swanton] EARLY HISTORY OF THE CREEK INDIANS 253 
census lists of 1738/ 1750, 1 1760, and 1761, in the lists of Bartram, 
Swan, and Hawkins, and in the census list of 1832. 2 Few events of 
importance are connected with the history of this tribe. In 1716, 
according to the South Carolina documents, they suffered a severe 
defeat from the Cherokee,' and this was perhaps the beginning of 
those Cherokee aggressions on Creek territory which forced the 
( reeks out of the Tennessee Valley. If we may believe some Cherokee 
legends, however, that tribe had occupied much of the same country 
at an earlier date. 4 
The following is Hawkins's description of the Abihka town as it 
appeared in 1799: 
Au-be-coo-che, is on Nau-chee creek, five miles from the river, on the right bank of 
the creek, on a flat one mile wide. The growth is hard-shelled hickory. The town 
spreads itself out and is scattered on both sides of the creek, in the neighborhood of 
very high hills, which descend back into waving, rich land, fine for wheat or corn; 
the bottoms all rich; the neighborhood abounds in limestone, and large limestone 
springs; they have one above, and one below the town; the timber on the rich lands 
is oak, hickory, walnut, poplar, and mulberry. 
There is a very large cave north of the town, the entrance of which is small, on the 
side of a hill. It is much divided, and some of the rooms appear as the work of art; 
the doors regular; in several parts of the cave saltpetre is to be seen in crystals. On 
We-wo-cau creek there is a fine mill seat; the water is contracted by two hills; 
the fail twenty feet; and the land in the neighborhood very rich; cane is found on 
the creeks, and reed grows well on these lands. 
This town is one of the oldest in the nation; and sometimes, among the oldest 
chiefs, it gives name to the nation Au-be-cuh. Here some of the oldest customs had 
their origin. The law against adultery was passed here, and that to regulate mar- 
riages. To constitute legal marriage a man must build a house, make his crop and 
gather it in; then make his hunt and bring home the meat; putting all this in the 
possession of his wife ends the ceremony and they are married, or, as the Indians ex- 
press it, the woman is hound, and not till then. This information is obtained from 
Co-tau-lau (Tus-se-ki-ah Mic-co of Coosau), an old and respectable chief, descended 
from Nau-che. He lives near We-o-coof-ke, has accumulated a handsome property, 
owns a fine stock, is a man of much information, and of great influence among the 
Indians of the towns in the neighborhood of this. 
They have no fences-, and but a few hogs, horses, and cattle; they are attentive to 
white people who live among them, and particularly so to white women. 6 
The Abihka took practically no part in the Creek uprising of 1813. 
After their removal to Oklahoma they established their first square 
ground a few miles from Eufaula. Later many of them moved far- 
ther west, following the game, and they established another square, 
sometimes called ''Abihka-in-the-west." Both of these have been 
long abandoned. 
Before they left the old country two branch towns had arisen — 
Talladega [Taladigi] and Kan-tcati [Kan tcati] (Red ground). They 
i MSS., Ayer Coll. 
« Miss. Prov. Arch., I, p. 95; Ga. Col. Docs., vm, p. 523; Bartram, Travels, p. 461; Schoolcraft, Ind. 
Tribes, v, p. 262; Ga. Hist. Soc. Colls., in, p. 25; Senate Doc. 512, 23d Cong., 1st sess., pp. 315-318. 
' 8. C. Docs., MS. 
« See p. 213. 
s Ga. Hist. Soc. Colls., in, pp. II -42; ix, p. 176. 
