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diff --git a/old/62803-0.txt b/old/62803-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 55e580a..0000000 --- a/old/62803-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1036 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Chitimacha Notebook, by Emile Stouff and Marcia Gaudet - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Chitimacha Notebook - Writings of Emile Stouff--A Chitimacha Chief - -Author: Emile Stouff - Marcia Gaudet - -Release Date: August 1, 2020 [EBook #62803] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHITIMACHA NOTEBOOK *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - CHITIMACHA NOTEBOOK - Writings of Emile Stouff—A Chitimacha Chief - - - Edited by Marcia Gaudet - - [Illustration: Basket pattern] - - Lafayette Natural History Museum and Planetarium - Lafayette, Louisiana - 1986 - - [Illustration: Page facsimile] - - [Illustration: Page facsimile] - - [Illustration: Emile Stouff, Chief of the Chitimachas] - - [Illustration: Chitimacha Chief Benjamin Paul and the Chitimacha - children are pictured with a pirogue near the Chitimacha reservation - in Charenton. The little girl is Jane Bernard Wilson, the boy in the - center is Arthur Darden, and the boy sitting in the pirogue is - Gabriel Darden. - - (M.R. Harrington, 1908. Photo courtesy of Museum of the American - Indian, Heye Foundation)] - - - - - TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - I. Introduction 3 - II. The Chitimacha Story of Creation 5 - III. History of the Chitimacha Indians 11 - IV. Previous Publications about the Chitimachas 15 - - - - - LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS - - - I. Chitimacha Chief Benjamin Paul with children and canoe facing page - 1 - II. Chitimacha family—Regis Darden 2 - III. Chitimacha group—1908 4 - IV. Three members of a Chitimacha family 10 - - [Illustration: The Regis Darden Chitimacha family. Pictured from - left to right are Lucy Mora Darden, Delphine Stouff (in back), - Adelle Darden, Gaston Darden, Regis Darden (in back), and Stacy - Darden. Adelle Darden, wife of Regis Darden, was known as “Gum - DaDa.” Lucy Mora Darden was the wife of Gaston Darden. Chitimacha - baskets are pictured in front of the group. Basket weaving is a - traditional craft of the Chitimacha Indians. - - (M.R. Harrington, 1908. Photo courtesy of Museum of the American - Indian, Heye Foundation)] - - - - - INTRODUCTION - - -Emile Stouff was Chief of the Chitimachas of Charenton, Louisiana, from -1948 to 1968. After Chief Stouff died in 1978, his widow, Faye Roger -Stouff, discovered two notebooks in which he had recorded some of the -things about the Chitimachas that he had learned from oral tradition. -The two manuscripts were written in Emile Stouff’s handwriting. Though -Chief Stouff had no formal education, Mrs. Stouff, who is not a Native -American, taught him to read and write after they were married and she -came to live with him on the Chitimacha land. - -Mrs. Stouff said that her husband told her he had learned most of the -legends, stories, and myths that he knew from an aunt who would sit him -down and beat him with a cane to make him listen. She would tell him, -“You’ve got to learn this.” Learning the history, religious beliefs, -legends, and traditions of the tribe was apparently a very important -part of the education and development of the Chitimachas. - -There are two separate notebooks with writings by Emile Stouff. One -begins with the story of creation and deals with the beliefs of the -Chitimachas. The other deals more with the history since the white man -came. Previous publications about the Chitimachas have presented parts -of the legend about the cypress tree in Lake Dauterive and the legend -about the little bird of the Chitimachas. Since Chief Stouff’s version -of the history is from the perspective of the Chitimachas, it differs -somewhat from previously published accounts. This is particularly -evident in a comparison of the Chitimacha account of the murder of St. -Cosme with accounts that rely on French historical sources. - -Chief Stouff’s notebooks give an account of the Chitimacha beliefs and -history as they were passed down by oral tradition. He recognized that -this tradition would perhaps not be maintained, and he attempted to -record some of his knowledge of the people and their culture. As such, -his writings are of value and interest to anyone who would like to know -more about the Chitimachas. - -In editing the notebooks, I have made as few changes as possible in -order to maintain the style and tone of Chief Stouff’s writing. The -changes from his original manuscript have been mainly to standardize -spelling and punctuation for clarity. For example, Chief Stouff spelled -Chitimacha several different ways (Chetamacha, Chetimacha, Chitamacha) -in his writing, and he usually used no punctuation at all. Thus, he was -writing just as he would have told these