TOKYO 
 
University of California Berkeley 
 
LEGENDS, ' 
 
 TRADITIONS AND LAWS, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 IROQUOIS.OIISIX NATIONS, 
 
 AND 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TUSCARORA INDIANS. 
 
 BY 
 
 ELIAS JOHNSON, 
 
 A NATIVE TUSCARORA CHIEF. 
 
 LOCKPORT, N. Y.: 
 
 UNION PRINTING AND PUBLISHING CO., (O. W. CUTLER, PRES'T.) 
 
 1881. 
 
iuteirkd according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by ELIAS JOHNSON, 
 in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 " A book about Indians !" who cares anything about them ? 
 
 This will probably be the exclamation of many who glance 
 on my little page. To those who know nothing concerning 
 them, a whole book about Indians will seem a very prosy affair, 
 to whom I can answer nothing, for they will not proceed as far 
 as my Preface to see what reasons I can render for the seem- 
 ing folly. 
 
 But to those who are willing to listen, I can say that the In- 
 dians are a very interesting people, whether I have made an 
 interesting book about them or not. 
 
 The Antiquarian, the Historian, and the Scholar, have been 
 a long time studying Indian character, and have given plenty 
 of informarion concerning the Indian, but it is all in ponder- 
 ous volumes for State and College libraries, and quite inacces- 
 sible to the multitude those who only take up such book as 
 may be held in the hand, sitting by the fire, still remain very 
 ignorant of the Children of Nature who inhabited the forests 
 before the Saxon set his foot upon our shores. 
 
 There is also a great deal of prejudice, the consequence of 
 this ignorance, and the consequence of the representations of 
 your forefathers who were brought into contact with the Indi- 
 ans, under circumstances that made it impossible to judge im- 
 partially and correctly. 
 
 The Histories which are in the schools, and from which the 
 first impressions are obtained, are still very deficient in what 
 
 M123187 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 they relate of Indian History, and most of them are still filling 
 the minds of children and youth, with imperfect ideas. I have 
 read many of the Histories, and have longed to see refuted the 
 slanders, and blot out the dark pictures which the historians 
 have wont to spread abroad concerning us. May I live to see 
 the day when it may be done, for most deeply have I learned 
 to blush for my people. 
 
 I thought, at first, of only giving a series of Indian Biogra- 
 phies, but without some knowledge of the government and re- 
 ligion of the Iroquois, the character of the Indians could not 
 be understood or appreciated. 
 
 I enter upon the task with much distrust. It is a difficult 
 task at all times to speak and to write in foreign language, and 
 I fear I shall not succeed to the satisfaction of myself, or to 
 my readers. 
 
 My title will not be so attractive to the American ears, as if 
 it related to any other unknown people. A tour in Arabia, 
 or Spain, or in India, or some other foreign country, with far 
 less important and interesting material, would secure a greater 
 number of readers, as we are always more curious about things 
 afar off. 
 
 I might have covered many pages with " Indian Atrocities," 
 but these have been detailed in other histories, till they are 
 familiar to every ear, and I had neither room nor inclination 
 for even a glance at war and its dark records. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 To anim'ate a kinder feeling between the white people and 
 the Indians, established by a truer knowledge of our civil and 
 domestic life, and of our capabilities for future elevation, is the 
 motive for which this work is founded. 
 
 The present Tuscarora Indians, the once powerful and gifted 
 nation, after their expulsion from the South, came North, and 
 were initiated in the confederacy of the Iroquois, and who for- 
 merly held under their jurisdiction the largest portion of the 
 Eastern States, now dwell within your bounds, as dependent 
 nations, subject to the guardianship and supervision of a peo- 
 ple who displaced their forefathers. Our numbers, the cir- 
 cumstances, of our past history and present condition, and more 
 especially the relation in which we stand to the people of the 
 State, suggest many important questions concerning our future 
 destiny. 
 
 Being born to an inauspicious fate, which makes us the 
 inheritors of many wrongs, we have been unable, of ourselves, 
 to escape from the complicated difficulties which accelerate 
 our decline. To make worse these adverse influences, the pub- 
 lic estimation of the Indian, resting, as it does, upon the im- 
 perfect knowledge of their character, and infused, as it ever has 
 been, with the prejudice, is universally unjust. 
 
 The time has come in which it is no more than right to cast 
 away all ancient antipathies, all inherited opinions, and to take 
 a nearer view of our social life, condition and wants, and to 
 learn anew your duty concerning the Indians. Nevertheless, 
 
8 PREFACE. 
 
 the embarrassments that have obstructed our progress, in the 
 obscurity which we have lived, and the prevailing indifference 
 to our welfare, we have gradually overcame many of the evils 
 inherent in our social system, and raised ourselves to a degree 
 of prosperity. Our present condition, if considered in connec- 
 tion with the ordeal through which we have passed, shows that 
 there is the presence of an element in our character which 
 must eventually lead to important results. 
 
 As I do not profess that this work is based upon authorities, 
 a question might arise in the breast of some reader, where 
 these materials were derived, or what reliance is to be placed 
 upon its contents. The credibility of a witness is known to 
 depend chiefly upon his means of knowledge. For this reason, 
 I deem it important to state, that I was born and brought up 
 by.Tuscarora Indian parents on their Reservation in the Town 
 of Lewiston, N. Y. From my childhood up was naturally in- 
 quisitive and delighted in thrilling stories, which led me to fre- 
 quent the old people of my childhood's days, and solicited 
 them to relate the old Legends and their Traditions, which 
 they always delighted to do. I have sat by their fireside 
 and heard them, and thus they were instilled upon my young 
 mind. I also owe much of my information to our Chief, JOHN 
 MT. PLEASANT. I have also read much of Indian history, 
 and compared them with our LEGENDS and TRADITIONS. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
THE IROQUOIS. 
 
 NATIONAL TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 
 
 In all the early histories of the American Colonies, in the 
 rstories of Indian life and the delineations of Indian character, 
 these children of nature are represented as savages and barba- 
 rians, and in the mind of a large portion of the community the 
 sentiment still prevails that they were blood-thirsty, revenge- 
 ful, and merciless, justly a terror to both friends and foes. 
 Children are impressed with the idea that an Indian is scarcely 
 human, and as much to be feared as the most ferocious animal 
 of the forest. 
 
 Novelists have now and then clothed a few with a garb 
 which excites your imagination, but seldom has one been in- 
 vested with qualities which you would love, unless it were also 
 said that through some captive taken in distant war, he inher- 
 ited a whiter skin and a paler blood. 
 
 But I am inclined to think that Indians are not alone in be- 
 ing savage not alone barbarous, heartless, and merciless. 
 
 It is said they were exterminating each other by aggressive 
 and devastating wars, before the white people came among 
 them. But wars, aggressive and exterminating wars, certainly, 
 are not proofs of barbarity. The bravest warrior was the most 
 honored, and this has been ever true of Christian nations, and 
 those who call themselves Christians have not yet ceased to 
 look upon him who could plan most successfully the wholesale 
 
10 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 sfeu'gfofdr'of h'^fnafi Tieif-gs, as the most deserving his king's or 
 his country's laurels. How long since the pean died away in 
 praise of the Duke of Wellington ? What have been the wars 
 in which all Europe, or of America, has been engaged, that 
 there has been no records of her history ? For what are civi- 
 lized and Christian nations drenching their fields with blood ? 
 
 It is said the Indian was cruel to the captives, and inflicted 
 unspeakable torture upon his enemy taken in battle. But 
 from what we know of them, it is not to be inferred that Indi- 
 an Chiefs were ever guilty of filling dungeons with innocent 
 victims, or slaughtering hundreds and thousands of their own 
 people, whose only sin was a quiet dissent from some religious 
 dogma. Towards their enemies they were often relentless, 
 and they had good reason to look upon the white man as their 
 enemy. They slew them in battle, plotted against them se- 
 cretly, and in a few instances comparatively, subjected individ- 
 uals to torture, burned them at the stake, and, perhaps, flayed 
 them alive. But who knows anything of the precepts and 
 practices of the Roman Catholic Christendom, and quote these 
 things as proofs of unmitigated barbarity. 
 
 At the very time that the Indians were using the tomahawk 
 and scalping-knife to avenge their wrongs, peaceful citizens in 
 every country of Europe, where the Pope was the man of au- 
 thority, were incarcerated for no crime whatever, and such re- 
 finement of torture invented and practiced, as never entered 
 in the heart of the fiercest Indian warrior that roamed the wil- 
 derness to inflict upon man or beast. 
 
 We know very little of the secrets of the inquisition, and 
 this little chills our blood with horror. Yet these things were 
 done in the name of Christ, the Savior of the World, the 
 Prince of Peace, and not savage, but civilized. Christian men 
 looked on, not coldly, but rejoicingly, while women and child- 
 ren writhed in flames and weltered in blood. Were the atro- 
 cities committed in the vale of Wyoming and Cherry Valley 
 unprecedented among the Waldensian fastnesses and the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 1 1 
 
 mountains of Aurvergne? Who has read Fox's book of Mar- 
 tyrs, and found anything to parallel it in all the records of In- 
 dian warfare ? The slaughter of St. Bartholomew's days, the 
 destruction of the Jews in Spain, and the Scotch Covenanters, 
 were in obedience to the mandates of Christian princes, aye, 
 and some of them devised by Christian women who professed 
 to be serving God, and to make the Bible the man of their 
 counsel. 
 
 It is said also that the Indians were treacherous, and more, 
 no compliance with the conditions of any treaty, was ever to 
 be trusted. But the Puritan fathers cannot be wholly exoner- 
 ated from the charge of faithlessness ; and who does not blush 
 to talk of Indian traitors when he remembers the Spanish in- 
 vasion and the fall of the princely and magnanimous Monte- 
 zuma? 
 
 Indians believed in witches, and burned them, too. And 
 did not the sainted Baxter, with the Bible in his hand, pro- 
 nounce it right, and was not the Indian permitted to be pres- 
 ent, when the quiet unoffending woman was cast into the fire, 
 by the decree of a Puritan council? 
 
 To come down to the more decidedly Christian times, it is 
 not so very long since, in Protestant England, hanging was the 
 punishment of a petty thief, long and hopeless imprisonment 
 of a slight misdemeanor, when men were set up to be stoned 
 and spit upon by those who claimed the exclusive right to be 
 called humane and merciful. 
 
