Alabama Archives – Page 23 of 34

The Epic of the Nez Percé

Xenophon has chronicled the retreat of the ten thousand; De Quinces has romanced about the migration of the Tartars; a thousand pens have recorded the annihilation of the Grand Army of Napoleon: the story of Joseph and his Nez Pierces is my theme – the story of the bitterest injustice toward a weak but independent people to which the United States ever set its hand. And at the outset let me confess that I am the advocates do the friend of the Indian, at least in this instance! In 1855, Governor Isaac I. Stevens of Washington Territory negotiated an equitable, … Read more

The Creek Indian Trails

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, watercourses, 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 … Read more

Tuskegee Tribe

Tuskegee Indians. Many dialects were spoken anciently near the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa. Adair says: I am assured by a gentleman of character, who traded a long time near the late Alebahma garrison, that within six miles of it live the remains of seven Indian nations, who usually conversed with each other in their own different dialects, though they understood the Muskohge language; but being naturalized, they are bound to observe the laws and customs of the main original body. Some of these “nations” have already been considered. We now come to a people whose language has not … Read more

Wakokai Tribe

The readily interpretable nature of this name, which signifies “heron breeding place,” suggests that the Wakokai were not an ancient Creek division; but not sufficient evidence has been found, traditional or other, to suggest an origin from any one of the remaining groups. Notice might be taken in this connection of the river Guacuca (Wakuka) crossed by the De Soto expedition just after leaving the Apalachee country. Their first historical appearance is probably on the De Crenay map of 1733, which represents them on Coosa River below the Pakan tallahassee Indians. Wakokai is now reckoned as a White town, but … Read more

Population of the Southeastern Indians

The population of an Indian tribe at any early period in its history can not be determined with exactness. In the case of the Creeks we have to consider not only the Muskogee or Creeks proper, but a number of tribes afterwards permanently or temporarily incorporated with them, and the problem is proportionately complicated. Fortunately we are helped out by a considerable nmnber of censuses, some of which were taken with more than usual care. The Cusabo tribes were always small, even at the time of their first intercourse with the Spaniards and French, but we have no data regarding … Read more

Tawasa Tribe and Pawokti Tribe

The first reference to the Tawasa is by Ranjel and the Fidalgo of Elvas. Tawasa is mentioned as one of the towns at which the De Soto expedition stopped and is placed between Ulibahali (Holiwa-hali) and Talisi (Tulsa). It is called by Ranjel Tuasi, by Elvas Toasi. From this location it is evident that the tribe, or part of it, was at that time among the Upper Creeks, but from Lamhatty’s narrative it appears they had moved southeast before 1706 and settled some where between Apalachicola and Choctawhatchee Rivers. A Spanish letter of 1686 refers to the tribe in one place … Read more

Tamahita Tribe

In 1673 the Virginia pioneer Abraham Wood sent two white men, James Needham and Gabriel Arthur, the latter probably an indentured servant, in company with eight Indians, to explore western Virginia up to and beyond the mountains. They were turned back at first “by misfortune and unwillingness of ye Indians before the mountaines that they should discover beyond them”; but May 17 they were sent out again, and on June 25 they met some “Tomahitans” on their way from the mountains to the Occaneechi, a Siouan tribe. Some of these came to see Wood, and meanwhile the rest returned to … Read more

Seminole Indian History

The history of the Seminole is very well known in outline, and much has been written regarding our famous Seminole War; yet it is evident that much remains to be said, on the Indian side at least, before we can have a clear understanding of the Seminole society and Seminole history. The name, as is well known, is applied by the Creeks to people who remove from populous towns and live by themselves, and it is commonly stated that the Seminole consisted of “runaways” and outlaws from the Creek Nation proper. A careful study of their history, however, shows this … Read more

Shawnee Indian Tribe

The earliest known home of the Shawnee was on Cumberland River. From there some of them moved across to the Tennessee and established settlements about the Big Bend. As we have seen, Henry Woodward was a witness, in 1674, to what was probably the first appearance of members of the tribe on Savannah River. Although he represents them as settled southwest of that stream near the Spaniards, it is more likely that the individuals whom he met belonged on the Cumberland, had been to St. Augustine to trade with the Spaniards, and were on their return home. Shortly afterwards a Shawnee … Read more

Other Muskogee Towns and Villages

Besides the recognized tribes or towns of major importance and such of their offshoots as can be identified, the literature of this region contains many names of towns or villages which can not be definitely connected with any of those given. In some cases it may be that we have to deal with ancient divisions in process of decline which were never connected with the rest, but in at least nine-tenths of the cases they are nothing more than temporary offshoots of the larger bodies. Opilłåko (“Big Swamp”) seems to have been one of the most ancient and important of … Read more