stories orally to the next -generation of Chitimachas. - - Marcia Gaudet - - [Illustration: Chitimacha Group with finished Chitimacha baskets. - Pictured left to right are Delphine Darden Stouff, the - child—Constance Marie Stouff (died at age 13), Clara Darden, and - Octave Stouff, Sr. They are, respectively, Emile Stouff’s mother, - sister, great-aunt, and father. - - (M.R. Harrington, 1908. Photo courtesy of Museum of the American - Indian, Heye Foundation)] - - - - - MANUSCRIPT OF EMILE STOUFF - Last Chief of the Chitimachas - - - - - THE STORY OF CREATION - - -In the beginning, the Great Spirit looked at a great mass of water. So -he said, “There should be something solid for animals with blood.” So he -called upon the crawfish to dig down and bring up some dirt, which they -did. As they brought up the dirt, the water receded. The crawfish is -still working at it. The Great Spirit was pleased. So he took the dirt -and made all living things with it. When he ran out of objects, he said, -“This is good, but I must make one to control these animals. I will make -man.” So he chose some good clay and made a clay man, but it was soft. -“I shall bake it in the fire from the sun,” he said. So he baked it, and -when he took it out, it was pale. So he just blew on it and set it -aside. Then, the more he looked at it, the more he was displeased with -it. So he said, “I will let it live, but I will make another one and -leave it longer to darken it.” He left it twice as long as before and -when he took this one out, it was black. So he set it aside and said, “I -shall make another,” and when he baked this one he cut the time in half, -and it came out exactly as he wanted it. So he made three—one white, one -black, and one red. He named that one _pinikan_, meaning Red. - -Then he saw man needed a helpmate. “I made man out of dirt so I will -take part of man to make his helpmate so they will be as one, and she -will be known as female as she is part of the male.” After looking the -male over, he decided to make her out of bone. So he took a rib from the -rib case, right in front of the chest, leaving a bone dangling. When man -woke up, he saw this female sitting there. He noticed she was built -different and beautiful. When he started to her, he cried, “Wo Man,” and -they committed the first sin (as we know it). The man said, “You should -cover yourself up.” The female said, “And so should you. I know, I will -take the large leaves from this tree and make each a cover.” She made -the covers and tied them on with a vine known today as the white vine. -When they heard the Great Spirit coming, they were ashamed, and hid from -him. So he called for them to “Come out wherever you are.” Then the -Great Spirit asked them, “Why are you hiding?” Then the male said, “She -looked so enticing that I went into her without your permission.” The -Great Spirit said, “For that you shall go out on the earth and earn your -living by the sweat of your brow. If you do not work, you do not eat, -and you, woman, you shall bear his offspring in great pain. I did not -intend to have but you two, but since it is this way, you will be -fruitful and multiply so your seed may be many, and now that you are -smart, I will give you the earth, but remember you are made of her dirt -and you shall return to her. She is your mother. She will feed you and -clothe you. She will give you the trees to give you nuts and fruits for -you to eat and at seasons for birds to live in, and fur bearing animals. -You will also enjoy its shade. When you are tired, you may rest on the -soft grass that will grow. The tree will have many uses. It will be used -to warm you in the winter, to make rafts to float on the waters, and it -will make your homes for your protection against the cold winter. It -will heat you when it is cold. It will cook your food and its fire will -be a blessing as the flames leave by small parts into the skies. It will -also tell you the direction you must go so you need not ever get lost -while you are traveling. The seed you shall plant, the earth will help -them grow so you will have something to eat. She will separate and make -streams to harbor the fishes you will eat and for you to drink and -bathe. So protect the waters and keep them clean. Your life depends on -its purity just like the air you breathe. You may have my breath in you, -and if you disobey me, I will withdraw my breath and you will be no -more. And through my breath, I will be with you always. When you are -sick, the earth will bear roots and herbs for you to use. I will not -inflict any sickness that will not have herbs to cure. I will speak to -your medicine man through a coma only and only to this man I shall -designate the cures. I will speak to him only through a vision. No one -else shall see me again, and this man shall choose someone of his kind -and reveal this secret to any man worthy of him. To avoid conflict, -there will be only one in each group to speak to