Casqui was a Native American polity visited in 1541 by the

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

expedition. This group inhabited fortified villages in eastern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. The tribe takes its name from the

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

Casqui, who ruled the tribe from its primary village, thought to be located in present day

Cross County, Arkansas Cross County is a rural Northeast Arkansas county in the Arkansas Delta. Created as Arkansas's 53rd county on November 15, 1862, Cross County contains four incorporated municipality, municipalities, including Wynne, Arkansas, Wynne, the county ...

near the town of Parkin. The suspected site is the focal point of the

Parkin Archeological State Park Parkin Archeological State Park, also known as Parkin Indian Mound, is an archeological site and state park in Parkin, Cross County, Arkansas. Around 1350–1650 CE an aboriginal palisaded village existed at the site, at the confluence of ...

and it has been determined that the site was continuously occupied for at least 500 years. Information about Chief Casqui and his people comes from journals made during the expedition of Hernando de Soto in 1541.

Hernando de Soto Expedition

When de Soto's expedition arrived in the area the Casqui walked over a mile from their village to greet the travelers and invite them to stay in the town. The travelers declined the offer and made camp outside of the village. The journals report that de Soto gave a speech to the Casqui about religion and baptized several of the villagers as Christians. The journals report that the villagers helped them erect a large wooden cross on the central

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically highe ...

. When de Soto determined to press on and visit the nearby tribe called the

Pacaha Pacaha was a Native American polity encountered in 1541 by the Hernando de Soto expedition. This group inhabited fortified villages in what is today the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The tribe takes its name from the chieft ...

many of the Casqui people followed him. The Casqui and the Pacaha had been at war for some time and the Casqui had raided the Pacaha on previous occasions. When de Soto and the Casqui approached, many of the Pacaha became afraid and attempted to flee to an island in the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

and drowned. The Casqui who had followed de Soto proceeded to sack the village, desecrate holy sites, and steal everything they could. De Soto contacted Chief Pacaha and convinced him that he had nothing to do with the attack and that the expedition's intentions were peaceful. De Soto even assured the Pacaha that the expedition would help the Pacaha attack the Casqui to punish them for their subterfuge. The Casqui received advance warning of the planned attack and returned the looted items to the Pacaha and issued an apology in order to stave off retribution. De Soto arranged a dinner for the two leaders and arranged a peace treaty between the tribes. The Hernando de Soto expedition records are the only historical records of Chief Casqui and his tribe. Their later history is uncertain. In recent years a Spanish

trade bead Trade beads are beads that were used as a medium of barter within and amongst communities. They are considered to be one of the earliest forms of trade between members of the human race. It has also been surmised that bead trading was one of t ...

which matches descriptions of the seven-layer glass beads carried by the expedition has been found at the Parkin site as well as two Spanish falconer's bells, and Spanish

musket balls A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...

References

External links

National Park Service on de Soto's expedition
{{authority control Late Mississippian culture Native American history of Arkansas Native American tribes in Arkansas Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Former chiefdoms in North America

Hernando de Soto Expedition

See also

References

External links