, and
closes with the Creek version of the Legend and its translation. The
second will contain the Hitchiti Version, the Notes, and Vocabulary.
One statement of the author, overlooked in the proof reading, seems of
sufficient importance to be corrected here. The Choctaw Grammar of
the late Rev. Cyrus Byington was published complete, and from his last
revision (1866-68), not as an extract from his first draft, as stated on page
117. The full particulars are given in the Introduction to the Grammar.
THE EDITOR.
111
PREFACE.
The present publication proposes to bring before the public, in popular
form, some scientific results obtained while studying the language and
ethnology of the Creek tribe and its ethnic congeners. The method of
furthering ethnographic study by all the means which the study of lan-
guage can afford, has been too little appreciated up to the present time,
but has been constantly kept in view in this publication. Language is not
only the most general and important help to ethnology, but outside of
race, it is also the most ancient of all ; ethnologists are well aware of this
fact, but do not generally apply it to their studies, because they find it too
tedious to acquire the language of unlettered tribes by staying long enough
among them.
The help afforded to linguistic studies by the books published in and
upon the Indian languages is valuable only for a few among the great
number of the dialects. The majority of them are laid down in phoneti-
cally defective missionary alphabets, about which we are prompted to
repeat what the citizens of the young colony of Mexico wrote to the
government of Spain, in Cortez's time : " Send to us pious and Christian
men, as preachers, bishops and missionaries, but do not send us scholars,
who, with their pettifogging distinctions and love of contention, create
nothing but disorder and strife." 1 In the same manner, some Creek
scholars and churchmen agreed five times in succession, before 1853,
upon standard alphabets to be followed in transcribing Creek, but, as
Judge G. W. Stidham justly remarks, made it worse each time. To arrive
at trustworthy results, it is therefore necessary to investigate the forms of
speech as they are in use among the Indians themselves.
Very few statements of the Kasi'hta migration legend can be made
available for history. It is wholly legendary, in its first portion even
mythical ; it is of a comparatively remote age, exceedingly instructive for
ethnography and for the development of religious ideas; it is full of that
sort of naiueti which we like so much to meet in the mental productions
of our aborigines, and affords striking instances of the debasing and
brutalizing influence of the unrestricted belief in the supernatural and
1 Quotation, ad sensum, from Benial Diaz" " Historia verdadera."
V
Vi PREFACE.
miraculous. Of the sun-worship, which underlies the religions of all the
tribes in the Gulf territories, only slight intimations are contained in the
Kasi'hta legend, and the important problem, whether the Creeks ever
crossed the Mississippi river from west to east in their migrations, seems
to be settled by it in the negative, although other legends may be adduced
as speaking in its favor.
Owing to deficient information on several Maskoki dialects, I have not
touched the problem of their comparative age. From the few indications
on hand, I am inclined to think that Alibamu and Koassati possess more
and Cha'hta less archaic forms than the other dialect-groups.
From Rev. H. C. Buckner's Creek Grammar, with its numerous de-
fects, I have extracted but a few conjugational forms of the verb isita to
take, but have availed myself of some linguistic manuscripts of Mrs. A.
E. W. Robertson, the industrious teacher and translator of many parts of
the Bible into Creek.
The re-translation of the legend into Creek and Hitchiti is due to Judge
G. W. Stidham, of Eufaula, Indian Territory, who in infancy witnessed
the emigration of his tribe, the Hitchiti, from the Chatahuchi river into
their present location. My heartfelt thanks are also due to other Indians,
who have materially helped me in my repeated revisions of the subject
matter embodied in these volumes, and in other investigations. They
were the Creek delegates to the Federal government, Chiefs Chicote and
Ispahidshi, Messrs. S. B. Callaghan, Grayson and Hodge.
I also fully acknowledge the services tendered by the officers of the
TJ. S. Bureau of Ethnology, as well as by Dr. Daniel G. Brinton and by
General Albert Pike, who placed the rich shelves of their libraries at
my disposition. In the kindest manner I was furnished with scientific
statements of various kinds by Messrs. W. R. Gerard, C. C. Royce and
Dr. W. C. Hoffmann.
THE AUTHOR.
Washington, August, 1884.
CONTENTS.
FIRST PART.
PAGE
THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES OF INDIANS 9
/. Linguistic Groups of the Gulf States.
Timucua, II. Calusa, 13. Tequesta, 15. Kataba, 15. Yuchi, 17.
Cheroki, 24. Arkansas, 29. Taensa, 30. Tangipahoa, 34.
Naktche, 34. Tonica, 39. Adai,4i. Pani, 42. Shetimasha, 44.
Atakapa, 45. Bidai, 47. Korea, 47. The Westo and Stono In-
dians, 48. The Linguistic Map, 49.
II. The Maskoki Family.
The Common Maskoki Language, 53. The Name Maskoki, 58.
Tribal Divisions; the Yamassi, 62. Yamacraw, 65. Seminole,
66. Apalachi, 74. Mikasuki, 76. Hitchiti, 77. The Hitchiti
Dialect, 80. Alibamu, 85. Koassati, 89. Chicasa, 90. Tribes
on the Yazoo River, 97. Cha'hta, 100. The Cha'hta Language, 116.
III. The Creek Indians.
Creek Settlements, 120. List of Towns, 124. The Indian Pathways,
151. The Creek Government, 152. Tribal Divisions and Gentes,
153. Civil Government, 156. The Warrior Class, 158. War
Titles, 160. War Customs, 164. Organization of the Confederacy,
168. The Public Square, 171. The Annual Busk, 177. Further
Ethnographic Notes, 183. Creek History, 188. The Creek Dia-
lect, 198. Lexical Affinities, 212.
SECOND FART.
The KasVhta Migration Legend.
Indian Migration Legends, 214. Migration Legends of the Creek
Tribes, 222. TchikilU's Kasi'hta Legend, 235. The Text, 237.
The Translation, 244.
VII
A MIGRATION LEGEND
OF
THE CREEK INDIANS.
FIRST OR GENERAL PART.
THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES OF INDIANS.
The early explorers of the Gulf territories have left to
posterity a large amount of information concerning the natives
whom they met as friends or fought as enemies. They have
described their picturesque attire, their curious, sometimes"
awkward, habits and customs, their dwellings and plantations,
their government in times of peace and war, as exhaustively
as they could do, or thought fit to do. They distinguished
tribes from confederacies, and called the latter kingdoms and
empires, governed by princes, kings and emperors. But the
characteristics of race and language, which are the most
important for ethnology, because they are the most ancient
' in their origin, are not often alluded to by them, and when
the modern sciences of anthropology and ethnology had
been established on solid principles many of these southern
races had already disappeared or intermingled, and scientific
inquiry came too late for their investigation.
A full elucidation of the history and antiquities of the
subject of our inquiries, the Creeks, is possible only after
having obtained an exhaustive knowledge of the tribes and
nations living around them. The more populous among
them have preserved their language and remember many of
2 9
10 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
their ancestors' customs and habits, so that active exploration
in the field can still be helpful to us in many respects in
tracing and rediscovering their ancient condition. Three
centuries ago the tribes of the Maskoki family must have
predominated in power over all their neighbors, as they do
even now in numbers, and had formed confederacies uniting
distant tribes. Whether they ever crossed the Mississippi
river or not, the Indians of this family are as thoroughly
southern as their neighbors, and seem to have inhabited
southern lands for times immemorial. The scientists who
now claim that they descend from the mound builders, do so
only on the belief that they must have dwelt for uncounted
centuries in the fertile tracts where Hernando de Soto found
them, and where they have remained up to a recent epoch.
In the territory once occupied by their tribes no topographic
name appears to point to an earlier and alien population;
and as to their exterior, the peculiar olive admixture to their
cinnamon complexion is a characteristic which they have in
common with all other southern tribes.
My introduction to the Kasi'hta national legend proposes
to assign to the- Creeks: (i) their proper position in the
Maskoki family and among their other neighbors; and (2)
to describe some of their ethnologic characteristics. The
material has been divided in several chapters, which I have -
in their logical sequence arranged as follows :
Linguistic families traceable within the Gulf States.
The Maskoki group ; its historic subdivisions.
The Creek Indians ; tribal topography, historic and ethno-
graphic notices, sketch of their language.
I. LINGUISTIC GROUPS OF THE GULF STATES.
In the history of the Creeks, and in their legends of migra-
tion, many references occur to the tribes around them, with
whom they came in contact. These contacts were chiefly of
a hostile character, for the normal state of barbaric tribes
TIMUCUA. 11
is to live in almost permanent mutual conflicts. What follows
is an attempt to enumerate and sketch them, the sketch to be
of a prevalently topographic nature. We are not thoroughly
acquainted with the racial or anthropological peculiarities of
the nations surrounding the Maskoki proper on all sides, but
in their languages we possess an excellent help for classifying
them. Language is not an absolute indicator of race, but it
is more so in America than elsewhere, for the large number
of linguistic families in the western .hemisphere proves that
the populations speaking their dialects have suffered less than
in the eastern by encroachment, foreign admixture, forcible
alteration or entire destruction.
Beginning at the southeast, we first meet the historic
Timucua family, the tribes of which are extinct at the present
time ; and after describing the Indians of the Floridian Pe-
ninsula, southern extremity, we pass over to the Yuchi, on
Savannah river, to the Naktche, Taensa and the other stocks
once settled along and beyond the mighty Uk'hina, or
"water road" of the Mississippi river.
TIMUCUA.
In the sixteenth century the Timucua inhabited the northern
and middle portion of the peninsula of Florida, and although
their exact limits to the north are unknown, they held a
portion of Florida bordering on Georgia, and some of the
coast islands in the Atlantic Ocean, as Guale (then the name
of Amelia) and others. The more populous settlements of
these Indians lay on the eastern coast of Florida, along the
St. John's river and its tributaries, and in the northeastern
angle of the Gulf of Mexico. Their southernmost villages
known to us were Hirrihigua, near Tampa Bay, and Tucururu,
near Cape Canaveral, on the Atlantic Coast.
The people received its name from one of their villages
called Timagoa, Thimagoua (Timoga on De Bry's map),
situated on one of the western tributaries of St. John's river,
12 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
and having some political importance. The name means
lord, ruler, master [atimuca "waited upon (muca) by ser-
vants (ati)] ;" and the. people's name is written Atimuca early
in the eighteenth century. We first become acquainted with
their numerous tribes through the memoir of Alvar Nunez
Cabeca de Vaca, the three chroniclers of de Soto's expedi-
tion, and more fully through Rene de Laudonniere (1564).
Two missionaries of the 'Franciscan order, Francisco Pareja
(161 2 sqq.) and Gregorio de Mouilla (1635), have composed
devotional books in their vocalic language. De Bry's Brevis
Narratio, Frankfort a. M., 1591, contains a map of their
country, and engravings representing their dwellings, fights,
dances and mode of living.
A few words of their language (Jengua timuquana in Spanish)
show affinity with Maskoki, others with Carib. From 1595
A. D. they gradually became converted to Christianity, re-
volted in 1687 against their Spanish oppressors, and early in
the eighteenth century (1706) were so reduced in number
that they yielded easily to the attacks of the Yamassi Indians,
who, instigated by English colonists, made incursions upon
their villages from the North. Their last remnants withdrew
to the Mosquito Lagoon, in Volusia County, Florida, where
the name of the Tomoco river still recalls their tribal name.
In 1564, Ren6 de Laudonniere heard of five head chiefs
(paracusi) of confederacies in the Timucua country, and from
Pareja we can infer that seven or more dialects were spoken
in its circumference. The five head chiefs, Saturiwa, Holata
Utina, Potanu, Onethcaqua and Hostaqua are only -tribal
names (in the second, Utina is the tribal appellation), and
the dialects, as far as known, were those of Timagoa,
Potanu, Itafi, the Fresh-Water district, Tucururu, Santa Lucia
de Acuera, and Mocama (" on the coast"). The last but
one probably coincided with that of AIs.
The AIs Indians, who held the coast from Cape Canaveral,
where the Spaniards had the post Santa Lucia, to a lagoon
CALUSA. 13
once called Aisahatcha (viz., Ais river), were considered as
a people distinct from the Timucua. They worshiped the
sun in the shape of a stuffed deer raised upon the end of a
high beam planted in the ground; this gave, probably,
origin to their name Ais, for B. Romans interprets Aisa-
hatcha by Deer river (itchi, itche deer, in Creek and Semi-
nole). Their territory formed the northern part of the
"province" of Tequesta. Cf. B. Romans, East and West
Florida (New York, 1775), pp. 2. 260. 273. 281. Herrera,
Dec. IV, 4, 7. Barcia, Ensayo, p. 118.
CALUSA.
The languages spoken by the Calusa and by the people next
in order, the Tequesta, are unknown to us, and thus cannot
be mentioned here as forming separate linguistic stocks.
I simply make mention of these tribes, because they were
regarded as people distinct from the Timucua and the tribes
of Maskoki origin.
The Calusa held the southwestern extremity of Florida,
and their tribal name is left recorded in Calusahatchi, a river
south of Tampa bay. They are called Calos on de Bry's
map (1591), otherwise Colusa, Callos, Carlos, and formed a
confederacy of many villages, the names of which are given
in the memoir of Hernando d'Escalante Fontanedo (Memoire
sur la Floride, in Ternaux-Compans' Collection XX, p. 22;
translated from the original Spanish). These names were
written down in 1559, and do not show much affinity with
Timucua ; but since they are the only remnants of the Calusa
language, I present the full list : " Tampa, Tomo, Tuchi, Sogo,
No (which signifies 'beloved village'), Sinapa, Sinaesta,
Metamapo, Sacaspada, Calaobe, Estame, Yagua, Guaya,
Guevu, Muspa, Casitoa, Tatesta, Coyovea, Jutun, Tequemapo,
Comachica, Quiseyove and two others in the vicinity. There
are others in the interior, near Lake Mayaimi — viz., Cutespa,
Tavaguemue, Tomsobe, Enempa and twenty others. Two
14 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
upon the Lucayos obey to the cacique of Carlos, Guarunguve
and Cuchiaga. Carlos and his deceased father were the
rulers of these fifty towns." Fontanedo states that he was
prisoner in these parts from his thirteenth to his thirtieth
year; that he knew four languages, but was not familiar with
those of Ais and Teaga, not having been there.
One of these names is decidedly Spanish, Sacaspada or
" Draw-the-sword " ; two others appear to be Timucua, Cala-
obe (kala fruit; abo stalk, tree) and Comachica {hica land,
country). Some may be explained by the Creek language,
but only one of them, Tampa (itimpi close to it, near it) is
Creek to a certainty; Tuchi resembles tutchi kidneys ; Sogo,
sa-uka rattle, gourd-rattle, and No is the radix of a-no-kitcha
lover, anukidshas I love, which agrees with the interpretation
given by Fontanedo. Tavaguemue may possibly contain the
Creek tawa sumach ; Mayaimi (Lake), which Fontanedo ex-
plains by "very large," the Creek augmentative term mahi,
and Guevu the Creek u-iwa water.
The Spanish orthography, in which these names are laid
down, is unfitted for transcribing Indian languages, perhaps
as much so as the English orthography; nevertheless, we
recognize the frequently-occurring terminal -esta, -sta, which
sounds quite like Timucua. There are no doubt many geo-
•graphic terms, taken from Seminole-Creek, in the south of
the peninsula as well as in the north; it only remains to
determine what age we have to ascribe to them.
The Calusa bore the reputation of being a savage and
rapacious people, and B. Romans (p. 292) denounces them as
having been pirates. He informs us (p. 289), that "at Sandy
Point, the southern extremity of the peninsula, are large
fields, being the lands formerly planted by the Colusa
savages;" and that "they were driven away from the conti-
nent by the Creeks, their more potent neighbors." In 1763
the remnants, about eighty families, went to Havannah from
their last possessions at Cayos Vacos and Cayo Hueso (hueso,
KATABA. 15
bone), where Romans saw the rests of their stone habitations
(p. 291); now called Cayos bajos and Key West.
On the languages spoken in these parts more will be found
under the heading "Seminole."
TEQUESTA.
Of the Tequesta people on the southeastern end of the
peninsula we know still less than of the Calusa Indians. There
was a tradition that they were the same people which held
the Bahama or Lucayo Islands, and the local names of the
Florida coast given by Fontanedo may partly refer to this
nationality.
They obtained their name from a "village, Tequesta, which
lay on a river coming from Lake Mayaimi (Fontanedo in
Ternaux-C, XX, p. 14) and was visited by Walter Raleigh
(Barcia, Ensayo, p. 161). The lands of the A'is formed the
northern portion of the Tequesta domains, and a place called
Mocossou is located there on de Bry's map.
This extinct tribe does not seem to have come in contact
with the Creeks, though its area is now inhabited by Semi-
noles.
KATABA.
The Kataba Indians of North and South Carolina are
mentioned here only incidentally, as they do not appear to
have had much intercourse with any Maskoki tribe. The
real extent of this linguistic group is unknown; being in
want of any vocabularies besides that of the Kataba, on
Kataba river, S. C, and of the Woccons, settled near the
coast of N. C, we are not inclined to trust implicitly the
statement of Adair, who speaks of a large Kataba confed-
eracy embracing twenty-eight villages "of different nations,"
on Santee, Combahee, Congaree and other rivers, and speak-
ing dialects of the Kataba language. The Waterees, seen by
Lawson, probably belonged to this stock, and the Woccons
lived contiguous to the Tuscarora-Iroquois tribe.
16 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
The passage of Adair being the only notice on the extent
of the Kataba language found in the early authors, excepting
Lawson, I transcribe it here in full (History, pp. 224. 225):
"About the year 1743, the nation (of the Katahba) consisted
of almost four hundred warriors, of above twenty different
dialects. I shall mention a few of the national names of
those who make up this mixed language ; the K&tahba is the
standard or court dialect — the Wateree, who make up a large
town ; Eenb, Charah, \\-wah, now Chowan, Canggaree, Nachee,
lamasee, Coosah, etc. Their country had an old waste field
of seven miles extent, and several others of smaller dimen-
sions, which shows that they were formerly a numerous people,
to cultivate so much land with their dull stone axes, etc. ' '
After Charah a new page begins, and the -wah following,
which has no connection with what precedes, proves that
there is a printer's lacune, perhaps of a whole line. Eeno
is given by Lawson as a Tuscarora town j 1 Charah is the
ancient Sara, Saura, Saraw or Sarau mentioned by Lederer
and others. The " Nachee " certainly did not speak a Kataba
language, nor is there much probability that the Yamassi did
so. By the Coosah are probably meant the Indians living
on Coosawhatchee river, South Carolina, near Savannah.
Adair, in his quality as trader, had visited the Kataba
settlements personally. 2
Penicaut, in his "Relation," 3 mentions a curious fact,
which proves that the alliances of the Kataba extended over
a wide territory in the South. In 1708, the Alibamu had
invited warriors of the Cheroki, Abika and Kataba (here
called Cadapouces, Canapouces) to an expedition against the
Mobilians and the French at Fort Mobile. These hordes
1 Reprint of 1860, pp. 97. 100. 101. 383.
2 Cf. B. R. Carroll, Histor. Collect, of S. C, II, p. 243. Lawson states
that the Congaree dialect was not understood by the Waterees and Chic-
arees.
3 Margry, Dicouvertcs, V, 477.
YUCHI. 17
arrived near the bay, and were supposed to number four
thousand men ; they withdrew without inflicting much
damage. More about this expedition under "Alibamu,"
q. v.
YUCHI.
None of all the allophylic tribes referred to in this First
Part stood in closer connection with the Creeks or Maskoki
proper than the Yuchi or Uchee Indians. They constituted
a portion of their confederacy from the middle of the eigh-
teenth century, and this gives us the opportunity to discuss
their peculiarities more in detail than those of the other
"outsiders." They have preserved their own language and
customs; no mention is made of them in the migration legend,
and the Creeks have always considered them as a peculiar
people.
General Pleasant Porter has kindly favored me with a few
ethnologic points, gained by himself from Yuchi Indians,
who inhabit the largest town in the Creek Nation, Indian
Terr., with a population of about 500. "In bodily size they
are smaller than the Creeks, but lithe and of wiry musculature,
the muscles often protruding from the body. Their descent
is in the male line, and they were once polygamous. It is a
disputed fact whether they ever observed the custom of flat-
tening their children's heads, like some of their neighbors.
They call themselves children of the Sun, and sun worship
seems to have been more pronounced here than with other
tribes of the Gulf States. The monthly efflux of the Sun,
whom they considered as of the female sex, fell to the earth,
as they say, and from this the Yuchi people took its origin.
They increase in number at the present time, and a part of
them are still pagans. Popularly expressed, their language
sounds 'like the warble of the prairie-chickens.' It is stated
that their conjurers' songs give a clue to all their antiquities
and symbolic customs. They exclude the use of salt from all
drugs which serve them as medicine. While engaged in making ,
18 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
medicine they sing the above songs for a time; then comes
the oral portion of their ritual, which is followed by other
songs."
Not much is known of their language, but it might be
easily obtained from the natives familiar with English. From
what we know of it, it shows no radical affinity with any
known American tongue, and its phonetics have often been
noticed for their strangeness. They are said to speak with
an abundance of arrested sounds or voice-checks, from which
they start again with a jerk of the voice. The accent often
rests on the ultima (Powell's mscr. vocabulary), and Ware
ascribes to them, though wrongly, the Hottentot cluck.
The numerals follow the decimal, not the quinary system
as they do in the Maskoki languages. The lack of a dual
form in the intransitive verb also distinguishes Yuchi from
the latter.
The earliest habitat of the Yuchi, as far as traceable, was
on both sides of the Savannah river, apd Yuchi towns existed
there down to the middle of the eighteenth century.
When Commander H. de Soto reached these parts, with his
army, the "queen" (sefiora, cacica) of the country met him
at the town Cofetacque on a barge, a circumstance which
testifies to the existence of a considerable water-course there.
Cofetacque, written also Cofitachiqui (Biedma), Cofachiqui
(Garcilaso de la Vega), Cutifachiqui (consonants inverted,
Elvas) was seven days' march from Chalaque (Cheroki)
" province," and distant from the sea about thirty leagues, as
stated by the natives of the place. There were many ruined
towns in the vicinity, we are told by the Fidalgo de Elvas.
One league from there, in the direction up stream, was Talo-
meco town, the "temple" of which is described as a won-
derful and curious structure by Garcilaso. Many modern
historians have located these towns on the middle course of
Savannah river, and Charles C. Jones (Hernando de Soto,
1880; pp. 27. 29) believes, with other investigators, that
YUCHI. 19
Cofetacque stood at Silver Bluff, on the left bank of the
Savannah river, about twenty-five miles by water below
Augusta. The domains of that "queen," or, as we would
express it, the towns and lands of that confederacy, extended
from there up to the Cheroki mountains.
The name Cofita-chiqui seems to prove by itself that these
towns were inhabited by Yuchi Indians ; for it contains
kowita, the Yuchi term for Indian, and apparently " Indian
of our own tribe." This term appears in all the vocabula-
ries: kawita, man, male; kohwita, ko-ita, plural kohino'h,
man; kota, man, contracted from kow'ta, kowita; also
in compounds: kowet-ten-choo, chief; kohitta makinnung,
chief of a people. The terms for the parts of the human body
all begin with ko-. The second part of the name, -chiqui, is
a term foreign to Yuchi, but found in all the dialects of
Maskoki in the function of house, dwelling, (tchuku, tch6ko,
and in the eastern or Apalachian dialects, tchiki) and has to
be rendered here in the collective sense of houses, town.
Local names to be compared with Cofitachiqui are : Cofachi,
further south, and Acapachiqui, a tract of land near Apalache.
The signification of the name Yutchi, plural Yutchiha, by
which this people calls itself, is unknown. All the surround-
ing Indian tribes call them Yuchi, with the exception of the
Lenapi or Delawares, who style them Tahogalewi.
But there are two sides to this question. We find the local
name Kawita, evidently the above term, twice on middle
Chatahuchi river, and also in Cofetalaya, settlements of the
Cha'hta Indians in Tala and Green counties, Mississippi.
Did any Yuchi ever live in these localities in earlier epochs?
Garcilaso de Vega, Florida III, c. 10, states that Juan Ortiz,
who had been in the Floridian peninsula before, acted as
interpreter at Cofitachiqui. This raises the query, did the
natives of this "capital" speak Creek or Yuchi? Who
will attempt to give an irrefutable answer to this query ?
The existence of a " queen " or cacica, that is, of a chief's
20 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
widow invested with the authority of a chief, seems to show
that Cofetacque town or confederacy did not belong to the
Maskoki connection, for we find no similar instance in Creek
towns. Among the Yuchi, succession is in the male line, but
the Hitchiti possess a legendary tradition, according to which
the first chief that ever stood at the head of their community
was a woman.
To determine the extent of the lands inhabited or claimed
by the Yuchi in de Soto's time, is next to impossible. At a
later period they lived on the eastern side of the Savannah
river, and on its western side as far as Ogeechee river, and
upon tracts above and below Augusta," Georgia. These tracts
were claimed by them as late as 1736. John Filson, in his
"Discovery etc. of Kentucky" vol. II, 84-87 (1793), gives
a list of thirty Indian tribes, and a statement on Yuchi
towns, which he must have obtained from a much older
source: "Uchees occupy four different places of residence,
at the head of St. John's, the fork of St. Mary's, the head of
Cannouchee and the head of St. Tillis. 1 These rivers rise on
the borders of Georgia and run separately into the ocean."
To Cannouchee answers a place Canosi, mentioned in Juan
de la Vandera's narrative (1569) ; the name, however, is
Creek and not Yuchi. Hawkins states that formerly Yuchi
were settled in small villages at Ponpon, Saltketchers and
Silver Bluff, S. C, and on the Ogeechee river, Ga. In 1739
a Yuchi town existed on the Savannah river, twenty-five miles
above Ebenezer, which is in Effingham county, Georgia, near
Savannah City (Jones, Tomochichi, p. 117 ; see next page).
From notices, contained in the first volume of Urlsperger's
" Ausfuhrliche Nachricht," pp. 845. 850-851, we gather
the facts that this Yuchi town was five miles above the Apa-
lachicola Fort, which stood in the " Pallachucla savanna,"
and that its inhabitants celebrated an annual busk, which
was at times visited by the colonists. Governor Oglethorpe
1 The present Satilla river; falsely written St Ilia, Santilla, St Tillie.
YUCHI. 21
concluded an alliance with this town, and when he exchanged
presents to confirm the agreement made, he obtained skins
from these Indians. Rev. Boltzius, the minister of the Salz-
burger emigrants, settled in the vicinity, depicts their char-
acter in dark colors ; he states " they are much inclined to
Robbing and Stealing," but was evidently influenced by the
Yamassi and Yamacraw in their vicinity, who hated them as
a race foreign to themselves. Of these he says, " these Creeks
are Honest, Serviceable and Disinterested." 1 •
The reason why the Yuchi people gradually left their old
seats and passed over to Chatahuchi and Flint rivers is
stated as follows by Benj. Hawkins, United States Agent
among the Creeks in his instructive "Sketch of the Creek
Country" (1799).*
In 1729, "Captain Ellick," an old chief of Kasi'hta,
married three Yuchi women and brought them to Kasi'hta.
This was greatly disliked by his townspeople, and he was
prevailed upon to move across Chatahuchi river, opposite to
where Yuchi town was in Hawkins' time; he settled there
with his three brothers, two of whom had intermarried with
Yuchis.. After this, the chief collected all the Yuchi people,
gave ,them lands on the site of Yuchi town, and there they
settled.
Hawkins eulogizes the people by stating that they are more
civil, orderly and industrious than their neighbors (the Lower
Creeks), the men more attached to their wives, and these
more chaste. He estimates the number of their warriors
("gun-men"), including those of the three branch. villages,
at about two hundred and fifty. These branch towns were
Intatchkalgi, "beaver-dam people"; Padshilaika, "pigeon
roost"; and Tokogalgi, "tad-pole people", on Flint river
1 Extract from Rev. B's Journal; London, 1734, !2mo, p. 37.
2 Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, vol. Ill, part first, pp.
61-63 (Savannah, 1848).
* See below : List of Creek Settlements.
22 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
and its side creeks; while a few Yuchi had gone to the
Upper Creeks and settled there at Sawan6gi. Yuchi, the
main town, lay on the western bank of Chatahuchi river, on
a tributary called Yuchi creek, ten and one-half miles below
Kawita Talahassi, and two miles above Osutchi. Another
water course, called " Uchee river," runs from the west into
Oklokoni river, or "Yellow. Water," in the southwestern
corner of the State of Georgia. Morse, in his list of Semi-
nole settlements (1822), mentions a Yuchi town near Mika-
suki, Florida.
The main Yuchi town on Chatahuchi river was built in a
vast plain rising from the river. W. Bartram, who saw it
in 1775, depicts it as the largest, most compact, and best
situated Indian town he ever saw; the habitations were large
and neatly built, the walls of the houses consisted of a wooden
frame, lathed and plastered inside and outside with a reddish
clay, and roofed with cypress bark or shingles. He esti-
mated the number of the inhabitants at one thousand or
fifteen hundred. They were usually at variance with the
Maskoki confederacy, and "did not mix" with its people,
but were wise enough to unite with them against a common
enemy (Travels, pp. 386. 387).
The early reports may often have unconsciously included
the Yuchi among the Apalachi 1 and Apalatchukla. Among
the chiefs who accompanied Tomochichi, miko of the Yama-
craw Indians, to England in 1733, was Umphichi or
Umpeachy, "a Uchee chief from Palachocolas." 2
William Bartram, who traveled through these parts from
1773 to 1778, and published his "Travels" many years later, 3
calls them " Uche or Savannuca,' ' which is the Creek Sawan6gi,
or "dwellers upon Savannah river." This name Savannuca,
and many equally sounding names, have caused much con-
1 Cf. Gallatin, Synopsis, p. 95.
2 Chas. C. Jones, Tomochichi, pp. 58. 83.
3 Published Philadelphia, 1791.
YUCHI. 23
fusion concerning a supposed immigration of the Shawano
or Shawnee Indians (of the Algonkin race) into Georgia,
among historians not posted in Indian languages. Sawan6gi
is derived from Savannah river, which is named after the
prairies extending on both sides, these being called in Spanish
sabana. Sabana, and savane in the Canadian French, desig-
nate a grassy plain, level country, prairie, also in Span, pasture
extending over a plain ; from Latin sabana napkin. It still
occurs in some local names of Canada and of Spanish
America. But this term has nothing at all in common with
the Algonkin word shawano south, from which are derived
the tribal names: Shawano or Shawnee, once on Ohio and
Cumberland rivers and their tributaries ; Chowan in Southern
Virginia; Siwoneys in Connecticut; Sawannoe in New Jersey
(about 1616); Chaouanons, the southern division of the
Illinois or Maskoutens.
These tribes, and many others characterized as southerners
by the same or similar Algonkin names, had no connection
among themselves, besides the affinity in their dialects, which
for the Chowans is not even certain. The tradition that
Shawanos existed in Upper Georgia, around Tugelo, and on
the head waters of the large Georgia rivers, requires therefore
further examination. Milfort, in his M6moire (pp. 9. 10)
states that lands were obtained from "les Savanogues, sauvages
qui habitent cette partie (de Tougoulou)," for the plantation
of vineyards, about 1775. The name of the Suwanee river,
Florida, and that of Suwanee Creek and town, northeast of
Atlanta, Georgia, seem to contain the Creek term sawani
echo. By all means, these names cannot serve to prove the
presence of the Shawano tribe in these eastern parts, but a
settlement of Shawanos, also called Sawanogi, existed on Talla-
poosa river, where they seem to have been mixed with Yuchi. 1
A. Gallatin, "Synopsis of the Indian Tribes," p. 95, men-
1 Cf. List of Creek Towns, and Penicaut, in B. French, Hist. Coll. La.,
new series, p. 126; Force, Some Notices on Indians of Ohio, p. 22.
24 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
tions a tradition, according to which "the ancient seats of the
Yuchi were east of the Coosa, and probably of the Chatahuchi
river, and that they consider themselves as the most ancient
inhabitants of the country." Of which country? If the
whole country is meant, which was at the dawn of history
held by Maskoki tribes, the name of the Yazoo river may be
adduced as an argument, for the truth of this tradition, for
yasu, yashu is the Yuchi term for leaf and any leaf-bearing
tree, even pines (from ya, wood, tree), and Kawita has been
mentioned above. From a thorough comparative study of
the Yuchi language, the Maskoki dialects and the local
nomenclature of the country, we can alone expect any reli-
able information upon the extent and the area of territory
anciently held by the Yuchi ; but at present it is safest to
locate their "priscan home" upon both sides of Lower
Savannah river.
CHEROKI.
Intercourse between the Creek and the Cheroki Indians
must have taken place in prehistoric times, as evidenced by
local names, and more so by Cheroki terms adopted into the
Creek language.
The Cheroki, or more correctly, Tsalagi nation is essen-
tially a hill people; their numerous settlements were divided
into two great sections by the watershed ridge of the Alle-
ghany mountains, in their language Unega katusi (" white,
whitish mountains"'), of which even now a portion is called
"Smoky Mountains." Northwest of that ridge lay the
Cheroki villages of the Overkill settlement, dtari, Otali ("up,
above"), along the Great and Little Tennessee rivers and their
tributaries, while southeast of it, in the mountains of North
Carolina and on the head waters of the Georgia rivers, ex-
tended the towns of the Lower CheroM, or Erati (in Cheroki
elati, below, nether). There were also a number of Cheroki
villages in the northern parts of Alabama State, and du Pratz
distinctly states, that the "Cheraquies" lived east of the
CHEROKI. 25
Abe-ikas. 1 While calling a person of their own people by the
name of Atsalagi, in the plural Anitsalagi, they comprise all
the Creeks under the name of Kusa, from Coosa river, or
more probably from the ancient, far-famed town of the same
name : Agusa, Kusa, Giisa, a Creek person; Anigusa, the Creek
people; Gusa uniwoni'hsti, the Creek language.
The Cheroki language was spoken in many .dialects before
the people emigrated to the lands allotted to them in the
northeastern part of the Indian Territory, and even now a
difference may be observed between the Western Cheroki
and the Eastern or Mountain Cheroki, which is the language
of the people that remained in the hills of Western North
Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. 2 Mr. Horatio Hale has
recently demonstrated the affinity of Cheroki with the Iro-
quois stock; 3 Wendat and Tuscarora form other dialectic
branches of it, showing much closer relation to the Iroquois
dialects of Western New York than Cheroki. Thirty-two
terms of the Keowe dialect (Lower Cheroki), taken down by
B. Hawkins, are embodied in an unpublished vocabulary,
which is in the possession of the American Philosophical
Society in Philadelphia. 4 Another ancient dialect is that of
Kitowa or Kitua ; this is the name by which the Cheroki are
known among several northern tribes, as Delawares and Sha-
wano (cf. below) ; it was also the name of a secret society
among the Cheroki, which existed at the time of the Secession
war.
The Cheroki Indians are bodily well developed, rather
1 Le Page du Pratz, Hist, de la Louisiane, II, p. 208 sq. (Paris, 1758) :
" A l'est des Abe-ikas sont les Cheraquis."
a The Mountain Cheroki are centering around Quallatown, Haywood
county, N. C, and an United States agent is residing in their country.
Their population is about 1600; others live in Northern Georgia.
a H. Hale, "Indian Migrations, as evidenced by language." American
Antiquarian, vol. V, pp. 18-28 and 108-124 ('883).
* The name Keowe is taken from a narcotic plant used for catching
fish, which grew in the vicinity of that village.
26 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
tall in stature and of an irritable temper, flashing up easily.
In the eighteenth century they were engaged in constant
wars, and from their mountain fastnesses made sallies upon all
the surrounding Indian tribes. The Iroquois or " Northern
Indians" attacked them in their own country, as they also
did the Kataba and Western Algonkins. A warlike spirit
pervaded the whole Cheroki nation, and even women par-
ticipated in their raids and fights. 1
Wm. Bartram states, that the Cheroki men had a lighter
and more olive complexion than the contiguous Creek tribes,
adding that some of their young girls were nearly as fair
and blooming as European women. H. Timberlake, who
visited a portion of their villages (on Great Tennessee river)
in 1762, represents them as of a middle stature, straight, well
built, with small heads and feet, and 6f an olive color,
though generally painted. They shaved the hair of their
heads, and many of the old people had it plucked out by
the roots, the scalp-lock only remaining. The ears were slit
and stretched to an enormous circumference, an operation
which caused them incredible pain and was adopted from
the Shawano or some other northern nation. The women
wore the hair long, even reaching to the knees, but plucked
it out from all the other parts of the body, especially the
looser part of the sex (Memoirs, pp. 49-51). Polygamy then
existed among them. They erected houses extending some-
times from sixty to seventy feet in length, but rarely over
sixteen in width, and covered them with narrow boards.
Some of these houses were two stories high, and a hot-house
or sudatory stood close to every one of these capacious
structures. They also made bark canoes and canoes of
poplar" or pine, from thirty to forty feet long and about
1 Lieut. H. Timberlake, Memoirs (London, 1765), pp. 70. 71. Urlsper-
ger, Nachricht, I, p. 658, where they are called " Tzerrickey Indianer."
D. Coxe calls them Sulluggees.
1 The term for poplar, tsiyu, is also the term for canoe and for trough.
CHEROKI. 27
two feet broad, with flat bottoms and sides. Pottery was
made by them of red and white clay (Ibid., pp. 5.9-62).
The male population was divided into a class of head-men
or chiefs, recruited by popular election, the selection being
made among the most valorous men and the best orators in
their councils; and in two classes of "yeomen": the
"warriors" and the "fighting men," these being inferior
to the warriors.
Distinction in reward of exploits was conferred through
the honorary titles of Outacity, "man killer," Kolona,
"raven" and "Beloved," names to which parallels will be
found among the Creeks. (Ibid., pp. 70, 71.)
Seven clans or gentes exist among the Cheroki, and many
of them observe to the present day the regulations imposed
by the gentile organization. They will not marry into their
own gens or phratry, for instance. The totems of these
gentes (anataya"we, gens, clan) were obtained in 1880 from
Mr. Richard Wolf, delegate of the people to the United States
government, as follows:
1 . Aniweyahia anataya^we, wolf gens, the most important
of all.
2. Ane-igil6hi anataya"we, long hair gens.
3. Anigodege'we, the gens to which Mr. Wolf belongs.
They can marry into all gentes, except into the long hair
clan, because this contains their "aunts" (a'loki).
4. Anitsi'skwa, bird gens.
5. Amwo'te,j>aint gens; (wo'te,wo'de, clay; diDxwo't\,painf).
6. Anigo-ule, anikulg, acorn gens.
7. Anisahone, blue gens.
Besides the fact that gentes Nos. 2 and 3 belong to one
phratry, the other phratries and their names were not remem-
bered by the informant. The prefix ani- marks the plural of
animate beings.
The list of totemic gentes printed in Lewis H. Morgan,
Ancient Society, p. 164, differs from the above in giving ten
28 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
gentes, two being extinct, and one or two being perhaps
phratries and not gentes: —
i. fT^aniwhiya. 2. Red paint, aniw6te. 3. Long prairie,
anigatagani'h. 4. Deaf (a. bird), dsuliniana. 5. Holly tree,
anisdasdi. 6. Deer, anikawi'h. 7. Blue, anisahokni. 8.
Long hair, anikalohair 9. Acorn, anidsula (extinct). 10.
Bird, anidseskwa (extinct).
The names of several Cheroki towns are mentioned by the
historians of de Soto's expedition, which traversed a portion
of their country ; by Adair, Timberlake and by Wm. Bartram,
who has left a long list of their settlements.
The rare publication : Weston (PI. Chas. Jennett), Docu-
ments connected with the History of South Carolina, London,
1856, 4to, contains an article by de Brahm, which gives an
ethnologic sketch and many other particulars of the Southern
Indians, and especially refers to the Cheroki (pp. 218-227).
The English- Cheroki war, from February to August, 1760,
is narrated pp. 208-213.
The tradition that the Cheroki, or rather a portion of
them, were found living in caves, is substantiated by the
appellation "Cave-dwellers," given to them by the Northern
Indians. The Comanches call them Ebikuita; the Senecas,
Uyada, cave-men ; the Wendat, Uwatayo-r6no, from uwatayo,
which in their language means "hole in the ground, cave ;"
the Shawano call them 'Katowa, plural Katowagi ; and the
Delawares by the same name, Gatohua (Barton, Appendix,
p. 8: Gatt6chwa). This refers to Kitowa, one of their towns
previously mentioned. Caves of the old Cheroki country
were examined by archaeologists, and some of them showed
marks of former occupation, especially caves in Sullivan and
Hawkins counties, Tennessee. This reminds us of the Trog-
lodytse and Mandritae of ancient times, of the Cliff-Dwellers
on Upper Colorado river, New Mexico, and of other American
tribes, which lived in caves. Thus a Shasti tribe, the Weo-
how, are reported to have received this name from a " stone
ARKANSAS. 29
house" or rock dwelling situated in their country, east of
Shasta River and south of the Siskiyou Mountains. 1
Lists of the ancient Cheroki towns will be found in W.
Bartram's Travels, p. 371-372 (forty-three), in H. Timber-
lake (his map is also reproduced in Jefferys' Topography of
N. A., an atlas in fol., 1762), and in J. Gerar W. de Brahm,
Hist, of the Prov. of Georgia, Wormsloe 1849, f°l-> P- 54-
ARKANSAS.
None of the numerous Algonkin tribes lived in the imme-
diate neighborhood of the Maskoki family of Indians, but of
the Dakotan stock the Arkansas (originally Akansa — the
Akansea of Father Gravier), dwelt in close proximity, and
had frequent intercourse with this Southern nation.
Penicaut relates 2 that the French commander, Lemoyne
d'lberville, sailed up the Mississippi river, and sixty leagues
above the mouth of the Yazoo found the mouth of the Arkan-
sas river; eight leagues above, on the same western shore,
was the nation of the Arkansas, and in their town were two
other "nations," called Torimas and Kappas. By these
warlike and hunting tribes he was received in a friendly
manner. The men are described as stout and thick-set
(gros et trapus), the women as pretty and light-complexioned.
Imahao, another Arkansas village, is mentioned in Margry
IV, 179. The affluent of the Mississippi on which the
Arkansas were settled was, according to D. Coxe, Carolana,
p. 11, the Ousoutowy river : another name for Arkansas river.
From Rev. J. Owen Dorsey, who makes a special study of all
the Dakota tribes, I obtained the following oral information,
founded on his personal intercourse with individuals of the
Kappa tribe :
"Akansa is the Algonkin name by which the Kapa, Quapa
1 Cf. Ind. Affairs' Report, 1864, p. 120.
2 Margry, P., Decouvertes et Etablissements des Francais dans 1'ouest et
dans le Sud de l'Amerique Septentrionale, Paris, 1S76, etc., V, 402.
30 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
were called by the eastern Indians, as Illinois, etc. They
call themselves Uga^pa and once lived in four villages, two
of which were on Mississippi, two on Arkansas river, near
its mouth : Their towns, though now transferred to the
Indian Territory, northeastern angle, have preserved the
same names :
"i. Uga/pa/ti or 'real Kapa.' Uga/pa means 'down
stream,' just as O'maha means 'up stream.'
"2. Tiwadima", called Toriman by French authors.
"3. Uzutiuhe, corrupted into O'sotchoue, O'sochi, Southois
by the French authors. Probably means : ' village upon
low-land level.'
"4. Ta°wa"zhika or ' small village ; ' corrupted into Topinga,
Tonginga, Donginga by the French.
"The Pacaha 'province' of de Soto's historians is a name
inverted from Capaha, which is Uga^pa. The form Quapa is
incorrect, for Kapa (or Kapaha of La Salle), which is abbre-
viated from Uga/pa."
In 1 72 1 LaHarpe saw three of their villages on the Missis-
sippi river, and noticed snake worship among these Indians.
TAENSA.
I. THE NORTHERN TAENSA.
On account of the recent discovery of their conso-
nantic language, which proves to be disconnected from any
other aboriginal tongue spoken in North America, a peculiar
interest attaches itself to the tribe of the Taensa Indians,
whose cabins stood in Tensas county, Louisiana, bordering
east on Mississippi river. The Tensas river, in French
Bayou Tensa, which joins the Washita river at Trinity City,
after forming a prodigious number of bends, and flowing
past a multitude of artificial mounds, still keeps up the
memory of this extinct tribe.
In March 1700, the French commander L. d' Iberville
1 cf. D. Coxe, Carolana, pp. n. 13.
TAENSA. 31
calculated the distance from the landing of the Natchez to
that of the Taensas, following the river, at about 15^
leagues, and in the air-line, nj^ leagues. That Taensa
landing, at the foot of a bluff nine hundred feet high (150
toises), was about 32°$' Lat., while d'Iberville, trusting his
inaccurate methods of measuring, located it at 32°47' Lat.
(Margry IV, 413).
The tribe occupied seven villages at the time of d'Iberville's
visit, which were distant four leagues from the Mississippi
river, and grouped around a semi-circular lake, probably
Lake St. Joseph. One hundred and twenty of these cabins
were extending for two leagues on the lake shore, and a
"temple" was among them. The missionary Montigny,
who visited the locality about the same epoch, estimated the
population of that part of the Taensa settlement which he
saw at 400 persons. " They were scattered over an area of
eight leagues, and their cabins lay along a river. ' '
The seven villages visited by d'Iberville constitute one town
only, as he was told. This means to say that they formed a
confederacy. A Taensa Indian, who accompanied him, gave
their names in the Chicasa trade language, or, as the French
called it, the Mobilian jargon (Margry IV, 179).
1. Taensas; from Cha'hta ta n dshi maize.
2. Ohytoucoulas ; perhaps from uti chestnut; cf. utapa
chestnut eater. For -ougoula, cf. p. 36.
3. Nyhougoulas ;
4. Couthaougoulas ; from Cha'hta uk'hata^ lake.
5. Conchayon; cf. Cha'hta k6nshak reed, species of cane.
6. Talaspa; probably from ta'lapi_^z/<?, or ta'lepa hundred.
7. Chaoucoula; from Cha'hta issi deer, or hatche river,
water-course.
In the Taensa Grammar and Vocabulary of Haumonte,
Parisot and Adam (Paris, 1882), the name by which the
people called itself is Hastriryini "warriors, men, tribe;"
32 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
cf. p. 91 : hastri to fight, make war; hastrir warrior, man;
hastriryi people, tribe; but Tensagini also occurs in the texts,
which would point to an extensive maize culture.
The Taensa were sun worshipers, and had a temple with
idols and a perpetual fire. When d'Iberville sojourned
among them, lightning struck their temple and destroyed it,
upon which the mothers sacrificed their infants, to appease
the wrath of the incensed deity, by throwing them into the
burning edifice (Margry IV, 414, etc.; V, 398). The people
then rubbed their faces and bodies with earth. Nothing
definite is known about their gentes, phratries and totems.
Several French authors represent them as speaking the Naktche
language (which is untrue) and as being of the same nation. 1
D'Iberville states that their language differed from that of
the Huma tribe.
The remnants of a tribe called Mosopellea, probably of
Illinois-Algonkin origin and previously residing west of the
"Isle of Tamaroa," on western shore of Mississippi river,
joined the Taensa, and were met there in 1682 by Tonti.
They had been almost annihilated by the Iroquois. 2
The Taensa had, at one time, formed an alliance with the
Koroa, then on Yazoo river, and another with the Arkansas
Indians.
The Taensa grammar speaks of a northern and of a southern,
more polished dialect, but does not locate them topographi-
cally. The only word of Taensa which I have found to agree
with any other language, is ista eye; it also occurs in Southern
Dakotan dialects.
1 Grammaire et Voc. Taensa, Introd., pp. xii. xiv. Compare also
Margry, Die. et EtabU, I, 556-557, 566-568, 600-602, 609-610, 6*6;
IV, 414. Their temple, described by le Sieur de Tonty (traveling with
la Salle in 1682) in French, Hist Coll. of La., I, pp. 61. 64.
2 Margry I, 610. Mosopblea, ibid. II, 237; Monsopela, on the map
in D. Coxe, Carolana.
TAENSA. 33
II. THE SOUTHERN TAENSA.
In early colonial times a portion of the Northern Taensa,
driven from their homes on the Taensa river by the rage of
the Chicasa, fled to the Mobilians. The French settled them
on the western side of Mobile bay, below Fort St. Louis, and
thirty miles above Fort Conde, which stood on the site of
the present city of Mobile. 1 The French called them " les
petits Taensas" in contradistinction to the "great (or
northern) Taensas," on Mississippi and Taensa rivers. About
the middle of the eighteenth century one hundred of their
cabins stood north of the French fort St. Louis, and also north
of the Tohome Indian settlement. The Taensa were then
speaking their native language and, besides this, a corrupt
Chicasa dialect, called the Mobilian language by the French."
Subsequently they must have removed from there to the
eastern channel, for Bartram, Travels, pp. 401. 403, describes
Taensa there as a "pretty high bluff, on the eastern channel
of the great Mobile river, about thirty miles above Fort
Conde, or city of Mobile, at the head of the bay ....
with many artificial mounds of earth and other ruins." Dur-
ing the wars of 1813-15 the adjacent country is called the
" Tensaw country."
It is not unlikely that these Taensa were identical with the
"petits Taensas" seen by Lemoyne d' Iberville at the Huma
town in March 1700, and described by him as migratory,
but living most of the time at three days' distance west of
Huma, and then warring against the Bayogoulas. They
gained their sustenance by hunting, though buffaloes were
scarce in their country, and were men of a fine physique
(Margry IV, 408). In 1702 they defeated the Bayogoulas
and burnt their village on Mississippi river ; the Bayogoulas
1 At that time they were warring unsuccessfully against the Huma
(1713); Penicaut (in Margry V, 508. 509) saw them at Manchac.
2 T. Jefferys, Hist, of French Dominions in America; London, 1761 ; I,
p. 162, sq.
34 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
fled to the. French fort on that river, then commanded by
Mr. St. Denis. If identical with the Taensa on Mobile river,
these fights of theirs must have occurred during their passage
from the North to the bay of Mobile.
III. THE TANGIPAHOA.
A third tribe, which may have stood in some connection
with the two tribes above, are the Tangipahoa Indians settled
in various places east of New Orleans, especially on Tangi-
pahoa river, in southeastern Louisiana. A French author
states that they formed one of the seven villages of the Acola-
pissa. The name is written in different ways, and is inter-
preted by Gov. Allen Wright as " those who gather maize
stalks," from ta°dshe maize; api stalk, cob; ayua they gather.
Penicaut defines the name differently, for he states (Margry
V, 387) "we found (northwest of Lake Pontchartrain) a
river, Tandgepao, which in the Indian signifies • bled blanc? "
The Taensapaoa tribe, on the river of the same name, is re-
ferred to in Bartram, Travels, p. 422 ; cf. p. 423. We have
no notice concerning the language spoken by this tribe,
which was, perhaps, incorporated into the Cha'hta living now
around New Orleans ; thus we are unable to decide whether
they spoke Cha'hta, like the other Acolapissa, or another
tongue. The Tangibao tribe was " destroyed by the Oumas,"
as stated in a passage of Margry (IV, 168) ; by which is meant,
that they were scattered and their tribal connection disrupted.
NAKTCHE.
Of the Lower Mississippi tribes the most powerful and
populous was that of the Naktche, settled at the beginning
of the eighteenth century in nine villages on and about St.
Catherine creek (Lukfi-akula in Cha'hta: "clay-digging
place" to daub houses with), in a beautiful and fertile coun-
try. This stream wends its way first south, then west^ in a
semi-eircular course, around the present city of Natchez,
NAKTCHE. 35
Mississippi, and runs at an average distance of three to four
miles from it. Other Naktche villages existed in its vicinity.
Naktche is the correct form of the tribal name, though this
people appears to have called itself by some other appellation.
Natchez is the old-fashioned plural adopted from French
orthography ; we might just as well write Iroquoiz, Islinoiz
or Adayez, instead of the terminal -s now designating the
plural in French. The Cheroki Indians call a Nache, Natche
or Naktche person A'no^tse, A'nno^tse, the people or tribe
Anino/tse, shortened into Ani'htse, which proves that a gut-
tural has been elided from the present form of the name.
Isalakti, from whom Albert Gallatin obtained a vocabulary
of the language, called himself a Nahktse, not a Natche chief.
The name is of Shetimasha origin, I have reasons to assume.
Naksh in that language means one that is in a hurry, one run-
ning, naksh asi, 1 abbrev. naksh warrior; and the earliest
French explorers may have heard that name from the Sheti-
masha Indians settled on the Mississippi, where Bayou La-
fourche, also called the river of the Shetimasha, branches off
from it. Should the name belong to the Chicasa trade'
language, we might think of the Cha'hta adverb : naksika aside,
away from, referring to the site of the Naktche villages at
some distance from the great "water-road," the Mississippi
river.
The Naktche tribe owes its celebrity and almost romantic
fame to several causes : their towns were populous, the gov-
ernment more centralized than that of the surrounding native
populations ; the French settled in their vicinity, and hence
their authors have left to posterity more information concern-
ing their confederacy than concerning other tribes; their
stubborn resistance to French encroachments gave them a
high reputation for bravery ; their religious custom's, centering
in a highly developed sun-worship, made of them an object
1 Literally, " a hurrying man." In the sign language of the Mississippi
plains, the sign for fighting or battle is the same as for riding a horse.
36 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
of curious interest and far-going ethnologic speculation for
the white colonists, whose views on the Naktche we must
receive with the utmost caution.