me. His power strength -will be as strong as his faith in me. I shall keep the mother earth in -my custody so I may destroy it any time that you have lost faith in me -and disobey my teaching. You will, at any time I choose for you, return -your body to the mother earth, but if you love me and keep the faith -your spirits will go to the Happy Hunting Ground, where everything will -be for your taking, and you will die no more. But if you do not, your -carcass will remain in mother womb and return to dirt of which you were -created. - -“The earth will be for your use. Use it in any way you choose. But no -one can claim it as their own. It is not to be bought, sold, or rented, -because the earth is mine. Misuse it, and you shall repent for any wrong -use of the land or its streams. This I command you to live by, so go out -in the world that you have made for yourself and be fruitful and -multiply.” - -That is the way the Indians said the Great Spirit gave it to the first -man, and it was in practice when the white man came into this country. -The Great Spirit showed them how to make coverups out of animal skin, -called breachcloths, and they were happy. Now the man who was to do the -treating found a certain herb that would put him into a coma, so he -would build a fire and drink a tea made from this herb and dance around -this fire chanting until this herb took effect. Then he would pass out. -While in this stage, he would communicate with the Great Spirit which -would tell him what to do or what to use or whatever his desire was. -Someone asked the medicine man to describe the Great Spirit since he -claims he saw him. The medicine man said he would be hard to describe -since he has no shape, and yet he has many shapes. “The way I saw him is -like a heavy mist. He had no eyes, yet he saw everything. He has no -ears, yet he hears everything, even the unspoken word within you. He has -no mouth, yet he speaks. You have heard him speak to you within your -head, something to not do that is wrong, or he will say do do that that -is good. He is watching you always. You cannot hide from his sight no -matter where you are or what you are doing.” - -Now the Indians had no Hell, no Devil. They thought that returning to -dirt and not going to the Happy Hunting Ground was the worst thing that -could happen to them. It was their code, not religion. They lived by -sort of Moses’ law—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Their chief -and councilmen would decide. Now the white man says that they found them -worshipping the moon or some stars. True, they knew he was up there -somewhere, so some would think he was the man in the moon, and thought -he was some bright star. They did not know. Nonetheless, they knew that -there was a power stronger than them. They could feel him in their mind. -They did not teach fear to their children like they would go to hell. -They taught them bravery, to fear no one. As long as they obeyed the -Great Spirit, they would be content. - -A long time ago, no definite date, came among the Chitimacha a strange, -fair complected man who spoke their language, which amazed the Indians. -He was very smart. The Indians said he knew everything. He taught them -to make better crops by using fish byproducts and even fish by their -plants, and it would make them grow healthy and strong. He helped them -to substitute herbs when one was not available at different seasons. -Then came one day, he told the Indians it was time for him to leave the -Chitimacha and go do his father’s work. He picked out a cypress tree and -climbed to the top. Then he told the Chitimachas, “Whenever you need -rain for your crops, come and wet this tree and it will rain according -to your needs.” And until this day, it works. It has been proven by -many, many people, white and black. All over South Louisiana, people -know about it and believe in it strongly. That is how the Indians were -blessed by the Great Spirit. He gives and he takes. The Chitimacha did -not think it feasible to ask the Great Spirit for anything. All they -taught their children was how to thank him for all the good things they -got from him. If something went wrong along the way, you just checked -the past—you have done something to displease the Great Spirit. It has -always been and still is until today. So the Indians would punish -themselves to try and please the Great Spirit. - -Now the Indian has been ridiculed for talking to the Great Spirit which -is an Indian belief. The white prophets of old spoke to their gods. Why -should it be unreasonable for an Indian to do the same under the Great -Spirit? Guidance as afore stated, the Chitimacha do not believe Adam and -Eve naked in the Garden of Eden ate an apple; however, the white man -says so, so the Indians do not deny it, since they had to accept the -white God, which is the same Supreme Being with different names. They -are both sacred to the Chitimacha. Since the Indians could not read