SWANTON] INDIAN TRIBES OF THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEV 305 



on the shores of the bay which bears their name, which signifies Bread Nation. 

 This nation is composed of but one village, containing at most 30 cabins. 

 Some Canadians have established themselves near them, and they live together 

 like brothers, because the Canadians, being naturally peaceful, and under- 

 standing, besides, the character of the natives, know how to live with the 

 nations of America ; but what contributes principally to this durable peace 

 is that no soldier frequents this nation. In speaking of the Natchez I have 

 shown how the presence of soldiers destroys the good understanding which 

 ought to be preserved with these people in order to obtain the advantages hoi)ed 

 for." 



This was one of the tribes that in 17G4 moved from Mobile to 

 Louisiana. From Hutchins''s narrative it appears that they settled 

 first on the west side of the Mississippi not far from Red river, where 

 they had a village counting 20 warriors,^ but in 1787 permission was 

 granted them to locate at the confluence of the Rigolet du Bon Dieu 

 and Red river, a permission confirmed in 1792.^ Their territory 

 was bounded above by Bayou de la Coeur and below by Bayou 

 Philippe, which falls into Red river from the left in descending." 

 Louis de Blanc, their chief, occui3ied an eminence at the upper end of 

 this territor}^, but their principal village was on a point called Mount 

 Pleasant.^ In 1795 the Baron de Carondelet desired that the Pasca- 

 goula should be assembled, elect a chief, and form a new village on 

 Catahoula bayou,^ but instead they determined to move to Bayou 

 Bqeuf, and settled on the Choctaw land there the same year.** Land 

 was granted them by a body of ChoctaAv, who had been the first to 

 make this bayou their home.'^ Just below them were the Biloxi, who 

 had preceded them by a year or two. Early in the nineteenth cen- 

 tury the Pascagoula and Biloxi sold their lands to Miller and Fulton, 

 two of the early settlers of Rapides parish, and the sale was confirmed 

 May 4, 1805. The Pascagoula signers were the chiefs, Big Bread, 

 La Culotte, Ajadonah, Cosauh, Ningo, and Big Head.^ At that time 

 the two tribes and the Choctaw near them numbered " not less than 

 500 souls." ^ Sibley, writing at about this time, but basing his state- 

 ments on information gathered prior to 1798, has this to say of them: 



Pascagolas, live in a small village on Red river, about 60 miles below Natchi- 

 toches; are emigrants from Pascagola river, in west Florida; 25 men of them 

 only remaining; speak Mobilian, but have a language peculiar to themselves; 

 most of them speak and understand French. They raise good crops of corn and 

 garden vegetables; have cattle, horses, and poultry plenty. Their horses are 

 much like [those of] the poorer kind of French inhabitants on the river and 

 [they] appear to live about as well.'' 



<■ Du Pratz, Hist, de La Louisiane, ii, 214-215, 1758. 



'' Ilutchins, Hist. Narr. La., 45. 



"■Am. State Papers, Public Lands, ii, 781. 



" Ibid., 782. 



" Ibid., 794. 



f Ann. 0th Cong., 2d sess., 1087, 1852. 



83220— Bull. 43—10 20 



