Historic Louisiana

connections were essential to move goods and
people. Proximity to a crossing bayou or river
determined a settlement’s exact spot on the
river. Thus portages played an important role
in early Louisiana history.
But Native American villages were not
compact. Houses were normally very far
apart, and villages stretched out for miles.
Riverine settlements resembled long strings.
French settlements, except at forts, seemed to
duplicate the earlier Native Americans
patterns. Native American government ranged
from the authoritarian Natchez to the
relaxed volunteerism of the Choctaws.
Disobedience was not punished. The only
crimes were murder and quarreling. The
Caddo government was somewhat in the
middle. The Chickasaws were more warlike
and had a king called Mindo, but rule was
hereditary in the female line. Cultivation was
the domain of women. Their crops included
two kinds of corn, various beans, sweet
potatoes, strawberries, and orchards of
peaches, apricots, and plums. Native
Americans had game laws or rules. Each band
chief had to report to the head chief how
much his hunters killed each month. For
environmental reasons during the last of
February and March, they would no more kill
a rabbit than they would a horse. Native
Americans generally practiced the moral code
of an eye for an eye. Native American warfare
was characterized by cunning, not bravery, a
mode of fighting that also characterized the
Americans when they later fought the British.
✧
Above: Le Page du Pratz was in Louisiana
from 1718 until 1734, an experience he
chronicled in his later writings. These
writings were published in English in
1774 as Histoire de la Louisiane. His
detailed description of Louisiana Native
Americans, flora, and fauna provided the
earliest thorough account of the original
natural society. He is especially remembered
for his descriptions of the life of the
Natchez Indians.
COURTESY OF THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION,
1980.205.32.
Left: Contemporary Houma Indians
building a palmetto house using native
materials. Louisiana tribes and groups may
be found at the following website sponsored
by Northwestern State University at
Natchihotches: http://alpha.nsula.edu/
department/folklife/cultures/.
COURTESY OF THE LOUISIANA OFFICE OF TOURISM.
CHAPTER I
7