 Again, it is said, the Indian mode of warfare is, without ex- 
 ception, the most inhuman and revolting. But I do not know 
 that those who die by the barbed and poisoned arrow linger in 
 any more unendurable torment than those who are mangled 
 with powder and lead balls, and the custom of scalping among 
 Christian murderers would save thousands from groaning days, 
 and perhaps weeks, among heaps that cover victorious fields 
 and fill hospitals with the wounded and dying. But scalping 
 is not an invention exclusively Indian. " It claims," says Pres- 
 
12 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 cott, " high authority, or, at least, antiquity." And, further 
 history, Herodotus, gives an account of it among the Scythi- 
 ans, showing that they performed the operation, and swore the 
 scalp of their enemies taken in battle, as trophies, in the same 
 manner as the North American Indian. Traces of the custom 
 are also found in the laws of the Visigaths, among the Franks, 
 and even the Anglo Saxons. The Northern Indians did not 
 scalp, but they had a system of slavery, of which there are no 
 traces to be found among the customs, laws, or legends of the 
 Iroquois. 
 
 Again, it is said, " They carried away women and children 
 captive, and in their, long journey through the wilderness, they 
 were subjected to heartrending trials." 
 
 The wars of Christian men throw hundreds and thousands 
 of women and children helpless upon the cold world, to toil, to 
 beg, and to starve. 
 
 This is not so bright a picture as is 'usually given of people 
 who have written laws and have stores of learning, but people 
 cannot see in any place that the coloring is too dark ! There 
 is no danger of painting Indians so they will become attractive 
 to the civilized people. 
 
 There is a bright and pleasing side to the Indian character, 
 and thinking that there has been enough written of their wars 
 and cruelties, of the hunter's and fisherman's life, I have sat 
 down at their fireside, listened to their legends, and am ac- 
 quainted with their domestic habits, understand their finer 
 feelings and the truly noble traits of their character. 
 
 It is so long now since they were the lords of this country, 
 and formidable as your enemies, and they are so utterly wast- 
 ed away and melted like snow under the meridian sun, and 
 helpless, that you can sit down and afford to listen to the 
 truth, and to believe that even your enemies had their virtues. 
 Man was created in the image of God, and it cannot be that 
 anything human is utterly vile and contemptible. 
 
 Those who have thought of Indians as roaming about in the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 13 
 
 forests hunting and fishing, or at war, will laugh, perhaps, at 
 the idea of Indian homes, and domestic happiness. Yet there 
 are no people of which we have any knowledge, among whom, 
 in their primitive state, family ties and relationship were more 
 distinctly defined, or more religiously respected than the Iro- 
 quois. 
 
 The treatment which they received from the white people, 
 whom they always considered as intruders, aroused, and kept 
 in exercise all their ferocious passions, so that none except 
 those who associated with them as missionaries, or as captives, 
 saw them in their true character, as they were to each other. 
 
 Almost any portrait that we see of an Indian, he is repre- 
 sented with tomahawk and scalping knife in hand, as if they 
 possessed no other but a barbarous nature. Christian nations 
 might with equal justice be always represented with cannon 
 and balls, swords and pistols, as the emblems of their employ- 
 ment and their prevailing tastes. 
 
 The details of war are from far to great a portion of every 
 History of civilized and barbarous nations, to conquer and to 
 slay has been to long the glory of the Christian people ; he 
 who has been most successful in subjugating and oppressing, 
 in mowing down human beings, has too long wore the laural 
 crown, been too long an object for the admiration of men and 
 the love of women. 
 
 It seems you might be weary of the pomp and circumstance 
 of war, of princely banquets, and gay cavalcades. The time 
 and space you bestow upon King and courts, and the homage 
 you pay to empty titles, are unworthy your professed repub- 
 lican spirit and preferences, let us turn aside from the war 
 path, and sit down by the hearth-stone of peace. 
 
 In the picture which I have given, I have confined myself 
 principally to the Iroquois, or Six Nations, a people who no 
 more deserve the term savage, than the whites do that of 
 heathen, because they have still lingering among them heathen 
 superstitions, and many opinions and practices which deserves 
 no better name. 
 
14 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 The cannibals of some of the west Indies Islands, and the 
 Islands of the Pacific, may with justice be termed savage, but a 
 people like the Iroquois who had a goverment, established 
 offices, a system of religion eminently pure and Spiritual, a 
 code of honor and laws of hospitality, excelling those of all 
 other nations, should be considered something better than 
 savage, or utterly barbarous. 
 
 The terrible torture they inflicted upon their enemies, have 
 made their name a terror, and yet there were not so many 
 burnt, hung, and starved by them, as perished among Christian 
 nations by these means. The miseries they inflicted were 
 light, in comparison, with those they suffered. If individuals 
 should have come among you to expose the barbarities of sav- 
 age white men, the deeds they relate would quite equal any- 
 thing known of Indian cruelty. The picture an Indian gives 
 of civilized barbarism leaves the revolting custom of the wil- 
 derness quite in the back-ground. You experienced their re- 
 venge when you had put their souls and bodies at a stake, with 
 your fire-water that maddened their brains. There was a pure 
 and beautiful spirituality in their faith, and the-ir conduct was 
 much more influenced by it, as are any people, Christian or 
 Pagan. 
 
 Is there anything more barbaric in the annals of Indian war- 
 fare, than the narrative of the Pequod Indians? In one place 
 we read of the surprise of an Indian fort by night, when the 
 inmates were slumbering, unconscious of any danger. When 
 they awoke they were wrapped in flames, and when they at- 
 tempted to flee, were shot down like beasts. From village to 
 village, from wigwam to wigwam, the murderers proceeded, 
 " being resolved," as your historian piously remarks, " by God's 
 assistance, to make a final destruction of them," until finally a 
 small but gallant band took refuge in a swamp. Burning with 
 indignation, and made sullen by dispair, with hearts bursting 
 with grief at the destruction of their nation, and spirits galled 
 and sore at the fancied ignominy of their defeat, they refused 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 15 
 
 to ask life at the hands of an insulting foe, and preferred death 
 to submission. As the night drew on, they were surrounded 
 in their dismal retreat, volleys of musketry poured into their 
 midst, until nearly all were killed or buried in the mire. In 
 the darkness of a thick fog which preceded the dawn of day, a 
 few broke through the ranks of the beseigers and escaped to 
 the woods. 
 
 Again, the same historian tells us that the few that remain- 
 ed, " stood like sullen dogs to be killed rather than to implore 
 mercy, and the soldiers on entering the swamp, found many 
 sitting together in groups, when they approached, and resting 
 their guns on the boughs of trees, within a few yards of them, 
 literally filled their bodies with bullets." But they were 
 Indians, and it was pronounnced a pious work. But when the 
 Gauls invaded Italy, and the Roman Senators, in their purple 
 robes and chairs of State, sat unmoved in the presence of bar- 
 barian conquerors, disdaining to flee, and equally disdaining 
 to supplicate for mercy, it is applauded as noble, as dying like 
 statesmen and philosophers. But the Indians with far more 
 to lose and infinitely greater provocation, sits upon his mother 
 earth upon the green mound, beneath the canopy of Heaven, 
 and refuses to ask mercy of civilized fiends, he is stigmatized 
 as dogs, spiritless, and sullen. What a different name has 
 greatness, clothed in the garb of Christian princes and sitting 
 beneath spacious domes, gorgeous with men's device, and the 
 greatness, in the simple garb of nature, destitute and alone 
 in the wilderness. 
 
 There is nothing in the character of Alexander of Macedon 
 who " conquored the world, and wept that he had no more to 
 conquer," to compare with the noble qualities of king Philip of 
 Mt. Hope, and among his warriors are a long list of brave 
 rnen unrivalled in deeds of heroism, by any of ancient or mod- 
 eofc^story. But in what country, and by whom were they hun- 
 ted, tortured, and slain, and who was it that met together to 
 rejoice and give thanks at every species of cruelty inflicted 
 
1 6 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 upon those who were fighting for their wives, their children, 
 their homes, their alters and their God. When it is recorded 
 that " men, women and children, indiscriminately, were hewn 
 down and lay in heaps upon the snow," it is spoken of as do- 
 ing God's service, because they were nominally heathen. " Be- 
 fore the fight was finished, the wigwams were set on fire, and 
 into those, hundreds of innocent women and children had 
 crowded themselves, and perished in the general conflagra- 
 tion." And for those thanksgivings were sent up to heaven,, 
 the head of Philip is strung upon a pole, and exposed to the 
 public. But this was not done by savage warriors, and the 
 crowd that huzzaed at the revolting spectacle, assembled on 
 the Sabbath day, in a Puritan church, to listen to the Gospel 
 that proclaims peace and love to all men. His body was liter- 
 ally cut in slices to be distributed among the conquerors, and 
 a Christian city rings with acclamation. 
 
 In speaking of thrs bloody contest, one who is most eminent 
 among the fathers, says : " Nor could they cease praying unto 
 the Lord against Philip, until they had prayed the bullet 
 through his heart." "Two and twenty Indian captives were 
 slain, and brought down to hell in one day." " A bullet took 
 him in the head, and sent his cursed soul in a moment amongst 
 the devils and blasphemers in hell forever." 
 
 Masasoit, the father of Philip, was the true friend to the 
 English, and when he was about to die, took his two sons,. 
 Alexander and Philip, and fondly commended them to the 
 kindness of the new settlers, praying them the same peace and 
 good will might be between them, that had existed between 
 him and his white friends. Upon mere suspicion only a short 
 time afterwards, the elder, who succeeded his father as ruler, 
 among his people, was hunted in his forest home, and dragged 
 before the court, the nature and object of which he could not 
 understand. But the indignity which was offered him, and the 
 treachery of those who insulted him, so chafed his proud spirit 
 that a fever was the consequence, of which he died. And that 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. I/ 
 
 is not all.' The son and wife of Philip were sold into slavery, 
 (as were also about eight hundred persons of the Tuscaroras, 
 and also many others of the Indians that were taken captive 
 during the Colonial wars.) " Yes," says a distinguished orator, 
 (Everett,) " they were sold into slavery, West Indian slavery. 
 An Indian princess and her child, sold from the cold breezes of 
 Mount Hope, from a wild freedom of New England forest, to 
 drop under the lash, beneath the blazing sun of the tropics." 
 
 Bitter as death, aye, bitter as hell ! Is there anything I do 
 not think in the range of humanity is there any animal 
 that would not struggle against this? Nor is this indeed alL 
 A kinswoman of theirs, a Princess in her own right, Wetamore 
 Pocasset, was pursued and harrassed till she fell exhausted in 
 the wilderness, and died of cold and starvation. There she 
 was found by men professing to be shocked at Indian barbar- 
 ity, her head severed from her body, and carried bleeding upon 
 a pole to be exposed in the public highways of the country, 
 ruled by men who have been honored as saints and martyrs. 
 