L. d'Iberville reports, that at the time of his visit (March
1699) the villages of the Naktche made up one town only,
and formed a complex of contiguous villages called Theloel
or Thecoel 1 (Margry IV, 179).
The annalist Penicaut, who visited these parts in 1704,
states that the nine villages were situated in a delightful
country, swarming with buffaloes, drained by rivulets and
partly wooded. The village or residence of the head chief,
the Sun, lay one league from the Mississippi river, and three
other villages were on a brook, at a distance of half a league
from each other. He alludes to their human sacrifices, the
frequency of infanticide, and gives descriptions of their
temple, perpetual fire, their "marche des cadavres" and
articles of dress. The house of the Sun was large enough to
contain four thousand persons ; he had female servants called
oulchil iichon, and thirty male attendants ("laquais") or
louts, the Allouez of other chroniclers. Mother-right pre-
vailed among them (Margry V, 444-456).
The Taensa guide, who accompanied d'Iberville to the
Naktche tribe in 1699, furnished him a list of the nine
villages, their names being given in the Chicasa trade lan-
guage. I presume that they are given in the topographical
order as they followed «each other on St. Catharine creek,
from its mouth upward, since the "Naches" village or (resi-
dence of the Sun was distant one league only from the Mis-
sissippi river. We are not acquainted with the names given
to these villages in the Naktche language. The etymologies
of the Cha'Jita language were obtained from Allen Wright ;
the suffixed word -ougoula is the Cha'hta 6kla people, tribe.
1 The handwriting of this name is indistinct, but in the sequel, wherever
this name is mentioned, Margry prints it Theloel. There can scarcely be
any doubt of its identity with Thoucoue, the seventh village in the list.
NAKTCHE. 37
i. Naches;
2. Pochougoula; " pond-lily people ," from Cha'hta pantchi
pond lily.
3. Ousagoucoulas ; " hickory people ," from Cha'hta u'ssak,
ossak hickory.
4. Cogoucoulas; " swan people" from 6kok swan.
5. Yatanocas;
6. Yroacachas; almost homonymous with the Arkansas
village Imahao, mentioned above.
7. Thoucoue ; probably identical with Theloel (cf. above)
and the Thioux of later authors.
8. Tougoulas; " wood ox forest people" from iti wood.
9. Achougoulasj " pipe people" from ashunga pipe, liter-
ally, " the thing they smoke from ; " cf. shungali
/ smoke from.
Although these names are considerably frenchified in their
orthography, the meaning of some admits of no doubt. When
I visited Natchez city in January 1882, I was informed that
the White Apple village, called Apilua (Vpelois) and men-
tioned by Le Page du Pratz, is supposed to have existed
twelve to fifteen miles southeast of the city. The White Earth
village and the village of the Meal were other settlements of
theirs. Owing to incessant rains, I could not explore the sites
to their full extent, but found a flat mound south of St. Catha-
rine's creek, with a diameter of thirty-two feet and perfectly
circular, which lay at the same distance from the Mississippi as
given above for the residence of the Sun. Col. J. F. H. Clai-
borne's History of Mississippi, vol. I, 40^-47, gives valuable
extracts from French archives, pointing to the real sites of
the Naktche habitations. The colossal mound of Seltzer-
town stands but a short distance from the creek alluded to,
and is fourteen miles from Natchez city to the northeast.
The settlement of the French on the heights of Natchez,
the growing animosity of the natives against the intruders, the
three successive wars, the massacre of the colonists in Novem-
38 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
ber, 1729, and the final dispersion of the tribe in February
1730, are well-known historic facts and need not be repeated
in this volume. The disorganized warriors retreated with
their families to different parts of the country. One party
fled across Mississippi river to some locality near Trinity
City, La., where they entrenched themselves, but were at-
tacked, defeated and partly captured by a body of French
troops two years later. Another party reached the Chicasa
country and was granted a home and protection by that tribe ;
but the revengeful French colonists declared war upon the
hospitable Chicasa for sheltering. their mortal enemies, and
invaded their lands by way of the Yazoo river in 1736, but
were compelled to retreat after suffering considerable loss.
Fort Tombigbee, constructed in 1735, served as a second base
for the French operations. Further French-Chicasa wars
occurred in 1739-40 and in 1748. 1
Later on, we find their remnants among the Creeks, who
had provided them with seats on Upper Coosa river, and
incorporated them into their confederacy. They built a
village called Naktche, and a part of them went to reside in
the neighboring Abikudshi town. Naktche town lay, in B.
Hawkins' time (1799), on a creek of the same name, joining
Coosa river sixty miles above its confluence with Tallapoosa
river, and harbored from fifty to one hundred warriors
(Hawkins, p. 42). A number of Naktche families, speaking
their paternal language, now live in the hilly parts of the
Cheroki Nation, Indian Territory.
A body of Indians, called by French and English writers
Thioux and Grigras, remained in the vicinity of the Natchez
colony after the departure of the Naktche Indians, who had
been the ruling tribe of the confederacy. It is doubtful
whether these two divisions were of foreign or of Naktche
origin, though the latter seems improbable. The .Grigras
1 Cf. Adair, History, p. 354 sqq. On Fort Tombigbee, ibid., pp. 285,
291.
TONICA. 39
were called so on account of a peculiarity in their pronuncia-
tion ; it probably referred to what the French call grasseyer,
and the Canadian French parler gras. 1 Eleven Shawano
were once brought to the villages as captives, and were known
there as "Stinkards," "Puants," terms which served to
interpret the Naktche term metsmetskop miserable, bad,
wretched, inferior.
The scanty vocabularies which we possess of the Naktche
language contain a sprinkling of foreign terms adopted from
the Chicasa or Mobilian. Two languages at least were spoken
before 1 730 in the Naktche villages ; the Naktche by the
ruling class or tribe ; the other, the Chicasa or trade language
by the "low people ;" and hence the mixture referred to.
Du Pratz gives specimens of both. Naktche is a vocalic
language, rich in verbal forms, and, to judge from a few
specimens, polysynthetic to a considerable degree in its
affixes.
TONICA.
Migratory dispositions seem to have inhered to the Tonica
or Tunica tribe in a higher degree than to their southern
neighbors, for in the short lapse of two centuries we see them
stationed at more than three places.
In a letter addressed by Commander Lemoyne d'Iberville
to the Minister of the French Navy, dated from Bayogoulas,
February 26th, 1700, he states that an English fur-trader and
Indian slave-jobber had just visited the Tonica, who are on
a river emptying into the Mississippi, twenty leagues above
1 It is stated that the Thioux were a small body of Indians, reduced in
numbers by the Chicasa, and then incorporated by the Naktche ; their
language possessed the sound R. If this- latter statement is true, their
language was neither of the Naktche nor of the Maskoki or Dakota
family. In conversation the Grigras often used this word grigra, which
also implies the use of the articulation R. Cf. Le Page du Pratz, IV, chap.
ii, sect. I ; JefFerys, French Dom. in America, p. 162, and what is said of
the Shawano under Yuchi, p.
40 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
the Taensa Indians, at some distance from the Chicasa, and
170 leagues from the Gulf of Mexico. When d'Iberville
ascended the Yazoo river in the same year, he found a village
of this tribe on its right (or western) bank, four days' travel
from the Natchez landing. Seven villages were seen upon
this river, which is navigable for sixty leagues. The Tonica
village, the lowest of them, was two days' travel from Thysia,
the uppermost (Margry IV, 180. 362. 398; V, 401). La
Harpe mentions the establishment of a mission house among
the Tonica on Yazoo river. 1
In 1706, when expecting to become involved in a conflict
with the Chicasa and Alibamu Indians, the Tonica tribe, or
a part of it, fled southward to the towns of the Huma, and
massacred a number of these near the site where New Orleans
was built afterwards (French, Hist. Coll. of La., Ill, 35).
The "Tunica Old Fields" lay in Tunica county, Missis-
sippi State, opposite Helena, Arkansas. Cf. Cha'hta.
They subsequently lived at the Tonica Bluffs, on the east
shore of the Mississippi river, two leagues below the influx of
the Red river. T. Jefferys, who in 1761 gave a description
of their village and chiefs house, states that they had settled
on a hill near the " River of the Tunicas," which comes from
the Lake of the Tunicas, and that in close vicinity two other
villages were existing (Hist, of French Dominions, I, 145—
146) 2 Th. Hutchins, Louisiana and West Florida, Phila.,
1784, p. 44, locates them a few miles below that spot, oppo-
site Pointe Coupee and ten miles below the Pascagoulas, on
Mississippi river. So does also Baudry de Lozieres in 1802,
who speaks of a population of one hundred and twenty men.
In 181 7, a portion of the tribe, if not the whole, had gone
up the Red river and settled at Avoyelles, ninety miles above
1 French, Hist. Coll. Ill, 16; cf. Margry V, 525. The names of these
villages to be given under Chicasa, q. v.
2 This was probably the place where Le Page du Pratz saw them (about
1720 or 1725) : "vis-a-vis de la Riviere Rouge," II, 220-221.
adAi. 41
its confluence with the Mississippi. A group of these Indians
is now in Calcasieu county, Louisiana, in the neighbor-
hood of Lake Charles City.
A separate chapter has been devoted to this tribe, because
there is a strong probability that their language differed en-
tirely from the rest of the Southern tongues. Le Page du
Pratz, 1.1., in confirming this statement, testifies to the exist-
ence of the sound R in their language, which occurs neither
in Naktche nor in the Maskoki dialects or Shetimasha (II,
220-221). We possess no vocabulary of it, and even the
tribal name belongs to Chicasa : tunnig post, pillar, support,
probably post of territorial demarcation of their lands on
the Yazoo river. The only direct intimation which I possess
on that tongue is a correspondence of Alphonse L. Pinart,
who saw some Tonica individuals, and inferred from their
terms that they might belong to the great Pani stock of the
Western plains.
adAi.
Of this small and obscure Indian community mention is
made much earlier than of all the other tribes hitherto spoken
of in this volume, for Cabeca de Vaca, in his Naufragios,
mentions them among the inland tribes as Atayos. In the
list of eight Caddo villages, given by a Taensa guide to
L. d'Iberville on his expedition up the Red river (March
1699), they figure as the Natao (Margry IV, 178).
The Adai, Ata-i, Hata-i, Adayes (incorrectly called Adaize)
seem to have persisted at their ancient home, where they
formed a tribe belonging to the Caddo confederacy. Charle-
voix (Hist, de la Nouvelle France, ed. Shea VI, p. 24)
relates that a Spanish mission was founded among the Adaes
in 1 715. A Spanish fort existed there, seven leagues west of
Natchitoches, as late as the commencement of the nineteenth
century. Baudry de Lozieres puts their population at one
hundred men (1802), and Morse (1822) at thirty, who then
4
42 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
passed their days in idleness on the Bayou Pierre of Red
river. Even at the present time they are remembered as a
former division of the Caddo confederacy, and called Hata-i
by the Caddo, who are settled in the southeastern part of the
Indian Territory.
A list of about 300 Adai words was gathered in 1802 by
Martin Duralde, which proves it to be a vocalic language
independent of any other, though a few affinities are traceable
with the Pani dialects. The orthography of that vocabulary
cannot, however, be fully relied on. The original is in the
library of the American Philosophical Society, in Philadelphia.
Rob. G. Latham, in his "Opuscula; Essays, chiefly philo-
logical," etc., London i860; pp. 402-404, has compared
Adahi words with the corresponding terms of other North
American languages, but without arriving at a definite result.
PANI.
The great family of Pani Indians has, in historic times,
extended from the Platte river southward to the Gulf of
Mexico. From the main stock, the Sanish or Arikari have
wandered on their hunting trips north to the Middle Missouri
river, while the Pani, in four divisions, had the Platte and
its tributaries for their headquarters. The southern tribes
are the Witchita, the Towakone or Three Canes, who speak
the Witchita dialect, the Kichai and the originally Texan
tribes of the Caddo and Waco (Weko, in Spanish : Hueco.) l
The Pani . family was too remote from the Maskoki tribes
to enter in direct connection with them. Some of the south-
ern septs had intercourse with them, mainly through the
French colonists. Fights between Caddos and Cha'hta are
recorded for the eighteenth century. The Pani family is
mentioned here simply because the legendary caves from
which the Creek nation is said to have sprung lay on Red
1 Cf. R. G. Latham, Opuscula, p. 400, who was the first to hint at a
possible affinity of Caddo to Pani.
PANI. 43
river, within the limits of the territory held by some of the
southern Pani nations.
When L. d' Iberville ascended the western branch of the
Red river, now called Red river (the eastern branch being
Washita or Black river), in March 1699, ^ e saw an( ^ v i s i te d
eight villages of the Caddo connection. His Taensa guide
named them as follows :
Yatache ; called Yatassi by Americans.
Nactythos ; they are the Natchitoches.
Yesito ;
Natao ; the Adai above.
Cachaymons ;
Cadodaquis; full form, Cado-hadatcho or " chief tribe."
Nataches ;
Natsytos.
The Cachaymons and the Cadodaquis had been previously
visited by Cavelier de la Salle, when returning from the
Cenys, in the central parts of Texas. 1
The Caddo confederacy consists of the following divisions
or tribes, as given me by a Caddo Indian in 1882 :
Kado proper ; kado means chief, principal.
Anadako, Anadaku ; also Nandako.
Ainai, Ayenai ; also Hini, Inies upon an affluent of Sabine
river; identical with the Tachies (Sibley). From
this tribal name is derived Texas, anciently Tachus,
Taxus.
Natchidosh, Nashedosh; the Natchitoches.
Yatassi.
Anabaidaitcho, Nabadatsu; the Nabedatches, who are
nearly extinct now.
Natassi; identical with the Nataches above.
Nakuhedotch, Nakohodotse ; the Nagogdoches.
Assine, Assini ; the Asinays of French explorers.
Hadai ; the Adai, Adaye, q. v.
1 Cf. Margry IV, 178. 313. 409.
44 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
Yowa'ni, now in Texas.
A'-ishj a few of these are now living in Texas, called
Alish, Eyish by former writers.
The Caddo relate, as being the mythical origin of their
nation, that they came from a water-sink in Louisiana, went
westward, shoved up earth by means of arrow-heads, and
thus made a mountain. The totems of their gentes once
were, as far as remembered, bear na-ustse, panther ko'she,
w^ta-isha, snake kika, wild- cat wado, owl nea, 6-ush.
When Milfort passed through the Red river country about
1780, the Caddo, whom he describes as fallacious in trading,
were at war with the Cha'hta (Memoire, p. 95).
In 1705 some Colapissa from the Talcatcha river, four
leagues from Lake Pontchartrain, settled upon the northern
bank of this lake at Castembayouque (now Bayou Castin, at
Mandeville), and were joined, six months after, by a party
of "Nassitoches," whom famine had driven from their homes
on Red river. 1
SHETIMASHA.
These natives once dwelt in numerous settlements clustering
around Bayou Lafourche, Grand river (or Bayou Atchafalaya),
and chiefly around Grand Lake or Lake of the Shetimasha.
All that is left of them — about fifty-five Indians, of a parent-
age strongly mixed with white blood, reside at Charenton,
St. Mary's Parish, on the southwestern side of the lake,
though a few are scattered through the forests on Grand
river. They call themselves Pdntch pinunkansh, "men alto-
gether red." The name Shetimasha, by which they are
generally known, is of Cha'hta origin, and means "they
possess (imasha) cooking vessels (tchuti)." Their central
place of worship was three miles north of Charenton, on a
small inlet of Grand Lake. They worshiped there, by dances
and exhaustive fasting, their principal deity, Kut-Nahansh,
the "mid-day sun."
1 P£nicaut, in Margry V, 459-462.
atAkapa. 45
They were not warlike, and never figured prominently in
colonial history. When a portion of the tribe, settled on
Bayou Lafourche, had murdered Mr. Saint-Cosme, a Naktche
missionary descending the Mississippi river in 1703, they
were attacked by the colonists and their Indian allies. The
war ended with a speedy submission of the savages. They
called the Naktche Indians their brothers, and their myths
related that their " Great Spirit" created them in the country
of that people, and gave them laws, women and tobacco.
The Cha'hta tribes, who attempted to deprive them of their
native land, made continual forays upon them during the
eighteenth century.
These Indians were strict monogamists. The chieftaincy
was a life-long office among them. The chiefs lived in lodges
larger than those of the common people, and their tobacco
pipes were larger than those of the warriors. The foreheads
of the children were subjected to the flattening process. 1
Their language is extremely polysynthetic as far as deriva-
tion by suffixes is concerned, and there are also a number of
prefixes. For the pronouns thou and ye a common and a
reverential form are in use. The faculty for forming com-
pound words is considerable, and the numerals show the
decimal form of computation.
ATAKAPA.
To close the list of the linguistic families encircling the
Maskoki stock, we mention the Atakapa, a language which
has been studied but very imperfectly. This tribe once ex-
isted upon the upper Bayou Teche northwest and west of the
Shetimasha, north and northwest of the Opelousa Indians,
and from the Teche extended beyond Vermilion river, per-
haps down to the sea coast. The Atakapa of old were a well-
made race of excellent hunters, but had, as their name indi-
1 Of these Indians I have given an ethnographic sketch in : Transact.
Anthropolog. Society of Washington, 1883, Vol. II, pp. 148- 158.
46 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
cates, the reputation of being anthropophagists (Cha'hta:
hatak, Jiattak person, apa to eat). At first, they suffered no
intrusion of the colonists into their territory and cut off
expeditions attempting to penetrate into their seats. During
the nineteenth century they retreated toward the Sabine river.
The name by which they call themselves is unknown ; perhaps
it is Skunnemoke, which was the name of one of their villages
on Vermilion river, six leagues west of New Iberia. Cf. Th.
Hutchins (Phila., 1784).
The scanty vocabulary of their language, taken in 1802,
shows clusters of consonants, especially at the end of words,
but with its queer, half-Spanish orthography does not appear
to form a reliable basis for linguistic conclusions. A few
words agree with T6nkawe, the language of a small Texan
tribe ; and according to tradition, the Karankawas, once the
giant people of Matagorda bay, on the Texan Coast, spoke a
dialect of Atakapa. These three tribes were, like all other
Texan tribes, reputed to be anthropophagists. In extenua-
tion of this charge, Milfort asserts that they "do not eat
men, but roast them only, on account of the cruelties first
enacted against their ancestors by the Spaniards" (p. 90).
This remark refers to a tribe, also called Atakapas, which
he met at a distance of five days' travel west of St. Bernard
bay.
We have but few notices of expeditions sent by French
colonists to explore the unknown interior of what forms now
the State of Louisiana. One of these, consisting of three
Frenchmen, was in 1703 directed to explore the tribes about
the river de la Madeleine, now Bayou Teche. The two
men who returned reported to have met seven "nations"
there ; the man they lost was eaten by the natives, and this
misfortune prompted them to a speedy departure. The loca-
tion seems to point to the territory of the Atakapa. 1
1 Pinicaut, in Margry V, 440.
KOROA. 47
The enumeration of the southern linguistic stocks winds up
with the Atakapa; but it comprises only the families the
existence of which is proved by vocabularies. Tonica and
the recently-discovered Taensa furnish the proof that the
Gulf States may have harbored, or still harbor, allophylic
tribes speaking languages unknown to us. The areas of the
southern languages being usually small, they, could easily
escape discovery, insomuch as the attention of the explorers
and colonists was directed more toward ethnography than
toward aboriginal linguistics.
The southern tribes which I suspect of speaking or having
spoken allophylic languages, are the Bidai, the Koroa, the
Westo and Stono Indians.
BIDAI.
Rev. Morse, in his Report to the Government (1822), states
that their home is on the western or right side of Trinity river,
Texas, sixty-five miles above its mouth, and that they count
one hundred and twenty people. In 1850 a small settlement
of five or six Bidai families existed on Lower Sabine River.
The Opelousas of Louisiana and the Cances of Texas
spoke languages differing from all others around them. 1
KOROA.
The earliest home of this tribe, which figures extensively
in French colonial history, is a mountainous tract on the
western shore of Mississippi river, eight leagues above the
Natchez landing. They were visited there, early in 1682, by
the explorer, C. de la Salle, who noticed the compression of
their skulls (Margry I, 558. 566). They were a warlike and
determined people of hunters. In 1705 a party of them,
hired by the French priest Foucault to convey him by water
to the Yazoos, murderously dispatched him with two other
Frenchmen (Penicaut, in Margry V, 458). A companion of
C. de la Salle (in 1682) noticed that the "language of the
1 American State Papers, I, pp. 722-24.
48 THE SOUTHERN FAMILIES.
Coroa differed from that of the Tinsa and Natche," but that
in his opinion their manners and customs were the same
(Margry.I, 558).
Koroas afterward figure as one of the tribes settled on
Yazoo river, formerly called also River of the Chicasa, and
are mentioned there by D, Coxe, Carolana (1742). P- 10, as
Kourouas. They were then the allies of the Chicasa, but
afterward merged in the Cha'hta people, who call them Kolwa,
Kulua. Allen Wright, descended, from a grandfather of this
tribe, states that the term is neither Cha'hta nor Chicasa, and
that the Koroa spoke a language differing entirely from
Cha'hta. 1 A place Kolua is now in Coahoma county, prob-
ably far distant from the ancient home of this tribe. The
origin of the name is unknown; the Cha'hta word: ka n lo
strong, powerful, presents some analogy in sound.
THE WESTO AND STONO INDIANS
lived - in the vicinity of the English colony at Charleston,
South Carolina. Their predatory habits made them particu-
larly troublesome in 1669-1671 and in 1674, when they had
to be repulsed by an army of volunteers. The Stonos must
have lived north of the colony, or on the upper course of
some river, for, in 1674, they are described as "coming
down ' ' (Hewat, Histor. Account of S. C. and Ga., London
1779; I, 51. 77). Stono Inlet is the name of a cove near
Charleston. Both tribes also met with disastrous reverses at
the hands of the Savannah Indians, probably the Yamassi
(Archdale). They are both mentioned as having belonged
to the Kataba confederacy, but this does not by any means
prove that they spoke Kataba or a dialect of it. As to the
name, the Westo Indians may be identified with the Oustacs
of Lederer (who are reported as being at war with the Ushe-
rees), and with the Hostaqua of Ren6 de Laudonniere, who
1 This is corroborated by the fact that the sound R did exist in the
Koroa language: Jefferys (1761), I, 163.
REMARKS TO THE LINGUISTIC MAP. 49
mentions them as forming a confederacy under a paracusi in
the northern parts of the "Floridian" territory. Possibly
the Creek word O'sta four, in the sense of " four allied tribes,"
has given origin to this tribal name (ostaka in Alibamu).
The affinity of the extinct Congaree Indians, on Congaree
river, is doubtful also; Lawson relates that they did not
understand the speech of the Waterees and Chicarees. Cf.
Kataba. Owing to the inactivity of the local historians,
our ethnographic information, on the North and South
Carolina Indians is extremely meagre and unsatisfactory.
REMARKS TO THE LINGUISTIC MAP.
The linguistic map added to this volume is an attempt to
locate, in a general way, the settlements pertaining to the
Indians of each of the linguistic stocks of the Gulf States, as
far as traceable in the eighteenth century. Some of them,
as the Timucua and Yamassi settlements, are taken from dates
somewhat earlier, while the location of the Atakapa tribe is
known to us only from the first decennium of the nineteenth
century. The marking of the linguistic areas by dots, point-
ing to the tribal settlements, answers much better the purpose
than the coloring of large areas, which conveys the erroneous
impression that the population was scattered all over a certain
country. This will do very well for densely populated coun-
tries, or for tracts inhabited by roving, erratic Indians, whom
we meet only on the west side of the Mississippi river. The
Gulf States' Indians were no longer in the condition of pure
hunting tribes; they had settled in stationary villages, and
derived the main part of their sustenance from agriculture
and fishing.
The location of the Chicasa, Cheroki, Seminole and Caddo
(Pani) tribes were not indicated with that completeness
which the subject requires. The northwest corner of the
map shows the tracts occupied at present in the Indian
Territory by tribes of Maskoki lineage.
50 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
II. THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
Among the various nationalities of the Gulf territories the
Maskoki family of tribes occupied a central and commanding
position. Not only the large extent of territory held by
them, but also their numbers, their prowess in war, and a
certain degree of mental culture and self-esteem made of the
Maskoki one of the most important groups in Indian history.
From their ethnologic condition of later times, we infer that
these tribes have extended for many centuries back in time,
from the Atlantic to the Mississippi and beyond that river,
and from the Apalachian ridge to the Gulf of Mexico. With
short intermissions they kept up warfare with all the circum-
iacent Indian communities, and also among each other. All
the various dispositions of the human mind are represented
in the Maskoki tribes. We have the cruel and lurking
Chicasa, the powerful and ingenious but treacherous and
corruptible Cha'hta, the magnanimous and hospitable, proud
and revengeful Creek, the aggressive Alibamu, the quarrel-
some Yamassi, and the self-willed, independent Seminole,
jealous of the enjoyment of his savage freedom in the swamps
and everglades of the semi-tropical peninsula.
The irresolute and egotistic policy of these tribes often
caused serious difficulties to the government of the English
and French colonies, and some of them constantly wavered
in their adhesion between the French and the English cause.
The American government overcame their opposition easily
whenever a conflict presented itself (the Seminole war forms
an exception), because, like all the Indians, they never knew
how to unite against a common foe.
The two main branches of the stock, the Creek and the
Cha'hta Indians, were constantly at war, and the remem-
brance of their deadly conflicts has now passed to their
descendants in the form of folklore. The two differ anthro-
pologically in their exterior, the people of the western or
Cha'hta branch being thick-set and heavy, that of the eastern
ETHNOGRAPHIC PRACTICES. 51
or Creek connection more lithe and tall. Prognathism is
not frequent among them, and the complexion of both
is a rather dark cinnamon, with the southern olive tinge.
The general intelligence of this gifted race renders it suscep-
tible for civilization, endows it with eloquence, but does not
always restrain it from the outbursts of the wildest passion.
Among the tribes of the Maskoki family, we notice the
following ethnographic practices: the use of the red and
white colors as symbols of war and peace, an extensive system
of totemic gentes, the use of the Ilex cassine for the manu-
facture of the black drink, the erection of artificial mounds,
the belief in a deity called "Master of Life," and original
sun-worship. The eastern tribes all had an annual festival
in the town square, called a. fast (puskita in Creek), and some
traces of it maybe found also among the western connection.
In the eastern and western branch (also among the Naktche
people) the children belong to the gens of the mother, a
custom which differs from that of the Yuchi and dates from
high antiquity. No instances of anthropophagy are recorded,
but the custom of scalping seems to have been indigenous
among them. The early Timucua scalped their enemies and
dried the scalps over their camp-fires. The artificial flatten-
ing of the foreheads of male infants seems to have prevailed
in the western branch only, but some kind of skull deforma-
tion could be observed throughout the Gulf territories. The
re-interment of dead bodies, after cleaning their bones from
the adhering muscles several months after death, is recorded
more especially for the western branch, but was probably
observed among all tribes in various modifications.
None of the customs just enumerated was peculiar to the
Maskoki tribes, but common throughout the south, many of
them being found in the north also. They were mentioned
here only, to give in their totality a fair ethnographic picture
of the Maskoki nationality.
The genealogy of the Maskoki tribes cannot be established
52 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
on anthropological, that is racial, characteristics ; these In-
dians formerly incorporated so many alien elements into their
towns, and have become so largely mixed with half-castes in
the nineteenth century, that a division on racial grounds has
become almost impossible.
Hence, the only characteristic by which a subdivision of
the family can be attempted, is that of language. Following
their ancient topographic location from east to west, we ob-
tain the following synopsis :
First branch, or Maskoki proper. The Creek, Maskokalgi or
Maskoki proper, settled on Coosa, Tallapoosa, Upper and
Middle Chatahuchi rivers. From these branched off by
segmentation the Creek portion of the Seminoles, of the
Yamassi and of the little Yamacraw community.
Second, or Apalachian branch. This southeastern division,
which may be called also a parte potiori the Hitchiti connec-
tion, anciently comprised the tribes on the Lower Chatahuchi
river and, east from there, the extinct Apalachi, the Mikasuki,
and the Hitchiti portion of the Seminoles, Yamassi and Yama-
craws.
Third, or Alibamu branch comprised the Alibamu villages
on the river of that name ; to them belonged the Koassati
and Witumka on Coosa river, its northern affluent.
Fourth, Western or Cha'hta branch. From the main people,
the Cha'hta, settled in the middle portions of the State of
Mississippi, the Chicasa, Pascagoula, Biloxi, Huma and other
tribes once became separated through segmentation.
The strongest evidence for a community of origin of the
Maskoki tribes is furnished by the fact that their dialects
belong to one linguistic family. The numerous incorporations
of foreign elements have not been able to alter the purity of
their language ; the number of intrusive words is very small,
and the grammar has repelled every foreign intrusion. This
is the inference we draw from their best studied dialects, for
THE COMMON MASKOKI LANGUAGE. 53
with some of them, as with Abika, we are not acquainted at
all, and with others very imperfectly. The principal dialects
of the family greatly differ from each other; Cha'hta, for
instance, is unintelligible to the Creek, Koassati and Hitchiti
people, and the speech of each of these three tribes is not
understood by the two others. When Albert Gallatin pub-
lished his vocabularies of Cha'hta and Creek, he was uncertain
at first whether they were related to each other or not. On
the other side, the difference between Cha'hta and Chicasa,
and between Creek and Seminole, is so insignificant that
these dialects may be considered as practically . identical.
The degree of dialectic difference points approximately to
the date of the separation of the respective communities, and
untold centuries must have elapsed since the two main branches
of the family were torn asunder, for Cha'hta differs about as
much from Creek as the literary German does from Icelandic.
THE COMMON MASKOKI LANGUAGE.
Although the dialects of Maskoki do not now diverge from
each other more than did the Semitic dialects two thousand
years ago, the time when they all had a common language,
or, in other words, the time . preceding the separation into
four divisions must lie further back than eight or ten thousand
years. We cannot expect to reconstruct the parent Maskoki
language spoken at that time but very imperfectly, since the
oldest text known to exist in any of the dialects dates from
A. D. 1688 only. An approach to its reconstruction could
be attempted by carefully comparing the lexicon and gram-
matic forms of the dialects presently spoken, and an individual
acquainted with them all, or at least with their four represen-
tatives, might also compose a comparative grammar of these
dialects as spoken at the present epoch of their development,
which would reveal many points concerning the ancient or his-
toric shape of the language once common to all these tribes.
What the Maskoki dialects presently spoken, as far as
•54 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
published, have in common, may be stated in a general way in
the following outlines :
Phonetics. — The dialects possess the sound f and the palata-
lized 1 ('-1), but lack th, v and r, while nasalization of the
vocalic element is more peculiar to the western than to the
eastern divisions. There is a tendency to pronounce the
mutes or checks by applying the tongue to the alveolar part
of the palate. The phonetic system is as follows :
explosives :
Not aspirated. Aspirated.
Gutturals kg X
Palatals tch,ts dsh, ds
Linguals k' g'
Dentals t d
Labials p b f
Vowels: — i, e, a, a, o, u; with their long and nasalized sounds,
breaths :
Spirants. Nasals. Trills.
h
y £ '1
sh 1
s n
w m
The syllable is quite simple in its structure ; it consists either
of a vowel only, or begins with one consonant (in the eastern
division with one or two), and ends in a vowel. Deviations
from this rule must be explained by phonetic alteration,
elision, etc. The frequent occurrence of homonymous terms
forms a peculiar difficulty in the study of the dialects.
Morphology. — No thorough distinction exists between the
different parts of speech, none especially between the nominal
and the verbal element. The fact that all adjectives can be
verbified, could be better expressed as follows : The adjectives
used attributively are participles of attributive verbs and
inflected for number like these, their so-called plural being
the plural form of a verb. This we observe in Iroquois,
Taensa and many other American languages ; it also explains
the position of the adjective after the noun qualified. Some
forms of the finite verb represent true verbs, while others,
like the Creek forms, with tcha-, tchi-, pu-, etc., prefixed,
which is the possessive pronoun, are nominal forms, and
represent nomina agentis and nomina actionis. The three
cases of the noun are not accurately distinguished from each
THE COMMON MASKOKI LANGUAGE. 55
other in their functions; substantives form diminutives in
-odshi, -osi„ -usi, etc. The distinction between animate arid
inanimate gender is not made in this language family; much
less that between the male and the female sex. The possessive
pronoun of the third person singular and plural (im-, in-, i-)
is prefixed in the same manner to substantives to indicate
possession, as it is to verbs to show that an act is performed
in the interest or to the detriment of the verbal subject or
object. The Cha'hta alone distinguishes between the inclu-
sive and the exclusive pronouns we, our, ours, A dual exists
neither in the noun nor in the pronoun, but in most of the
intransitive verbs. The numerals are built upon the quinary
system, the numeral system most frequent in North America.
The verb forms a considerable number of tenses and incor-
porates the prefixed object-pronoun, the interrogative and the
negative particle ; it has a form for the passive and one for the
reflective voice. By a sort of reduplication a distributive form
is produced in the verb, adjective and some numerals, which
often has a frequentative and iterative function. The lack of
a true relative pronoun and of a true substantive verb is supplied
in different ways by the various dialects ; the former, for in-
stance, by the frequent use of the verbal in -t. Derivatives are
formed by prefixation and suffixation, many of the derivational
being identical with inflectional affixes in these dialects.
Although Maskoki speech, taken as a whole, belongs to,
the agglutinative type of languages, some forms of it, espe-
cially the predicative inflection of the verb and the vocalic
changes in the radicals, strongly remind us of the inflective
languages. Words, phrases and sentences are sometimes
composed by syncope, a process which is more characteristic
of the agglutinative than of the inflective type, and is by
no means confined to the languages of America.
In the following comparative table I have gathered some
terms of Maskoki which coincide in two or more of the dialects.
The table may be helpful for giving a general idea of the
lexical differences existing between the dialects explored :
56
THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
dS|3_
3 1=3
122
e .= e
g c * .S3-S ._
g . .-m. a3 | 2 ._ : = 3 3|3 3 |jil^||"rl|l
■a
E
i _ J ;j « — -a •
■-JS
2"«
.5*
Sj^If^asg-ggjlsI -a
si's -a S2.-?='S5-S^'i-S-g^^'5>»SS , S-g
i.sfic-SjSSSr'g 5'K SJfxiSM
•£■§
3 rt
:2 £2.2
^■Bs-s.sis.s'g.a-g.-s
o.a 6:2 a
l:5.a -aii-a acJ£rjj; as o-cc a-oa.Sv.: a o OsC
.S '3, si* b
_'S A — Injsjijs B;
.- .a .g - a -a a. c .a <a :
be
B ^
£3— a 3 rt V
2^-S^S E.S -a^£3
tax iB*
i a E
•3>E.
ss-g.
S ?!-r.s
•2-5 «
Sfl-5
= 5 =
3 G-rt
U u .c-o.fi
i O B.- O.-
3 a, rt — -C .— 5 *« S3 a
33
ace — -K <J
fl o 03 o.tJ
fl —
fajlillijli
■a<3
^2E
-9 |||!
•S3
IslMllJl
,010
« S'S
32 «
lHJllMlli S IIIllll:i!l!lll!Il^ ll ^ lls
I 3 a"rt « B B-S OJ5
. a-d 2j= 3 9a 0.0.
THE COMMON MASKOKI LANGUAGE. 57
The Chicasa of this comparative table is from a vo-
cabulary taken by G. Gibbs (1866) ; the Seminole and the
Mikasuki from Buckingham Smith's vocabularies printed in
the Historical Magazine (Morrisania, N. Y.) for August,
1866, and in W. W. Beach's: Indian Miscellany, Albany
1877, p. 120-126. The latter differs but little from the
Mikasuki of G. Gibbs, in the linguistic collection of the
Bureau of Ethnology in Washington. The few words of
Apalachi were drawn from the missive sent, A. D. 1688, to
the king of Spain, to be mentioned under "Apalachi"; the
Koassati terms I obtained in part at the Indian training
school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, partly from Gen. Alb. Pike's
vocabularies, which also furnished the Alibamu terms.
Readers will perceive at the first glance that Cha'hta is
practically the same language as Chicasa, Creek as Seminole
and Hitchiti as Mikasuki. Alibamu forms a dialect for itself,
leaning more toward Cha'hta than Creek. The southeastern
group holds a middle position between Cha'hta and Creek.
As far as the queer and inaccurate Spanish orthography of
Apalachi enables us to judge, this dialect again differs some-
what from Hitchiti and Mikasuki. It will be well to remember
that in Indian and all illiterate languages the sounds of the
same organ-class are interchangeable ; thus, a word may be
correctly pronounced and written in six, ten, or twelve
different ways. Tchato rock, stone can be pronounced
tchatu, tchado, tchadu, tsato, tsatu, tsado, tsadu, etc. This
explains many of the apparent discrepancies observed in the
comparative table, and in our texts printed below.
A comparative study of the existing Maskoki vocabularies
would be very fruitful for the ethnographic history of the
tribes, and likely to disclose the relative epochs of their set-
tlement, if those that we have now could be thoroughly relied
on. In the comparative table subjoined I have received only
such terms that answer to this requisite.
There are terms which occur in all dialects in the same or
5
58 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
nearly the same form, as hasi sun, itchu, issi deer, ofi, ifa
dog, the terms for chief, black, yellow, bird, snake, buffalo,
turtle, fox (also in Cheroki : tsu'hla), the numerals and the
personal pronouns; they must, therefore, have been once
the common property of the still undivided, primordial tribe.
The fact that the words for chief (miki, mingo, miko),
for hola'hta, and for warrior (taska, taskaya), agree in all
dialects, points to the fact that when the tribes separated they
lived under similar social conditions which they have kept up
• ever since. The terms for maize disagree but apparently, and
seem to be reducible to one radix, atch or ash ; the terms for
dog agree in all dialects — hence, the Maskoki tribes planted
maize and kept dogs before, probably many centuries before
they separated ; and the term ifa went over from them to the
Timucua. The word for buffalo, yanase, is the same in all
dialects, and was probably obtained from the North, since
the term occurs in Cheroki also (ya'hsa in Eastern Cheroki).
The flame for salt, hapi, a mineral which had a sacrificial
importance, is found also in Yuchi in the form tapi, but
Creek has 6k-tchanua, Hitchiti : ok-tchahane. The term for
tobacco agrees in all divisions of the stock (haktchumma), ex-
cept in the Creek branch, where it is called hitchi, hidshi.
This weed is said to have received its Maskoki names from a
similarity of the top of the green plant with the phallus,
which is called in Alibamu and Hitchiti : 6ktchi or aktchi.
THE NAME MASKOKI; ITS USE AND SIGNIFICATION.
Maskoki, Maskdgi, isti Maskoki, designates a single person
of the Creek tribe, and forms, as a collective plural, Masko-
kalgi, the Creek community, the Creek people, the Creek
Indians. English authors write this name Muscogee, Muskh-
ogee, and its plural Muscogulgee. The first syllable, as
pronounced by the Creek Indians, contains a clear, short a,
and that the name was written Muscogee and not Mascogee,
is not to be wondered at, for the English language, with its
THE NAME. MASKOKI. 59
surd, indistinct and strongly modified vocalization, will con-
vert the clearest a into a u. Whether the name Maskoki
was given to the Creeks before or after the incorporation of
the towns speaking other languages than theirs, we are unable
to tell, but the name figures in some of the oldest documents
on this people. The accent is usually laid on the middle
syllable : Maskoki, Maskogi. None of the tribes are able to
explain the name from their own language.
The Cheroki call a Creek Indian Kusa, the nation Ani-
kusa, probably because Kusa was the first Creek town they
met, when coming from their country along Coosa river, Ala-
bama. But why did the English colonists call them Creek
Indians? Because, when the English traders entered the
Maskoki country from Charleston or Savannah, they had
to cross a number of streams and creeks, especially between
the Chatahuchi and Savannah rivers. Gallatin thought
it probable that the inhabitants of the country adjacent
to Savannah river were called Creeks from an early time
(Synopsis, p. 94). The French settlers rendered the term
Lower Creeks by " Basses-Rivieres."
The Wendat or Hurons call the Creek people Ku-u'sha,
having obtained the name from the Cheroki. The Foxes
or Utagami call one Creek man U'mashgo anene-u, the
people U'mashgohak. B. S. Barton, New Views (1798),
Appendix p. 8, states that the Delawares call the Creeks
Masquachki : " swampland. ' '
Caleb Swan, who wrote a report on the Creek people in
1791, mentions (Schoolcraft V, 259) a tradition current among
them, that they incorporated the Alibamu first, then the
Koassati, then the Naktche, and finally the Shawano. In
his time the Shawano had four towns on the Tallapoosa river,
and other Shawano (from the northwest) increased their
population every year by large numbers. One of these
towns was called Sawan6gi, another Kanhatki. A Muscogee
creek is near Columbus, running into Chatahuchi river from
60 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
the east. "Muskhogans" inhabited the tract north of
Pensacola.
The term is not derived from any known Maskoki word.
If oki water formed a component part of it, it would stand
first, as in the Hitchiti geographic terms Okelakni "yellow
water,'' Okifen6ke "wavering, shaking waters," Okmulgi
• 'bubbling water, ' ' Okitchobi ' ' river, " lit. ' 'large river. ' ' We
are therefore entitled to look out for a Shawano origin of the
tribal name, and remember the fact that the Creek Indians
called the Shawano and the Lenape (Delawares) their grand-
fathers. It will be appropriate to consult also the other
Algonkin languages for proper names comparable with the
one which occupies our attention.
The Shawano call a Creek person Humasko, the Creek
people Humaskogi. Here the hu- is the predicative prefix :
he is, she is, they are, and appears often as ho-, hui-, ku-.
Thus Humask6gi means "they are Masko" , the suffix -gi, -ki
being the plural ending of the animate order of substantives ,
in Shawano. A word masko is not traceable at present in
that language, but muskiggui means lake, pond, m'skiegu-pki
or muskiegu-pki timbered swamp, musk'hanui nepl the
water (nepi) rises up to, surrounds, but does not cover
up. Miskekopke in Caleb Atwater's vocabulary (Archseol.
Americ. I, p. 290), signifies wet ground, swamp. Rev.
Lacombe's Cree or Knisteno Dictionary gives : maskek
marsh, swamp, trembling ground unsafe to walk upon; Maske-
kowiyiniw Ike Maskegons or JBogmen, a tribe of Crees, also
called Maskekowok, who were formerly Odsbibwe Indians,
but left Lake Superior to join the Crees; their name forms a
striking parallel to our southern Maskoki. Rev. Watkins'
Cree Dictionary, with its English, unscientific orthography,
has muskag, muskak swamp, marsh; Muskagoo Swampy Indian,
Maskegon; Muskagoowew he is a Swampy Indian. Here the
predicative suffix -wew is placed after the noun, while hu- of
Shawano stands before it. The Odshibwg Dictionary of
THE NAME MASKOKI. 61
Bishop Baraga has mashkig, plur. maskigon swamp, marsh;
Mashki sibi Bad River; a corrupt form standing for Mashkigi
sibi Swamp River. In Abnaki we have megua'k fresh water
marsh, maskehegat fetid water.
The Shawano word for creek, brook, branch of river is
methtekui ; Shawano often has th where the northern dialects
have s (thipi river, in Potawat. and Sauk : sibe, in Odshibwe :
sibi) and hence the radix meth- is probably identical with
mas- in maskek.
The country inhabited by the Maskoki proper abounds in
creek bottoms overflowed in the rainy season, as the country
around Opelika " swamp-site " (from Creek: opilua, apilua
swamp, laikita to be stretched out}, Opil-'lako "great swamp,"
west of the above (Hawkins, p. 50) and many other places
rendered uninhabitable by the moisture of the ground. The
countries of the Cha'hta and Chicasa also formed a succession
of swamps, low grounds and marshes. In view of the fact
that no other general name for the whole Creek nation was
known to exist save Maskoki, and that the legend and the
chroniclers of de Soto's expedition speak of single tribes
only, we are entitled to assume this foreign origin^ for the
name until a better one is presented. Another instance of
an Algonkin name of an Indian nationality adopted by the
Maskoki is that of isti Natuagi, or the " enemies creeping up
stealthily," lit., " snake-men," by which the Iroquois, or Five
Nations, are meant. 1
In this publication I call the Maskoki proper by the name
of Creeks only> and have used their name on account of the
central location and commanding position of the Maskoki
proper, to whom this appellation properly belongs, to
designate the whole Cha 'hta-Maskoki family of Indians.
It will also be remembered that several of the larger commu-
nities of American Indians are known to the white population
1 By this same name the Algonkihs designated many other Indians
hostile to them; it appears in Nottoway, Nadouessioux, etc.
62 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
exclusively through names borrowed from other languages
than their own, as, for instance, the Kalapuya of Oregon,
who call themselves Ame'nmei, Kalapuya (anciently Kala-
puyua) being of Chinook origin, and the Pani, whose name
is, according to J. H. Trumbull, taken from an Algonkin
dialect, and means lungy, not bellicose, inferior, while their
own name is Tsariksi tsariks " men of men." 1 Foreign
names have also been given to the smaller tribes of the
Shetimasha and Atakapa, names which are of Cha'hta
origin; v. supra. The Patagonian and Argentinian tribes
are mostly known to us under Chilian names, and the
Aimbore or Nkra'kmun of Brazil we know only under the
Portuguese name Botocudos.
THE TRIBAL DIVISIONS OF THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
YAMASSI.
As early as the latter half of the sixteenth century, a tribe
speaking a Maskoki language was settled on the shores of the
Atlantic ocean, on lands included at present in the State of
South Carolina, and from these shores they extended to some
distance inland. In that country Rene de Laudonniere in
1564 established a fortification in Port Royal Bay, called
Charlefort, and the terms transmitted by him, being all of
Creek origin, leave no doubt about the affinity of the natives,
yatiqui interpreter, tola laurel, Olataraca, viz.: hola'hta 'lako,
nom. pr. "the great leader." Shortly after, the Spanish
captain Juan Pardo led an expedition (1566-67) through the
countries along Savannah river, and the local names found in
the report made of it by Juan de la Vandera (1569) also
point to the presence of a people speaking Creek estab-
lished on both sides of that river: 2 Ahoya "two going" ; Issa
1 Prof. J. B. Dunbar, who composed an interesting ethnologic article on
this tribe, thinks that Pani is a true Pani word : pariki horn, meaning their
scalp lock; Magazine of American History, 1880 (April number), p. 245.
2 Cf. Buck. Smith, Coleccion de Documentos ineditos, I, p. 15-19
(Madrid, 1857).
YAMASSI. 63
Cr. idshu ' ' deer ' ' ; Solameco, Cr. siili miko ' ' buzzard chief ' ' ;
Canosi, Cr. ikano'dshi "graves are there" — the name of
Cannouchee river, Georgia.
After the lapse of a century, when British colonists began
to settle in larger numbers in these parts, a tribe called
Yamassi (Yemasee, Yamasee, Yemmassaws, etc.) appears in
the colonial documents as settled there, and in the maritime
tracts of Georgia and Eastern Florida. Thus G. R. Fair-
banks, History of St. Augustine (1858), p. 125, mentions
the following dates from Spanish annals: "The Yemasees,
always peaceful and manageable, had a principal town,
Macarisqui, near St. Augustine. In 1680 they revolted,
because the Spaniards had executed one of their princi-
pal chiefs at St. Augustine; and in 1686 they made a
general attack on the Spaniards, and became their mortal
enemies."
The inroads of the Yamassi, in Cr. Yamassalgi, made in
1687 and 1706 upon the christianized Timucua have been
alluded to under "Timucua" (p. 12).
The English surveyor Lawson, who traveled through
these parts in 1701, calls them Savannah Indians, stating
that they are "a famous, warlike, friendly nation of
Indians, living at the south end of Ashley river." (Re-
print of i860, p. 75.) Governor Archdale also calls them
Savannahs'- in 1695; hence they were named like the
Yuchi, either from the Savannah river, or from the savanas
or prairies of the southern parts of South Carolina. The
Yuchi probably lived northwest of them. A few miles
north of Savannah city there is a town and railroad
crossing, Yemassee, which perpetuates their tribal name.
Another ancient authority locates some between the Com-
bahee and the Savannah river, and there stood their largest
1 Description of Carolina, London, 1707. The Yamassi then lived
about eighty miles from Charleston, and extended their hunting excur-
sions almost to St. Augustine.
64 THE MASKOKI FAMILY,
town, Pocotaligo. 1 Hewat (1779) states that they possessed
a large territory lying backward from Port Royal Island,
in his time called Indian Land (Hist. Ace, I, 213). Cf.
Westo and Stono Indians, p. 48.
They had been the staunchest Indian supporters of the
new British colony, and had sent 28 men of auxiliary troops
to Colonel Barnwell, to defeat the Tuscarora insurrection on
the coast of North Carolina (17 12-13), wnen they suddenly
revolted on April 15th, 1715, committed the most atrocious
deeds against helpless colonists, and showed themselves to be
quite the reverse of what their name indicates (yamasi, ya-
massi, the Creek term for mild, gentle, peaceable ?). Among
their confederates in the unprovoked insurrection were Kataba,
Cheroki and Congari Indians. Wholesale massacres of colo-
nists occurred around Pocotaligo, on Port Royal Island and
at Stono, and the number of victims was estimated at four
hundred. A force of volunteers, commanded by Governor
Craven, defeated them at Saltketchers, on Upper Combahee
river, southern branch, and drove them over Savannah river,
but for a while they continued their depredations from their
places of refuge (Hewat, Histor. Ace, I, 213-222).
Names of Yamassi Indians mentioned at that period also
testify to their Creek provenience. The name of a man called
Sanute is explained by Cr. san6dshas I encamp near, or with
somebody; that of Ishiagaska (Tchiagaska?) by ika akaska his
scraped or shaved head; or issi akaska his hair (on body)
removed. At a public council held at Savannah, in May-
1 733, a Lower Creek chief from Kawita expressed the hope
that the Yamassi may be in time reunited to his people ; a fact
which fully proves the ethnic affinity of the two national bodies.*
1 Gallatin, Synopsis, p. 84, recalls the circumstance that Pok'etalico is
also the name of a tributary of the Great Kanawha river. This seems to
point to a foreign origin of that name.
2 Verbified intchayamassfs: I am friendly, liberal, generous, hospitable.
• Cf. Jones, Tomochichi, p. 31.
YAMACRAW. 65
In Thomas Jeffery's Map of Florida, which stands opposite
the title-page of John Bartram, Descr. of East Florida,
London, 1769, 4to, a tract on the northeast shore of Pensa-
cola bay is marked "Yamase Land."
A tradition is current among the Creeks, that the Yamassi
were reduced and exterminated by them, but it is difficult to
trace the date of that event. W. Bartram, Travels, p. 137,
speaks of the "sepulchres or tumuli of the Yamasees who
were here slain in the last decisive battle, the Creeks having
driven them to this point, between the doubling of the river
(St. Juan, Florida), where few of them escaped the fury of
the conquerors. . . . There were nearly thirty of these
cemeteries of the dead," etc.; cf. ibid., p. 183. 516. Forty
or fifty of them fled to St. Augustine and other coast fortresses,
and were protected by the Spanish authorities; p. 55. 485. 390.
After the middle of the eighteenth century the name
Yamassi disappears from the annals as that of a distinct tribe.
They were now merged into the Seminoles ; they continued
long to exist as one of their bands west of the Savannah
river, and it is reported "that the Yemasi band of Creeks
refused to fight in the British- American war of 181 3."
All the above dates permit us to conclude that, ethnograph-
ically, the Yamassi were for the main part of Creek origin,
but that some foreign admixture, either Kataba or Yuchi,
had taken place, which will account for the presence of their
local names of foreign origin. The Apalachian or Hitchiti
branch of the Maskoki family must have also furnished ele-
ments to those Yamassi who were settled southwest of Savan-
nah city, for that was the country in which the Apalachian
branch was established.
YAMACRAW.
This small tribe is known only through its connection with
' the young British colony of Savannah and the protection
which its chief, Tomochichi, extended over it. This chief,
from some unknown reason, had separated from" his mother
66 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
tribe of Apalatchokla town, and went to reside upon a river
bluff four miles above the site of Savannah city. He subse-
quently visited England and its court with Esquire Oglethorpe
(in 1733), and died, about ninety-seven years old, in 1739,
highly respected by his Indians and the colonists. The
Yamacraw Indians, who had followed him to the Savannah
river, consisted mainly of disaffected Lower Creek and of
some Yamassi Indians.
The Creeks cannot give any account of the name Yama-
craw, and the R, which is a component sound of it, does not
occur in any of the Maskoki dialects nor in Yuchi. Cf.
Chas. C. Jones, Historical Sketch of Tpmo-chi-chi, mico of
the Yamacraws. Albany, 1868, 8vo.
SEMINOLE.
The term seman61e, or isti siman61e, signifies separatist
or runaway, and as a tribal name points to the Indians
who left the Creek, especially the Lower Creek settlements,
for Florida, to live, hunt and fish there in entire independence.
The term does not mean wild, savage, as frequently stated ;
if applied now in this sense to animals, it is because of its
original meaning, "what has become a runaway": pinua
simanole wild turkey (cf. pin-apuiga domesticated turkey),
tchu-ata seman61i, antelope, literally, " goat turned runaway,
wild," from tchu-ata, itchu hi.ta.goat, lit., "bleating deer." 1
The present Seminoles of Florida call themselves Ikaniii-
ksalgi or "Peninsula-People" (from ikana land, niuksa, for
in-yuksa its point, its promontory, -algi : collective ending) ;
another name for them is Tallahaski, from their town Talla-
hassie, now capital of the State of Florida. The Wendat or
Hurons call them Ungiayo-rono, " Peninsula-People," from
xmgikyo peninsula. In Creek, the Florida peninsula is called
also Ikan-faski, the "Pointed Land," the Seminoles: Ikana-
1 This adjective is found verbified in isimanolaidshit "he has caused
himself to be a runaway."
