SwANTON] miDIANS OP THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 437 



tance. Around this ladder are some cabins to protect the women and children 

 from falling arrows. The gate of such a fort is always on the side toward 

 the water. If they can be prevented from getting it, one may be assured they 

 will be reduced in a few daj^s. (Le Page du Pratz, 1758, vol. 2, pp. 435-437; 

 Swanton, 1911, p. 133.) 



The Biloxi fort seen by Iberville on Pascagoula River in 1700 dif- 

 fered little from this : 



The village [of from 30 to 40 cabins] was surrounded with palings eight feet 

 in height, of about eighteen inches in diameter. There still remain three square 

 watch towers (guerites) measuring ten feet on each face; they are raised to 

 a height of eight feet on posts ; the sides made of mud mixed with grass, of a 

 thickness of eight inches, well covered. There were many loopholes through 

 which to shoot their arrows. It appeared to me that there had been a watch- 

 tower at each angle, and one midway of the curtains (au milieu des courtines) ; 

 it was sufficiently strong to defend them against enemies that have only 

 arrows. (Margry, 1875-86, vol. 4, pp. 425-426; Dorsey and Swanton, 1912, p. 6.) 



Yuchi mortifications were much the same so far as we can gather 

 from several brief notices of them. One on the headwaters of the 

 Tennessee visited by English traders in 1674 was 



seated on ye river side, haveing ye clefts of ye river on ye one side being very 

 high for its defence, the other three sides trees of two foot over, pitched on end, 

 twelve foot high, and on ye topps scafolds placed with parrapits to defend the 

 walls and offend their enemies which men stand on to fight. (Alvord, 1912, p. 

 213.) 



There is a more obscure note of a fort in west Florida captured by the 

 Spaniards and Apalachee in 1677 which seems to have been much like 

 the rest, and some references to Chisca forts stormed by Boyano in 

 1567. (Swanton, 1922, pp. 293, 303 ; Serrano y Sanz, 1913, pp. 214- 

 216; Kuidiaz, 1894, vol. 2, pp. 477-480.) The very year in which the 

 Tennessee town above mentioned was being described, Henry Wood- 

 ward visited a Westo town on the Savannah River near where 

 Augusta now stands, and it is my opinion that this was Yuchi. It 

 was 



uppon ye Westerne side soe y* ye river encompasseth two-thirds thereof. 

 ... Ye inland side of ye towne being duble Pallisadoed, & yt part which fronts 

 ye river haveing only a single one. (S. C. Hist. Soc. Coll., 1857-97, vol. 5, pp. 

 459-461; Swanton, 1922, p. 306.) 



Chickasaw towns and some of the northern and eastern towns of 

 the Choctaw were anciently protected in the same manner, but we 

 have no good descriptions of the defenses. 



As we move toward the northeast we find less pretentious stnic- 

 tures. Barlowe describes at the north end of Koanoke Island 



a village of nine houses, built of Cedar, and fortified round about with sharpe 

 trees, to keepe out their enemies, and the entrance into it made like a turne 

 pike very artificially. (Burrage, 1906, p. 235.) 



