The linguistic map added to this volume is an attempt to locate, in a
general way, the settlements pertaining to the Indians of each of the
linguistic stocks of the Gulf States, as far as traceable in the
eighteenth century. Some of them, as the Timucua and Yámassi
settlements, are taken from dates somewhat earlier, while the location
of the Atákapa tribe is known to us only from the first decennium of
the nineteenth century. The marking of the linguistic areas by dots,
pointing to the tribal settlements, answers much better the purpose
than the coloring of large areas, which conveys the erroneous
impression that the population was scattered all over a certain
country. This will do very well for densely populated countries, or
for tracts inhabited by roving, erratic Indians, whom we meet only on
the west side of the Mississippi river. The Gulf States' Indians were
no longer in the condition of pure hunting tribes; they had settled in
stationary villages, and derived the main part of their sustenance
from agriculture and fishing.
The location of the Chicasa, Cheroki, Seminole and Caddo (Pani) tribes
were not indicated with that completeness which the subject requires.
The northwest corner of the map shows the tracts occupied at present
in the Indian Territory by tribes of Maskoki lineage.