siOBX; - Smithsonian Institution

94 BUREAU OF AMERICAN" ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 103
Village of Boukfouka
Opaemikko (Hopali uii"ko).
Atakab^ oulakta (Hatak abe liolalita).
Taskanangouchi (Tiishka nauukachi)."
" Capitane " is, of course, borrowed from the Spaniards, and was
perhaps assumed as a title by some chiefs who had received honors
at Pensacola or St. Augustine. In another place Du RouUet speaks
of the chief and the " tascanagouchi " of the village, from which it
is clear that " tascanagouchi " or " tascanangouchi " was an official
title. It is possible that where this word appears in the above list it
belongs with the name just preceding, having been inserted simply as
his title, but there is nothing in the punctuation of the original to
confirm this. In Hopaii mi"ko we recognize the equivalent of a
name often applied to great war leaders among the Creeks and the
Chickasaw. Elsewhere Fani mingo, probably the Fani mingo tchaa
of the above list, is called " calumet chief of this nation," but just
what these words are intended to imply is not clear. They may sig-
nify merely that he had once carried a calumet to some other tribe
when peace was being arranged. In later documents, as for instance
the treaty of July, 13-14, 1787, between representatives of Spain and
the Choctaw, the Indians who subscribed their names to it are classed
as " great medal chiefs," " little medal chiefs," and " capitanes," the
last term being used for the least important class of leaders.
The head chief is again mentioned in a much later note from the
manuscript of Israel Folsom:
The tribal or national government was vested in the royal family. . . . They
\Aere under the government of custom or common lav? of the Nation. All their
matters of dispute or difficulty were settled in open council. They had no such
officers as constables or sheriffs, but the chief had power at any time to order
out any number of warriors to bring offenders to justice. The chief's office
was one merely of supremacy or leadership and consequently there was no pay
attached to it as at the present [1899].'*
The relative functions of the major local groups or clans within
this larger body— perhaps also within each town—is outlined by
85 Of the above words mi°ko is " chief " ; chito " big " ; holahta a name used in war
titles and signifying " chief " in the Timucua and Apalachee hinguages ; imataha, probably
" a supporter " ; shulush hummastabe, " he took red shoes and killed " ; hatak, " man " or
"person"; abe, "to kill"; p Una, "on the top"; ushi, "little"; iyasha, "kettle"
Yashu, name of a town ; atashi, " a war club " or possibly the Creek town of Atasi
Chikasha, the Chickasaw tribe; tashka, "warrior"; nanukachi, "one who advises"
shulush Im stabi, " shoes he took and killed " ? ; asonak, " a brass kettle " ; ashachi, " to
lay something down " ; chaha, " up high " ; puskus, " little " or " an infant " ; oktani, " to
appear at a distance"; hollo, "sacred"; Alabama, the tribe; tishu, "assistant" (to a
chief) ; hopakachi, " to wander far ofif " ; nakflsh, " younger brother " ; ulhti, " council
fire"; tashioha, "several things with corners, sharp edges, or ridges"; i&ai. "squirrel";
okla, " people " ; bisanli, " to sprout " ; moklasha, " one's own people " ; biniya, " seated " ;
hopaii, " a prophet " or " a military leader " ; ishtabokoa, " he took something when It
was noon " ; chuka, " house " ; wakila, " cracked " ; tabokoa, " noon " ; ona, " to reach
going " ; tikeli, " to touch " or " to press against."
^ Cushman, Hist, of Inds., p. 362.