SEMINOLE. 67
faskalgi "people of the pointed land." The name most
commonly given to the Seminoles in the Indian Territory by
the Creeks is Simano'lalgi, by the Hitchiti : Simano'la'li.
Indians speaking the Creek language lived in the south of
the peninsula as early as the sixteenth century. This fact is
fully proved by the local names and by other terms used in
these parts transmitted by Fontanedo (in 1559, cf. Calusa) :
seletega! "run hither.'" now pronounced silitiga, silitka,
abbrev. from isilitka ; isilitkas I run away, lit., I carry myself
away, off; litkas I am running. Silitiga is now used as a
personal name among the Creeks.
We have seen that a portion of Fontanedo's local names of
the Calusa country are of Creek origin, and that another
portion is probably Timucua. The rest of them, like Yagua
and others, seem to be of Caribbean origin, and a transient
or stationary population of Caribs is mentioned by Hervas,
Catalogo de las lenguas I, p. 386 as having lived in the Apa-
lachi country. 1
. The hostile encounter between Creeks and Calusa, men-
tioned by Romans (cf. Calusa), probably took place about
A. D. 1700, but the name Seminole does not appear as early
as that. Previous to that event the Creeks seem to have held
only the coast line and the north part of what is now the area
of Florida State. A further accession resulted from the
arrival of the Yamassi, whom Governor Craven had driven
into Georgia and into the arms of their enemies, the Span-
iards of Florida, after suppressing the revolt of 1 715 in which
they had participated.
The Seminoles of modern times are a people compounded
of the following elements : separatists from the Lower Creek
and Hitchiti towns ; remnants of tribes partly civilized by
the Spaniards ; Yamassi Indians and some negroes. Accord-
ing to Hawkins, Sketch of the Creek Country (1799), pp. 25.
26, they had emigrated from Ok6ni, Sawokli, Yufala, Ta-
1 Cf. Proceed. Am. Philos. Society of Phila., 1880, pp. 466, 478.
68 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
ma'la, Apalatchukla and Hitchiti (all of which are Lower
Creek towns), being invited to Florida by the plenty of game,
the mildness of the climate and the productiveness of the
soil. The Seminoles mentioned by him inhabited the whole
peninsula, from Apalachicola river to the "Florida Point,"
and had the following seven towns : Seman61e Talahassi,
Mikasuki, Witchotukmi, Alachua, Oklawaha 'lako, Talua-
tchapk-apopka, Kalusa-hatchi. Some of the larger immigra-
tions from the Creek towns into those parts occurred: in
1750, after the end of the Revolutionary war, in 1808 and
after the revolt of the Upper Creeks in 18 14.
When Wm. Bartram traveled through the Seminole coun-
try, about 1 773, he was informed that Cuscowilla, a town on
a lake of the same name and a sort of Seminole capital, had
been built by Indians from Ok6ni old town, settled upon the
Alachua plains: " They abdicated the ancient Alachua town
on the borders of the savanna, about fifty miles west from the
river San Juan, and built here, calling the new town Cusco-
willa. (About 1 7 10) they had emigrated from Oconee town,
on the Oconee river, on account of the proximity of the
white people. " They formerly waged war with the " Tomocos
(Timucua), Utinas, Calloosas, Yamases" and other Florida
tribes. 1
The Seminoles were always regarded as a sort of outcasts
by the Creek tribes from which they had seceded, and no
doubt there were reasons for this. The emigration included
many of the more turbulent elements of the population, and
the mere fact that many of them spoke another dialect than
the Maskoki proper (some belonging to the Hitchiti or south-
eastern division of the family) is likely to have cast a shadow
upon them. The anecdote narrated by Milfort (Memoire,
1 Wm. Bartram, Travels, p. 97. 179. 190-193. 216. 217. 251. 379-380.
The name Cuscowilla bears a curious resemblance to the Chicasa town
Tuskawillao, mentioned by Adair, History, p. 353. Cf. also Okoni, in
List of Creek Settlements.
SEMINOLE. 69
p. 31 1-3 1 7) furnishes ample proof of the low esteem in which
the Seminoles were held by the Creeks. But, on the other
side, emigration was favored by the Creek communities them-
selves through the practice observed by some of their number
to send away a part of their young men to form branch
villages, whenever the number of the inhabitants began to
exceed two hundred. Several towns will be found in our
"List of Creek Settlements," in which the process of segmen-
tation was going on upon a large scale in the eighteenth
century.
The Seminoles first appear as a distinct politic body in
American history under one of their chiefs, called King
Payne, at the beginning of this century. This refers more
particularly to the Seminoles of the northern parts of what
is now Florida; these Indians showed, like the Creeks,
hostile intentions towards the thirteen states during and
after the Revolution, and conjointly with the Upper Creeks
on Tallapoosa river concluded a treaty of friendship with
the Spaniards at Pensacola in May, 1784. Although under
Spanish control, the Seminoles entered into hostilities with
the Americans in 1793 and in 181 2. In the latter year Payne
miko was killed in a battle at Alachua, and his brother, the
influential Bowlegs, died soon after. These unruly tribes
surprised and massacred American settlers on the Satilla river,
Georgia, in 1817, and another conflict began, which termi-
nated in the destruction of the Mikasuki and Suwanee river
towns of the Seminoles by General Jackson, in April, 1818.
After the cession of Florida, and its incorporation into the
American Union (1819), the Seminoles gave up all their ter-
ritory by the treaty of Fort Moultrie, September 18th, 1823,
receiving in exchange goods and annuities. When the gov-
ernment concluded to move these Indians west of the Missis-
sippi river, a treaty of a conditional character was concluded
with them at Payne's Landing, in 1832. The larger portion
were removed, but the more stubborn part dissented, and
70 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
thus gave origin to one of the gravest conflicts which ever
occurred between Indians and whites. The Seminole war
began with the massacre of Major Dade's command near
Wahoo swamp, December 28th, 1835, and continued with
unabated fury for five years, entailing an immense expenditure
of money and lives. A number of Creek warriors joined the
hostile Seminoles in 1836.
A census of the Seminoles taken in 1822 gave a population
of 3899, with 800 negroes belonging to them. The popula-
tion of the Seminoles in the Indian Territory amounted to
2667 in 1881 (Ind. Affairs' Rep.), and that of the Florida
Seminoles will be stated below. There are some Semi-
noles now in Mexico, who went there with their negro
slaves.
The settlements of the Seminoles were partly erratic, com-
parable to hunters' camps, partly stationary. The stationary
villages existed chiefly in the northern parts of the Seminole
lands, corresponding to Southern Georgia and Northern
Florida of our days. A very instructive table exists of some
of their stationary villages, drawn up by Capt. Young, and
printed in Rev. Morse's Report on the Indians of the United
States (1822), p. 364. This table however includes, with a
few exceptions, only places situated near Apalachicola river
(east and west of it"), in Alabama, Georgia and Florida ; the
list was probably made at a time when Florida was still under
Spanish domination, which accounts for the fact that the
county names are not added to the localities. Many of
these towns were, in fact, Lower Creek towns and not be-
longing to the Seminole proper, all of whom lived east of
Apalachicola river, mostly at some distance from it. Seminole
and Lower Creek were, in earlier times, often regarded as
identical appellations; cf. Milfort, Mem., p. 118.
The remarks included in parentheses were added by
myself.
SEMINOLE. 71
LIST OF SEMINOLE SETTLEMENTS.
Micasukeys— (In eastern part of Leon county, Florida).
Fowl Towns— Twelve miles east of Fort Scott (a place
" Fowl Town " is now in Decatur county, Georgia,
on eastern shore of Chatahuchi river).
Oka-tiokinans— Near Fort Gaines (the Oki-tiyakni of our
List of Creek Settlements; Fort Gaines is on Chata-
huchi river, Clay county, Georgia, 31 38' Lat.)
Uchees — Near the Mikasukey.
Ehawhokales — On Apalachicola (river).
Ocheeses— At Ocheese Bluff (Ocheese in southeast corner
of Jackson county, Florida, western shore of Apa-
lachicola river ; cf. List).
Tamatles — Seven miles from the Ocheeses. (Cf. Tama'li,
in List of Creek Settlements.)
Attapulgas — On Little river, a branch of Okalokina (now
Oklokonee river, or "Yellow Water," from oki
water, lakni yellow, in Hitchiti; the place is in
Decatur county, Georgia. From itu-pulga, boring
holes into wood to make fire: pulgas I bore, itu
wood).
Telmocresses — West side of Chatahoochee river (is Talua
mutchasi, "Newtown").
Cheskitalowas — West side of Chatahoochee river (Chiska
talofa of the Lower Creeks, q. v.)
Wekivas — Four miles above the Cheskitalowas.
Emussas — Two miles above the Wekivas (Omussee creek
runs into Chatahuchi river from the west, 31 ° 20'
Lat.; imussa signifies : tributary, branch, creek joining
another water- course ; from the verb im-6sas).
Ufallahs — Twelve miles above Fort Gaines (Yufala, now
Eufaula, on west bank of Chatahuchi river, 31 55'
Lat.)
Red Grounds — Two miles above the line (or Georgia
boundary; Ikan-tchati in Creek).
72 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
Etohussewakkes — Three miles above Fort Gaines (from itu
log, hassi old, vrzkasl lie on the ground).
Tattowhehallys — Scattered among other towns (probably
talua hallui "upper town").
Tallehassas — On the road from Okalokina (Oklokonee
river) to Mikasukey (now Tallahassie, or " Old
City," the capital of Florida State).
Owassissas — On east waters of St. Mark's river (Wacissa,
Basisa is a river with a Timucua name).
Chehaws — On the Flint river (comprehends the villages
planted there from Chiaha, on Chatahuchi river).
Tallewheanas — East side of Flint river (is H6tali huyana ;
cf. List of Creek Settlements).
Oakmulges — East of Flint river, near the Tallewheanas.
From reports of the eighteenth century we learn that in the
south of the Floridian peninsula the Seminoles were scattered
in small bodies, in barren deserts, forests, etc., and that at in-
tervals they assembled to take black drink or deliberate on
tribal matters. It is also stated that in consequence of their
separation the Seminole language had changed greatly from
the original Creek; a statement which is not borne out by
recent investigations, and probably refers only to the Semi-
nole towns speaking Hitchiti dialects.
By order of the Bureau of Ethnology, Rev. Clay Mac-
Cauley in 1880 visited the Seminoles settled in the southern
parts of the peninsula, to take their census and institute ethno-
logic researches. He found that their population amounted
to 208 Indians, and that they lived in five settlements to
which he gave the following names :
1. Miami settlement; this is the old name of Mayaimi
Lake, and has nothing in common with the Miami-
Algonkin tribe.
2. Big Cypress, 26° 30' Lat.
3. Fish-eating Creek, 26 37'; head-chief Tustenuggi.
4. Cow Creek, fifteen miles north of Lake Okitch6bi.
SEMINOLE. 73
5. Catfish Lake, 28 Lat. The late Chipko was chief there,
who had been present with Osceola at the Dade
massacre in 1835.
Traces of languages other than the Seminole were not dis-
covered by him.
In December 1882 J. Francis Le Baron transmitted to
the Smithsonian Institution a few ethnologic notices and a
vocabulary obtained from the Seminole Indians of Chipko's
(since deceased) band, which he had visited in March 1881
in their village near Lake Pierce. The dialect of the vocabu-
lary does not differ from Creek in any appreciable degree.
On marriage customs and the annual busk of these Indians he
makes the following remarks : " They do not marry or inter-
mix with the whites, and are very jealous of the virtue of
their women, punishing with death any squaw that accepts
the attentions of a white man. Some Seminoles exhibit a
mixture of negro blood, but some are very tall, fine-looking
savages. Their three tribes live at Chipko town, near Lake
Oketchobee, and in the Everglades. They have a semi-
religious annual festival in June or July, called the green
corn dance, the new corn being then ripe enough to be
eaten. Plurality of wives is forbidden by their laws. Tom
Tiger, a fine-looking Indian, is said to have broken this rule
by marrying two wives, for which misdemeanor he was ban-
ished from the tribe. He traveled about one hundred miles
to the nearest tribe in the Everglades, and jumped unseen
into the ring at the green corn dance. This procured him
absolution, conformably to their laws."
We have deemed it appropriate to dwell at length on the
history, topography and peculiar customs of the Seminoles
on account of their identity with the Creek Indians, the main
object of this research. We now pass over to the South-
eastern or Apalachian group of Maskoki.
74 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
APALACHI.
The Hitchiti, Mikasuki and Apalachi languages form a
dialectic group distinct from Creek and the western dialects,
and the people speaking them must once have had a common
origin. The proper names Apalachi and Apalatchukli are
now extinct as tribal names, but are of very ancient date.
The auriferous ledges of the Cheroki country were said to be
within "the extreme confines of the Apalachi province"
(Fontanedo, 1559), and the Apalachi found by Narvaez was
fifteen days' march north of Aute, 1 a roadstead or harbor on
the Gulf of Mexico, though the Indians had stated to him that
it lay at a distance of nine days' travel only. The "province"
of Apalachi probably included the upper part or the whole
of the Chatahuchi river basin, and on account of the ending
-okla in Apalatchukla, its origin must be sought in the Cha'hta
or Hitchiti dialect. Rev. Byington explains it by helping
people, allies, in the Cha'hta apalatchi okla, but the original
form of the name is Apala^tchi okli, not apalatchi ; -^tchi is
a Hitchiti suffix of adjectives, and apalui in that dialect
means ' 'on the other side of. ' ' Hence the adjective apala/tchi :
"those (people okli) on the other side, shore or river."
The town of Apalachi, on Apalache bay, must be kept
clearly distinct from the town of Apalachicola, or Apalatchu-
kla, about fifty miles further west, on the river then called
by the same name.
Apalachi town was north of Apalachi bay, the principal
port of which is now St. Marks. This was probably the place
after which "Apalache provincia" was named in de Soto's
time; Biedma, one of his historians, states (in Smith, Docum.
ined., I, 48. 49), that "this province was divided by a river
from the country east of it, having Aguile as frontierstown.
Apalachi has many towns and produces much food, and (the
Indians) call this land visited by^us Yustaga." This river
was probably the St. Mark's river. Both names are also dis-
1 Perhaps from the Hitchiti term a-titilis "I build or kindle afire: 1
APALACHI. 75
tinguished as belonging to separate communities in Margry IV,
96. 117 (1699) and IV, 309. The western "Palachees" are
laid down on the map in Dan. Coxe, Carolana, on Chatahuchi
river, the eastern "Palachees" on a river in the northeast
angle of the Gulf of Mexico; north of the latter are the
Tommachees (Timucua). At present, a northwestern affluent
of Okoni river, in Upper Georgia, is called Apalache river.
Apalatchukla, a name originally belonging to a tribe, was
in early times transferred to the river, now Chatahuchi, and
from this to all the towns of the Lower Creeks. An instance
of this is given by L. d'Iberville, who states (Margry IV,
594- 595) tliat in 1 701 a difficulty arose between the Apalachi-
colys and the Apalachis on account of depredations com-
mitted ; that the Spanish call those Indians Apalachicolys,
the French Conchaques, and that they counted about 2000
families — an equal number of men being ascribed to the
Apalachis, who were under Spanish rule.
The name of the tribe and town was Apalatchukla, also
written Pallachucla, Palachicola. This town was on the western
bank of Chatahuchi river, i}& miles below Chiaha. In early
times its tribe was the most important among the Lower Creeks,
adverse to warfare, a "peace or white town," and called by
the people Talua 'lako, Great Town. Like the town Apala-
chi, the inhabitants of this town spoke a dialect resembling
Hitchiti very closely. Apalachicola river is no,w the name
of Chatahuchi river below its junction with the Flint river.
More about this town in the : List of Creek Settlements.
Later in the sixteenth century the boundary between the
Timucua and the Apalachi lands is stated to have been on
or near the Vacissa river ; Ibitachuco or Black Lake being
the eastern Apalachi boundary, the westernmost town of the
Timucua being Asile (Ausile, Oxilla).
In 1638 the Indians of Apalachi made war against the
Spanish colonists. Although the governor of Florida had
but few troops to oppose, he marched against them and
76 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
daunted their aggressiveness (sobervia) by forcing them to a
disastrous retreat and following them into their own country
(Barcia, Ensayo, p. 203).
In 1688 a number of Apalachi chiefs (caciques) addressed
a letter of complaint to Charles the Second, king of Spain
(fi 700), concerning the exactions to which their former gov-
ernors had subjected them, and other topics relating to their
actual condition. The towns mentioned in the letter are San
Luis de Apalachi, Ibitachuco, Pattali, Santa Cruz, Talpatqui,
Vasisa, San Marcos. The original, with its Spanish transla-
tion, was reproduced in a fac-simile edition in i860 by
Buckingham Smith (fol.), and other documents written in
Apalachi are preserved in the archives of Havana, the seat of
the archbishopric, to which Apalachi and all the other settle-
ments comprised within the diocese of St. Helena belonged.
Christianized Apalachis, who had been frequently raided
by Alibamu Indians, fled in 1 705 to the French colony at
Mobile, where Governor de Bienville gave them lands and
grain-seed to settle between the Mobilian and Tohome tribe;
cf. Penicaut in Margry V, 461. 485, where their religious
festivals and other customs are described. Like the Apalachis,
the tribe of the heathen Taouachas had quitted the Spanish
territory for being harassed by the Alibamu, and fled southwest
to the French, who settled them on Mobile river, one league
above the Apalachis (1710; in Margry V, 485-487). Some
Cha'hta refugees had been settled at the " Anse des Chactas,"
on Mobile bay, the year preceding. In the nineteenth century
the last remnants of the Apalachi tribe were living on the
Bayou Rapide, in Louisiana, and about A. D. 1815 counted
fourteen families.
MIKASUKI.
"Miccosukee" is a town of Florida, near the northern
border of the State, in Leon county, built on the western
shore of the lake of the same name. The tribe established
there speaks the Hitchiti language, and must hence have
HITCHITI. 77
separated from some town or towns of the Lower Creeks
speaking that language.
The tribe was reckoned among the Seminole Indians, but
does not figure prominently in Indian history before the out-
break of the Seminole war of 1817. It then raised the " red
pole " as a sign of war, and became conspicuous as a sort of
political centre for these Southern " soreheads.' ' The vocabu-
laries of that dialect show it to be practically identical with
that of Hitchiti town. Cf. the comparative table, p. 56.
More notices on this tribe will be found under : Seminole.
HITCHITI.
The Hitchiti tribe, of whose language we present an exten-
sive specimen in this volume, also belongs to the southeastern
group, which I have called Apalachian.
Hitchiti town was, in Hawkins' time, established on the
eastern bank of Chatahuchi river, four miles below Chiaha.
The natives possessed a narrow strip of good land bordering
on the river, and had the reputation of being honest and
industrious. They obtained their name from Hitchiti creek,
so called at its junction with Chatahuchi river, [and in its
upper course Ahiki (Ouhe-gee) ; cf. List] from Creek : ahi-
tchita "to look up (the stream)." They had spread out into
two branch settlements : Hitchitudshi or Little Hitchiti, on
both sides of Flint river, below the junction of Kitchofuni
creek, which passes through a county named after it ; and
Tutalosi on Tutalosi creek, a branch of Kitchofuni creek,
twenty miles west of Hitchitudshi (Hawkins, p. 60. 65).
The existence of several Hitchiti towns is mentioned by C.
Swan in 1791; and Wm. Bartram states that they "speak
the Stincard language." There is a popular saying among
the Creeks, that the ancient name of the tribe was Atchik'hade,
a Hitchiti word which signifies white heap (of ashes).
Some Hitchiti Indians trace their mythic origin to a fall
from the sky, but my informants, Chicote and G. W. Stid-
78 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
ham, gave me the following tale: "Their ancestors first
appeared in the country by coming out of a canebrake or
reed thicket (utski in Hitchiti) near the sea coast. They
sunned and dried their children during four days, then set
out, arrived at a lake and stopped there. Some thought it
was the sea, but it was a lake ; they set out again, traveled
up a stream and settled there for a permanency." Another
tradition says that this people was the first to settle at the
site of Okmulgi town, an ancient capital of the confederacy.
The tribe was a member of the Creek confederacy and
does not figure prominently in history. The first mention I
can find of it, is of the year 1733, when Gov. Oglethorpe met
the Lower Creek chiefs at Savannah, Ga., to conciliate their
tribes in his favor. The "Echetas" had sent their war-
chiefs, Chutabeeche and Robin with four attendants (Ch. C.
Jones, Tomochichi, p. 28). The Yutchitalgi of our legend,
who were represented at the Savannah council of 1735 by
"Tomehuichi, dog king of the Euchitaws," are probably the
Hitchiti, not the Yuchi. Wm. Bartram calls them (1773)
"Echetas" also.
The dialect spoken by the Hitchiti and Mikasuki once
spread over an extensive area, for local names are worded in
it from the Chatahuchi river in an eastern direction up to
the Atlantic coast. To these belong those mentioned under
"the name Maskoki," p. 58.
According to Wm. Bartram, Travels, pp. 462-464, the fol-
lowing towns on Chatahuchi river spoke the " Stincard "
language, that is a language differing from Creek or Musco-
gulge : Chiaha (Chehaw), Hitchiti (Echeta), Okoni (Occone),
the two Sawokli (Swaglaw, Great and Little). From this it
becomes probable, though not certain, that the dialect known
to us as Hitchiti was common to them all. The Sawokli
tribe, settled in the Indian Territory, have united there with
the Hitchiti, a circumstance which seems to point to ancient
relationship.
H1TCHITI. 79
Like the Creeks, the Hitchiti have an ancient female dia-
lect, still remembered and perhaps spoken by the older people,
which was formerly the language of the males also. The
woman language existing among the'Creek Indians is called by
them also the ancient language. A thorough study of these
archaic remnants would certainly throw light on the early
local distribution of the tribes and dialects of the Maskoki in
the Gulf States.
HUNTER'S SONG.
The following ancient hunting song may serve as a speci-
men of the female dialect of Hitchiti ; the ending -i of the
verbs, standing instead of -is of the male dialect, proves it to
be worded in that archaic form of speech. Obtained from
Judge G. W. Stidham:
Hantun talankawati a'klig ; eyali.
Suta! kaya! kayap'hu!
aluktchabakliwati alclig ; eyali.
Suta! kaya! kayap'hu !
aluktigonknawati aOdig ; ayali.
Suta! kaya! kayap'hu!
aluk'hadsha-aliwati aldig; eyali.
Suta ! kaya ! kayap'hu !
hantun ayawati aldig; ayali.
Suta! kaya! kayap'hu!
Somewhere (the deer) lies on the ground, I think ; I walk about.
Awake, arise, stand up !
It is raising up its head, I believe ; I walk about.
Awake, arise, stand up !
It attempts to rise, I believe ; I walk about.
Awake, arise, stand up !
Slowly it raises its body, I think; I walk about.
Awake, arise, stand up !
It has now risen on its feet, I presume; I walk about.
Awake, arise, stand up !
80 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
At every second line of this song the singer kicks at a log,
feigning to start up the deer by the noise from its recesses in
the woods. The song-lines are repeated thrice, in a slow
and plaintive tune, except the refrain, which is sung or rather
spoken in a quicker measure, and once only. For the words
of the text and of the refrain, cf. the Hitchiti Glossary.
THE HITCHITI DIALECT
of the Maskoki language-family is analogous, though by no
means identical with the Creek dialect in its grammatic out-
lines. Many points of comparison will readily suggest them-
selves to our readers, and enable us to be comparatively short
in the following sketch.
The female dialect is an archaic form of Hitchiti parallel
to archaic Creek ; both were formerly spoken by both sexes.
Only the common form (or male language) of Hitchiti will
be considered here.
PHONETICS.
The phonetic system is the same as in Creek, except that the
sonant mutes, b, g, are more distinctly heard (d is quite rare).
The processes of alternation are the same in both dialects.
Many vowels of substantives are short in Creek, which appear
long in Hitchiti: a'pi tree: H. a'pi; ha'si sun, moon: H.
ha'si ; ni'ta day : H. nita etc.
V-
MORPHOLOGY.
Noun. The case inflection of the substantive, adjective, of
some pronouns and of the nominal forms of the verb is effected
by the suffixes : -i for the absolute, -ut for the subjective, -un
for the objective case : yati person, yatut, yatun ; naki what,
which, nakut, nakun. A few verbals inflect in -a, -at, -an ;
for instance, those terminating in -hunga.
The diminutive ending is the same as in Creek : -odshi,
-udshi.
THE HITCHITI DIALECT. 81
To the Creek collective suffix -algi corresponds -a'li, which
is, in fact, the third person of a verbal plural : miki chief,
mika.'\i the class of chiefs and: " they are chiefs." Mask6ki :
Maskoka'li the Creek people; fapli'hitchi wind, fapli'htcha'li
wind clan, wind gens.
Hitchiti has a greater power of verbifying substantives
than Creek: miki chief, mik61is lam chief; tch6yi pine-tree,
tch6yus it is a pine tree.
There is no real substantive verb in the language, and ad-
jectives, when becoming verbified, are turned into attributive
verbs, as in Creek : wan ti strong, hard; tsawantus / am strong;
wantus he, it is strong, hard; wantatik not strong; wantigus he
is very strong; wantatis he is not strong; wanta'hlatis he is not
strong at all.
The gradation of the adjective is expressed either by the
attributive verb, to which isi-, is- is prefixed, or in some other
ways syntactically :
Kddsuni tchatu-kunawun isinwantfis iron is harder than
silver.
ukitchubi okildsi ihayuykiki o'latiwats a lake is deeper than
a river; lit. "to river the lake in its depth does not
come up." This may also be expressed: okilosi
(u)kitchobi isihayu^kuwats ; lit. "a lake (than) a
river more-deepens."
ya hali'hlosaka lapkun u"weikas this boy is the tallest; lit.
"this boy all surpasses in height."
yat yakni tchaih'-apiktcha^ayus this is the highest mountain;
lit. "this ground-high stands ahead."
The numeral has two forms for the cardinal number : one
used attributively, and another, abbreviated from it, used
exclusively for counting ; there are, outside of this, forms for
the ordinal, for the distributive, and for the adverbial
numeral. The list of the numerals is as follows :
82
THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
Cardinals. Ordinals.
1 'lamin 'lahai'h indshuatki
" beginning"
2 toklan tuka' satdklaka .
3 tutchlnan tutchi satotchinaka
4 sitakin sita'h isitagika
5 tcha/gipan tcha'hgi istcha/gipaka
6 ipagin ipa isipagaka
7 kulapakin kiilapa iskulapakika
8 tusnapakin tusnapa istusnapakika
9 ustapakin ustapa isustapakika
Io pok6lin pukii ispokdlika
20 pok6li tuklan ispokol-toklaka poko-tukulakan ispukuli-tuklan
loo tchukpi 'lamin istchukpi-'lamikatchukpi-'lamakanistchukpi-'la-
min
Folded four times is expressed by the cardinal : po'l6tki sitaki ; folded
eight times: po'l6tki tusnapakin.
The personal pronoun appears in different forms : sub-
jective absolute ; subjective prefixed to verbs and objective
pronoun.
Subjective absolute: Subj. prefixed : Objective:
Distributive.
Adverbial.
'lahamin
a'la'hmi
tuklakan
satukla'h
tutchinakan
atutchina'h
sitahakin
asitagi
tcha/gipakan
atsa'hgipi
ipahakan
isipagi
kulapahakan
iskulapaki
tusnapahakan
istusnapaki
ustapahakan
isustapaki
pukulakan
ispukiili
I
thou
am
tchi'hni
tcha-, am-, an-, a-
tchi-
he, she, it i'hni
tcha-
tchi-
im-, in-, i-
we pu'hni pu-, po- pu-
ye tchi'hnitaki tchi-, inverted: itch- tchi-, w. suffix
they i'hnitaki im-, in-, i-
anali (usually analut) myself, 2 s. tchi'hnali, 3 s. i'hnali ;
pu'hnali ourselves, 2 pi. tchi'hnalitaki, 3 pi. i'hnalitaki.
The possessive pronoun.
my
am-, an-, a-
tcha-, inverted: atch-
thy
tchi-,
tchi-, inverted: itch-
his, her, its
im-, in-, i-
im-, in-, i-
our
pu'hni, pu-
pun-, pu-, po-
your
tchi/tchi, tchi-
tchi-, with suffix
their
im-, in-, i-
i- etc., with suffix.
THE HITCHITI DIALECT. 83
tchalbi my hand or hands, tchilbi, ilbi; pulbi our hand at
hands, tchilbu/tchi, ilbi.
dntchiki my house or houses; tchintchiki, intchiki; puntchiki,
tchintchigo/tchi, intchigo^tchi.
Demonstrative pronouns : ma, mut, mta (Cr. ma); ya, yat,
yan or yftn (Cr. hia); yakti, yaktut, yaktun (Cr.
asa); ma'hmali the same.
Demonstr.-relat. pronoun : naki, nakut, nakun which, what.
Interrogative pronouns : no'li ? n6'lut or n6'lut i ? no'lun
or no'lun i ? who ? naki ? nakut ? nakun ? which ?
what? nakon i? what is it?
The Hitchiti verb equals the Creek verb in the abundance
of inflectional forms. In order to show the inflection of
a verb (or rather a part of it), going parallel to the one
chosen as the Creek paradigm, we select isiki to take, to
carry ; awiki being used when a plurality of objects is con-
cerned ; Creek : isita, tchawita.
isilis I take, 2 s. isitskas, 3 s. isis ; ipl. isikas, 2 pi. isatchkas,
3 pi. isa'li.
awalis I take, pi. of obj., 2 s. awitskas, 3 s. awas; 1 pi. awikas,
2 pi. awatskas, 3 pi. awa'lis.
i'hsilis I took a short time ago (Cr. isayanks); a'hwalis.
isanis I took several days ago (Cr. isaimatas) ; also / had
taken; awanis.
isiliktas / have taken many years ago (Cr. isayantas); awa-
liktas.
isilalis I shall take (Cr. isa'lis); awalalis.
isis! pi. isitis! take it! a' wis! a'witis! (ora'watis!)
isi^tchi having taken, holding in one's hands; awi/tchi.
i'hsik (object) taken, part, pass.; a'hwak.
isigi, isiki to lake, the taking; awigi, awiki. ^
isi, isut, isun one who takes, carries; awi, awut, awun.
isihunka, -at, -an one who took, has taken; awihunka,
-at, -an.
isahika, -at, -an one who is going to take; awahika, -at, -an.
84 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
From this verb isiki, awiki the language does not form
any passive, reciprocal, reflective and causative voice, but
employs verbs from other radices instead. The interrogative
and negative inflection is as follows :
isatas I do not take, 2 s. isitskatis, 3 s. Isitis; 1 pi. isikatis,
2 pi. isatskatis, 3 pi. (?); awatas I do not take, pi. of
obj., awitskatis etc.
Isilus? do I take? 2 s. isitskus? 3 s. isus? 1 pi. isigo? 2 pi.
isatsko? 3 pi. (?). awalus? do I take? etc.
isata'sOs? dolnottake? 2 s. isitskatibos? 3 s. isitisos? 1 pi.
isikatibSs? 2 pi. isatskatibos? 3 pi. (?). awata'sos?
do I not take? etc.
A form for the 3. pi. was remembered by none of my
informants, who state that the Hitchiti render it by a circum-
scriptive sentence.
A specimen of the objective or compound conjugation of
the verb I strike, bata'plilis, runs as follows :
I strike thee once tchibataplilis, repeatedly tchibataspilis
I strike him, her once bata'plilis bataspilis
ye tchibatap'holilis tchibatas'h6pilis
them batas'hupilis batas'hupilis
He, she strikes me once: tchabataplis, repeatedly: tchabataspis
thee tchibataplis tchibataspis
him, her bataplis bataspis
us pubataplis pubataspis
ye tchibatap'holis tchibatas'hopis
them bataspis batas'h6pis
The same verb to strike gives origin to the following genera
verbi, each appearing under two different forms, and all
being quoted in the present tense of the declarative mode,
affirmative voice :
Active: bata'plilis I strike (now) by one blow-
bata'spilis I strike (now) by several blows
Passive: tchabatapkas I am struck once, by one blow
tchabataspkas lam struck more than once (obsolete)
ALIBAMU. 85
Reciprocal: itibataplikas we strike each other once
itibataspigas we strike each other repeatedly
Reflective : ilbata'plilis I strike myself by one blow
ilbataspilis I strike myself by several blows
Causative: bataplidshilis I cause to strike once
bataspidshilis I cause to strike repeatedly.
Postpositions govern the absolute case of the noun just
as they do in Creek:
konut tchigi i-a^nun i-aulidshis the skunk stays under the
house.
sawut ahi igapun untcho^olis the racoon sits on the top of
the tree.
otaki labaki near or around an island.
6tagi apalu-un on the other side of the island.
yantuntun hitchkatigan beyond sight, is an instance of a
postposition figuring as preposition, and is connected with
the objective case of a noun. It is not a real postposition,
but an adverb used in this function.
ALIBAMU.
The disconnected remarks on the Alibamu Indians which
we find in the documents and chronicles represent them as
early settlers on Alabama river, at a moderate distance from
the confluence of Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. In our legend
they are introduced among the four tribes contending for the
honor of being the most ancient and valorous.
D. Coxe, Carolana, p. 24 mentions their tribal name in the
following connection : "On Coussa river 1 are the Ullibalies 2 ,
1 Anciently Coosa, Coussa river was a name given to our Coosa river,
as well as to its lower course below the junction of Tallapoosa, now called
Alabama river. Wright's Ch. Dictionary has : alua a burnt place.
1 In the report of the Fidalgo de Elvas, Ullibahali, a walled town, is
not identical with Alimamu. Ullibahali is a name composed of the
Alibamu : 61i village, town and the Hitchiti : bahali down stream, and
southward, which is the Creek wahali South.
86 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
Olibahalies, Allibamus; below them the Tallises." Allen
Wright derives Alibamu (also written Allibamous, Alibami,
Albamu, incorrectly Alibamon) from Cha'hta : alba thicket and
i.yalrnuj>lace cleared (of trees, thickets): alba ayamule I open or
clear the thicket. If this derivation is correct, the name, with
its generic definition, could apply to many localities simulta-
neously. Let us hear what Sekopechi or "Perseverance,"
an old man of that tribe, related to Agent Eakin concerning
their early migrations and settlements. (Schoolcraft, Indians
I, 266 sqq) :
" The Great Spirit brought the Alabama Indians from the
ground between the Cahawba and Alabama rivers, and they
believe that they are of right possessors of this soil. The
Muscogees formerly called themselves Alabamians (" thicket-
clearers"?), but other tribes called them Oke-choy-atte,
"life." 1 The earliest oral tradition of the Alibamu of a
migration is, that they migrated from the Cahawba and Ala-
bama rivers to the junction of the Tuscaloosa (?) and Coosa
rivers, where they sojourned for two years. After this they
dwelt at the junction of the Coosa and Alabama rivers, on
the west side of what was subsequently the site of Fort
Jackson. It is supposed that at this time they numbered
fifty effective men. They claimed the country from Fort
Jackson to New Orleans for their hunting grounds."
Whatever may be the real foundation of this confused nar-
rative, it seems that the Alibamu reached their later seats
from a country lying to the west or southwest, and that they
showed a preference for river-junctions, for this enabled them
to take fish in two rivers simultaneously. Another migration
legend of this tribe, as related by Milfort, will be given and
accounted for below.
Biedma relates that H. de Soto, when reaching the "Ali-
bamo province," had to fight the natives entrenched within a
palisaded fort (fuerte de Alibamo, Garc. de la Vega) and the
1 Oktch6yi is the Cha'hta term for living, alive.
ALIBAMU. 87
Fidalgo of Elvas : that the cacique of Chicaca came with the
caciques of Alimamu and of Nicalasa, 1 whereupon a fight took
place. But that Alibamo province lay northwest of Chicaca
town and province, and was reached only after passing the
Chocchechuma village on Yazoo river ; it was probably not
the Alibamu tribe of the later centuries. In the report of
Tristan de Luna's expedition no mention is made of the
Alibamu Indians, though it speaks of "Rio Olibahali."
In 1702 five French traders started with ten Alibamu
natives from Mobile, for the country where the tribe resided.
They were killed by these guides when at a distance of ten
leagues from the Alibamu village, and M. de Bienville, then
governor of the French colony, resolved to make war on
the tribe. He started with a force of seventy Frenchmen
and eighteen hundred Indian auxiliaries ; the latter deserted
after a march of six days, and finally the party was compelled
to return. A second expedition, consisting of Frenchmen
only, was not more successful, and had to redescend Alabama
river in canoes. Mr. de Boisbriand, the leader of a third
expedition, finally succeeded in destroying a camp of Ali-
bamu, sixty-five miles up the river, in killing the inmates
and capturing their women and children, who were given to
the Mobilians, their allies. 2 This action was only the first
of a series of subsequent troubles.
An alliance concluded by the Alibamu with the Mobilians
did not last long, for in 1708 they arrived with a host of
Cheroki, Abika and Kataba Indians, in the vicinity of the
French fort on Mobile Bay, where Naniabas, Tohomes and
Mobilians had settled, but were foiled in their attack upon
the .Mobilians through the watchfulness of the tribe and of
the French colonists. The whole force of their aggressors and
their allies combined was estimated at four thousand warriors
(id., Margry V, 477~478; cf. 427).
1 Gallatin, Syn. p. 105, proposes to read Nita-lusa, Black Sear.
3 Relation of PSnicaut, in Margry V, 424-432.
88 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
In 1 713, after the Alibamu had made an inroad into the
Carolinas with a host of Kataba and Abika Indians, their
confederates, the head-chief of the first-named tribe besought
the French commander at Mobile bay to erect a fort in his
own country. The offer was accepted, and the tribe was
helpful in erecting a spacious fort of about three hundred
feet square, on a bluff overlooking the river, and close to
their village (id., Margry V, 510-511). This fort, built
near the junction of Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, was called
Fort Toulouse, and by the British colonists Fort Albamu, or
Alebama garrison.
When Fort Toulouse was abandoned in 1762, some Alibamu
Indians followed the French, and established themselves
about sixty miles above New Orleans, on Mississippi river,
near the Huma village. Th. Hutchins (1784), p. 39. esti-
mates the number of their warriors settled there at thirty.
Subsequently they passed into the interior of Louisiana, where
some are hunting and roving in the woods at the present
time. The majority, however, settled in Polk county, in
the southeastern corner of Texas, became agriculturists, and
about 1862 numbered over two hundred persons. Some
Alibamu reside in the Indian Territory. Cf. Buschmann,
Spuren d. azt. Spr., p. 424.
The former seats of the tribe, near the site of the present
capital, Montgomery, are described as follows :
Colonel Benj. Hawkins, United States Agent among the
Creeks, saw four Alibamu towns on Alabama river, below
Koassati. " The inhabitants are probably the ancient Ala-
bamas, and formerly had a regular town." (Sketch of the
Creek Country, pp. 35-37, 1799.) The three first were sur-
rounded by fertile lands, and lay on the eastern bank of
Alabama river. Their names were as follows :
Ikan-tchati or "Red Ground," a small village, with poor
and indolent inhabitants.
Tawassa or Tawasa, three miles below Ikan-tchati, a small
koassAti. 89
village on a high bluff. Called Taouacha by the French, cf.
Tohome. The Koassati word tabasa means widower, widow.
Paw6kti, small town on a bluff; two miles below Tawassa.
A'tagi, a village four miles below the above, situated on
the western bank, and spreading along it for two miles. Also
written At-tau-gee, Autaugee, Autobi. Autauga county is
named after it.
These Alibamu could raise in all about eighty warriors ;
they did not conform to Creek custom, nor did they apply
the Creek law for the punishment of adultery. Although
hospitable to white people, they had very little intercourse
with them. Whenever a white person had eaten of a dish
and left it, they threw the rest away, and washed everything
handled by the guest immediately. The above towns, together
with Oktchoyudshi and Koassati were, upon a decree of the
national council at Tukabatchi, November 27th, 1799, united
into one group or class under one " warrior of the nation."
The dignitary elected to that post of honor was Hu'lipoyi of
Oktchoyudshi, who had the war titles of hadsho and tustenoggi.
(Hawkins, pp. 51. 52.) Cf. Witumka.
KOASSATI.
The ancient seat of this tribe was in Hawkins' time (1 799),
on the right or northern bank of Alabama river, three miles
below the confluence of Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. Coosada,
Elmore county, Alabama, is built on the same spot. " They
are not Creeks," says Hawkins (p. 35), although they con-
form to their ceremonies ; a part of this town moved lately
beyond the Mississippi, and have settled there." G. W.
Stidham, who visited their settlement in Polk county, Texas,
during the Secession war, states that they lived there east of
the Alibamu, numbered about 200 persons, were pure-blooded
and very superstitious. Some Creek Indians are with them,
who formerly lived in Florida, between the Seminoles and
the Lower Creeks.
7
90 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
Their tribal name is differently spelt : Coosadas, Koosati,
Kosadi, Coushatees, etc. Milfort, Mem. p. 265, writes it
Coussehate. This tribe must not be confounded with the
Conshacs, q. v.
From an Alibamu Indian, Sekopechi, we have a statement
on the languages spoken by the people of the Creek con-
federacy (Schoolcraft, Indians, I, 266 sq.) : " The Muskogees
speak six different dialects : Muskogee, Hitchitee, Nauchee,
Euchee, Alabama and Aquassawtee, but all of them generally
understand the Muskogee language." This seems to indicate
that the Alibamu dialect differs from Koassati, for this is
meant by Aquassawtee; but the vocabularies of General
Albert Pike show that both forms of speech are practically
one and the same language.
Historic notices of this tribe after its emigration to western
parts were collected by Prof. Buschmann, Spuren d. aztek.
Sprache, p. 430. Many Koassati live scattered among the
Creeks in the Creek Nation, Indian Territory, at Yufala, for
instance.
Witumka, on Coosa river, spoke, according to Bartram, the
"Stincard" language, and was a town of the Alibamu divi-
sion. Cf. List of Creek Settlements.
CHICASA.
The northern parts of Mississippi State contain the earliest
homes of the warlike tribe of Chicasa Indians which histori-
cal documents enable us to trace. Pontotoc county was the
centre of their habitations in the eighteenth century, and was
so probably at the time of the Columbian discovery ; settle-
ments of the tribe scattered along the Mississippi river, in
West Tennessee and in Kentucky up to Ohio river, are
reported by the later chroniclers.
In the year 1540 the army of Hernando de Soto crossed a
portion of their territory, called by its historians " Chicaca
provincia," and also visited a town of this name, with a
CHICASA. 91
smaller settlement (alojamiento) in its vicinity named Chi-
cacjlla.
Two rivers anciently bore the name of "Chicasa river,"
not because they were partially or exclusively inhabited by
tribes of this nationality, but because their headwaters lay
within the Chicasa boundaries. This gives us a clue to the
topographic position of the Chicasa settlements. Jefferys (I,
153), states that " Chicasa river is the Maubile or Mobile river,
running north and south (now called Lower Alibama river),
and that it takes its rise in the country of the Chicasaws in
three streams." When L. d'Iberville traveled up the Yazoo
river, the villages on its banks were referred to him as lying
on " la riviere des Chicachas." 1
The most lucid and comprehensive account of the Chicasa
settlements is found in Adair's History.
James Adair, who was for several years a trader among the
Chicasa, gives the following account of their country and
settlements (History, p. 352, sq.) : "The Chikkasah country
lies in about thirty-five degrees N. Lat., at the distance of
one hundred and sixty miles from the eastern side of the
Mississippi . . . about half way from Mobille to the
Elinois, etc. The Chikkasah are now settled between the
heads of two of the most western branches of Mobille river
and within twelve miles of Tahre Hache (Tallahatchie). .
. . In 1720 they had four contiguous settlements, which
lay nearly in the form of three parts of a square, only that
the eastern side was five miles shorter than the western, with
the open part toward the Choktah. One was called Yaneka,
about a mile wide and six miles long . . . ; another was
ten miles long . . . and from one to two miles broad.
The towns were called Shatara, Chookheereso, Hykehah,
Tuskawillao, and Phalacheho. The other square, Chookka
Pharaah or " the long-house," was single and ran four miles
in length and one mile in breadth. It was more populous
1 Margry IV, 180.
92 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
than their whole nation contains at present . . . scarcely
450 warriors." From Adair's text it appears that the three
towns were but a short distance from the fortified places held
by them at the time when he composed his History (published
1 7 75). They were about Pontotoc or Dallas counties, Missis-
sippi.
The Chicasa settlements are referred to in detail by B.
Romans, East and West Florida, p. 63: "They live in the
centre of an uneven and large nitrous savannah ; have in it
one town, long one mile and a half, very narrow and irreg-
ular; this they divide into seven (towns), by the names
of Melattaw 'hat and feather,' Chatelaw 'copper town,'
Chukafalaya 'long town,' Tuckahaw 'a certain weed,'
Ashuck hooma 'red grass.' Formerly the whole of them
were enclosed in palisadoes." Unfortunately, this list gives
only five towns instead of the seven referred to.
D. Coxe, Carolana (1741) says, when speaking of the
Tennessee river (p. 13. 14): "River of the Cusates, Chera-
quees or Kasqui river . . . ; a cataract is on it, also the
tribe of the Chicazas." An early French report alludes to
one of their villages, situated thirty leagues inward from a
place forty leagues above the mouth of Arkansas river.
"From Abeeka to the Chickasaw towns the distance is
about one hundred and fifty-nine miles, crossing many
savannahs; " B. Romans, E. and W. Florida, p. 313.
Through all the epochs of colonial history the Chicasa
people maintained their old reputation for independence and
bravery. They were constantly engaged in quarrels and
broils with all their Indian neighbors: sometimes with the
cognate Cha'hta and with the Creeks, at other times with the
Cheroki, Illinois, Kickapu, Shawano, Tonica, Mobilians,
Osage and Arkansas (Kapaha) Indians. In 1732 they cut to
pieces a war party of the Iroquois invading their territory,
but in 1748 cooperated against the French with that confed-
eracy. J. Haywood, in his Natural and Aboriginal History
CHICASA. 93
of Tennessee (1823), p. 240, alludes to a tradition purporting
that the Chicasa had formerly assisted the Cheroki in driving
the Shawanese from the Cumberland river; the Cheroki
desired war, and attacked the Chicasa shortly before 1769,
but were utterly defeated by them at the " Chicasa Old
Fields," and retreated by way of Cumberland river and the
Cany Fork. On the authority of chief Chenubbee, the same
author states (p. 290) that a part of the Chicasa established
themselves on Savannah river, opposite Augusta, but that
misunderstandings with the Creeks made them go west again.
In 1 795" the Chicasa claimed the land opposite Augusta, and
sent a memorial to the United States Government to substan-
tiate that claim. Another fraction of the tribe, called the
Lightwood-Knots, went to war with the Creeks, but were
reduced by them, and have lived with them in peace ever
since. These facts seem to have some reference to the settle-
ment of a Chicasa band near Kasi^ta, and east of that town ;
cf. Kasi'hta.
Penicaut mentions an intertribal war between them and
the Cha'hta, and relates a case of treason committed by a
Cha'hta chief in 1 703. 1 A war with the Creeks occurred in
1 793, in which the Americans stood on the Chicasa side.
The policy of the Chicasa in regard to the white colonists
was that of a steady and protracted enmity against the
French. This feeling was produced as well by the intrigues
of the British traders residing among them as by their hatred
of the Cha'hta, who had entered into friendly relations with
the French colonists, though they could not, by any means,
be called their trusty allies. By establishing fortified posts
on the Yazoo and Little Tombigbee rivers, 2 the French threat-
ened the independence of these Indians, who began hostilities
1 Margry V, 433 sqq.
2 The site once occupied by Fort Tombigbee is now called Jones'
Bluff, on Little Tombigbee river. Cf. Dumont in B. F. French; Histor.
Coll. of La., V, 106 and Note.
94 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
against them in 1722, near the Yazoo post, and urged the
Naktche to a stubborn resistan'ce against French encroach-
ments. They sheltered the retreating Naktche against the
pursuing French, 1 besieged the commander Denys at Fort
Natchitoches, though they were repulsed there with con-
siderable loss, defeated the French invading their country at
Amalahta (1736), at the Long House, or Tchuka falaya
(Adair, p. 354), and other points, and in the second attack of
1 739-40 also baffled their attempts at conquering portions of
Chicasa territory.
The relations of these Indians with the United States were
regulated by a treaty concluded at Hopewell, 1786, with Pio
mico and other Chicasa chiefs. Their territory was then
fixed at the Ohio river on the north side, and by a boundary
line passing through Northern Mississippi on the south side.
They began to emigrate to the west of Arkansas river early
in this century, and in 1822 the population remaining in
their old seats amounted to 3625. Treaties for the removal
of the remainder were concluded at Pontotoc creek, October
20th, 1832, and at Washington, May 24th, 1834.
After their establishment in the Indian Territory the politi-
cal connections still existing between them and the Cha'hta
were severed by a treaty signed June 22d, 1855. The line
of demarcation separating the two "nations," and following
the meridian, is not, however, of a binding character, for
individuals of both peoples settle east or west of it, wherever
they please (G. W. Stidham).
No plausible analysis of the name Chicasa, which many
western tribes, as well as the Chicasa themselves, pronounce
Shikasa, Shikasha, has yet been suggested. Near the Gulf
1 Adair, History, p. 353, asserts that the real cause of the third Naktche-
French war lay in the instigations of the Chicasa. On the causes and
progress of the hostilities between the French and the Chicasa, cf. pp.
353-3S 8 - Tne y attacked there his own trading house, cf. p. 357. Cf.
also Naktche, in this vol., pp. 34-39.
CHICASA. 95
coast it occurs in many local names, and also in Chickasawhay
river, Mississippi, the banks of which were inhabited by
Cha'hta people.
In language and customs they differ but little from their
southern neighbors, the Cha'hta, and must be considered as
a northern branch of them. Both have two phratries only,
each of which were (originally) subdivided, in an equal
manner, into four gentes ; but the thorough-going difference
in the totems of the 8-12 gentes points to a very ancient
separation of the two national bodies.
The Chicasa language served as a medium of commercial
and tribal intercourse to all the nations inhabiting the shores
of the great Uk-'hina (" water road "), or Lower Mississippi
river. Jefferys (1, 165), compares it to the " lingua franca in
the Levant ; they call it the vulgar tongue. ' ' A special mention
of some tribes which spoke it is made by L. dTberville 1 :
" Bayagoula, Ouma, Chicacha, Colapissa show little difference
in their language;" and "The Oumas, Bayogoulas, Theloel,
Taensas, the Coloas, the Chycacha, the Napissa, the Ouachas,
Choutymachas, Yagenechito, speak the same language and
understand the Bilochy, the Pascoboula." As we have seen
before, three of the above tribes, the Naktche portion of the
Theloel settlements, the Taensa and the Shetimasha had
their own languages, but availed themselves of the Chicasa
for the purposes of intertribal barter, exchange and com-
munication. The most important passages on this medium
of trade are contained in Le Page du Pratz, Histoire (II, 218.
219): "La langue Tchicacha est parlee aussi par les Chatkas
(sic!) et (corrompue) paries Taensas; cette langue corrompue
est appel6e Mobilienne par les Francais," etc., and in Margry
V, 442, where P6nicaut alleges to have studied the languages
of the Louisiana savages pretty thoroughly for five years,
"surtout le Mobilien, qui est le principal et qu'on entend
par toutes les nations." Cf. the article Naktche.
1 Margry IV, 412 and 184.
96 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
A few terms in which Chicasa differs from main Cha'hta
are as follows :
Chicasa kuishto panther, Cha'hta kuitchito
k6e domestic cat, kato (Spanish)
Isto large, tchito
iskitinusa small, iskitine
hushi bird, fushi
The Chicasa trade language also adopted a few terms from
northern languages, as :
pishu lynx, from Odshibwe pishiu ; also an Odshibwe totem-
clan.
■piakixaxas. persimmon, changed in the French Creole dialect
to plaquemine.
sbishikushi gourd-rattle or drum, Margry IV", 175.
sacacuya war-whoop, la huee.
Lewis H. Morgan published in his Ancient Society (New
York, 1877). p. 163, a communication from Rev. Chas. C.
Copeland, missionary among the Chicasa Indians, on the
totemic gentes observed by him. Copeland states that the
descent is in the female line, that no intermarriage takes place
among individuals of the same gens, and that property as
well as the office of chief is hereditary in the gens. The fol-
lowing list will show how considerably he differs from Gibbs'
list inserted below :
Panther phratry, k6a. Its gentes: 1. ko-intchush, wild
cat; 2. fushi, bird; 3. nanni, fish ; 4. issi, deer.
Spanish phratry, Ishpani. Its gentes: 1. shawi racoon; 2.
Ishpani Spanish; 3. mingo Royal; 4. huskoni ; 5. tunni
squirrel; 6. hotchon tchapa alligator; 7. nashoba wolf; 8.
tchu'hla blackbird.