 " Let me die among my kindred," " Bury me with my fath- 
 ers," is the prayer of every Indian's heart ; and the most deli- 
 cate and reverential kindness in the treatment of the bodies of 
 the dead, was considered a religious duty. There was nothing 
 in all their customs that indicated a barbarism so gross and 
 revolting as these acts, which are recorded by New England 
 historians without a censure, while the Indian's protests in his 
 grief, at seeing his kindred dishonored and his religion reviled, 
 are stigmatized as savage and fiendish. 
 
 If all, or even a few who ministered among them in ho,ly 
 things, had been like Eliot, who is called " the Apostle to the, 
 Indians," and deserved to be ranked with the Apostle of old, 
 or Kirkland, who is endeared to the memory of every Iroquois 
 who heard his name, it could not have become a proverb or a 
 truth that civilization and Christianity wasted them away. 
 
 They were, not by one, but many, unscrupulously called 
 
 (2) 
 
1 8 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 " dogs, wolves, bloodhounds, demons, devils incarnate, hell- 
 hounds, fiends, monsters, beasts," always considering them in- 
 ferior beings, and scarcely allowing them to be human, yet one, 
 who was at that time a captive among them, represents them 
 as " kind and loving and generous ;" and concerning this same 
 monster Philip records nothing that should have condemned 
 him in the eyes of those who believed in wars aggressive and 
 defensive, and awarded honors to heroes and martyrs and con- 
 querors. 
 
 By the Governor of Jamestown a hand was severed from the 
 arm of a peaceful, unoffending Indian, that he might be sent 
 back a terror to his people ; and through the magnanimity of a 
 daughter and king of that same people, that colony was saved 
 from destruction. It was through their love and trust alone 
 that Powhatan and Pocahontas lost their forest dominions. 
 
 Hospitality was one of the Indians' distinguishing virtues, 
 and there was no such thing among them as individual starva- 
 tion or want. As long as there was a cup of soup, it was di- 
 vided. If a friend or a stranger made a call he was welcome to 
 all their wigwams would furnish, and to offer him food was not 
 merely a custom, for it was a breach of politeness for him to 
 refuse to eat however full he might be. 
 
 Because their system not being like the white people's, it 
 does not follow that it was not a system. You might have 
 looked into the wigwam or lodge and thought everything in 
 confusion, while to the occupants, there was a place for every- 
 thing, and everything in its place ; each had a couch which 
 answered for bed by night and seat by day. The ceremonies 
 at their festivals were as regular as in the churches, their rules 
 of war as well defined as those of christain nations, and in 
 their games and athletic sports there was a code of honor 
 which it was disgraceful to violate ; their marriage vows were 
 as well understood, and courtesy as formally practiced at their 
 Dances. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 10 
 
 The nature of the Indian is in all respects like the nature of 
 any other nation ; placed in the same circumstances, he exhib- 
 its the same passions and vices. But in his forest home there 
 was not the same temptation to great crimes, or what is term- 
 ed the lesser ones, that of slander, scandal, and gossip, as ex- 
 ists among civilized nations. 
 
 They knew nothing of the desire of gain, and therefore were 
 not made selfish by the love of hoarding ; and there was no 
 temptation to steal, where they had everything in common, 
 and their reverence for truth and fidelity to promises, may well 
 put all the nations of Christendom to shame. 
 
 I have written in somewhat of the spirit which will charac- 
 terize a History, by an Indian, yet it does not deserve to be 
 called Indian partiality, but only justice and the spirit of human- 
 ity ; or, if I may be allowed to say it, the spirit with which any 
 Christian should be able to consider the character and deeds of 
 his foe. I would not detract from the virtues of your fore- 
 fathers. They were at that time unrivalled, but bigotry and 
 superstition of the dark ages still lingered among them, and 
 their own perils blinded them to the wickedness and cruelty of 
 the means they took for defence. 
 
 Four, and perhaps two centuries hence, I doubt not, some of 
 your dogmas will seem unchristian, as the Indians seem to you, 
 and I truly hope, ere then, all wars will seem as barbarous, and 
 the fantastic dress of the soldiers as ridiculous, as you have 
 been in the habit of representing the wars and the wild drap- 
 ery of the Indians of the forest. 
 
 How long were the Saxon and Celt in becoming a civilized 
 and Christian people? How long since the helmet, the coat of 
 mail, and the battle axe, were laid aside ? 
 
 To make himself more terrific, the Briton of the days of 
 Henry II drew the skin of a wild beast over his armor with 
 the head and ears standing upright, and mounted his war-horse 
 to go forth crying, "To arms! Death to the invader!" The 
 
20 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 paint and the Eagle plume of the Indian warrior were scarcely 
 a more barbarous invention, nor his war-cry more terrible. 
 
 It is not just to compare the Indian of the fifteenth, with the 
 Christian of the fifteenth century. But compare them with the 
 barbarian of Britain, of Russia, of Lapland, and Tartary, and 
 represent them as truly as these nations have been represented, 
 and they will not suffer by the comparison. 
 
 'Ji CAPTIVE'S LIFE >MOt(G INDIANS. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY THE LIFE OF THE " WHITE WOMAN 
 
 To be taken captive by the Indians, was, among the early 
 colonists, considered the most terrible of all calamities, and it 
 was indeed a fearful thing to become the victim of their re- 
 venge. But those who were enduring the actual sufferings of 
 captivity, or suffering still more from terror of uncertain evils, 
 thought little of the provocation given by the white people. 
 The innocent suffered for the guilty, and however persevering 
 I suppose the efforts of the government to be just in its 
 infancy, in a wild unknown country it was impossible to con- 
 trol unprincipled marauders. Some atrocious act was first 
 committed by white men, which drove the Indian to retalia- 
 tion, and thinking pale faces were all alike, he did not wait till 
 the real offender fell into his hands. 
 
 When the white men first came, the Indian looked upon 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 21 
 
 them as superior beings. They were ready to worship Colum- 
 bus and his little party, and all others along the coast, until 
 their simple trust was outraged beyond endurance, they wel- 
 comed the strangers, gave them food when they were hungry, 
 and sheltered them when they were cold. It was not till their 
 encroachments became alarming, that the Indians asserted 
 their rights, and if in all cases they had been as justly and 
 kindly dealt with as by the Quakers of Pennsylvania, there 
 would not have been so dark a record of sins, wrongs and tor- 
 tures. If none but men of principle had made treaties with 
 them, and all whose duty it was to observe them, had kept 
 their faith, revenge had not come out so prominently in Indian 
 character. 
 
 But it was not in obedience to national policy that those who 
 were taken in battle, were put to the torture, burned, and 
 flayed. The Six Nations had never found it necessary to build 
 prisons, and dig dungeons for their own people. If any man 
 committed murder, they sometimes decided that he should die, 
 and sometimes bade him flee far away where none who knew 
 him could look upon his face. But crimes were so rare that 
 they had no criminal code, and when they overcame their en- 
 emies, they either adopted them and treated them as brethren, 
 or put them immediately to death. 
 
 White people have often put Indians to death, and oftener 
 put them in dungeons to waste and starve, but it was not part 
 of their practice to adopt them and call them brethren. Had 
 they sometimes done this, or sent them freely back to their 
 friends unharmed, they might have conciliated where they were 
 only made more desperate. 
 
 When families are bereaved, they sought to be revenged on 
 those who had bereaved them, and when warriors returned 
 from battle, the prisoners were given up to the friends of the 
 afflicted. With them alone it remained to decide the fate of 
 those who fell into their hands. If they chose, they adopt 
 them in place of the husbands, or brothers, who were slain ; 
 
22 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 and if they so decided they were put to death, and in any way 
 they decreed. If the manner in which their friend had been 
 killed was aggravating and greatly enraged them, they were 
 very likely to decide upon torture, and inflicted it in a manner 
 to produce the greatest suffering. But in such cases, they 
 sometimes showed great magnanimity, and " returned good 
 for evil." 
 
 Children were often adopted, and by a solemn ceremony re- 
 ceived into a particular tribe, and evermore treated as one of 
 their own people. You have been in the habit of listening to 
 heart-rending stories of cruelties to captives, but captives who 
 were adopted were never cruelly treated. Those who were im- 
 mediately put to death experienced great suffering for a few 
 hours, and those who were preserved were subjected to hard- 
 ships which seemed to them unspeakable, but they were such 
 as are necessarily incident to Indian life. They left no written 
 chronicles to tell to all future generations the wrongs and tor- 
 tures to which they were subjected, but one who sits with them 
 by their firesides, may have his blood frozen with horror at the 
 recitals of civilized barbarity. 
 
 And there was one species of wrong of which no captive wo- 
 man of any nation had to complain when she was thrown upon 
 the tender mercies of Indian warriors. Not among all the dark 
 and terrible records which their enemies have delighted to 
 magnify, is there a single instance of the outrage of that deli- 
 cacy which a pure minded woman cherishes at the expense 
 of life, and sacrifices not to any species of mere animal suffer- 
 ing. Of what other nation can it?- thus be written, that their 
 soldiers were not more terrible at the firesides of their enemies 
 than on the battle-field, with all the fierce engines of war at 
 their command. To whatever motive it is to be ascribed, let 
 this at least stand out on the pages of Indian history as an 
 ever enduring monument to their honor. 
 
 A little book which professes to have been written for the 
 sole purpose of recording and perpetuating Indian atrocities. 
 
OF THE IRO^UOiS, OR SIX NATIONS. 23 
 
 and dwells upon them with infinite delight, alludes to this re- 
 deeming trait in Indian character, but attempts to ascribe it to 
 the influence of superstition, as it were necessary to find some 
 evil or deteriorating motive for everything noble, or pleasing 
 in Indian character. Their treatment of captives from among 
 Indian nations were the same. And I know not that there has 
 been any satisfactory solution of a characteristic which has 
 been found among only one other civilized Christian or barbar- 
 ous nation. A wanderer among the Indian tribes once asked 
 an Indian why they thus honored their women, and he said 
 " The Great Spirit taught, and would punish us if we did not." 
 Among the Germans I believed there existed the same respect 
 for woman, till they became civilized. They may have been 
 some superstitious fears mingled with a strong governing 
 and controlling principle, but it is not on this account the less 
 marvelous that whole nations, consisting of millions, should 
 have been so trained, religiously or domestically, that degree 
 of beauty or fascination placed under their care, though hund- 
 reds of miles in the solitudes of the wilderness, should have 
 tempted them from the strictest honor and the most delicate 
 kindness. MARY JANISON was eighty years a resident among 
 the Senecas, and in the early part of the time the forests had 
 few clearings, and the comforts and the vices of white men 
 prevailed but little among them. She was born on the 
 ocean, with the billowy sea for her cradle, and the tempest for 
 her lullaby. Her parents emigrated from England to this 
 country in 1742, and settled in the unfortunate vale of Wyom- 
 ing, where date her first remembrances, which were all the woes 
 that fell upon her family, the wail of the sorrow-stricken and 
 breaking of heart-strings.. The last meal they took together 
 was a breakfast, after which the father and eldest three sons 
 went into the field, and Mary with the other little children 
 was playing not far from the house. They were suddenly 
 startled by a shriek, and knew it must be from their mother. 
 On running in they saw her in the hands of t\vo Indians, 
 
24 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 who were holding her fast. A little boy ran to call his 
 father, and found him also bound by another of the party, 
 and his eldest brother lying dead upon the earth ; the 
 other two fled to Virginia, where they had an uncle, as Mary 
 afterward learned, and those who remained were made cap- 
 tives and hurried into the woods. All day they were obliged 
 to march in single file over the rough, cold soil. Night 
 found them in the heart of the wilderness, surrounded by their 
 strange captors, and all the horrors of Indian life or Indian 
 death staring them in the face. They had no hope of mercy, 
 whether permitted to live or condemned to die. The mother 
 said to Mary, " My daughter, you, I think will be permitted to 
 live, but they will deprive you of your father and mother, and 
 perhaps of your brothers and sisters, so that you will be alone. 
 But endeavor in all things to please the Indians, and they will 
 be more kind to you. Do not forget your own language, and 
 never fail to re"peat your catechism and the Lord's prayer eve- 
 ry morning and evening while you live." This she promised 
 to do, and having kissed her child, the mother was removed 
 from her sight. 
 
