bwajiton] EARL? HISTORY OF THE CREEK INDIAN'S 199 
In August, 1777, William Bartram visited an Alabama village on 
the Mississippi 2 miles above the Manchac. He describes it as 
"delightfully situated on several swelling green hills, gradually 
ascending from the verge of the river." 1 A friend accompanying 
him purchased some native baskets and pottery from the inhabit- 
ant. In 1784 Hutchins found them in about the same place. 2 
It will be noticed that Sibley does not mention a previous sojourn 
of either of the parties of Alabama described by him on the Mis- 
sissippi River, and we are in the dark as to whether they had sepa- 
raled after coming into Louisiana or before. If they came sepa- 
rately il would seem most likely that the Opelousas band was the 
one settled on the Mississippi. This at any rate was in accordance 
with the belief of John Scott, the late chief of the Alabama nowresiding 
in Texas and the oldest person among them. He informed the writer 
in 1912 that the name of the old Alabama town on the Mississippi 
River was Aktcabehale. From there they moved to "Mikiwi'l" close 
to Opelousas, and from there to the Sabine River, where they formed 
a new town which received no special name. There was an Alabama 
village in Texas called Fenced-in- village a short distance west by south 
of a mill and former post office called Mobile, Tyler County, Texas. 
Next they settled in what is now Tyler County, Texas, at a town 
which they called Tak'o'sha-o'la ("Peach-tree Town"). Thiswas 
about 2 miles due north of Chester or 20 miles north of Woodville, 
Texas. Their next town was 3 miles from Peach-tree Town and 
contained a "big house" (i' sa tcuba) and a dance ground, but was 
unnamed. After a time the Alabama chief decided to move to 
Pat'ala'ka (said to mean "Cane place") where the Biloxi and Pasca- 
goula lived, and some other Indians went with him. Part, however, 
returned to Louisiana, where they remained three years. At the end 
of that time they came back to Texas and formed a village which took 
its name from a white man, Jim Barclay. They moved from there to 
the village which they now occupy, which is called Big Sandy village 
from the name of a creek, although it took some time for the families 
scattered about in Texas to come in. 
According to some white informants the Alabama settled on Red 
River, moved to Big Sand}' village, and perhaps both parties finally 
united there. A few families, however, still remain in Calcasieu and 
St. Landry Parishes, Louisiana. The language of all of the Texas Ala- 
bama is practically uniform, but the speech of some of the Tapasola 
clan is said to vary a little from the normal. 
The Alabama who had remained in their old country took a promi- 
nent part in the Creek war. Indeed Stiggins says that " they did more 
murder and other mischief in the time of their hostilities in the year 
'Bartram, Travels, p. 427. J Hutchins, Narr., p. 44. 