Further investigations will show whether the two gentes,
Ishpani and mingo, are not in fact one and the same, as they
appear in Gibbs' list. This list is taken from a manuscript
note to his Chicasa vocabulary, and contains nine "clans "
or iksa, yeksa :
CHICASA. 97
Spane or Spanish gens ; mingos or chiefs could be chosen
from this gens only, and were hereditary in the
female line; sha-e or racoon gens; second chiefs
or headmen were selected from it ; kuishto or tiger
gens; ko-intchush or catamount gens ; nani or fish
gens ; issi or deer gens ; haloba or ? gens ; foshe or
bird gens ; hu n shkon6 or skunk gens, the least re-
spected of them all.
An account in Schoolcraft, Indians I, 311, describes the
mode of tribal government, and the method by which the
chiefs ratified the laws passed. Sick people, when wealthy,
treated their friends to a sort of donation party (or potlatch
of the Pacific coast) after their recovery ; a custom called
tonshpashupa by the tribe.
TRIBES ON THE YAZOO RIVER.
Along the Yazoo river existed a series of towns which seem
to have been independent at the time of their discovery, but
at a late period, about 1836, were incorporated into the
Chicasa people. Some were inhabited by powerful and
influential tribes, but it is uncertain whether any of them
were of Maskoki lineage and language or not. 1 During the
third Naktche-French war, the Yazoo tribes suffered consid-
erably from attacks directed upon them by the Arkansas
Indians. The countries along Yazoo river are low and
swampy grounds, subject to inundations, especially the
narrow strip of land extending between that river and the
Mississippi.
The Taensa guide who accompanied Lemoyne d'Iberville,
up the Yazoo river in March 1699, enumerated the villages
seen on its low banks in their succession from southwest to
northeast, as follows (Margry IV, 180) :
1 I have treated of some of these tribes (Tonica, Koroa) in separate
articles. Moncachtape said to du Pratz, that the Yazoo Indians regarded
the Chicasa as their elders, " since from them came the language of the
country."
98 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
i. Tonica, four days' travel from the Naktche and two
days' travel from the uppermost town, Thysia. Cf.
Tonica, p. 39 sqq.
2. Ouispe ; the Oussipes of Penicaut.
3. Opocoulas. They are the Affagoulas, Offogoula, Oufe-
ogoulas or "Dog-People" of the later authors, and
in 1 784 some of them are mentioned as residing eight
miles above Pointe Coupee, on W. bank of Missis-
sippi river.
4. Taposa ; the Tapouchas of Baudry de Loziere.
5. Chaquesauma. This important tribe, written also Cho-
keechuma, Chactchioumas, Saques'huma, etc., are
the Saquechuma visited by a detachment of de
Soto's army in their walled town (1540). The
name signifies " red crabs." Cf. Adair, History, p.
352: "Tahre-hache (Tallahatchi), 1 which lower
down is called Chokchooma river, as that nation
made their first settlements there, after they came
on the other side of Mississippi. . . . The
Chicasaw, Choktah and also the Chokchooma, who
in process of time were forced by war to settle be-
tween the two former nations, came together from
the west as one family," etc. Cf. B. Romans, p.
315. Crab, crawfish is soktchu in Creek, saktchi
in Hitchiti.
6. Outapa ; called Epitoupa, Ibitoupas in other documents.
7. Thysia; at six days' canoe travel (forty-two leagues)
from the Naktche. They are the Tihiou of Dan.
Coxe (1741).
Penicaut, who accompanied d'Iberville in this expedition,
gives an account of the Yazoo villages, which differs in some
respects from the above : Going up the river of the Yazoux
for four leagues, there are found on the right the villages
1 A large northern affluent of Yazoo river, in northern parts of Missis-
sippi State.
CHICASA. 99
inhabited by six savage nations, called "les Yasoux, les Offo-
goulas, les Tonicas, les Coroas, les Ouitoupas et les Oussipes."
A French priest had already fixed himself in one of the
villages for their conversion. 1
D' Iberville was also informed that the Chicasa and the
Napissas formed a union, and that the villages of both were
standing close to each other. The term Napissa, in Cha'hta
na n pissa, means spy, sentinel, watcher, and corresponds in
signification to Akolapissa, name of a tribe between Mobile
Bay and New Orleans, q. v. Compare also the Napochies,
who, at the time of Tristan de Luna's visit, warred with the
Coca (or Kusa, on Coosa river?): "Cocas tenian guerra con
los Napochies "; Barcia, Ensayo, p. 37.
D. Coxe, Carolana, p. 10, gives the Yazoo towns in the fol-
lowing order : The lowest is Yassaues or Yassa (Yazoo), then
Tounica, Kouroua, Samboukia, Tihiou, Epitoupa. Their
enumeration by Baudry de Loziere, 1802, is as follows:
" Yazoos, Offogoulas, Coroas are united, and live on Yazoo
river in one village; strength, 120 men. Chacchioumas,
Ibitoupas, Tapouchas in one settlement on Upper Yazoo river,
forty leagues from the above." Cf. Koroa.
Another Yazoo tribe, mentioned at a later period as con-
federated with the Chicasa are the Tchula, Chola or "Foxes."
Yazoo is not a Cha'hta word, although the Cha'hta had a
"clan" of that name: Ya'sho okla, Yashukla, as I am in-
formed by Gov. Allen Wright. 2 T. Jefferys (I, 144) reports
the Yazoos to be the allies of the " Cherokees, who are under
the protection of Great Britain." He also states that the
French post was three leagues from the mouth of Yazoo river,
close to a village inhabited by a medley of Yazoo, Couroas
and Ofogoula Indians, and mentions the tribes in the follow-
ing order (I, 163): "Yazoo Indians, about 100 huts; further
up, Coroas, about 40 huts; Chactioumas or "red lobsters",
* Cf. Margry V, 401 and Note. 2 Cf. article on Yuchi, p. 24.
100 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
about 50 huts, on same river ; Oufe-ouglas, about 60 huts;
Tapoussas, not over 25 huts."
CHA'HTA.
The southwestern area of the Maskoki territory was occu-
pied by the Cha'hta people, and in the eighteenth century
this was probably the most populous of all Maskoki divisions.
They dwelt in the middle and southern parts of what is now-
Mississippi State, where, according to early authors, they had
from fifty to seventy villages ; they then extended from the
Mississippi to Tombigbee river, and east of it.
The tribes of Tuskalusa or Black Warrior, and that of
Mauvila, which offered such a bold resistance to H. de Soto's
soldiers, were of Cha'hta lineage, though it is not possible at
present to state the location of their towns at so remote a
period.
On account of their vicinity to the French colonies
at Mobile, Biloxi, New Orleans, and on other points of the
Lower Mississippi, the Cha'hta associated early with' the colo-
nists, and became their allies in Indian wars. The French and
British traders called them Tetes-Plattes, Flatheads. In the
third French war against the Naktche a large body of Cha'hta
warriors served as allies under the French commander, and
on January 27, 1730, before daylight, made a furious on-
slaught on their principal village, killing sixty enemies and
rescuing fifty-nine French women and children and one
hundred and fifty negro slaves previously captured by the
tribe (Claiborne, Mississippi, I, 45. 46). In the Chicasa war
fourteen hundred Cha'hta Indians aided the French army in
its attack on the Chuka p'haraah or Long-House Town, as
auxiliaries (Adair, History, p. 354).
They continued friends of the French until (as stated by
Romans, Florida, p. 74) some English traders found means
to draw the eastern party and the district of Coosa (together
called Oypat-oocooloo, "small nation") into a civil war
cha'hta. 101
with the western divisions, called Oocooloo-Falaya ("long
tribe"), Oocooloo-HanalS ("six tribes"), and Chickasaw-
hays, which, after many conflicts and the destruction of East
Congeeto, ended with the peace of 1763.
The Cha'hta did not rely so much on the products of the
chase, as other tribes, but preferred to till the ground exten-
sively and with care. Later travelers, like Adair, depict
'their character and morality in very dark colors. In war,
the Cha'hta east of the Mississippi river were less aggressive
than those who resided west of it, for the policy of keeping
in the defensive agreed best with their dull and slow dispo-
sition of mind. About 1732, the ordinary, though contested
boundary between them and the Creek confederacy was the
ridge that separates the waters of the Tombigbee from those
of the Alabama river. Their principal wars, always defensive
and not very sanguinary, were fought with the Creeks ; in a
conflict of six years, 1765-1771, they lost about three hundred
men (Gallatin, Synopsis, p. 100). Claiborne mentions a
battle fought between the two nations on the eastern bank
of Noxubee river, about five miles west of Cooksville, Noxu-
bee County, Mississippi. Charles Dobbs, the settler at the
farm including the burying-ground of those who fell in that
battle, opened it in 1832, and found many Spanish dollars
in the graves. It was some three hundred yards northeast of
the junction of Shuqualak creek with the river. A decisive
victory of the Cha'hta took place at Nusic-heah, or Line
creek, over the Chocchuma Indians, who belonged to the
Chicasa connection ; the battle occurred south of that creek,
at a locality named Lyon's Bluff. 1
Milfort establishes a thorough distinction between the
northern and the southern Cha'hta as to their pursuits of
life and moral character. The Cha'hta of the northern sec-
tion are warlike and brave, wear garments, and crop their
hair in Creek fashion. The southern Cha'hta, settled on
1 Claiborne, Mississippi, Appendix, I, p. 485. 486.
102 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
fertile ground west of Mobile and southwest of Pascogoula,
are dirty, indolent and cowardly, miserably dressed and
inveterate beggars. Both sections could in his time raise
six thousand warriors (p. 285-292). The mortuary customs,
part of which were exceedingly barbaric, are spoken of with
many details by Milfort (p. 292-304); their practices in cases
of divorce and adultery (p. 304-311) are dwelt upon by
several other writers, and were of a revolting character. 1
No mention is made of the " great house" or " the square"
in Cha'hta towns, as it existed in every one of the larger
Creek communities, nor of the green corn dance. But they
had the favorite game of chunks, and played at ball between
village and village (B. Romans, p. 79. 80). The men assisted
their wives in their agricultural labors and in many other
works connected with the household. 2 The practice of
flattening the heads extended to the male children only;
the Aimara of Peru observed the same exclusive custom.
The collecting and cleaning of the bones of corpses was
a custom existing throughout the southern as well as the
northern Indians east of Mississippi river, and among some
tribes west of it. Every tribe practiced it in a different
manner; the Cha'hta employed for the cleaning : "old gen-
tlemen with very long nails," and deposited the remains,
placed in boxes, in the bone houses existing in every town. 3
Tombigbee river received its name from this class of men :
itumbi-bikpi " cofHn-maker. " The Indians at Fort Orange
or Albany (probably the Mohawks) bound up the cleaned
bones in small bundles and buried them : De Vries, Voyages
(1642) p. 164; the Nanticokes removed them to the place
from which the tribe had emigrated (Heckewelder, Delawares,
p. 75 sq.) Similar customs were observed among the Dakota-
1 Cf. B. Romans, E. and W. Florida, p. 86-89.
* B. Romans, p. 86. He describes education among the Cha'hta, p. 76.
77 ; the sarbacane or blow-gun, p. 77.
3 B. Romans, p. 89. 90.
cha'hta. 103
Santees, Shetimashas and several South American tribes.
Captain Smith mentions the quiogozon or burial place of
Virginia chiefs. 1
The Cha'hta also had the custom, observed down to the
present century, of setting up poles around their new graves,
on which they hung hoops, wreaths, etc., for the spirit to
ascend upon. Around these the survivors gathered every
day at sunrise, noon, sunset, emitting convulsive cries during
thirty to forty days. On the last day all neighbors assembled,
the poles were pulled up, and the lamentation ended with
drinking, carousing and great disorders. 2
The Chicasa a_e not known to have settled west of the
Mississippi river to any extensive degree, but their southern
neighbors and relations, the Cha'hta, did so at an early
epoch, no doubt prompted by the increase of population.
The Cha'hta emigrating to these western parts were looked
at by their countrymen at home in the same light as the
Seminoles were by the Creeks. They were considered as
outcasts, on account of the turbulent and lawless elements
which made up a large part of them.
On the middle course of Red river Milfort met a body of
Cha'hta Indians, who had quitted their country about 1755
in quest of better hunting grounds, and were involved in
frequent quarrels with the Caddos (p. 95).
The French found several Cha'hta tribes, as the Bayo-
goula, Huma and Acolapissa, settled upon Mississippi river.
In the eighteenth century the inland Shetimasha on Grand
Lake were constantly harassed by Cha'hta incursions. About
1809 a Cha'hta village existed on Washita river, another on
1 Cf. Lawson, History of Carolina (Reprint i860), p. 297. More
information on Cha'hta burials will be found in H. C. Yarrow, Indian
mortuary customs ; in First Report of U. S. Bureau of Ethnology, 1879-
1880 ; especially p. 185.
2 Missionary Herald of Boston, 1828 (vol. xxiv) p. 380, in an article
on Religious Opinions, etc., of the Choctaws, by Rev. Alfred Wright.
104 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
Bayou Chicot, Opelousas Parish, Louisiana. Morse mentions
for 1820 twelve hundred Cha'hta Indians on the Sabine and
Neche rivers, one hundred and forty on Red river near
Nanatsoho, or Pecan Point, and many lived scattered around
that district.. At the present time (1882), encampments of
Biloxis, who speak the Cha'hta language, exist in the forests
of Louisiana' south of Red river.
The Cha'hta nation is formally, though not locally, divided
into two iksa (yeksa) or kinships, which exist promiscuously
throughout their territory. These divisions were denned by
Allen Wright as: 1. Kashap-ukla or kashapa ukela (6kla)
"part of the people; " 2. Ukla i n hula'hta "people of the
headmen."
Besides this, there is another formal division into three
okla, districts or fires, the names of which were partly
alluded to in the passage from B. Romans :
6kla falaya " long people ";
ahepat 6kla "potato-eating people ";
6kla hannali " Sixtown people," who used a special dialect.
The list of Cha'hta gentes, as printed in Lewis H. Morgan,
Ancient Society* stands as follows :
First phratry: kushap 6kla or Divided People. Four
gentes: 1. kush-iksa, reed gens. 2. Law okla. 3. Lulak-
iksa. 4. Linoklusha.
Second phratry : wataki hulata or Beloved People, "people
of head-men": Four gentes: 1. chufan iksa, beloved people.
2. iskulani, small {people}; 3. chito, large {people); 4.
shakch-ukla, cray-fish people.
Property and the office of chief was hereditary in the gens.
As far as the wording is concerned, Morgan's list is not
satisfactory, but being the only one extant I present it as it is.
Rev. Alfred Wright, missionary of the Cha'hta, knows of
six gentes only, but states that there were two great families
who could not intermarry. These were, as stated by Morgan,-
1 Published New York, 1877. pp. 99. 162.
cha'hta. 105
the reed gens and the chufan gens. Wright then continues :
" Woman's brothers are considered natural guardians of the
children, even during father's lifetime ; counsel was taken for
criminals from their phratry, the opposite phratry, or rather
the principal men of this, acting as accusers. If they failed
to adjust the case, the principal men of -the next larger
division took it up ; if they also failed, the case then came
before the itimoklushas and the shakch-uklas, whose decision
was final. This practice is falling in disuse now." A busi-
ness-like and truly judicial proceeding like this does much
honor to the character and policy of the Cha'hta, and will
be found in but a few other Indian communities. It must
have acted powerfully against the prevailing practice of
family revenge, and served to establish a state of safety for
the lives of individuals.
More points on Cha'hta ethnography will be found in the
Notes to B. F. French, Histor. Collect, of La., Ill, 128-139.
The legends of the Cha'hta speak of a giant race, peaceable
and agricultural (nahullo) 1 , and also of a cannibal race, both
of which they met east of the Mississippi river.
The Cha'hta trace their mythic origin from the "Stooping,
Leaning or Winding Hill," Nani Waya, a mound of fifty
feet altitude, situated in Winston county, Mississippi, on the
headwaters of Pearl river. The top of this "birthplace" of
the nation is level, and has a surface of about one r fourth of
an acre. One legend states, that the Cha'hta arrived there,
after crossing the Mississippi and separating from the
Chicasa, who went north during an epidemic. Nanna
Waya creek runs through the southeastern parts of Winston
county, Miss.
Another place, far-famed in Cha'hta folklore, was the
"House of Warriors," Taska-tchuka, the oldest settlement in
1 Nahullo, nahunlo means : greater, higher race, eminent race ; though
the original meaning is that of "more sacred, more honorable." A white
man is called by the Cha'hta : nahullo.
8
106 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
the nation, and standing on the verge of the Kushtush 1 . It
lay in Neshoba county, Mississippi. It was a sort of temple,
and the Unkala, a priestly order, had the custody or care of
it. The I'ksa A'numpule or "clan-speakers" prepared the
bones of great warriors for burial, and the Unkala went at
the head of the mourners to that temple, chanting hymns in
an unknown tongue. 2
The curious tale of the origin of the Cha'hta from Nani
Waya has been often referred to by authors. B. Romans
states that they showed the "hole in the ground," from
which they came, between their nation and the Chicasa, and
told the colonists that their neighbors were surprised at seeing
a people rise at once, out of the earth (p. 71). The most
circumstantial account of this preternatural occurrence is
laid down in the following narrative." " When the earth
was a level plain in the condition of a quagmire, a superior
being, in appearance a red man, came down from above,
and alighting near the centre of the Choctaw nation, threw
up a large mound or hill, called Nanne Wayah, stooping
or sloping hill. Then he caused, the red people to come
out of it, and when he supposed that a sufficient number had
come out, he stamped on the ground with his foot. When
this signal of his power was given, some were partly formed,
others were just raising their heads above the mud, emerging
into light,* and struggling into life. . . . Thus seated
on the area of their hill, they were told by their Creator
they should live forever. But they did not seem to under-
stand what he had told them ; therefore he took away from
them the grant of immortality, and made them subject to
1 C-ustusha creek runs into Kentawha creek, affluent of Big Black river,
in Neshoba county.
2 Claiborne, Mississippi, I, p. 518.
8 Missionary Herald, 1828, p. 181.
4 Compare the poetic vision, parallel to this, contained in Ezekiel,
ch. 39.
cha'hta. 107
death. The earth then indurated, the hills were formed by
the agitation of the waters and winds on the soft mud. The
Creator then told the people that the earth would bring forth
the chestnut, hickory nut and acorn ; it is likely that maize
was discovered, but long afterward, by a crow. Men began to
cover themselves by the long moss (abundant in southern
climates), which they tied around their waists; then were
invented bow and arrows, and the skins of the game used
for clothing. ' '
Here the creation of the Cha'hta is made coeval with the
creation of the earth, and some features of the story give
evidence of modern and rationalistic tendencies of the
relator. Other Cha'hta traditions state that the people came
from the west, and stopped at Nani Waya, only to obtain
their laws and phratries from the Creator — a story made to
resemble the legislation on Mount Sinai. Other legends
conveyed the belief that the emerging from the sacred hill
took place only four or five generations before. 1
The emerging of the human beings from the top of a
hill is an event not unheard of in American mythology,
and should not be associated with a simultaneous creation
of man. It refers to the coming up of primeval man
from a lower world into a preexistent upper world,, through
some orifice. A graphic representation of this idea will be
found in the Navajo creation myth, published in Amer.
Antiquarian V, 207-224, from which extracts are given in
this volume below. Five different worlds are there supposed
to have existed, superposed to each other, and some of the
orifices through which the "old people" crawled up are
visible at the present time.
The published maps of the Cha'hta country, drawn, in colo-
nial times, are too imperfect to give us a clear idea of the situ-
-ation of their towns. From more recent sources it appears
that these settlements consisted of smaller groups, of cabins
1 Missionary Herald, 1828, p, 21S-.
108 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
clustered together in tribes, perhaps also after gentes, as we
see it done among the Mississippi tribes and in a few in-
stances among the Creeks.
The "old Choctaw Boundary Line," as marked upon the
U. S. Land Office map of 1878, runs from Prentiss, a point
on the Mississippi river in Bolivar county (33 37' Lat.),
Miss., in a southeastern direction to a point on Yazoo river,
in Holmes county. The "Chicasaw Boundary Line" runs
from the Tunica Old Fields, in Tunica county, opposite
Helena, on Mississippi river (34 33' Lat.), southeast through
CofFeeville in Yallabusha county, to a. point in Sumner county,
eastern part. The "Choctaw Boundary Line" passes from
east to west, following approximately the 31 50' of Lat., from
the Eastern boundary of Mississippi State to the southwest
corner of Copiah county. All these boundary lines were
run after the conclusion of the treaty at Doak's Stand.
The Cuska Indians, also called Coosa, Coosahs, had settle-
ments on the Cusha creeks, in Lauderdale county.
The UMa-fal&ya, or "Long People," were settled in
Leake county. (?)
The Cofetalaya were inhabiting Atala and Choctaw coun-
ties, settled at French Camp, etc., on the old military road
leading to Old Doak's Stand; General Jackson advanced
through this road, when marching south to meet the
English army.
Pineshuk Indians, on a branch of Pearl river, in Winston
county.
Boguechito Indians, on stream of the same name in Neshoba
county, near Philadelphia. Some Mugulashas lived in the
Boguechito district; Wiatakali was one of the villages.
"Yazoo Old Village " also stood in Neshoba county.
Sixtowns or English-Towns, a group of six villages in Smith
and Jasper counties. Adair, p. 298, mentions "seven towns
that lie close together and next to New Orleans", perhaps
meaning these. The names of the six towns were as follows :
cha'hta. 109
Chinokabi, Okatallia, Killis-tamaha (kilis, in Creek : inkilisi,
is EnglisK), Tallatown, Nashoweya, Bishkon.
Sukinatchi or "Factory Indians" settlement, in Lowndes
and Kemper counties. Allamutcha Old Town was ten miles
from Sukinatchi creek.
Yauana, Yowanne was a palisaded town on Pascagoula
river, or one of its affluents; cf. Adair, History, 297-299. 301.
He calls it remote but considerable ; it has its name from
a worm, very destructive to corn in the wet season. French
maps place it on the same river, where "Chicachae" fort
stood above, and call it : "Yauana, dernier village des Choc-
taws." "Yoani, on the banks of the Pasca Oocooloo
(Pascagoula)"; B. Romans, p. 86.
An old Cha'hta Agency was in Oktibbeha county.
Cobb Indians ; west of Pearl river.
Shuqualak in Noxubee county.
Chicasawhay Indians on river of the same name, an affluent
of the Pascagoula river; B. Romans, p. 86, states, that "the
Choctaws of Chicasahay and the Yoani on Pasca Oocooloo
river " are the only Cha'hta able to swim.
It may be collected from the above, that the main settle-
ments of the Northern Cha'hta were between Mobile and
Big Black river, east and west, and between 32 and 33° 30'
Lat., where their remnants reside even nowadays.
CHA'HTA TRIBES OF THE GULF COAST.
In the southern part of the Cha'hta territory several tribes,
represented to be of Cha'hta lineage, appear as distinct from
the main body, and are always mentioned separately. The
French colonists, in whose annals they figure extensively,
call them Mobilians, Tohomes, Pascogoulas, Biloxis, Mou-
goulachas, Bayogoulas and Humas (Oumas). They have all
disappeared in our epoch, with the exception of the Biloxi,
of whom scattered remnants live in the forests of Louisiana,
south of the Red river.
110 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
The Mobilians seem to be the descendants of the inhabit-
ants of Mauvila, a walled town, at some distance from the
seat of the Tuscalusa chief, and dependent on him. These
Indians are well known for their stubborn resistance offered
in 1540 to the invading troops of Hernando de Soto.
Subsequently they must have removed several hundred
miles south of Tuscalusa river, perhaps on account of inter-
tribal broils with the Alibamu; for in the year 1708 we find
them settled on Mobile Bay, where the French had allowed
them, the Naniaba and Tohome, to erect lodges around their
fort. Cf. Alibamu. On a place of worship visited by this
tribe (1792), Margry IV, 513.
The Tohome, Thomes, Tomez Indians, settled north of
Mobile City, stood in the service of the French colony, and
adopted the Roman Catholic faith. Besides the Naniaba 1
and Mobilian Indians, the French had settled in their
vicinity a pagan Cha'hta tribe from the northwest and an
adventitious band of Apalaches, who had fled the Spanish
domination in Florida. We are informed that the language
and barbarous customs of the Tohomes differed considerably
from those of the neighboring Indians. Their name is the
Cha'hta adjective tohobi, contr. t6bi white.
In 1 702 they were at war with the Chicasa. Their cabins
stood eight leagues from the French settlement at Mobile, on
Mobile river, and the number of their men is given as three
hundred. They spoke a dialect of the Bayogoula. Cf.
Margry IV, 427. 429. 504. 512-14. 531. The Mobilians
and the Tohomes combined counted three hundred and fifty
families : Margry IV, 594. 602.
The Touachas settled by the French upon Mobile bay in 1 705 ,
were a part of the Tawasa, an Alibamu tribe mentioned above. 2
1 " Fish-eaters," from Cha'hta nani, nannies,*, apa to eat. On Turner's
map (1827), Nanihaba Island lies at the junction of Alabama with Tom-
bigbee river, and Nanihaba Bluff lies west of the junction.
2 Margry V, 457.
cha'hta. Ill
The Paseogoula, incorrectly termed Pascoboula Indians,
were a small tribe settled upon Paseogoula river, three days'
travel southwest of Fort Mobile. Six different nations were
said to inhabit the banks of the river, probably all of Cha'hta
lineage ; among them are mentioned the Pascogoulas, Cho-
zettas, Bilocchi, Moctoby, all insignificant in numbers. The
name signifies "bread -people," and is composed of the
Cha'hta paska bread, (Ma. people, the Nahuatl tribal name of
the Tlascaltecs being of the same signification: tlaxcalli
tortilla, from ixca to bake. Cf. Margry IV, 154-157. 193.
195. 425-427- 45 1 - 454- 602.
A portion of these Indians may have been identical
with the Chicasawhay Indians, and with the inhabitants
of Yauana.
The Biloxi Indians became first known to the whites by
the erection of a French settlement, in 1699, on a bay called
after this tribe, which is styled B'luksi by the Cha'hta, and
has some reference to the catch of turtles (luktchi turtle).
"We thought it most convenient to found a settlement
in the Bilocchy bay ; ... it is distant only three leagues
from the Pascoboula river, upon which are built the three
villages of the Bilocchy, Pascoboula and Moctoby." Margry
IV, 195; cf. 311. 451. We also find the statement that the
Bayogoulas call the Annocchy : Bilocchy (pronounced : Bi-
lokshi), Margry IV, 172. Penicaut refers to their place of
settlement on Biloxi bay in 1704 in Margry V, 442. On
their language cf. Margry IV, 184; quoted under Chicasa, q. v.
Later on they crossed the Mississippi to its western side,
and are mentioned as wanderers on Bayou Crocodile and its
environs (1806), which they frequent even now, and on the
Lake of Avoyelles.
The Mugulashas (pron.: Moogoolashas) were neighbors of
the French colonists at Biloxi bay, and a people of the same
name lived in the village occupied by the Bayogoulas.
Mougoulachas is the French orthography of the name. Their
112 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
name is identical with Imuklasha or the "opposite phratry"
in the Cha'hta nation, from which Muklasha, a Creek town,
also received its name. In consequence of this, generic
meaning of the term this appellation is met with in several
portions of the Cha'hta country.
Previous to March 1700, there had been a conflict between
them and the Bayogoulas, in which the latter had killed all
of the Mugulashas who were within their reach, and called in
families of the Colapissas and Tioux to occupy their deserted
fields and lodges. Cf. Margry IV, 429., Boguechito Indians,
Bayogoula and Acolapissa.
The Acolapissa Indians appear under various names in the
country northwest to northeast of New Orleans. They are
also called Colapissa, Quinipissa, Quiripissa, Querepisa, forms
which all flow from Cha'hta okla-plsa "those who look
out for people," guardians, spies, sentinels, watching men.
This term refers to their position upon the in- and out-flow
of Lake Pontchartrain and other coast lagoons, combined
with their watchfulness for hostile parties passing these
places. It is therefore a generic term and not a specific
tribal name ; hence it was applied to several tribes simul-
taneously, and they were reported to have seven towns,
Tangibao among them, which were distant eight days' travel
by land E. N. E. from their settlement on Mississippi river.
Cf. Margry IV, 120. 167. 168. Their village on Missis-
sippi river was seen by L. d'Iberville, 1699-1700, twenty-five
leagues from its mouth (IV, 101). Their language is spoken
of, ibid. IV, 412. At the time of Tonti's visit, 1685, tnev
lived twenty leagues further down the Mississippi than in
1 699-1 700. They suffered terribly from epidemics, and joined
the Mugulashas, q.v., whose chief became the chief of both
tribes; Margry IV, 453. 602. On "Colapissas" residing on
Talcatcha or Pearl river, see Pani, p. 44. The Bayogoulas
informed d'Iberville in 1699, that the " Quinipissas " lived
fifty leagues east of them, and thirty or forty leagues distant
cha'hta. 113
from the sea, in six villages: Margry IV, 119. 120. Are
they the Sixtown Indians ?
The Bayogoula Indians inhabited a village on the Missis-
sippi river, western shore (Margry IV, 119. 155), conjointly
with the Mugulashas, sixty-four leagues distant from the
sea, thirty-five leagues from the Humas, and eight days'
canoe travel from Biloxi bay.
Gommander Lemoyne d' Iberville graphically describes
(Margry IV, 170-172) the village of the Bayogoula with its
two temples and 107 cabins. The number of the males was
rather large (200 to 250) compared to the paucity of women
inhabiting it. A fire was burning in the centre of the
temples, and near the door were figures of animals, the
"choucoiiacha" or opossum being one of them. This word
shukuasha is the diminutive of Cha'hta: shukata opossum,
and contains the diminutive terminal -ushi. Shishikushi or
"tambours f aits de calebasses," gourd-drums, is another Indian
term occurring in his description, 1 probably borrowed from
an Algonkin language of the north. A curious instance of
sign language displayed by one of the Bayogoula chiefs will
be found in Margry IV, 154. 155.
The full form of the tribal name is Bayuk-okla or river-tribe,
creek- or bayou-people; the Cha'hta word for a smaller river,
or river forming part of a delta is bayuk, contr. bSk, and
occurs in Boguechito, Bok'humma, etc.
The JIuma, Ouma, Houma or Omma tribe lived, in the
earlier periods of French colonization, seven leagues above
the junction of Red river, on the eastern bank of Mississippi
river. L. d'Iberville describes their settlement, 1699, as
placed on a hill-ridge, 2^ leagues inland, and containing 140
cabins, with about 350 heads of families. Their village is
described in Margry IV, 177. 179. 265-271. 452, located by
degrees of latitude: 32 15', of longitude: 281 25'. The
1 Margry IV, 175 : " des tambours chychycouchy, qui sont des cale-
basses."
114 THE MASKOKI FAMILY.
limit between the lands occupied by the Huma and the
Bayogoula was marked by a high pole painted red, in Cha'hta
Istr-ouma (?), which stood on the high shores of Mississippi
river at Baton Rouge, La. 1 Their hostilities with" the Tangi-
pahoa are referred to by the French annalists, and ended in
the destroying the Tangipahoa town by the Huma ; Margry
IV, 168. 169. Cf. Taensa. A tribe mentioned in 1682 in
connection with the Huma is that of the Chigilousa; Margry
I, 563-
Their language is distinctly stated to have differed from
that of the Taensa, IV, 412. 448, and the tribal name, a
Cha'hta term for red, probably refers to red leggings, as
Opelusa is said to refer to black leggings or moccasins.
They once claimed the ground on which New Orleans
stands, and after the Revolution lived on Bayou Lafourche. 2
A coast parish, with Houma as parish seat, is now called
after them.
The country south of the Upper Creek settlements, lying
between Lower Alabama and Lower Chatahuchi river, must
have been sparsely settled in colonial times, for there is but
one Indian tribe, the Pensacola (pa n sha-6kla or "hair-people"
mentioned there. This name is of Cha'hta origin, and there
is a tradition that the old homes, or a part of them, of the
Cha'hta nation lay in these tracts. On Escambia river there
are Cha'hta at the present time, who keep up the custom of
family vendetta or blood revenge, and that river is also men-
tioned as a constant battle-field between the Creeks and
Cha'hta tribes by W. Bartram. 8 When the Cha'hta concluded
treaties with the United States Government involving cessions
of land, they claimed ownership of the lands in question,
even of some lands lying on the east side of Chatahuchi
river, where they had probably been hunting from an early
1 Thomas Hutchins, French America, Phila., 1784, p. 40.
* Penicaut in Margry V, 395.
* Travels, p. 436: "the bloody field of Schambe"; cf. 400. 414.
cha'hta. 115
period. A list of the way-stations and fords on the post-road
between Lower Tallapoosa river and the Bay of Mobile is
appended to Hawkins* Sketch, p. 85, and was probably
written after 1813; cf. p. 83. This post-road was quite
probably an old Indian war-trail traveled over by Creek
warriors to meet the Cha'hta.
The Conshac tribe, the topographic and ethnographic posi-
tion of which is difficult to trace, has been located in these
thinly-inhabited portions of the Gulf coast. La Harpe, whose
annals are printed in B. F. French, Histor. Coll. of Louisiana,
Vol. Ill, states (p. 44) that "two villages of Conshaques,
who had always been faithful to the French and resided near
Mobile Fort, had been driven out of their country because
they would not receive the English among them (about
1720)." The Conshacs and Alibamu were at war with the
Tohome before 1702 ; cf. Margry IV, 512. 518. L. d'lber-
ville, in 1702, gives their number at 2000 families, probably
including the Alibamu, stating that both tribes have their
first settlements 35 to 40 leagues to the northeast, on an
eastern affluent of Mobile river, joining it five leagues above
the fort. From these first villages to the E. N. E. there are
other Conshac villages, known to the Spaniards as Apalachi-
colys, with many English settled among them, and 60 to 65
leagues distant from Mobile. 1 Du Pratz, who speaks of
them from hearsay only, places them north of the Alibamu,
and states that they spoke a language almost the same as the
Chicasa (Hist. p. 208). "A small party of Coussac Indians
is settled on Chacta-hatcha or Pea river, running into St.
Rose's bay, 25 leagues above its mouth." 2 On the head-
waters of Ikanfina river, H. Tanner's map (1827) has a locality
called : Pokanaweethly Cootsa O. F.
The origin of these different acceptations can only be
1 Margry IV, 594. 595. 602.
2 Thorn. Hutchins, French America, p. 83 (1784). B. Romans, Florida,
p. 90.
116 THE MASKOKI n^AMILY.
accounted for by the generic meaning of the appellation
Conshac. It is the Cha'hta word kanshak: (i) a species of
cane, of extremely hard texture, and (2) knife made from it.
These knives were used throughout the Gulf territories, and
thus d'Iberville and du Pratz call by this name the Creek
Indians or Maskoki proper, while to others the Conchaques
are the Cusha, Kusha, a Cha'hta tribe near Mobile bay,
which is called by Rev. Byington in his manuscript dictionary
Konshas, Konshaws. That the Creeks once manufactured
knives of this kind is stated in our Kasi'hta migration legend.
THE CHA'HTA LANGUAGE,
the representative of the western group of Maskoki dialects,
differs in its phonetics from the eastern dialects chiefly by the
more general vocalic nasalization previously alluded to.
Words cannot begin with two consonants ; the Creek st is
replaced by sht, and combinations like //, bt, nt do not
occur (Byington's Grammar, p. 9). In short words the
accent is laid upon the penultima.
The cases of the noun are not so distinctly marked as they
are in the eastern dialects by the case-suffixes in -/and -n, but
have often to be determined by the hearer from the position
of the words in the sentence. But in other respects, case
and many other relations are pointed out by an extensive
series of suffixed or enclitic syllables, mostly monosyllabic,
which Byington calls article-pronouns, and writes as sepa-
rate words. They are simply suffixes of pronominal origin,
and correspond to our articles the, a, to our relative and
demonstrative pronouns, partly also to our adverbs, prepo-
sitions and conjunctions. They form combinations among
themselves, and supply verbal inflection with its modal
suffixes or exponents. Adjectives possess a distinct plural
form, which points to their origin from verbs, but in sub-
stantives number is not expressed except by the verb con-
nected with them, or by means of separate words.
cha'hta language^ 117
There are two classes of personal pronouns, the relative
and the absolute (the former referring to something said
previously), but the personal inflection of the verb is effected
by prefixes, the predicative suffix 'h being added to the end
of each form in the affirmative conjugation. Only the first
person of the singular is marked by a suffix : -It (increased by
'h:-WK). The lack of a true substantive verb to be is to
some extent supplied by this suffix -'h. Verbal inflection is
rich in tenses and other forms, and largely modifies the radix
to express changes in voice, mode and tense. The sway of
phonetic laws is all-powerful here, and they operate whenever
a slight conflict of syllables disagreeing with the delicate ear
of the Cha'hta Indian takes place.
Of abstract terms there exists a larger supply than in many
other American languages.
Several dialects of Cha'hta were and are still in existence,
as the Sixtown dialect, the ones spoken from Mobile bay to
New Orleans, those heard on the Lower Mississippi river,
and that of the Chicasa. The dialect now embodied in the
literary language of the present Cha'hta is that of the central
parts of Mississippi State, where the American Protestant
missionaries had selected a field of operation.
Rev. Cyrus Byington (born 1793, died 1867) worked as a
missionary among this people before and after the removal
to the Indian territory. He completed the first draft of his
"Choctaw Grammar" in 1834, and an extract of it was
published by Dr. D. G. Brinton. 1 His manuscript "Choctaw
Dictionary," now in the library of the U. S. Bureau of
Ethnology, fills five folio volumes, contains about 17,000
items (words, phrases and sentences), and was completed
about 1833. The missionary alphabet used by him, which is
also the alphabet of Cha'hta literature, is very imperfect, as
it fails to express all sounds of the language by signs for each,
1 Published in Proceedings of American Philosoph. Society, 1870 (56
pages), 8vo.
118 THE CREEK INDIANS.
and entirely neglects accentuation. The pronunciation of
Cha'hta is so delicate and pliant that only a superior scien-
tific alphabet can approximately express its peculiar sounds
and intonations.
Cha'hta has been made the subject of linguistic inquiry by
Fr. Miiller, Grundzuge d. Sprachwissenschaft, II, 232-238,
and by Forchhammer in the Transactions of the Congres des
Americanistes, 2d session, 1877, 8vo.j also by L. Adam.
III. THE CREEK INDIANS.
The Creek Indians or Maskoki proper occupy, in historic
times, a central position among the other tribes of their
affiliation, and through their influence and physical power,
which they attained by forming a comparatively strong and
permanent national union, have become the most noteworthy
of all the Southern tribes of the United States territories.
They still fdrm a compact body of Indians for themselves,
and their history, customs and antiquities can be studied at
the present time almost as well as they could at the beginning
of the nineteenth century. But personal presence among the
Creeks in the Indian Territory is necessary to obtain from
them all the information which is needed for the purposes of
ethnologic science.
There is a tradition that when the Creek people incor-
porated tribes of other nations into their confederacy, these
tribes never kept up their own customs and peculiarities for
any length of time, but were subdued in such a manner as to
conform with the dominant race. As a confirmation of this,
it is asserted that the Creeks annihilated the Yamassi Indians
completely, so that they disappeared entirely among their
number; that the Tukabatchi, Taskigi and other tribes of
foreign descent abandoned their paternal language to adopt
that of the dominant Creeks.
But there are facts which tend to attenuate or disprove
this tradition. The Yuchi, as well as the Naktche tribe and
THE CREEK INDIANS. 119
the tribes of Alibamu descent 1 have retained their language
and peculiar habits up to the present time, notwithstanding
their long incorporation into the Creek community. The
Hitchiti, Apalatchukla and Sawokli tribes, with their branch
villages, have also retained their language to this day, not-
withstanding their membership in the extensive confederacy,
a membership which must have lasted for centuries ; and in
fact we cannot see how the retention of vernacular speech
could hurt the interests of the community even in the slightest
way. There were tribes among the Maskoki proper, which
were said to have given up not only their own language, but
also their customs, at a time which fell within the remem-
brance of the living generation. Among their number was
the Taskigi tribe, 2 on the confluence of Coosa and Tallapoosa
rivers, whose earlier language was probably Cheroki. But,
on the other side, a body of Chicasa Indians lived near
Kasi^ta in historic times, which during their stay certainly
preserved their language as well as their traditional customs.
From Em. Bowen's map it appears that Chicasa Indians also
lived on Savannah river (above the Yuchi) for some time,
and many Cheroki must have lived within the boundaries of
the consolidated Creek confederacy. The more there were
of them, and the nearer they were to their own country, the
more it becomes probable that they preserved their own
language and paternal customs. The existence of Cheroki
local names amid the Creek settlements strongly militates
in favor of this; we have Etowa, Okoni, Chiaha, Tama'li,
Atasi, Taskigi, Amakalli.
In the minds of many of our readers it will ever remain
doubtful that the Creek tribes immigrated into the territories
of the Eastern Gulf States by crossing the Lower Mississippi
river. But there is at least one fact which goes to show that
1 Witumka (Great), Muklasi, and the four Alibamu villages named by
Hawkins. To these we may add Koassati.
2 Hawkins, p. 39.
120 THE CREEK INDIANS.
the settling of the Creeks proceeded from west to east and
southeast. The oldest immigration to Chatahuchi river is
that of the Kasi/ta and Kawita tribes, both of whom, as our
legend shows, found the Kusa and the Apalatchukla with
their connections, ■ in situ, probably the Abi/ka also. If
there is any truth in the Hitchiti tradition, the tribes of this
division came from the seashore, an indication which seems
to point to the coast tracts afterwards claimed by the Cha'hta.
All the other settlements on Chatahuchi river seem younger
than Kasi/ta and Kawita, and therefore the Creek immigra-
tion to those parts came from Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers.
At one time the northern or Cheroki-Creek boundary of the
Coosa river settlements was Talatigi, now written Talladega,
for the name of thjs town has to be interpreted by " Village
at the End," italua atigi. If the name of Tallapoosa river,
in Hitchiti Talepusi, can be derived from Creek talepu'la
stranger, this would furnish another indication for a former
allophylic population in that valley; but '1 rarely, if ever,
changes into s. The Cheroki local names in these parts,
and east from there, show conclusively who these "strangers"
may have been.
It appears from old charts, that Creek towns, or at least
towns having Creek names, also existed west of Coosa river,
as on Canoe creek : Litafatcha, and on Cahawba river : Talua
hadsho, "Crazy Town," together with ruins of other villages
above this.
THE CREEK SETTLEMENTS.
The towns and villages of the Creeks were in the eighteenth
century built along the banks of rivers and their smaller
tributaries, often in places subject to inundation during large
freshets, which occurred once in about fifteen years. The
smallest of them contained from twenty to thirty cabins,
some of the larger ones up to two hundred, and in 1832
Tukabatchi, then the largest of all the Creek settlements,
harbored 386 families. Many towns appeared rather com-
THE CREEK SETTLEMENTS. 121
pactly built, although they were composed of irregular clusters
of four to eight houses standing together; each of these
clusters contained a gens ("clan or family of relations,"
C. Swan), eating and living in common. The huts and
cabins of the Lower Creeks resembled, from a distance,
clusters of newly-burned brick kilns, from the high color
of the clay. 1
It will be found appropriate to distinguish between Creek
towns and villages. By towns is indicated the settlements
which had a public square, by villages those which had none.
The square occupied the central part of the town, and was
reserved for the celebration of festivals, especially the annual
busk or fast (puskita), for the meetings of chiefs, headmen
and ' ' beloved men, ' ' and for the performance of daily dances.
Upon this central area stood the " great house," tchuka 'lako,
the council-house, and attached to it was a play-ground,
called by traders the ' ' chunkey-yard. ' ' Descriptions of these
places will be given below.
Another thoroughgoing distinction in the settlements of
the Creek nation was that of the red or war towns and the
white or peace towns.
The red or kipdya towns, to which C. Swan in 1791 refers
as being already a thing of the past, were governed by war-
riors only. The term red refers to the warlike disposition of
these towns, but does not correspond to our adjective bloody;
it depicts the wrath or anger animating the warriors when
out on the war-path. The posts of their cabin in the public
square were painted red on one side.
The present Creeks still keep up formally this ancient dis-
tinction between the towns, and count the following among
the kipaya towns :
Kawita, Tukabatchi, 'La- 'lako, Atasi, Ka-ilaidshi, Chiaha,
1 Cf. Yuchi, p. 22. At the time of the conquest of Mexico by Cortez,
many of the interior towns of that country were whitewashed in the same
manner, by means of a shining white clay coating.
9
122 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Usudshi, Hutali-huyana, Alibamu, Yufala, Yufala hupayi,
Hilapi, Kitcha-pataki.
The white towns, also called peace towns, conservative towns,
were governed by civil officers or mikalgi, and, as some of the
earlier authors allege, were considered as places of refuge
and safety to individuals who had left their tribes in dread
of punishment or revenge at the hand of their pursuers. The
modern Creeks count among the peace towns, called talua-
mikagi towns, the following settlements :
Hitchiti, Okfuski, Kastyta, Abi'hka, Abi/kudshi, Talisi,
Oktchayi, Odshi-apofa, Lutchap6ka, Taskigi, Assi-lanapi or
Green-Leaf, Wiwu^ka.
Quite different from the above list is the one of the white
towns given by Col. Benj. Hawkins in 1799, which refers to
the Upper Creeks only : Okfuski and its branch villages (viz :
Niuya/a, Tukabatchi Talahassi, Imukfa, Tutokagi, Atchinalgi,
Okfuska'dshi, Sukap6ga, Ipis6gi); then Talisi, Atasi, Fus'-ha-
tchi, Kuliimi. For this list and that of the kipaya towns, cf.
his "Sketch," p. 51. 52.
The ancient distinction between red and white towns began
to fall into disuse with the approach of the. white colonists,
which entailed the spread of agricultural pursuits among these
Indians ; nevertheless frequent reference is made to it by the
modern Creeks.
Segmentation of villages is frequently observed in Indian
tribes, and -the list below will give many striking instances.
It was brought about by over-population, as in the case of
Okfuski ; and it is probable that then only certain gentes,
not a promiscuous lot of citizens, emigrated from a town.
Other causes for emigration were the exhaustion of the culti-
vated lands by many successive crops, as well as the need of
new and extensive hunting grounds. These they could not
obtain in their nearest neighborhood without warring with
their proprietors, and therefore often repaired to distant
countries to seek new homes (Bartram, Travels, p. 389).
THE CREEK SETTLEMENTS. 123
The frequent removals of towns to new sites, lying at short
distances only, may be easily explained by the unhealthiness
of the old site, produced by the constant accumulation of
refuse and filth around the towns, which never had anything
like sewers or efficient regulations of sanitary police.
The distinction between Muscogulge and Siincard towns,
explicitly spoken of in Wm. Bartram's Travels (see Appen-
dices), refers merely to the form of speech used by the tribes
of the confederacy. This epithet {Puants in French) may
have had an opprobrious meaning in the beginning, but not
in later times, when it simply served to distinguish the prin-
cipal people from the accessory tribes. We find it also used
. as a current term in the Naktche villages.
Bartram does not designate as Stincards the tribes speaking
languages of another stock than Maskoki, the Yuchi, for
instance ; not even all of those that speak dialects of Maskoki
other than the Creek. He calls by this savorous name the
Muklasa, Witumka, Koassati, Chiaha, Hitchiti, Okoni, both
Sawokli and a part of the Seminoles. He mentions the
towns only, and omits all the villages which have branched
off from the towns.
The present Creeks know nothing of such a distinction.
Although I do not know the Creek term which corresponded
to it in the eighteenth century, it is not improbable that such
a designation was in vogue ; for we find many similar oppro-
brious epithets among other Indians, as Cuitlateca or "excre-
menters" in Mexico; Puants or Metsmetskop among the
Naktche 1 ; Inkalik, "sons of louse-eggs" among the Eskimo;
Ka'katilsh or "arm-pit-stinkers" among the Klamaths of
Southwestern Oregon; Moki or Mfiki," cadaverous, stinking,"
an epithet originally given to one of the Shinumo or Moki
towns for lack of bravery, and belonging to the Shinumo
language : miiki dead.
The plural forms : tchilok6ga and tchilokogalgi designate
1 Dumont, M&m. histor. de la Louisiane, I, 181.
124 THE CREEK INDIANS.
in Creek persons speaking another than the Creek language ;
tchilokas / speak an alien language. "Stincards" would be
expressed in Creek by isti fambagi. • Of all the gentes of the
Chicasa that of the skunk or hushkoni was held in the lowest
esteem, some of the lowest officials, as runners, etc., being
appointed from it ; therefore it can be conjectured that from
the Chicasa tribe a termMike "skunks," "stinkards," may-
have been transferred and applied to the less esteemed gentes
of other nations.
ALPHABETIC LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES.
In this alphabetic list of ancient Creek towns and villages
I have included all the names of inhabited places which I
have found recorded before the emigration of the people to the
Indian Territory. The description of their sites is chiefly
taken from Hawkins' "Sketch," one of the most instructive
books which we possess on the Creeks in their earlier homes.
Some of these town names are still existing in Alabama and
Georgia, although the site "has not unfrequently changed.
I have interspersed into the list a few names of the larger
rivers. The etymologies added to the names contain the
opinions of the Creek delegates visiting Washington every
year, and they seldom differed among each other on any
name. The local names are written according to my scien-
tific system of phonetics, the only change introduced being
that of the palatal tch for ch.
LIST OF CREEK SETTLEMENTS.
AbVhka, one of the oldest among the Upper Creek towns;
the oldest chiefs were in the habit of naming the Creek
nation after it. Hawkins speaks of Abikudshi only, not
of Abi'hka. It certainly lay somewhere near the Upper
Coosa river, where some old maps have it. Emanuel
Bo wen, "A new map of Georgia," has only "Abacouse,"
and this in the wrong place, below Kusa and above
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 125
Great Talasse, on the western side of Coosa river. A
town Abi'hka now exists in the Indian Territory. The
name of the ancient town was pronounced Abi'hka,
Api/ka and written Obika, Abeka, Abeicas, Abecka,
Beicas, Becaes, etc. ; its people are called Api^kanagi.
Some writers have identified them with the Kusa and also
with the Conshacs, e. g. du Pratz. 1 D. Coxe, Carolana,
p. 25, states that "the Becaes or Abecaes have thirteen
towns, and the Ewemalas, between the Becaes and the
Chattas, can raise five hundred fighting men " (1741).
A part of the most ancient Creek customs originated
here, as, for instance, the law for regulating marriages
and for punishing adultery. The Creek term abi'hka
signifies "pile at the base, heap at the root" (abi stem,
pole), and was imparted to this tribe, "because in the
contest for supremacy its warriors heaped up a pile of
scalps, covering the base of the war-pole only. Before
this achievement the tribe was called sak'hutga door,
shutter, or simat'hutga italua shutter, door of the towns or
tribes." Cf. ak'hutas I close a door, sak'hutga hawidshas
I open a door.
Abiku'dshi, an Upper Creek town on the right bank of
Natche (now Tallahatchi) creek, five miles east of Coosa
river, on a small plain. Settled from Abika, and by
some Indians from Natche, q. v. Bartram (1775) states,
that they spoke a dialect of Chicasa ; which can be true
of a part of the inhabitants only. A spacious cave exists
in the neighborhood.
Ahiki creek, Hitchiti name of the upper course of Hitchiti
creek, an eastern tributary of Chatahuchi river. Haw-
kins (p. 60) writes it Ouhe-gee creek. • The name signi-
fies "sweet potato-mother" (ahi, iki), from the circum-
stance that when planting sweet potatoes (ahi), the fruit
1 The map appended to the French edition of Bartram identifies them
with the Kfisa : " Abikas ou Coussas."
126 THE CREEK INDIANS.
sown remains in the ground until the new crop comes to
maturity.
Alabama river is formed by the junction of Coosa, and
Tallapoosa rivers; pursues a winding course between
banks about fifty feet high, and joins Tombigbee river
about thirty miles above Mobile bay, when it assumes the
name of Mobile river. Its waters are pure, its current
gentle; it runs about two miles an hour, and has 15-18
feet depth in the driest season of the year. Boats travel
from the junction to Mobile bay in about nine days,
through a fertile country, with high, cleared fields and
romantic landscapes (Hawkins). The hunting grounds
of the Creeks extended to the water-shed between the
Tombigbee and the Coosa and Alabama rivers.
Amakalli, Lower Creek town, planted by Chiaha Indians
on a creek of that name, which is the main water-course
of Kitchofuni creek, a northern affluent of Flint river,
Georgia. Inhabited by sixty men in 1 799. The name
is not Creek; it seems identical with Amacalola, the
Cheroki name of a picturesque cascade on Amacalola
creek, a northern affluent of Etowa river, Dawson county,
Georgia. The derivation given for it is: ama water,
kalola sliding, tumbling.
Anati tchdpko or "Long Swamp," a Hillabi village, ten
miles above that town, on a northern tributary of
Hillabi creek. A battle occurred there during the
Creek or Red Stick war, January 24th, 1814. Usually
written Enotochopko. The Creek term anati means
a brushy, swampy place, where persons can secrete
themselves.
Apalatchukla, a Lower Creek town on the west bank of
Chatahuchi river, 1^ miles below Chiaha. In Hawkins'
time it was in a state of decay, but in former times had
been a white or peace town, called (even now) Italua
'lako "large town," and the principal community among
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 127
the Lower Creek settlements. The name was abbre-
viated into Palatchukla, and has also been transferred
to the Chatahuchi river ; that river is now called Apa-
lachicola below its confluence with the Flint river. Cf.
