Four hundred and seventy-five years ago a ragged army of almost 500 Spanish adventurers, soldiers, horses, war dogs, pigs and some priest, women and free Blacks entered what is now Mississippi near the present site of Columbus. About Dec. 16, 1540, the expedition of Hernando de Soto crossed the Tombigbee River. Although that crossing point is not known, the best current evidence — comments by John Pitchlynn in 1817 and a large clusters of 16th Century Indian village sites within a days march west — point to the location being the Tombigbee River bend at downtown Columbus.
Last week at a Tupelo reception given by Bill Anoatubby, the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, a documentary, “First Encounters,” was shown that presented the story of de Soto’s encounter with the Chickasaw Nation as viewed by the Chickasaw people. Interestingly, on April 12, 1708, Capt. Thomas Nairne, a British trader among the Chickasaw Indian villages in the present day Tupelo area, wrote a letter in which he said, “…they are the only people whome I have met with who have any tradition of these Spaniards (de Soto) being among them. Some old men here show the way they Entered and Departed out of their nation with the hill where they Encampt.”
After crossing the Tombigbee on rafts, de Soto’s force marched to an abandoned Chickasaw village of about 20 houses which was called Chicaza, arriving that night. There, the Spanish established their winter camp of 1540-1541. The Chickasaws brought food and blankets to the Spanish and the large number of Europeans probably greatly depleted the Indians winter food supply. As a supplemental food source, the Spanish had been driving a heard of hundreds of hogs across the south.
At some point in December 1540, possibly on the Feast of St Lucy or the Feast of St Nicolas or at Christmas, de Soto would have ordered the slaughter and cooking of some of the hogs as a special or celebratory meal. This was a form of roasting meat over an open fire that was called a barbacoa. It was from that word and form of cooking that barbecue took its name. That Spanish meal would have been the first pork barbecue ever held in Mississippi and makes this month the 475th anniversary of Mississippi barbecue.
The Chickasaw chief and other tribal leader were treated to at least one such feast. Later, three Chickasaws were captured attempting to take some of the Spanish pigs. Two of them were executed and the third had his hands cut off before being sent back to his village. This event may have been the basis of P. van der Aa’s 1706 engraving of “Fernando de Soto’s cruelties in Florida.” The image is one of de Soto cutting off the hands of Indians.
According to Dr, Brad Lieb, Tribal Archaeologist for the Chickasaw Nation, “the Chickasaws to this day include pork in their traditional pashofa, or corn hominy soup, a practice which may have first begun in the winter of 1541. Hogs were called ‘shuka,’ or the same root word for opossums, which the Chickasaws believed their faces resembled. Pork in the Chickasaw diet is one of few positive aspects of the Spaniards’ legacy here in Northeast Mississippi.” And by the way, might we consider pork barbecue to be Mississippi’s original Christmas time feast.
Though the Chickasaw seemed to be tolerant of the Spanish, it is apparent that many of the Indian’s visits to the Spanish camp included observing its situation and security. At the beginning of March 1541, de Soto began preparing to resume his trek west. He demanded that the Chickasaw chief provide him with 200 men and women to carry the Spaniards baggage and perform other services. The very disgruntled chief said they would be provided on the morning of March 4.
For several nights leading up to the 4th, Chickasaw warriors would venture close to the camp verbally harassing the Spaniards with shouts and calls. The Spaniards growing accustomed to those tactics apparently and against de Soto’s order eased their guard. Then in the pre-dawn darkness early on March 4, the Chickasaws, having put up with all they would put up with from de Soto, attacked in force. It was the worst defeat inflicted on de Soto’s expedition by any Indian Nation. In the fighting, the Spanish camp was burned and 12 Spaniards, 57 horses and almost 400 pigs were killed. Only one Chickasaw was reported killed.
Much of the Chickasaw attack seemed to have focused on the Spanish horses. Most of the horses had been killed by arrows striking in or near the heart. One horse was killed by two arrows that had struck the horse’s heart at the same place but from opposite sides. The Spanish believed they had only been saved by the Chickasaws being frightened by stampeding horses. However, a common Chickasaw battle tactic was to attack their enemy striking a hard punishing blow and then to withdraw before suffering Chickasaw causalities. That seems to describe the attack on de Soto’s camp at Chicaza.
The Chickasaw People today remain a proud People with an ancient heritage who are “unconquered and unconquerable.”
Rufus Ward is a local historian. Email your questions about local history to him at [email protected].
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
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