USA > Mississippi > School history of Mississippi; for use in public and private schools > Part 2
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After the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 (§191), a large number of them migrated to the Indian Territory. Many of them declared, however, that they would never leave Nanih Waiya, their great mother, and that as long as she stood they would live in the land of their birth. There are about 800 of them now living in the State.
8. The Chickasaws .- This nation was closely related to the Choctaws, but differed from them greatly in disposition. The Chickasaws lived in the northern part of the State. Their territory as well as their population was much smaller than the territory and population of the Choctaws. Although they were fierce warriors, they boasted of the fact that they had never fought against the Americans.
The Chickasaws are said to have been haughty and cruel, and the fiercest and most insolent people among the southern Indians. They were notorious thieves, often invading the territory of their neighbors and carrying away slaves and plunder. The men would not cultivate the soil, and when they were not hunting or waging war, they spent their time playing on rude flutes or sleeping, 2
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
while the women did the work. We are told that they were excellent swimmers, and their children were taught this art in pools and clay holes, which remained filled with water unless the summer was remarkably dry. They were expert huntsmen, and delighted in the difficult sport of " overcoming the fleet deer and the equally swift and more formidable elk." Although their country abounded in beaver, they never attempted to capture this valuable animal, saying that anybody could kill a beaver.
In 1832 the Chickasaws ceded to the government of the United States their entire possessions east of the Mississippi in return for a grant of land in the Indian Territory. Shortly afterwards, the greater part of the nation emigrated to their newly acquired possessions. (§237.)
9. The Relationship Between the Choctaws and Chicka- saws .- Mr. H. S. Halbert has recently published a more correct account of the migration legend of the Choctaws and Chickasaws than the one which he contributed to 'Claiborne's History in 1877. It reads as follows :
"In ancient days the ancestors of the Choctaws and Chickasaws lived in a far western country, under the rule of two brothers, named Chahta and Chikasa. In process of time, their population becoming very numerous, they found it difficult to find enough to eat in that land. Their prophets thereupon announced that far to the east there was a country fertile in soil and full of game, where they could have ease and plenty. The entire population resolved to make a journey eastward in search of that happy land. In order easily to get something to eat on their route, the people marched in several divisions of a day's journey apart. 'A great prophet marched at their head, bearing a pole which, on camping at the close of each day, he planted erect in the earth in front of the camp. Every morning the pole was seen leaning in the direction they were to
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THE NATIVES
travel that day. After the lapse of many moons they arrived one day at Nanih Waiya. The prophet planted his pole at the base of the mound. The next morning the pole was seen standing erect and stationary. This was interpreted as a sign from the Great Spirit that the long-sought-for land was at last found. It so happened that the very day the party camped at Nanih Waiya, a party under Chikasa crossed the creek and camped on its east side. That night a great rain fell, and it rained several days. In consequence
INDIAN VILLAGE.
of this, all the low lands were overflowed, and Nanih Waiya Creek and other streams running into Pearl River were made impassable.
" After the waters had gone down, messengers were sent across the creek to bid Chikasa's party return; as the pole they had followed showed that the long-sought-for land was found, and the mound was the center of the land. Chikasa's party, however, regardless of the weather, had proceeded on their journey, and the rain having washed all traces of their march from the grass, the messengers were unable to follow them up and so returned to camp.
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
Meanwhile, the other divisions in the rear arrived at Nanih Waiya, and learned that here was the center of their new home, and that their long journey was at last finished. Chikasa's party, after their separation from their brethren under Chahta, moved on to the Tombigbee, and finally became a separate nationality. In this way the Choctaws and the Chickasaws became two separate, though kindred nations."
10. The Biloxis .- When the Biloxis* first came in contact with the French under Iberville (e ber veel') in 1699, they were living near Biloxi (bilok'si) Bay. They afterwards. moved westward to Pearl River, where they remained until 1764. At that time they crossed the Mississippi and settled in Louisiana. Many members of this nation have within recent years joined the Choctaws and Alabamas of eastern Texas, though a few of them still live in Rapides (ră peed') Parish, Louisiana. They do not call themselves Biloxis, but use instead a name which signifies " the first people." A study of their language shows that they belong to the : 'Sioux (soo), or Dakota family, having separated from the original tribe at some remote time.