 Mary must at this time have been ten years of age. -She 
 was afterwards told, when she could understand the Indian 
 language, that they would not have killed her parents if the 
 captors had not been pursued, and that a little boy, who was 
 the son of a neighbor, and was also taken, was given to the 
 French, two of whom were of the party. 
 
 In the marches of the Indians it was the custom for one to 
 linger behind, and poke up the grass with a stick after a party 
 had passed along, to conceal all traces of their footsteps, so a 
 pursuit was seldom successful. In deviating from a direct 
 course in order not to get lost, they noticed the moss upon the 
 trees, which always grows thickest upon the north side, as the 
 south side being most exposed to the sun, became soonest dry. 
 They also had some knowledge of the stars, and knew from the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 2$ 
 
 position of certain clusters that were to be seen at certain sea- 
 sons, which was east and which west. 
 
 Mary was adopted in place of two brothers who had fallen 
 in battle, and for whom the lamentations had not died away. 
 The ceremony of adoption is very solemn, requiring the delib- 
 erations of a council and the formal bestowing of a name, as a 
 sort of baptism, from which time the captive is not allowed to 
 speak any other language but the Indian, and must in all things 
 conform to Indian habits and tastes. 
 
 It is customary among them to give children a name which 
 corresponds with the sports and dependence of childhood, and 
 when they arrive at maturity to change it for one that corres- 
 ponds with the duties and employments of manhood and wom- 
 anhood. The first name is given by the relatives and after- 
 wards publicly announced in council. The second is bestowed 
 in the same way ; and by this they are ever afterward called, 
 except on becoming a Sachem, and, sometimes, on becoming 
 a Chief or warrior another name is taken, and each denotes 
 definitely the new position. Each clan, too, had its peculiar 
 names, so that when a person's name was mentioned it was 
 immediately known to what clan he belonged. 
 
 A curious feature in the Indian code of etiquette is that it 
 is exceedingly impolite to ask a person's name, or to speak it 
 in his presence. In the social circle and all private conversa- 
 tion the person spoken of is described if it is necessary to al- 
 lude to him, as the person who sits there, or who lives in that 
 house, or wears such a dress. If I ask a woman, whose hus- 
 band is present if that is Mr. B she blushes, and stammers, 
 and replies, " He is my child's father," in order to avoid speak- 
 ing his name in his presence, which would offend him. On 
 asking a man his name he remained silent, not understanding 
 the reason the question was repeated, when he indignantly re- 
 plied, " Do you think that I am an owl to go about hooting 
 my name everywhere?" The name of the owl in Indian corres- 
 ponding exactly to the note he utters. 
 (3) 
 
26 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 When Mary Jemmison had been formally named De-he- wa- 
 mis, they called her daughter and sister, and treated her in all 
 respects as if she had been born among them and the same 
 blood flowed in her veins, or rather, they were accustomed to 
 be more kind to captives than to their own children, because 
 they had not been inured to the same hardships. There was 
 no difference in the cares bestowed, no allusion was ever made 
 to the child as if it belonged to a hated race, and it never felt 
 the want of affection. 
 
 Mary said her tasks were always light, and everything was 
 done to win her love and make her happy. She now and then 
 longed for the comforts of her cottage home, and wept at the 
 thought of her mother's cruel death, but gradually learned to 
 love the freedom of the forest, and to gambol freely and gaily 
 with her Indian play-mates. When she was named they threw 
 her dress away, and clothed her in deer skins and moccasins, 
 and painted her face in true Indian style. She never spoke 
 English in their presence, as they did not allow it, but when 
 alone, did not forget her mother's injunction, and repeated 
 her prayers and all the words she could remember, thus retain- 
 ing enough of the language to enable her easily to recall it 
 when she should again return to civilized society, as she con- 
 stantly indulged the hope of doing, by an exchange of cap- 
 tives. 
 
 But when she was fourteen years of age, her mother select- 
 ed for her a husband, to whom she was married according to 
 Indian custom. His name \vas Sheningee, and though she was 
 not acquainted with him previously, and of course had no af- 
 fection for him, but proved not only an amiable and excellent 
 man but a congenial companion, whom she loved devotedly. 
 He had all the noble qualities of an Indian, being handsome 
 and brave, and generous, and kind, and to her very gentle and 
 affectionate. 
 
 Now she became thoroughly reconciled to Indian life, her 
 greatest sorrow being the necessary absence of her husband on 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 27 
 
 the war-path and hunting excursions. She followed the occu- 
 pation of a woman, tilled the fields, dressed the meats and 
 skins, and gathered the fuel for the winter's fire, and although 
 this seems to the whites as unfeminine labor, it was performed 
 at their leisure, and occupied very little of their time. 
 
 When the hunters returned they were weary and passive, and 
 seldom were guilty of fault-finding, and so well did an Indian 
 woman know her duty/ that her husband was not obliged to 
 make his wants known. Obedience was required in all re- 
 spects, and where there was harmony and affection, cheerfully 
 yielded, and knowing as they did that separation would be the 
 consequence of neglect of duty and unkindness, there was 
 really more self-control, and about little things, than those who 
 are bound for life. They did not agree to live together through 
 good and through evil reports, but only while they loved and 
 confided in each other, and they were therefore careful not to 
 throw lightly away this love and affection. 
 
 The labor of the field was performed in so systematic a man- 
 ner, and by so thorough and wisely divisioned labor, that there 
 were none of the jealousies and enjoyings which exist among 
 those who wish to hoard, and ambitious to excel in style and 
 equipage. And before the fire-water came among them, dis- 
 sentions of any kind were almost unknown. This has been the 
 fruitful source of all their woes. It was not till Mary became 
 a mother that she gave up all longing for civilized society, and 
 relinquished all hope of again returning to the abodes of the 
 white man. Now she had a tie to bind her which could not 
 be broken. If she should find her white friends they would 
 not recognize her Indian husband, or consider her lawfully 
 married ; they would not care-to be connected by ties of blood 
 to a people whom they despised ; her child would not be hap- 
 py among those who looked upon her as inferior, and she her- 
 self had no education to fit her for the companionship of the 
 white people. She looked upon her little daughter and thought, 
 it is Sheningee's it is dearer to me than all things else I 
 
28 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LA\VS 
 
 could not endure to see her treated with aversion or neglect. 
 
 But only a little while was she permitted this happiness, her 
 daughter died while yet an infant, and when Sheningee was 
 away. Again the feeling of desolation came over her young 
 spirit, but all around her ministered in every way to her com- 
 fort, and became more than ever endeared to her heart. Af- 
 ter a long absence. Sheningee returned. She afterwards had a 
 son, and named him after her father, to which no objection 
 was made by her Indian friends, and her love for her husband 
 became idolatry. In her eyes he seemed everything noble and 
 good ; she mourned his departure and longed for his return, 
 for his affection prompted him to treat her with gentle and 
 winning kindness which is the spirit of true love alone. 
 
 But again the separation, and she must pass another winter 
 alone. For hunting was the Indian's toil, and though they de- 
 lighted in it, the pangs of parting from his wife and little one, 
 made it a sacrifice, and spread a dark cloud over a long period 
 of his life. And now it became dark indeed to Mary, for she 
 waited long and Sheningee came not. She put everything in 
 order in his little dwelling. She dressed new skins for his 
 couch, and smoked venison to please his taste. She made the 
 fire bright to welcome him, hoping every evening when she lay 
 down with her baby upon her bosom, that ere the morning sun, 
 the husband and father would gladden them by his smiles, but 
 in vain ; winter had passed away, and the spring, and then came 
 the sad tidings that he was dead, she became a widow and her 
 child fatherless. 
 
 Very long did she mourn Sheningee, for it seemed to her 
 there was none like him. But again the sympathies of his 
 people created a new link to bind her to them, and she said 
 she could not have loved a mother or sisters more dearly than 
 she did those who stood in this relationship to her, and sooth- 
 ed her with their loving words. . 
 
 Net for four years was sne again urged to marry, and during 
 this time there was an exchange of prisoners and she had an 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 29 
 
 opportunity to return to her kindred ; she was left to do as she 
 chose. They told her she might go, but if she preferred to 
 remain she should still be their daughter and sister, and they 
 would give her land for her own where she might always dwell. 
 Again she thought of the prejudice she would everywhere 
 meet, and that she could never patiently listen to reproaches 
 concerning her husband's people. It would not be believed 
 that he was noble, because he was an Indian ; and she would 
 have no near relatives and those she had might reject her if 
 she should seek them,, so she came to the final conclusion and 
 never more sighed for the advantages or pleasures of civilized 
 life. She came with the brothers of Sheningee to the banks 
 of the Genesee, where she resided the remaining seventy-two 
 years of her life. 
 
 Her second husband Hiokatoo she never learned to love. 
 He was a Chief and a warrior brave and fearless ; but though 
 he was always kind to her, he was a man of blood. He de- 
 lighted in deeds of cruelty and delighted to relate them. And 
 now the fire water had become common, and the good were 
 bad and the bad worse, so that dissensions arose in fami- 
 lies and in neighborhoods, and the happiness which had been 
 almost without alloy was no longer known among these sim- 
 ple people. 
 
 She adds her testimony to that of all travelers and historians 
 concerning the purity of their lives, having never herself re- 
 ceived the slightest insult from an Indian and scarcely know- 
 ing an instance of infidelity or immorality. But when once 
 they had tasted of the maddening draught the thirst was insa- 
 tiable, and all they had would be given for a glass of something 
 to destroy their reason. Now they were indeed converted in- 
 to fiends and furies and sold themselves to swift destruction. 
 
