Spread of English-Speaking Peoples 71 



four thousand souls ; 5 but they were also the bravest 

 and most warlike, and of all these tribal confedera- 

 cies theirs was the only one which was at all closely 

 knit together. The whole tribe acted in unison. 

 In consequence, though engaged in incessant war- 

 fare with the far more numerous Choctaws, Creeks, 

 and Cherokees, they more than held their own 

 against them all; besides having inflicted on the 

 French two of the bloodiest defeats they ever suf- 

 fered from Indians. Most of the remnants of the 

 Natchez, the strange sun-worshipers, had taken 

 refuge with the Chickasaws and become completely 

 identified with them, when their own nationality 

 was destroyed by the arms of New Orleans. 



The Choctaws, the rudest and historically the 

 least important of these Indians, lived south of the 

 Chickasaws. They were probably rather less numer- 

 ous than the Creeks. 6 Though accounted brave they 

 were treacherous and thievish, and were not as 

 well armed as the others. They rarely made war or 

 peace as a unit, parties frequently acting in conjunc- 

 tion with some of the rival European powers, or 



5 Hawkins, Pickens, Martin, and Mclntosh, in their letter, 

 give them 800 warriors ; most other estimates make the num- 

 ber smaller. 



6 Almost all the early writers make them more numerous. 

 Adair gives them 4,500 warriors, Hawkins 6,000. But much 

 less seems to have been known about them than about the 

 Creeks, Cherokees, and Chickasaws; and most early esti- 

 mates of Indians were largest when made of the least- 

 known tribes. Adair's statement is probably the most trust- 

 worthy. The first accurate census showed the Creeks to be 

 more numerous. 



