A man heard shouting and, thinking to himself, “It is some of our people,” he called back, but the noise was not made by human beings.

Two creatures came to the place where he was and followed him. When he started on they followed him without ceasing. When he tried to go on they started on walking backward. After they had gone for a short distance, he ran, but they pursued him, and when he ran again they caught him. They kept following him.

One of the beings that went along with him wiped one of his eyes so that he could not see and stood for some time wailing. The other wiped the other eye, and he stood still for a while completely blind.

When he could begin to see he went on again and they followed without stopping. Then he walked on backward and the others started on backward also. They went along backward some distance apart. When he got some distance away he turned about and ran and those two ran after him.

When they had nearly caught up with him Children-holding-to-each-other sitting on the top of a tree said to him, “Cut that one off.” So he jumped up and brought down the one hanging lowest. When his pursuers reached him they took the creature from him and went on.

Then that man could see through four hills and trace the numerous roots in the ground. He went on and got home. After he had lived there for a while the Indians and English (Virginians) fought, and that man fought the whites and beat them. The whites were very desirous to get the land of the Indians but the Indians defeated them. When the white people sat down to eat the Indians scared them. Taking knives, they knocked them down where they sat and killed them. They scalped them all.

After that a poor orphan without father or mother lay down and wrapped himself up in the bedclothes and a long Snake came and wrapped itself about him and carried him into the water. When it got there it dropped him without eating him. Then the Snakes said, “The man is good. Carry him back.” So the same one that wrapped itself about him brought him back. But before he was taken away they said to him, “This is our water. It shall be yours also.” The Snake went on with its tail wrapped about him and when it came out of the water it said, “Are you out?” “No,” he answered. It came on again and said, “Are you out?” “No,” he answered. It came on again and said, “Are you out?” “Yes.” Then the Snake said, “Don’t look at me.” When he had let him out, the man said, “Yohaiho’, it is the tail of a snake-crawfish.” “B?” the creature sounded (jumping into the water with a splash), and he was gone.

After that the man would dive out of sight into some witching water, seize a turtle and bring it out. He would dive into another witching water out of sight, seize a little alligator and bring it out. By and by he seized a Red Panther (which always lives in the water) and fought with it, endeavoring to carry it out, but he could in no way succeed. And after he had tried for a while he became scared and went out.

Submitted by Wolf Walker

Perhaps connected with the native word “albina,” meaning “to camp,” or alba amo, “weed gatherer,” referring to the black drink. Also called:

Ma’-mo an-ya -di, or Ma’-mo han-ya, by the Biloxi.

Oke-choy-atte, given by Schoolcraft (1851-57), the name of an Alabama town, Oktcaiutci.

Connections. The Alabama language belonged to the southern division of the Muskhogean stock, and was perhaps connected with the tongues of the Muklasa and Tuskegee, which have not been preserved. It was closely related to Koasati and more remotely to Hitchiti and Choctaw.

Location. The principal historic seat of this tribe was on the upper course of Alabama River. (See also Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.)

Subdivisions. The Tawasa and Pawokti, which later formed two Alabama towns, were originally independent tribes (see under Florida), though the former, at least, was not properly Alabama. The same may have been true of some other Alabama towns, though we have no proof of the fact.

Villages

Besides the above:

Autauga, on the north bank of Alabama River about the mouth of Autauga Creek in Autauga County.

Kantcati, on Alabama River about 3 miles above Montgomery and on the same side.

Nitahauritz, on the north side of Alabama River west of the confluence of the Alabama and Cahawba Rivers in Dallas County.

Okchayutci, in Benjamin Hawkins’ time (about 1800) on the east bank of Coosa River between Tuskegee and the Muskogee town of Otciapofa. (See Hawkins, 1848, 1916.)

Wetumpka, a branch village reported in 1761.

History. Native tradition assigns the origin of the Alabama to a point at the confluence of Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers, but we seem to hear of the tribe first historically in what is now northern Mississippi west of the Chickasaw country. This is in the narratives of De Soto’s chroniclers, which, however, do not altogether agree, since one writer speaks of a province of the name, two others bestow the designation upon a small village, and only Garcilaso (1723), the least reliable, gives the title Fort Alibamo to a stockade-west of the village above mentioned, where the Spaniards had a severe combat. While this stockade was probably held by Alabama Indians, there is no certainty that it was. The next we bear of the tribe it is in its historic seats above given. After the French had established themselves at Mobile they became embroiled in some small affrays between the Alabama and Mobile Indians, but peace was presently established and thereafter the French and Alabama remained good friends as long as French rule continued. This friendship was cemented in 1717 by the establishment of Fort Toulouse in the Alabama country and the admission among them of one, or probably two, refugee tribes, the Tawasa and Pawokti. (See Florida.) About 1763 a movement toward the west began on the part of those Indians who had become accustomed to French rule. Some Alabama joined the Seminole in Florida. Others accompanied the Koasati to Tombigbee River but soon returned to their own country. Still another body went to Louisiana and settled on the banks of the Mississippi River, where they were probably joined from time to time by more. Later they advanced further toward the west and some are still scattered in St. Landry and Calcasieu Parishes, but the greatest single body finally reached Polk County, Tex., where they occupy a piece of land set aside for them by the State. Those who remained behind took a very prominent part in the Creek-American War and lost all their land by the treaty of Fort Jackson, 1814, being obliged to make new settlements between the Coosa and Tallapoosa. They accompanied the rest of the Creeks to Oklahoma, and their descendants are to be found there today, principally about a little station bearing the name just south of Weleetka.