or -write, all this was handed down mouth to mouth. So many things might be -left out and some could have been added. We do not know for sure, yet -some of your strongest and oldest organizations do not have anything -written and are still going strong. - -We do know that the Indians did not preach religion. They live it. They -have a ceremonial for everything, and it was all done with respect to -the Great Spirit. Their dances, their chanting was somewhat like your -unknown tongue of today, and it was always done around a fire because we -believe that fire has life. If you watch a fire, you will notice part of -the flame leaves the fire and goes up to carry the message to the Great -Spirit, thanking him for a good harvest, good hunt, a good fish catch, -and many other things. - -The council would meet and decide what punishment should be for a -wrongdoer, such as if one committed murder and they decided he should -die also, the chief would tell him. So having no jail, he would be free -until his time came. Time was measured by the moon. The council would -decide how many moons he had left. Then the criminal would return to -meet his execution and if he did not return, his mother or father or -brother or his son would have to pay for his crime, someone very close -to him. Now in the killing of one in a brawl, the living was not -punished by death. He had to see that the family of the deceased was fed -and clothed until all were capable of taking care of themselves. If he -had only enough for one family, he had to do without, so the dead man’s -family would not suffer hunger. Now if a squaw committed adultery, she -was punished by cutting the tip of her nose. She would be forever marked -as an unfaithful squaw. There is no punishment known today for the man. - -Once an Indian had an eye sore the medicine man could not cure. So he -had to go into a coma and seek the aid of the Great Spirit. After the -preparation that the Great Spirit had instructed them to do, he passed -out, so to speak. The Great Spirit told him where to find the herb that -would cure any sore eye. It seems that the chief’s little girl had died -and was buried. The Great Spirit told him to go to the grave of this -little girl, and he will find a small vine growing from her eye. Use -that vine and leaves, and make an eye wash with it. He did and the eyes -were cured (and we were still using it till we were forbidden by the -medical association to use any herb), and many herbs were found, like -moner, and until today only one of the tribe knows the herbs that were -used since the beginning, which will not be revealed to anyone. The -Indians of today do not meet the standard that the Great Spirit set, nor -will they follow the ritual that goes with it, so it will die out just -like the other things the white man deprived the Indians of, their way -of living. - -The chief duty was to see that everyone had something to eat before he -would eat. If some did not have any through no fault of their own, -everyone had to share what they had with the one that had none. These -were the unwritten laws that the Chitimacha lived by. As far as this -writer knows that is the way it was related a long time ago. (I make no -excuse for adding some or leaving some of it out. As time goes on, -perhaps some more will come to mind. If so, it will be added to this -brief resume of the one and only Great Spirit as the Indians knew him -before the white man came.) - -The Indians knew how to make rain without the rain tree and how to make -the north wind blow to dry up the weather when necessary. I have seen it -work time after time. It is a secret given by the Great Spirit for their -use, but they were warned never to abuse it nor use it to harm your -fellow men. But such rituals cannot and will not be revealed to the -Indians of today. They are too well integrated with the white man and -his ways. It may not work for them, so let it die out like so many -rituals have. Like an old Indian chief once said, “The campfire is dying -out, the hunt is almost over.” But what will happen to the songs and the -folklore? They will soon die out also. Everything an Indian does is done -in a circle because all things are round. The moon, the stars, the sun, -the sky, the world is round. So he must also do everything in a circle. -The sun rises and circles overhead until it disappears and returns to do -the same thing again. So does the moon. The stars do the same thing. -Their homes were built in circles. Their lives were lived in a circle -from birth to death to birth after death. - -The extremely beautiful creation of the Chitimacha Indians is amazingly -similar to the Biblical Genesis. The animal was created before man. So -in this Divine Origin, they have a certain proximity to the Great Spirit -himself which serves the same function as revealed scriptures in other -religions. There are intermediators or links between man and the Great -Spirit. The Great Spirit comes