 Hiokatoo hesitated at no crime and took pleasure in every- 
 thing dark and terrible, but this was a small trial compared to 
 those which Mrs. Jemmisonwas called upon to endure frcm 
 the intoxication and recklessness of her son. Her eldest, the 
 
3O LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 son of Sheningee, was murdered by John, the son of Hiokatoo, 
 who afterward murdered his own brother Jesse, and came to 
 the same violent death himself at the hands of others. When 
 they came to be in the midst of temptation there was no re- 
 straining principle, and even after they grew up her house was 
 the scene of quarrels and confusion in consequence of their in- 
 temperance, and she knew no rest from fear of some calamity 
 from the indulgence of their unbridled passions. The Chief 
 of the Seneca nation, to which her second husband belonged, 
 gave her a large tract of land, and when it became necessary 
 that it should be secured to her by treaty, she plead her own 
 case. The commissioners without inquiring particularly con- 
 cerning the dimensions of her lots, allowed her to make her 
 own boundaries, and when the document was signed and she 
 was in firm possession it was found that she was the owner of 
 nearly four thousand acres, of which only a deed in her own 
 hand-writing could deprive her. But though she was rich she 
 toiled not the less dilligently and forsook not the sphere of 
 woman in attending to the ways of her household, and also, 
 true to her Indian education, she planted and hoed and har- 
 vested, retaining her Indian dress and habits till the day of 
 her death. During the revolutionary war her house was made 
 the rendevous and headquarters of British officers and Indian 
 Chiefs, as her sympathies were entirely with her red brethren, 
 and the cause they espoused was the one she preferred to aid. 
 It was in her power to sympathize with many a lone captive, 
 she always remembered her own anguish at the prospect of 
 spending her life in the wilderness. The companion of In- 
 dians, and though she had learned to love instead of fear- 
 ing them, and knew they were, as a people, deserving of re- 
 spect and the highest honor, she understood the feelings of 
 those who knew them not. 
 
 Her supplication procured the release of many from torture, 
 and her generous kindness clothed the naked and fed the 
 starving. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 31 
 
 Lot after lot, acre after acre the Indians sold their lands, and 
 at length the beautiful valley of the Genesee fell into the 
 hands of the white people, except the dominion of " the white 
 woman," as she was always called, which couldn't be given up 
 without her consent. She refused, at the time of the sale, to 
 part with her portion, but after the Indians removed to Buffa- 
 lo reservation and she was left alone, though a lady in the 
 manor and surrounded by white people, she preferred to take 
 her abode with those whom she now called her own people. 
 Most emphatically did she adopt the language of Ruth in the 
 days of old, " Entreat me not to leave thee, or return from 
 following after thee, for whither thou goest I will go, and 
 where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people will be my people, 
 and thy God my God, where thou diest will I die, and there 
 will I be buried." 
 
 She was as thoroughly pagan as the veriest Indian who had 
 never heard of God, and she exclaimed with him that their 
 religion was good enough and she desired no change. 
 
 She \vas ninety years of age eighty years she had been an 
 exile from the land of her birth. She had forgotten the prayer 
 her mother taught her, and knew nothing of the worship of 
 her father, when one morning she sent a messenger to tell the 
 missionaries she wished to see them. She had ever before re- 
 fused to listen to them if they came to her dwelling, but they 
 hastened to obey the summons, glad to feel that they should 
 be welcomed, though quite uncertain concerning the nature 
 of the interview she proposed. She was literally withered 
 away, her face was scarcely larger than an infant's and com- 
 pletely checkered with fine wrinkles, her teeth were entirely 
 gone and her mouth so sunken that her nose and chin almost 
 met, her hair not silvery, but snowy white, except a little lock 
 by each ear which still retained the sandy hue of childhood, 
 her form which was always slender, was bent, and her limbs 
 could not longer support her. She had revived the knowledge 
 of her language since she had dw r elled among the white peo- 
 
32 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 pie, but, " Oh, " said she, as the ladies entered, " I have forgot- 
 ten how to pray ; my mother taught me and told me never to 
 forget this, though I remembered nothing else;" and then she 
 exclaimed, " Oh, God ! have mercy upon me." This expres- 
 sion she had heard in her old age, and now uttered it in the 
 fullness of her heart. There had come a gleam of light 
 through all the darkness and superstitions of Paganism, and 
 this spark was kindled at the fireside of that little cottage 
 home, and fell upon her heart from a mother's lips, and now 
 revived at the remembrance of a mother's love and her dying 
 blessing. It was eighty years since she had seen that mother's 
 face, as she breathed out her soul in anguish, bending over her 
 in the silent depths of the wilderness ; eighty years since she 
 listened to "Our Father who art in Heaven," from Christian 
 lips, and now the still small voice which had so long been si- 
 lent, spoke aloud, and startled her as if an angel called. She 
 tried to stifle it, and for many days after it awoke in her bos- 
 om, she heeded it not, but it gave her no rest. No earthly 
 voice had since reminded her that her heart was sinful, and 
 needed to be " washed in the blood of the lamb, that taketh 
 away the sins of the world," in order to be clean. The seed 
 which had been sown in it when she was a little child, had just 
 sprung up ; the snows of eighty winters had not chilled it, the 
 milde>v of nearly a century had not blighted it, and the heavy 
 hand of hundreds of calamities had left it unharmed. She had 
 not been in the midst of corruptions, therefore it had not been 
 destroyed. The little germ was still alive, and proving that it 
 had not been in vain. 
 
 The aged woman sat pillowed up in bed with her children, 
 and children's children of three generations around her, and 
 lifting her withered hands and sunken eyes to Heaven, once 
 more repeated, " Our Father, who art in Heaven," while a new- 
 light, like a halo, overspread her face, the tears flowed in floods 
 down her cheeks, and in the dark eyes of every listener there 
 glistened tears of sympathy in her new found happiness. 
 
OF THE IROOUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 33 
 
 When she was asked if she regretted that she had not con- 
 sented to be exchanged, she still said, " No. I love the Indi- 
 ans ; I love them better than the white people. Because they 
 had been kind to me, and provided generously for my youth 
 and old age, and my children would inherit an abundance 
 from the avails of the lands, and herds, and flocks." 
 
 A few days after the new light dawned upon her spirit, in 
 the year 1833, Mary was numbered with the dead. She had 
 embraced the faith which makes no difference between those 
 who come at the first or the eleventh hour, and those who were 
 present at the dissolution of her soul and body, doubted not 
 that Jesus had whispered to her the same consolation that fell 
 upon the heart of the thief upon the Cross, " This day shalt 
 thou be with me in Paradise ." 
 
 Customs and Individual Traits of Character. 
 
 The more you read, and the better you understand Indian 
 history, the more you will be impressed with the injustice which 
 has been done the Iroquois, not only in dispossessing them of 
 their inheritance, but in the estimation which has been made 
 of their character. They have been represented, as seen in the 
 transition state, the most unfavorable possible for judging cor- 
 rectly. In the chapter of National Traits of Character, I have 
 in two or three instances quoted Washington Irving, and might 
 again allow his opinions to relieve my own from the charge of 
 (4) 
 
34 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 partiality. He says, in speaking of this same subject, that " the 
 current opinion of Indian character is too apt to be formed from 
 the miserable hordes which infest the frontiers, and hang on 
 the shirts of settlements. These are too commonly composed 
 of degenerate beings, corrupted and enfeebled by the voice of 
 society, without being benefited by its civilization." 
 
 " The proud independence which formed the main pillar of 
 motive virtue has been spoken down, and the whole moral 
 fabric lies in ruins. The spirits are humiliated and debased by 
 a sense of inferiority,. and their native courage cowed and 
 daunted by the superior knowledge and power of their enlight- 
 ened neighbors. Society has advanced upon them like one of 
 those withering airs that will sometimes breed desolation over 
 a whole region of fertility. It has enervated their strength, 
 multiplied their diseases, and superinduced upon their original 
 barbarity the law-vices of artificial life. It has given them a 
 thousand superfluous wants, while it has diminished their means 
 of mere existance. It has driven before it the animals of the 
 chase, who fly from the sound of the axe and the smoke of the 
 settlement, and seek refuge in the depths of remote forests, and 
 yet untrodden wilds. Thus do we often find the Indians in the 
 frontiers to be mere wrecks and remnants of once powerful 
 tribes, who have lingered in the vicinity of settlements, and 
 sunk ii\to precarious and vagabond existence. Poverty, repin- 
 ing and hopeless poverty a canker on the mind before un- 
 known to them corrodes their spirits, and blights every free 
 and noble qualities of their nature. They loiter like vagrants 
 about the settlements among spacious dwellings, replete with 
 elaborate comforts, which only renders them more sensible of 
 the comparative wretchedness of their own condition. Luxury 
 spreads its ample board before their eyes, but they are exclud- 
 ed from the banquet ; plenty revels over the fields, but they 
 are starving in the midst of abundance. The whole wilderness 
 blossomed into a garden, but they feel as reptiles that infest 
 them. How different was their state vx'hilc undisputed lords of 
 
OF TI1K IROolJois, ok SIX RATIONS. 35 
 
 the soil ? Their wants were few, and true means of gratification 
 within their reach, they saw every one among them sharing the 
 same lot, enduring the same hardships, feeding on the same 
 aliments, arrayed in the same rude garment. No roof then 
 rose under whose sheltering wings, that was not ever open to 
 the homeless stranger, no smoke curled among the trees, but 
 he was welcome to sit down by its fire and join the hunter in 
 his repast." 
 
 In discussing Indian character, writers have been too prone 
 to indulge in vulgar prejudice and passionate exaggeration, in- 
 stead of the candid temper of the true philosopher. They 
 have not sufficiently considered the peculiar circumstance in 
 which the Indians have been placed, and the peculiar principles 
 under which they having been educated. No being acts more 
 rigidly from rule than the Indians, his whole conduct is regu- 
 lated according to some general maxims early implanted in his 
 mind. The moral laws which govern him are few, but he con- 
 forms to them all. The white man abounds in laws and religion, 
 morals, and manners, but how many of them does he violate. 
 In their intercourse with the Indians the white people were 
 continually trampling upon their religion and their sacred 
 rights. They were expected to look merely on while the graves 
 of their fathers were robbed of their treasures, and the bones 
 of their fathers were left to bleach upon the fields. And when 
 exasperated by the brutality of their conquerors, and driven to 
 deeds of vengence, there was very little appreciation of the 
 motives which influenced them, and no attempt was made to 
 palliate their cruelties. 
 
