Conecuh County AlArchives History .....History of Conecuh County, Alabama 1881
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HISTORY OF CONECUH.
INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER I.

Conecuh in the Earliest Times-Derivation of Its Name- Original Appearance-
Abounding Game-Ferocious Beasts-Early Battle Scene, etc.

   CONECUH is an Indian name, to which have been given a variety of meanings. 
But the best translators of the Indian dialect believe its meaning to be "Cane 
Land," derived from the vast canebrakes which lined its numerous streams, and 
which covered its extensive tracts of lowlands.

   The original word from which the present name is supposed to have been 
corrupted was "Econneka," which, in the Creek tongue, means "Land of Cane." 
This is the rendering given by Col. M. H. Cruikshank, of Talladega, to whom 
the author was referred by Prof. W. S. Wyman, of the University of Alabama. 
After venturing several conjectures himself, as to the meaning of the word, 
Prof. Wyman, with genuine good humor, says: "The name Conecuh means Pole-cat's 
Head; being a compound of kono, the Creek word for polecat, and ekuh, 
head." "Then," continues the Professor, "this is my best conjecture, and if it 
should turn out that I have hit the right meaning, it is to be hoped that the 
good people of Conecuh will not be unduly distressed at the unsavory name of 
their county. As the rose by any other name would smell as sweet, so it stands 
to good reason that the goodly land of Conecuh, swept, as it is, by the 
resinous airs of its own healthful pine forests, visited by the fragrant 
breezes of the peninsula of orange flowers, and wooed by a touch of the sultry 
breath of old Ocean himself, smells sweet in spite of its ugly name." After 
several conjectures, against all of which he raised some objection, Prof. 
Wyman urged that the whole matter be submitted to Col. Cruikshank, whose 
practical knowledge of the Indian dialect enabled him to give the meaning 
presented on the first page. The county took its name from the stream of the 
same name which penetrates its eastern portion.

   To each of these streams the native tribes gave a significant name, derived 
from some prevailing characteristic, or from some notable event connected 
therewith. The statement already made as to the meaning of Conecuh, is further 
corroborated by the glowing description given by the earliest settlers of the 
appearance of the face of the country. The virgin forests of Conecuh, as 
described by the pioneer fathers, must have rivalled in appearance the fairest 
spots of earth. Before one occupying a prominence there was spread out a scene 
of panoramic beauty. Vast stretches of land, dipping into occasional basins, 
ranged visibly in all directions, unbroken by the small undergrowth of 
shrubbery, which is now a prevailing feature in our forests. The land was 
radiant with long, waving grass, interspersed with the wild oat and the native 
pea-vine, and relieved by the monarch pine trees, which stood like so many 
columns in the great cathedral of nature. Across these smiling landscapes, and 
through these verdant vales, there roved vast herds of deer and flocks of wild 
turkeys, together with other game-the evident tokens of a beneficent 
Providence. Here and there these lands of wild beauty were streaked with 
clear, flowing streams, the track of whose shining currents could be followed 
for miles by reason of the native cane, which grew in rank luxuriance along 
their banks. There was not then, as now, a mixture of tangled shrubbery with 
the cane along the banks of these streams. The streams themselves abounded in 
the finest fish, while the lakes and ponds swarmed with countless flocks of 
wild ducks. From out the thicket jungles there would issue, at night, the 
hideous growls of wild beasts, the ferocious protests of the native denizen to 
the encroaching civilization of the white man. Such is the description given 
of Conecuh when the enterprising settlers first occupied its soil.

EARLY SKIRMISH.

  The first item of historic interest is connected with a skirmish on Burnt 
Corn creek, thirteen miles south of Bellville, which was the commencement of 
the great Indian War. The settlers along the Tombigbee, having learned that 
Peter McQueen, with a body of warriors, numbering about 350, had gone to 
Pensacola for the purpose of obtaining supplies from the British, preparatory 
to an attack upon the whites, sent Col. James Caller, with a small body of 
cavalry, to intercept them. Returning from Pensacola, ladened with supplies, 
the Indians had stopped near the banks of Burnt Corn creek, to rest and cook 
dinner. Having driven their ponies across the stream to a basin of land, 
thickly overgrown with tender cane, the dusky warriors lay down in the shade 
to rest, while the squaws prepared dinner. Coming from the opposite direction 
the advance guards of Caller's forces found the Indian ponies grazing in the 
tall cane, and immediately reported the discovery to their commander. With 
great caution the whites advanced, crossed the stream in single file, and 
commenced to fire upon the reclining warriors. Snatching up their guns, the 
Indians ran down under a bluff that overhung the creek. Confident of easy 
victory, Caller and his men began to plunder the Indian camp and to reap the 
spoils of success. Meanwhile the brave warriors rallied and returned the fire 
with vigor, advancing all the while upon the over-confident whites. At the 
first fire from the savages, the unhitched horses of Caller's men scampered 
off in all directions. In much confusion the whites retreated to the top of 
the hill, and the results would have been disastrous, it is said, had not 
Capt. Sam Dale covered the retreat with a small body of men. Filled with a new 
fire of revenge, the Indians, a month later, fell upon Fort Mimms, the horrors 
of which event were appalling beyond description. When the earliest 
inhabitants came to Bellville they found the spot where the tribes held their 
war dance in honor of McQueen's victory over Caller. Thus was spilt upon 
Conecuh's soil the first blood of that terrible series of sanguinary 
conflicts, which culminated in the removal of the native tribes to the far 
West. What a melancholy history is that of the Red Man! The narrative of their 
unchecked dominion, contrasted with that of their rapid dispersion, is sad 
beyond measure. The history of their undisputed sway is written upon the rills 
and rivers of our fair land to-day. As Alabama's once gifted poet, Judge A. B. 
Meek, has sung:

   "Yes! tho' they all have passed away,-
   That noble race and brave,
   Though their light canoes have vanished
   From off the crested wave;
   Though 'mid the forests where they roved,
   There rings no hunter's shout,-
   Yet their names are on our waters,
   And we may not wash them out!
   Their memory liveth on our hills,
   Their baptism on our shore,-
   Our everlasting rivers speak
   Their dialect of yore!
   'Tis heard where Chattahoochee pours
   His yellow tide along;
   It sounds on Tallapoosa's shores,
   And Coosa swells the song;
   Where lordly Alabama sweeps,
   The symphony remains;
   And young Cahawba proudly keeps
   The echo of its strains;
   Where Tuscaloosa's waters glide,
   From stream and town 'tis heard,
   And dark Tombeckbee's winding tide 
   Repeats the olden word;
   Afar, where nature brightly wreathed
   Fit Edens for the Free,
   Along Tuscumbia's bank 'tis breathed,
   By stately Tennessee;
   And south, where from Conecuh's springs,
   Escambia's waters steal,
   The ancient melody still rings,-
   From Tensaw and Mobile."



Additional Comments:
Chapter I

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