Pakana Tribe

We now come to peoples incorporated in the Muskhogean confederation which were probably distinct bodies and yet not certainly possessed of a peculiar dialect like the Hitchiti, Alabama, and other tribes of foreign origin already considered. The Pakana are given by Adair as one of those people which the Muskogee had “artfully” induced to incorporate with them, and he is confirmed as to the main fact by Stiggins, whose account of them is as follows: The Puccunnas at this day are only known by tradition to have been a distinct people and their ancient town or habitation is called Puccun … Read more

Oconee Tribe

In addition to two groups of Muskhogean people bearing this name it should be noticed that it was popularly applied by the whites to a Cherokee town, properly called Ukwû‛nû (or Ukwû‛nĭ), but the similarity may be merely a coincidence. Of the two Creek groups mentioned one seems to be associated exclusively with the Florida tribes, while the second, when we first hear of it, was on the Georgia river which still bears its name. The first reference to either appears to be in a report of the Timucua missionary, Fareja, dated 1602. He mentions the “Ocony,” three days’ journey … Read more

Okchai Tribe

Like the Pakana, Adair includes the Okchai among those tribes which had been ”artfully decoyed” to unite with the Muskogee, and Milfort says that the Okchai and Tuskegee had sought the protection of the Muskogee after having suffered severely at the hands of hostile Indians. He adds that the former “mounted ten leagues toward the north [of the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers] and fixed their dwelling in a beautiful plain on the bank of a little river.” Among some of the living Okchai there seems to be a tradition of this foreign origin, but nowhere do we … Read more

Mobile Tribe and Tohome Tribe

So far as our information goes, the first white men to have dealings with the Indians of Mobile Bay were probably the Spaniards under Pinedo. Pinedo was sent out by Garay, governor of Jamaica, in the year 1519, to explore toward the north, and he appears to have coasted along the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico from the peninsula of Florida to Panuco. In the description of this voyage in the Letters Patent we read that after having covered the entire distance “they then turned back with the said ships, and entered a river which was found to … Read more

Muklasa Tribe

Still another town in this neighborhood not speaking Muskogee was Muklasa. The name means “friends” or “people of one nation” in Alabama, Koasati, or Choctaw, therefore it is probable that the town was Alabama or Koasati, the Choctaw being at a considerable distance. According to the list of 1761 it was then estimated to contain 30 hunters. William Trewin and James Germany were the traders. In 1797 the trader was Michael Elhart, “an industrious, honest man; a Dutchman.” Bartram visited it in 1777, and in 1799 Hawkins gives the following account of it: Mook-lau-sau is a small town one mile below Sau-va-noo-gee, … Read more

Muskogee Tribes

The dominant people of the Creek Confederacy called themselves and their language in later times by a name which has become conventionalized into Muscogee or Muskogee.

Kasihta Tribe

The honorary name of this tribe in the Creek Confederacy was Kasihta lako, “Big Kasihta.” According to the earliest form of the Creek migration legend that is available – that related to Governor Oglethorpe by Chikilli in 1735 – the Kasihta and Coweta came from the west “as one people,” but in time those dwelling toward the east came to be called Kasihta and those to the west Coweta. This ancient unity of origin appears to have been generally admitted down to the present time. According to John Goat, an aged Tulsa Indian, they were at first one town, and … Read more

Koasati Indian Tribe

The Koasati Indians, as shown by their language, are closely related to the Alabama. There were at one time two branches of this tribe – one close to the Alabama, near what is now Coosada station, Elmore County, Ala., the other on the Tennessee River north of Langston, Jackson County. These latter appear but a few times in history, and the name was considerably garbled by early writers. There is reason to believe, however, that it has the honor of an appearance in the De Soto chronicles, as the Coste of Ranjel, the Coste or Acoste of Elvas, the Costehe … Read more

Kolomi Tribe

The earliest mention of Kolomi town is contained in a letter of the Spanish lieutenant at Apalachee, Antonio Mateos, in 1686. A translation of this has been given in considering the history of the Kasihta. The town was then probably on Ocmulgee River, where it appears on some of the very early maps, placed close to Atasi. From the failure of Mateos to mention Atasi it is possible that that town was not yet in existence. From later maps we learn that after the Yamasee war the Kolomi settled on the Chattahoochee. The maps show them in what is now Stewart … Read more

Holiwahali Tribe

The first of all red or war towns among the Upper Creeks to appear in history is Liwahali, or, in the ancient form of the word, Holiwahali, a name which signifies ”to share out or divide war” (holi, war, awahali, to divide out). The explanation of this is given below. At the present time some Creeks say that Hohwahali, Atasi, and Kealedji separated from Tukabahchee in the order given, but this story rather typifies the terms of friendship between them than explains their real origin, though there may be more substantial grounds for the belief in a common origin in … Read more