 It was their custom to bury the dead with their best cloth- 
 ing, and the various implements they had been in the habit of 
 using whilst living. If it w r as a warrior that they were prepar- 
 ing for burial, they placed his tomahawk by his side and his 
 knife in his shield ; with the hunter, his bow and arrows and 
 implements for cooking his food ; with the woman, their kettles 
 and cooking apparatus, and also food for all. Tobacco was 
 
36 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 deposited in every grave ; for to smoke was an Indian's idea of 
 felicity in the body and out of it, and in this there was not so 
 much difference as one might wish, between them and gentle- 
 men of a paler hue. 
 
 Among the Iroquois, and many other Indian nations, it was 
 the custom to place the dead upon scaffolds, built for the pur- 
 pose, from tree to tree, or within a temporaiy inclosure, and 
 underneath a fire was kept burning for several days. 
 
 They had known instances of persons reviving after they 
 were supposed to be dead, and this led to tfre conclusion that 
 the spirit sometimes returned to animate the body after it had 
 once fled. If there was no signs of life for ten days, the fire 
 was extinguished and the body left unmolested until decompo- 
 sition had begun to take place, when the remains were buried, 
 or, as was often the case, kept in the lodge for many years. If 
 they were obliged to desert the settlement where they had long 
 resided, these skeletons were collected from all the families and 
 buried in one common grave, with the same ceremonies as 
 when a single individual was interred. 
 
 They did not suppose the spirit was instantaneously trans- 
 ferred from earth to Heaven, but that it wandered in ;erial re- 
 gion for many moons. In later days they only allowed ten 
 days for its flight. Their period for mourning continued only 
 whilst the spirit is wandering, as soon as they believe it has en- 
 tered Heaven they commenced rejoicing, saying, there is no 
 longer cause for sorrow, because it is now \\here happiness 
 dwells forever. Sometimes a piteous wailing \\ as kept up every 
 night for a long time, but it was only their bereavement that 
 thev beu ailed, as they did not fear about the fate of those who 
 died. Not until they had heard of Purgatory from the Jesuits, 
 or endless woe from Protestants, did they look upon death 
 with terror, or life as anything but a blessing. 
 
 They were sometimes in the habit of addressing the dead, as 
 if they could hear. The following are the words of a mother 
 as she bends over her only son to look for the last time upon 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS, 37 
 
 his beloved face : " My son, listen once more to the words of 
 thy mother. Thou wast brought into life with her pains, thou 
 wast nourished with her life. She has attempted to be faith- 
 ful in raising you up. When you were young she loved you 
 as her life. Thy presence has been a source of great joy to 
 her. Upon thee she depended for support and comfort in her 
 declining days. But thou hast outstripped her and gone be- 
 fore. Our wise and great Creator has ordered it thus. By his 
 will, 1 am left yet, to taste more of the miseries of this world. 
 Thy relations and friends have gathered about thy body to look 
 upon thee for the last time. They mourn, as with one mind, thy 
 departure from among us. We, too, have but a feV days more 
 and our journey will be ended. We part now, and you are 
 conveyed out of our sight. But we shall soon meet again, and 
 shall look upon each other, then we shall part no more. Our 
 Maker has called thee home, and thither will we follow." 
 
 After the adoption of the league of the Iroquois, and they 
 dwelled in villages, this was one of the duties enjoined by their 
 religious teacher at their festivals : " It is the will of the 
 Great Spirit that you reverence the aged, even though they be 
 helpless as infants." And also, " Kindness to the orphan, and 
 hospitality to all." " If you tie up the clothes of an orphan 
 "child, the Great Spirit will notice it, and reward you for it." 
 " To adopt an orphan, and bring them up in virtuous ways, is 
 pleasing to the Great Spirit." " If strangers wander about 
 your abode, welcome him to your home, be hospitable towards 
 him, speak to him with kind words, and forget not, always to 
 make mention of the Great Spirit." 
 
 The Indians' lamentations, on being driven far away from the 
 graves of their fathers, have been the theme of all historians 
 and travelers. It can be easily imagined how those who so 
 loved their homes and revered their fathers' graves, would be- 
 come fierce with indignation and rage, on seeing themselves 
 treated as without human feeling;, and the sacred relics of the 
 dead ploughed up and scattered as indifferently as the stones, 
 
38 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 or the bones of the moose and the deer of the forest. It u as 
 this feeling that often prompted them to acts of hostility, 
 which those who experienced them, ascribed to wanton cruelty 
 and barbarity. 
 
 In many of the villages there was a strangers home, a house 
 for strangers where they were placed, while the old men went 
 about collecting skins for them to sleep upon, and food for 
 them to eat, expecting no reward. 
 
 They called it very rude for them to stare at them as they 
 passed in the streets, and said that they had as much curiosity 
 as the white people, but they did not gratify it by intruding 
 upon them, by examining them. They would sometimes hide 
 behind trees in order to look at strangers, but never stood 
 openly and gaze at them. 
 
 Their respective attention to missionaries was often the re- 
 sult of their rules of politeness, as it is a part of the Indian's 
 code. Their councils are eminent for decorum, and no person 
 is interrupted during a speech. Some Indians, after respect- 
 fully listening to a missionary, thought they would relate to 
 him some of their legends, but the good man could not restrain 
 his indignation, but pronounced them foolish fables, while what 
 Jie told them was sacred truth. The Indian was, in his turn, 
 offended, and said, we listened to your stories, why do you not 
 listen to ours? you are not instructed in the common rules of 
 civility. 
 
 A hunter, in his wandering for game, fell among the back 
 settlements of Virginia, and on account of the inclemency of 
 the weather, sought refuge at the house of a planter, whom he 
 met at the door. He was refused admission. Being both 
 hungry and thirsty, he asked for a bit. of bread and a cup of 
 cold water. But the answer to every appeal was, " You, sJiall 
 have nothing here, get you gone you Indian dog /" 
 
 Some months afterwards this same planter lost himself in 
 the woods, and after a weary day of wandering, came to an In- 
 dian cabin, into which he was welcomed. On inquiring the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 39 
 
 way and distance to the settlement, and finding it was too far 
 to think of going that night, he asked if he could remain. 
 Very cordiaily the inmates replied, that he was at liberty to 
 stay, and all they had was at his service. They gave him food, 
 they made a bright fire to cheer and warm him, and supplied 
 him with clean deer-skin for his couch, and promised to con- 
 duct him the next day on his journey. In the morning the 
 Indian hunter and the planter set out together through the 
 forest, when they came in sight of the white man's dwelling, 
 the hunter, about to leave, turned to his companion, and said, 
 " Do you not know me ?" The white man was struck with 
 horror, that he had been so long in the power of one whom he 
 had so inhumanly treated, and expected now to experience his 
 revenge. But on beginning to make excuses, the Indian in- 
 terrupted him saying, " when you see a poor Indian fainting 
 for a cup of cold water, don't say again, ' get you gone, you 
 Indian dog,' " and turned back to his hunting grounds. Which 
 best deserved the appellation of a Christian, and to which will 
 it most likely be said, " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the 
 least of these, ye have done it unto me." 
 
40 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 CREATION 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE CONTINENT, THE ANIMAL, AND OF THE INDIAN, 
 
 INTRODUCTION OF THE TWO PRINCIPLES OF GOOD AND 
 
 EVIL INTO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD. 
 
 The Tuscarora tradition opens with the notion that there 
 were originally two worlds, or regions of space, that is an upper 
 and lower world. The upper world was inhabited by beings 
 resembling the human race. And the lower world by mon- 
 sters, moving on the surface and in the waters, which is in 
 darkness. When the human species were transferred below, 
 and the lower sphere was about to be rendered fit for their 
 residence, the act of their transference is by these ideas, that a 
 female who began to descend into the lower world, which is a 
 region of darkness, waters, and monsters, she was received on 
 the back of a tortoise, where she gave birth to male twins, and 
 there she expired. The shell of this tortoise expanded into a 
 continent, which, in the English language, is called " island," 
 and is named by the Tuscaroras, Yowahnook. One of the 
 children was called Got-ti-gah-rah-quast, or good mind, the 
 other, Got-ti-gah-rak-senh, or bad mind. These two antago- 
 nistical principles were at perpetual variance, it being the law 
 of one to counteract whatever the other did. They were not, 
 however, men, but gods, or existences, through whom the 
 Great Spirit, or " Holder of the Heavens," carried out his 
 purposes. 
 
 The first work of Got-ti-gah-rah-quast was to create the sun 
 out of the head of his dead mother, and the moon and stars out 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS., 41 
 
 of the other parts of her body. The light these gave drove the 
 monsters into the deep waters to hide themselves. He then 
 prepared the surface of the continent and fitted it for human 
 habitation, by making it into creeks, rivers, lakes and plains, 
 and by filling them with the various kinds of animals and veg- 
 etable kingdom. He then formed a man and a woman out of 
 the earth, gave them life, and called them Ongwahonwd, that 
 is to say, a real people. 
 
 Meanwhile the bad mind created mountains, water-falls, and 
 steeps, caves, reptiles, serpents, apes, and other objects sup- 
 posed to be injurious to, or in mockery to mankind. He made 
 an attempt also to conceal the land animals in the ground, so 
 as to deprive men of the means of subsistance. This continued 
 opposition, to the wishes of the Good Mind, who was perpetu- 
 ally at work, in restoring the effects and displacements, of the 
 wicked devices of the other, at length led to a personal combat, 
 of which the time and instrument of battle were agreed on. 
 They fought two days ; the Good Mind using the deer's horn, 
 and the other using wild flag leafs, as arms. Got-ti-gah-rah- 
 quast, or Good Mind, who had chosen the horn, finally pre- 
 vailed. His antagonist sunk down into a region of darkness, and 
 became the Evil Spirit of the world of dispair. Got-ti-gah-rah- 
 quast, having obtained his triumph, retired from .the earth. 
 
 The earliest tradition that we have of the Iroquois is as fol- 
 lows : That a company of Ongwahonwa being encamped on 
 the banks of the St. Lawrence River, where they were invaded 
 by a nation few in number, buf were great giants, called 
 " Ronongwaca." War after war was brought on by personal 
 encounters and incidents, and carried on with perfidity and 
 cruelty. They were delivered at length by the skill and courage 
 of Yatontea, who, after retreating before them, raised a large 
 body of men and defeated them, after which they were sup- 
 posed to be extinct. And the next they suffered was from the 
 malice, perfidity and lust of an extraordinary appearing person, 
 who they called That-tea-ro-skeh, who was finally driven across 
 (5) 
 
42 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 the St. Lawrence, and come to a town south of the shores of 
 Lake Ontario, where, however, he only disguised his intentions, 
 to repeat his cruel and perfidious deeds. He assassinated 
 many persons, and violated six virgins. They pointed to him 
 as a fiend in human shape. 
 