to the Indian vision involving animal -forms. One old Indian, the last we know of, received his spiritual power -from visions of a wolf and when he died in the house where an Indian -still lives, a pack of wolves came and ran around the house several -times and then left never to return as far as we know. We as Indians -have lost the communication with the Great Spirit. Then we still have a -very small bird that lives with the Indians, and it peeps things Indians -understand. It tells when someone is coming, when it is going to rain, -and many other things only an Indian understands. No Indian was allowed -to harm this little bird. - -Indians see signs from all the wild animals—have some trait—an Indian -notices them very close, thinking they are the love of the Great Spirit. -Since he created them first, we regard all created beings as sacred and -important for everything. - -This is the way it was told to me many years ago. So be it. - - [Illustration: Three members of a Chitimacha family. Pictured left - to right are Felicia Mora Darden, Ernest Jack Darden, and Emma - Darden Bernard. - - (M.R. Harrington, 1908. Photo courtesy of Museum of the American - Indian, Heye Foundation)] - - - - - HISTORY OF THE CHITIMACHA INDIANS - - -I will try to write here what I know of the Chitimacha Indians as I know -it and what I heard from the old people. - -The tribe once lived on Grand Lake from Bayou Portage, as that is where -the Sacred tree now stands, to the shell beach here in Charenton. That -is where they were living when one day a large boat came up from where -the sun rises. It stopped out in the lake a distance from shore. The -Indians were amazed at its size and stood on shore looking when some men -came ashore to see about coming ashore. Since they did not speak the -same language, they were chased back to their ship. (They were Spanish.) -Next day they decided to come ashore by force, but the night before the -chief consulted the medicine man to find out what should he do. The -medicine man took some kind of herbs and burnt them and gathered the -ashes and told the chief if he would spread the ashes on the shore line, -not one would put the foot on land. So it was done by the chief. They -tried, but the warriors held them off as the chief stood on the shell -knolls with the ashes in hand throwing bits in the air. They Spaniards -were so badly defeated, they went off in their ship. The Chitimacha, -thinking they had chased them off for good, forgot about them and again -were enjoying life like it was. - -Not too many moons later, the Spaniards came back to the Indians on -Bayou de Chittamach (known now as Bayou Lafourche) and gathered the -Houma Indian which they had defeated and enslaved to fight the -Chitimachas. Somehow they came up Bayou Teche and attacked from that -side. While they were fighting the Houma Indians, the Spaniards came and -landed on the lake side, which is known now as the Shell Beach and -attacked from that side. The Chitimacha did not have a chance. Thousands -were killed and wounded and nothing to eat. We had to give up. - -The enemy told the few remaining Chitimachas, “This is what we will give -you. You may remain here on this bayou and live. No harm will come to -you, but any Indian caught in the woods or lakeshore will be shot on -sight.” - -This parcel of land we now hold is the very same place that they were -talking about. - -We have no record of what happened to the Houmas that survived the war. -Perhaps the Spaniards took them home or they remained here and -intermixed with us. I do not know. - -Hunting along the Bayou Teche was not so very good, so the Indians had -to eat whatever they could find such as acorns, wild fruit, and some -grass was edible until they could grow some vegetables. Then life became -more bearable. - -Now that is the way I heard, true or not. - -I do know that the Houma Indians were hated by all the old Indians as -late as the twenties. Few Houma Indians came over and were not received -by the old Indians with the exception of two women. I will cover them -later. - -After the Spaniards settled, they had their first governor by the name -of Galvez. The year 1763, Galvez signed a treaty with the Chitimachas -for living so peaceful. He granted them 1100 acres of land on both sides -of Bayou Teche. - -There is no record I can find how they built the town of Charenton in -the middle of the grant. The older Indians did not say what happened -from then to the time when Spain sold out to France. - -When the Frenchmen came over, they started to take over the land that -was donated to the Chitimachas which they claimed the French had bought -it all from Spain. The treaty was no more good. - -Then the French started killing Indians. The Indians tried to fight -back, but were no match for Frenchmen who nearly wiped out the Indians. -They killed them like animals, slaughtered, murdered until a few that -remained gave up. So the French took them and made