suvviuN] EARLY HISTORY OF THE CREEK INDIANS 195 
to join trieir party, which was hunting in the neighborhood of this place. M. de 
Bienville had their canoes loaded with meat and corn upset. He then returned to 
the fort on the 11th of the same month. 1 
P6nicaut's account of the affair is as follows: 
A fter we had returned [from the previous abortive expedition which he describes] 
M. de Bienville had prepared some days afterward ten canoes, and as soon as they 
were ready he had us embark to the number of fifty Frenchmen with our officers, of 
Which he was first in rank, and we left secretly at night in order to conceal our move- 
ment from the savages. At the end of some days of travel, when we were wdthin ten 
leagues of the village of the Alihamons, Aery near the place where the four Frenchmen 
had been killed, we saw a fire. There was on the river within two gunshots from this 
fire fourteen canoes of these Alibamons, who were hunting, accompanied by their 
families. We went down again a quarter of a league because it was too light; we 
remained half a league from the savages the rest of the day, in a place where our 
canoes were concealed behind a height of land. We sent six men up on this height in 
order to reconnoiter the place where their cabins were, which we discovered easily 
from there. It was necessary to ascend the river to a point above in order to land 
opposite. When We perceived that their fire was almost out, and they were believed 
to be asleep, M. de Bienville had us advance. After having passed a little height, 
We went down into a wood, where there was a very bad trail. When we were near 
the cabins where the savages were asleep, one of our Frenchmen stepped on a dry 
cane, which made a noise in breaking. One of the savages who was not yet asleep 
began to cry out in their language, ' 'Who goes there? " which obliged us to keep 
silence. The savage, after some time, hearing no more noise, lay down. We then 
advanced, but the savages, hearing us march, rising uttered the death cry and fired 
a volley, which killed one of our people. Immediately their old people, their women, 
and their children fled. Only those bearing arms retired last, letting go at us many 
volleys. On our side we did not know whether we had killed a single one, because 
we did n< >t know in the night where we were shooting. The savages having retired, we 
remained in their cabins until daybreak; we burned them before leaving them in 
order to return to the river, where we found their canoes, which we took, along with 
the merchandises which were in them, to our fort of Mobile. 2 
La Harpe notes that on March 14, 1704, following, 20 Chickasaw 
brought to Mobile 5 Alabama scalps and received guns, powder, 
and ball in exchange. 3 November 18, 20 Choctaw brought in 3 
more scalps of the same people.* January 21, 1706, many Choctaw 
chiefs came bringing 9 more Alabama scalps. 5 February 21, M. de 
Boisbrillant led a party of 60 Canadians and 12 Indians against the 
Alabama. He surprised a hunting party of Alabama and, according 
to PSnicaut, killed all of the men and carried away all of the women 
and children. 6 La Harpe says that he brought back 2 scalps and 
1 slave. 7 The same year it was learned that the Alabama and 
Chickasaw together, incited by an English trader, had been instrumen- 
tal in forcing the Tunica to abandon their former homes on the lower 
Y a /.<><>. 
> La Harpe, Jour. Hist., pp. 82-83. 5 Ibid., p. 95. 
* Margry, Dec. V, pp. 429-431. 6 Margry, D6c, V, pp. 431-432. 
» T.a Harpe, Jour. Hist., p. 83. 7 La Harpe, Jour. Hist., p. 96. 
« Ibid., p. 86. 
