While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
Karankawa.
A term that seems to have the Brazos in 1823 began the decline of been
given originally to a small tribe near the tribe near Matagorda bay,
Texas, but its application has been extended to include a number of
related tribes between Galveston bay and Padre Island. The
signification of the name has not been ascertained. Although the
linguistic material obtained is not sufficient to show positive relation
to any other language, there are very strong indications of affinity with
the dialects of the Pakawa group, Pakawa Comecrudo, and Cotonam, still
recognized as a part of the Coahuiltecan family. On the other side they
were probably connected with the Tonkawa. If any of the coast tribes
mentioned by Cabeza de Vaca was identical with the Karankawa, which is not
unlikely, it is impossible to determine the fact. The first positive
notice of them is found in the accounts of La Salle's ill-fated visit to
that section. It was on Matagorda bay, in the country of the tribe at that
time, that this French explorer built his Ft St Louis. Joutel (1687)
mentions them under the name Koïenkahé
(Margry, Dec., iii, 289, 1878), probably a misprint for Korenkake, which
is also given. They are represented as living at that time chiefly between
St Louis bay (a part of Matagorda bay) and Maligne (Colorado) river, but
are the Indians, though mentioned under the name Clamcöets,
who massacred all except 5 of the people left by La Salle at his fort in
1687. If the Ebahamo, Hebobiamos, Bahamos, or Bracamos were identical with
the Karankawa or with a portion of the tribe, which is probable, they were
living on St Louis or St Bernard bay in 1707 (De 1'Isle's map in Winsor,
Hist. Am., ii, 294, 1886), and are noticed as living at the same place in
1719-21. Their abode is spoken of as an island or peninsula in St Bernard
bay (French, Hist. Coll., ii, 11, note, 1875).
It appears from documents in the Texas archives that in
1793 a part of the Karankawa had become Christianized and were then living
at the mission of Nuestra Señora del
Refugio, established in 1791 at the mouth of Mission river emptying into
Aransas bay. The pagan portion of the tribe lived at that time contiguous
to the Lipan. Later a number of the tribe were living at the mission of
Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga.
According to Orozco y Berra (Geog., 382, 1864) the territory of the Lipan
near the lower Rio Grande bordered that occupied by the Karankawa in 1796.
An incident in the history of the tribe was a fierce battle with Lafitte's
band of pirates in consequence of the abduction of one of their women by
one of the former; the Indians, however, were forced to retreat before the
heavy fire of the buccaneers.
With the settlement made by Stephen Austin on the
Brazos in 1823 began the decline of the tribe. Conflicts between the
settlers and the Indians were frequent, and finally a battle was fought in
which about half the tribe were slain, the other portion fleeing for
refuge to La Bahia presidio on San Antonio river. They took sides with the
Americans in the Texan war of independence, in which their chief, Jose
Maria, was killed, as were most of his warriors, amounting, however, to
only about 20.
Mention is made of 10 or 12 families living
between 1839 and 1851 on Aransas bay and Nueces river. According to
Bonnell (Topog. Descrip. Texas, 137, 1840) the Karankawa in 1840 had
become reduced to 100, living on Lavaca bay. In 1844, having murdered one
of the whites on Guadalupe river, they fled toward the mouth of the Rio
Grande, one part stopping on Padre island and the other passing into
Mexico. But few references are made to them after this date, and these are
conflicting. A report quoted by Gatschet says the history of these Indians
terminates with an attack made on them in 1858 by Juan Nepomuceno Cortina
with other rancheros, when they were surprised at their hiding place in
Texas and exterminated.
The men are described as very tall and well formed, the women as shorter
and fleshier. Their hair was unusually coarse, and worn so long by many of
the men that it reached to the waist. Agriculture was not practiced by
these Indians, their food supply being obtained from the waters, the
chase, and wild plants, and, to a limited extent, human flesh; for, like
most of the tribes of the Texas coast, they were cannibals. Travel among
them was almost wholly by the canoe, or dugout, for they seldom left the
coast. Head flattening and tattooing were practiced to a considerable
extent. Little is known is regard to their tribal government, further than
that they had civil and war chiefs, the former being hereditary in the
male line. (See Gatschet, Karankawa Inds., 1891.)
The following tribes or villages were probably
Karankawan:
Coaque
Ebahamo
Emet
Kouyam
Meracouman
Quara
Quinet
Toyal.
The following were in the
country of the Karankawa, but whether linguistically connected. with them
is not certain:
Ointemarhen
Omenaosse
Pataquilla
Quevenes
San Francisco
Spichehat
Karankawan
Family. A family established by Powell (7th Rep. B. A.
E., 82, 1891) on the language of the Karankawa tribe as determined by
Gatschet. Although this and the related tribes are extinct,
investigation has led to the conclusion that the Coaque, Ebahamo, and
other tribes or settlements of the Texas coast mentioned under Karankawa
should be included in the family.
The books presented are for their
historical value only and are not the
opinions of the Webmasters of the site.
