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Tunica, on some pretext, surprised half the Houma and killed them, after which the survivors fled south, leaving the Tunica in possession of their lands. Penicaut, on the other hand, states that the Houma had moved south of their own accord, and that the Tunica had simply taken up residence in the deserted villages.
The conflicts in these reports have not been settled, but the genral upheavals in the lower Mississippi valley that had been brought on by attacks on French-allied Indians by the Indian proxies of the English, most particularly the Chickasaw, incline me to believe that the displacement was peaceful. Attacks on the Taensa by the Chickasaw and Yazoo had forced them to join the Bayougoula, and for some reason they then turned on their hosts and massacred them. This event would have left the Houma between two groups that had been their enemies in the past and who were allies with each other, sharing strong ethnic affiliation as well: the Taensa and the Natchez. In the context of general upheaval then prevailing, the Houma may not have trusted the strength of the French peace to protect them from being ground to powder between the two Natchezan groups-hence their move to Bayou St. John to be nearer the protection of the French. The Tunica, a rather more powerful nation to begin with and enjoying strong bonds, perhaps even ethnic ones, with the Natchez-allied Koroa, would have grasped the opportunity to settle in a favorable position for both farming and access-via the Red River-to their favored salt-making and hunting locations.
Whatever the reason, the Tunica did settle at this site, as archaeological finds of Tunica pottery amply demonstrate, and the historical evidence suggests that this move took place between 1706 and 1709, probably closer to the earlier date. In 1710 they lost their missionary on a full-time basis when Father Davion was summoned to the then capitol of the colony in Mobile to undertake the curacy of the colonists’ church. From that time on Davion apparently made visits to the Tunica but was not resident.
The sojourn of the Tunicas at Angola covered nearly twenty years, during which they cemented a new relationship with the French. Their settlement was made near an important portage, known as "Portage of the Cross," that enabled travelers on the Mississippi to cut miles and nearly a day off their route; Indians had already used it for a long time, the Houmas had controlled it, and it would become important to the French in time. In
addition, the location opposite the mouth of the Red River would be of strategic importance to the French, and the Tunica could serve them by holding it loyally. This they began to show they could do during the years at Angola, thus making an irrevocable choice and moving fully into the context of the European colony.
In 1712 they demonstrated their familiarity with the Red River and their support of the French colony by accompanying the party led by St. Denis to establish the post of Natchitoches to face off against the Spanish post of Los Adais, the "Presidio del Norte" holding the northeastern frontier of Spanish influence. They accompanied the French party as far as Los Adais and then returned home as St. Denis traveled to meet his Mexican adventure and the rest of the Frenchmen returned to Natchitoches to build the fort, thus suggesting that they had served the party as guides-for despite the efforts of Bienville to explore the Red River, little had been done to establish French familiarity with the area. The Tunica, because of their activities in salt-making and probably their relationship with tribes on both the Ouachita and the Red, knew the river well.
The following year, then, the French were surprised to hear that the Tunica had hosted the Welsh adventurer and spy, Price Hughes, and had sung the calumet to him—thus making peace with him and perhaps adopting him as a trading partner-in their village. Hughes, who had made his way to the Mississippi by the overland Upper Path of the English traders, was traveling down the river at the time, meeting with Indians, apparently to establish possible trade relations and to estimate Indian populations and sentiments toward the French. The Tunica must have known that the French would be disturbed when they learned of this, as they inevitably did when Hughes was captured near Baton Rouge, so the likelihood was that they traded with Hughes more to keep the French from taking them for granted than to establish a real trading link with the English.
In the next year, 1714, they demonstrated loyalty again. Hughes’ words might have fallen upon deaf ears among the Natchez, but the new governor sent to replace Bienville, La Mothe Cadillac, offended them by refusing to smoke the calumet. This left the field open to the English, who apparently won over the Natchez to some sort of rebellion against the French, and the French merchant De la Loire had had to flee his Natchez warehouse along with his men to seek refuge among the Tunica. Three Natchez emissaries pursued them there and sought
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