CHINNABY'S FORT. In 1813 a Creek chief named Chinnaby, friendly to the Americans, had a kind of fort at Ten Islands, on the Coosa River, known as Chinnaby's fort. Perhaps it was identical with Oti palin (q. v.). CHISCALAGE. On the Popple map (pl. 4). CHOLOCCO LITABIXEE. Brannon2 locates this in the Horseshoe Bend of Tallapoosa River, the scene of Jackson's famous victory. The first word is from Itcu lako, horse. CHUAHLA. "An early Indian town, location not positive, just below White Oak Creek, south of the Alabama River." 2 COFA. On the Popple map (pl. 4); perhaps another form of "Coosa.” COHATCHIE. Given by Royce as a town in the southwestern part of Talladega County, Alabama, on the bank of Coosa River. If correctly transcribed the name may mean "Cane River." 3 CONALIGA. Woodward mentions an Upper Creek town of this name. It is said to have been "in western Russell County, or eastern Macon, somewhere near the present Warrior Stand." 4 COOCCOHAPOFE. Site of an old town, apparently on Chattahoochee River. It stood on the right bank and the fields were cultivated on the left bank.5 6 COTOHAUTUSTENUGGEE. Royce gives this as a Lower Creek settlement on the right bank of Upatoie Creek, in Muscogee County, Georgia. The last part is tastanagi, "warrior," and the whole is evidently a man's name. Cow Towns. Finnelson speaks of towns so called.' 8 DONNALLY'S TOWN. Milton mentions this as a settlement on Flint River, Georgia, in 1793. The trader Panton calls it "Patrick Donnelly's Town on the Chatehoochie, and says it was burned by horsemen from Georgia, September 21, 1793, 6 Indians being killed and 11 taken prisoner.9 EKUN-DUTS-KE. Given in the census enumeration of 1832.10 Ikan tåtska means "boundary line" and hence this may be identical with "Line Creek Village," said to have been on the south bank of Line Creek, in Montgomery County, Alabama. This town may have been on a boundary line between two others." EMARHE OF HEMANHIE TOWN. This is given in the census of 1832.12 It was probably named for a man (Imahe). ETO-HUSSE-WAKKES (Itahasiwaki) ("Old Log"). Young mentions it as a Lower Creek town on the Chattahoochee River, 3 miles above Fort Gaines, Georgia, having 100 inhabitants in 1820.13 FIFE'S VILLAGE. Given by Royce as an Upper Creek village a few miles east of Talladega, Alabama. 14 14 FIN' HALUI ("High Log").15 A Lower Creek settlement, perhaps the Yuchi town called High Log which appears in the census list of 1832.16 There is a swamp of this name in Wayne County, Georgia. 1 Gatschet in Misc. Colls. Ala. Hist. Soc., 1, p. 395, quoting Drake, Book of Indians (1848), IV, p. 55. * Handbook Ala. Anth. Soc. for 1920, p. 44. 3 Royce in Eighteenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., pl. CVIII, 1899. 4 Woodward, Reminiscences, p. 37, 1859; Handbook Ala. Anth. Soc. for 1920, p. 45. Hawkins in Ga. Hist. Soc. Colls., Ix, p. 173. 6 Thirteenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., map of Alabama. 7 Amer. State Papers, Ind. Aff., 1, p. 289. 8 Ibid., II, p. 372. 9 Copy of MS in Ayer Coll., Newberry Lib., Chicago, vols. on Indian Trade, п, p. 35. 10 Senate Doc. 512, 23d Cong., 1st sess., IV, pp. 319–320. 11 See p. 270; Handbook Ala. Anth. Soc. for 1920, p. 48. 12 Senate Doc. 512, 23d Cong., 1st sess., IV, pp. 301–302, 13 Morse, Rept. to Sec. of War, p. 364. 14 Royce in Eighteenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., pl. cvIII, 1899. 15 Gatschet, Creek Mig. Leg., I, p. 130. 