BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY


Orleans, as stated by La Harpe, but a few years later moved to the
southern part of what is now Ascension parish. A small village
called the Little Houmas was on the Mississippi, 2 leagues below the
head of Bayou La Fourche, while the Great Houma village was half a
league inland from this point.a
 La Harpe, who stopped at the town in 1718 on his way to Red river,
 says of this village: It is situated in a level country; the houses or
 cabins surround a large open space; they number 60, which may
 contain 200 men. This nation busies itself in raising hens and in the
 culture of maize and beans."
 Charlevoix mentions the place in 1721, but made no stay there.a
 Poisson, who stopped a day in 1727 on his way up the Mississippi,
 calls it a French settlement and makes no mention of the Indians.o
 For their condition in 1739 see pages 278-279.
 De Kerlerec, in 1758, says of this tribe:
 The Ioumas were formerly very numerous, but they are, like the Tonikas,
 very much reduced on account of the amount of liquor that has been sold to
 them. This nation is also still able to furnish about 60 men able to bear arms.
 It is very lazy and debased by drink. As it is only 22 leagues from New
 Orleans and 23 from Point Coupce, it serves as an advance post and barrier
 against the incursions which enemies might wish and be able to make upon our
 establishments; in consequence of this they are treated with much considera-
 tion. It performs some knavish tricks on us from time to time, but. it is easy
 to reduce when we demand satisfaction
 It appears from all the records extant that the IIouma continued
 to live here at least until 1770. In that year we learn from a volume
 of Laws of the United States Relating to Public Lands, published in
 1828, that Alexander Latil and Maurice Conway, evidently French
 creoles, purchased 96 arpents of land from the Houma Indians "in
 the district of the parish of the Ascension, or La Fourche, on the left
 bank of the Mississippi, about 22 leagues above the said capital (New
 Orleans)." This is plainly the site they had occupied immediately
 after leaving.the mouth of Red river, and although it is not actually
.said that they were living at the place when the land was sold, such
is a fair inference; otherwise the title would not have been good,
according to Spanish law. The chief of the Houma at that time was
named Calabe. Before this time, as already noted, their numbers had
been swelled by the remnants of the Bayogoula and Acolapissa. If
the date of the above sale of land is reliable, however, it would seem
either that all of the land was not sold or that they continued to live
on the ground for some time longer, for Hutchins, in 1784, locates
 a Charlevoix in French, Tist. Coll. La., 176, 1851.
 bMargry, I)couvcOrtis, vi, 244-245.
 c Jes. Rod., Lxvii, 290 -297.
 d De Kerl6rec in Compte Rendu Cong. Internat. des Amfr., 15th sess., I, 75,


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