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Two tribes, welded into one in their wanderings. Visited Texas briefly in 1816, at Peach Tree Village, Tyler County, before swinging back into Louisiana. Seeking land to call their own, however, returned and made first home in Texas on this site, from 1836 to 1844, under leadership of First Chief Colabe Sylestine and Second Chief Antone Sylestine. Tribe built log cabins for chiefs and lean-tos of bark and wood for rest of the people. Settlement locations had to be carefully selected. As place for important tribal gatherings, an open field of deep sand had to be situated at center of every village. Here were held tribal pow-wows and ceremonial dancing, but the field's really popular function was as the ball park. Ball playing among the Alabama-Coushattas was a form of lacrosse, in which a long-handled racquet was used to catch, carry or throw a hard ball past the goalee. Women of the tribe, when they played, used no racquet-- only their hands. Known as migrants, rather than agricultural Indians, the Alabama-Coushattas nevertheless were Texas settlers who contributed to the culture of the state. |