11. The Pascagoulas .- At an early date the Pascagoulas lived on the Pascagoula River, and were closely associated with their neighbors, the Biloxis. In 1764 both tribes emigrated to Louisiana. The story that the Pascagoulas 'drowned themselves in the Pascagoula River in order to escape from their foes, is not true, since one hundred and eleven of them were living in Louisiana as late as 1830. Little is known of their history since that time.
12. Other Small Coast Tribes .- Early in the eighteenth century two other small tribes were still living on the Pascagoula River. They have since disappeared, and it is thought that they united with the Pascagoulas and Biloxis.
*See Halbert's Small Indian Tribes of Mississippi.
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THE NATIVES
A third tribe that lived on the coast of Mississippi was probably absorbed at an early date by the Choctaws.
13. The Chocchumas .- The Chocchumas (chock chew'- mäz) lived along the Yazoo River. Their name signifies in their language "red craw-fish." They occupied a narrow strip of territory between the Choctaws and Chickasaws, which extended from the mouth of the Yalobusha (yal o- bū'sha) on the west to the vicinity of West Point on the east. The following interesting account of this nation has been recorded by Mr. H. B. Cushman, of Texas, who received it from several aged Choctaws :
" The Chocchumas built many forts in this territory, several of which were in Oktibbeha ( ok tib'be ha) county. In the center of their forts, they erected tall poles, on which they suspended scalps, beads, bones and other articles. When the wind blew through these trophies, it made a peculiar noise, which their prophets said was the voice of the Great Spirit, informing them that some Choctaw or Chickasaw was killing a Chocchuma. Forthwith a party of young braves would go on the warpath, and the first Choctaw or Chickasaw they met, whether old or young, male or female, they would kill, and then return home, hang the scalp on the pole, and wait another message from the winds."
Tradition says that these acts of hostility, together with the frequent horse-stealing inroads into the Choctaw and Chickasaw countries, led to a war with these latter nations. In this conflict the most noted Chocchuma stronghold, situated about eight miles northeast of the present town of Starkville, was captured and the Chocchuma nation was destroyed. These events probably occurred about 1770. Tradition tells us that in this war the hostility of the con- querors was so fierce that they killed every dog, cat, and chicken found in the Chocchuma villages.
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
14. The Tunicas .- When the early explorers entered Mississippi they found several settlements of the Tunicas on the Yazoo and two on the Mississippi. In 1763 some warriors belonging to this tribe killed several members of an expedition under Major Loftus. (§61.) In 1817 the entire tribe emigrated to Louisiana, where their descendants still live.
15. The Yazoos and Their Neighbors .- This tribe lived near the mouth of the Yazoo River. In the latter part of the eighteenth century they occupied one hundred cabins. There were four other small tribes that lived at an early date on the Yazoo River. These, together with the Yazoos, joined the Chickasaw nation in 1836.
Summary 1
1. The largest Indian tribes in the State were the Choctaws, the Chickasaws, and the Natchez, the first two of which were related.
2. The Choctaws occupied the central and southern portions of the State.
3. The Biloxis, the Pascagoulas, and two or three other small tribes lived on the Gulf coast.
4. The Chickasaws and Chocchumas occupied the northern part of the State.
5. The Natchez, the Yazoos, the Tunicas, and four other tribes lived on the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers in the western part of the State.
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EARLY EXPLORATIONS
CHAPTER III
EARLY EXPLORATIONS
16. De Soto's Expedition* (1539-1543) .- In the month of June, 1539, a formidable body of soldiers under the com- mand of the Spanish hero and explorer, Hernando De Soto. landed at Tampa Bay, Florida. This was the most gallant and imposing expedition that had ever set foot in the new world. Among their number were many representatives of the noblest families of Spain and Portugal. They had joyfully embarked upon this expedition, believing that their deeds would surpass in splendor those of Cortez in Mexico and of Pizarro (pé zăr'ro) in Peru. They spent a year and a half wandering through the present States of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. In December, 1540, those who had survived the hardships of the expedition and the numerous attacks of the Indians, entered what is now the State of Mississippi near the present city of Columbus. Still lured on by the vain hope of finding great mineral wealth, they pursued a northwesterly course until they reached Pontotoc county, where they erected a fortification and went into winter quarters. After the lapse of several weeks the Spaniards aroused the hostility of the natives, and two battles were fought, in which the Spaniards lost many men and horses and the greater part of their stores and equipments. In April the survivors resumed their march, and, after fighting another severe battle with the natives, reached the Mississippi River about May 5, 1541. They crossed this river a month later. Some writers state that the point of crossing was near the present city of Memphis,
*Gayarre's History of Louisiana, Vol. I., pp. 14-21; Claiborne's Mississippi, pp. 2-11; Pickett's History of Alabama, Vol. I., Chapter I.
