The Chickasaw, while being a relatively small tribe, occupied or claimed large hunting areas in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. The first recorded contact with the tribe was in December of 1540, by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. De Soto and his men spent the winter among the Chickasaws, often abusing the hospitality of their host. In March of 1541, De Soto made preparations to continue his explorations and made demands on the Chickasaw chiefs that they supply two hundred warriors to carry his column's baggage. (Some say he demanded a number of Indian maidens as well.) This was the last straw as for as the Chickasaws were concerned and on the night of March 4, 1541, the Chickasaws attacked and routed De Soto and his men. Thus began the reputation of the Chickasaws as being one of the most fearsome Indian Tribes in the southeast.
             After the American Revolutionary War and the westward migration of white settlers, the lands of the Chickasaws became prime targets for westward expansion. When the American government acquired those lands west of the Mississippi River in the Louisia
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