4. The trail leading from St. Mary's river, Georgia, to the Creek towns went into disuse since 1783, and at the time of Swan's visit (1791) was difficult to trace. Cf. Schoolcraft, V, 256. If correctly represented in Tanner's map of 1827, a road then running from St. Mary's river to the Hitchiti ford of the Chatahuchi river crossed that river at Hitchitū′dshi.
THE CREEK GOVERNMENT.
The social organization of all the Indian nations of America is based upon the existence of the tribe. The tribe itself is based upon smaller units of individuals which are joined together by a common tie; this tie is either the archaic maternal descent, or the more modern tie of paternal descent, or a combination of both. Among the Indians of North America east of the Rocky mountains, and also among many tribes west of them, the single groups descending from the same male or female ancestor form each a gens provided with a proper name or totem generally recalling the name of an animal.
Among the Creeks, Seminoles and all the other Maskoki tribes descent was in the female line. Every child born belonged to the gens of its mother, and not to that of its father, for no man could marry into his own gens. In case of the father's death or incapacity the children were cared for by the nearest relatives of the mother. Some public officers could be selected only from certain gentes, among which such a privilege had become hereditary. Regulations like these also controlled the warrior class and exercised a profound influence upon the government and history of the single tribes, and it often gave a too prominent position to some gentes in certain tribes, to the detriment or exclusion of others. The Hitchiti and Creek totems were the same.
The administration of public affairs in the Creek nation can be studied to best advantage by dividing the dates on hand into three sections: the civil government of the Creek tribe; the warrior class; the confederacy and its government. What we give below will at least suffice to give readers a better understanding of some points in the migration legend. But before we enter upon these points, let us consider the basis of Indian social life, the gens.
TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND GENTES.
Parallel to the two íksa of the Cha'hta the Creeks are divided into two fires (tútka), a civil fire and a military fire. The term fire evidently refers to council fires, which had to be kindled ceremonially by the friction of two pieces of wood. The term fire was also applied by Sháwanos and other Northern Indians to the States formed by the early colonists, and is still used of the States now constituting the American Union: the thirteen fires, the seventeen fires, etc.
Concerning the gentes (aläíkita) of the Creek people, it is important to notice that in their towns each group of houses contained people of one gens only,[94] and these gentes are often mentioned in their local annals; and that the gens of each individual was determined by that of his mother. Some of the towns had separate gentes for themselves, all of which had privileges of their own.
Marriage between individuals of the same gens was prohibited; the office of the míko and the succession to property of deceased persons was and is still hereditary in the gens. In the Tukabatchi town the civil rulers or míkalgi were selected from the eagle gens; those of Hitchiti town from the racoon gens only; of Kasiχta from the bear gens; those of Taskígi probably from the wind gens. The beloved men or ístitchakálgi of Kasiχta were of the beaver gens.
In adultery and murder cases the relatives of the gens of the injured party alone had the right of judging and of taking satisfaction; the míko and his council were debarred from any interference. This custom explains why treaty stipulations made with the colonists or the Federal Government concerning murders committed have never been executed.[95]