SW ANTON 
EARLY HISTORY OF THE CREEK INDIANS 81 
will be well to consider the two together. From a letter of one of the 
Timucua missionaries we learn that the Guale province was called 
Yk'ilia by the Timucua Indians, 1 and this is evidently the Yupaha ol 
which De Soto was in search when he left the Apalachee. "Of the 
Indians taken in Napetuca, " says Elvas, "the treasurer, Juan Gaytan, 
brought a youth with him, who stated that he did not belong to that 
country, but to one afar in the direction of the sun's rising, from 
which he had been a long time absent visiting other lands; that its 
name was Yupaha, and was governed b\ a woman, the town she 
lived in being ol' astonishing size, and many neighboring lords her 
tributaries, some of whom gave her clothing, others gold in quan- 
tity." 2 As the description of the town and its queen corresponds 
somewhat with Cofitachequi, perhaps Ybaha or Yubaha was a general 
name for the Muskhogean peoples rather than a specific designation of 
Guale. 
The towns of Guale lay almost entirely between St. Catherines 
and St. Andrews Sounds. An early Spanish document refers to " the 
22 chiefs of Guale." Menendez says there were "40 villages of 
Indians" within 3 or 4 leagues. Between St. Catherines Sound and 
the Savannah, where the province of Orista or Escamacu, the later 
Ousabo, began, there appear to have been few permanent settle- 
ments. South of St. Andrews Sound began the Timucua province. 
When Governor Pedro de Ibarra visited the tribes of this coast 
he made, three stops at or near the islands of St. Simons, Sapello, 
and St. Catherines, respectively, and at each place the chiefs assem- 
bled to hold councils with him. It may reasonably be assumed that 
the chiefs mentioned at each of these councils were those living nearer 
that particular point than either of the others. In this way we 
are able to make a rough division of the towns into three groups — 
northern, central, and southern. Other towns are sometimes referred 
to with reference to these, so that we may add them to one or 
the other. 
Thus the following towns appear as belonging to the northern 
group, synonymous terms being placed in parentheses: Asopo 
(Ahopo); Chatufo, Couexis (Cansin) ; Culapala (Culopaba) ; Guale 
(Goale, Gale); Otapalas; Otaxe (Otax, Otafe) ; Posache; Tolomato 
(Tonomato); Uchilape; Uculegue (Oculeygue, Oculeya) ; Unallapa 
(Unalcapa) ; Yfusinique; Yoa (Yua). 
Asopo, Culupala, Guale, Otapalas, Otaxe, Uculegue, Unallapa, and 
Yoa are given by Ibarra, Guale was the name of St. Catherines 
[sland, bnt the town was "on an arm of a river which goes out of 
another which is on the north bank of the aforesaid port in Santa 
• Lowery, MSS. ' liourne, Narr. of De Soto, i, pp. 50-51. 
1 M>r,l°_ 22 