Sawokli-udshi. Bartram (Travels, p. 522) states: The
Indians have a tradition that the vast four-square ter-
races, chunk yards, etc., at Apalachucla, old town, were
"the ruins of an ancient Indian town and fortress."
This "old town" lay one mile and a. half down the
river from the new town, and was abandoned about
1 750 on account of unhealthy location. Bartram viewed
the " terraces, on which formerly stood their town-house
or rotunda and square or areopagus," and gives a lucid
description of them. About fifty years before his visit
a general killing of the white traders occurred in this
town, though these had placed themselves under the
protection of the chiefs (Travels, pp. 388-390"). Con-
cerning the former importance of this "white" town,
"W. Bartram (Travels, p. 387) states, that " this town is
esteemed the mother town or capital of the Creek con-
federacy ; sacred to peace ; no captives are put to death
or human blood spilt there; deputies from all Creek
towns assemble there when a general peace is proposed."
He refers to the town existing at the time of his visit,
but implicitly also to the " old Apalachucla town." The
ancient and correct form of this name is Apala^tchukla,
and of the extinct tribe east of it, on Apalache bay,
Apala/tchi. Judge G. W. Stidham heard of the fol-
lowing etymology of the name : In cleaning the ground
for the town square and making it even, the ground and
sweeping finally formed a ridge on the outside of the
chunk-yard or play-ground; from this ridge the town
was called apala^tch'-ukla. More upon this subject, cf.
Apalachi. An Apalachicola Fort on Savannah river is
mentioned on p. 20.
128 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Apatd-i, a village of the Lower Creeks, settled by Kasi'hta
people on Big creek or Hatchi 'lako, twenty miles east
of Chatahuchi river, in Georgia. The name refers to
a sheet-like covering, from apatayas I cover; cf. patakas
I spread out; the Creek word apata-i signifies any
covering comparable to wall-papers, carpets, etc. The
town of Upotoy now lies on Upotoy creek, Muscogee
county, Alabama, in 32 38' Lat.
Assi-ldnapi, an Upper Creek town, called Oselanopy in
the Census list of 1832. It probably lay on Yellow Leaf
creek, which joins Coosa river from the west about five
miles below Talladega creek. From it sprang Green-
leaf Town in the Indian Territory, since lani means
yellow and green at the same time. Green is now more
frequently expressed by pahi-lani.
Atasi, or Atassi, an Upper Creek town oh the east side
of Tallapoosa river, below and adjoining Kalibi hatchi
creek. It was a miserable-looking place in Hawkins'
time, with about 43 warriors in 1766. Like that of all
the other towns built on Tallapoosa river, below its falls,
the site is low and unhealthy. The name is derived from
the war-club (a'tassa), and was written Autossee, Ottossee,
Otasse, Ot-tis-se, etc. Battle on November 29th, 1813.
A town in the Indian Territory is called after it A'tesi,
its inhabitants Atesalgi. ' 'A post or column of pine, forty
feet high, stood in the town of Autassee, on a low, cir-
cular, artificial hill." Bartram, Travels, p. 456. Cf.
Hu'li-Wa'hli.
Alchina-dlgi, or " Cedar Grove," the northernmost of all
the Creek settlements, near the Hillabi-Etowa trail, on
a side creek of Tallapoosa river and forty miles above
Niuya'a^a. Settled from Lutchapoga.
A t china Hdtchi, or " Cedar Creek," a village settled by
Indians from Ka-ilaidshi, q. v. on a creek of the same
name.
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 129
Chatahuchi,*. former town of the Lower Creeks, on the
headwaters of Chatahuchi river. Probably abandoned
in Hawkins' time ; he calls it " old town Chatahutchi ; "
cf. Chatahuchi river. Called Chata Uche by Bartram
( I 77S)> Chatahoosie by Swan (1791).
Chatahuchi river is the water-course dividing, in its
lower portion, the State of Alabama from that of Georgia.
On its banks were settled the towns and villages of the
Lower Creeks. Its name is composed of tchatu rock,
stone and hutchi marked, provided with signs, and hence
means: " Pictured Rocks." Rocks of this description
are in the bed of the river, at the "old town Chatahu-
chi," above Hu'li-taika (Hawkins, p. 52). Other names
for this river were : Apalachukla river (Wm. Bartram),
Cahoiiita or Apalachoocoly river (Jefferys' map in John
Bartram's report).
Che'l&ko Mini, or "Horse-Trail," a Lower Creek town
on the headwaters of Chatahuchi river, settled by
Okfuski Indians. Mentioned in 1832 as Chelucco-
ninny. Probably identical with Okfuski-Nini; see Ok-
fuskudshi, and : Indian Pathways.
Chi a ha, or Tchiaha, Chehaw, a Lower Creek town just
below Osotchi town and contiguous to it, on western
bank of Chatahuchi river. The Chiaha Indians had in
1799 spread out in villages on the Flint river, of which
Hawkins names Amakalli, Hotali-huyana; and at Chiahu-
dshi. Here a trail crossed the Chatahuchi river (Swan,
1791). A town of the same name, " where otters live,"
existed among the Cheroki. An Upper Creek town
of this name, with twenty-nine heads of families, is
mentioned in the Census list of 1832 (Schoolcraft
IV, 578).
Chiahu' dshi , or "Little Chiaha," a Lower Creek town
planted by Chiaha Indians in a pine forest one mile and
a half west of Hitchiti town. Cf. Hitchiti, pp. 77. sqq.
130 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Chiska talbfa, a Lower Creek town on the west side of
Chatahuchi river. Morse, Report, p. 364, refers to it
under the name of " Cheskitalowas " as belonging to
the Seminole villages. Is it Chisca, or " Chisi provin-
cia ", visited by the army of H. de Soto in 1540 ? Haw-
kins states that Chiske tal6fa hatche was the name given
to Savannah river (from tchiska base of tree).
Coosa River, (i)an affluent of Alabama river in Eastern
Alabama, in Creek Kusa-hatchi, runs through the roughest
and most hilly district formerly held by the Creek
Indians. "It is rapid, and so full of rocks and shoals
that it is hardly navigable even for canoes": Swan, in
Schoolcraft V, 257. Cusawati is an affluent of Upper
Coosa river, in northwestern Georgia, a tract where
Cheroki local names may be expected.
(2) A water-course of the same name, Coosawhatchie,
passes southeast of Savannah City, South Carolina, into
the Atlantic ocean. For the etymology, see Kusa.
Fin'-hdlu i, a town of the Lower Creeks or Seminoles. The
name signifies a high bridge, or a high foot-log, and the
traders' name was "High Log" (1832).
A swamp having the same name, Finholoway Swamp,
lies in Wayne county, between the lower Altamaha and
Satilla rivers, Georgia.
Fish- Ponds, or Fish-Pond Town; cf. 'La'lo-kalka.
Flint River, in Creek 'Lonotiska hatchi, an eastern
Georgian affluent of Chatahuchi river, and almost of
the same length. Creeks, Yuchi and Seminole Indians
were settled on it and on its numerous tributaries, one
of which is 'Lonoto creek, also called Indian creek,
Dooley county, Georgia. From 'lonoto flint.
Fort Toulouse ; cf. Taskigi. This fort was also called,
from the tribe settled around it, Fort Alibamu, Fort
Albamo, Fort Alebahmah, Forteresse des Alibamons.
Abandoned by the French in 1 762.
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 131
Fu si- hate hi, Fus'-hdtchi, or "Birdcreek," a town of the
Upper Creeks, built on the right or northern bank of
Tallapoosa river, two miles below Hu'li-Wali. Remains
of a walled town on the opposite shore.
Hate hi t chap a, or "Half-way Creek," a small village
settled in a pine forest by Ka-ilaidshi Indians, q. v.
Hickory Ground; cf. Odshi-ap6fa.
Hillabi, pronounced Hi'lapi, an Upper Creek town on
Ko-ufadi creek, which runs into Hillabi creek one mile
from the village. Hillabi creek is a western tributary of
Tallapoosa river, and joins it eight miles below Niuya^a.
The majority of the Hillabi people had settled in four
villages of the vicinity in 1799, which were: 'Lanudshi
apala, Anati tchapko, Istudshi-laika, Uktaha 'lasi.
A battle took place in the vicinity on November 18th,
1 8 1 3. Though the name is of difficult analysis, it is said
to refer to quickness, velocity (of the water-course?)
Hitchiti , a Lower Creek town with branch villages; cf.
Hitchiti, p. 77 sqq.
Hit chitu'dshi; cf. Hitchiti, p. 77.
Hbtali-huydna, a Lower Creek town, planted by Chi-
aha Indians on the eastern bank of Flint river, six miles
below the Kitchofuni creek junction. Osotchi settlers
had mingled with the twenty families of the village.
The name means: "Hurricane Town," for hutali in
Creek is wind, huyana passing; it therefore marks a
locality once devastated by a passing hurricane. Called
Tallewheanas, in Seminole list, p. 72.
Hu ' li- taiga, a Lower Creek village on Chatahuchi river,
planted by Okfuski Indians. Bartram calls it Hothteto-
ga, C. Swan : Hohtatoga (Schoolcraft, Indians V, 262) ;
the name signifies "war-ford," military river-passage.
Hul' i-Wa' hli, an Upper Creek town on the right
bank of Tallapoosa river, five miles below Atasi. This
town obtained its name from the privilege of declaring
132 THE CREEK INDIANS.
war (hu'li war, awa'hlita to share out, divide) ; the decla-
ration was first sent to Tukabatchi, and from there among
the other tribes. The town bordered west on Atas'-
hatchi creek. The name is written Clewauley (1791),
Ho-ithle-Wau-lee (Hawkins), Cleu-wath-ta (1832),
Quale, Clewulla, etc.
Ikanatch&ka, or Holy Ground, a town on the southern
side of Alabama river, built on holy ground, and there-
fore said to be exempt from any possible inroads of the
white people. Weatherford, the leader of the insurgent
Creeks, and their prophet Hilis'-hako resided there;
the forces gathered at this place by them were defeated
December 23d, 1813. From ikana ground, atchaka be-
loved, sacred.
Ik an' -hatki, or "white ground," a Shawano town just
below Kulumi, and on the same side of Tallapoosa river.
"Cunhutki speaks the Muscogulge tongue"; W. Bar-
tram (1775).
Im u kfa , an Upper Creek town on Imukfa creek, west of
Tallapoosa river. Near this place, in a bend or penin-
sula formed by the Tallapoosa river, called Horse Shoe
by the whites, the American troops achieved a decisive
victory over the Red Stick party of the Creek Indians
on March 25th, 1814, which resulted in the surrender of
Weatherford, their leader, and put an end to this bloody
campaign. Not less than five hundred and fifty-seven
Creek warriors lost their lives in this battle. The term
imukfa is Hitchiti, for (1) shell; (2) metallic ornament of
concave shape ; Hawkins interprets the name by " gorget
made of a conch." In Hitchiti, bend of river is hatchi
pa/utchki; ha'htchafashki, hatsafaski is river-bend in
Creek. Tohopeka is another name for this battle-field,
but does not belong to the Creek language.
Intatchkdlgi, or '* collection of beaver dams," a Yuchi
town of Georgia settled twenty-eight miles up Opil-'lako
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 133
creek, a tributary of Flint river. A square was built by
the fourteen families of this town in 1798. Tatchki
means anything straight, as a dam, beaver dam, line,
boundary line, etc., ikan'-tatchka survey-line ; the above
creek was probably Beaver- dam creek, an eastern tribu-
tary of Flint river, joining it about 32 15' Lat.
Ipisbgi, an Upper Creek town upon Ipis6gi creek, a large
eastern tributary of Tallapoosa river, joining it opposite
Okfuski. Forty settlers in 1799. Cf. Pin-h6ti.
Istapbga, an Upper Creek settlement not recorded in the
earlier documents ; a place of this name exists now east
of Coosa river, Talladega county, Alabama. The name,
usually written Eastaboga, signifies: "where people
reside " (isti people; ap6kita to reside).
Istudshi-laika, or "child lying there," a Hillabi
village, on Hillabi creek, four miles below Hillabi town.
It owes its name to the circumstance that a child was
found on its site.
Ka-ilaidshi, an Upper Creek town, on a creek of the
same name, which joins Oktchoyi creek, a western tribu-
tary of Tallapoosa river, joining it fifteen miles above
Tukabatchi. The two villages, Atchina Hatchi and
Hatchi tchapa, branched off from this town. The name
was variously written Ki-a-li-ge, Kiliga, Killeegko, Kio-
lege, and probably referred to a warrior's head dress : ika
his head; ilaidshas I kill.
Kan' -tchati, Kanshade, "Red dirt," "Red earth," an
Upper Creek town, mentioned in 1835 as " Con-
chant-ti." Conchardee is a place a few miles north-
west of Talladega.
Kasi' hta, a Lower Creek town on the eastern bank of
' Chatahuchi river, two and a half miles below Kawita
Talahassi; Kasi'hta once claimed the lands above the
falls of the Chatahuchi river on its eastern bank. In
this town and tribe our migration legend has taken its
134 THE CREEK INDIANS.
origin. Its branch settlements spread out on the right
side of the river, the number of the warriors of the town
and branches being estimated at 180 in 1799; it was
considered the largest among the Lower Creeks. The
natives were friendly to the whites and fond of visiting
them; the old chiefs were orderly men, desirous and
active in restraining the young "braves" from the
licentiousness which they had contracted through their
intercourse with the scum of the white colonists. Haw-
kins makes some strictures at their incompetency for
farming ; " they do not know the season for planting, or,
if they do, they never avail themselves of what they
know, as they always plant one month too late " (p. 59).
A large conical mound is described by him as standing
on the Kasi'hta fields, forty-five yards in diameter at its
base, and flat on the top. Below the town was the \ old
Cussetuh town," on a high flat, and afterwards "a Chica-
saw town " occupied this site (p. 58). A branch village
of Kasi' hta is Apata-i, q. v. The name Kasi' hta, Kasi^ta,
is popularly explained as "coming from the sun" (ha'si)
and being identical with hasi'hta. The' Creeks infer,
from the parallel Creek form hasoti, "sunshine," that
Kasi'hta really meant "light," or "bright splendor of
the sun; " anciently, this term was used for the sun him-
self, "as the old people say." The inhabitants of the
town believed that they came from the sun. Cf. Yuchi.
A place Cusseta is now in Chatahuchi county, Georgia,
32 20' Lat.
Kawaiki , a town of the Lower Creeks, having forty- five
heads of families in 1832. Kawaiki Creek is named
after quails.
Kawita, a Lower Creek town on the high western bank
of Chatahuchi river, three miles below its falls. The
fishery in the western channel of the river, below the
falls, belonged to Kawita, that in the eastern channel
LIST OF" TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 135
to Kasi'hta. In Hawkins' time (1799) many Indians
had settled on streams in the vicinity, as at Hatchi
ika, "Creek-Head." Probably a colony of Kawita
Talahassi.
Kawita Talahdssi, "old Kawita Town," a Lower Creek
town two miles and a half below Kawita, on the western
side of the river, and half a mile from it. Old Kawita
town was the "public establishment" of the Lower
Creeks, and in 1799 could raise sixty-five warriors; it was
also the seat of the United States agent. Kawita Tala-
hassi had branched off by segmentation from Kasi'hta,
as shown in the migration legend, and itself has given
origin to a village called Witumka, on Big Yuchi creek.
The town was a political centre for the nation, and is
referred to by the traveler Wm. Bartram (1775), p. 389.
463, in-the following terms: "The great Coweta town,
on Chatahuchi or Apalachucly river, twelve miles above
Apalachucla town, is called the bloody town, where the
micos, chiefs and warriors assemble, when a general war
is proposed, and here captives and state malefactors are
put to death. Coweta speaks the Muscogulgee tongue."
Colden, Five Nations, p. 5, mentions an alliance con-
cluded between the Iroquois of New York and the
Cowetas; but here the name Cowetas is used in the
wider sense of Creek Indians or Lower Creek Indians.
The Creek form is Kawitalgi, or isti Kawitalgi. Written
Caouita by French authors. Cf. Apalatchukla.
Kitcho-pat&ki, an Upper Creek town, now name of a
Creek settlement in the Indian Territory. From kitchu
"maize-pounding block of wood" ; pataki "spreading
out." Kitchopataki creek joins Tallapoosa river from
the west a few miles below Okfuskee, in Randolph
county, Alabama.
Koassati, an Upper Creek town. Cf. special article on
this tribe, pp. 89. 90.
136 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Kulumi, Upper Creek town on right side of Tallapoosa
river, small and compact, below Fusi-hatchi and con-
tiguous to it. A conical mound, thirty feet in diameter,
was seen by Hawkins, opposite the "town-house."
A part of the inhabitants had settled on Likasa creek.
The signification of the name is unknown, but it may
have connection with a'hkolumas / clinch (prefix a- for
ani /). Of the "old Coolome town," which stood on
the opposite shore of Tallapoosa river, a few houses were
left at the time of Bartram's visit, c. 1775 (Travels,
P- 395)-
Ku sa,(.i) an old capital of the Creek people, referred to as
Coca by the historians of de Soto's expedition, on the
eastern bank of Coosa river, between Yufala and Natche
creeks, which join Coosa river from the east, a quarter
of a mile apart. 1 The town stood on a high hill in the
midst of a rich limestone country, forty miles above
Pakan-Talahassi and sixty above Taskigi, q. v. Bartram
saw it (1775), half deserted and in ruins. "The great
and old beloved town of refuge, Koosah, which stands
high on the eastern side of a bold river, about two hun-
dred and fifty yards broad, that runs by the late danger-
ous Alebahma fort, down to the black poisoning Mobille,
and so into the gulph of Mexico:" Adair, History, p.
395 . This town, which was also, as it seems, the sojourning
place of Tristan de Luna's expedition (1559), must have
been one of the earliest centres of the Maskoki people,
though it does not appear among its "four leading
towns". Its inhabitants may at one time have been
comprised under the people of the neighboring Abi'hka
town, q. v. K6sa is the name of a small forest-bird, re-
sembling a sparrow ; but the name of the town and river
could possibly be an ancient form of o'sa, Osa, 'osa poke
or pokcweed, a plant with red berries, which grows plen-
1 Now called Talladega and Tallahatchi creeks.
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 137
tifully and to an enormous height throughout the South.
Cf. Coosa river. It is more probable, however, that the
name is of Cha'hta origin ; cf. (3).
(2) A town, "Old Kusa" or "Coussas old village,"
is reported a short distance below Fort Toulouse, on the
northern shore of Alabama river, between Taskigi and
Koassati. It was, perhaps, from this place that the Ala-
bama river was, in earlier times, called Coosa or Coussa
river, but since Hawkins and others make no mention of
this town, I surmise that it was identical with Koassati,
the name being an abbreviation from the latter.
(3) The Kusa, Cusha or Coosa towns, on the Kusa
Creeks, formed a group of the eastern Cha'hta settle-
ments. From Cha'hta kush reed, cane which corresponds
to the koa, koe of Creek. Cf. p. 108.
'L&'lo-kdlka, "Fish-Pond Town," or "Fish-Ponds, "
an Upper Creek town on a small creek forming
ponds, fourteen miles above its junction with Alko-
hatchi, a stream running into Tallapoosa river from the,
west, four miles above Okfuski. The name is abbrevi-
ated from 'la'lo-akalka fish separated, placed apart;
from 'Ik'lofish, akalgas I am separated from. This was a
colony planted by Oktchayi Indians, q. v.
'Lanudshi apala, or "beyond a little mountain," a
Hillabi place fifteen miles from that town and on the
northwest branch of Hillabi creek; had a "town-house ' '
or public square.
'Lap'lako, or "Tall Cane," "Big Reed," the name of
two villages of the Upper Creeks, mentioned in 1832.
'Lap is a tall cane, from which sarbacanes or blow-guns
are made.
' Le-katchka, ' Li-i-k&tchka, or "Broken Arrow," a
Lower Creek town on a ford of the southern trail,
which crossed Chatahuchi river at this point, twelve
miles below Kasi'hta and Kawita (Swan, 1791). Bar-
10
138 THE CREEK INDIANS.
tram calls it Tukauska, Swan : Chalagatsca. Called so
because reeds were obtained there for manufacturing
arrow shafts.
Lutchapbga, or "Terrapin-Resort," an Upper Creek
town, probably near Tallapoosa river. The village
Atchina-algi was settled by natives of this town (Haw-
kins, p. 47), but afterwards incorporated with Okfuski.
Also mentioned in the Census list of 1832. A place
called Loachapoka is now in Lee county, Alabama,
about half-way between Montgomery and West Point.
From lutcha terrapin, p6ka killing-place ; poyas I destroy, .
kill; pdka occurs only in compound words.
H. S. Tanner's map (1827) marks an Indian town
Luchepoga on west bank of Tallapoosa river, about ten
miles above Tukabatchi Talahassi; also Luchanpogan
creek, as a western tributary of Chatahuchi river, in 33
8' Lat., just below Chatahuchi town.
Muklasa, a small Upper Creek town one mile below
Sawan6gi and on the same side of Tallapoosa river. In
times of freshet the river spreads here nearly eight miles
from bank to bank. Bartram states, that Mucclasse
speaks the "Stincard tongue," and the list of 1832 writes
" Muckeleses." They are Alibamu, and a town of that
name is in the Indian Territory. " The Wolf-king, our
old, steady friend of the Amooklasah Town, near the late
Alebahina" (Adair, History, p. 277). The name points
to the Imuklasha, a division of the Cha'hta people;
imtikla is the " opposite people," referring to the two
iksa, jKashap-ukla and Ukla i"hula'hta. Cf. Cha'hta, p.
104^ and Mugulasha, p. in. 112.
Natch,e (better Naktche), on "Natche creek, five miles
above Abiku'dshi, scattering for two miles on a rich
flat below the fork of the creek, which is an' eastern
tributary of Upper Coosa river." 1 Peopled by the
1 Now called Tallahatchi creek.
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 139
remainder of the Naktche tribe on Mississippi river,
and containing from fifty to one hundred warriors in
1799. The root talua was dug by them in this vicinity.
Bartram states, that " Natchez speak Muscogee and
Chicasaw" (1775).
Niuy&x a , village of the Upper Creeks, settled by Tukpafka
Indians in 1777, twenty miles above Okfuski, on the east
bank of Tallapoosa river. It was called so after the
Treaty of New York, concluded between the United
States Government and the Creek confederacy, at a date
posterior to the settlement of this town, August 7th, 1790.
Nofafi i creek, an affluent of Yufabi creek. Cf. Yufabi,
and Annotations to the Legend.
Odshi-aJ>bfa, or " Hickory-Ground," an Upper Creek
town on the eastern bank of Coosa river, two miles
above the fork of the river; from o'dshi hickory, api
tree, stem, trunk, -ofa, -ofan, a suffix pointing to locality.
The falls of Coosa river, one mile above the town, can
be easily passed in canoes, either up or down. The town
had forty warriors at the time of Hawkins' visit (1799).
Identical with Little Talisi; Milfort, p. 27: "le petit
Talessy ou village des Noyers." A map of this section
will be found in Schoolcraft, Indians, V, 255. Literally:
" in the hickory grove."
Okfuski (better Akfaski), an Upper Creek town, erected
on both sides of Tallapoosa river, about thirty-five miles
above Tukabatchi. The Indians settled on the eastern
side came from Chatahuchi river, and had founded on
it three villages, Che'lako-Ni'ni, Hul'i-taiga, Tchuka
l'ako, q. v. In 1799 Okfuski (one hundred and eighty
warriors) with its seven branch villages on Tallapoosa
river (two hundred and seventy warriors) was considered
the largest community of the confederacy. The shrub
Bex cassine was growing there in clumps. These seven
villages were : Niuyaya, Tukabatchi Talahassi, Imukfa,
140 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Tu/tukagi, Atchina-algi, Ipisogi, Suka-ispoka. The
Creek term akfaski, akfuski signifies point, tongue of a
confluence, promontory, from ak- down in, faski sharp,
pointed. Tallapoosa river was also called Okfuski river.
Okfusku'dshi, or "Little Okfuski," a part of a small
village four miles above Niuya^a. Some of these people
formerly inhabited Okfuski-Nini, on Chatahuchi river,
but were driven from there by Georgian volunteers in
1793. Cf. Che'lako-Nini.
O ki-tiydkni , a lower Creek village on the eastern bank
of Chatahuchi river, eight miles below Yufala. Haw-
kins writes it O-ke-teyoc-en-ni, and Morse, Report, p.
364, mentions among the Seminole settlements, " Oka-
tiokinans, near Fort Gaines." Oki-tiyakni, a Hitchiti
term, means either whirlpool, or river-bend.
Okmulgi (r), a Lower Creek town on the east side of Flint
river, near H6tali-huyana. The name signifies ' ' bubbling,
boiling water," from H. 6ki water; mulgis it is boiling,
in Creek and Hitchiti.
(2) East of Flint river is Okmulgi river, which, after
joining Little Okmulgi and Ok6ni rivers, forms Altamaha
river.
Okoni, a small Lower Creek town, six miles below Apa-
lachukla, on the western bank of Chatahuchi river;
settled by immigrants from a locality below the Rock
Landing on Ok6ni river, Georgia. They spoke the
"Stincard tongue," and probably were Apalachians
of the Hitchiti-Mikasuki dialect. Cf. Cuscowilla, under
the head of: Seminole. The name is the Cheroki term
ekuoni river, from ikaa. great, large, viz.: "great water."
Bartram, who encamped on the site of the old Okoni
town on Ok6ni river, states (Travels, p. 378), that the
Indians abandoned that place about 1710, on account
of the vicinity of the white colonists, and built a town
among the Upper Creeks. Their roving disposition im-
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 141
pelled them to leave this settlement also, and to migrate
to the fertile Alachua plains, where they built Cuscowilla
on the banks of a lake, and had to defend it against the
attacks of the Tomocos, Utinas, Calloosas (?), Yamases
and other remnant tribes of Florida, and the more
northern refugees from Carolina, all of whom were
helped by the Spaniards. Being reinforced by other
Indians from the Upper Creek towns, " their uncles,"
they repulsed the aggressors and destroyed their villages,
as well as those of the Spaniards. This notice probably
refers to the Indian troubles with the Yamassi, which
occurred long before 1710, since inroads are recorded as
early as 1687. Hawkins, p. 65, states that the town
they formerly occupied on Ok6ni river stood just below
the Rock Landing, once the site of a British post about
four miles below Milledgeville, Georgia.
Oktchdyi, an Upper Creek town built along Oktchayi
creek, a western tributary of Tallapoosa river. The
town, mentioned as Oak-tchoy in 1791, lay three miles
below Ka-ilaidshi, in the central district. Cf. 'La'lo-
kalka. Milfort, Memoire, p. 266. 267, calls the tribe :
les Oxiailles.
Oktchayu' dshi, a "little compact town" of the Upper
Creek Indians, on the eastern bank of Coosa river, be-
tween Otchi-apofa and Taskigi, its cabins joining those
of the latter town. Their maize fields lay on the same
side of the river, on the Sambelo grounds, below Sam-
belo creek. They removed their village to the eastern
side of Tallapoosa river on account of former Chicasa
raids. The name of the town, "Little Oktchayi,"
proves it to be a colony or branch of Oktchayi, q. v.;
PI. Porter says it is a branch of Okfuski.
OpiV - 'lako , or "Big Swamp," from opilua swamp, 'lako
large. (1) An Upper Creek town on a stream of the
same name, which joins Pakan'-Talahassi creek on its
142 THE CREEK INDIANS.
left side. The town was twenty miles from Coosa river ;
its tribe is called Pinclatchas by C. Swan (1791).
(2) A locality west of Kasi'hta; cf. Talisi.
(3) A stream running into Flint river, Georgia. Cf.
Intatchkalgi.
Osotchi, Osutchi, Osudshi, or Usutchi, a Lower Creek
town about two miles below Yuchi town, on the
western bank of Chatahuchi river, whose inhabitants
migrated to this place in 1794 from Flint river. The
town. adjoins that of Chiaha; Bartram calls it Hoositchi.
The descendants of it and of Chiaha have consolidated
into one town in the Creek Nation, Indian Territory.
Cf. Hawkins, p. 63.
Padshilaika, or "Pigeon Roost;" (1) a Yuchi town on
the junction of Padshilaika creek with Flint river, Macon
county, Georgia, about 32 38' Lat. The village suf-
fered heavily by the loss of sixteen warriors, who were
murdered by Benjamin Harrison and his associates ; cf.
Hawkins, p. 62 sq.
(2) Patsilaika river was the name of the western
branch of Conecuh river, in Southern Alabama, Coving-
ton county, which runs into Escambia river and Pensa-
cola bay. From padshi pigeon, and laikas I sit down, am
sitting.
Pdkan'- Talahdssi, Upper Creek town on a creek of
the same name, which joins Coosa river from the east,
forty miles below Kusa town. From ipakana, may apple,
italua town, hassi ancient, in the sense of waste. G. W.
Stidham interprets the name: "Old Peach Orchard
Town."
Pin'-hoti, or "Turkey-Home," an Upper Creek town on
the right side of a small tributary of Ipis6gi creek ; cf.
Ipisogi. The trail from Niuya^a to Kawita Talahassi
passed through this settlement. From pinua turkey, huti,
hoti home.
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 143
Pdlchus'-hdtchi, Upper Creek town in the central dis-
trict, on a stream of the same name, which joins Coosa
river from the northeast, four miles below Pakan'-Tala-
hassi. The town was in Coosa or Talladega county,
Alabama, forty miles above the junction; the name
signifies "Hatchet-Stream": potchusua hatchet, ax;
hatchi water-course.
Sakapatayi, Upper Creek town in the central district,
now Socopatoy, on a small eastern tributary of Potchus'-
hatchi, or Hatchet creek, Coosa county, Alabama; pro-
nounced also Sakapat6-i by Creek Indians. Probably
refers to water-lilies covering the surface of a pond, the
seeds of them being eaten by the natives; from sak-
patagas I lie inside (a covering, blanket, etc.) A legend,
which evidently originated from the name already exist-
ing, relates that wayfarers passing there had left a large
provision-basket (saka) at this locality, which was upset
and left rotting, so that finally it became flattened out :
from pataidshas / spread out something; patayi, partic.
pass., shaken out.
Sauga Hatchi, Upper Creek town on a stream of the
same name, which runs into Tallapoosa river from the
east, ten miles below Yufala. In 1 799 the thirty young
men of this place had joined Talisi town. Hawkins,
p. 49, renders the name by "cymbal creek." Sauga is
a hard-shelled fruit or gourd, similar to a cocoa-nut, used
for making rattles ; safikas I am rattling.
Sawanbgi , or "Shawanos," a town settled by Shawano -
Algonkins, but belonging to the Creek confederacy. It
stood on the left or southern side of Tallapoosa river,
three miles below Likasa creek. The inhabitants (in
1799) retained the customs and language of their coun-
trymen in the northwest, and had joined them in their
late war against the United States. Some Yuchi Indians
lived among them. The " town -house " was an oblong
144 THE CREEK INDIANS.
square cabin, roof "eight feet pitch," sides and roof
covered with pine-bark. Cf. Ikan'-hatki.
Saw ok It, or Great Sawokli, Sa-ukli, a Lower Creek town,
six miles below Okoni, on the west bank of Chatahuchi
river, and four miles and a half above Wilani ("Yellow
Water ") Creek junction. The Hitchiti word sawi means
racoon, ukli town; and both Sawokli towns spoke the
"Stincard tongue" (Bartram). Called Chewakala in
1 791; Swaglaw, etc. Among the Hitchiti the mikalgi
were appointed from the racoon gens only.
Sawokli-u'dshi, or "Little Sawokli," a Lower Creek
town on the eastern bank of Chatahuchi river, four miles
below Okoni town ; contained about twenty families in
1799. About 1865 both Sawokli towns in the Indian
Territory have disbanded into the Talua 'lako ; cf. Apa-
latchukla.
Suka-ispbka, or Suka-ishp6gi, called "Hog Range" by
the traders, a small Upper Creek village situated on the
western bank of Upper Tallapoosa river, twelve miles
above Okfuski; its inhabitants had in 1799 moved, for
the larger part, to Imukfa. It is the place called else-
where Soguspogus, Sokaspoge, Hog Resort, the name
meaning literally: "hog-killing place." Cf. Lutcha-
poga.
Ta.latigi, now Talladega, an Upper Creek settlement in
the central district east of Coosa river. A battle was
fought there November 7th, 181 3. The name signifies
"border town," from italua town and atigi at the end,
on the border; cf. atigis "it is the last one, it forms the
extremity." Cf. Kusa (1).
Talisi, abbrev. Talsi, or: "Old Town," a contraction of
the term italua hassi; a town of the Upper Creeks on
the eastern bank of Tallapoosa river, opposite Tuka-
batchi, in the fork of Yufabi creek. In Hawkins' time
the natives of this place had for the larger part left the
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 145
town and settled up Yufabi creek, and the chief,
Hobo-i'li miko, was at variance with the United States
and Spanish colonial authorities. The traders' trail from
Kasi'hta to the Upper Creek settlements crossed Yufabi
creek twice at the "Big Swamp," Opil'-'lako. The
Census of 1832 calls Talisi: "Big Tallassie or the
Halfway House."
Talisi, Little, a town of the Upper Creeks, identical
with Odshi-apofa, q. v.
Tallapoosa river, a considerable tributary of Alabama
river, full of rocks, shoals and falls down to Tukabatchi
town ; for thirty miles from here to its junction with the
Coosa, it becomes deep and quiet. The Hitchiti form
of the name is Talapusi; cf. Okfuski. A little village
named Tallapoosa lies on the headwaters of Tallapoosa
river, from which the river perhaps received its name ;
cf. talepu'li stranger (in Creek).
Talua 'lako, properly Italua 'lako, "the Great Town,"
the popular name of Apalatchukla, q. v., the latter being
no longer heard at the present time.
Talua mutckdsi, (1) The new name for Tukabatchi
Talahassi, q. v. It is commonly abbreviated into Tal-
modshasi "Newtown." ' From italua town, mutchasi new.
(2) A Lower Creek town, on west shore of Chatahuchi
river, mentioned by Morse (1822) as: Telmocresses,
among the Seminole towns.
Ta m a 'li, a Lower Creek town on Chatahuchi river, seven
miles from Odshisi (Morse; Report, p. 364). Hawkins
writes it Tum-mult-lau, and makes it a Seminole town.
Probably a Cheroki name; there was on the southern
shore of Tennessee river, between Ballplay creek and
Toskegee, a settlement called Tommotley town in early
maps; cf. Jefferys' Atlas of N. America (map of 1762).
Taskigi or Tuskiki, a little, ancient Upper Creek town,
built near the site of the former French Fort Toulouse,
146 THE CREEK INDIANS.
. at the confluence of Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. It
stood on the high shore of Coosa river, forty-six feet
above its waters, where the two rivers approach each
other within a quarter of a mile, to curve out agaiD. On
this bluff are also five conic mounds, the largest thirty
yards in diameter at the base. The town, of 35 warriors,
had lost its ancient language and spoke the Creek (1799).
The noted A. MacGillivray, head chief of the Creeks in
the latter part of the eighteenth century, or as he was
styled, "Emperor of the Creek Nation," lived at Taskigi,
where he owned a house and property along Coosa river,
half a league from Fort Toulouse; Milfort, Memoire, p.
27. On the immigration of the tribe, cf. Milfort, pp.
266. 267.
The name of the town may be explained as : "jumping
men, jumpers," from Cr. taska-is, ta'skas I jump (tulup-
kalis in Hitchiti); or be considered an abbreviated form
of taskialgi warriors; cf. taskaya citizen (Creek), and
Hawkins, Sketch, p. 70. But since the town formerly
spoke another language, it is, in view of the frequency
of Cheroki names in the Creek country, appropriate to
regard Taskigi as linguistically identical with " Toske-
gee, ' ' a Cheroki town on Great Tennessee river, southern
shore, mentioned by several authors, and appearing on
Lieutenant H. Timberlake's map in his Memoir, repro-
duced in Jefferys' Topography (Atlas) of North America,
dated March, 1762.
Jchiika 'Idko, or "Great Cabin" of the public square,
(1) A Lower Creek town on Chatahuchi river, settled by
Okfuski Indians.
(2) A place of the same , name is mentioned in the
Census of 1832 as an Upper Creek town.
Tokogalgi, or "tadpole place," a small Yuchi settlement
on Kitchofuni creek, a northern affluent of Flint river,
Georgia, which joins it about 31 40' Lat. Beaver dams
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 147
existed on branches of Kitchofuni creek ; cf. Hawkins,
p. 63. The present Creeks call a tadpole tokiulga.
Tukab&tchi, an Upper Creek town built upon the
western bank of Tallapoosa river, and two miles and a
half below its falls, which are forty feet in fifty yards.
Opposite was Talisi town, q. v. Tukabatchi was an
ancient capital, decreasing in population in Hawkins'
time, but still able to raise one hundred and sixteen
warriors. The town suffered much in its later wars with
the Chicasa. Cf. Hu'li-Wali. The traders' trail crossed
the Tallapoosa river at this place. Bartram (1775) states
that Tuccabatche spoke Muscogulge, and the Census of
1832 considers it the largest town among the Creeks,
with three hundred and eighty-six houses. Here, as at
a national centre, the Shawano leader, Tecumseh, held
his exciting orations against the United States Govern-
ment, which prompted the Upper Creeks to rise in arms
(1813). Tugiba^tchi, Tukipa'htchi, and Tukipa^tchi
are the ancient forms of the name (Stidham), which is
of foreign origin. The inhabitants believe that their
ancestors fell from the sky, or according to others, came
from the sun. Another tale is, that they did not origi-
nate on this continent; that when they arrived from
their country they landed at the "Jagged Rock," tchato
tcha^a/a 'lako, and brought the metallic plates with
them, which they preserve to the present day with
anxious care. In Adair's time (cf. Adair, History, pp.
178. 179, in Note) they consisted of five copper and two
brass plates, and were, according to Old Bracket's ac-
count, preserved under the "beloved cabbin in Tucca-
batchey Square" (A. D. 1759). Bracket's forefathers
told him that they were given to the tribe " by the man
we call God," and that the Tukabatchi were a people
different from the Creeks. The plates are mentioned in
Schoolcraft's Indians, V, 283 (C. Swan's account), and
148 THE CREEK INDIANS.
rough sketches of them are given in Adair, 1. 1. They
appear to be of Spanish origin, and are produced at the
busk. The town anciently was known under two other
names : Ispok6gi, or Italua ispokogi, said to mean " town
of survivors," or " surviving town, remnant of a town";
and Italua fatcha-sigo, " incorrect town, town deviating
from strictness." With this last appellation we may
compare the Spanish village-name Villa Viciosa.
On national councils held there, cf. Hawkins, Sketch,
p. 51 (in the year 1799) and Milfort, p. 40 (in the year
1780) and p. 266.
Tukabatchi Talah&ssi, or "old town of Tukabatchi,"
an Upper Creek town on west side of Tallapoosa river,
four miles above Niuya/a. Since 1797 it received a
second name, that of Talua mutchasi or "new town."
The Census list of 1832 calls it Talmachussa, Swan in
1 791: Tuckabatchee Teehassa.
Tukpafka, "Spunk-knot," a village on Chatahuchi river,
Toapafki in 1832, from which was settled the town of
Niuyajfa, q. v. A creek of the same name is a tributary
of Potchus'-Hatchi, q. v. Tukpafka, not Tutpafka, is
the correct form ; it means punky wood, spunk, rotten
wood, tinder.
Tuxtu-kagi, or "Corn cribs set up" by the Okfuski
natives to support themselves during the hunting season,
was an Upper Creek town on the western bank of Talla-
poosa River, twenty miles above Niuy&jfa. The trail
from Hillabi to Etowa in the Cheroki country passed
this town, which is near a spur of mountains. Men-
tioned as "Corn House" in the Census list of 1832, as
Totokaga in 1791. Tu/tu means a crib; kagi is the past
participle of kakls, q. v.
Tu t a Id si , a branch village of Hitchiti town. Cf. Hitchiti,
p. 77. The Creek word tutal6si means chicken, in
Hitchiti tatayahi; its inhabitants, who had no town-
LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 149
square, are called by the people speaking Hitchiti:
Tatayahukli.
Uktaha-s&si, or "Sand-Heap," two miles from Hillabi
town, of which it was a branch or colony. Cf. Hillabi.
If the name was pronounced Uktaha lasi, it is " sand-
lick."
U-i-ukufki, Uyukufki, an Upper Creek town, on a creek
of the same name, a tributary of Hatchet creek (Haw-
kins, p. 42) ; Wioguf ka (1832). The name points, to
muddy water: o-iwa water, ukufki muddy ; and is also
the Creek name for the Mississippi river. Exists now in
Indian Territory. Cf. Potchus'-hatchi.
Wako-k&yi, Waxokd-i, or "Blow-horn Nest," an
Upper Creek town on Tukpafka creek, a branch of
Potchus'-Hatchi, a water-course which joins Coosa river
from the east. Also written Wolkukay by cartographers ;
Wacacoys, in Census List of 1832 ; Wiccakaw by Bar-
tram (1775). Wako is a species of heron, bluish-grey, 2 '
high; kayi breeding-place. Another "Wacacoys" is
mentioned, in 1832, as situated on Lower Coosa river,
below Witumka.
Watula Hbkahdtchi. The location of this stream is
marked by Watoola village, which is situated on a run
joining Big Yuchi creek in a southern course, about
eighteen miles west of Chatahuchi river, on the road
between Columbus, Ga., and Montgomery, Ala.
Wi-kai 'Idko, or "Large Spring," a Lower Creek or
Seminole town, referred to by Morse under the name
Wekivas. From u-iwa, abbrev. u-i water, kaya rising,
'lako great, large. A Creek town in the Indian Terri-
tory bears the same name.
Witumka, (1) Upper Creek town on the rapids of Coosa
river, east side, near its junction with Tallapoosa. Haw-
kins does not mention this old settlement, but Bartram,
who traveled from 1773 to 1778, quotes Whittumke
150 THE CREEK INDIANS.
among the Upper Creek towns speaking the " Stincard
tongue," which in this instance was the Koassati
dialect.
(2) A branch town of Kawita Talahassi, and twelve
miles from it, on Witumka creek, the main fork of
Yuchi creek. The place had a town-house, and ex-
tended for three miles up the creek. • The name sig-
nifies "rumbling water;" from u-i, abbrev. from u-iwa
"water," and tumkis "it rumbles, makes noise."
Wi tumka Creek, called Owatunka river in the migration
legend, is the northern and main branch of Yuchi creek,
which runs into the Chatahuchi river from the north-
west, and joins it about 32 18' Lat. The other branch
was Little Yuchi creek or Hosapo-laiki ; cf. Note to
Hawkins, p. 61.
Wiwuxka, or Wiw6ka, Upper Creek town on Wiw6ka
creek, an eastern tributary of Coosa river, joining it
about ten miles above Witumka. The town was fifteen
miles above Odshi-ap6fa, and in 1799 numbered forty
warriors. Called Weeokee in 1 791; it means: "water
roaring,": u-i water, wo/kls it is roaring.
Woksoyu'dshi, an Upper Creek town, mentioned in the
Census List of 1832 as " Waksoyochees, on Lower Coosa
river, below Wetumka."
Yu chi , a town of foreign extraction belonging to the Lower
Creeks ; has branched out into three other villages. Cf.
Yuchi, p. 21.
Yufabi creek, an eastern tributary of Tallapoosa river,
joining . it a short distance from Tukabatchi. Nofapi
creek, mentioned in the legend, is now Naufaba creek,
an upper branch of "Ufaupee creek," joining it in a
southwestern direction.
Yufd la , (1) Y. or Yufala Hatchi, Upper Creek town on
Yufila creek, fifteen miles above its confluence with
Coosa river. Called Upper Ufala in 1791.
THE INDIAN PATHWAYS. 151
(2) Upper Creek town on the west bank of Talla-
poosa river, two miles below Okfuski in the air line.
(3) town of the Lower Creeks, fifteen miles below
Sawokli, on the eastern bank of Chatahuchi river. In
1 799 the natives had spread out down to the forks of
the river in several villages, and many had negro slaves,
taken during the Revolutionary war. The Census of
1832 counted 229 heads of families. This name, of
unknown signification, is written Eufaula.
THE INDIAN PATHWAYS.
A correct and detailed knowledge of the Indian trails
leading through their country, and called by them warpaths,
horse trails, and by the white traders " trading roads," forms
an important part of Indian topography and history. Their
general direction is determined by mountain ranges and gaps
(passes), valleys, springs, water-courses, fordable places in
rivers, etc. The early explorers of North American countries
all followed these Indian trails : Narvaez, Hernando de Soto,
Tristan de Luna, Juan del Pardo, Lederer and Lawson,
because they were led along these tracks by their Indian
guides. If we knew with accuracy the old Indian paths of
the West, we would have little difficulty in rediscovering the
routes traveled by Coronado's and Penalossa's troops in New
Mexico and in the great wastes of the Mississippi plains. In
hilly lands these trails are, of course, easier to trace than in
level portions of the country.
The best-known trails leading from the east to the Creek
towns were as follows :
1. The upper trail or " warpath" crossed Chatahuchi river
at Che'lako-Nini by a horse ford, about sixty miles above
Kasi/ta; cf. Schoolcraft, Indians, V, 255, and Adair, History,
pp. 258. 368.
2. The "High Tower path" started from High Shoals on
Apalachi river, which is the southern branch of Okoni river,
152 THE CREEK INDIANS.
and went almost due west to " Shallow Ford " of Chatahuchi
river, about twelve miles right north of Atlanta, Georgia, in
the river bend.
3. The southern trail crossed the Chatahuchi river, coming
from the Ok6ni and Okmulgi rivers, 1 at the " Broken Arrow,"
'Le-katchka, while other travelers crossed it at the Yuchi
towns, which cannot have been distant from the "Broken
Arrow." The Tallapoosa river was passed at Tukabatchi;
cf. Schoolcraft, Indians, V, 254.
From Tukabatchi it crossed over almost due west, as repre-
sented in Em. Bowen's map, to Coosa river, which was passed
by a horse-ford, then followed the Coosa river up to Coosa
old town. This is the trail partly traveled over by the Kasi/ta
tribe, as described in the migration legend.
4. The trail leading from St. Mary's river, Georgia, to the
Creek towns went into disuse since 1783, and at the time of
Swan's visit (179 1) was difficult to trace. Cf. Schoolcraft,
V, 256. If correctly represented in Tanner's map of 1827,
a road then running from St. Mary's river to the Hitchiti
ford of the Chatahuchi river crossed that river at Hitchit-
ti'dshi.
THE CREEK GOVERNMENT.
The social organization of all the Indian nations of America
is based upon the existence of the tribe. The tribe itself is
based upon smaller units of individuals which are joined
together by a common tie; this tie is either the archaic
1 Bartram, Travels, p. 54, gives the following particulars : " On the
east bank of the Okmulgee this trading road runs nearly two miles
through ancient Indian fields, the Okmulgee fields . . . with artificial
mounds or terraces, squares, etc." This horsepath began at the Rock
Landing on Ok6ni' river, a British post just below Wilkinson and about
four miles below Milledgeville, Georgia, passed Fort Hawkins built upon
the Okmulgi old fields, then the site of Macon, on the shore opposite,
then Knoxville, then the old Creek agency on Flint river, then crossed
Patsilatka creek, the usual ford on Chatahuchi river lying between
Kasi^ta and Apata-i Creek.
TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND GENTES. 153
maternal descent, or the more modern tie of paternal descent,
or a combination of both. Among the Indians of North
America east of the Rocky mountains, and also among many-
tribes west of them, the single groups descending from the
same male or female ancestor form each a gens provided
with a proper name or totem generally recalling the name of
an animal.
Among the Creeks, Seminoles and all the other Maskoki
tribes descent was in the female line. Every child born
belonged to the gens of its mother, and not to that of its
father, for no man could marry into his own gens. In case
of the father's death or incapacity the children were cared
for by the nearest relatives of the mother. Some public
officers could be selected only from certain gentes, among
which such a privilege had become hereditary. Regulations
like these also controlled the warrior class and exercised a
profound influence upon the government and history of the
single tribes, and it often' gave a too prominent position to
some gentes in certain tribes, to the detriment or exclusion
of others. The Hitchiti and Creek totems were the same.
The administration of public affairs in the Creek nation
can be studied to best advantage by dividing the dates on
hand into three sections : the civil government of the Creek
tribe ; the warrior class ; the confederacy and its government.
What we give below will at least suffice to give readers a
better understanding of some points in the migration legend.
But before we enter upon these points, let us consider the
basis of Indian social life, the gens.
TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND GENTES.
Parallel to the two iksa of the Cha'hta the Creeks are
divided into two fires (tutka), a civil fire and a military fire.
The term fire evidently refers to council fires, which had to
be kindled ceremonially by the friction of two pieces of wood.
The term fire was also applied by Shawanos and other North-
11
154 THE CREEK INDIANS.
ern Indians to the States formed by the early colonists, and
is still used of the States now constituting the American
Union : the thirteen fires, the seventeen fires, etc.
Concerning the gentes (alaikita) of the Creek people, it is
important to notice that in their towns each group of houses
contained people of one gens only, 1 and these gentes are
often mentioned in their local annals ; and that the gens of
each individual was determined by that of his mother.
Some of the towns had separate gentes for themselves, all
of which had privileges of their own.
Marriage between individuals of the same gens was pro-
hibited ; the office of the miko and the succession to property
of deceased persons was and is still hereditary in the gens.
In the Tukabatchi town the civil rulers or mikalgi were
selected from the eagle gens; those of Hitchiti town from the
racoon gens only; of Kasi^ta from the bear gens ; those of
Taskigi probably from the wind gens. The beloved men or
istitchakalgi of Kasi/ta were of the beaver gens.
In adultery and murder cases the relatives of the gens of
the injured party alone had the right of judging and of
taking satisfaction ; the miko and his council were debarred
from any interference. This custom explains why treaty
stipulations made with the colonists or the Federal Govern-
ment concerning murders committed have never been
executed. 2
There is probably no Indian tribe or nation in North
America having a larger number of gentes than the Maskoki
proper. This fact seems to point either to a long historic
development of the tribe, through which so large a seg-
mentation was brought about, or to internal dissensions,
which could produce the same result. About twenty gentes
* A similar distribution is observed in the villages, hunting and war
camps of the Pani and Southern Dakotan tribes, and was very strictly
enforced by them.
2 Cf. Hawkins, p. 75.
Owing to the absence of the Author on official
duties in the Indian Territory, the Map which
should accompany this volume has not been pre-
pared. It will therefore be issued with the second
volume.
TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND GENTES. 155
are now in existence, and the memory of some extinct ones
is not lost in the present generation.
The list of Creek gentes, as obtained from Judge G. W.
Stidham, runs as follows :
Nokdsalgi bear gens ; from nok6si bear.
Itchualgi deer gens, from itchu deer.
Katsalgi panther gens ; katsa panther, cougar.
Koakotsalgi wild-cat gens ; koa-k6tchi wild-cat.
Kunipalgi skunk gens ; kuno, k6no skunk.
W6tkalgi racoon gens ; wo'tko racoon.
Yahalgi wolf gens ; yaha wolf.
Tsiilalgi fox gens ; tsfila fox.
Itch'hasualgi beaver gens; itch'hisua beaver.
Osanalgi otter gens ; osana otter.
Halpadalgi alligator gens ; halpada alligator.
Fusualgi bird gens ; ffiswa forest bird.
Itamalgi, Tamalgi, (?) cf. tamkita to fly.
Sopaktalgi toad gens; sopaktu toad.
Takusalgi mole gens ; taku mole.
Atchialgi maize gens ; atchi maize.
Ahala^algi sweet potato gens; aha sweet potato, long marsh-
potato.
Hutalgalgi wind gens ; hfitali wind.
Aktayatsalgi (signification unknown).
(-algi is the sign of collective plurality — the okla of
Cha'hta.)
The following gentes are now extinct, but still occur in
war names :
Pah6salgi; occurs in names like Pah6s'-hadsho.
Okilisa; cf. Killis-tamaha, p. 109.
'La'lo-algi fish gens ; 'la'lo fish, occurs in war names like
'La'lo yah61a, etc.
Tchukotalgi, perhaps consolidated with another gens ; it
stood in a close connection with the Sopaktalgi. Also pro-
nounced Tsu^6di ; Chief Chicote is named after it.
156 THE CREEK INDIANS. -
Odshisalgi hickory nut gens ; 5'dshi hickory nut. Some
believe this gens represented the people of Otchisi town, p.71.
Oktchunualgi salt gens ; oktchunua salt.
Isfanalgi; seems analogous to the Ispani phratry and gens
of the Chicasa.
Wa'hlakalgi ; cf. Hu'li-wa'hli, town name.
Mu^lasalgi ; said to mean " people of Muklasa town "j cf.
Imuklasha, under Cha'hta.
The Creek phratries and their names were not fully re-
membered by my informants. The only points which could
be gathered were, that individuals belonging to the panther
and the wildcat gentes could not intermarry, nor could the
Tchukotalgi with the individuals of the toad gens or
Sopaktalgi. This proves that the two groups formed each a
phratry, which perhaps comprised other gentes besides. It
is possible that among the above totemic gentes some are in
fact phratries and not gentes ; and the two fires (or tutka)
of the Creeks are not real phratries, but formal divisions
only.
CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE TRIBE.
Several gentes, with their families, united into one town or
settlement, live under one chief, and thus constitute a tribe.