Population. In 1702 Iberville (in Margry, 1875-86, vol. 4, p. 514) estimated that there were 400 families of Alabama in two villages, and the English census of 1715 gives 214 men and a total population of 770 in four villages. These figures must have been exclusive of the Tawasa and Pawokti, which subsequent estimates include. About 1730-40 there is an estimate of 400 men in six towns. In 1792 the number of Alabama men is given as 60, exclusive of 60 Tawasa, but as this last included Kantcati the actual proportion of true Alabama was considerably greater. Hawkins, in 1799, estimated 80 gunmen in four Alabama towns, including Tawasa and Pawokti, but he does not include the population of Okchaiyutci. (See Hawkins, 1848.) In 1832 only two towns are entered which may be safely set down as Alabama, Tawasa and Autauga, and these had a population of 321 besides 21 slaves. The later figures given above do not include those Alabama who had moved to Louisiana. In 1805 Sibley (1832) states there were two villages in Louisiana with 70 men; in 1817 Morse (1822) gives 160 Alabama all told in Texas, but this is probably short of the truth. In 1882 the United States Indian Office reported 290 Alabama, Koasati, and Muskogee in Texas, the larger number of whom were probably Alabama. In 1900 the figure is raised to 470. In 1910 a special agent from the Indian Office reported 192 Alabama alone. The census of 1910 gave 187 in Texas and 111 in Louisiana, a total of 298. The 176 “Creek” Indians returned from Polk County, Tex., in 1930, were mainly Alabama. The number of Alabama in Oklahoma has never been separately reported.

Connection in which they have become noted. The Alabama attained early literary fame from Garcilaso de la Vega’s (1723) description of the storming of “Fort Alibamo.” Their later notoriety has rested upon the fact that their name became attached to Alabama River, and still more from its subsequent adoption by the State of Alabama. A railroad station in Oklahoma is named after them, and the term has been applied to places in Genesee County, N. Y., and in Polk County, Wis. There is an Alabama City in Etowah County, Ala., and Alabam in Madison County, Ark.

The Indian Tribes of North America (1910) ~ John R. Swanton and is now in the public domain.

Once when the Alabama went to fight the Choctaw there were but few of them. While the rest sat down the head man walked about. A large number of Choctaw were encamped about them, The Alabama wanted to go on, so they endeavored to make their enemies sleep by the use of medicine, and they put them all to sleep. “Let three men go on ahead,” they said, and they went on. While, all of the Choctaw slept they passed through, and one said, “Here is the head man,” so they jumped upon him and tied him up. Then the Choctaw woke up, ran into the bushes, and when they got there reviled their enemies, saying, “To-morrow we will come.” Then they brought the head man back.

Presently, when day came, numbers of Choctaw came out. And the head man of the Alabama ran out first of all to meet them. He went on and disappeared among the crowds of men, shouting. As if struck with lightning the Choctaw all fell to the ground (by magic?). Then they got up and ran away.

Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians, by John R. Swanton; Smithsonian Institution, USGPO, Washington, D.C.; Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 88 (1929) and is now in the public domain.

The Choctaw captured an Alabama Indian who remained with them and fought for them against the Alabama. Once the Choctaw and Alabama fought each other all day and at night the Alabama got into a creek bottom surrounded by bluffs. The Choctaw watched them, making fires all about. The Alabama they had captured stayed with them rolling rocks down upon the other Alabama and saying repeatedly, “You stay there.” In consequence they were angry with him.

After the Alabama Indian had done this for a while, the Choctaw took him away and put him in a hollow tree. When they got back the Choctaw said, “When day comes, shoot the Alabama in their big bellies,” and the Alabama in the hollow tree shouted, “That is good,” so that all heard him.

After that the Alabama called upon one of their number to make it rain. He moved away a little and sat down. He talked and called for rain until it became cloudy and the rain fell. It rained continually until the place was covered with water. Then one of the Alabama crawled between the watchmen, passed through, and got out. He walked around howling like a fox and came back. He said it was all right and all of them crawled off and passed through, dragging behind them the warriors who had been wounded. Then they started off and came to the place where the renegade stood in the hollow tree. They called out in the Choctaw language and he answered them. “Come out,” they said, and when he came out they seized him, struck him, and killed him. They cut off his head and carried it along with them.

Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians, by John R. Swanton; Smithsonian Institution, USGPO, Washington, D.C.; Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 88 (1929) and is now in the public domain.