The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945 Page: 67

Letters ald ocumeIts
Dr. fok# Sibley and the ouisiana-
Ceas ?roHtier, 1803-1814
JULIA KATHRYN GARRETT
[continued]
Letter 17
Natchitoches Nov. 30th. 1810
Sir
This Side of the Mississippi River is very much Invested with
Vagabond parties of Choctaw Indians, of whose Ill Conduct
Complaints are Continually made. Something more than a
Year Ago a party of Seven of them Murdered two Nandaco
Women on the River Sabine without Any provocation whatever.
Since a Camp of theirs was found between this place & the
Sabine Consisting of about thirty Men, a Frenchman in the
Months of April or May last Carried Some Taffia Amongst
them, they got to fighting & Killed a Chief & Seven Young
Men & wounded Others, but their Camp and the greater part
of them went over the Sabine River into the Spanish Dominion.
There is a Village of them in the Parish of Washita who are
very troublesome to the Inhabitants; A man found one of them
stealing in his Corn field, attempted to put him Out, the Indian
resisted & would have Killed the owner of the field If he had
not have Saved himself by Running, the Owner of the field got
some Neighbours returned, Caught the Indian tied him &
whiped him & let him go. The Indian with an armed party
next day Came to the Mans House to Kill him, he hid, they
Committed great Outrage at his House, put his family in Such
fear, they abandoned their Home, & the Inhabitant dare not
go to his Own House without An Armed party of his Neighbours
to protect him from the Indians. This Case has been represented
to me in a letter from the Judges of the Parish of Washita: where
they live is on high land & of an Inferior quality of Soil where
they plant their Corn, & their Crops Suffered for want of rain
they applied to a Chief who promised to Make it rain for a
Certain quantity of articles to be raised for him by Contribution.
The articles were procured & delivered to him, it did not rain As
was Expected & Another Chief was applied to, who told them
he Could make it rain; but to appease the rain maker, the