The tribe, as far as constituting a politic body governing
itself^ is .called in Creek italua, which could also be rendered
by: community or civil district. Amitaluadshi is " my own
town, where I belong," amitalua "my own country."
, Italua also signifies nation. Another term, talofa, means
town- or village, city as a collection of houses without any
reference to its inhabitants.
The executive officer of each town is the tniko or chief,
formerly called "king" by the whites. His duty is to
superintend all public and domestic concerns, to receive
public characters, to listen to their speeches, the contents of
which were referred to the town, and to "deliver the talks"
of his community. The town elects him for life from a
CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE TRIBE. 157
certain gens. When he becomes sick or old he chooses an
assistant, who is subject to the approval of the counsellors
and head men. When the miko dies the next of kin in the
maternal line succeeds him, usually his nephew, if he is fit
for office.
Next in authority after the miko are the mikalgi and the
counsellors, both of whom form the council of the town.
The council appoints the Great Warrior, approves or rejects
the nominations for a miko's assistant, and gives advice in
law, war or peace questions.
Next in authority after the council is the body of the hini-
halgi, old men and advisers, presided over by the hiniha
'lako. They are in charge of public buildings, supervise the
erection of houses for new settlers, direct the agricultural
pursuits and prepare the black drink. They are the " masters
of ceremonies," and the name hiniha, iniha, which is no
longer understood by the present generation, is said to signify
" self-adorner," in the sense of "warrior embellished with
body paint." Hiniha 'lako, abbreviated into Nia'lako, is
now in use as a personal name, and recalls the name of the
celebrated Seminole chief Neamathla (hiniha ima'la). In
the Hitchiti towns they were comprised among the class of
the beloved men. Before the broken days, nita^atska, they
consulted about the time of the busk, and during the busk
directed the performances.
Beloved men or isti-tch&kalgi follow next in rank after the
above. They are the men who have distinguished themselves
by long public service, especially as war leaders, and the
majority of them were advanced in age. C. Swan states that
the beloved men were formerly called mikalgi in white
towns.
Then follows the common people. For the tustSnuggi
'lako or Great Warrior, cf. "Warrior Class" and "Creek.
Confederacy."
Since Indian character expresses itself in the most pro-
158 • THE CREEK INDIANS.
nounced, self-willed independence, the power of the authori-
ties was more of a persuasive than of a constraining or
commanding nature. This will appear still better when we
speak of the warrior class ; and it may be appropriate to
remember that no man felt himself bound by decrees of a
popular assembly, by edicts of chiefs and their counsellors,
or by treaties concluded by these with alien tribes or govern-
ments. The law exercised by the gens was more powerful
than all these temporary rulings, and, in fact, was the real
motive power in the Indian community.
The distinction between red and white towns is not clearly
remembered now, and there are very few Creeks living who are
able to tell whether such or such a town was red or white. As
soon as the agricultural interests began to prevail over the
military, through the approach of the colonial settlements, this
feature had to disappear, and the social order also changed from
the gens or <pbh\ into that of civitas. Adair,. Hist., p. 1 5 9, seems
inclined to identify the white (or "ancient, holy, old beloved,
peaceable towns ' ') with the ' ' towns of refuge, ' ' one of which
was Kusa.
THE WARRIOR CLASS.
The geographic position of the Creeks in the midst of
warlike and aggressive nations was a powerful stimulant for
making " invincibles" of their male offspring. The ruling
passion was that of war; second to it was that of hunting. A
peculiar incentive was the possession of war-titles, and the
rage for these was as strong among the younger men as that
for plunder among the older. The surest means of ascending
the ladder of honor was the capture of scalps from the enemy,
.and the policy of the red or bloody towns was that of fostering
the warlike spirit by frequent raids and expeditions. In some
towns young men were treated as menials before they had
performed some daring deeds on the battle-field or acquired
.a war title. 1 To become a warrior every young man had to
1 Milfort, MSmoire, p. 251.
THE WARRIOR CLASS. 159
pass through a severe ordeal of privations called fast, puskita,
from the fifteenth to the seventeenth year of his age. This
initiation into manhood usually lasted from four to eight
months, but in certain rare instances could be abridged to
twelve days.
A distinction of a material, not only honorific character
was the election of a warrior to actual command as paka'dsha
or tustenuggi 'lako.
THE CHARGES OF COMMANDERS.
After the young man had passed through the hardships of
his initiation, the career of distinction stood open before
him, for he was now a tassikaya or brave} According to
Hawkins' Sketch, the three degrees of advancement in com-
mand were as follows :
The tassikaya, who after initiation appears qualified for
actual service in the field, and is promising, is appointed,
leader (isti paka'dsha, or paka'dsha) by the miko or chief of
his town. When he distinguishes himself, he obtains a seat
in the central cabin of the public square. When out on the
warpath the leader was called imisi, immissi, q. v., and when
initiated to the faculty of charming the approaching enemy
by physic and songs, ahopaya, q. v.
Warriors of the paka'dsha class, who had repeatedly dis-
tinguished themselves on expeditions, could be promoted,
when a general war was declared, to the charge of upper
leader, isti paka'dsha 'lako, or tustenuggi.
The highest distinction was that of the great warrior,
tustenuggi 'lako, of whom there was one in every town. This
dignitary was appointed by the miko and his counsellors,
and selected by them among the best qualified warriors. His
seat was at the western end of the mikalgi cabin in the
public square. In Milfort's time this dignitary had become
1 Tassik4ya, contr. taskaya, pi. taskialgi — in Cha'hta taska, in Apalache
taskaya, etc.
160 THE CREEK INDIANS.
a civil and military officer, 1 and nowadays his functions are
those of a civil functionary only.
In cases when the towns had resolved upon a general war,
a leader for all the town-tustenuggis was appointed in the
person of a " generalissimo, ' ' called also paka'dsha, tustenuggi,
or tustenuggi 'lako.
Among the Creeks now inhabiting the Indian Territory
the nomenclature has been altered from the above. A young
man is called tassikaya after receiving the war-title and
having some employment during the busk; he becomes
tustenuggi after being declared as such by a vote of his town ;
but in aboriginal times a young man was not called tustenuggi
before he had shown his bravery by the taking of at least one
scalp.
WAR-TITLES.
War-titles are important distinctions bestowed in almost
every part of the world, for military achievements; but, to pre-
serve their distinctive value, are usually conferred only on a
small portion of the warriors. Among the Creeks war-
names are, however, so common that at present one is con-
ferred upon every young man of the people. According to
the old reports, a Creek warrior of the eighteenth century
could obtain a war-title only after taking one or several
scalps, but the traditions current among the modern Creeks
are silent on this point. In earlier days many warriors had
several, even four or five of these titles (tassikaya inhotchif ka),
and when participants of a war party were present in numbers
at the taking of a scalp, each of them obtained a war-title
according to the report of the fight made by the paka'dsha
on his return home. The war-titles were not always, though
most frequently, conferred upon the warriors during the
busk, or within the square.
Chief Chicote informs me, that the names in question were
1 Milfort, Memoire, p. 237 : " Aujourd'hui il est le premier chef de la
nation pour le civil et pour le militaire."
WAR TITLES. 161
distributed by the "beloved men" or ist'-atsakalgi while
sitting in their cabins or arbors on two opposite sides of the
square. The ist'-atsakalgi called out young men from the
side opposite to them, and imparted one of the five titles to
be mentioned below, according to their free choice, and
simultaneously intrusted each with some office connected
with the busk. These offices consisted either in sweeping the
area or in carrying water, in building and keeping up the
fire in the centre, in setting up the medicine-pots or in help-
ing to prepare black drink. War-titles and busk-offices were
formerly given also to such who had never joined a war party.
The use of the other name, which every man had obtained
during childhood, was prohibited within the square.
To the five war-titles below, the totem of the gens was
often added, so that, for instance, one of the yaholalgi, who
offered the black drink, could be called itcho yahola hadsho, or
y. miko, y. fiksiko, etc. It is said, that anciently some titles
were limited to certain clans only. The idea that advance-
ment by degree was connected with these titles is an erroneous
inference from our own military institutions. Although
regarded as war-names at the present time, they seem to
have been mere busk-titles from the beginning, and are such
even now. In connection with itcho deer, a gens name, they
are as follows :
itcho tassikaya deer warrior.
itcho hadsho tassikaya deer crazy (foolish, mad, drunken)
■warrior.
itcho fiksiko tassikaya deer heartless warrior.
itcho yahola tassikaya deer hallooing warrior.
itcho ima"la tassikaya deer {leading f) warrior.
Other war-titles were : hola'hta tustenuggi, miko tustenuggi,
hiniha, hiniha 'lako. Inhola'hti, plur. inhola/tagi figures in
war-titles, but stands in no connection with the busk. The
appellation of immikagi comprehends all the men of that
gens from which the miko in the town ceremonies, not the
162 THE CREEK INDIANS.
miko as a political office-holder, is selected. The pronoun
im-, in-, i- in all these names (ihinihalgi, intastena^algi,
etc.), signifies that they "belong to the miko" of the tribal
ceremonies.
War-titles should be clearly distinguished from war-names
and other names. Any of the nine appellations contained in
the item above, and any name composed with one of them,
is a war-title ; all others, as Old Red Shoe, are simply names
or war-names. Women and boys never had but one name,
and whenever a warrior had, by successive campaigns, five
or six honorific titles conferred upon him, he became gen-
erally known by one or two of these only.
These names and war-titles are highly important for the
study of Creek ethnography, and have been already referred
to in the chapter on gentes. A brief list of war-names of
influential men is contained in Major C. Swan's Report, as
follows •}
" Hallowing King (Kawita) ; White Lieutenant (Okfuski) ;
Mad Dog (Tukabatchi miko) ; Opilth miko (Big Talahassi) ;
Dog Warrior (Naktche); Old Red Shoe (Alibamu and Koas-
sati). To these may be added the " dog king," Tamhuidshi,
of the Hitchiti, mentioned in the prooemium of the legend,
and " a war-leader, the son of the dog -king of the Huphale
town." 2 The Cha'hta war-titles frequently end in -abi, -api :
killer ; cf. the Creek term poyas, tip6yas I kill."
The Creeks often conferred war-titles on white men of note,
and made Milfort, who became a relative of the chief McGil-
livray by marriage, the chief warrior of the nation. The
ceremonies performed on that occasion are described at
length by himself. 8
1 1791 — Schoolcraft, Indians, V, 263.
2 Adair, History, p. 278.
» Milfort, Memoire, p. 41 sqq., 220 sqq. The council of the
nation, assembled at Tukabatchi, conferred this charge on him in May
1780.
WAR TITLES. 163
We give a few instances of historical and recent Creek
war-names and war-titles : —
Abi/kudshi miko, Hutalg'-ima'la, Kawita tustenuggi, all
members of the Creek " House of Kings."
Assi yahola " the black drink hallooer j" Osceola, chief.
Hiniha 'lako hupayi "great hiniha charmer," a Creek
leader in the battle at Atasi and other engagements.
Hopu-i hl'l'-miko "good child-chief."
Hopu-i hi'li yah61a "handsome child yah61a"; a Creek
chief.
Hu'li 'ma'hti "war-leader," a frequently occurring war-
name; 'ma'hti is abbreviated from homa^ti.
Hutalgi miku "chief from wind gens;" is chief of Taskigi
town.
Ifa hadsho, or "dog warrior"; cf. Hawkins, p. 80.
Ispahidshi, name of a headman, and usually spelt Spie-
chee: "whooping, brawling" while taking off the
scalp.
Katsa hadsho " tiger-hadsho," a Seminole chief, erro-
neously called Tigertail.
Kosisti, abbr. Kosti; occurs in Kosti fiksiko, etc. The
signification is lost, but we may compare the town
Acostehe, visited by de Soto's army in coming south
from the Cheroki country.
'Lawa^aiki "lying in ambush; creeping up clandestinely."
Miko ima'la " chief leader. "
Nfikusi ili tchapko "long-footed bear," war- name of S. B.
Callahan, Creek delegate, to the United States Gov-
ernment.
Sutak'ha^ki "men fighting in a line."
Talua' fiksiko "heartless town;" presently judge of the
Wiwu^ka district, I. T.
Tassikaya miku "chief warrior;" president House of
Kings.
U^taha.-sasi hadsho "sandy-place hadsho;" chief.
164 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Waksi, Cha'hta term referring to the drawing up of the
prepuce. . Occurs in Waksi hola'hta and other Creek
titles, perhaps also in the tribal name of the Waxsaws
on Santee river, S. C, and in Waxahatchi, town in
Alabama. The name conveyed the idea of a low,
unmanly behavior, but had no obscene meaning.
Other nations regard epithets like these (iiciXXat, verpt")
as highly injurious, and load their enemies with them,
as the Tchiglit-Inuit do the Tinn6 Indians of the
interior: taordshioit, ortcho-todsho-eitut. 1
WAR-CUSTOMS AND TACTICS.
A few notes on the war-customs of the Creeks, which
resembled those of most Southern tribes, may be useful for
shedding light on the early migrations of the people and
upon the tactics observed in their campaigns.
The principal motive for Indian wars being the conquest
of scalps, slaves, plunder and hunting grounds, the Creeks,
conscious of their great power, were not very particular in
finding causes for warfare, and did not even advance specious
reasons for declaring war. Thus, Adair gives as the true
cause of a long war between the Creeks and Cheroki, the
killing and scalping of two Chicasa hunters by a Shawano
" brave." This man took refuge among the Cheroki people,
and war was declared to them by the Creeks, because they
then had concluded a war alliance with the Chicasa (History,
p. 278).
It is rather improbable that a declaration of war always
preceded the attack, for the advance into the hostile
territory was made clandestinely 2 ; but the resolution- of
starting upon the warpath was heralded in the towns with
1 E. Petitot, Tchiglit, preface p. xi.
2 The Timucua of Florida declared war by sticking up arrows in the
ground around the town or camp of the enemy on the evening before the
attack (Ren6 de Laudonniere, " Histoire Notable").
WAR-CUSTOMS AND TACTICS. " 165
great ceremonies. Of these we shall speak under the heading :
Confederacy.
The Creeks of old were in the habit of carrying on their
warfare chiefly in small bodies, like other Indian tribes.
Small commands are better enabled to surprise the enemy or
his camps in clandestine or night attacks, or to cut off hostile
warriors, than large ones. There are instances that the
Creeks formed war-parties of four men only. Their leader
was then styled imisi, immissi or " the one carrying it for
them," this term referring to the battle-charm or war-physic.
War-parties of forty to sixty men are mentioned also.
When warriors started for the." field of honor" in larger
or smaller bodies, they were led by a commander (paka'dsha)
who simultaneously was an ahopaya or hopaya, " charmer at
a distance.' 1 Men of this order had, like other warriors, to
undergo, while quite young, a severe course of initiation
into manhood, which also comprised instructions in herb-
physicking. To become initiated they camped away from
other people, and had for their only companion the old con-
juror, who for four months initiated them and taught them
the incantations intended to act as charms upon the enemy.
To begin with, a fast of either four or eight days and the
eating of certain bitter weeds was prescribed, to purify the
system and to prepare the youth for a ready comprehension
of the objects of tuition. The whole process was sometimes
repeated for another four months, in the spring of the year
following, and differed in every town. The knowledge thus
acquired, it was believed, imparted to the person a full con-
juring power and charmer's influence over the antagonist,
and enabled him to conquer the hostile warriors at a distance
(hupa-i) and before reaching them, or to make them come
near enough for easy capture.
When the Great Warrior started on the warpath he gave
notice to the participants where he would strike camp that
night, and then set out, sometimes with one or two men
166 THE CREEK INDIANS.
only. A war-whoop and the discharge of his gun were the
signals of his departure, and were responded to by his fol-
lowers by acting in the same manner. The other warriors took
their time, and went to rejoin him one or two days after.
A man taking part in a war-expedition was called hu'li-a'la.
A war party always proceeded in Indian file, each man
stepping into the footprints of the foregoing; to prevent the
enemy from knowing their number. This explains also the
episode of the legend referring to the tracks lost in the bottom
of the river, q. v. 1 The tracks, footprints, strokes of hatchets
visible on the bark of trees, etc., differed in every American
tribe. Among the Creeks the last man in the file often
sought to cover the tracks by placing grass upon them. A
considerable force of scouts hovered around the marching
file, to prevent surprises ; the leader marched at the head of
the file.
The attack was made in true Indian and savage fashion,
before daybreak. The warriors crept up as silently as pos-
sible, tried to dart their missiles from secret spots, and
never exposed their bodies to the enemy when they could
cover them by some eminence or rock, tree or bush. The
leader took a position in the rear. The Chicasa Indians
continually taunted the colonial troops upon the fearless but
useless exposure of their men to the battle-fire of the wary
Indian braves. Milfort relates that his men fought nude,
because they had noticed that the fragments of clothing
entering the body with the point of the missile rendered the
wound much more dangerous than the missile itself.
When making prisoners the Creeks habitually spared only
the lives of children, killing mercilessly the adult males and
females. They even burnt many of them at the stake, and
Milfort claims that this barbaric custom was abandoned
only through his influence (Mem., pp. 219-220).
1 Milfort, Mem., p. 217. 218. Walking through watercourses neces-
sarily destroyed all vestiges of a marching body of warriors.
WAR-CUSTOMS AND TACTICS. 167
The food on which they subsisted, on their expeditions,
was pounded maize, contained in a small bag, which they
carried upon their bodies.
The encampments for the night (hapu) were round-shaped,
every man lying in contiguity to another in a circle, and
leaving only a small issue, which was guarded by the com-
mander. After the commander's signal no one was allowed
to move from his place. The same order was observed when
the army halted during the day, and the same arrangement
is conspicuous in the campings of the Southern Dakota tribes,
as Iowa, Ponka, Uga^pa, etc.
A graphic description of southern war-camps is found in
B. Romans, Florida, p. 65 : "A Choctaw war-camp is cir-
cular, with a fire in the centre, and each man .has a crutched
branch at his head to hang his powder and shot upon and
to set his gun against, and the feet of all to the fire; a
Cherokee war-camp is a long line of fire, against which they
also lay their feet. A Choctaw makes his camp, in traveling,
in form of a sugar loaf; a Chicasa makes it in form of our
arbours ; a Creek like to our sheds or piazzas, to a timber-
house. ' ' The Creek war-camps in the woods were constructed
in such a manner that the exact number of the party could
at once be ascertained. 1
After their return the warriors placed the scalps in the
public square, or divided them among their acquaintances.
Anciently the privilege of raising the scalp-pole (itu tchati)
belonged to two tribes only, the Kasi^ta and the Kawita. 2
The cause for this is shown in our half-mythic migration
legend. The tradition that the custom of scalping was but
recently imported among the Creeks from the Northern
Indians was manufactured for a purpose, and invented by
many other tribes also, to appear more human in the eyes
of the white settlers. Scalping and the drying of scalps had
1 Swan, in Schoolcraft V, 280.
1 Cf. Hu'li-Wa'hli, and the name of this town.
168 THE CREEK INDIANS.
been observed in 'Florida as early as 1564 by Ren<§ de Lau-
donniere.
ORGANIZATION OF THE CONFEDERACY.
The Creek confederacy, or "league of the Muscogulgee"
was a purely political organization connecting the various
and disparate elements, which composed it, for common
action against external aggression. It had no direct influence
on the social organization of the tribes, and the most appro-
priate term for this, and other Indian confederacies as well,
is that of war-confederacy, war-league or symmachy. In
Creek the Maskoki confederacy is called isti Maskdki imiti-
halatka.
To call this loose assemblage of towns and tribes a military
democracy, in the sense that the majority of the votes decided
a question brought before the people in a manner that was
binding for the citizens, is entirely wrong and misleading,
for Indians regard their actions subject to their own decisions
only, or, at the utmost, to those of their individual gens.
Every Creek town or individual could go on the warpath or
stay at home, in -spite of any wish or decree issued by the
chiefs or assembled warriors. The young warriors, anxious
to obtain fame and war-titles, joined the war-parties on the
call of a leader. In questions of war unanimity was seldom
attained in the council of a town, much less in the whole
nation; "it is not recollected by the oldest man, that more
than one-half of the nation went to war at.the same time or
'took the war-talk.'"
"When the miko and his councillors are of opinion that
the town has been injured, the Great Warrior lifts the war-
hatchet, atasi, against the offending nation. But as soon as
it is taken up, the miko and his council may interpose, and
by their prudent counsels stop it, and proceed to adjust the
misunderstanding by negotiation. If the Great Warrior per-
sists and ' goes out,' he is followed by all who are for war."
These words, quoted from the "Sketch" of the United
ORGANIZATION OF THE CONFEDERACY. 169
States agent, B. Hawkins, plainly show, that the initiative
for war rested with the civil authority, and not with the
military. But it is possible that Hawkins speaks of white or
peace-towns only, and not of the red towns (p. 72). He
continues as follows :
"Peace is always determined on and concluded by the
m.iko and councillors, and peace-talks are always addressed
to the cabin of the miko. In some cases, where the resent-
ment of the warriors has run high, the miko and council have
been much embarrassed."
All this proves that every town had the privilege to begin
warfare for itself, independent of the confederacy, provided
that the civil government consented to the undertaking.
This fact plainly shows the perfect independence of the
Indian tribe from the war-confederacy, and forms a striking
contrast to our ideas of a centralized state power. In some
instances the Creek towns left their defensive position to act
on the offensive principle, but they were not sustained then
by the Maskoki confederacy.
The chief of the confederacy had to advise only, and not
to command ; he was of influence only when endowed with
superior talent and political ability. The chief and principal
warriors had annual meetings in the public square of some
central town, on public affairs ; they drank assi, exchanged
tobacco, and then proceeded to debate. Time and place of
these conventions were fixed by a chief, and the space of time
between warning and that of assembly was called " broken
days." Major C. Swan, after whose report this passage is
quoted (Schoolcraft V, 279) states that the title of the chief of
the confederacy was the great beloved man, while Milfort, who
was himself invested with the charge of great warrior of the
nation, styles him " Le Tastanegy ou grand chef de guerre,"
adding, however, that in his time he was the highest authority
in civil and military affairs (Memoire, Note to p. 237). The
English, French and Spaniards frequently called him the
12
170 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Emperor of the Upper and Lower Creeks, a term which is
not entirely misapplied when taken in its original sense of
"military commander," the imperator of the Romans.
At a later period the meeting of the confederacy usually
took place at Tukabatchi, which had become the lafrgest
community. From the above it results, however, that the
Creeks had no capital town in the sense as we use this term.
Col. B. Hawkins, who attempted to introduce some unity
among the towns for the purpose of facilitating the transac-
tion of business of the nation, and their intercourse with the
United States Government, proposed various measures, as the
classing of the towns into nine districts ; these were adopted
at Tukabatchi by the chiefs of the nation, on November 27th,
1799. 1
The small degree of respect which the Creek towns paid
to international treaties (sitimfatchita) or other solemn engage-
ments made with the whites, as sales of territory, etc., is
another proof for the looseness of the "powerful Creek con-
federacy." After giving, a list of six influential headmen of
different towns, Major C. Swan declares that a treaty made
with these chiefs would probably be communicated to all the
people of the country, and be believed and relied upon
(Schoolcraft V, 263). Subsequent events have shown this to
be founded on a misapprehension of the Indian character,
which is that of the most outspoken individuality.
Major C. Swan, who only traveled through the country to
leave it again, makes the following interesting statement
concerning the political and social status of the disparate
tribes composing the Creek confederacy (179 1 ; in School-
craft V, 259. 260) :
" Their numbers have increased faster by the acquisition
of foreign subjects than by the increase of the original stock.
It appears long to have been a maxim of their policy to give
equal liberty and protection to tribes conquered by them-
1 Cf. his Sketch, pp. 51. 52. 67. 68.
THE PUBLIC SQUARE. 171
selves, as well as to those vanquished by others, although
many individuals taken in war are slaves among them, and
their children are called of the slave race, ,and cannot arrive
to much honorary distinction in the country, on that
account."
THE PUBLIC SQUARE.
All the Creek towns, viz., the more populous settlements,
had laid out a square-shaped piece of ground in or near their
central part. It contained the only public buildings of the
town, the great house and the council-house, and, as an
appurtenance, the play-ground. The square was the focus
of the public and social life of the town ; its present Creek
name, intchuka' 'lako, is taken from the "great house" as its
principal portion.
From the eighteenth century we possess three descriptions
of the square and the ceremonies enacted in it, which are
entering into copious details; that of W. Bartram, describing
the square of Atasi town (about 1775); that of C. Swan,
describing that of Odshi-ap6fa, or the Hickory Ground (1 791),
and last, but not least, the description of the square at Kawita,
by B. Hawkins (1 799). All the towns differed somewhat in
the structure of the great house and of the council-house,
but in the subsequent sketch we shall chiefly dwell upon those
points in which they all seem to agree. Public squares still
exist at the present time in some of the pure-blood towns of
the Creek nation, Indian Territory, and the busk, in its
ancient, though slightly modified form, is annually celebrated
in them. The ground-plan of the square at the Hickory
Ground is represented in Schoolcraft's Indians V, 264.
Of other buildings destined for public use I have found no
mention, except of granaries or corn-cribs, which were under
the supervision of the miko.
'Wit great house, tchuku 'lako, also called "town-house,"
"public square," like the square in the midst of which it
was placed, was formed by four one-story buildings of equal
172 THE CREEK INDIANS.
size, facing inward, and enclosing a square area of about
thirty feet on each side. 1 They were generally made to face
the east, west, north and south.
These buildings, which had the appearance of sheds, con-
sisted of a wooden frame, supported on posts set in the
ground and covered with slabs. They were made of the
same material as their dwelling houses, but differed by having
the front facing the square open, and the walls of the back
sides had an open space of two feet or more next to the eaves,
to admit a circulation of air. Each house was divided into
three apartments, separated by low partitions of clay, making
a total of twelve partitions. These apartments, called cabins
(t6pa) had three 2 seats, or rather platforms, being broad
enough to sleep upon ; the first of them was about two feet
from the ground, the second eight feet above the first, and
the third or back seat eight feet above the second. Over the
whole of these seats was spread a covering of cane-mats, as
large as carpets. They were provided with new coverings
every year, just before the busk ; and since the old covers
were not removed, they had in the majority of the squares
eight to twelve coverings, laid one above the other. Milfort
states that each cabin could seat from forty to sixty persons
.(Memoire, p. 203).
Caleb Swan, who, in his above description of the cabins
'in the square, copied the original seen at Odshi-ap6fa or
'Little Talassie, where he stopped, differs in several particu-
lars, especially in the allotment of the cabins to the authori-
ties, from Hawkins, who resided in Kawita. Swan assigns
.the eastern building to the beloved men, the southern to the
warriors, the northern to the second men, etc., while the
.western building served for keeping the apparatus for cooking
black drink, war physic, and to store lumber. According to
1 Hawkins says : Forty by sixteen feet, eight feet pitch, the entrance
at each corner (p. 68).
• 2 Hawkins: two seats.
THE PUBLIC SQUARE. 173
Hawkins, the western building, fronting east, contained the
mikos and high-ranked people; the northern building was
the warriors'; the southern that of the beloved men, and the
eastern that of the young people and their associates. "The
cabin of the great chief faces east," says Milfort, p. 203, "to
indicate that he has to watch the interests of his nation con-
tinually. ' ' The three cabins of the mlkalgi or old men, facing
west, are the only ones painted white, and are always orna-
mented with guirlands (at Kawita). On the post, or on a
plank over each cabin, are painted the emblems of the gens
to which it is allotted ; thus the buffalo gens have the buffalo
painted on it.
From the roofs were dangling on the inside heterogeneous
emblems of peace and trophies of war, as eagles' feathers,
swans' wings, wooden scalping knives, war clubs, red-painted
wands, bunches of hoops on which to dry their scalps, bundles
of a war-physic called snake-root {sinika in Cheroki), bas-
kets, etc. Rude paintings of warriors' heads with horns,
horned rattlesnakes, horned alligators, etc., were visible
upon the smooth posts and timbers supporting the great
house. In the "painted squares" of some of the red or war-
towns the posts and smooth timber were painted red, with
white or black edges, this being considered as a mark of
high distinction. Other privileged towns possessed a covered
square, by which term is meant a bridging over of the entrance
spaces left between the four buildings by means of canes laid
on poles.
In the centre of the area of the "great house " a perpetual
fire was burning, fed by four logs, and kept up by public
ministrants especially appointed for the purpose. The inside
area is called impask6fa, "dedicated ground."
The "square" was hung over with green boughs, in sign
of mourning, when a man died in the town; no black
drink was then taken for four days. When an Indian was
killed who belonged to a town which had a square, black
174 THE CREEK INDIANS.
drink had to be taken on the outside of the square, and every
ceremony was suspended until the outrage was atoned for.
To each great house belonged a black drink cook, and from
the young warriors two or three men were appointed to
attend to those who took this liquid every morning ; they
called the townspeople to this ceremony by beating drums
(C. Swan).
After the close of their council-meeting in the council-
house, the miko, his councillors and warriors repaired to
the chiefs cabin in the "great house." They met there
every day, drank the assi or black drink, continued delibera-
tions on public and domestic affairs, attended to complaints
and redressed them; then conversed about news while
smoking, or amused themselves at playing "roll the bullet"
in a sort of ten-pin alley. The name of this game is 'li-i
tchallitchka. Bartram, p. 453, states that the chiefs cabin
at Atasi was of a different construction from the three other
buildings.
But besides being the central point of the town for all
meetings of a public character, the great house was the festive
place for the annual busk and the daily dance ; it occasionally
served as a sleeping place for Indians passing through the
town on their travels. The special locations allotted to the
persons in authority and the gentes on the cabin-sheds are
described under the heading : The annual busk.
The council-house or tchukofa 'lako stood on a circular
mound or eminence, in close contiguity to the northeast
corner of the "great house." It is variously called by
travelers :■ hot-house, sudatory, assembly-room, winter council-
house, mountain-house, 1 or, from its circular shape, rotunda.
Its appearance is generally described as that of a huge cone
placed on an octagonal frame about twelve feet high, and
covered with tufts of bark. Its diameter was from twenty-five
to thirty feet, and in the larger towns the building could
1 Adair, History, p. 421.
THE PUBLIC SQUARE. 175
accommodate many hundred persons. 1 Its perpendicular
walls were made of thick posts, daubed with clay on the
outside. Contiguous to the walls, one broad circular seat,
made of cane-mats, was going around the structure on the
inside, and in the centre the fire was burning on a small
elevation of the ground. The fuel consisted of dry cane or
dry pine slabs spKt fine ; and, as if it were to give a concrete
image of the warming rays of the sun, these split canes were
disposed in a spiral line which exhibited several revolutions
around the centre. No opening was provided for the escape
of the smoke or the admission of fresh air, and the building
soon became intolerably hot ; but at dance-feasts the natives
danced around the fire in the terrible heat and dust, without
the least apparent inconvenience. 2
The council-house served, to some extent, the same pur-
poses as the "great house," but was more resorted to in the
inclement season than in summer. Every night during winter
the old and young visited it for conversation or dance, and
in very cold weather the old and destitute went there to
sleep. In all seasons it was the assembly-room of the miko
and his counsellors for deliberations of a private character ;
there they decided upon punishments to be inflicted, as whip-
ping etc., and entrusted the Great Warrior with the execution
of the sentences. Previous to a war-expedition the young
men visited the hot-house for four days, prepared and drank
their war-physic, and sang their war- and charm-songs under
the leadership of conjurers. 8 Milfort was installed into the
charge of "Great Warrior of the Nation" in the Kawlta
council-house by solemn orations, the smoking of the pipe,
1 Hawkins, Sketch, p. 71, Bartram, Travels, p. 448 sqq.
2 Bartram states that the Creek rotundas were of the same archi-
tecture as those of the Cheroki, but of much larger dimensions : Travels,
p. 449.
3 Hawkins, Sketch, p. 79.
176 THE CREEK INDIANS.
the drinking of the assi-decoct and other ceremonies, 1 and
then conducted to the- "great house. "-
When the natives gathered in this structure for sweating,
either for promoting their health or as a religious ceremony,
they developed steam by throwing water on heated stones,
then danced around the fire, and went to plunge into the
chilling waves of the river flowing past their town.
The play-ground occupied the northwestern angle of the
public square, and formed an oblong segment of it, of rather
irregular shape. It was made distinct from the rest of the
square by one or two low embankments or terraces ; in its
centre stood, on a low circular mound, a four-sided pole or
pillar, sometimes forty feet high. A mark fastened on its
top served at appointed times as a target to shoot at with
rifles or arrows. Around the pole the floor of the yard was
beaten solid.
The play-ground, ta'dshu in Creek, was called by the white
traders chunkey-yard, chunk-yard, from the principal game
played in it. This game, the chunkey- or tchungke-game,
consisted in throwing a pole after the chunke, a rounded
stone which was set rolling upon its edge. Cf. Adair, Hist.,
p. 401. 402. There was also a sort of ball play in use among
the Creeks and many other Indian tribes, by which a ball
(puku) was aimed at an object suspended on the top of a
high pole, or, as it is played now, at the top of two twin
poles (puk-abi), called sometimes "maypoles." In summer
time dances were also performed in this yard, and Bartram
saw "at the corner of each farther end a slave-post or strong
stake, where the captives that are burnt alive are bound." 2
1 Milfort, Memoire, p. 211. 2 Travels, p. 518.
THE ANNUAL BUSK. 177
THE ANNUAL BUSK.
The solemn annual festival held by the Creek people of
ancient and modern days is the puskita, a word now passed
into provincial English (busk); its real meaning is that of
a fast. In the more important towns it lasted eight days ; in
towns of minor note four days only, and its celebration differed
in each town in some particulars. The day on which to begin it
was fixed by the miko and his council, and depended on the
maturity of the maize crop and on various other circumstances.
Its celebration took place mainly in the "great house"
of the public square, and from Hawkins' description, who
saw it celebrated in Kasi^ta, 1 we extract the following par-
ticulars :
In the morning of thejirst day the warriors clean the area
of the great house and sprinkle it with white sand, at the
time when the black drink is being prepared. The fire in
the centre is made by friction, very early in the day, by a
ministrant especially appointed for the purpose, called the
fire-maker. Four logs, as long as the span of both arms, are
brought to the centre of the area by the warriors, and laid
down end to end, so as to form a cross. Each end of this
cross points to one of the cardinal points of the compass.
At the spot where the logs converge, the new fire is kindled
and the logs are consumed during the first four days of the
puskita. The women of the turkey gens dance the turkey-
dance, pinua opanga, while the powerful emetic pa'ssa is
being brewed. It is drank from noon to mid-afternoon,
after which the tadpole-dance, tokiulka opanga, is danced
by four males and four females, who are called the tokiulka
or tadpoles. In the evening the men dance the dance
of the hiniha: hiniha opanga, and continue it till day-
light.
The second day begins with the performance of the gun-
dance, itch'ha opanga, danced by females about ten o'clock
1 Remember well that Kasijjfta is a white or peace town.
178 THE CREEK INDIANS.
in the forenoon. 1 At noon the men approach the new fire,
rub some of its ashes on the chin, neck and belly, jump head
foremost into the river, and then return to the great house.
Meanwhile the females prepare the new maize for the feast,
and the men on arriving rub some of it between their hands,
then on their face and breast, after which feasting begins.
The third day the men pass by sitting in the square.
On the fourth day the women rise early to obtain a spark
of the new fire ; they bring it to their own hearths, which
were previously cleaned and sprinkled with sand, and then
kindle their fires on them. When the first four logs are
consumed, the men repeat the ceremony of rubbing the ashes
on their chin, neck and belly, and then plunge into water.
Subsequently they taste salt and dance the long dance, opanga
tchapko.
The fifth day is devoted to the bringing in of four other
logs, which are disposed and kindled as aforementioned, and
then the men drink assi.
On the sixth and seventh day the men remain in the "great
house."
The ceremonies of the eighth or last day in the square and
outside of it are of a peculiarly impressive character. Four-
teen species of physic plants are placed in two pots containing
water, then stirred and beaten up in it. After the aliktchalgi
or conjurers have blown into the mixture through a small
reed, the men drink of the liquid and rub it over their joints
till afternoon. The names of the medical plants were as
follows :
i. miko huyanl'tcha.
2. t61a or sweet bay.
3. atchina or cedar (the leaves of it).
4. kapapaska, a shrub with red berries.
1 The dance is called so, because the men fire off guns during its
performance; another name for this dance is taputska opanga; cf.
tapodshidshas I am shooting.
THE ANNUAL BUSK. 179
5. tchul'-issa; signifies: "pine-leaves."
6. atak'la lasti, a shrub with black berries.
7. tutka hilissiia, the " fircphysic. "
8. tchufi insakka afaga, " rabbit-basket-string, ' ' a vine-like
plant resembling the strawberry plant.
9. tchfifi masi, a species of cane.
10. hilissua hatki, the "white physic "; abbrev. hilis'-hatki.
11. tutka tchokishi, a moss species.
12. u-i lani, " yellow water ": the Jerusalem oak.
13. oktchanatchku, a rock-moss.
14. koha lowagi "switch cane, limber cane."
To these plants the modern Creeks add, as a fifteenth one,
the pa'ssa ; cf. below.
Then another singular mixture is prepared, of which the
ingredients must have been of symbolic significance : Old
maize cobs and pine burs are placed in a pot and burned to
ashes. Four girls below the age of puberty bring ashes from
home, put them in the pot, and stir up all together, after
which the men mix white clay with water in two pans. One
pan of the wet clay and another of the ashes are brought to
the miko's cabin, the other two to that of the warriors, who
rub themselves with the contents of both. Two men appointed
to that office then bring flowers of "old man's tobacco," isti
atchuli pakpagi, prepared on the first day of the busk, in a
pan 10 the miko's cabin, and a particle of it is given to every
person present. Upon this the miko and his councillors
walk four times around the burning logs, throwing some of
the "old man's tobacco" into the fire each time they face the
east, and then stop while facing the west. The warriors then
repeat the same ceremony.
At the miko's cabin a cane having two white feathers on
its end is stuck out. At the moment when the sun sets, a
man of the fish gens takes it down, and walks, followed by
all spectators, toward the river. Having gone half way, he
utters the death-whoop, and repeats it four times before he
180 THE CREEK INDIANS.
reaches the water's edge. After the crowd has thickly con-
gregated at the bank, each person places a grain of "old
man's tobacco " on the head and others in each ear. Then,
at a signal repeated four times, they throw some of it into
the river, and every man, at a like signal, plunges into the
water, to pick up four stones from the bottom. With these
they cross themselves on their breasts four times, each time
throwing one of the stones back into the river and uttering
the death-whoop. Then they wash themselves, take up the
cane with the feathers, return to the great house, where they
stick it up, then walk through the town visiting.
The mad dance, opanga hadsho, is performed after night-
fall, and this terminates the long ceremony.
The celebration of the puskita had a favorable influence
upon the minds of the people, for it was a signal of amnesty,
absolving the Indian of all crimes, murder excepted, and
seemed to bury guilt itself in oblivion. All former quarrels
and hatred were forgotten and man restored to himself and
to the community. Indians renewing past quarrels after this
solemn festival, were severely reprimanded by others. This
change of mind was symbolized by the custom of the women
of breaking to pieces all the household utensils of the past
year, and replacing them by new ones ; the men refitted all
their property so as to look new, and it was considered
extremely disgraceful, even for the most indigent, to eat any
of the new maize before the annual busk (Sketch, pp. 75-78). 1
The foregoing sketch would be incomplete without the
addition of another account of a four days' puskita, which C.
Swan witnessed at Odshi-ap6fa, near the confluence of the
Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers ; it explains and amplifies many
of the incidents related by Hawkins.
1 For further particulars of the medicine-plants, see the items in the
Notes and in the Creek Glossary.
THE ANNUAL BUSK. 181
The account inserted in Swan's article (Schoolcraft, Indians
V, 267. 268) is signed "Anthony Alex. M'Gillivray," who was
then a chief of the nation, and related by marriage to Milfort.
We gather from his statements, that at Odshi-ap&fa or
"Hickory Ground," which is a white town also, the " priest,
or fire-maker of the town" had the privilege of determining
the days of the busk, and that in doing so he was led by the
ripening of the maize-crop and by the growth of the cassine-
shrub. At the break of the first day he went to the square,
unattended by others, dressed in white leather moccasins and
stockings, with a white dressed deer-skin over his shoulders,
and produced there the new fire, by the friction of two dry
pieces of wood. When the spark was blazing up, four young
men entered the area at the openings of its four corners, each
holding a stick of wood ; they approached the new fire with
high reverence, and placed the ends of their sticks to it " in
a very formal manner." Then four other young men came
forward in the same manner, each holding an ear of the
newly-ripened Indian corn, which the conjurer took from
them and with formalities threw into the fire. Then four
other men entered the square in the same manner, car-
rying branches of the new cassine, some of which the priest
threw into the fire, the rest being immediately parched
and cooked for ceremonial use. The mysterious jargon which
he muttered during this ceremonial act was supposed to form a
conversation with the great "master of breath."
The male population having in the meantime gathered in
the cabins, the prepared black drink is served to them, and
sparks of the new fire are carried and left outside the build-
ings for public use. The women bring it to their homes,
which they have cleaned and decorated the day before for
the occasion by extinguishing the old fires and removing
their ashes throughout the town. They are forbidden to
step into the square, but dance with the children on its
outside. On the second day the men take their war-physic,
182 THE CREEK INDIANS.
a decoction of the button-snake root, in such quantities as
would produce strong spasmodic effects. The third day is
spent by the older men in the square, in taking black drink,
etc., by the young men in hunting or fishing for the last day
of the festival. The females pass the first three days in
bathing, and it is unlawful for the males to touch any of them
even with the tip of the finger. Both sexes are compelled
to abstain rigidly from any food, especially from salt. The
fourth day all classes congregate in the "great house"
promiscuously; the game killed on the previous day is
given to the public, and the women are cooking the provi-
sions brought in from all sides, over the new fire. After this
convivial day the evening dances conclude the annual fest-
ivity. Any provisions left over are given to the "fire- maker."
Less circumstantial descriptions of this curious ceremony,
which is frequently called from analogy the "green corn
dance," are contained in Adair's History, Argument VIII, in
Bartram, Travels, pp. 507. 508, in Milfort and many other
writers. It appears from all that the busk is not a solstitial
celebration, but a rejoicing over the first fruits of the year.
The new year begins with the busk, which is celebrated in
August or late in July. Every town celebrated its busk at a
period independent from that of the other towns, whenever
their crops had come to maturity.
Religious ideas were connected with the festival, for the
benefits imparted to mankind by the new fruits were the gifts
of the sun, which was symbolized by the fire burning in the
centre of the square. The new .fire meant the new life,
physical and moral, which had to begin with the new year.
Everything had to be new or renewed ; even the garments
worn heretofore were given to the flames. The pardon
granted to offenders gave them a chance to begin a new
and better course of life. It was unlawful to pass between
the fire in the area and the rising sun, for this would have
interrupted the mystic communication existing between the
FURTHER ETHNOGRAPHIC NOTES. 183
two. The rigorous fasting observed also fitted the people
to prepare for a new moral life, and made them more recep-
tive for the supernatural ; the convivial scene which closed
the busk typified the idea that all men, whether low or high,
are born brethren. The black, drink was the symbol of puri-
fication from wickedness, of prowess in war and of friendship
and hospitality.
Although the ritual of the busk differed in every Creek
tribe, many analogies can be traced with well-known cus-
toms among the Aztec and Maya nations, whose "unlucky
five days" at the year's close equally terminated with rejoic-
ings, as the precursors of a new life.
FURTHER ETHNOGRAPHIC NOTES.
Abundant material for the study of ethnography is on hand
for the earlier and later periods of the Creek nation ; but'
here we have to restrict ourselves to some points which are
especially adapted to the illustration of the migration legends.
TheTrelation of husband to wife and family being the founda-
tion of all tribal, social and political life, should certainly
be treated as fully as it deserves, but in this context only
incident notes can be given on this subject.
Condition of Females. — Although succession among all
Maskoki tribes was in the female line, the females occupied
a subordinate condition among the Creeks, and in their
households were subjected, like those of other Indians, to a
life of drudgery. Divorces were of frequent occurrence.
On the first days of the busk females were not permitted
to enter the area of the square, nor were they admitted to
the council-house whenever the men were sitting in council
or attending to the conjurer's performances. The women
were assigned a bathing place in the river- currents at some
distance below the men. It is also stated that a woman had
the privilege of killing her offspring during the first lunation
after the birth, but when she did so after that term she was
184' THE CREEK INDIANS.
put to death herself. 1 This may have been the practice in a
few Creek tribes, but it is doubtful that such was the general
law in all, except in regard to illegitimate offspring.
The occupations of Creek women are described by Cpt.
B. Romans, p. 96 (1775), in the following succinct form :
" The women are employed, besides the cultivation of the
earth, in dressing the victuals, preparing, scraping, braining,
rubbing and smoaking the Roe-skins, making macksens of
them, spinning buffaloe wool, making salt, preparing cassine
drink, drying the chammrops and passiflora, making cold
flour for traveling, gathering nuts and making their milk ;
likewise in making baskets, brooms, pots, bowls and other
earthen and wooden vessels."
Initiation. — Indian parents bring up their children in a
manner which better deserves the name of training than that
of education. They think children become best fitted for
future life when they can, for a certain period of their ages,
roam around at will and act at their own pleasure. They do
not reprobate or punish them for any wanton act they may
commit ; hence the licentiousness of both sexes up to the
time of marriage, and the comparative want of discipline
among warriors on their expeditions. But the boys were
taught to harden their constitutions against the inclemencies
of the seasons and the privations in war, and this result they
most successfully attained by the so-called initiation, and also
by continued bodily exercise before and after that solemn
period of their lives. B. Romans (1 775) sketches the training
of the Creek youths in the following words (p. 96) : " Creeks
make the boys swim in the coldest weather ; make them fre-
quently undergo scratching from head to foot, through the
skin, with broken glass or gar-fish teeth 2 , so as to make them
all in a gore of blood, and then wash them with cold water ;
1 Milfort, M6m., p. 251.
2 Also practiced once a year upon the Shetimasha warriors, on their
knee-joints, by men expressly appointed to this manipulation.-
FURTHER ETHNOGRAPHIC NOTES. 185
this is with them the arcanum against all diseases ; but when
they design it as a punishment to the boys, they dry-scratch
them, /. e., they apply no water after the operation, which
renders it very painful. They endeavor ... to teach
them all manner of cruelty toward brutes," etc.
This sort of treatment must have been abundantly pro-
ductive of rheumatism and other affections, though we have
many instances of Creek Indians reaching a high age. Of
the initiation which the Creek boys underwent before attaining
their seventeenth year, B. Hawkins gives a full and circum-
stantial account, which shows that superstitions had entered
into the customs of private life of the Creeks as deeply as
they had into those of other Indian tribes.
The ceremony of initiating youth into manhood, says B.
Hawkins 1 , is usually performed at the age from fifteen to
seventeen, and is called puskita {Justing), like the busk of
the nation. A youth of the proper age gathers two handfuls
of the sowatchko plant, which intoxicates and maddens, and
eats this very bitter root for a whole day, after which he
steeps the leaves in water and drinks from this. After sunset
he eats two or three spoonfuls of boiled grits. 2 He remains
in a house for four days, during which the above performances
are repeated. Putting on a new pair of moccasins (stillipai/a),
he leaves the cabin, and during twelve moons abstains from
eating the meat of young bucks, of turkey-cocks, fowls, peas
and salt, and is also forbidden to pick his ears and to scratch
his head with his fingers, but must use a small splinter to
perform these operations. Boiled grits — the only food
allowed to him during the first four moons — may be
cooked for him by a little girl, but on a fire kindled
especially for his own use. From the fifth month any
person may cook for him, but he has to serve himself first,
using one pan and spoon only. Every new moon he
1 Sketch of the Creek Country, pp. 78. 79.
1 Maize pounded into grits.
13
186 THE CREEK INDIANS.
drinks the pa'ssa or button-snake root, an emetic, for -four
days, and takes no food except some boiled grits, hu'mpita
hatki, in the evening. At the commencement of the twelfth
lunation he performs for four days the same rites as he did
at the beginning of the initiation, but on the fifth he leaves
the cabin, gathers maize-cobs, burns them to ashes, and with
these rubs his whole body. At the end of the moon he
elicits transpiration by sleeping under blankets, then goes
into cold water, an act which ends the ceremony. The herb
medicines are administered to him by the isti paka'dsha
'lako or "great leader," who, when speaking of him, says:
pusidshedshe'yi sanatchumitcha'tcha-is, 1 "I am passing him
through the physicking process repeatedly," or: naki omalga
imaki'la'dshayi sa'lit 6mas, tchi, "I am teaching him all the
matters proper for him to think of." If he has a dream
during this course of initiation, he has to drink from the
pa'ssa, and dares not touch any persons, save boys who are
under a like course. This course is sometimes shortened to i
a few months, even to twelve days only, but the performances
are the same.
The purpose of the initiation of boys, corresponding to
the first-menstruation rites of females, was the spiritual as
well as the physical strengthening of the individual. While
the physical exposures and privations were thought to render
him strong in body and fearless in battle, the dreams coming
upon him, in consequence of the exhaustion by hunger and
maddening by all sorts of physic, were supposed to furnish
him visions, which would reveal to him enchanting views for
future life, material riches and the ways to acquire them, the
principles of bravery and persistence, the modes of charming
enemies and game at a distance, of obtaining scalps, and pros-
pects of general happiness and of a respected position in his
tribe. 2
1 Slightly altered from the words given by Hawkins.
2 Cf. what is said of the initiation of the ahopayi and imisi,pp. 159. 165.
FURTHER ETHNOGRAPHIC NOTES. 187
Commemorative Beads. — To perpetuate the memory of his-
torical facts, as epidemics, tribal wars, migrations, the Creeks
possessed the pictorial or ideographic writing, the material
generally used for it being tanned skins. Besides this, which
was common to the majority of Indian tribes of North America,
Milfort (pp. 47-49) mentions another mode of transmitting
facts to posterity, which shows a certain analogy with the
wampum-belts of the Iroquois and Algonkin tribes.
It consisted of strings of small beads, in shape of a narrow
ribbon {banderole) or rosary {chapelei). The beads are de-
scribed as being similar to those called Cayenne pearls in
Milfort's time, varying in color, the grains being strung up
one after the other. The signification of each bead was deter-
mined by its shape and the position it occupied in its order
of sequence. Only the principal events were recorded by
these beads, and without any historic detail ; hence a single
string often sufficed to recall the history of twenty or twenty-
five years. The events of each year were kept strictly distinct
from the events of any subsequent year by a certain arrange-
ment of the grains, and thus the strings proved reliable
documents as to the chronology of tribal events. The oldest
of the mikalgi (les chefs des vieillards) often recounted to
Milfort, who had risen to the dignity of "chief warrior" in
the nation, episodes of early Creek history, suggested to them
by these "national archives."
Many old traditions of historic importance must have been
embodied in these records ; but the only one given by Mil-
fort, referring to the emigration of the Creeks from their
ancient cave-homes along Red river, is so mixed up with
incredible matter, that the fixation of the events, as far as
then remembered, must have taken place many generations
after the arrival of the Creeks in their Alabama homes.
Milfort himself, at the head of two hundred Creek men,
undertook an expedition to that renowned spot, to gratify
himself and his companions with the sight of the place itself
188 THE CREEK INDIANS.
from which the nation had sprung forth, and all this solely
on the strength of the belief which these bead-strings had
inspired in his companions.
Further notices on Creek ethnology may be found in
B.F. French, Hist. Collect, of Louisiana, III, 128-139, in the
"Notes;" also in Urlsperger's "Nachricht," "Vol. I, chapter
5, 859-868, a passage describing especially Yamassi customs.
NOTES ON CREEK HISTORY.
To offer a history of the Creek tribe from its discovery .
down to our epoch to the readers does not lie within the
scope of this volume, and for want of sufficient documents
illustrating the earlier periods it could be presented in a
fragmentary manner only. But a few notes on the subject,
especially on the Oglethorpe treaties, will be of interest to
the reader.
In the year following their departure from the West Indies
(1540), the troops led by H. de Soto traversed a portion of
the Creek territory, taken in its extent as known to us from
the end of the eighteenth century. De Soto's presence is
proved by the mention of Creek tribes bearing Creek names
in the reports of his three chroniclers. The most circum-
stantial report in topography is that of the Knight of Elvas.
He states that de Soto's army usually marched five to six
leagues a day in peopled countries, but when passing through
deserted lands proceeded faster. From Chiaha H. de Soto
reached Coste in seven days. From Tali, probably con-
tiguous to Coste, he marched for six days, through many
towns, to Coca, arriving there July 26th, 1540. Leaving this
town after a stay of twenty-five days, he reached Tallimuchase
on the same day, Ytava on the next, and had to remain there ,
six days, on account of a freshet in the river. Having crossed
the river he reached Ullibahali town, fortified by a wooden
wall, and on the next day stopped at a town subject to the
lord of Ullibahali, to reach Toasi the dav after. Then
NOTES ON CREEK HISTORY. 189
he traversed the Tallise "province," peopled 'with many-
towns, and entered the great pueblo of Tallise on September
18th, to stay there twenty days. Many other towns were
visible on the opposite side of the " maine river," on which
Tallisi 1 stood. On leaving this pueblo he reached Casiste on
the same day, and Tuscalusa, whose chief was lord of many
territories, after another march of two days. From there
Piache, on a great river, was reached in two days, and Mavila
in three days from Piache. De Soto arrived in Mavila on
October 18th, and the whole distance from Coca to Tuscalusa
is computed by the Knight of Elvas at sixty leagues, the
direction of the route being from north to south. In this
particular Biedma differs from him.
