Mikasuki. A
former Seminole town in Leon county, Fla., on the west shore of Miccosukee
lake, on or near the site of the present Miccosukee. The name has been
applied also to the inhabitants as a division of the Seminole. They spoke
the Hitchiti dialect, and, as appears from the title of B. Smith's
vocabulary of their language, were partly or wholly emigrants from the
Sawokli towns on lower Chattahoochee river, Ala. The former town appears
to have been one of the 'red' or 'bloody' towns, for at the beginning of
the Seminole troubles of 1817 its inhabitants stood at the head of the
hostile element and figured conspicuously as "Red Sticks," or "Batons
Rouges," having painted high poles, the color denoting war and blood. At
this time they had 300 houses, which were burned by Gen. Jackson. There
were then several villages near the lake, known also as Mikasuki towns,
which were occupied almost wholly by Negroes. In the Seminole war of
1835-42 the people of this town became noted for their courage, dash, and
audacity.
