SWANTON] GOVERNMENT Pills 
The placing of some of these names, such as Ayarraca, Thoucaliga, 
Tolatchao, Thouquoa fola, Sebafone, Coucqua fala, and Goulatchitou, 
assumes mistakes in copying or printing. Adair gives an interpreta- 
tion of only one of them, the seventh, which is plainly enough “ the 
long house,” and by derivation “the long town” as Romans has it. 
Romans says that Chatelaw signifies “ copper town,” but the word 
probably applied to some ornament or object made of copper. The 
word chuka appears again in Chucalissa, which Romans interprets 
“oreat house.” Ishto is the word for “ great,” however, and the 
second part of this compound would rather appear to be ilissa, “ to 
abandon, surrender, or give up,” the whole meaning “abandoned 
house.” The name of the fourth town is correctly interpreted by 
Romans “ stand still,” from the native word hikia. He is also plainly 
right in his translation of the name of the tenth as “red grass” 
(hashuk, “grass;” homa, “red”). Tuckahaw he gives as the 
name of “a certain weed,” and Melattaw “hat and feather,” but I 
can not certify as to the correctness of these. The name of the 
eleventh town means “ big people” if De Batz’s spelling is correct; 
and that of the thirteenth “black panther.” From the use of the 
word “mengo” in the name of a town given by Iberville it would 
seem that it was named from some chief. Gouytola appears to mean 
“the place of the panther,” perhaps referring rather to the clan than 
the animal. Possibly the name given as Oucthambolo by Iberville 
may be Ok’champuli, “sweet water.” From the use of Choctaw 
chito for Chickasaw ishto, “big,” and Choctaw falaya, instead of 
Chickasaw falaha, “long,” it would seem that all of these lists except 
that of Adair, and possibly that of Iberville, were taken down in 
Choctaw or the Mobilian trade language. 
GOV ERNMENT 
The best, indeed almost the only, account of the ancient govern- 
ment of the Chickasaw tribe is that printed by Schoolcraft and 
already quoted, which has, as we have seen, been partially confirmed 
by Gibbs. From this it appears that each totemic iksa or clan had 
a chief and that they differed in rank in accordance with a differ- 
ence in the ranking of the clans. The leader of the clan highest in 
rank was chief or “ king” of the entire Chickasaw nation. To com- 
plete our knowledge of this subject we ought to be informed in what 
manner the chiefs of the totemic iksas were selected, whether these 
chieftainships were prerogatives of certain local groups, with or 
without the suffrages of the others having the same totem, and 