The villages of Chiaha (Chisca, Ychiaha, China, var. lect.)
and of Coste (Costehe, Acostehe) provinces were fortified
and stood on river-islands. This latter circumstance makes
it probable that they lay on Tennessee river, and hence were
held by Cheroki Indians. Tali is either the Creek term tali
dry, exsiccated, or the Cha'hta tali rock. Coca, then in a
flourishing condition, is the town of Kusa. Talli-muchasi,
or "Newtown," near Coca, is clearly a Creek term, and so
is Ytava, Itawa, which I take for the imperfectly articulated
italua, tribe. Toasi is, I think, the town of Tawasa, which
was one of the Alibamu villages, q. v., and lay on the. southern
shore of the Alabama river.
Tallisi is undoubtedly Talua-hassi, "old town," but which
one of the numerous settlements of this name it may have
been is now impossible to determine. Casiste resembles
Kasi'hta, but cannot have been Kasi/ta on Chatahuchi river,
for de Soto reached Tuskalusa or "Black Warrior," which I
take to be a town on the river of that name, within two days
from Casiste, traveling west. 8 Piache, if Creek, could be
1 Italisi, var. lect.
2 For Casiste compare K.6sisti, a term appearing in Creek war-titles;,
its signification is unknown.
190 THE CREEK INDIANS.
api-udshi little pole, small tree. Garcilaso de la Vega states
that Tascalusa was on the same river (?) as Tallisi and below
it. The documents of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
frequently give names of localities and tribes to the local
chiefs, as was done here in the case of Tascalusa, Mavila,
Alimamu and others. Chiaha is a Cheroki name, and is
explained elsewhere as "place of otters." Some modern
critics believe that de Soto's army did not cross the moun-
tains into what is now North Carolina and Tennessee, the
"over-hill" seats of the Cheroki people, but only skirted the
southern slope of the Apalachian ridge by passing through
Northern Georgia west into Northern Alabama, and then
descending Coosa river. In order to determine de Soto's
route in these parts, we have to decide first, whether the
days and directions of the compass noted by his chroniclers
deserve more credence than the local names transmitted in
cases when both form conflicting statements. The names of
localities could not be pure inventions ; they prove by them-
selves, that tribes speaking Creek or Maskoki proper were
encountered by the adventurous leader in the same tracts
where we find them at the beginning of this nineteenth cen-
tury. It follows from this that the Creek immigration from
the west or northwest, if such an event ever occurred within
the last two thousand years, must have preceded the time of
de Soto's visit by a long lapse of time. Thus the terms
italua, tal6fa, talassi belong to the Creek dialect only; had
H. de Soto been in a country speaking a Hitchiti dialect, he
would have heard, instead of these, the term 6kli, and
instead of talua mutchasi: okli himashi. 1
In 1559 another Spanish leader, Tristan de Luna, disem-
barked in or near Mobile bay, then went north in quest of
gold and treasure, reached Nanipacna, or "pueblo Santa
Cruz de Nanipacna," and from there arrived, after experi-
1 When stopping at Ullibahali, he was in the country of the Alibamu,
rfor 6la, ula is the term for town in their dialect. Cf. p. 85 (Note).
NOTES ON CREEK HISTORY. 191
encing many privations and trials, among the Cocas, who
were then engaged in warfare with the Napochies (na n pissa?
cf. Chicasa). He made a treaty of alliance with the Cocas,
and deemed it prudent to return. The distance from Coca
to Nanipacna was twelve days, from there to the harbor
three days' march. 1
In 1567 Captain Juan del Pardo set out from St. Helena,
near Charleston Harbor, S. C, on an exploration tour with
a small detachment, following partly the same aboriginal
trail which had guided de Soto through the wastes of Georgia
and the Cheroki country. On leaving the banks of the Ten-
nessee river, he turned south, touching Kossa, a sort of a
capital (evidently Kusa), thenTasqui, Tasquiqui and Olitifar.
These are the only names of places mentioned by his chroni-
cler, Juan de la Vandera (1569), which refer to the Creek
country. Tasquiqui cannot be anything else but Taskigi,
near the junction of Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers.
From the beginning of the eighteenth century the French,
Spanish and British colonists endeavored to win over the
tribes of the confederacy to their interests. The Spaniards
established in Northern Florida paid honors to the "emperor
of the Cowetas," therewith hoping to influence all the Lower
and Upper Creeks, and in 1710 received Kawita delegates
with distinction at St. Augustine. After the conflict with
the Spaniards the British established Fort Moore for trading
purposes among the Lower Creeks. In 1713 chiefs of the
Alibamu, Koassati and other tribes visited the French colony
at Mobile, entered into friendly relations, invited them to
construct Fort Alibamu, also called Fort Toulouse, near
Odshi-apofa, q. v., and were helpful in erecting it. The
French entertained a small garrison and a trader's post there,
and subsequently the fort was called Fort Jackson.
1 Cf. Barcia, Ensayo, p. 37. The report is almost entirely devoid of
local names, which alone could give indications upon the route traveled
192 THE CREEK INDIANS.
The first British treaty with the Creeks was concluded by
James Oglethorpe, Governor of the Carolinas. He set out
May 14th, 1733, from Charleston, his residence, and on
May 1 8th met in council the representatives of the Lower
Creek tribes at Savannah. During the meeting many facts
of interest were elicited. The Creeks then claimed the terri-
tory extending from the Savannah river to the Flint river,
and south to St. Augustine, stating that their former number
of ten tribes had been reduced to eight. Wikatchampa, the
Okoni miko, proclaimed that his tribe would peaceably cede
to the British all lands not needed by themselves. .The
Yamacraw chief Tomochichi, then banished from one of the
Lower Creek towns, spoke in favor of making a treaty with
the foreigners, and Yah61a 'lako, miko of Kawita, allowed
Tomochichi and his relatives "to call the kindred, that love
them, out of each of the Creek towns, that they may come
together and make one town. We must pray you to recall
the Yamasees, that they may be buried in peace among their
ancestors, and that they may see their graves before they
die; and our own nation (of the Lower Creeks) shall be
restored again to its ten towns." The treaty of land-cession,
commerce and alliance was signed May 21st, and ratified by
the trustees of the colony of Georgia, October 18th, 1733.
It stipulated a cession of the lands between the Savannah
and Altamaha rivers, and of some islands on the Atlantic
coast, to the British; it further stipulated promises to enter
into a commercial treaty at a later date, to place themselves
under the general government of Great Britain, to live in
peace with the colonies, to capture runaway slaves and deliver
them at Charleston, Savannah or Palachukla garrison for a
consideration. The treaty was confirmed by pledges on the
side of the Creeks, which consisted in a bundle of buckskins
for each town, whereas the English made presents of arms,
garments, etc. , in return. The Indians expressed a desire of re-
ceiving instruction through teachers, and the success obtained
NOTES ON CREEK HISTORY. 193
in concluding this first treaty was mainly attributed to the influ-
ence of Tomochichi upon his fellow-countrymen. The eight
tribes represented were Kawita, Kasi/ta, Osutchi, Chiaha, Hi-
tchiti, Apalatchukla, Ok6ni, Yufala. The "two lost towns"
were certainly not those of the Sawokli and Yuchi, although
these do not figure in the list. Only one of the headmen
signing the treaty of 1733 figures in the prooemium of
our legend (written in 1735): "Tomaumi, head warrior of
Yufala, with three warriors;" he is identical with Tamokmi,
war captain of the Eufantees (in 1735). Chekilli is not
mentioned.
The above treaty is printed in : Political State of Great
Britain, vol. 46, p. 237 sqq; extract in C. C. Jones, Tomo-
chichi, pp. 27-37.
Although encouraged by this first successful meeting with
the Creeks> the colonists knew so well the fickleness of the
Indian character that they were distrustful of the steadiness
of their promises, and thus sought to renew the friendly rela-
tions with them as often as possible.
A convention was arranged with the chiefs of the Lower
Creeks at Savannah in 1735, during which the legend of the
Kasi^ta migration was delivered, but it does not appear
whether any new treaty stipulations were mooted or not at
that meeting.
Just after his return from England, Governor Oglethorpe
again came to Savannah on October 13th, 1 738, to meet in
council the mikos of Chiaha, Okmulgi, Otchisi and Apa-
latchukla, who were accompanied by thirty warriors and fifty-
two attendants. They assured him of their firm and continued
attachment to the crown, and notified him that deputies of
the remaining towns would come down to see him, and that
one thousand warriors of theirs were at his disposal. They
also requested that brass weights and sealed measures should
be deposited with the mikos of each town, to preclude the
traders settled among them from cheating.
194 THE CREEK INDIANS.
On the 17th of July, 1739, Oglethorpe with a large retinue
started to meet the Creeks in their own country, at Kawita.
He traveled up Savannah river to the Yuchi town, twenty-
five miles above Ebenezer, then followed the inland trail,
for two hundred miles, without meeting any Indians. The
council lasted from August nth to 21st, and terminated
in a treaty, by which the towns renewed their "fealty" to
the king of Great Britain, and confirmed their cessions
of territory, while Oglethorpe engaged that the British
should not encroach upon their reserved lands, and that
their traders should deal fairly and honestly with the Indians.
The towns on Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers participated in
the treaty. 1
It may be regarded as a consequence of this compact, that
Creek warriors joined the British as auxiliaries in the expe-
dition against St. Augustine in 1742.
Important and detailed information on the relations of the
Creeks and all other Southern tribes with the British and
French settlers of colonial times may be found in the docu-
ments preserved at the State Paper Office, London. The
contents of such papers as relate more especially to South
Carolina are hinted at in numerous abstracts of them given
in a catalogue in Collections of South Carolina Historical
Society, Vols. I, II, Charleston, 8vo (Vol. II published in
1858); cf. II, 272. 297-298. 315-317. 322, etc. Compare
also W. de Brahm's writfngs, mentioned in : Appendices.
An incomplete and unsatisfactory, though curious list of
the elements then (17 71) composing the Maskoki confede-
racy and of its western allies is contained in B. Romans, East
and West Florida (p. 90). The passage first alludes to the
Seminoles as allies, and then continues : " They are a mixture
of the remains of the Cawittas, Talepoosas, Coosas, Apa-
lachias, Conshacs or Coosades, Oakmulgis, Oconis, Okchoys,
Alibamons, Natchez, Weetumkus, Pakanas, Taensas, Chacsi-
1 Cf. C. C. Jones, Tomochichi, pp. 113-119.
NOTES ON CREEK HISTORY. 195
hoomas, Abekas and some other tribes whose names I do
not recollect."
An interesting point in early Creek history is the settle-
ment of Cheroki Indians in Georgia, and their removal from
there through the irruption of the Creeks. W. Bartram,
Travels, p. 518, in describing the mounds of the country,
states "that the region lying between Savanna river and
Oakmulge, east and west, and from the sea coast (of the
Atlantic) to the Cherokee or Apalachean mountains (filled
with these mounds) was possessed by the Cherokees sinoe
the arrival of the Europeans ; but they were afterwards dis-
possessed by the Muscogulges, and all that country was
probably, many ages preceding the Cherokee invasion, in-
habited by one nation or confederacy (unknown to the
Cherokees, Creeks) . . . etc." In another passage he gives
a tradition of the Creeks, according to which an ancient town
once built on the east bank of the Okmulgi, near the old
trading road, was their first settlement in these parts after
their emigration from the west.
The topographic names from the Cheroki language through-
out Georgia testify strongly to the presence of Cheroki Indians
in these countries. The tracts on the Ok6ni and Okmulgi
are nearer to the seats of the Elati Cheroki than the Creek
settlements on Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, where Cheroki
local names occur also.
The legend reported by C. Swan (Schoolcraft V, 259) that
the Creeks migrated from the northwest to the Seminole
country, then back to Okmulgi, Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers,
deserves no credit, or applies to small bodies of Indians
only.
From an ancient tradition John Haywood 1 relates the
fact (pp. 237-241) that when the Cheroki Indians first settled
in Tennessee, they found no other red people living on Ten-
1 John Haywood, the Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee
(up to 1768). Nashville, 1823.
196 THE CREEK INDIANS.
nessee river, except a large body of Creeks near the influx of
Hiwassee river (and some Shawanese on Cumberland river).
They had settled "at the island on the Creek path," meaning
a ford of the Great Tennessee river, also called "the Creek
crossing," near the Alabama State border. At first they lived
at peace with them, but subsequently attacked them, to drive
them out of the country. By stratagem they drew them from
their island, with all the canoes in their possession, to a place
where others lay in ambush for them, engaged them in battle,
took away their canoes to pass over to the island, and
destroyed there all the property of the tribe. The enfeebled
Creeks then left the country and went to the Coosa river.
The Broad river, a western affluent of Savannah river,
formed for many years the boundary between the Cheroki
and the eastern Creeks. It figures as such in Mouson's map
of 1773.
The Creeks remained under the influence of the British
government until after the American Revolutionary war, and
in many conflicts showed their hostility to the thirteen states,
struggling for independence. Thus they acted in the British
interest when they made a night attack on General Wayne's
army, in 1782, led by Guristersigo, near the Savannah river.
An attack on Buchanan's station was made by Creek and
Cheroki warriors near Nashville, Tenn., in 1792. Treaties
were concluded with them by the United States at New
York, August 7th, 1790, and at Coleraine, Georgia, June 29th,
1 796. An article of these stipulated the return of captured
whites, and of negro slaves and property to their owners in
Georgia. Trading and military posts were established among
them, and an agent of the Government began to reside in one
of their towns. Further cessions of Creek lands are recorded
for 1802 and 1805."
Instigated by the impassionate speeches of Tecumseh, the
Shawano leader, the Upper Creeks, assisted by a few Yuchi
and Sawokli Indians, revolted in 1813 and massacred the
NOTES ON CREEK HISTORY. 197
American garrison at Fort Mimms, near Mobile bay, Ala-
bama, on August 30th of that year. General A. Jackson's
army subdued the revolt, after many bloody victories, in
the battle of the Horse-Shoe Bend, and by taking Pensacola,
the seaport from which the Spaniards had supplied the
insurrection with arms. A peace treaty was concluded on
August 9th, 1814, embodying the cession of the Creek lands
west of Coosa river. Surrounded as they were by white
settlements on all sides, this revolt, known also as the Red
Stick War, was the last consequential sign of reaction of
the aboriginal Creek mind against civilizing influences.
Previous to the departure from their lands in the Gulf
States to the Indian Territory (1836-1840), scattering
bands of the Creeks joined the Seminoles in 1836, while
others took arms against the United States to attack the
border settlements and villages . in Georgia and Alabama.
These were soon annihilated by General Scott. The treaty
of cession is dated April 4th, 1832, and the lands then granted
to them in their new homes embraced an area of seven mil-
lions of acres. On October nth, 1832, the Apalachicola
tribe renewed a prior agreement to remove to the west of
Mississippi river, and to surrender their inherited lands at
the mouth of the Apalachicola river. Only 744 Creeks
remained east of the Mississippi river.
At the outbreak of the Secession war, in 1861, the Creeks
separated into two hostile parties. Chief Hopo'li yahola
with about 8000 Creeks adhered firmly to the Union cause,
and at the head of about 800 of his warriors, aided by auxili-
ary troops, he defeated the Confederate party in one engage-
ment ; but in a second action he was defeated, and with his
followers fled into Kansas. Both rencontres took place in
the territory of the Cheroki Indians, in November and
December, 1861.
The statistic dates of the Creek population given before
B. Hawkins' time are mere estimates. In 1732 Governor
198 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Oglethorpe reported 1300 warriors in eight towns of the
Lower Creeks (Schoolcraft V, 263. 278), and in 1791 all
the Creek "gun-men" were estimated to number between
5000 and 6000; the same number is given for these in the
census of 1832 (Schoolcraft V, 262 sqq.; VI, 333), living
in fifty-two towns, the whole population being between 25,000
and 30,000. In the same year the Cha'hta population was
conjectured to amount to 18,000 (Schoolcraft VI, 479). The
Report of the U. S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1881
gives a Creek population of 15,000, settled upon 3,215,495
acres of land ; one half of these are tillable, but only 80,000
acres were cultivated during that year by these Indians.
THE CREEK DIALECT
of Maskoki is a harmonious, clearly vocalized form of speech,
averse to nasalization. In forms it is exceedingly rich, but
its syntax is very simple and undeveloped. An archaic form,
called the female language, exists outside of the common
Creek, and mainly differs from it in the endings of the verbs.
PHONETICS.
Creek possesses all sounds of the general Maskoki alphabet ;
but here and in Hitchiti the gutturals g, k, x are often pro-
nounced with the tongue resting upon the fore or alveolar
part of the palate. The alternating processes observed here
also occur in most other Indian and illiterate languages : tch,
dsh alternate with ts, ds, h with k, x> g with the other gut-
turals, b with p, d with t, a with e, o with u. The accent
shifts for rhetoric and syntactic causes, and many unaccented
syllables are pronounced long. In the pronunciation of the
natives there is a sort of singing modulation, which likes to
lengthen the last syllables of a sentence. 1 Syllables not final
generally terminate in a vowel.
1 Thus the Creek verbal ending -is, though short by itself, generally
becomes -Is, when concluding a sentence; also the Hitchiti ending -wats,
-tawats.
THE CREEK DIALECT. 199
MORPHOLOGY.
The nominal inflection shows but three cases : The first in
-i (or -a, -o, -u), which may be called absolute j 1 the subject-
ive case in -t, -it (-at, -ut), and the objective in -n, -in (-an,
-un. The absolute case, when used as a vocative, often
lengthens or strongly accentuates the last syllable. The
suffix -n indicates the direct and indirect object, and also
sometimes the locative case. Diminutives are formed by
means of the suffix -odshi, -udshi.
Substantive. The substantive noun does not inflect for
number except in a few terms designating persons which form
a plural in -agi, -aki : miko chief, mikagi chiefs, to be distin-
guished from mikalgi class from which chiefs are chosen;
hunanwa man, hokti woman ; hunantagi, hdktagi. It is the
archaic form of -akls, the verbal ending of third person plural
of certain verbal inflections. Cf. -a'li in Hitchiti.
The suffix -algi, though sometimes used as a plural suffix,
designates collectivity : u-ikaiwa spring of water, u-ikaiwalki
place with water-springs, and u-ikai°alki people living at the
springs; aliktcha conjurer, aliktchalgi conjurers as one body,
taken in a body.
The parts of speech being but imperfectly differentiated,
tenses can be expressed in nouns by adding suffixes : miko
chief, mikotati, miko-o'ma one who was, has been chief;
miko-ta'lani a future chief; adsulagitati the defunct fore-
fathers.
Adjectives form a real plural by appending the suffix -agi,
-aki to the base. This applies, however, only to a limited
number of adjectives, like :
1 Absolute case has to be regarded as a provisional term only. I call
it absolute, because the natives, when giving vocables of the language
not forming part of a sentence,- mention, them in that case in Creek, in
Hitchiti, in Koassati, etc. In the sentence this case often corresponds,
however, to the status constructus of the' Hebrew.
200 THE CREEK INDIANS.
atchula old, pi. atchulagi
hi'li good, hi'lagi
tchati red, tchataki
yiktchi strong, yiktchaki
The majority of the adjectives and of the attributive verbs
derived from them form derivatives, which in some instances
may be called distributive, in others frequentative and itera-
tive forms. They are formed by a partial reduplication of
the radix, when the basis is monosyllabic, or often of the last
syllable of the basis, when the word is polysyllabic. Exam-
ples:
lasti black, laslati black here and black there; verbified :
lanis, laslanis it is black.
hallui high, halhawi each of them high.
suf ki deep, sufsuki deep each, or deep in spots.
sulgi many, sulsugi many of each.
h61waki bad, holwah6ki each bad.
likwi rotten; lik'howi (animals), likliwi (vegetables).
kotchukni short, kotchuntchoki short in spots.
silkosi narrow, silsikosi narrow in places, from silki strip.
Adjectives are made negative by appending the privative
particle -go, -gu, -ko, -ku : itskisusi having a mother, itskisu-
siko motherless; hi'li good, hi'ligo not good, bad.
Gradation of adjectives and of attributive verbs formed
from these can be effected in different ways, which are more
perfect and expressive here than in those Indian languages
which can express gradation only by syntactic means.
A comparative is formed by prefixing isim-, isin-, isi-,
apheretically sim-, sin-, si- to the adjective or the attributive
verb, the two objects compared standing usually before the
adjective or verb. This prefix is composed of the particle
isi-, is- and the possessive pronoun im-, in-, i- of the third
person (s. and pi.), and corresponds somewhat to our
than, as. The object compared stands in the absolute case.
THE CREEK DIALECT. 201
kat'tcha yaha. isin'lakit 6mis the panther (kat'tcha) is larger
('lako large) than the wolf '(yaha ; 6mis is so).
tchatu tchitu-^unap-hatki (i-)sintchalatuit 6mis iron (tchatu)
is harder than silver.
ma tchi'panat ma h6ktudshi (i-)simmahis this boy is taller
than that girl.
A superlative is formed by placing i'li-, apheretically 'li-,
before the comparative : mahi tall, isimmahi taller than,
i'lisimmahi, 'lisimmahi, 'lisimahi tallest of, lit. "still taller
than the taller ones."
ma tsuku halhawat i'lisihalluit omis this house is the highest;
lit. "higher than the high ones."
A superlative may be expressed also by using the compara-
tive instead : ma tchipanat anhopuitaki omalgan isimmahis
"that boy is the tallest of all my children "; lit. "that boy is
taller than all my children. ' ' Or the superlative is expressed
by the augmentative adverb mahi : very, quite, greatly, largely
yiktchi mahi, the strongest, which at the same time means :
very strong, quite strong; 'lako mahi largest and very large ;
mahimahi tallest and very tall; the latter also being expressed
by a lengthening of the vowel : ma'hi very tall.
Minuitive gradation is effected by inversion of the sense
in the sentence and the use of the comparative ; they say :
"silver is costlier than iron," instead of saying: "iron is
less costly than silver."
What we call prepositions are generally nominal forms in
Creek, inflected like nouns and placed after their comple-
ments as postpositions, governing the absolute case :
unapa, subj. unapat, obj. unapan above, on the top of; 'lani
unapa (or : 'lani yuksa) on the top of the mountain.
tchuku-6fan laikas / stay within, in the house; -6fan, -ofa,
-ufa, -of is also temporal suffix : when, while, during:
ya o'lolopi-6fan in this year.
inukua atigin ak'hui'l he stands in the water up to (atigin)
his neck.
14
202
THE CREEK INDIANS.
tsa'lki a'li^kan on account of my father.
tchuku ilidshan, under the house.
itu ilidshan, itu tchiskan under the tree.
Numerals. The cardinal numeral has a full form ending
in -in, and another abbreviated from it used in counting
objects, and not extending beyond ten; an ordinal, with
prefix -isa-, is-, apheret. sa-, s- ; a distributive substituting -akin
to -in of the cardinal, and an adverbial form in -a.
Cardinals.
Ordinals.
I
hamgin
haramai
ihatitchiska first
2
hok61in
bo'ko
sahok61at second
3
tut'tchinin
tut'tchi
satut'tchinat
4
o'stin, u'stin
o'sti
so'stat
5
tcha'hgipin
tcha'hgi
satcha'hgibat
6
ipakin
ipa
(i)sipakat
7
kolapakin
kolapa
iskolapakat
8
tchinapakin
tchinapa
istchinapakat
9
Ostapakin
6stapa
isustapakat
IO
palin
pa
ispalat
20
pali-hokolin
pali-hokolin
ispali-hok61at
00
tchukpi hamgin tchukpi hamgin
istchukpi hamgat
Distributives.
Adverbials.
I
hamgakin and
one to each
hamgahakin
ahamkutcha once
2
hokolakin and hokolahakin
ahokola twice
two to each
3
tut'tchinakin
•
atut'tchina
4
ustakin
o'sta
" 5
tcha'hgipakin
■
tcha'hgiba
6
ipakakin and ipahakin
ipaka
7
kolapakakin
kolapaka
9
10
20
IOO
tchinapahakin and tchinapakakin tchinapaka
ostapahakin and Ostapakakin ustapa^a
palakin and palahakin pala
pali-hokolakin pali-hok61a
tchukpi hamgakin tchukpi hamgat
THE CREEK DIALECT. 203
tipa^6tchki "folded once"
tipa^6'hli o'stin " folded four times"
tipa^6'hli tchinapakin "folded eight times"
hamha^osi "one here and one there, scattered."
The personal pronoun is as follows :
/ ani, subj. anit, obj. anin, abbr. am-, an-, a-
thou tchimi, tchimit, tchimin tchim-, tchin-
he, she, it imi, imit, imin im-, in-, i-, m-
we p6mi, pumi ; p6mit, pomin pom-, pum-, pon-
ye tehimitaki, etc. tchintagi
they imitaki, etc. intaki
Cha'hta distinguishes between the inclusive and exclusive
pronouns we, our, but Creek and Hitchiti do not.
The possessive pronoun is as follows:
my tcha- ; am-, an-, a- tchaka my head
thy tchi- tchika thy head,
his, her, its im-, in-, i- ika, his, her, its head
our punagi, pu-tagi, pu-, po- puka.tkki,p6ka.ourheads
your tchinakitaki,tchimitaki,tchi-tagi tchikatagi your heads
their inakitaki, imitagi, i-tagi ikataki their heads
The possessive relation is usually expressed :
(i) by the possessive pronoun prefixed to the object pos-
sessed : tchaka my head, anhopuitaki my children.
(2) when two nouns, especially substantives, stand in the
relation of possession, the possessor stands in the
absolute case before the object possessed, the pronoun
im-, in-, i- being prefixed to the latter,
isti Mashkoki imikana the land of the Creek men.
adshi intalapi ear of maize; lit. "maize its ear."
adsh' imapi stalk of maize.
ingi itchki his thumb; lit. "his hand its mother."
Other pronouns :
isti person is used as indefinite pron. : somebody; istika
somebody's head, a person' s head; stillipai/a boot, from
isti, ili, pai^a; isti hapu somebody's campingplace.
204 THE CREEK INDIANS.
ista'mat, pi. istamataki ? who f
ist6mat? abbr. istat? (s. and pi.) which ? which one?
hia, ya, i-a this (close by); subj. hiat, obj. hian (in Chero-
ki: hia this, this one).
ma, mat, man this (further off).
asa, asat, asan that (far off).
Verb. The Creek verb is of the polysynthetic type, and
inflects by means of prefixes, infixes and (chiefly by) suffixes.
It possesses an affirmative, negative, interrogative and distrib-
utive form, which latter is used as a form for the plural of
the subject in the intransitive verbs ; it also has a large num-
ber of conversational forms usually derived by contraction,
ellipses, etc., from the regular or standard forms; and in
some of its inflections also a reverential besides the common
form. It is rich in modes, verbals and voices and may be
called extremely rich in tense-forms, when we compare to it
the poverty of many .other American languages.
The verb incorporates the direct and indirect pronominal
object and inflects for person. In certain conjugational forms
the personal affix is a prefix, in others a suffix. The historic
tense, a sort of aorist, is formed by the infix -h- and a change
of the radical vowel occurs at times, though not so often as
in Cha'hta. Intransitive verbs show special forms, according
to the number of the subject (singular, dual, plural). Very
frequently these latter forms are made from different roots,
as will be seen from the instances given below. Many transi-
tive verbs have, when their object stands in the plural, a
(distributive) form differing entirely or partially from the one
referring to an object in the singular; a few others show this
change, when their subject passes from the singular to the
plural number. Other transitive verbs are combining the
two inflections just described.
Adjectives can be verbified and then appear in the shape
of attributive verbs: hauki, pi. hauhaki hollow; haukas I am
hollow., hafckis it is hollow, hauhakis they are hollow. No
THE CREEK DIALECT. 205
real substantive verb being extant, its want is supplied by
omas, m6mas, t6yas / am so, I am such; these are conju-
gated regularly, and when connected with the verbals in -t
(-at, -it, -ut) of any verb, compose a periphrastic conjugation
which displays itself in an almost infinite number of forms.
From all this it becomes evident, that the Creek verb sur-
passes in its large power of polysynthesis the Algonkin, Da-
kota and Kalapuya verb, and in the richness of its forms
approaches closely to the Iroquois verb, which is poorer in
tenses, but has an impersonal conjugation and fourteen per-
sons to each tense of the finite verb. Creek is likely to
surpass also the Basque verb, which has become proverbial
for the almost infinite number of its intricate verb forms. 1
I propose to. give below the inflection of the Creek verb in
its general outlines only, as far as necessary to give an idea
of the subject. The Creek conjugation is regular throughout
in its standard forms, though the conversational form has
introduced modifications.
Inflection of isita to take, carry, hold (one object) and of
tchawita to take (more than one object). Only three tenses
were given here as examples of tchawita, although it has as
many modes, tenses and other forms as isita.
Active Voice.
Affirmative conjugation.
Declarative mode.
Present: isa-is, or isas I am taking, 2 s. isitchkis, 3 s. isis;
1 pi. isis, isis, 2 pi. isa'tchkis, 3 pi. isakis.
tchawa-is or tchawas / am taking (more than one obj.),
2 s. tchawitchkis, 3 s. tchawis; 1 pi. tchawls, 2 pi.
tchawa'tchkis, 3 pi. tchawa'kis.
The preterit tenses : i'hsas I took, 2 s. i'hsitchkis, 3 s. i'hsis;
1 pi. i'hsis, 2 pi. i'hsa'tchkis, 3 pi. i'hsa'/kis.
1 " L'invincible vencido " is the title of the first conjugational system of
Basque, as published by Larramendi.
206 THE CREEK INDIANS.
tcha'hwas I took (pi. of obj.), 2 s. tcha'hwitchkis, etc.
isayangis, I have taken, 2 s. isitchkangis, 3 s. isangis,-kis;
1 pi. isiyankis, 2 pi. isakatchkankis, 3 pi. isakankis.
tchawayangis I have taken (pi. of obj.), 2 s. tchawitchkan-
kis, etc.
isayatis I took (indefinite, aorist or historic past tense), 2 s.
isitchkatis, 3 s. isatis; 1 pi. isiatls, 2 pi. isatchkatis,
3 pi. isakatis.
isayantas / took (long . ago), 2 s. isitchkantas, 3 s. isantas,
etc.
isaimatas / had taken, 2 s. isitchkimatas, 3 s. isimatas, etc.
The future tenses : isa'lis I shall take, 2 s. isitchka'lis, etc.
isa'lanas I am going to take, 2 s. isa'lanitchkis, 3 s.
isa'lanis, etc.
isipayatita'lis I shall have taken, 2 s. isipitchkatita'lis, 3 s.
isipatita'lis, etc.
Conditional or subjunctive mode.
(6mati, omat if, when, connected with the verbal in -n.)
Present : isan 6mat(i) if I take, 2 s. isitchkin omat, 3 s.
isin 6mat, etc.
Preterit: isa'yatin omat if I had taken, 2 s. isitchkatin
omat, etc.
Future: isa'lanan 6mati'h if I am going to take, 2 s.
isa'lanitchkin 6mati'h, etc.
Potential mode.
isayis / can take, 2 s. isitchkls, 3 s. isls, isi-is, etc.
isa'lanayat talkis I must take, I have to take, 2 s. isa'lanitcha
talkis.
Isa/ant omatin omas I ought to have taken, 2 s. isa^ant omatin
6mitchkis.
isi waitayis I may take, 2 s. isitchki waitis, 3 s. isi waitls.
isa'lani waitayis probably I shall take (at some future time),
2 s. isa'lanitchki waitis/or waitayis.
isayi titiyls (abbr. tayis) I am able to take, 2 s. isitchki
titayls.
THE CREEK DIALECT.
207
Imperative mode.
2 s. isas ! do thou take! (as a command).
2 pi. isakis ! do ye take!
2 s. isipas ! take! (reverential or exhortative).
2 pi. isipakis ! take ye! ye may take!
Verbals, or nominal forms of verb.
isita to take, the taking; tchawita (pi. of obj.)
Present: isa-i
2 s. isitchki
3 s. isi
i pi.
isi
subj. isa-i t, isat obj. isa-in
I taking, la taker.
isitchkit isitchkin
thou taking.
isit isin
he, she taking.
isit isin
we talcing, we takers.
2 pi.
isitchki
isitchkit isitchkin
ye taking.
3Pl-
isaki
isakit isakin
they taking.
Preterit :
isa'yati
isa'yatit isa'yatin
I having taken.
2 s.
isitchkati
isitchkatit isitchkatin
thou having taken.
3S-
isati
isatit isatin
he, she having taken.
i pi.
isakiyati
2. isakatchkati 3. isakati etc.
Future :
isa'lana-i
isa'lanan I going to take.
isa'lanitchki
isa'lanitchkin thou going to take.
isa'lani
isa'lanin he, she going to take.
pi. isa'lani,isa'lanatchki,isaka'lani, etc.
isakofan, abbr. isakof while taking.
isikofan, " isikof before he took.
isiga/kan, " isiga because he takes or took.
isa'lani^kan, " isa'laniga because he will take.
208 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Interrogative conjugation (specimen).
isaya? do 1 take f 2 s. isitska?, 3 s. isa? 1 pi. isiya? 2 pi.
isatska? 3 pi. isa'ka?
tchawaya? do I take? (pi. of obj.), etc.
Negative conjugation:
isakasldo not take; 2 s. isitskigus, 3 s. isigus; 1 pi. isigus,
2 pi. isatskigus, 3 pi. isagigus.
tchawakus I do not take (pi. of obj.), etc.
Negative-interrogative conjugation :
isa'ko? do I not take I 2 s. isitskigo? 3 s. isi'go? 1 pi. isi'go?
2 pi. isatskigO? 3 pi. isagigS? (suffix -go often nasalized
into -g5 n , -ko°, -ku n ).
tchawa'ko ? do I not take? etc.
Conjugation with indirect object :
imisas / take for somebody, I take from somebody, 2 s.
imisitchkis, 3 s. imisis; 1 pi. imisls, 2 pi. imisatchkis,
3 pi. imisa'kis.
intchawas I take for somebody (pi. of obj.), etc.
Medial conjugation :
isipas J take for myself, 2 s. isipitchkis, 3 s. isipis; 1 pi.
isipls, 2 pi. isipatskis, 3 pi. isakipis.
tchawipas Hake for myself (jh. of obj.), etc.
Passive Voice.
It is formed from the active voice by inserting ho-, hu-
after the basis of the verb. From isas / take is formed
tchas'hoyas (for tcha-is-hoyas) I am taken; -s- being the only
sound of the radix remaining.
Present: tchas'hoyas lam taken, I am being taken; 2 s.
tchis'hoyas, 3 s. is'h6yas; 1 pi. putcha-uhoyas, 2 pi.
tchitcha-uhoyakas, 3 pi. tcha-uh6yas.
Past: tchas'hohyis, I was taken.
Future: tchas'hoya'lanis, I shall be taken.
Part. pass, ^artic. i'hsik; pi. of obj. a'hwak taken.
THE CREEK DIALECT. 209
Other Voices.
Reciprocal voice : ititchawls we take each other.
u'hlatkas I fall on, upon: itu'hlatkas I attack, have a
scuffle.
Reflective voice : i-isas I take or carry myself.
yiklas I pinch; iyiklas I pinch myself.
Causative voice. This form had better be called a deriva-
tive form than a voice, as will appear from the following
instances :
isipuidshas / cause to take.
puskas I fast; puskipuidshas I make fast, puska'dshas
I make, cause to fast; puskidsha'dshas I cause to fast
for initiation.
hatkis it is white, hatidshas I whiten.
ki'las I know, ki'lidshas I inform, apprize, i-uki'l-
kuidshas I explain myself.
hui'las / stand, hui'lidshas I set up, place, make
stand.
Impersonal voice. A paradigm of an impersonal verb, in-
flected with its pronominal object, is as follows :
isanhi'lis it is good for me (hl'li good), 2 s. istchinhi'lis,
3 s. isinhi'lis; ispunhi'lis it is good for us, 2 pi.
istchinhi'lagis, 3 pi. isinhi'lagis.
Other -Conjugational Forms.
Paradigms of verbs inflected with the subject-pronoun
standing either separate or incorporated :
anit bvassldo, am the cause of antalgosis lam alone (for anit
algosis)
tchimit omadshksh tchintalg6sis thou art alone
imit 6mis intalg6sis
pomit omls we do puntalgosis awrfpuntalgosakis
tchintagit omadshksh tchintalgosakis
(i)mitagit omls intalgosakis
210 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Objective or compound conjugation.
A transitive verb connected with its direct pronominal
object runs as follows :
yiklita to pinch, the pinching.
tchiyiklas I pinch thee.
yiklas I pinch him, her, it, or I pinch one object.
tchiyikla/as I pinch ye.
yikla/as I pinch them, or several objects.
tchayiklitchkis thou pinchest me.
puyiklitchkis thou pinchest us.
yiklis he, she pinches (another).
yiklakos, contr. yiklaks I do not pinch him, her, it.
yikb£ak5s I do not pinch them.
tchiyiklakos I do not pinch thee.
tchiyiklaya? do I pinch thee i
yiklaya? do I pinch him, her, it?
yiklakaya? do I pinch them ?
A transitive verb connected with its indirect pronominal
object conjugates in the same manner, unless there is in it
the idea/or the benejit of, or for the detriment of, or from, away
from somebody or something connected" with it. In this
case the pronoun im-, in-, i- is prefixed; paradigm given
above.
kaidshita to say, the saying, kaidshas I say.
tchikaidshas (for tchikaidsha-is) I say to thee.
kaidsha-is, kaidshas I say to him, her, it (to one person).
tchikaidshaka'-is I say to ye.
kaidshaka'-is I say to them (to several persons).
tchakaidshis he, she says to me.
tchikaidshis he, she says to thee.
kaldshis he, she says to (to another).
pukaidshis he says to us.
tchikaidshagis he says to ye.
kaidshagis he says to them (to several persons).
tchikaidshi-is we say to thee.
THE CREEK DIALECT. 211
tchakaitchatchkis^ say to me.
tchikaitchakakls they say to ye.
kaidshakakls they say to them.
Intransitive Verbs.
Subject in the singular, dual and plural number :
ala/as / come, alahdkis we two come, ye'dshls we come.
6'las I arrive, o'lh6yis, o'la'-idshis.
homa^ta-is I am ahead, I lead, du. and pi. homa^'h6ti-is.
wakas I am lying, wak'hdgis, lumhis.
hui'las I stand, sihokis, saba^lis.
a'las I am about, wilagis, fullis.
tchiyas I enter, tchu^alagis, sidshiyis.
On a special use made of the verbal dual, cf. Ceremonial
allocutions.
Transitive Verbs.
Object in the singular and plural number ; the latter form
also marking a repetition of the act.
ilidshas I kill, pasatas.
hayas I make, hahaidshas; pi. of subject hayakis.
mutchasidshas I make new, mutchasakuidshas.
ki'la'dshas I cause to know, apprize, ki'lakuidshas.
tulas I/elKja. tree etc.), tultuidshas I fell repeatedly , or many
objects.
falapas I split; itun fala'hlidshas T split many sticks sepa-
rately.
nafkas I strike, nafnakas.
hopilas 1 inhume, hopilhuidshas and hopila*as.
tadshas I cut off, sever, wa'las.
Syntax.
Many conjunctions are formed from the auxiliary verbs
omas, m6mas and thus are in fact verbs, not particles. In
spite of the frequent use to which they are put they do not
relieve the sentence of its heaviness to any perceptible extent ;
for what we call incident clauses and also many co-ordinate
212 THE CREEK INDIANS.
principal sentences are uniformly expressed by groups of
words, the verb of which stands in the -t or -n verbal, which
nearest corresponds to our participle in -tag; or to having
(h. gone, carried), sometimes five or six of them, followed at
the close by a finite verb. Instances of this our Creek text
affords almost on every page. This sort of incapsulation
greatly embarrasses interpreters in the rendering of Creek
texts in any of the modern European languages, which have
a tendency towards analytic and an aversion to synthetic
structure of the sentence, and therefore use conjunctions
freely. A conjunction corresponding in every respect to our
and exists in none of the Maskoki dialects.
The syntax is remarkably simple and uniform ; the multi-
plicity of grammatic forms precludes the formation of many
syntactic rules, just as in Sanscrit. The position of the words
in the sentence is: subject, object, verb. The adjective
when used attributively stands after the noun qualified.
Lexical Affinities.
Several Creek words possess a striking resemblance with
words of equal or related signification, pertaining to other
languages. Some of them are undoubtedly borrowed, while
others may rest on a fortuitous resemblance. A few of them
were pointed out by H. Hale, in Amer. Antiquarian V, 120.
I consider as being borrowed from Cheroki :
Cr. atasi war-club, in Cher, atsa, at'sa ; occurs in the Cher,
war-name : At'sa utegi the one throwing away the
war-club. It contains the idea of being bent, crooked ;
inata atassini the snake is crawling.
Cr. tchn'ska. J>ost-oah, H. tchiski ; Cher. tchusk6.
Cr. yenasa, Cha'hta yanash bison, buffalo; Cher, yanasa.
The Creek sulitawa soldier and the Cha'hta shulush shoe
were borrowed from the French terms soldat and Soulier
(from Lat. subtalare).
Alike in Creek and Cheroki, but of uncertain provenience
THE CREEK DIALECT. 213
are tsiila, tchulajfo*, in Yuchi satchoni ; hia, i-a this, this one
(pron. dem.) Compare also Cr. nini road, trail with Cher,
na^nohi, na-£n6hi road. The Cr. words tiwa hair, scalp, and
wahu winged elm are said to be borrowed from foreign lan-
guages. It will be noticed, that names of plants, and
especially of animals hunted by man often spread over
several contiguous linguistic areas.
The Maskoki dialects, it must be acknowledged, have re-
mained remarkably free from foreign admixture.
SECOND OR SPECIAL PART.
THE KASI'HTA MIGRATION LEGEND.
INDIAN MIGRATION LEGENDS.
There are events in the history of a people, which are
remembered with difficulty or displeasure and therefore soon
drop from the memory of men. But there are other incidents
which pass from father to son through many generations, and
the remembrance of them, though altered in many particulars
and variously recounted, seems to be undying. Events of
this kind are migrations, long warfare or decisive battles,
which resulted either in defeat or victory, alliances with
cognate or friendly tribes, times of abundance, of famines
and epidemics. To be of easy remembrance, there must be
something connected with these events which forcibly strikes
the imagination and in later times stands out as the principal
fact, while minor features of its occurrence disappear or
become subject to alterations in the progress of time.
This also shows the process, how historic legends and
traditions ,are forming among uncultured nations, which are
possessed of imperfect means only for the transmission of
ideas to posterity. Whenever this traditionary lore is written
down by a civilized people, then the gathering of these tales,
half mythic and half historic, forms a commencement of
historiography, and by later generations is regarded as valued
material for clearing up the dawn of history.
The historic legends of the different nations vary exceed-
ingly in their contents, at least as much as do the nations
214
INDIAN MIGRATION LEGENDS. 215
themselves. There are some that speak of the chiefs only
and not of the people, or fill the tales with mythic heroes and
impossible events, while the more sober and intelligent restrict
the miraculous element to narrow limits, though never ex-
cluding it entirely. There are peoples and individuals who
will not give credence to a legend which does not contain
miracles. Many of the North American tribes, especially on
the Pacific coast, have no knowledge of early events in their
tribe, because a severe law prohibits them from calling their
dead relatives by their names. This superstition alone suffices
to destroy the historic sense in the population, but does not
seem to have operated among the Aztecs, Mayas and Quichhuas
to any noticeable degree.
All nations of the globe have migrated from earlier into
more recent seats, but with many of them these migrations
took place in epochs so far distant that they have lost all
recollections of them. These latter we call autochthonic ;
the .Kalapuya of Willamet Valley, Oregon, and the Washo
around Carson, Nevada, who claim to have originated from
bulrushes in the vicinity, belong to these. All tribes of the
Maskoki stock possess migration legends, and so do the
Dakota and Iroquois. Their migration legends are inter-
mingled with myths and mythic ideas; nevertheless, they
prove that the migrations took place in comparatively recent
times, and that these accounts are not pure astronomical or
other fictions;
A full knowledge of Maskoki mythology would certainly
help us in the understanding of their migration tales, but this
subject has not been investigated as yet. Their principal
mythic power is the " Master of Life " or " Holder of Breath, ' '
in Creek Isakita immissi, a divine being, which is as thor-
oughly North American as Jahve, an ancient sun- and thunder-
god, is of Semitic, and Dyaus, Zeus, Jupiter, the Sky-god, is
of Aryan origin. The proper sense of the Creek name is
"the one who carries, takes the life or breath for them;" it
216 THE CREEK INDIANS.
is the embodiment of the idea that a great, powerful spirit
gives life, or what is synonymous with it, breath to them
(to persons, animals), and takes it off from them at will
(isakita life, breath; im- pron. poss. 3d person, isas F take,
when the object stands in the singular) ; isi, issi taker, holder.
The Master of Life, also called Suta-laikati, "resident in the
sky," is not a pure abstraction, but has to be brought into
connection with the sun-worship of all Americans, which
again became associated with the cult of the fire-flame. The
idea that the Creeks knew anything of the devil of the Chris-
tian religion is a pure invention of the missionaries ; being
christianized, they call him now: isti futchigo "the man
acting perversely," taso^la'ya, or: isti nikle-idsha atsu'li "the
old person-burner ' ' (ani nikle-idshas I burn somebody, some-
thing); the Yuchi call him "the swinging man," just as they
call a ghost " a hunting man." The Shetimasha name for
the devil is neka, which properly means conjurer, sorcerer
and witchcraft.
In the eyes of the missionaries and Christian settlers, the
paramount importance and abstract character of the Master
of Breath made him appear as the centre of an almost mono-
theistic religion ; but on closer investigation it will be found
that the Creeks believed in many genii and mythic animals
besides, two of which were the isti-papa and the snake, which
furnished the snake horn as a war-talisman. It would be singu-
lar indeed, if the Creeks were the only Indians of America
who believed solely in the Great Spirit and not also in a
number of lesser conceptions of imagination, as dwarfs, giants,
ogres, fairies, hobgoblins and earth-spirits.
The myths referring to the origin of nations often stand
in close connection with myths accounting for the ages of
the world or successive creations, with migration legends, and
with culture-myths, explaining the origin of certain institu-
tions, manufactures and arts.
Many of these myths are etymological, as that of the
INDIAN MIGRATION LEGENDS. 217
Greeks, stating that they originated from stones thrown, by
Deucalion behind himself Qda? stone, and la6$ people) ; that
of Adam, being created from earth; adam, in Hebrew,
signifies person and mankind, adorn, adum, fem. adumah red,
ruddy, bay-colored, adamah earth, ground, land, from its red-
dish color, admoni red-haired.
Although the origin from the earth is certainly, the most
natural that could suggest itself to primitive man, there are
a number of nations claiming provenience from the sky
(the Tukabatchi were let down from the sky in- a gourd or
calabash) : from the sun (Yuchi), from the moon, from the
sea, from the ashes of fire (Shawano), from eggs (Quichhua)
or certain plants.
The Aht, on the western coast of Vancouver Island, allege
that animals were first produced at Cape Flattery, Washington
Territory, and from the union of some of- these with a star,
which fell from heaven, came the first men, and from them
sprang all the race of Nitin-aht, Klayok-aht and Makah or
Klass-aht Indians. 1
Wherever a mythic origin from an animal, especially from
a wild beast, is claimed for man, it is usually done to explain
the totem of the gens to which the originators of the tale
belong.
Among the nations tracing their mythic origin to the earth,
or what amounts to the same thing, to caves, deep holes,
hills or mountains, are the Porno of Northern California, who
believe that their ancestors, the coyote-men, were created
directly from a knoll of red earth, 2 still visible in their
country ; the Nahua, whose seven tribes issued from Chicom-
oztoc or the "Seven Caves."
A tribe of the Y6kat group, the Tinlul in Southern Cali-
fornia, claims that their forefathers issued from badger-bur-
1 J. G. Swan, the Makah Indians, p. 56, in Smithsonian Contributions.
2 Stephen Powers, Tribes of California, p. 156.
15
218 THE CREEK INDIANS.
rows, and they derive their tribal name from these holes,
which are extremely frequent through their country. 1
Six families representing the Six Nations of the Iroquois
are called out to the upper world from a cave on the Oswego
River by the "Holder of the Heavens," Tarenyawagon.'
Traditions on early migrations, which have originated in
the people to which they refer and bear the imprint of genu-
ineness, not that of a late fabrication by conjurers or mixed-
bloods, usually contain indications of importance which are
confirmed by archseologic and linguistic researches. The
tradition of the Hebrews, which tells of their immigration
into Palestine from the countries of the north across the
Euphrates, is substantiated by their tribal name ibri "one
who has crossed." The Hellenic, especially Doric tradition
of an immigration from Thrace and Macedonia through
Epirus and Thessalia into Greece is confirmed by linguistic
and historic facts, but the Roman legend concerning the
descent of the founders of the "Eternal City " from Troy
was acknowledged to be a pious fraud by the ancients them-
selves.
The Indians of the upper and middle part of the peninsula
of California claim descent from the Yuma population north
of them ; the TinnS- Apache of New Mexico and the Gila
river, Arizona, also point to an ancient home in the far
north, and both traditions are confirmed by the affinities of
their dialects. In many instances, though by no means in
all, the migrations are seen to follow the direction of the
longitudinal'axis of the continent. In North America another
line of migration is observed besides, that from west to east ;
nevertheless, the Yuchi and some Dakota and Iroquois tribes
have moved in a direction exactly opposite.
i Communicated by Dr. Walter J. Hoffman. Powers writes the name :
Tin-lin-neh.
2 The myth is given below in full; taken from E. Johnson, Legends,
etc. pp. 43, sqq.
INDIAN MIGRATION LEGENDS. 219
It is erroneous to believe that a people had but one migra-
tion legend, because only one has come to our knowledge. 1
This would be a thorough misapprehension of the various
agencies which are at work in producing folk-lore. Every
tribe of a people or nation has its own migration myth or
legend, which in some points coincides, in others conflicts
with those of the neighboring septs. Conflicting traditions
will be noticed below, not only among the Maskoki nations
at large, but also within the narrower limits of the Creek
towns or tribes.
To the reproduction and critical examination of the differ-
ent Creek migration legends transmitted to us we premise a
short chapter on the mythic and legendary tales referring to
the migrations of the other Maskoki nations.
The account of the Cha'hta migration, as given in the Mis-
sionary Herald, of Boston, Vol. XXIV (1828), p. 215, was
referred to in a short extract in this volume, under Cha'hta,
pp. 106. 107.
The narrative of the interpreter, who seems to have been
somewhat imbued with the spirit of rationalism, continues
as follows :
" When they emigrated from a distant country in the west,
the Creeks were in front, the Cha'hta in the rear. They
travelled to a ' good country ' in the east ; this was the in-
ducement to go. On the way, they stopped to plant corn.
Their great leader and prophet * directed all their move-
ments, carried the hobuna or sacred bag (containing ' medi-
cines ') and a long white pole as the badge of his authority.
When he planted the white pole, it was a signal for their en-
campment. He was always careful to set this pole perpen-
dicularly and to suspend upon it the sacred bag. None were
allowed to come near it and no one but himself might touch
1 " Quod non est in scriptis, non est in mundo."
» Prophet, in Cha'hta, is hopayi and corresponds in his name to the
ahopaya, hopaya of the Creeks, q. v.
220 THE CREEK INDIANS.
it. When the pole inclined towards the east, this was the
signal for them to proceed on their journey ; it steadily in-
clined east until they reached Nanni Waya. There they
settled."
This story does not mention any crossing by the Cha'hta
of the turbid waters of the mighty Mississippi, but accounts
quite satisfactorily for the mysterious inclination of the pole,
for the prophet must have been careful to suspend the satchel
with the war-physic always on the eastern side, so as to have
the pole brought down in that direction by the weight of the
pouch. The tale contains a similar motive as that of the
foundation of the citadel at Thebes by Kadmus, who was
ordered by an oracle to follow a wandering heifer until it
would settle in the grass, and then to found a city on the spot.
Follows the account of the Chicasa migration, as told by
their old men to the United States agent stationed among
them, and printed in Schoolcraft, Indians, I, 309 sq :
" By tradition they say they came - from the West ; a part of
their tribe remained in the West. When about to start east-
ward they were provided with a large dog as a guard and a
pole as guide ; the dog would give them notice whenever an
enemy was near at hand, and thus enable them to make their
arrangements to receive them. The pole they would plant
in the ground every night, and the next morning they would
look at it, and go in the direction it leaned. They continued
their journey in this way until they crossed the great Missis-
sippi river, and on the waters of the Alabama river arrived
in the country about where Huntsville, Alabama, now is.
There the pole was unsettled for several days, but finally it
settled and pointed in a southwest direction. They then
started on that course, planting the pole every night", until
they arrived at what is called the Chickasaw Old Fields, 1
1 The Chicasa Old Fields were, as I am informed by Mr. C. C. Royce,
on the eastern bank of Tennessee river, at the islands, Lat. 34 35' and
Long. 86° 31'.
INDIAN MIGRATION LEGENDS. 221
where the pole stood perfectly erect. All then came to the
conclusion that that was the Promised Land, and there they
accordingly remained until they emigrated west of the State
of Arkansas, in the years 1837 and 1838."
