BWANTON] KAIM.Y HISTORY OF THE CREEK INDIANS 17 
it included the Santee, Sewee, Etiwaw, Wando, Stono, Kiawa, Edisto, 
Ashepoo, Combahoe, Indians of St. Helena, Wimbee, Witcheau, 
and Coosa. However, there is good reason to reject the Santee 
and Soweo from this association and to place them with the Siouan 
tribes of the cast, to which the Catawba and other tribes of north- 
eastern South Carolina and eastern North Carolina belonged. This 
is the conclusion of Mooney, and it is confirmed by the following 
arguments. 
On his second expedition toward the north, in 1609, Francisco 
Fernandez de Ecija had as interpreter, "for all that coast," Maria 
de Miranda, a woman from the neighborhood of Santa Elena, named 
presumably from the former governor of Santa Elena, Gutierrez de 
Miranda. In Cayagua entrance (Charleston Harbor) he met a 
Christian Indian, Alonso, with whom he had previously had dealings 
and who is spoken of as "interpreter (lengua) of the River Jordan," 
the Santee, upon which stream his own town was located. Ecija 
states that Alonso and Maria de Miranda understood one another 
and even goes so far as to state that " they spoke the same language." 
From what follows, however, it is evident that we are to understand 
only that they understood and could use the same languages, for 
just below Ecija says of another Indian whom he calls "mandador 
of the River Jordan" that he spoke through the said Maria de Mir- 
anda, " because the said Indian understood something of the language 
of Escamaqu." This indicates that the language of the Santee 
River people was distinct from that of "Escamaqu" or Santa Elena. 
While he was on the Santee, Ecija secured the surrender of a French- 
man living among the "Sati" (Santee) Indians. This man declared 
that he had obtained news of the English colony to the northward 
from three Indians, and when the explorers were in Charleston 
Harbor on their return an Indian came down the river who he said 
was one of those who had informed him. Ecija questioned this Indian, 
but "understanding that he (the Indian) understood the language 
of Santa Elena, the said captain (Ecija) commanded that the said Maria 
de Miranda should speak with him. Then he asked him through 
her the same questions that the Frenchman had asked him in the 
language of Sati." 1 These facts show plainly that the language 
spoken on Santee River and that of Santa Elena were not mutually 
intelligible. 
In 1700-1701 John Lawson traveled northeastward from Charles- 
ton to the Tuscarora country, thus passing through the very heart 
of the eastern Siouan territory. He visited and described both the 
Santee and Sewee and hence must have had opportunities to hear their 
speech. It is significant, therefore, that he states of the laj guages 
' Lowery, MSS. 
148061°— 22 2 
