In view of a widespread belief1 that the mounds lying southwest of Alto, Texas, mark the site of an historic Neches village and the second location of the mission San Francisco de los Tejas, and since the archaeological evidence denies such an identification, it is necessary to review the early history of this region, pointing out certain discrepancies in the literature.
The Neches was one of nine main trihes forming the Hasinai Confederation. Detailed accounts of their names, approximate locations, and political structure have been published by Bolton, Swanton, and others. Numerous names, with variations in spelling, have been given to this group of tribes. The French called them Cenis; the Spaniards, Hasinai or Tejas. These names were usually applied to the confederacy as a whole, but occasionally to a specific tribe or village. It is sufficient here to mention only two: the Nabedache, the most southwesterly group, among whom the first East Texas mission was established in 1690; and the Neches, who lived just across a river (presumably the Neches River) from them.