"While the pole was in an unsettled condition, a part of
their tribe moved on east, and got with the Creek Indians,
but so soon as the majority of the tribe settled at the Old
Fields, they sent for the party that had gone east, who
answered that they were very tired, and would rest where
they were awhile. This clan was called Cush-eh-tah. They
have never joined the parent tribe, but they always remained
as friends until they had intercourse with the whites ; then
they became a separate nation."
"The great dog was lost in the Mississippi, and they
always believed that the dog had got into a large sink-hole
and there remained; the Chickasaws said they could hear
the dog howl just before the evening came. Whenever any
of their warriors get scalps, they give them to the boys to
go and throw them into the sink where the dog was. After
throwing the scalps, the boys would run off in great fright,
and if one should fall in running, the Chickasaws were cer-
tain he would be killed or taken prisoner by their enemies.
Some of the half-breeds, and nearly all of the full-bloods
now believe it."
" In traveling from the West to the Promised Land in the
East, they have no recollection of crossing any large water-
course except the Mississippi river ; they had to fight their
way through enemies on all sides, but cannot now remember
the names of them. When they left the West, they were
informed that they might look for whites and that they
would come from the East; that they should be on their
guard to avoid them, lest' they should bring all manner of
vice among them. ' '
The end of this relation looks rather suspicious for its
antiquity, or may be a later addition. The throwing of the
222 THE CREEK INDIANS.
scalps into the sink has to be considered as a sort of sacrifice,
although it is difficult to say which power of nature the dog
represented. The howling of the dog before evening and
the direction of the pole seem to indicate the state of the
weather and the moisture of the ground, which could give
origin to fevers. That the passage : " the dog was lost in
the Mississippi," should read : " the dog was lost in the State
of Mississippi," is plainly shown by the sentences following
the statement.
The migration legends now current among the Alibamu
and the Hitchiti are but short in form and have been referred
to under the respective headings.
MIGRATION LEGENDS OF THE CREEK TRIBES.
The following legends of the Creek Indians are the only
ones I have been able to obtain, although it may be taken
for certain, that every one of the larger centres of the Creek
nation had its own story about this. The legend in Url-
sperger and in Hawkins are both from Kasi'hta. Milfort's
was probably given to him at Odshi-ap6fa, and a fragment of
the Tukabatchi legend is inserted under Tukabatchi, p. 147.
Migration Legend as recounted to Col. Benj. Hawkins by Taskaya
Miko, of Apata-i, a branch village of Kasi'hta. " Sketch "
of B. Hawkins, pp. 81-83.
" There are in the forks (akfaski) of Red River or U-i tchati,
west of Mississippi River, U-i ukufki, two mounds of earth.
At this place the Kasi^ta, Kawita and Chicasa found them-
selves, and were at a loss for fire. They were here visited by
the hayoyalgi, four men who came from the corners of the
world. One of them asked the Indians, where they would
have their fire (tutka). They pointed to a spot; it was made
and they sat down around it. The hayoyalgi directed that
they should pay particular attention to the fire, that it would
preserve them and let Isakita imissi, the holder of breath,
CREEK MIGRATION LEGENDS. 223
know their wants. One of the visitors took them to show
them the pa'ssa, another showed them the miko huyanl'dsha,
then the cedar or atchina and the sweet-bay or t61a. (One or
two plants were not recollected, and each of these seven
plants was to belong to a particular tribe, imalaikita. 1 ) After
this, the four visitors disappeared in a cloud, going in the
direction whence they came.
* ' The three towns then appointed their rulers. The Kasi/ta
chose the bear gens or nukusalgi to be their mikalgi, and the
Istanalgi a to be their iniha-'lakalgi or men second in com-
mand. The Kawita chose the 'la'loalgi or fish gens to be
their mikalgi.
"After these arrangements, some other Indians came from
the west, met them, and had a great wrestle with the three
towns ; they made ballsticks and played with them, with bows
and arrows, and with the atassa, the war club. They fell
out, fought, and killed each other. After this warring, the
three towns moved eastwardly, and met the Abika on Coosa
river. There they agreed to go to war for four years against
their first enemy ; they made shields, tupelukso, of buffalo
hides and it was agreed, that the warriors of each town should
dry and bring forward the ika halbi or scalps of the enemy
and pile them ; the Abika had a small pile, the Chicasa were
above them, the Kawita above them, and the Kasi/ta above
all. The two last towns raised the itu tchati, red or scalp-
pole, and do not suffer any other town to raise it. Kasijfta is
first in rank.
"After this, they settled the rank of the four towns among
themselves. Kasi^ta called Abika and Chicasa tchatchusi,
my younger brothers. Chicasa and Abika called Kasi/ta and
>■ alaikita means totemic gens, imalaikita one's own gens, or Us particu-
lar gens.
> No such gens or division exists among the Creeks now.
* The present Creek word for shield is masanagita. The tupelukso
consisted of a round frame, over which hides were stretched.
224 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Kawita tcha'laha, my elder brothers. Abika called Chicasa
ama'hmaya or my elders, my superiors, and Chicasa some-
times uses the same term to Abika.
"This being done they commenced their settlements on
Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, and crossing the falls of Talla- •
poosa, above Tukaba^tchi, they visited the Chatahutchi river,
and found a race of people with flat heads in possession of
the mounds in the Kasi^ta fields. TJjiese people used bows
and arrows, with strings made of sinews. The allktchalgi
or great physic makers sent some rats in the night-time,
which gnawed the strings, and in the morning they attacked
and defeated the flat-heads. They crossed the river at the
island, near the mound, and took possession of the country.
After this they spread out eastwardly to Otchisi-hatchi or
Okmulgi river, to Okoni river, to Ogltchi or How-ge-chuh
river, to Chiska talofa hatchi or Savannah river, called some-
times Sawanogi. They met the white people on the seacoast,
who drove them back to their present situation.
" Kasi^ta and Chicasa consider themselves as people of one
fire, tutk-itka hamkushi, 1 from the earliest account of their
origin. Kasi^ta • appointed the first miko for^the Chicasa,
directed him to settle in the large field (sit down in the big
savanna), where they now are, and govern them. Some of
the Chicasa straggled off and settled near Augusta, from
whence they returned and settled near Kasi/ta, and thence
rejoined their own people. Kasi/ta and Chicasa have re-
mained friends ever since their first acquaintance. ' '
Extract from : " History of the Moskoquis, called to-day
Creeks ;" a chapter in " Memoire" of Milfort, pp. 229-265 :
Everybody knows, that when the Spaniards conquered
1 Ttitk-itka hamkushi: of one town, belonging to one tribe; literally:
" of one burning fire :" tutka_/f«, itkis it burns, hamkin one, -ushi, suffix :
belonging to, being of.
MILFORTS MIGRATION LEGEND. 225
Mexico, they experienced but little difficulty in subduing the
peaceable nation inhabiting those southwestern countries by
means of their firearms, which proved to be far superior to
the bows and arrows of their opponents, and against which
courage availed almost nothing. The ruler Montezuma
saw the impossibility of resisting, and called to his aid the
neighboring tribes. At that epoch the Moskoquis formed
a powerful separate republic in the northwest of Mexico;
they succored him with a numerous body of warriors, . but
were frightfully decimated by the Spaniards, who dismem-
bered Montezuma's domain, and almost completely depopu-
lated it. The conquerors also extended their sceptre over
the territory of the Moskoquis, who, disdaining abject slavery,
preferred to leave their native country to regain their former
independence.
They directed their steps to the north, and having marched
about one' hundred leagues reached the headwaters of Red
river in fifteen days. From there they followed its course
through immense plains, blooming with flowers and verdure
and stocked with game, for eight days. Innumerable flocks
of aquatic and other birds congregated around the salt ponds
of the prairie and on the waters of Red River. Encountering
clumps of trees upon their way, they stopped their march.
Scouting parties were dispatched to explore the surroundings ;
they returned in a month, having discovered a forest, the
borders of which were situated on Red river, and contained
ample subterranean dwellings. The Moskoquis went on, and
on reaching the spot, discovered that these dwellings were
hollows made in the soft ground by buffaloes and other ani-
mals, which had been attracted by the salty taste of the earth.
The tribe concluded to settle at this quiet place and began to
sow the grains of maize which they had brought from their
Mexican home. Being in want of other tools, they managed
to cut and trim pieces of wood with sharp-edged stones;
these wooden sticks were then charred and hardened in the
226 THE CREEK INDIANS.
fire, to serve as agricultural implements. Thereupon they
fenced in the fields selected for planting by means of rails
and pickets, so as to prevent the wild animals from eating
the maize-crop, and apportioned some of the land to each
family 1 in the tribe. While the young people of both sexes
were occupied at the agricultural work, the old ones were
smoking their calumets. Thus many years were passed in
happy retirement and abundance of material riches.
But soon their destinies took a downward turn, and forced
them to expatriate themselves for a second time. A number
of their men were killed by the Albamo or Alibamu, and the
young men sent after them were unable to meet the hostiles
and to chastise them. The mikos attributed this to the
want of unity in their military organization, and as a remedy
for it instituted the charge of Great Warrior or tustenuggi
'lako. His authority lasted at first only during the war-
expedition commanded by him, but within that time his
power was unlimited, and he could not be called to any
account.
Led by a tustenuggi of their choice, they pursued the Ali-
bamu, and finally caught up with them near a forest on the
banks of the Missouri river. The war-chief ordered the wind
gens, to which he belonged, to cross the river first, then
followed the bear gens, then the tiger gens, and so forth.
On their march the vanguard was formed by the young braves,
the rear-guard by the old men, and the non-combatants were
placed in the centre. They surprised the Alibamu, who then
inhabited subterranean dwellings (souterrains), and massacred
a large number of them ; then these retreated in haste along
the Missouri river, descending on its right or southern banks.
When again closely pressed by the pursuing Moskoquis, who
had defeated them more than once, the Alibamu crossed over
to the left side of the river ; but this did not save them from
pursuit, for the Moskoquis followed them to the opposite
1 Family is probably meant for gens, or totem-clan.
milfort's migration legend. 227
side, defeated them in a sharp encounter, and drove them in
the direction of Mississippi river, in which many found a
watery grave in their hasty flight.
The two belligerent tribes now crossed Mississippi river,
and the Alibamu, having an advance of eight days over their
pursuers, fled before them into the interior parts to the east.
The Moskoquis discovered their tracks and followed them to
the Ohio river, north shore, thence to the influx of Wabash
river, then crossed Ohio river into what is now Kentucky,
continued their march in a southern direction, and finally
arrived in the Yazoo country, where they stayed for several
years. The caves in which they lived exist to the present
day; some of them were excavated by themselves, while
others were found ready for occupation.
In the meantime the Alibamu had remained in the fertile
tracts along Coosa river. Their warriors cut off and scalped
some of the Moskoqui scouts, who had come to ascertain
their whereabouts. This deed so embittered the injured
tribe, that their mikos resolved to dispossess the enemy of
their territory for the third time. They crossed Gumberland
and Tennessee rivers, followed Coosa river in marching along
its banks from south to north, 1 but were too late for the
Alibamu, who had previously left the country, partly for
Mobile, partly for the tracts held by Cha'hta Indians.
. The Moskoquis then quietly occupied the country which
they had conquered and spread out along the rivers Coosa,
Tallapoosa, Chatahutchi, Flint, Okmulgi, Great and Little
Okoni and Ogitchi, till they reached Savannah river at the
place where Augusta is now standing.
The Moskoquis, after taking possession of this wide extent
of territory, sent their warriors down Mobile river in pursuit
of the Alibamu, who had placed themselves under the protec-
tion of the French. The French commander sought to pre-
1 p. 262: " dans la direction du nord." Perhaps we have to add the
words: "austtd."
228 THE CREEK INDIANS.
vent a war between the two bodies of Indians, and succeeded
in arranging a truce of six months and in determining with
accuracy the hunting grounds of both. Leaders and warriors
of the Moskoquis then descended the river and concluded a
lasting peace with the hostile tribe in the presence of the
French commander. They even invited the Alibamu to join
their confederacy by offering them a tract of land on what is
now Alabama river, with the privilege of preserving their own
customs. The Alibamu accepted the offer, settled on the
land, built a town on it, called Coussehate, and since then
form an integral part of the Moskoqui people, which now
assumed the name of Creeks.
As a sequel to his wonderful story of the pursuit of the
Alibamu by the Creeks and the final peaceable settling down
of both, Milfort adds some points on the early doings and
warrings of the Creeks, which had occurred but a limited
number of years before, his stay in the tribe, and were re-
counted to him by one of the mikos from their memorial
beads, like the legendary migration :
About the time of Coussehate' s foundation an Indian tribe
dismembered by the Iroquois and Hurons, the Tukabatchi,
fled to the Creeks, and asked for shelter. Lands were as-
signed and the fugitives built on it a town; which they
named after themselves, and where the general assemblies
of the entire people are sometimes meeting. This kind re-
ception encouraged the Taskigi and the Oxiailles (Oktchayi)
who were also annoyed by their warlike neighbors, to seek a
place of safety among the Creeks. Their request was granted
also. The former settled at the confluence of Coosa and
Tallapoosa rivers, the Oxiailles ten leagues to the north of
them, in a beautiful prairie near a rivulet.
Shortly after this event, the ■ small tribe of the Yuchi
(la petite nation des Udgis), partly dismembered by the
British, also fled to the Creek towns and were given a ter-
ritory on Chatahutchi river. Likewise did a part of the
milfort's migration legend. 229
Chicasa apply for help ; they were assigned seats on Yazoo
river, "at the head of Loup river," 1 and- soon extended their
habitations up to the Cheroki boundaries. A few years after,
the unhappy Naktche took refuge among the Chicasa, who
by protecting them underwent the displeasure of the French
colonists. They attacked the Chicasa and in spite of their
superior artillery were disastrously beaten near Loup river.
A second attack of theirs was warded off by the tribe, by
acceding to the peace arrangements proposed by the French.
The Naktche then passed over to the Creeks and obtained
lands on Coosa river ; they built there the towns of Natchez
and of Abikudshi, near two high mountains having the ap-
pearance of sugar-loaves. The head men of the Creeks went
to New Orleans in order to arrange matters amicably with
the French and permitted them to erect a fort at Taskigi,
subsequently called Fort Toulouse, and the tribes were help-
ful in erecting it.
Jealous of the erection of this advanced trade-post by their
hereditary enemy, the British asked for permission to' build
a fort on Ogitchi river, twenty miles west of Augusta, Georgia,
but were roundly, and in unmistakable terms, refused by the
Creek towns. After the loss of the Canadian provinces, Fort
Toulouse was evacuated by the French. The Creeks, much
dismayed at the departure of their friends, and filled with
aversion against the British and Spaniards, were compelled to
open their towns to the English traders, to obtain the needed
articles of European manufacture.
Follows the recital of the incorporation of some families of
Apalachicola, Shawano and Cheroki Indians into the com-
munity of the Creeks (Mem., pp. 276-285). Unfortunately
the statement concerning the immigration of the Cheroki is
without any details, and therefore is of no avail in localizing
1 Better known as Neshoba river, State of Mississippi ; nesh6ba, Cha'hta
term for gray wolf.
230 THE CREEK INDIANS.
the Cheroki towns or colonies within the Creek territory
(p. 285). The author states that the immigration was caused
by the pressure exercised upon the tribe by the English and
Americans ; it was therefore of a quite modern date, if Mil-
fort can be trusted.
In 1781, on the 1st of February, Milfort, great war-chief
of the Creeks, left his home at Little Talassi, half a league
above the ancient Fort Toulouse, at the head of two hundred
young braves, to visit the legendary caves on Red river, from
which the nation had issued in bygone times. They crossed
the territories held by the Upper Cha'hta, passed through
Mobile, the confluence of Iberville bayou with Mississippi
river, St. Bernard bay on 'the coast, and following a northern
direction, finally reached a forest on Red river, about 150
leagues above its junction with Mississippi river. They
crossed these woods, which were situated on an eminence on
the river side, and stood in face of the caves (cavernes), the
objective point of the expedition.
The noise of a few gun-shots brought out of these spacious
cavities a large number of bisons, wild oxen and wild horses,
which ran, frightened as they were by the unusual explosions,
head over heels, over precipices of more than eighty feet of
perpendicular height into the slimy waters of Red river.
The only description Milfort gives of these caves goes to
show that there were several or many of them, situated in
close vicinity to each other, and that those seen could easily
contain fifteen to twenty thousand families. The party con-
cluded to pass the inclement season in these grottoes, which
they had reached about Christmas time. Here they hunted,
fished and danced until the end of March, 1782, then started
for the Missouri, and subsequently for home, well supplied
with the products of the chase.
REMARKS ON MIGRATION LEGENDS. 231
Remarks on Taskaya Miio's Kasthta Legend.
A closer study of this legend reveals many points of import-
ance for the better understanding of Tchikilli's narrative,
as both have evidently been derived from the same original
report.
The locality where the tribes of the Kasi^ta, Kawita and
Chicasa came from is placed here in the same point of the
compass as in Tchikilli's story, in the west. Whether the
forks of the Red river were supposed to coincide with the
"mouth of the earth" in the legend can be decided only
when we shall have a better knowledge of Creek folklore.
If Hawkins' informant used the passive form of hidshas to see,
when speaking of the appearance of the Kasi/ta, it would be
more appropriate to say originated, were born than the expres-
sion we find in the text: "found themselves." The subter-
ranean dwellings, mentioned and visited by Milfort as being
the legendary home of the "Moskoquis," are not mentioned
here; and in French colonial times the " Forks of Red river"
designated the confluence of Washita and Red rivers.
The hayoyalgi, coming from the four corners of the world to
light the sacred fire, the symbol of the sun, are the winds fanning
it to a higher flame, and the purpose of the story is to make an
oracular power of the sacred flame, by which the Holder of
Breath, or Great Spirit, could be placed in communication
with his Indian wards, and enabled to take care of them.
The notice that each of the seven plants distributed to the
Indians belonged, or was the emblem of a certain gens or
division of people, is gathered from this passage only, and
probably refers to the ingredients of some war-physic, which
only a limited number of the gentes may have been entitled
to contribute to the annual puskita. The precedence of some
favored gentes before others in regard to offices of peace
or war is frequently observed among Northern as well as
Southern tribes of Indians. 1 The number four is conspicuous
1 Cf. what is said of the wind gens in Milfort's migration legend.
232 THE CREEK INDIANS.
here as well as in the legend related by Tchikilli ; we have
four hayoyalgi, four principal chieftaincies, four years of
warfare, etc.
The cause of "the warring, or the pretense for it, against
"some other Indians from the west" is curiously similar to
the rivalry in athletic sports, which took place between the
western Iroquois and their subdivisions, and finally led to the
destruction of the Erie or Ka'hkwa Indians (Cusick, John-
son). The names of "brothers, cousins, elders," which
occur here, are terms of intertribal courtesy, which we find
also, perhaps in a more pronounced manner, among the New
York Iroquois. The Creeks called the Delaware and Shawano
Indians grandfathers, because they regard their customs and
practices as older and more venerable than their own ; others
state, because they occupied their countries further back in
time than the Creeks did theirs.
The facts subsequently related are given without such
chronological dates as we find with the previous ones, but
the narrator evidently tried to condense into the space of a
few years what it took generations to accomplish. This is
very frequently observed in legendary tales. The spreading
out of the people from the Tallapoosa river to the Chata-
hutchi and from there to the Savannah must have involved
a warfare, struggling, migration and settling down of several
centuries, for the advance of the Maskoki proper in this
direction was tantamount to the formation of the- Maskoki
confederacy by subduing or incorporating the tribes standing
in their way, and to the still more lengthy process of settling
among them. What nation the flat-heads or aborigines of
the country may have belonged to, will be discussed in the
remarks to Tchikillis' tale. That there were Creek-speaking
Indians on the Atlantic coast as early as 1564, has been shown
conclusively in the article Yamassi ; but their expulsion from
there by the white colonists occurred but one hundred and
fifty years later.
REMARKS ON MIGRATION LEGENDS. 233
A certain objective purpose is inherent in these legends,
which is more of a practical than of a historical character ;
it intends to trace the tribal friendship existing between the
Kasi^ta and the Chicasa, or a portion of the latter, to remote
ages. It must be remembered, that both speak different
languages intelligible to each other only in a limited number
of words. An alliance comparable to this also exists between
the Pima and Maricopa tribes of Arizona; the languages
spoken by these even belong to different families.
The period when the Chicasa settlement near Kasi^ta was
broken up by the return of the inmates to the old Chicasa
■ country is not definitely known, but may be approximately
set down in the beginning of the eighteenth century. Later
on, a war broke out between the Creeks and Chicasa. Kasi/ta
town refused to march against the old allies, and "when the
Creeks offered -to make peace their offers were rejected, till
the Kasi/ta interposed their good offices. These had the
desired effect, and produced peace" (Hawkins, p. 83).
Remarks to Milforfs Legend.
Milfort's "History of the Moskoquis," as given above in
an extract, is a singular mixture of recent fabrications and
distortions of real historic events, with some points traceable
.to genuine aboriginal folklore.
Nobody who has the slightest knowledge of the general
history of America will credit the statement that the Creeks
ever lived in the northwestern part of Mexico at Montezuma's
and Cortez' time, since H. de Soto found them, twenty
years later, on the Coosa river ; and much less the other state-
ment, that they succored Montezuma against the invader's
army. 1 That they met the Alibamu on the west side of Mis-
sissippi river is not impossible, but that they pursued them
for nearly a thousand miles up that river to the Missouri, and
1 A Chicasa migration from Mexico to the Kappa or Uga^pa settle-
ments, on Arkansas river, is mentioned by Adair, History, p. 195.
16
234 THE CREEK INDIANS.
then down again on the other or eastern side of Mississippi,
is incredible to anybody acquainted with Indian customs and
warfare. The narrative of the Alibamu tribal origin given
under : Alibamu, p. 86, locates the place where they issued
from the ground between the Cahawba and the Alabama
rivers. That the Creeks arrived in Northern Alabama in or
after the time of the French colonization of the Lower Mis-
sissippi lands, is another impossibility, and the erection of
Fort Toulouse preceded the second French war against the
Chicasa 4>y more than twenty years, whereas Milfort repre-
sents it as having been a consequence of that war.
It is singular and puzzling that Maskoki legends make so
frequent mention of caves as the former abodes of their own
or of cognate tribes. Milfort relates, that the Alibamu,
when in the Yazoo country, lived in caves. This may refer
to the Cha'hta country around "Yazoo Old Village" (p. 108),
in Neshoba county, Mississippi ; but if it points to the Yazoo
river, we may think of the chief Alimamu (whose name stands
for the tribe itself), met with by H. de Soto, west of Chicaca,
and beyond Chocchechuma. A part of the Cheroki anciently
dwelt in caves ; and concerning the caverns from which the
Creeks claim to have issued, James Adair gives the following
interesting disclosure ; " It is worthy of notice, that the Mus-
kohgeh cave, out of which one of their politicians persuaded
them their ancestors formerly ascended to their present terres-
trial abode, lies in the Nanne Hamgeh old town, inhabited
by the Mississippi-Nachee Indians, 1 which is one of the most
western parts of their old -inhabited country." The idea
that their forefathers issued from caves was so deeply engrafted
in the minds of these Indians, that some of them took any
conspicuous cave or any country rich in caves to be the
primordial habitat of their race. This is also confirmed by
a conjurer's tricky story alluded to by Adair, History,
pp. 195. 196.
1 Cf. Abiku'dshi, p. 125. Adair, History, p. 195.
TCHIKIIXl'S KASl'HTA LEGEND. 235
A notion constantly recurring in the Maskoki migrations
is that they journeyed east. This, of course, only points to
the general direction of their march in regard to their starting
point. As they were addicted to heliolatry, it may be sug-
gested that their conjurers advised them to travel, for luck, to
the east only, because the east was the rising place of the
sun, their protector and benefactor. Cosmologic ideas, like
this, we find among the Aztecs, Mayas, Chibchas and many
other American nations, but the direction of migrations is
determined by physical causes and not by visionary schemes.
"Wealth and plunder prompted the German barbarians, at the
beginning of the mediaeval epoch of history, to migrate to the
south of Europe ; here, in the Gulf territories, the inducement
lay more especially in the quest of a country more productive
in grains, edible roots, fish and game. It may be observed
here, that from the moving of the heavenly bodies from east
to west the Pani Indians deduced the superstition that they
should never move directly east in their travels. 1 This, how-
ever, they rarely observed in actual life at the expense of
convenience.
TCHIKIIXl'S KASl'HTA LEGEND.
The Kasi'hta migration legend, in its detailed form as now
before us, has been transmitted in the following manner :
After Tchikilli had delivered it in the year 1735 at Savan-
nah, in the presence of Governor Oglethorpe, of the colonial
authorities and people, and of over sixty of his Indian fol-
lowers (cf. p. 193), the interpreter handed it over, written
upon a buffalo skin, to the British, and in the same year it
was brought to England. To these statements, the American
Gazetteer* adds the following particulars, which seem to be
1 John B. Dunbar, The Pawnees; in Mag. of Amer. History, 1882,
(3d article) g 10.
a London, 1762, vol. II, Art. Georgia; cf. Ch. C. Jones, Tomochichi,
p. 74. Brinton, Ch.-M. Legend, p. 5.
236 THE CREEK INDIANS.
founded on authentic information : " This speech was curi-
ously written in red and black characters, on the skin of a
young buffalo, and translated into English, as soon as deliv-
ered in the Indian language. . . . The said skin was
set in a frame, and hung up in the Georgia Office, in West-
minster. It contained the Indians' grateful acknowledgments
for the honors and civilities paid to Tomochichi, etc."
Upon the request of Dr. Brinton, Mr. Nicholas Trubner
made researches in the London offices for this pictured skin,
but did not succeed in finding it. He discovered, however,
a letter written by Tchikilli, dated March, 1734, which is
deposited in the Public Record Office, Chancery Lane. 1
The chances of rediscovering the English original of the
legend are therefore almost as slim as those of recovering the
lost books of Livy's History. But a translation from the
English has been preserved in a German book of the period,
and the style of this piece shows it to be an authentic and
comparatively accurate rendering of the original. The Ger-
man book referred to is a collection of pamphlets treating of
colonial affairs, and published from 1735 to 1 741 ; its first vol-
ume bears the title: AiisfuehrlicheNachrichtvondenSaltzburg-
ischen Bmigranten, die sich in America niedergelassen haben.
Worin, etc. etc., Herausgegeben von Samuel Urlsperger, Halle,
MDCCXXXV. The legend occupies pp. 869 to 876 of this
first volume, and forms chapter six of the "Journal" of
von Reck, the title of which is as , follows : Herrn Philipp
Georg Friederichs von Reck Diarium von Seiner Reise nach
Georgien im. Jahr 1735. F. von Reck was the commissary
of those German-Protestant emigrants whom religious per-
secution had expelled from Salzburg, in Styria, their native
city.
1 Brinton, Ch.-M. Legend, pp. 5. 6.
ISTI MASKOKI ADSHULAGI-TAtI INNA*UNA*AT OS:
Naki Tchikilli isti Masko'ki Hatchapala'h Hatchata
tipa'^ad immikut hamm&'kit opunayatis Sawa'na talofan,
o'h'lolopi 1735, momen i-atikoyatis moh'men yanas-
ha'lpin u#hutsa'hudsatis.
Tchikilli isti Masko'ki Hatchapala Hatchata tipakad
immikut; Antitchi Kawitalgi i'mmiko ma/it; Illidshi
mikko; Osta Kasi^talgi immikko; Tammidsho hu'li
mikko; Wali Apala'h'ltsuklalgi hu'li kapitani; Puipa-
edshi mikko; Tamhuitchi Yutchitalgi imifa mikko;
Mitikayi Oku'nalgi inhu'li mikko; Tuwidshedshi mikko;
Huyani Tchiyahalgin Qkmulgalgi tibajrad inhu'li mikko;
Stimalague'htchi Osotsalgi immikko; Hupi'li Sawoklalgi
immikko; Iwanagi mikko; Tamokmi Yufantalgi inhu'li
kapitani tun, tustano/algi pali-tut'tchinit apakin opunayit
okatis :
Momad nita o'dshin ikana idshokuat hasi-aklatgatin
o'dshit o'men hawajfladls; momof man Kasi'htalgi ikan-
dsho^uan a'sosa-id anakuasin inkakida hayatis tche.
Mu'mof ikanat tchapaka-ikit hopuitakin inlo/adis ; ma
mo'man akiiyi'htchit inha'-a^latkosin apo/adls; momas
apalluat isafuli'htchit matawan i-apokatis. Momis isti
sulgad i-upan fik'hunnatis muma/an hi'lit-we'tis koma-
kika.
Mumitu istomas i'kana hubuitagi inlo/atid imomitcha'-
dshin, inhi'likut hasi-ossatifatchan apiyatis. ( up !)
Mo'hmit apiyit oi-ua okii'fki tchikfit lipakfit waggin
use/tchit, hapu hayit f igabin uhhayatgadis. Isin hayatgi
apiyit nl'ta hamgad yafgadin uiwa tsa-atid waggin
237
238 THE CREEK INDIANS.
u'le'htchadls. Moh'mit man apogit u'h'lolopi hokolin
'la'lotas man pasatit pipit apokatis. . Mumas wi-ka'wat
inhi'lagikun inhi'lagigadis. Uyuwa tchadad iyuksa fadsan
apiyadls, momof tini'tki o'kin impohatis nakitoha ko'hmet
u/'hapiadis.
Mumad ikodshi tchatit 'lanin ossit omatit okin hid-
shatis; momad ma'lani unapan yahaikida okid pohakatls
Nagitun omad hi'htchagls ka'/tchid isti u/tiitatis ;
miimatin totka sakid halluin aligapit omatit mat yahaikida
okit omin hidshakatis. f-a 'lani 'lani immikkun kaitchid
hodshifatls. Hayumas tinitki imiingls mo'men isti
impingalagi imungat o'mis.
Man isti italoa ma'la/la^a tut'tchinin itihidshatis
momad ma 'lani tutka ossi o'dshan ahitidshatit isfiillin
itihidshatis; mo'hmet man imahilissua omas inhitchkin
naki ita-u siilkin ahupu'llinakatls.
Ha'si-ossati fatsan atit tiitka hatkid immala'katis,
momas istomitchakigatis. Wahala fatsan atit tutka
okulatid immalakatis, mumas ma-o istomidshikatis.
Akelatka fatchan atit tutka lastid immalakatis, ma-o
istomidshikadis. Ispogi hunisa fatchan atit tiitka tcha-
atitut lanit immalakatis. Hia totka 'lani ahi'tki o'dshi
ahitidshi isfullatid itu^kalan; hia totkan hayomi atikas
o'dshit o's. Ma-o yaha-iki 6'mas odshid omls. 'Lani
unapan pukabit u/ui'lit omatit fik'hi'lkigut istuka'idhi
mahid omatin ista'mat isto'hmit omatin fik'hunnls ma^as
sigatis. Istudshi i'tski-susikon ma itun i'lanafaikit
ilihotchatis ; mo'hmet ma pukabi i'hsit ho'li apiyatas
isfiillatis. A'tassa omid omatis. Hayomis odshls ma-
omid, ito-u'h matawat omatis. Hiatawan naki i-alunga
ma'la/'la/a o'stid yahaigit istumitskatad i-u^ki'lkuidshit
odshin inhitchkadls ; ihatitchiska : passa; sahokolad:
TCHIKILLl'S KASl'HTA LEGEND. 239
mikko-huyanidsha ; satot'tchinad : sawatsku'h; isustad;
hishi loputski ; hayomit inhitchkadls.
Imahilissua inhitchkadi ps'skat pissa mikko-hoya-
nidsha tipakan isiafastid omants. Hia piiskita o'h'lolopi
omalgan i-ilawidshit naki homa lokfsat atigat man
weyit omis. Ma imahilissua inhitchekadi ayat hiiktagides
ipuskis, momin omad tutka itaman i'la-itidshit apokin
nlta tsa^gipas, ipakas, kulapa^as 6'lin inhuyanad i'la-awld
omatis. Hian mumikun ii'mad imahilissuatas imahopanid
omika; momin hoktage-u'h tchafindshagigo hakitayid
omika.
Ma-6mofa mahin ista italuat adsuleidshitut omit
homa/'hotit innakmagit shihpki-titayiha komitan itimay-
oposkit isiho^atis. Italuat 6'sttga- pukaben tchaktcha-
hi'htchid: "faki dshadin istchaditchagi'hlis ; -lanitut
omasim nik'lufat tchatit omika makakadis. Mumih'tchid
ponho'li ili'tchkan apiagi'l mu'men ista italuat- atit
istigaha'lpi yaweikit, itu tchaktchahidshati ii'hlanin oniat,
mad atchiillld oma'lis " itiga'dshadis.
Omalgat momitchita komit, omasim Kasi/talgi ta'htit
yawaigit pokabi aksomidsha'^tchin hitchgigo ha^adls.
Momiga mat itallua adsulli mahad omis komhuyidadis.
Tchikasalgit awaihigadis, momen Atilamalgi i'la-aweihi-
gadis; miimas Abi/kagitawat u'hlani ayidshadshad isti-
to'lkua atikusi-tayin yawaigadls.
Ma-6mof fu'sua ok'holatid 'lakid a'latis; ihadshi
tchapgld, impafnita lamhi imantalidshid. Nita umalgan
alagit istin pasatit papit a'latis. Hokti ahakin hahit,
hia fusua a'latin ihuilaidsha/adis. Hia fiisua ma naki
inhahoyadi i'hsit isayipati'tut, hofonen i'lisala^atls.
Odshipin omad nakitas hitchkuidshi waitis komakatis.
240 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Hofoni hakin tchissi tchatit hl'tchkatis momen ma fiisuat
i'lkito-aitis koma^atis.
Ma tchissin itimpunayagit istumidshakatit i'lgi imilid-
shagitayad itimpunayakatis. Ma fusua itcha-kuadaksin
in'ii apakln o'dshid omatis.
Momen ma tchi'ssit itsa kuadaksi ifakan kalagit
intadshatis istomit issi-imanaitchiko-tidayin hayatis;
momen man ilidisha/atis. Ma fiisua fusua omal immikkun
kaidsha/atis. Lamhi-u mikko 'lakid o'mis komagid
o'mis ; momiga hii'lidas apiyis adam hi'lka hakadas fiillis ;
momof lamhi-hadshi ko'htsaktsahidshid isfiillid omis.
Tchatad ho'lit omin hatgatit hi'lka ahopakat omis.
Ihu'Ht tafa hatkin isnihaidshit idshu'kuan hatidshit
awola'dshit lamhi okit hakin omat istofan ili'htchikos.
Hia nagi mu'hmof iyupan ma apokati inkapa/kit apiyit
nini hatkid wakin o'laitchatis; pahitas nak-omalgat
hatkusi-algid omatis. Momen istit fulli-hi'lit omadin
idshakadis. Ma nini itahualapi/tchit anakuasin nodsha'd-
shadis. Isafuli/shit nini istomid omad yihidsha/adis
momitisti istomid fiillit omati, ma ni'nin ati/git atchaka-
piyakatin isamumides 6'hmis komit omadls. Man atihaigit
apiyit Kolos'hatchi magidan ak'hadapidshatis; Kolos'-
hatchi kedshad tchadu-algid ikpdshid omeka.
Ma hatsi tayytchit apiyit hasi-ossati- fatchan Kosa
magida italluat apokin i'limu'laitchatis ; hian apokin
o'h'lolopi' ostad 6'ladis. Kosalgit okatit isti-papat tchatu
haiikin paikld istin pumpasatit omitutanks makatis.
Kosi^talgit okatit illidshida komid hidshi-is ma/adis.
Ikanan ku'la-it udshi ha'lpin hiiyan hahid isu/lanatis.
Mo'hmitto-lopotskin o'htalaitchatis ma isti-papa adshaka-
yigotitayin hahit u'hapiyadis, no'hmit sa-okan ma tchato
TCHIKILLl'S KASl'HTA LEGEND. 241
haiikit isti-papa paikan i'limuhucikatis. Ma isti-papa
tsabakihi'lit a-osa'-iyit assidshatis afosalgat iti'laputit.
Isti hamkusit ilatin ahi'lit omls omalgi mahatin monks
ho'hmit, istudshi itski-sosikon imawaigakatis ikan-haukin
awolaidshit at ofan. Man isti-papa o'hlitaigit igan-haiiki
inhayakatin u'hlataikin, tsulikusua ahit'hukin isnafkit
ilidshajfatis. Ifiini hayumas isfolli imiingat o'mis. Pal-
hamgad tsatitun palhamgit ok'holatid omis.
Isti-papa nita iskulapak' omalgan i'laagit isti pasatit
omatis. Munga ma ili'htchuf matawan fik'hunnin nita
kolapagl 6'lin i'lietchatis. Ma isagi'letchkan ho'litas
apia'lanit i-ititakuitchat nita ipagin imaposkit iskulapa-
katin apiyid omatis. Ifonin i-ahu'lkasitchid isapi-in
omad ihitskihi'lin fiillid o'mis.
O'h'lopi o'stad 6'lin Kosa talofa apokati ingapa^kit
apiyat hatch! Nofapi ka-etchid u'laitchatis yomad Kalasi-
hatchi ka'hodshid hakitos. Man u'h'lolopi hokolin
fik'hiin-nadls. Momid adshidis odshikoka naki yelungan
'la'lun yomen humpa^atis, momlt itcha-kutaksi haheidshit
in'li-tati itchhasua iniitin 'lonotutis, yoman siyokfanfa-
edshit kuha-tukah'lin islafka hayatis.
Hia apokati inkapa/kit apiyad hatchi Watulahagi
makitan o'laitchatis. Watulahaki Hatchi kaidshad
watulat tidayit latkid omit hahokadin ahudshif it umho-
yadls ; man ni'hli hamgin nodsha'dshatis Hadam apiyad
hatchi oiwa u'hlatkid odshin u'laidshatis ; o-itiimkan
hotchifadis, I'lin hayatki hatchi hamgin u'laitchatis
Afosafiska ke'dshid.
I'lin hayatki ma hatchin tayi/tchit apiyad 'lani halluit
laikin hu'laitchadin-istit apokin hi'dshatis, nini hatki
hayi fullangid o'mis komatis. Mii'nga 'li-habkin hahi-it
isitch'hatis isti hi'laglt omin o'mad gi'lidan komidut.
242 THE CREEK INDIANS.
Momas 'li hatki tchatakue'htchit i'lasidsh'hatis mu'hmen
immikun hidshe'dshajfadin hi'likugdos makatis; 'lit
hat'hagid i'lafulidshin o'mad u'hapihi-id ihaliwa umusas,
hupuitagi ihitchkuidshit i'lasawasa natchkatis, mumas
tchatiduga u'hapihiatskas kiidshatis. Momi istomas isti
istomid omakat hitchitan komit u'hapiyi sasatis ; mu'matin
sumitchipin o'laitchatls.
Ninit 6-i sakun akadapgid o'min hidsha^adis momadit
ma nini tabala i'lussigod omin hidshit ma isti uyuan
isaktchiyit omiga i'lasosa-igos komadis.
Man 'lanit liigid o'mis mo'terell magitat mu'madit
a'lkasatiilga nafhugls ma-iikid hakid omis, momin maisti
man apogit 6madsh5ks kiimhuid omis. Hu'lidas apiyit
fullin omofa hia inhagi istamaitas po'^ki algln pohagit
fullid omis.
Ma uyuan apa-idshidshit apiyit u'hlatkid odshin
o'laitchadin tchatu 'l'ak'lagid odshin hidshatis man
itcha-/udaksit o'hlomhin hidshadls ; momit ma isti nini
hatki hayi fullangid omadshuksh komatis.
Istofas istan apiyit fullati homan isti hokolin wilako-
idshit fullid omis. Hia hiima-wilakad 'lani halluin
o'htchimhokadin talofat odshin hidshatis, 'Li-hatkin ma
talofa isitch'hatis mu'mas ma isti talofa ati/kad 'li-i
tchatin asitch'hatis.
Momof kasih'talgi tchapak'ho^atis mu'hmit ma italuan
isapingalidshinomoftchokS isiti aipialis komatis. Tchadun
uyuan akpalatit taigagi titayin hahi-it u'htayidshatis
moh'mit talofa imisatis ma isti ika tapikstagid omajfatis
umalgan pasatit hokolgsgn ahusitcha'tchatls. Assitchi
isapiyad i'fa hatkin is'hih'tchit illidshatis. Hokolusi
aho'skadin assidshit isapiyad nini hatkid waggin
o'laitchadin talofat odsatchukit ikodshin ih'tchit, hia isti
TCHIKILLI'S KASl'HTA LEGEND. 243
hidshida komi hopo-iyitangid omadshoks komatis. Hian
Palajftchuklalgi apokitos mo'men ma o/huanapsld
Tamodsa'-idsi omis.
Kasi'htalgi imagi'laitska tchati-palatkan i-adshid
emunkatis; momas Pala/tchuklalgit assin iskuidshatis
hi v lkida isahopakan mo'hmit imponayatis: "pofigi
hat'hagidos momintchime-u matapoma'lis podsu'shuadshi
tchati-algatin takuagi *tchit ; istchigi'lga'li tchinatakin
hat'h^edshaksh ! " gedshatis-ka-edshatls.
Momidu istomas podshu'shuadshin ayiktchi imiinkatis
momas Pala^tchuklalgit isawatchitchikut imi'hsit intuba
lidshan hopitaltis Pala^tchuklalgit tafatkin imatis mo'hmit
piimmikut hamgushikas kaidshatls; mu'hmati atigad
istofas ito/kalgit apoki imu'ngatatis.-
U-i 'lako palahamgin apoki sasin apaluat tapalan apoki
sasatis. Apoki ha'mgad Kasi^talgin ka/dshit; apawan
Kowitalgin kahodshid omis ; momas isti hamgusid omis
momit Hatchapala Hatchata tipa^ad isti Maskoki italua
homa^hotid omis. Momidu istomas Kasi/talgi ta^tit
ikuadshi tchati tutka tchati hidshatit omit italua tchati-u
hayatit omika, ifigi tchatadi waika'lungo imungat omis
muntumas palahamgad hatkidun palahamgit tchatidut
emasim.
Ha/yomat nini hatki maimat isihi'lit omati gi'lagidos.
TamodshaMshi talepo'lat omidatitas istungun inlopa'-
idshitad gi'lagitos. Squire Oglethorpe adshakkahid mikko
'lakon iThi^tchit oponayat i'limpo/it i'limunahin
pohagidut akasamagid omeka.
\THE LEGEND^
" What Chekilll, the Head-chief of the Upper and
" Lower Creeks said, in a Talk held at Savannah,
"Anno, 1735, and which was handed over by the
" Interpreter, Written upon a Buffalo-skin, was,
" word for word, as follows :
" ' Speech, which, in the year 1735, was delivered at Sd-
" ' vannah, in Georgia, by ChekUli, Emperor of the
" ' Upper and Lower Creeks ; Antiche, highest Chief
" ' of the town of the Cowetas, Eliche, King ; Ousta,
" 'Head Chief of the Cussitaws, Tomechaw, War King;
" ' Wali, War Captain of the Palackucolas, Poepiche,
" ' King ; Tomehuichi, Dog King of the Euchitaws;
" ' Mittakawye, Head War Chief of the Okonees, Tuwe-
" ' chiche, King ; Whoyauni, Head War Chief of the
" ' Chehaws and of the Hokmulge Nation ; Stimelaco-
"' weche, King of the Osoches ; Opithli, King of the
" ' Jawocolos ; Ewenauki, King ; Tahmokmi, War Cap-
" ' tain of the Eusantees; and thirty other Warriors.
" ' At a certain time, the Earth opened in the West,
" ' where its mouth is. The earth opened and the Cussi-
" ' taws came out of its mouth, and settled near by. But
" ' the earth became angry and ate up their children ;
" ' therefore, they moved further West. A part of them, '
" ' however, turned back, and came again to the same,
" ' place where they had been, and settled there. The
" ' greater number remained behind, because they thought
" ' it best to do so.
244
tchikilli's kasi'hta legend. 245
" ' Their children, nevertheless, were eaten by the
" ' Earth, so that, full of dissatisfaction, they journeyed
" ' toward the sunrise.
" ' They came to a thick, muddy, slimy river, came
" ' there, camped there, rested there, and stayed over
" ' night there.
"'The next day, they continued, their journey and
" ' came, in one day, to a red, bloody river. They lived
" ' by this river, and ate of its fishes for two years ; but
" ' there were low springs there ; and it did not please
" ' them to remain. They went toward the end of this
" ' bloody river, and heard a noise as of thunder. They
" ' approached to see whence the noise came. At first,
" ' they perceived a red smoke, and then a mountain
" ' which thundered ; and on the mountain, was a sound
" ' as of singing. They sent to see what this was ; and
" ' it was a great fire which blazed upward, and made this
singing noise. This mountain they named the King
of Mountains. It thunders to this day; and men are
" ' very much afraid of it.
" ' They here met a people of three different Nations.
" ' They had taken and saved some of the fire from the
" ' mountain ; and, at this place, they also obtained a
" ' knowledge of herbs and of many other things.
" ' From the East, a white fire came to them ; which,
" ' however, they would not use.
" ' From Wahalle, came a fire which was blue ; neither
" ' did they use it.
" ' From the West, came a fire which was black ; nor
" ' would they use it.
" ' At last, came a fire from the North, which was red
" ' and yellow. This they mingled with the fire they had
246 THE CREEK INDIANS.
" ' taken from the mountain ; and this is the fire they use
" ' to-day ; and this, too, sometimes sings.
" ' On the mountain was a pole which was very rest-
" ' less and made a noise, nor could any one say how it
" ' could be quieted. At length, they took a motherless
" ' child, and struck it against the pole ; and thus killed
" ' the child. They then took the pole, and carry it with
" ' them when they go to war. It was like a wooden
" ' tomahawk, such as they now use, and of the same
" ' wood. Here, they also found four herbs or roots,
" ' which sang and disclosed their virtues : First, Pasaw,
" ' the rattle-snake root ; Second, Micoweanochaw, red-
" ' root ; Third, Sowatchko, which grows like wild fennel ;
" ' and Fourth, Eschalapootchke, little tobacco.
" ' These herbs, especially the first and third, they use
" ' as the best medicine to purify themselves at their Busk.
" ' At this Busk, which is held, yearly, they fast, and
" ' make offerings of the first-fruits.
" ' Since they learned the virtues of these herbs, their
" ' women, at certain times, have a separate fire, and re-
" ' main apart from the men five, six, and seven days, for
" ' the sake of purification. If they neglect this, the
" ' power of the herbs would depart ; and the women
" ' would not be healthy.
" ' About that time a dispute arose, as to which was
" ' the oldest and which should rule ; and they agreed, as
" ' they were four Nations, they would set up four poles,
" ' and make them red with clay, which is yellow at first,
" ' but becomes red by burning. They would then go to
" ' war ; and whichever Nation should first cover its pole,
" ' from top to bottom, with the scalps of their enemies,
" ' should be the oldest.
TCHIKILLl's KASl'HTA LEGEND. 247
" ' They all tried, but the Cussitaws covered their pole
" ' first, and so thickly that it was hidden from sight.
"'Therefore, they were looked upon, by the whole
" ' Nation, as the oldest.
" ' The Chickasaws covered their pole next ; then the
" 'Atilamas; but the Obikaws did not cover their pole
" ' higher than the knee.
" ' At that time, there was a bird of large size, blue in
" ' color, with a long tail, and swifter than an eagle, which
" ' came every day and killed and ate their people. They
" ' made an image, in the shape of a woman, and placed
" ' it in the way of this bird. The bird carried it off, and
" ' kept it a long time, and then brought it back. They
" ' left it alone, hoping it would bring something forth.
" ' After a long time, a red rat came forth from it, and
" ' they believe the bird was the father of the rat.
" ' They took council with the rat, how to destroy its
" ' father. Now the bird had a bow and arrows ; and the
" ' rat gnawed the bow-string, so that the bird could not
" * defend itself; and the people killed it. They called
" ' this bird the King of Birds. They think the eagle is
" ' also a great King ; and they carry its feathers when
" .' they go to War or make Peace : the red mean War,
" ' the white, Peace. If an enemy approaches with
" ' white feathers and a white mouth, and cries like, an
" ' eagle, they dare not kill him.
" ' After this, they left that place, and came to a white
" ' foot-path. The grass and everything around were
" ' white ; and they plainly perceived that people had
" ' been there. They crossed the path, and slept near
" ' there. Afterward, they turned back to see what sort
" ' of path that was, and who the people were who had
248 THE CREEK INDIANS.
" ' been there, in the belief that it might be better for
• " 'them to follow that path. They went along it, to a
" ' creek, called Coloosehutche, that is Coloose-creek, be i
" ' cause it was rocky there and smoked.
" ' They crossed it, going toward the sunrise, and came
" ' to a people and a town named Coosaw. Here they
" ' remained four years. The Coosaws complained that
" ' they were preyed upon by a wild beast, which they
■" ' called man-eater or lion, which lived in a rock.
" ' The Cussitaws said they would try to kill the beast.
" ' They digged a pit and stretched over it a net made of
" ' hickory-bark. They then laid a number of branches,
" ' crosswise, so that the lion could not follow them, and
" ' going to the place where he lay, they threw a rattle
" ' into his den. The lion rushed forth, in great anger,
" ' and pursued them through the branches. Then they
" ' thought it better that one should die rather than all,
" ' so they took a motherless child, and threw it before
" ' the lion, as he came near the pit, The lion rushed at it,
" ' and fell in the pit, over which they threw the net, and
" ' killed him with blazing pinewood. His bones, how-
" ' ever, they keep to this day ; on one side, they are red,
" ' on the other, blue.
" ' The lion used to come every seventh day to kill the
" ' people. Therefore, they remained there seven days after
" ' they had killed him. In remembrance of him, when
" ' they prepare for War, they fast six days and start on
" ' the seventh. If they take his bones with them, they
"'have good fortune.
" ' After four years, they left the Coosaws, and came to
" ' a River which they called Nowphawpe, now Ccdlasi-
" ' hutche. There, they tarried two years ; and as they
TCHIKILLI'S KASl'HTA LEGEND. 249
' had no corn, they lived on roots and fishes, and made
' bows, pointing the arrows with beaver teeth and flint-
' stones, and for knives they used split canes.
They left this place, and came to a creek, called
' Wattoolahawka hutche, Whooping-creek, so called
'from the whooping of cranes, a great many being
' there. They slept there one night.
" ' They next came to a River, in which there was a
' waterfall ; this they named the Owatuaka-river.
" ' The next day, they reached another River, which
' they called the Aphoosa pheeskaw.
" ' The following day, they crossed it, and came to a
'high mountain, where were people who, they believed,
'were the same who made the white path. They,
' therefore, made white arrows and shot them, to see if
'they were good people. But the people took their
' white arrows, painted them red, and shot them back.
' When they showed these to their Chief, he said that
' was not a good sign ; if the arrows returned had been
' white, they could have gone there and brought food
' for their children, but as they were red they must not
' go. Nevertheless, some of them went to see what sort
' of people they were ; and found their houses deserted.
' They also saw a trail which led into the River ; and
' as they could not see the trail on the opposite bank,
' they believed that the people had gone into the River,
' and would not again come forth.
" ' At that place, 'is a mountain, called Moterell, which
' makes a noise like beating on a drum ; and they think
' this people live there. They hear this noise on all
' sides, when they go to War.
" ' They went along the River, till they came to a
17
250
THE CREEK INDIANS.
'waterfall, where they saw great rocks; and on the
' rocks were bows lying ; and they believed the people
' who made the white path had been there.
" ' They always have, on their journeys, two scouts
' who go before the main body. These scouts ascended
' a high mountain and saw a town. They shot white
' arrows into the town ; but the people of the town shot
' back red arrows.
" ' Then the Cussitaws became angry, and determined
' to attack the town, and each one have a house .when
' it was captured.
" ' They threw stones into the River, until they could
' cross it, and took the town (the people had flattened
' heads), and killed all but two persons. In pursuing
' these, they found a white dog, which they slew. They
' followed the two who escaped, until they came again
' to the white path, and saw the smoke of a town, and
' thought that this must be the people they had so long
' been seeking. This is the place where now the tribe
' of Palachucolas live, from whom Tomochichi is de-
' scended.
" ' The Cussitaws continued bloody-minded ; but the
' Palachucolas gave them black drink, as a sign of
'friendship, and said to them: Our hearts are white,
' and yours must be white, and you must lay down the
' bloody tomahawk, and show your bodies, as a proof
' that they shall be white.
" ' Nevertheless, they were for the tomahawk ; but the
' Palachucolas got it by persuasion, and buried it under
'their beds. The Palachucolas likewise gave them
' white feathers ; and asked to have a Chief in common.
' Since then they have always lived together.
It t
TCHIKILLl'S KASl'HTA LEGEND. 251
" ' Some settled on one side of the River, some on the
other. Those on one side are called Cussetaws, those
" ' on the other, Cowetas ; yet they are one people, and
" ' the principal towns of the Upper and Lower Creeks.
" ' Nevertheless, as the Cussetaws first saw the red smoke
" ' and the" red fire, and make bloody towns, they cannot
" ' yet leave their red hearts, which are, however, white.
" ' on one side and red on the other.
" ' They now know that the white path was the best
" ' for them. For, although Tomochichi was a stranger,
" ' they see he has done them good ; because he went to
" ' see the great King with Esquire Oglethorpe, and
" ' hear him talk, and had related it to them, and they
" ' had listened to it, and believed it.' "
END OF VOL. I.