swanton] indian tribes of the lower mississippi valley 327 



The Koroa 



Unless they are the Coligue or Coliina of De Soto's chroniclers," 

 the name of this tribe first occnrs on Marquette's map of 1673 

 under the form "Akoroa," but it is erroneously placed westward of the 

 Arkansas Indians.'' In his descent of the Mississippi in 1682 La Salle 

 heard of Iavo divisions of this people, one, which appears in the docu- 

 ments under the slightly varying forms '" Ikouera," '' Kouei-a,'' and 

 " Coroa," being on Yazoo river along with the Tunica and Yazoo 

 tribes,'" while the other, which he actually encountered, was on the 

 west side of the ISIississippi, 8 or 10 leagues below the Natchez, and 

 therefore probably in the neighborhood of Fort Adams/' When he 

 was among the Xatchez the chief of this town travele-;! all night to 

 meet him and accompanied him to his own village. If we may trust 

 the statement of the notary. La Metaine, the village consisted of 6 

 minor villages and was allied with 40 others, but it is questionable 

 Avhether he has not here confused the Koroa with the Natchez, since 

 there is evidence of such confusion in other narratives of this expe- 

 dition.*" The Tonti Memoir, for instance, omits all mention of this 

 tribe, but considerable space is devoted to it in the Margry documents, 

 which treat of La Salle's dealings with it as follows: 



When wo arrived at their vilhage, they regaled us in their best manner and 

 gave a cahiniet to M. de la Salle. I [Tonti] lost at this place a slave that I 

 had purchased of the Taensas, who escaped during the night along with his 

 mother. They were natives of this village. After the Coroas had made ns 

 understand that it was yet ten days to the sea, we left on Easter day. * * * 

 The 29th [of April on the return journey] we found, 1 league from the aforesaid 

 [Koroa] village, a pirogue in which were two men, who went in advance to 

 announce our coming. "When we came in sight of the village we perceived very 

 few people on the banks. The chief came before us, and when M. de la Salle 

 had given him the scalps he appeared very much surprised, and having ma(4e a 

 sign for us to follow him in order to eat, we mounted the cliff, where there 

 were cane mats in the middle of the oijen space ready for us, on which he made 

 us sit, and as they were bringing us food to eat we were surprised to see our- 

 selves surrounded by more than a thousand men. One of our party recognized 

 among them some Kinipissas. who were their allies, and they judged on seeing 

 them that they had come to bring the news of what had passed among them, 

 and that this great number of men was assembled only to do us an ill turn. 

 We ate, gun in hand. These savages held councils, and after we had eaten we 

 pretended to hold them also. We heard one of our savage women cry out at 

 the edge of the water. I went to ask her what the matter was, and she told me 

 that these savages had plundered one of their canoes. The master to whom it 

 belonged descended the cliff and found a part of what he had lost. That caused 

 a confused noise. -The chief of the Coroas having invited M. de la SaUe to 

 remain three days at his house, saying that he would lodge the Frenchmen in 

 one cabin and the savages in another, which he had nt)t done when we de- 



« Bourne. Narr. of De Soto, i, 132; Shipp's Hist, of Hernando De Solo and Florida, 419. 



* Shea, Disc, and Expl. of the Miss., map. 



''French, Hist. Coll. La., 47, 82, 1846; Margry, Decouvertes, ii, 189. 



'' Margry, Decouvertes, i, 558, 603. 



e French, Hist. Coll. La.. 47, 1846. 