16 Senate Doc. 512, 23d Cong., 1st sess., IV, pp. 359–363. HABIQUACHE. On the Popple map (pl. 4). IKAN ATCHAKA, "Holy Ground," a temporary settlement on the south side of Alabama River, occupied by the Creek leaders, Weatherford and Hilis hadjo, during the Creek-American war, until it was destroyed, December 23, 1813. It is said to have contained 200 houses at the time. Brannon locates it in Lowndes County 2 miles due north of White Hall, just below the mouth of Holy Ground Creek on Old Sprott Plantation.' ISTAPOGA ("Where people live"). Gatschet gives this as an Upper Creek settlement, and Brannon says it was "in Talladega County, near the influx of Estaboga Creek into Choccolocco Creek; about 10 miles from the Coosa River." There is a modern place so called in Talladega County, Alabama.2 KEHATCHES. On the Popple map (pl. 4). KEROFF. Given in H. R. Ex. Doc. 276, 24th Cong., 1st sess., p. 162, 1836, as a Creek settlement, apparently on the upper Coosa. LITAFATCHI, LITTEFUTCHI. The name is said by Gatschet to refer to the manufacture of arrows, li.3 This was an Upper Creek town at the head of Canoe Creek, St. Clair County, Alabama. It was burned by Colonel Dyer October 29, 1813. It was probably the same as, or on the same site as, the Olitifar mentioned in the Pardo narratives, although Olitifar was a "destroyed town" when Pardo heard of it.5 LUSTUHATCHEE. A town above the second cataract of the Tallapoosa River; lustu, perhaps from lásti, black, hatchee, river. MELTON'S VILLAGE. "An Upper Creek town, in Marshall County, Alabama, on Town Creek, at the site of the present 'Old Village Ford.' Meltonsville perpetuates the name. NINNIPASKULGEE. Woodward mentions a band of Upper Creek Indians of this name. They seem to have been located near Tukabahchee. NIPKY. McCall mentions this. It would appear to have been a Lower Creek town. OAKCHINAWA VILLAGE (okchan, "salt"). Given by Owen as an Upper Creek town "In Talladega County, on both sides of Salt Creek, near the point where it flows into Big Shoal Creek." There may have been some connection between this town and the Creek Oktcánálgi or Salt Clan. OLD OSONEE TOWN. Given by Royce as a village probably belonging to the Upper Creeks, on Cahawba River, in Shelby County, Alabama.10 OTI PALIN ("Ten islands"). A town on the west bank of Coosa River, just below the junction of Canoe Creek. Fort Strother was just below." See Chinnaby's Fort. OTI TUTCINA ("Oteetoocheenas, Three Islands"). Swan gives this in his list of Creek towns.12 It seems to have been between Coosa and Opilłako or Pakan Tallahassee, and the name probably referred to three islands in Coosa River. PEA CREEK. A settlement mentioned along with Tukabahchee in the census of 1761.13 It may have been an outsettlement of Tukabahchee. 1 Handbook Ala. Anth. Soc. for 1920, p. 46. Gatschet, Creek Mig. Leg., 1, p. 133; Misc. Coll. Ala. Hist. Soc., 1, p. 399; Handbook Ala. Anth. Soc. for 1920, p. 47. RABBIT TOWN. Given as an Upper Creek town in the census enumeration of 1832.1 As the rabbit is always a subject for jest among the Creeks it was suggested to me that this may have been nothing more than a nickname. SATAPO. In the report by Vandera of Pardo's expedition into the interior this appears as a settlement, probably Creek, on Tennessee River.2 SECHARLECHA ("Under a blackjack tree"). A Lower Creek settlement mentioned frequently in early documents, probably a branch of Kasihta. ST. TAFFERY's. Given in the Ga. Col. Docs. as a small Creek town.3 TALWA HADJO (“Crazy Town"). An Upper Creek town on Cahawba River, far to the northwest of the other Creek towns.4 TALIPSEHOGY ("Two talewa plants standing together," the talewa being used in making dyes). This appears in the census enumeration of 1832 and also in Schoolcraft.5 TALISHATCHIE Town. "An Upper Creek town, in Calhoun County, Alabama, east of a branch of Tallasehatchee Creek, 3 miles southwest of Jacksonville." 6 TALLAPOOSA. Several early maps give a town of this name, and Adair in one place, and only one, refers to a "Tallapoose town" within a day's journey of Fort Toulouse." It is possible that it was an Alabama town, for the name is either Alabama or Choctaw, and the town may have given its name to the river. It seems to mean "pulverized stones, or "sand." In some maps this town seems to be placed on the Coosa (see pl. 4). TCHUKO LAKO (“Big house," i. e., square ground). Gatschet has mistakenly entered two towns of this name in one of his lists of Creek towns. The proper name of each of these is Tcahki lako, "Big ford." TOHOWOGLY. Given along with Coweta as a Lower Creek town 8 to 10 miles below the falls of the Chattahoochee. Perhaps it is intended for Sawokli. TURKEY CREEK. "An Indian town, in Jefferson County, on Turkey Creek, north of Trussville." 