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
but others contend that it was below the mouth of the St. Francis River, in the vicinity of Helena, Arkansas. After wandering through parts of the present States of Arkansas and Louisiana, De Soto died May 21, 1542, and was buried in the great river which he had discovered a year previously, After a long and perilous voyage down the Mississippi and on the Gulf, less than three hundred of his men,
Burial of De Soto.
"blackened, haggard, shriveled up and half-naked," reached their fellow-countrymen in Mexico.
17. Expedition of Marquette and Joliet .- For one hun- dred and thirty-three years after De Soto's ill-fated expedi- tion no white man's foot trod the soil of Mississippi. The Spaniards in their greed for gold directed their efforts to other parts of the new world. By failing to occupy the great valley of the Mississippi, to which they were entitled by the right of discovery, they lost a country more valuable than the gold of Mexico and of Peru.
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EARLY EXPLORATIONS
The French in Canada heard of the Father of Waters from the Indians living near the Great Lakes, and the governor of New France sent Jacques Marquette (zhäk mär ket') and Louis Joliet (loō'ē zho lē ā') to explore it. In May, 1673, they set out with six companions upon this great expedition. Starting in two birch-bark canoes from a French trading post and mission station near the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, they went north to Green Bay. They then entered Fox River, which they ascended to its source. Here they met with discouragements from the Indians with whom they came in contact, but as Marquette would not abandon his expedition, some of the natives accompanied the explorers through the swamps and marshes to the Wisconsin River, which they descended to the Mississippi. They followed the winding course of this great stream past the mouths of the Missouri and the Ohio to the mouth of the Arkansas. Being convinced that this was the great river they sought, they returned to Lake Michigan by way of the Illinois River.
18. La Salle's Expedition* (1681-1687) .- The news of the 'success of Marquette and Joliet's expedition excited the interest of Chevalier La Salle (she va le a' läh săl'), who realized at once the importance of securing the vast region drained by this great river. He obtained from the king of France, Louis XIV., a commis- sion to explore the entire length of the Mississippi. After having La Salle. encountered numerous misfor- tunes and suffered untold hardships, he ascended the *Read Parkman's La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West.
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
Chicago River, and crossed over to the Illinois; de- scending this river he reached the Mississippi early in February, and continued his course until he finally arrived (April 9, 1682) at the Gulf of Mexico. He then erected a cross bearing the arms of France, and claimed for his king all of the country drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries. He named this vast territory " Louisiana " in honor of King Louis. His plans had then been only partly carried out. La Salle next directed his energies to the occupation of this country. He realized the importance of planting a French colony near the mouth of the Mississippi to keep out the Spaniards and to control the navigation of that river. With this object in view he sailed from France in 1684 with some colonists, expecting to enter the mouth of the Mississippi and to establish a colony on its bank. Unfortunately he missed the mouth of the river and landed on the coast of Texas. A short time afterwards (March 29, 1687), he was murdered by some of his companions while on the way overland to Canada. Two years later a war broke out between France and England. No further attempt was made to carry out the wise policy of La Salle until more than ten years had elapsed.
19. The Policy of La Salle .- In the death of La Salle, the king of France lost one of his most far-seeing and devoted subjects. La Salle had foreseen the inevitable conflict between France and England for the control of North America. If his plan for the occupation and settle- ment of the Mississippi Valley could have been promptly and successfully carried out, the English colonies might have been confined to the Atlantic seaboard, and Mississippi would probably have remained a French colony.