 In this age of monsters, the country was again invaded by 
 another monster, which they called Oyahguaharh, supposed to 
 be some great mammoth, who was furious against men, and 
 destroyed the lives of many Indian hunters, but he was at 
 length killed, after a long and severe contest. 
 
 A great horned serpent also next appeared on Lake Ontario 
 who, by means of his poisonous breath, caused disease, and 
 caused the death of many. At length the old women congre- 
 gated, with one accord, and prayed to the Great Spirit that he 
 would send their grand-father, the Thunder, who would get to 
 their relief in this, their sore time of trouble, and at the same 
 time burning tobacco as burned offerings. So finally the mon- 
 ster was compelled to retire in the deep's of the lake by thunder 
 bolts. Before this calamity was forgotten another happened. 
 A blazing star fell into their fort, situated on the banks of the 
 St. Lawrence, and destroyed the people. Such a phenomenon 
 caused a great panic and consternation and dread, which they 
 regarded as ominious of their entire destruction. Not long 
 after this prediction of the blazing star it was verified. These 
 tribes, who were held together by feeble ties, fell into dispute 
 and wars among themselves, which were pursued through a 
 long period, until they had utterly destroyed each other, and 
 so reduced their numbers that the lands were again over-run 
 with wild beasts. 
 
 At this period there were six families took refuge in a large 
 cave in a mountain, where they dwelled for a long time. The 
 men would come out occasionally to hunt for food. This mam- 
 moth cave was situated at or near the falls of the Oswego 
 River. Taryenya-wa-gon (Holder of the Heavens) extricated 
 these six families from this subterraneous bowels and confines 
 
OF THE EROQtlOlSyOR SIX NATIONS. 43 
 
 of the mountain. They always looked to this divine messen- 
 ger, who had power to assume various shapes, as emergency 
 dictated, as the friend and patron of their nation. 
 
 As soon as they were released he gave them instructions re- 
 specting the mode of hunting, matrimony, worship and many 
 other things. He warned them against the evil spirit, and jrave 
 them corn, beans, squash, potatoes, tobacco, and do^s to hunt 
 their game. He bid them go toward the rising of the sun, and 
 he personally guided them, until they came to a river, which 
 they named Yehnonanatche (that is going around a mountain,) 
 now Mohawk, they went down the bank of the river and came 
 to where it discharges into a great river, running towards the 
 midway sun, they named it Skaw-nay-taw-ty (that is beyond 
 the pineries) now Hudson, and went down the banks of the 
 river and touched the bank of the great water. The company 
 made an encampment at this place and remained for a while. 
 The people was then of one language. Some of them went on 
 the banks of the great waters, towards the midway sun, and 
 never returned. But the company that remained at the camp 
 returned as they came along the bank of the river, under the 
 direction of Taryenyawagon (Holder of the Heavens). 
 
 This company were a particular body, which called them- 
 selves of one household. ' Of these there were six families, and 
 they entered into an agreement to preserve the chain of alliance 
 which should not be extinguished under any circumstance. 
 
 The company advanced some distance up the river of Skaw- 
 natawty (Hudson). The Holder of the Heavens directed the 
 first family to make their residence near the bank of the river, 
 and the family was named Tehawrogeh (that is, a speech di- 
 vided) now Mohawk. Their language soon changed. The 
 company then turned and went towards the sun-setting, and 
 traveled about two days and a half, then came to a creek, 
 which was named Kawnatawteruh (that is pineries). The 
 second family was directed to 'make their resident near the 
 creek ; and the family was named Nehawretahgo (that is big 
 
44 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 tree) now Oneida. Their language was changed likewise. The 
 company continued to proceed toward the sun-setting under the 
 direction of the Holder of the Heavens. The third family was 
 directed to make their residence on a mountain, named Onon- 
 daga (now Onondaga), and the family was named Seuhnowhah- 
 tah (that is, carrying the name.) Their language also changed. 
 The rest of the company continued their journey towards the 
 sun-setting. The fourth family was directed to make their 
 residence near a large lake, named Goyogoh (that is a moun- 
 tain rising from water) now Cayuga, and the family was named 
 Sho-nea-na-we-to-wah (that is a great pipe). Their language 
 was altered. The rest of the company kept their course to- 
 wards the sun-setting. The fifth family was directed to make 
 their residence near a high mountain, situated south of- Can- 
 andaigua Lake, which was named Tehow-nea-nyo-hent (that is 
 possessing a door) now Seneca. Their language was also 
 changed. The sixth, and last family, went on their journey 
 toward the sun-setting, until they touched the bank of the 
 great lake, which was named Kan-ha-g\va-rah-ka (that is a Cape) 
 now Erie, and then went toward, between the midway and 
 sun-setting, and traveled a great distance, when they came to 
 a large river, which was named O-nah-we-yo-ka (that is a prin- 
 cipal stream) now Mississippi. The people discovered a grape- 
 vine lying across the river, by which a part of the people went 
 over, but while they were crossing the vine broke. They were 
 divided, and became enemies to those that were over the river 
 in consequence of which, they were obliged to abandon the 
 journey. Those that went over the river were finally lost and 
 forgotten from the memory of those that remained on the 
 eastern banks. 
 
 Ta-ren-ya-wa-go (the Holder of the Heavens), who was the 
 patron of the five home bands, did not fail, in this crisis, to di- 
 rect them their way also. He instructed those on the eastern 
 bank the art of the bow and arrows, to f use for game and in 
 time of danger. After giving them suitable instructions, he 
 
<>K THE 1ROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 45 
 
 guided their footsteps in their journeys, south and east, until 
 they had crossed the Alleghany Mountains, and with some 
 wanderings they finally reached the shores of the sea, on the 
 coast which is now called the Carolinas. By this time their 
 language was changed. They were directed to fix their resi- 
 dence on the banks of the Gow-ta-no (that is, pine in the water) 
 now Neuse River, in North Carolina. Here Ta-ren-ya-wa-gon 
 left them to hunt, increase and prosper, whilst he returned to 
 direct the other five nations to form their confederacy. 
 
 Tarenyawagon united in one person the power of a God and 
 a man, and gave him the expressive name of the Holder of the 
 Heavens, and was capable of assuming any form or shape that 
 he chosed, but appeared to them only in the form of a man, 
 and taught them hunting, gardening, and the knowledge of 
 the arts of war. He imparted to them the knowledge of the 
 laws and government of the Great Spirit, and gave them di- 
 rections and encouragement how to fulfill their duties and ob- 
 ligations. He gave them corn, beans, and fruits of various 
 kinds, with the knowledge of planting those fruits. He taught 
 them how to kill and to cook the game. He made the forest 
 free to all the tribes to hunt, and removed obstructions from 
 the streams. He took his position, sometimes, on the top of 
 high cliffs, springing, if needs be, over frightful chasms ; 
 and he .flew, as it were, over great lakes in a wonderful canoe 
 of immaculate whiteness and of magic power. 
 
 Having finished his commission with the Tuscaroras at 
 Cautanoh, in North Carolina, and the other five families, 
 which were left at the north, he came down to closer terms and 
 intimacy with the Onondagas. He resolved to lay aside his 
 divine character and live among them, that he might exemplify 
 the maxims which he had taught. And for this purpose he 
 selected a handsome spot of ground on the southern banks of 
 Cross Lake, New York. Here he built his cabin, and from the 
 shores of this lake he went into the forest, like the rest of his 
 companions, in quest of game and fish. He took a wife of the 
 
46 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Onondagas, by whom he had an only daughter, whom he ten- 
 derly loved, and most kindly and carefully treated and in- 
 structed, so that she was known far and near as his favorite 
 child, and was regarded almost as a goddess. The excellence 
 of his character, and his great sagacity and good counsels, led 
 the people to regard him with veneration, and they gave him, 
 in his sublunary character, the name of Hi-a-wat-ha (a wise 
 man). People came to him from all quarters, and his abode 
 was thronged by all ages and conditions who came for advice. 
 
 He became the first chief of all the land, and whomsoever 
 he made his companions and friends were likewise clothed with 
 the authority of chiefs in the tribe. In this manner all power 
 came naturally into his hands, and the tribe rejoiced that they 
 had so wise and good a man as their ruler. For in those days 
 each tribe was independent of all others ; they had not yet 
 formed a league, but fought and made war with each other. 
 
 Nothing that belonged to Hiawatha, in his character of Ta- 
 renyawagon, was more remarkable than his light and magic 
 canoe, which shone with a supernatural lustre, and in which he 
 had performed so many of his extraordinary feats. This canoe 
 was laid aside when he came to fix his residence at Cross Lake, 
 and never used it but for great and extraordinary purposes. 
 When great councils were called, and he assembled the wise 
 men to deliberate together, the sacred canoe was carefully 
 lifted from the grand lodge ; and after these occasions were 
 ended, it was carefully returned to the same receptacle, on the 
 shoulders of men, who felt honored in being the bearers of such 
 a precious burden. 
 
 Thus passed away many years, and every year saw the people 
 increasing in numbers, skill, arts and bravery. It was among 
 the Onondagas that Tarenyawagon had located himself, 
 although he regarded the other tribes as friends and brothers ; 
 he had become indentified as an adopted member of this par- 
 ticular tribe. Under his teaching and influence they became 
 the first among all the original tribes, and rose to the highest 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 47 
 
 distinction in every art which was known to or prized by the 
 Akonoshuni (Iroquois). They were the wisest counsellors, the 
 best orators, the most expert hunters, and the bravest warriors. 
 They also afforded the highest examples of obedience to the 
 laws of the Great Spirit. If offences took place, Hiawatha re- 
 dressed them, and his wisdom and moderation preserved the 
 tribe from feuds. Hence, the Onondagas were early noted 
 among all the tribes for their pre-eminence. He appeared to 
 devote his chief attention to them, that he might afterwards 
 make them examples to the others, in arts and wisdom. They 
 were foremost in the overthrow of the Stonish Giants and the 
 killing of the great Serpent. To be an Onondaga was the 
 highest honor. 
 
