The Choctaw are an American native tribe whose extensive history will tell us they are no strangers to war,

whether against neighboring tribes among their own people or against European colonialists.

Much like any of our own family histories passed down through the generations, the Choctaw

keep their incredible history alive through the telling of stories. Along with their many war stories,

however, there appears to exist a somewhat unusual legend

that has persisted even in modern times, a tale which presents a truly bizarre and horrifying

chapter in Choctaw folklore. While the pale skin and advanced weapons of European soldiers might once have seemed strange to them, this Choctaw folklore. While the pale skin and advanced weapons of European soldiers might once have

seemed strange to them, this Choctaw legend depicts an enemy far more terrifying than any

humans their warriors had yet encountered.

I'm Luke Lamanah, and this is wartime stories. Long before the empires of Europe would set foot on American shores, the indigenous Choctaw

people were already well accustomed to war against neighboring tribes. When new conflicts then came to their lands,

they were well prepared for it. During the

initial 17th century expansion of English, Spanish, and French settlements in the southeast,

the Choctaw allied with the French, primarily to defend against slave raids from other Indian

tribes allied to English colonists, such as the Chickasaw. As increasing numbers of

European settlers arrived encroaching onto Choctaw land, the Choctaw adapted. They argued for fair

compensation for the use of their lands. They engaged in trade. They took on some amount

of technology and adapted to European housing styles, even accepting

missionaries to their people.

A hundred years later, the Choctaw were fighting in the American Revolutionary War.

Their loyalty split, with some bands supporting the Spanish and British forces, and others

fighting alongside American rebels.

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