Other East Texas Indian Tribes

Of the location of remaining tribes we know even less than of the last, and can only record the few statements made of them by the early writers. Three leagues west of the Nasoni Joutel entered the village of the Noadiche (Nahordike) 1 who, he said, were allies of the Cenis, and had the same customs. This location corresponds with that assigned by Jesus Maria to the Nabiti, and the tribes may have been identical. The site designated was apparently west of the Angelina River and near the southwestern corner of Rusk County. Similarly, the Nasayaya, put by Jesus Maria east of the Nabiti, may possibly have been the Nasoni. If they were a separate tribe they must have been in the same neighborhood. If separate, too, they early disappear from notice, unless possibly they may be the Nacaxe, who later are found in the same latitude, but farther east. All that we can say of the location of the Nacao is that they were northward from the Nacogdoche, and probably closer to the Nacogdoche than to the Nasoni, since they were attached to the Nacogdoche mission. A reasonable conjecture is that they were in the neighborhood of Nacaniche Creek, in Nacogdoches County. 2

Thus, with varying degrees of precision and confidence, we are able from a study of the documents to indicate the early homes of the tribes usually included in the Hasinai group. Five of the sites, at least, are reasonably well established, and these are historically the most important, for they were the sites of Spanish establishments, while the others were not. I refer, of course, to the villages of the Nabedache, Neche, Hainai, Nacogdoche, and Nasoni. A careful examination of the topography of the country and of the archaeological remains would doubtless enable one to verify some and to modify others of the conclusions here set forth.

Citations:

1. Relation, in Margry, op. cit., Ill 388.[↩]
2. Jesus Maria puts the Nacogdoche tribe east and the Nacau tribe northeast of his mission. He says in another passage that the Nacao constituted a province distinct from the Aseney and thirty leagues from the Nabedache.[↩]