THE OUACHITA
The Ouachita were living on the river of that name before 1690. The most likely site is Pargoud Landing at Monroe where recent excavations have yielded early trade beads but no other goods (Lorraine Heartfield, personal communication, 1977). Other sites considered for the historic Ouachita were the Keno and Glendora sites (Gregory 1974; Williams 1964), but these are not certain since they may represent a Koroa (Tunica) village with Caddoan trade connections or vice-versa. However, animal burials and grave arrangements show that these sites are closer culturally to the Red River sites than to other sites on the Ouachita. Gregory (1974) has discussed the Moon Lake and Ransom sites northeast of Monroe as possible Ouachita sites, but these may have been earlier Koroa sites also.
As was discussed earlier, the Ouachita fused with the Natchitoches, likely at or near the U.S. Fish Hatchery site, which revealed their ceramic styles and animal burials. Fish Hatchery was a very early French contact site (Gregory and Webb 1965; Gregory 1974), and it is the only historic Caddo site to share deliberate burial of animals (horses) with the Ouachita River sites. The Ouachita apparently were absorbed completely before the 1720’s.
THE YATASI
The name Yatasi, meaning simply “Those Other People” in Kadohadacho language (Melford Williams, personal communication, 1977) apparently was applied to a number of groups living in the hills north of the Adaes and south of Caddo Lake. At least three villages are attributed to them historically. One, located near Mansfield on Bayou Pierre in the Red River Valley north of Natchitoches, was large enough to have a resident trader (Bolton 1914). The Pintado Papers also refer to a group and their chief, Antoine, who were living on a prairie known as Nabutscahe near Mansfield as late as 1784. Another village was located near LaPointe on Bayou Pierre (American State Papers 1859), and a third was near the Sabine River close to modern Logansport (Darby 1816).
As was pointed out, the Adaes and Yatasi apparently were fairly closely related, and they may not have been real tribes, but rather a series of kin-linked bands, each with its own autonomy. The Caddoan term for these groups sounds much like a more inclusive term which lumps small, scattered groups. Whether their “chiefs” were really chiefs or local, heuristic leaders remains problematical. Bolton (1914) mentions chiefs, stating that the Athanase de Mézières gave peace medals to two chiefs, Cocay and Gunkan, in 1768.
Historic 18th century A.D. Caddoan pottery vessels from Los Adaes, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.