Arrival

As they had in Florida and the Indian Territory, the blacks and Indians split into separate communities. The blacks temporarily settled at El Moral, 20 miles north of Piedras Negras. Emphasizing their separateness, the Black Seminoles received their own distinct Spanish name, “los mascogos.” The etymology is unknown but almost certainly derived from “Muskogee,” the old Native American term used to describe members of the Creek confederacy, from which the Seminoles had seceded in Florida.

The emigrants subsided on rations, having arrived too late to plant crops. Their situation was still fortunate compared to the plight of their companions back in the Indian Territory.