29 



Fiirtherinore, there is every reason to believe that the Ilouma and 

 Chakchiunia were parts of one orio^inal tribe, the diilerence in their 

 names having been brought about by an abbreviation of one of them: 

 Chakchiunia^ or salicl-homa^ as it is more correctly spelled, signi- 

 fies " red crawfish,'' while houma (or homa) means simply " red; " but 

 we are informed by Dumont that the red crawfish w^as the war em- 

 blem of the Ilounra," and the old Indian woman from whom the 

 words above given were obtained seemed to know of this also. It is 

 W'orthy of mention, too, that the chroniclers of La Salle's expedition to 

 the mouth of the IVIississippi give the name of that tribe, which 

 had destroyed the Tangipahoa, sometimes as " Chouchouma " ^ and 

 sometimes as Ilouma," though we know that the latter tribe was the 

 one intended. Although he does not mention their language specif- 

 ically, Adair states that the Chakchiuma had come from west of 

 the Mississi])pi in company with the Choctaw and the Chickasaw, 

 and had been compelled to settle between the two other tribes, indi- 

 cating plainly that the three were supposed to be related." This fact 

 is confirmed by ChoctaAv testimony recorded by Mr. II. B. Cushman.^ 



With the exception of Iberville's first statement regarding the lan- 

 guages of the lower Mississippi,^ and Dii Pratz's natural but erro- 

 neous supposition that the Ofo were related to the Chickasaw,' 

 all that the early wa'iters and missionaries have to say of the speech 

 of these tribes is borne out both by the mutual agreement of the state- 

 ments themselves and by later information from survivors. The Mus- 

 khogean relationship of the Bayogoula, Quinipissa or Mugulasha, 

 Acolapissa, ITouma, Chakchiuma, ]Mobile, Tohonie. and Chatot can 

 scarcely be doubted. The Taposa are always spoken of as closely 



° Dumont. M^m. Hist, sur La Louisiane, i, 184. 



"Margry, Decouvertes, \, 604. 



'Ibid., 563. 



"Adair, Hist. Am. Ind., 66, 352, 1875. 



•Hist, of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Natchez Itulifins. 242. 1809. 



t Seo p. 26. 



" Du I'ratz, Hist, de La Louisiane, ii, 226. 



