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Hancock Indians functioned poorly on fire water
By JOE PELET
Back in the year 1922 a blind confederate veteran sat on the porch of the Confederate Veterans’ Home at Beauvior talking with a Times Picayune reporter whose name was Zoe Posey.
Posey was looking for a human interest story, and he found one.
In the early 1800’s ore Jean Cuevas raised cattle on Cat Island. Cuevas had friendly
relations with many Choctaw Indians.
Stories about these Indians were handed down from father-to-son and son to grandson and so the grandson, James A. Cuevas in answer to the reporter said:
“Indians? Sure, there were Indians all over Hancock County. Devil’s Swamp was their big settlement. The Chief had a name that sounded like ‘Tic-a-lay.”
“When an Indian died they buried him and there was no
mourning or moaning - no noise of any kind at that time.
Four weeks later they all went back to the grave and set up a wail and they cried and wailed and wailed and cried. This went on for nearly all day.
Then at night they went back to the grave and formed a line. Men were in front, then women and children were last.
They danced and sang around the grave in high-pitched voices they sang: “Ho-Hey-Ho-he-hay-Ha” over
and over again.
These people were halfcivilized and wore feathers and beads a lot.
“There were many Indians at Bayou Goula, too. They were good people,honest and truthful and friends always if you treated them right, but look out - if you offended one he never forgave and would sometimes kill.
“Indians on the coast made their own laws. If one killed another and ran away, the Indians would take some
member of his family and shoot him. To them a life for a life was the law. But they never ran away - they always gave themselves up to their chief.
“When an Indian was to be diot, a grave was dug and he was draped in his blanket and put in the grave and then shot. With him was placed a jug of whiskey, some tobacco, -a pipe, flint and other things that belonged to him. The grave was filled in with earth, each Indian throwing in dirt
and singing, mere was no disgrace about such a death -it was simply the law.
“As I said, the Indians were good people, and there was never much trouble, but they liked whiskey and sometimes when they got drunk they killed. When sober they were sorry and were ready to pay the penalty for it and to die.
“Whiskey was very cheap then - 18 cents a gallon at wholesale and 25 cents at retail. It was fine whiskey, too, made of corn and rye.”