slaves out of them, -those able to work in the fields. The women were made servants, the -young ones taken by the French as concubines. They were forced to lay -with the men, as young as ten years old. There were more men than there -were Indian women, so one Indian woman would satisfy the lust of five or -six Frenchmen. - -Then half breeds were born to the Indian women. Some of us still have -French names. - -There were only about fifty Indians escaped to Plaquemine, Weeks Island, -and all about. Some of them came back here and lived pretty peaceful -with the French. They populated well. - -By that time the Frenchmen decided that the Indian worship of the Great -Spirit was wrong. They must forget their way of living and live like the -Frenchmen. So they sent a missionary among the Indians to teach them -their invisible God. The Indians, ready to believe anything to help -their plight, believed what this man was saying. His name was St. -Cosmos. He was so pleased with his work, he talked the Chief into -letting him take some Indians to meet the General to show him how they -had accepted the white God. So the Chief consented to let them go. He -took six of the Indian braves and left. It was not known where the -French army was located. Anyhow, when they got there the soldiers killed -all the Indians. The priest was outdone, so to speak, so he returned to -the reservation. When the Chief asked where were his men, the priest -told him they were all dead, shot by the French army. The chief was so -very angry, he ordered the priest killed and brought back to the French. -So be it. When the French woke up the next morning, there was the dead -priest. That is when all hell broke loose. The French hunted the -Chitimachas down and killed everyone in sight. Some Chitimachas ran and -hid all over the woods. Some went to what is now Weeks Island, some got -to Plaquemine. There were about fifty Chitimachas remaining on the same -land that is now the reservation. - -At that time, O’Reilly was governor of Louisiana. He issued a -proclamation that the Indians could live there as long as they remained -peaceful and that they were on their own and that parcel of land would -show as a body of water on the map of Louisiana. This map can be found -in the archive of the state Capitol today. - -Now about that time, Negro slaves were brought into the South. The white -plantation owners brought black slaves and began to let the Indians go -as they were not too good at work. So the free Indians had no place to -go but back to the Indian reserve with their half breed French and -Indian. It was assumed that is how the Chitimachas got their names until -today. Some of the ones that had escaped started to come back and some -did not. Some remained in Plaquemine where some of them still show the -Indian trace. Of course, they are whites today. And that is how we of -today are descendants of that bunch of Indians. There is no record of -how many there were. We are a small tribe today. - -Now there is not much said about the Chief. It seems like they lived -without a chief until the late 1700’s when one Chief, Soulier Rouge, -seems like he acquired a pair of red shoes. Somehow the French started -calling him Soulier Rouge. His first name was Eugene. Nothing was said -about his reign. Only when he died, his squaw took over (Euginie) and -that is when the land started to disappear. She seems to be one of those -Indians that lick white man’s boots just to be with them. It is recorded -that she sold Rose Pecot 610 acres for $9.00 per acre and a man by the -name of Alex Frere 640 acres of land. The record shows that some of the -money was divided among some Indians at $40.00. That is the way it was -recorded in the Court House. The names on the record do not jive with -any name of the now Chitimachas. Somebody gave her an old Mexican silver -crown for a large acreage, but we cannot find out where, but we have the -crown. And it is recorded that in 1817 they leased 610 acres of 99 -years. That was 168 years ago. It is also recorded that land was sold -the same year it was leased—which the sale is no good. Now my lawyer -told me that after the lease expires it cannot be re-leased by the same -party. - -But we Chitimachas are a nation of people that are afraid to venture as -we may make the whites mad, and we seem as we do not want that. We have -the money to regain that property, but we do not trust lawyers in this -vicinity as we think they would work for the white instead of the -Indians, which was proven in the period of 1903 to 1910. One white -lawyer named George Demerest and one civil engineer named Fusilier -contacted the Indians stating that (the agreement with) Soulier Rouge -and Alex Dardenne was illegal as they could not read or write, that they -could gain all that land back for the Chitimachas. (I think John Paul -might have been Chief then.) The Indians had no money, so it was agreed -that Demerest would work for part of the