swan-ton] EARLY BISTORT? OF THE (ilEEK INDIANS 299 
The following probably refers specifically to the band under con- 
sideration. U is part of a letter written from St. Augustine, August 
22, 1639, to the court by Gov. Damian de la Vega Castro y Pardo 
about various matters connected with the administration of his 
province. 
A number of Indians called Ysicas or Chiscas, a warlike people and who take pride 
in this fad. roam through those provinces, free, originating from New Mexico. I 
have tried to gather them, and get them away from the trails, assigning to them a 
place where they could settle, ten leagues from this garrison beyond a river called Rio 
Blanco, near another village of Catholics. It seemed to me that taking them off the 
trails they could no longer molest the Christian Indians, but would spread out and 
multiply, making a livelihood by hunting and trying to work and cultivate the ground 
with the end of making of them vassals of your Majesty and converting them. Having 
them close by and under supervision it would he easy to punish any excesses and they 
could be used in helping to search for fugitive Indians, who run away from their doc- 
trinas, which i< causing great damage, for the reason that, running away this way loose, 
they join hands of heathens and may apostatize. Furthermore these Ysicas are friends 
of the Spaniards, courageous, and ready to go against any enemies. These Indians 
are good by land and by water, as well as several other tribes whahave come to yield 
their obedience to your Majesty two hundred leagues from here. . . ' 
These Yuchi are again mentioned in connection with the irruption 
of a new horde of "barbarians" from the north to be described pres- 
ently. They are represented as perpetual trouble makers for the 
Spaniards and in 1674 three of them threatened to interfere with the 
labors of the missionaries among the Chatot. They are accused of 
complicity in the outbreak in that tribe one year later, being de- 
scribed as "a rebellious people, mountaineers (montaras), reared in 
license without the control of culture or other conventions, attentive 
solely t<> game, which is their means of livelihood and with which 
those lands abound." 2 
Their meddlesome propensities brought on a war with the Apalachee 
Indians in 1677 ; of which the following is an account. It is contained 
in a letter written to the King of Spain by Gov. D. Pablo de Hita 
Salazar, and is dated St. Augustine, November 10, 1678. 
Report given t" Captain Juan Fernandez de Florencia by the principal military 
chiefs who made war on the Chisca Indians and whose names are: Juan Mendoza, 
Matheo Ohuba, the Cacique of Cupayca, Bernardo and Ventura de Ynija, 3 of San 
I .uis. This report tells how the war against the Chiscas originated, which is in the fol- 
lowing way: Many years ago those Indians used to come on the trails. It was not 
quite certain whether they were Chiscas or Chichutecas, but they would assault and 
kill the Christians or would carry them off, men, women, and children, and make 
slaves of them. Not until last year, which was 1676, did it become clear that they 
were Chiscas by the deaths they caused at Huistachuco; and by the killing among the 
Chines at Chachariz and at Cupayca we knew they were Chiscas, and although it is 
1 Serrano y Sanz, Doc. Hist., p. 199. Translated by Mrs. F. Bandolier. 
' Lowery, MSS. 
3 In reality Ynija is probably a native word identical with the Creek heniha. The henihawasan 
assistant to a chief or other leading officer. 
