The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 83, July 1979 - April, 1980 Page: 351
464 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Choctaws West of the Mississippi, 1766-8oo00
Choctaws a feeling of freedom in all Spanish territory. Their hunting
activity expanded west of the Mississippi and, for a time, was favorably
regarded by Spanish officials. They hoped that Choctaws might be a
deterrent to the Osages who were committing atrocities in the Natchi-
toches district. These two tribes were bitter enemies, and the Choctaws
were one of the few tribes not intimidated by Osages. In practice, how-
ever, Spanish attempts to play Choctaws and Osages against each other
in order to relieve pressure on frontier settlements were never success-
ful. Choctaws proved to be only the lesser of two evils. Jose Maria Guar-
diana, commandant of Nacogdoches, stated that by 1790 Choctaws were
beginning to cause serious trouble in Texas.6
For the next few years, however, the Osage threat outweighed any
actual danger from the Choctaws. Less than two months after he became
governor of Louisiana, Baron de Carondelet was introduced to the
Osage problem. Luis de Blanc, commandant of Natchitoches, wrote to
him on February 18, 1792, that his post and the capital were deprived
of a great deal of game and other products from the upper Red River
Valley "by the treacherous Osage who constantly wage the most cruel
war upon us in this region as well as upon our Indian allies." He com-
plained that traders from Spanish Illinois supplied arms to the Osages
and that these Indians also received presents at Saint Louis. "I do not
doubt," he wrote, "that in a short time these evils will reach the limit,
and that the Osage will assault the farms and cattle ranches of this post."
To emphasize the point he added, "they have just killed Zacarias Mar-
tin, citizen of this post."7 Contrary to Spanish hopes, Choctaws had done
little to discourage Osage inroads into the Red River Valley.
Although Choctaws rarely killed white settlers, de Blanc found their
presence scarcely less obnoxious than that of the Osages. On April 16,
1792, he reported to Carondelet that great numbers of Choctaws and
Chickasaws came into the Natchitoches district and caused much trou-
ble "by their thefts of horses and cattle, which they kill on the cattle
ranches of the inhabitants." They were temporarily at peace with the
Caddos, and many had spent the winter in the Caddo country. Choc-
taw hunting parties habitually entered the territories of weaker tribes.
Usually these Indians did nothing, but occasionally they resisted. In the
Oct. 16, 1796, Louisiana Collection; Lawrence Kinnaird, "Spanish Treaties with Indian
Tribes," The Western Historical Quarterly, X (Jan., 1979), 41-46.
6Josh Maria Guardiana to Carondelet, Mar. 2, 1797, Louisiana Collection.
7Luis de Blanc to Carondelet, Feb. 18, 1792, in Kinnaird (ed.), Spain in the Mississippi
Valley, IV (pt. 3), 9-11.351
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 83, July 1979 - April, 1980, periodical, 1979/1980; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101207/m1/409/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.