10 This was in territory dominated by the Creek Indians and hence was probably settled by people of that nation. UNCUAULA. An Upper Creek town in the western part of Coosa County, on Coosa River."1 WALLHAL. On the Purcell map (pl. 7). The name may be intended for Eufaula, or this may have been a settlement on Wallahatchee Creek, Elmore County, Alabama. WEYOLLA. On the Popple map (pl. 4) and some later maps; probably a very much distorted form of the name of some well-known town. THE YUCHI Our history of those tribes constituting the Creek Confederacy will not be complete without some mention of three alien peoples which were incorporated with it at a comparatively recent period. These are the Yuchi, the Natchez, and the Shawnee. The Yuchi have attracted considerable attention owing to the fact that they were one of the very few small groups in the eastern part 1 Senate Doc. 512, 23d Cong., 1st sess., IV, pp. 313–315. 2 Ruidiaz, La Florida, II, p. 484. Ga. Col. Docs., VII, p. 427. Gatschet in Misc. Colls. Ala. Hist. Soc., I, p. 410. ⚫ Senate Doc. 512, 23d Cong., 1st sess., IV, p. 334; Schoolcraft, Ind. Tribes, IV, • Handbook Ala. Anth. Soc. for 1920, p. 51. 7 Adair, Hist. Am. Inds., p. 242. 8 Gatschet, Creek Mig. Leg., 1, p. 146; Misc. Colls. Ala. Hist. Soc., I, p. 411. 10 Handbook Ala. Anth. Soc. for 1920, p. 52. 11 Royce in Eighteenth Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., pl. cvш. p. 578. of North America having an independent stock language. Their isolation in this respect, added to the absence of a migration legend among them and their own claims, have led to a belief that they were the most ancient inhabitants of the extreme southeastern parts of the present United States. The conclusion was natural, almost inevitable, but the event proves how little the most plausible theory may amount to in the absence of adequate information. Strong evidence has now come to light that these people, far from being aboriginal inhabitants of the country later associated with them, had occupied it within the historic period. 1 Dr. F. G. Speck has contributed to the study of southern tribes an invaluable paper on "The Ethnology of the Yuchi Indians," 1 but he made no special investigation into their history from documentary sources. However, he noted an apparent absence of Yuchi names-with one possible exception-in the narratives of the De Soto expedition, and particularly called attention to the non-Yuchean character of the name of Cofitachequi, which up to that time had generally been considered a Yuchi town. I have touched upon this particular point more at length in another place.3 One reason for the general misunderstanding of the place of the Yuchi in aboriginal American history was the fact that the language was generally considered very difficult by other peoples and few learned it, and, although not necessarily resulting from that circumstance, it so happened that they were known to different tribes by different names, never apparently by the term Tsoyahá, "Offspring of the sun," which they apply to themselves. Regarding the name Yuchi, Speck says: It is presumably a demonstrative signifying "being far away" or "at a distance" in reference to human beings in a state of settlement (yū, “at a distance," tei, “sitting down"). It is possible, in attempting an explanation of the origin of the name, that the reply "Yutci" was given by some Indian of the tribe in answer to a stranger's inquiry, "Where do you come from?" which is a common mode of salutation in the southeast. The reply may then have been mistaken for a tribal name and retained as such. Similar instances of mistaken analogy have occurred at various times in connection with the Indians of this continent, and as the Yuchi interpreters themselves favor this explanation it has seemed advisable at least to make note of it.