20. Interest in the Mississippi Valley .-- Although the fate of De Soto and La Salle seemed to prove the truth of the
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EARLY EXPLORATIONS
legend that evil spirits guarded the Mississippi, interest in the great region continued to increase. A French traveler who had visited America shortly after La Salle's death wrote an article, urging that
Death of La Salle.
his government make renewed efforts to colonize the Mississippi Valley.
The author of "Colonial Mobile"* well says that the idea grew that this valley was to be a part of New France,
*Read Hamilton's Colonial Mobile, Chapter V.
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
· which should front not only the Atlantic on the north, but the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and constitute an empire worthy even of the Grand Monarch. French forts along the Great Lakes and rivers would protect the trading posts, serve as centers for French influence among the Indian tribes, and thus hem in the English colonies between the mountains and the sea.
In 1699 the French were further aroused to action by the report that William, king of England, had become in- terested in the region, and that an English company was organizing to occupy the country. The French realized the fact that the first war between the French and the English colonies, known as King William's War ( 1689-1697), had not ended the struggle between these two nations for the control of North America. In order to prepare for the future, France would have to occupy the Mississippi with- out delay.
21. Expedition of Iberville .- In 1697 a young naval officer named Iberville, a native of Canada, who had gained distinction in the war that had just closed, applied to the king of France for permission to do just what La Salle had attempted several years before-namely, to found a colony near the mouth of the Mississippi. His request was promptly granted, and his expedition* sailed October 24, 1698, from a French port for the Mississippi. The impor- tance attached to this expedition by the French government is shown by the fact that one frigate carrying fifty guns and two others carrying thirty guns each. besides two smaller vessels, were put under the command of Iberville. The fleet reached Mississippi Sound and anchored (Feb- ruary, 1699) between the islands and the mainland. After visiting and naming the islands off the coast, Iberville, with
*See Pickett's History of Alabama, Vol. I., Chapter IV.
2C
EARLY EXPLORATIONS
a number of his men, began to explore the country. They soon reached one of the mouths of the Mississippi, and were the first to enter the great river from the Gulf. They' ascended it for ten days until they reached an Indian village, where they found a prayer-book which had belonged to a member of La Salle's first expedition, some garments which he had given the natives, and a coat of mail that had belonged to one of De Soto's men. Iberville, being then assured that he had found the Mississippi, descended the river and entered the small stream which now bears his name. Here his brother, Bienville (be ăn vēl), with a number of men, separated from the party and descended the Mississippi to the sea. On his return Bienville, by the promise of a hatchet, induced some Indians to procure a letter that had been left for La Salle by a Frenchman four- teen years before. Under the direction of an Indian guide, Iberville, with the rest of his men, passed through the shallow waters of the Manchac (man'shack) and descended the Amite (a met'), which he named in honor of the friendly reception given him by the natives. He then crossed over lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to his fleet. He named the last two bodies of water in honor of two French minis- ters and Bay St. Louis in honor of Louis IX., the sainted king of France. Observation of the country through which he passed convinced him that the Mississippi would not do for sail navigation, and that its swampy banks would not be suitable for habitation. He therefore chose the mainland, near the place where his ships were anchored, as the site of his colony.
22. Henry De Tonti .- The father of this best and most active of French pioneers was an Italian, who for political reasons had left his native country and settled in France. While there he devised the Tontine system of insurance that is still used. His son, Henry, had lost a hand in the
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
service of France, but used an iron substitute, which gained for him among the savages the name of Iron Hand. Tonti (ton'tēe) was a member of La Salle's party that descended the Mississippi, and he shared with the great explorer the hardships and labor of this important expedition. His name appears among those who witnessed the ceremonies by which La Salle took possession of this country. When La Salle returned to France in order to prepare for his second expedition to the Mississippi, he left Tonti as his deputy in America, stationing him in the Illinois country. Several months later Tonti descended the river to meet La Salle, and left a letter with some Indians, not knowing the fate of his friend. This letter was afterwards found by Bienville, as has been already mentioned. When Iberville appeared on the Mississippi, Tonti was the first white man to descend from the Illinois country to welcome him to this wild region. He afterwards made his home in this new settlement, and rendered valuable service in gaining for it the friendship of the Choctaws and the Chickasaws. The first epidemic of yellow fever known in the history of the Gulf States put an end to his valuable services (September, 1704).
