The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 83, July 1979 - April, 1980 Page: 353
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, 1766-18oo 353
Choctaw chief arrived, he would aid them and use his influence with
the Texas Indians to bring about peace. However, de Blanc's opinion
of the situation differed from the governor's. Although he assured Ca-
rondelet that he would comply with his instructions, he emphasized his
own disapproval of permitting Choctaws to hunt west of the Mississippi
River:
I must not conceal from Your Lordship that I have been not at all satisfied
with the manner in which the Choctaws have comported themselves with
the inhabitants of this district, robbing them of their labors, turning their
horses loose in their crops, killing cattle secretly in the woods, and stealing
horses in all parts in order to take them to their villages. For these reasons
I hope Your Lordship will be pleased to take measures to remedy these dis-
orders hereafter, in view of the fact that the inhabitants are determined not
to endure from them in the future such injuries, outrages, and insults."1
Perhaps as intended, Ytelaghana's proposals for a peace mission resulted
in Carondelet's recommendation that western tribes allow Choctaws to
hunt in their lands, but nothing more.
Choctaw hunting parties continued to range widely over Lower Lou-
isiana. In January, 1793, Pedro Rousseau, commander of the galliot La
Fleche, reported meeting a party of Choctaws on the west side of the
Mississippi about fifty leagues above the mouth of the Yazoo River. It
consisted of twenty-five men with their wives and children. These Choc-
taws had fifteen horses laden with pelts. As previously noted, acquisition
of horses west of the Mississippi was no problem for Choctaws. Rousseau
also reported the arrival at his camp of two pirogues which had come
down the Mississippi. They were paddled by two Choctaw men and four
women. With them was a half-breed who spoke English and was able to
tell Rousseau that they had been hunting west of the river. He said that
he came from the village of Boukfouca in the Small Part, where Juan
Delavillebeuvre, Spanish commissioner for the Choctaw nation, resided.
By way of the Yazoo River, Choctaw pirogues had easy access to the
Mississippi and its western tributaries.12
Carondelet's leniency toward Choctaw activity west of the Mississippi
in 1792 and 1793 was chiefly due to Spanish treaty relationships with the
tribe. In May, 1792, Spain had concluded a treaty by which the Choc-
taws ceded land at the mouth of the Yazoo where Fort Nogales was lo-
cated. The governor had additional reasons for continuing good rela-
11Carondelet to de Blanc, Oct. 18, 1792, ibid., 92; de Blanc to Carondelet, Dec. 1, 1792,
ibid., 99, ioo (quotation).
12Log of La Fleche, Jan. 5, 1793, ibid., 114.
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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/m1/411/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.