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Henry Woodward visited the Westos

Source: Early History of the Creek Indians and Their Neighbors #121

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In 1674" Henry Woodward, the interpreter of the colony, visited a Westo town on Savannah River somewhere below the present Augusta. He describes his visit thus:

"Haveing paddled about a league upp [the Savannah] wee came in sight of ye Westoe towne, alias ye Hickauhaugau which stands uppon a poynt of ye river (which is undoubtedly ye river May) uppon ye Westerne side soe y' ye river enrompasseth two-thirds thereof. When we came w,hin [sight] of the towne I fired my fowling piece & pistol wch was answered with a hollow & imediately thereuppon they gave mee a vollew of fifty or sixty small arms. Here was a concourse of some hundred of Indians drest up in their anticke fighting garbe. Through ye midst of whom being conducted to their cheiftaines house ye which not being capable to containe ye crowd yt came to see me, ye smaller fry got up & uncouvered the top of ye house to satisfy their curiosity. Ye cheife of ye Indians made long speeches intimateing their own strength (& as I judged their desire of Freindship wth us). This night first haveing oyled my eyes and joynts with beares oyl, they presented mee divers deare skins setting before me sufficient of their food to satisfy at least half a dozen of their owne appetites. Here takeing my first nights repose, ye next day I viewed ye Towne which is built in a confused manner, consisting of many long houses whose sides and tops are both artifitially done wth barke uppon ye tops of most whereof fastened to ye ends of long poles hang ye locks of haire of Indians that they have slaine. Ye inland side of ye towne being duble Pallisadoed, & y' part which fronts ye river haveing only a single one, under whose steep banks seldom ly less then one hundred faire canoes ready uppon all occasions. They are well provided with arms, amunition, tradeing cloath & other trade from ye northward for which at set times of ye year they truck drest deare skins furrs & young Indian Slaves. In ten daies time yt I tarried here I viewed ye adjacent part of ye Country, they are Seated uppon a most fruitfull soyl. Ye earth is intermingled wth a sparkling substance like Antimony, finding severall flakes of Isinglass in ye paths. Ye soales of my Indian shooes in which I travelled glistened like sylver. Ye clay of which their pots & pipes are made is intermingled wth ye like substance ye wood land is abounding wth various sorts of very large straite timber. Eight dais journey from ye towne ye River hath it first falls West. N. West were it divides it selfe into three branches, amongst which dividing branches inhabit ye Cowatoe and Chorakae Indians wth whom they are at continual warrs. Forty miles distant from the towne northward they say lye ye head of Edistaw river being a great meer or lake. Two days before my departure arrived two Savana Indians living as they said twenty days journey West Southwardly from them. There was none here y* understood them but by signes they intreated freindship of ye Westoes showeing y* ye Cussetaws, Chaesaws & Chiskers [Note: This seems to be the original spelling of these names, which I have restored. The editor of the narrative gave them as Cussetaws, Checsaws, and Chiokees.] were intended to come downe and fight ye Westoes. At which news they expeditiously repaired their pallisadoes, keeping watch all night. In the time of my abode here they gave me a young Indian boy taken from ye falls of y* River. The Savana Indians brought Spanish beeds & other trade as presents makeing signes y* they had comerce w,h white people like unto mee, whom were not good. These they civilly treated & dismissed before my departure ten of them prepared to accompany mee in my journey home."3

As pointed out by Professor Crane, "Hickauhaugau" is probably miscopied from "Rickauhaugau" and is a synonym for Rickohockan.
(Swanton)