Summary
1. The expedition of De Soto (1540) was the first to enter the present State of Mississippi and to discover the river of the same name (1541).
2. One hundred and thirty-three years afterwards (1673) Mar- quette and Joliet descended the Mississippi to the mouth of the Arkansas.
3. La Salle then descended the Mississippi (1682) to its mouth and in the name of the king of France took possession of the vast region drained by this river and its tributaries.
4. Iberville profited by the interest that had been awakened in this country by the explorations of La Salle, and planted a colony at Biloxi (1699).
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UNDER MILITARY-CIVIL LAW
EPOCH II UNDER FRENCH RULE (1699-1763)
CHAPTER IV
UNDER MILITARY-CIVIL LAW (1699-1713)
23. Settlement at Biloxi .- Iberville observed to the north of where his ships lay at anchor a beautiful little sheltered bay, where small vessels could come and go safely at all times. Here he erected a wooden fort which he named in honor of Count Maurepas. No town was laid out, how- ever, as this was intended as only a temporary settlement. It was guarded by twelve cannons, and was well supplied with ammunition. He then departed for France, leaving Sauvole (sō vol') in command and Bienville as "king's lieutenant." He also left a major, a chaplain, and eighty men as a garrison. This, the first white settlement in Mis- sissippi, was also the first capital of Louisiana. It was not located at the present site of Biloxi, but at " Old' Biloxi," near the town of Ocean Springs. After an absence of about seven months Iberville returned from the mother country with reinforcements and supplies for the new colony. He had been instructed* to examine the discoveries made by Sauvole and Bienville during his absence, and to report upon the commercial possibilities of the country. This report was to determine whether the settlement was to be abandoned or made permanent. Royal commissions were
*He was especially instructed "to breed the buffalo at Biloxi; to seek for pearls; to examine the wild mulberry with the view to silk, the timber for ship-building; and to seek for mines." (See Claiborne's Mississippi, p. 27.)
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
brought, however, which confirmed Sauvole* as "com- mandant of the Bay of Biloxi and its environs," and Bien- ville as "lieutenant du roy " (lieutenant of the king). Boisbriant (bwa bre an'), who came over on Iberville's second voyage, was appointed commander of Fort Mau- repas with the grade of major.
24. Extent of Louisiana .- Thus was Biloxi made the capital of a vast region which, according to a French docu- ment of a later date, was bounded by New Mexico and the lands of the English of Carolina, and embraced all the countries, territories, inland lakes, and the rivers which fell directly or indirectly into the Mississippi River. Ban- croft forcibly says there was "not a fountain west of the Alleghanies but was claimed as being within the French Empire. Half a mile from the head of the southern branch of the Savannah River is Herbert's Spring, which flows into the Mississippi. Strangers who drank of it would say they drank French water."¡
25. An English Claim .- In 1629 the king of England granted to his attorney-general, Sir Robert Heath, a large region of country, which embraced the territory of Missis- sippi. A few years later Heath transferred this grant to Lord Maltravers, and it subsequently became the property of Dr. Daniel Coxe, of the province of New Jersey. In 1665 the territory between 29° and 36° 30', north latitude, was given to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. The same year that the French settled at Biloxi (1699) the title of Sir Robert Heath was reported upon as valid by the
*Hamilton (Peter J.), one of the latest and most accurate authorities on the early history of the Gulf Coast, questions the statement of Gayarre that Sauvole was a brother of Iberville. (See Colonial Mobile. p. 32. Read, also, in this connection Miss Grace King's Bienville, p. 73, note.)
¡Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. III., p. 343.
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UNDER MILITARY-CIVIL LAW
attorney-general of King William. Forty years previous to this date, however, Heath's charter had been declared void for non-use, so Charles II. extended the grant to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina to embrace all the territory between 29° and 36° 30', north latitude. This charter was finally surrendered to the king, who gave a large part of the present territory of Mississippi to the colony of Georgia (1732). South Carolina, from 1744 to 1787, held a charter claim to a narrow strip of land, twelve miles wide, extend- ing west to the Mississippi River.
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