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Show 1 68 There has been a misunders:anding _he~een them for several years, and small hunting parties kill one another when they meet. . The Caddos raise corn, beans, pumpkms, &c. but the land on which they now live is prair_ie, of a '~hite clay soil, very flat ; their crops are subJCC! to InJury either by too wet or too dry a seas~n. . fhey have horses, but few of any other domestic anunal, e~cept dogs: most of thetn have guns and some have nfles: they and all other Indians th~lt we have any knowledge of are at war with the Osages. 'The country, generally, ~·ound the Cand?s is hilly, not very rich; growth a m1xture of oak, hickory ~nd pine, interspersed with p~airi~s, wl~ich are very nch genera ll ~,r, and fit for culnvat10n. fhere are creeks and sp ings of good water frequent. Y A TT ASSEES, live on Bayau Pierre, (or Stony creek) vhich falls into Red. river, wester~1 d.ivisio~, about 50 miles above N:1tch1toches. Their village IS in a large prairie about half way between the Caddoques and ~~ atchitoches, surrounded by a settlement of French families. The Spanish government at present, exercise jurisdiction over this settlement, where they keep a guard of a nonc01nmissioned officer and eight sold1er~. A ft-w months ago, the Caddo chief with a few of his young men were c01ning to thi& place to trade, and came that way which is the usual road. 'The Spanish officer of the guard threatened to stop them from trading with the Americans, and told the chief if he returned that way with the goods he should take them from him : The chief and his party were very angry, and threatened to kill the whole guard, and told them that that road had been always theirs, and that if th.e Spaniards atte1n.Pted to prevent their using it as tl~e1r ancestors had always done, he would soon make 1t a bloody road. ~e came here, purchased the goods he wanted, and lntght have returned another way and / ... 09 .avoided the Spanish guard, and was advised to do so; but he said he would pass by them, and let them attempt to stop him if they dared. T'he guard said nothing to hin1 as he returned. 'fhis settlement, till some few years ago, used to belong to the district of Natchitoches, and the rights to their lands given by the government of Louisiana, before it was ceded to Spain. Its now being under the government of Taxus, was only an agreen1ent between the commandant of Natchitoches and the commandant of Nagogdoches. 'fhe Fr~nch formerly had a station and factory there, and another on the Sabine river, nearly one hundred miles north \rest fr~m the Bayou Pierre settlement. The Y attasscs now say the French used to be their people and now the Americ~ ms. But of the ancient Y attassces there are but eio-ht men remaining, and twenty-five women, besides chil. dren; but a nutnber of men of other nations have internlarricd with them and live together. I paid a visit at their village last sununer_; th.er.e were about forty men of them altogether: their onb0'Inal1ano-uao-e differs fi h b b :om an~ ot er ; bu.t now, all speak Caddo. They hye on nch land, rmse plenty of corn, beans, pump. kms, tobacco, &c. have horses, cattle, hogs and poultrv. NANDAKOES, live on the Sabine river 60 or 70 1niles to the westward of theY attassees ne;r where the Frenc~1 fo;merly had a station ancl fact~ry. 'Their lan~~age IS Caddo: about 40 men only of them remammg. A few years ago they suffered very much by the sn1,all pox . 'fhey consider themselves the smne as .Caddos, ~v~t!1 whom they intermarry, and are, occasiOnally, VISiting one another in the greatest harmony: have the smnc 1nanncrs, custmns and at~ tachments. AD AIZ E, live a Lout 40 miles fron1 Natchitoches below the Yattassces, oq a lake called Lac Macdon: ... |