Mocogo Indians, or Mucogo Indians. Meaning unknown.
Connections. They belonged with little doubt to the Timucuan division of the Muskhogean linguistic stock.
Location. About the head of Hillsboro Bay.
Villages. None are mentioned under any other than the tribal name.
History. The chief of this tribe gave asylum to a Spaniard named Juan Ortiz who had come to Florida in connection with the expedition of Narvaez. When De Soto landed near the Mocogo town its chief sent Ortiz with an escort of warriors to meet him. Ortiz afterward became De Soto’s principal interpreter until his death west of the Mississippi, and the Mocogo chief remained on good terms with the Spaniards as long as they stayed in the neighborhood. There are only one or two later references to the tribe. (See Utina.)
Connection in which they have become noted. The contacts of the Mocogo with De Soto and his followers constitute their only claim to distinction.