* I can add nothing except to say that the Creeks have no explanation of the name to offer, and that it appears rather late, little if any before the opening of the eighteenth century. In the South Carolina archives reference is made to "the Uche or Round Town people," but the second term is probably not intended as a translation of the first.5 Univ. of Penn., Anth. Pub., 1, no. 1. Ibid., Speck, op. cit., p. 13. Proc. Board of Comm. dealing with Ind. Trade, Gatschet gives Tahogaléwi as the Delaware equivalent of Yuchi,1 and from early maps, where it appears in the forms Tahogale, Tahogaria, Taogria, Tongaria, Tohogalegas, etc., it is evident that it was applied by other Algonquian peoples also. It was used most persistently for a band of Yuchi on Tennessee River, but on the maps of Moll and some other cartographers the Tahogale are placed along Savannah River a fact which serves to confirm the identification of the term (see pl. 3). Tohogalega was sometimes abbreviated to Hogologe or Hog Logee. A legend on a map in Jefferys's Atlas at a point on Savannah River several miles above Augusta reads: "Hughchees or Hogoleges Old Town deserted in 1715," 2 and an island in the river at this point is called "Huhgchee I." The form Hughchee is somewhat unusual, but is confirmed as actually intended for Yuchi by numerous references to this island as "Uchee Island" in the Georgia Colonial Documents and elswehere, as well as the existence of a "Uchee Creek" which flows into the Savannah at this point. The earliest historical name for the Yuchi was Chiska or Chisca. I assert this confidently on the basis of information contained in very early Spanish documents, both published and unpublished, and on the very strongest of circumstantial evidence, although as yet no categorical statement of the identity has been found. The circumstantial evidence is as follows: First, the term Chiska occurs in the same list, or on the same map, as the term Yuchi very rarely, and then when we know, or have good reason to believe, that more than one band of Yuchi were in the region covered. Secondly, the Spaniards, who use it principally, apply the term not to an obscure tribe but to a powerful people, and they mention in the same connection all of the leading tribes of the Southeast with the conspicuous exception of the Yuchi. Thirdly, the term occurs persistently in three different areas, in the region of the Upper Tennessee, on the Savannah,3 and near the Choctawhatchee, where we know on independent evidence that just so many Yuchi bands had settled. Some time ago I attempted a further identification of this tribe with a people settled upon the Savannah River at the time when South Carolina was colonized by the whites, and called by the latter Westo. Prof. Verner W. Crane, who has made some important 1 Gatschet, Creck Mig. Leg., I, p. 19. Jefferys's Am. Atlas, map 24. There is but one application to Savannah River, it is true, but this is of considerable importance as tending to settle an otherwise puzzling problem. It is in the version of the Creek migration legend given by Hawkins in which his native informant says that after they had crossed what is now the Chattahoochee River the Creeks spread out eastward to the Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Ogechee Rivers, and to "Chis-ke-tollo-fau-hatche" ("Chiska town river"). In the published version (Ga. Hist. Soc. Colls., I, p. 83) this is spelled "Chic-ko-tallo-fau-hat-che," but the original in the Library of Congress has it in the form just given. See article "Westo" in Handbook of American Indians, Bull. 30, Bur. Amer. Ethn., part 2. I did not, however, make an elaborate exposition of my views at the time when this article was written. |