CHOCTAWS, or Chahtas, a North American tribe, now settled in the Indian Territory along the northern banks of the Red River, where they possess about 10,450 square miles. When first known to Europeans they occupied the district now forming the southern part of Mississippi and the western part of Alabama. On the settlement of Louisiana they formed an alliance with the French, and assisted them against the Natchez and Chickasaws; but by degrees they entered into friendly relations with the English, and at last, in 1786, recognized the supremacy of the United States by the treaty of Hopewell. Their emigration westward began about 1800, and the last remains of their original territory were ceded in 1830. In their new settlements the Choctaws continued to advance in prosperity till the outbreak of the civil war, which considerably diminished the population and ruined a large part of their property. They sided with the Confederates, and their territory was occupied by Confederate troops; and accordingly at the close of the war they were regarded as having lost their rights. Part of their land they were forced to surrender to the Government; their slaves were emancipated; and provision was claimed for them in the shape of either land or money. Since then they have considerably recovered their position. In 1873 they numbered 16,000, had 50,000 acres under cultivation, and possessed private property to the value of upwards of $4,700,000. They are governed by a chief and a national council of 40 members, according to a written constitution, which dates in the main from 1838; and they possess a regular judicial system and employ trial by jury. Missions are maintained amongst them by the American Board of Commissioners, the Presbyterians, the Methodists, and the Baptists. The ...