The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-14
Spanish Leader Stopped With His Men Where Columbus, O., Now Is and Then Came to Mid de Alabama, Pazing Through Tusl<sgee.

General Thomas s. woodward. ten- lnciously and almost convincfn8ly in this fnstallmentz of hfs Hemirscsnces defends his statement. that De Scto's fight took place on the Tailapoosa River a few miles from the city Of vanced this theory and in his present letter to Colonel Pickett, the historian he sets forth the reasons For his strong convictions on the subject.
 There Is to this day no little con fusion as to where De Soto fought the Indians. Accepted history Is that 91vsn by Colonel Pickett based upon translation of the Portugese ana Spanish writers who accompanied the expedition. From these account. V has been unable to determine deiinitely the place m Alabama at which the flght occurred Juding by march es, rivers and creeks msntionsd by the chroniclers, one school of students contend that the nght took place In Greene County others that it was fought in Wilcox and others stiii con- tend that 1t was fought In Clarke
 General woodward taking the In- dian. accounts of the hghts steadily contends that 1t took place . short points out that the chroniclers have plainly erred in the particulars and Sfiat they were likely to have erred in He Ia quite. positive that the main body of De 5oto's expedition wintsred at what is now Columbus. Ga, on the Chattahoochee River. A detachment of the expedition was sent north though Georgia. This second de- tachment crossed oyer Into Aianana and the traditions of 1t in Etowah. Taiiadega and other Alabama counties are well established. But Woodward contends that the main body started out on march to Tuckabtachy then the center of the Creek Nation. And when this detachment headed by De Soto reached the Taliapoopa River it was attacked by the fn6lans and this fight which Bancroft says was the greatest battle ever fought between the Indians and whites took place. {
 Ths acceptance of woodward.s be- lief would change what has been heretofore accepted history as to De soto's light with the Black Warrior. .-(Ed. Note)
 pAvY TATE WAS AN
 EDUCATED MAN
 wheeling winn. Parish. La.
 Aug. 12. 1858. col. Albert !. Pickett.
 In my letter to you of June s1 last s Wntcn was 3Q0tAAAS3 Au AAo 3A9etA gomerv Mail of July 2s. I sec q mis- take that I will here correct. Tn speaking of Davy Tate 1t is said that he was not an educated man. Mir Tate was an educated man, and Il am not mfskaken, he said he was educated near Abernethy. in Scotland and was about ten years younger than Alexander McGillivray. As may hereafter speak more of Tate and his half brother wsatherford will leave them here for the present and gtvs you some of my reasous for having said to Mr. Hooper some time back that [ was mors inclined to credit the Indian tradition of De E'oto's ex. petition through the country thar those Of the Spanish and Portuges' Authora
 Before commence with the Indial account of De Soto.a visit through Georgia. Alabama. 1Fississfppi, xscuisi ana and Arkansas win point out { few things among the many that thu spanish and Portn9ess gentry hav' greatly erred in. They may appeal to you and others as very trivial ob 3ections. But they are errors and | a man wilfully misrepresents in on' thing he win in others: and if he sdoei t ignorantly he is liable to do 1t again