Our C at/10/ic Heritage in Texas
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members of this group continued to be paramount until the time of the cession of Louisiana to Spain. 16 The Caddos cultivated the fields about their villages, being semiseden- tary in their habits. "Their dwellings were conical in shape, made of a framework of poles covered with thatch of grass, and were grouped about an open space which served for social and ceremonial gatherings. Couches covered with mats were ranged around the walls inside the houses to sen 1 e as seats by day and beds by night. The fire was built in the center. Food was cooked in vessels of pottery, and baskets of varying sizes were skillfully made. Vegetable fibers were woven, and the cloth was made into garments; their mantles, when adorned with feathers, were very attractive to the early French visitors ... Besides having the usual ornaments for the arms, necks, and ears, the Caddos bore the nasal septum and inserted a ring as a face decoration . . . Tattooing was practiced ... There is evidence that cannibalism was ceremonially prac- ticed in connection with captives." 17 All the members of this group were friendly to the French, and although not antagonistic to the Spaniards, the influence of the former prevented the missionaries from making progress among them in their evangelical endeavors. Both the Hasinais and the Caddos had common enemies in the Osages of the Arkansas and Osage Rivers, and the Apaches of the west, which made them natural allies. The traditional enmity between these nations resulted in constant hostility. The Spaniards, as well as the French, took advantage of these conditions, which determined to a large extent their respective policies of tribal balance. In the execution of their designs the French depended largely upon the trader, while the Spaniards relied chiefly on the missionary. The Tonkawa Tribes. This group, generally designated by the Spaniards as Tancaguas, Tancahuas, or Tancaguases, appear to have had a wide range in east-central and northeastern Texas. From the sources available it seems that they had their northeastern limits at one time on the upper waters of the Sabine, extending thence to the south- west as far as the San Gabriel and Colorado Rivers, above the San Antonio Road. "Their favorite headquarters," says Bolton, "were about halfway between Waco and the Trinity crossing of the San Antonio 16 For a more detailed account of the Caddo and associated tribes, see articles under Kadohadacho and Caddo in Hodge, Handbook of American /11dians. The confusion of this group with the Hasinai Confederacy is quite evident in these articles. 17Hodge, o;. cit., part I, 179-180.
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