land. It would not cost the -Indians one penny. So I guess the tribe, thinking that the land was lost -anyhow, so whatever they got back would be okay. So it was agreed that -Demerest would get 4/9 of the land for the Indians. The legal papers -were drawn and signed by both parties. So Demerest took to court in -Franklin. As to be expected, he lost the case. So the Indians must have -been a little outdone, but they figured the case was closed. But they -had signed to give George Demerest 4/9 of the land, win or lose. So -Demerest took all of Georgetown. - -Fusilier surveyed the land and found that it was three acres short of -4/9, so he came over and started to measure three acres on Uncle Regis’ -land. He was stopped by a shotgun pointing at his head and ordered to -get off. So he did, and they thought that was the end of it. I can -remember that incident. They would laugh when they said Regis was going -to shoot Fusilier. But what they did not know was that Demerest took out -a lien on the land. The Indians ignored the judgement until 1916, when -Demerest foreclosed on the land, which by now included all of the -Chitimacha’s land. The lien was to be sold on the courthouse steps. Now -Tante MiMi was Chief Ben Paul’s wife. She was in cahoots with one Sarah -McIlhenny at Avery Island in a basket trade. Miss Sarah would buy all -the baskets the Chitimacha women would make. The basket makers gathered -at Tante MiMi’s and decided to write to Miss Sarah and ask her help. -Being a very rich woman, they were sure that she would help. She did not -say she would or would not. She sent her lawyer to Franklin to pay off -the mortgage, and there was no sale. The land belonged to Avery Island. -Miss Sarah then made arrangements with Chief Ben Paul to rent the land -to some farmers and pay her back, as she did not want the land. She only -wanted her money back. So this was done. The chief let some Negro -farmers work on share as they had no money to pay rental. Come harvest -time, the Chief had a barn full of corn and sweet potatoes and no -market. The stuff just stayed there and rotted. He sold some. Up to -1918, he had sold and paid back $600.00, more or less. - -In the meantime, McIlhenny lawyers were checking the title of the -property and found that the sale was illegal as some of the people had -title to the land, and the best thing for her to do was to petition the -B.I.A. (Bureau of Indian Affairs) to pay her back and take the land in -trust for the Indians. The B.I.A. hired a lawyer in Franklin named C.J. -Boatner to transact the deal in which he had all the Indians sign the -land over to the government, except some were not available at the time. -What the ignorant Indians did not know was that this property was not a -reserve any more. They were giving title to the land, and were paying -taxes on their property. The then Chief who made the deal with Demerest -did not have the authority to sign any deal with anyone. So the -government took over some private land which is not lawful. This -statement is recorded in the courthouse and can be made available -anytime. These records are not in Franklin, as Franklin is twenty miles -from here. - - - - - PREVIOUS PUBLICATIONS ABOUT THE CHITIMACHAS - - -Hoover, Herbert T. _The Chitimacha People._ Phoenix: Indian Tribal - Series, 1975. - -Kniffen, Fred. _The Indians of Louisiana._ Baton Rouge: Louisiana Bureau - of Educational Materials, Statistics and Research, College of - Education, Louisiana State University, 1965. - -Orso, Ethelyn and E. Charles Plaisance. “Chitimacha Folklore,” - _Louisiana Folklore Miscellany_, vol. III, no. 4 (1975 for 1973), - pp. 35-41. - -Stouff, Faye. _The Chetimachas of Charenton._ Booklet published by - Lafayette Natural History Museum, 1974. - -Stouff, Faye and W. Bradley Twitty. _Sacred Chitimacha Indian Beliefs._ - Pompano Beach, Florida: Twitty and Twitty, Inc., 1971. - -Swanton, John R. _Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and the - Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico._ Washington, D.C.: - Smithsonian Institute, Bureau of American Ethnography, Bulletin - 43, 1911; Reprinted 1970, Johnson Reprint Corp. - -Taylor, Gertrude. “Early History of the Chitimacha,” _Attakapas - Gazette_, vol. XVI, no. 2 (Summer 1981), pp. 65-69. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - -—Silently corrected a few typos. - -—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook - is public-domain in the country of publication. - -—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by - _underscores_. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chitimacha Notebook, by -Emile Stouff and Marcia Gaudet - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHITIMACHA NOTEBOOK *** - -***** This file should be named 62803-0.txt or 62803-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/8/0/62803/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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