lO SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o 



Swanton Mooney 



Amount brought forward 32,925-33,425 50,700 



Biloxi, Pascagoula, and Moctobi 875 1,000 



Houma ■ 1,225 1,000 



Chitimacha 2,625 3,000 



Atakapa (subtracting the population of the Texas 



tribes from my original estimate) 2,000 1,500 



Acolapissa 1,050 1,500 



Bayogoula, Mugulasha, and Quinipissa 875 1,500 



Washa, Chawasha, and Okelousa (Mooney gives 



Opelousa erroneously for Okelousa) /OOl 



^ 1 f 1400 



Opelousa 455 J 



Taensa, and Avoyel 1,155 800 



43,885-44,385 62,400 



While the discrepancy between the totals seems to be considerable, .it will 

 be noticed that it is due almost entirely to the rather wide differences in 

 the estimates for the Creeks and Chickasaw. The numbers of Chickasaw 

 appear to have varied greatly owing to their constant wars, while those of 

 the Creeks were afifected by this cause and by the adoption from time to time 

 of independent tribes. I was mainly influenced by a particularly careful esti- 

 mate made under the auspices of the colony of South Carolina in 1715, but 

 it is quite possible that it was too low. It did not include the Yuchi, Natchez, 

 Shawnee, and probably some other tribes which came to be parts of the 

 Confederation. If we omit the figures for these two tribes the estimates fall 

 very close to each other. — J. R. S. 



CENTRAL STATES 



In this group we include the native tribes of the Ohio Valley and 

 lake region from the Alleghenies to the Mississippi, together with 

 the territory held by the Ojibwa in Canada, north of the Great Lakes. 

 The Ottawa and Wyandot (Hurons), long identified with this region, 

 entered it within the historic period from eastern Canada and are 

 considered under that section, while the equally prominent Dela- 

 wares came from east of the mountains and are treated under the 

 North Atlantic section. The Shawnee, although part of them lived 

 for some time in South Carolina and Alabama, had their principal 

 early residence within the Central region. 



The best calculation possible seems to make the native population 

 of this section in 1650, the period of first disturbance, about 75,000 

 as against about 46,000 existing today in and out of their original 

 territory, a decrease of about 39 per cent. The French statements 

 ascribing to the ancient Erie a population of from 7,000 to 10,000 souls 

 are evidently based upon insufficient acquaintance with the tribe. It 

 is impossible to arrive at very close figures for the present popula- 

 tion for the reason that probably one-half of the great Ojibwa tribe 

 is not officially differentiated from intermingled Ottawa and Cree. 



