48 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY fl'.uLL. 137 



reference to a camp by the river for some days after they left 

 Canasoga and the reason is plain. At this point the great war trail 

 from Virginia and the New River crosses the Hiwassee and reaches 

 the Tennessee above Chattanooga. Evidently the Spaniards took 

 their line of march along this trail and that is furthermore indicated 

 by the fact that they indeed came out upon a great river on the second 

 day of their march, "the river which they had crossed in the plain 

 where the woman chief went off." Ran j el adds, "it was now very 

 large," and naturally, since this was the main channel of the Ten- 

 nessee. 



On June 5 the army entered Chiaha on an island in the great river 

 two crossbow shots from its upper end and 1 league from the lower 

 end. The location of this island and the description of it are perfectly 

 met by Burns Island in the Tennessee River just before it enters Ala- 

 bama, but if it was not that island, certainly it was Williams Island 

 above or Long Island below. Here the explorers spent 3 weeks to re- 

 cuperate and rest their horses after the arduous journey from Xuala. 

 During that period two soldiers were sent across the mountains to the 

 north to visit a province called Chisca, probably occupied by Yuchi 

 Indians, where there was copper and where they hoped to find gold. 



On June 28 the army left Chiaha and marched along the river to a 

 town called Coste or Costehe situated on another island almost cer- 

 tainly identifiable with Pine Island. The wording of Ranjel's narra- 

 tive would lead us to suppose that they crossed the Tennessee twice 

 on the way, once to the north bank, perhaps near the foot of Long 

 Island, and again to the south at Bellefonte Island, and entered Coste 

 at the upper end of Pine Island by fording the south branch of the 

 river. Here they were joined by their wounded, brought from Chiaha 

 by canoe, and accompanying them the Chisca messengers, who had 

 been unable to reach their objective but brought with them a beautiful 

 bison skin. The reason for the detour made by the army along the 

 north bank of Tennessee River is to be found in a high bluff between 

 the mouth of Raccoon Creek and Bellefonte Island on the south shore. 



Coste is identified with the Koasati town of later times which 

 sometimes gave its name to the river. On leaving it, we are told 

 specifically that the explorers crossed "the other branch of the river," 

 which, if we have been correct so far, would mean the north branch. 

 On July 10 they entered the Tali town which is believed to have stood 

 on McKee Island, and next day they set out toward the great province 

 of Coga of which glowing accounts had reached them when they were 

 still in central Georgia. That night they slept in the open country, 

 and during the next 3 days crossed as many rivers, arriving on the 

 third evening at a town called Tksqui. Coga was on the Coosa River 

 and to reach it from the Tennessee it was necessary to cross Sand 



