THE YOWANNE, OR HIOWANNI, INDIANS.  (cont.)
Page 405

know this little green thing, squirming along to the choicest part of the blade and ear. And in a letter to me Gatschet says the Yowanne survivors in Louisiana even lately told him that “Wani” refers to this worm; but he seems now to be skeptical on the point and calls attention to the fact that the whole name Heyowani is a refrain in many Indian songs. This doubtless is a different word, but shows the sound, is not unusual. The spelling of the tribal name varies a great deal. On Danville’s French map of 1732 it is spelled Youane', Bernard Romans has it Yoani in 1771, and William Adair somewhat later makes it Yowanne. Mr. H. S. Halbert, certainly a high authority, prefers Haiowanni, and others the more usual form Hiowanni.

According to Danville Youane3 is the first Choctaw village as one comes from Mobile. He locates it on the east side of the river, but it is probable there were also people on the west bank. Mr. Harry Gray, of Boyce, in the immediate neighborhood, says that there was one town, but it lay on both sides of the Chickasahay, the larger part being on the west bank. The part on the east side was in section sixteen, and is probably the palisaded fort of Adair. In fact, there might very well have been several towns on each side, all in effect one settlement. Not far above it on the same river, which he names Son-la-houe', is a large (gros) village, which he names Chickasahay (Tchikachae). Yet further up stream he gives the town of Concha-tchitou, which he translates Great Canes Village (Grand Village des Cannes). Above there, where the headwaters of the Son-la-houe' come nearest to some branch of the Tombigbee (Riv. des Tchicachas), is the heart of the country of the Choctaws, to Danville known as the “Chatas4 or Flat heads, commonly called Tchaktas.” Somewhat further one arrives at the last Choctaw village in the direction of the Chickasaws, being on the headwaters of this Riv. de l’Ecor-noir, River of the Black Bluff. Danville does not give a trade path to Mobile, but one is indicated by dotted lines, coming from the southwest toward the Choctaw country, which passes west of

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3 Danville’s map will be found opposite p. 158 of Hamilton’s Colonial Mobile, (Houghton, Muffin & Co.) The first part of the name Cannes Jaunes is cut off by the edge of the plate, but otherwise the map is complete.
4 This is really the Spanish word Chato, meaning flat. It occurs even in Brazile as a tribal name.
 

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