 While Hiawatha was thus living in domestic life quietly 
 among the people of the hills, and administering their simple 
 government with wisdom, they became alarmed by the sudden 
 news of the approach of a furious and powerful enemy from 
 north of the great lakes. As the enemy advanced, they made 
 an indiscriminate slaughter of men, women and children. The 
 people fled from their villages a short time before them, and 
 there was no heart in the people to make a stand against such 
 powerful and ruthless invaders. In this emergency, they fled 
 to Hiawatha for his advice. He counseled them to call a gen- 
 eral council of all the tribes from the east and west. " For," 
 said he, " our strength is not in the war club and arrows alone, 
 but in wise counsels." He appointed a place on the banks of 
 Onondaga Lake for the meeting. It was a clear eminence 
 from which there was a wide prospect. Runners were dis- 
 patched in every direction, and the chiefs, warriors and head- 
 men forthwith assembled in great numbers/ bringing with 
 them, in the general alarm, their women and children. Fleets 
 of canoes were seen on the bosom of the lake, and every inte- 
 terior warpath was kept open by the foot-prints of the different 
 tribes, hurrying to obey the summons of Hiawatha. All but 
 the wise man himself had been there for three days, anxiously 
 
48 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 awaiting the arrival of Hiawatha, when a messenger was dis- 
 patched after him. They found him gloomy and depressed. 
 Some great burden appeared to hang on his mind. He told 
 them that evil lay on his path, and that he had fearful fore- 
 bodings of ill-fortune. He felt that he was called to make 
 some great sacrifice, but he did not know what it was, it seemed 
 to be hid from him. Least of all did he think it was to be his 
 daughter ; ever careful of her, he bade her kindly to accompany 
 him. Nothing happened to hinder, or at all interrupt their 
 voyage. The Talismanic canoe, which held them, gilded si- 
 lently down the waters of the Seneca ; not a paddle was nec- 
 essary to give it impetus,\vhile it pursued the downward course 
 of the stream till they reached the point of the lake outlet. At 
 this point Hiawatha took his paddle and gave it impetus against 
 the current, until they entered on the bright and calm surface 
 of the Onondaga, cradled, as this blue sheet of water is, among 
 the lofty and far-swelling hills. When the white canoe of the 
 venerable chief appeared, a shout of welcome rang among 
 those hills. The day was calm and serene. No wind ruffled the 
 lake, and scarcely a cloud floated in the sky above. But while 
 the wise man was measuring his steps towards the place 
 designated for the council, and \vhile ascending from the wa- 
 ter's edge, a rumbling and low sound was heard, as if it were 
 caused by the approach of a violent, rushing wind. Instantly 
 all the eyes were turned upwards, where a small and compact 
 mass of cloudy darkness appeared. It gathered in size and 
 velocity as it approached, and appeared to be directed inevit- 
 ably to fall in the midst of the assembly. Every one fled in 
 consternation but Hiawatha and his daughter. He stood 
 erect, with ornaments waving in his frontlet, and besought his 
 daughter calmly to await the issue, 4i for it is impossible," said 
 he, " to escape the power of the Great Spirit If he has deter- 
 mined our destruction we cannot, by running, fly from him." 
 She modestly assented and they stood together, while horror 
 was depicted in the faces of the others. But the force of the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 49 
 
 descending body was that of a sudden storm. They had 
 hardly taken the resolution to halt when an immense bird, 
 with long, extended wings, came down with swoop. This 
 gigantic agent of the sky came with such force that the assem- 
 bly felt the shock. The girl being in a nature, and embodied 
 in the combination of the Terrestial and Celestial nature, was 
 beautiful and fascinating in her looks and form, was borne 
 away by this Celestial Bird to be seen no more upon the earth. 
 But Hiawatha was inconsolable for his loss. He grieved sore- 
 ly, day and night, and wore a desponding and dejected coun- 
 tenance. But these were only faint indications of the feelings 
 of his heart. He threw himself upon the ground, and refused 
 to be comforted. He seemed dumb with melancholy, and the 
 people were concerned of his life. He spoke nothing ; he made 
 no answers to questions put to him, and laid still as if dead. 
 After several days the council appointed a certain merry- 
 hearted Chief to make him a visit, and to whisp'er a word of 
 consolation in his ears to arouse him from his stupor. The 
 result was successful. He approached with ceremonies and 
 induced him to arise, and named the time when the council 
 would convene. Yet haggard with grief, he called for refresh- 
 ments and ate. He then adjusted his wardrobe and head-dress 
 and went to the cpuncil. He drew his robe of wolf-skin grace- 
 fully around him, and walked to his seat at the head of the 
 assembled chiefs with a majestic step. Stiliness and the most 
 profound attention reigned in the council while he presided, 
 and the discussion opened and proceeded. The subject of the 
 invasion was handled by several of the ablest counselors and 
 the bravest warriors. Various plans were proposed to defeat 
 the enemy. Hiawatha listened with silence until all had fin- 
 ished speaking. His opinion was then asked. After a brief 
 allusion of the calamity which had befallen him through the 
 descent of the great bird by the Great Spirit, he spoke to the 
 following effect : 
 
 " I have listened to the words of the wise men and brave 
 (6) 
 
5O LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 chiefs, but it is not fitting that we should do a thing of so 
 much importance in haste ; it is a subject demanding calm re- 
 flection and mature deliberation. Let us postpone the decision 
 for one day. During this time we will weigh well the words 
 of the speakers who have already spoken. If they are good, 
 I will then approve of them. If they are not, I will then open 
 to you my plan. It is one which I have reflected on, and feel 
 confident that it will insure safety." 
 
 When another day had expired, the council again met. 
 Hiawatha entered the assembly with even more than ordinary 
 attention, and every eye was fixed upon him, when he began 
 to address the council in the following words : 
 
 " Friends and Brothers : You being members of many 
 tribes, you have come from a great distance ; the voice of war 
 has aroused you up ; you are afraid of your homes, your wives 
 and your children ; you tremble for your safety. Believe me, 
 I am with you. My heart beats with your hearts. We are 
 one. We have one common object. We come to promote 
 our common interest, and to determine how this can be best 
 done. 
 
 " To oppose those hordes of northern tribes, singly and 
 alone, would prove certain destruction. We can make .no 
 progress in that way. We must unite ourselves into one com- 
 mon band of brothers. We must have but one voice. Many 
 voices makes confusion. We must have one fire, one pipe and 
 one war club. This will give us strength. If our warriors are 
 united they can defeat the enemy and drive them from our 
 land ; if we do this, we are safe. 
 
 " Onondaga, you are the people sitting under the shadow of 
 the Great Tree, whose branches spread far and wide, and whose 
 roots sink deep into the earth. You shall be the first nation, 
 because you are warlike and mighty. 
 
 " Oneida, and you, the people who recline your bodies 
 against the Everlasting Stone, that cannot be moved, shall be 
 the second nation, because you always give good counsel. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 51 
 
 " Seneca, and you, the people who have your habitation at 
 the foot of the Great Mountain, and are overshadowed by its 
 crags, shall be the third nation, because you are all greatly 
 gifted in speech. 
 
 " Cayuga, you, whose dwelling is in the Dark Forest, and 
 whose home is everywhere, shall be the fourth nation, because 
 of your superior cunning in hunting. 
 
 " Mohawk, and you, the people who live in the open coun- 
 try, and possess much wisdom, shall be the fifth nation, because 
 you understand better the art of raising corn and beans and 
 making cabins. 
 
 "You five great and powerful nations, with your tribes, 
 must unite and have one common interest, and no foes shall 
 disturb or subdue you. 
 
 " And you of the different nations of the south, and you of 
 the west, may place yourselves under our protection, and we 
 will protect you. We earnestly desire the alliance and friend- 
 ship of you all. 
 
 " And from you, Squaw-ki-haws (being a remote branch of 
 the Seneca Nation), being the people who are as the Feeble 
 Bushes, shall be chosen a Virgin, who shall be the peace- 
 maker for all the nations of the earth, and more particularly 
 the favored Ako-no-shu-ne, which name this confederacy shall 
 ever sustain. If we unite in one band the Great Spirit will 
 smile upon us, and we shall be free, prosperous and happy ; 
 but if we shall remain as we are we shall incur his displeasure. 
 We shall be enslaved, and perhaps annihilated forever. 
 
 " Brothers, these are the words of Hiawatha. Let them 
 sink deep into your hearts. I have done." 
 
 A deep and impressive silence followed the delivery of this 
 speech. On the following day the council again assembled to 
 act on it. High wisdom recommended this deliberation. 
 
 The union of the tribes into one confederacy was discussed 
 and unanimously adopted. To denote the character and inti- 
 macy of the union they employed the figure of a single 
 
52 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 council-house, or lodge, whose boundaries be co-extensive with 
 their territories. Hence the name of Ako-no-shu-ne, who were 
 called the Iroquois. 
 
 The great. bird which visited them from heaven brought a 
 precious gift to the warriors in the white plumes which she 
 shed at the visit. Every warrior, as he approached the spot 
 where they fell, picked up a feather of snowy white to adorn 
 his crown ; and the celestial visitant thus became the means of 
 furnishing the aspirants of military fame with an emblem 
 which was held in the highest estimation. Succeeding genera- 
 tions imbibed the custom from this incident to supply them- 
 selves with a plumage approaching it as nearly as possible; 
 they selected the plume of the white heron. 
 
 At the formation of the confederacy Ato-ta-rho, being con- 
 sidered next in wisdom and all other traits of character which 
 constitutes the necessary qualifications of an honored Sachem, 
 was ordained as the heacl Sachem of the confederacy, which 
 office has been transmitted down to succeeding generations of 
 the Onondaga Nation to the present time. 
 
 Hiawatha, the guardian and founder of the league, having 
 now accomplished the w r ill of the Great Spirit, and the with- 
 drawal of his daughter having been regarded by him as a sign 
 that his mission was ended, he immediately prepared to make 
 his final departure. Before the great council, which had 
 adopted his advice just before dispersing, he arose, with a dig- 
 nified air, and addressed them in the following manner : 
 
 " Friends and Brothers :~ I have now fulfilled my mission 
 here below ; I have furnished you seeds and grains for your 
 gardens ; I have removed obstructions from your waters, and 
 made the forest habitable by teaching you how to expel its 
 monsters ; I have given you fishing, places and hunting 
 grounds ; I have instructed you in the making and using of 
 war implements ; I have taught you how to cultivate corn, and 
 many other arts and gifts. I have been allowed by the Great 
 Spirit to communicate to you. Last of all, I have aided you 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 53 
 
 to form a league of friendship and union. If you preserve 
 this, and admit no foreign element of power by the admission 
 of other nations, you will always be free, numerous and happy. 
 If other tribes and nations are admitted to your councils, they 
 will sow the seed of jealousy and discord, and you will become 
 few, feeble and enslaved. 
 
 " Friends and brothers, these are the last words you will 
 hear from the lips of Hiawatha. The Great Creator of our 
 bodies calls me to go ; I have patiently awaited his summons ; 
 I am ready to go. Farewell." 
 
 As the voice of the wise man ceased, sweet strains of music 
 from the air burst on the ears of the multitude. The whole 
 sky appeared to be filled with melody ; and while all eyes were 
 directed to catch glimpses of the sights, and enjoy strains of 
 the celestial music that filled the sky, Hiawatha was seen, 
 seated in his snow-white canoe, amid the air, rising, rising 
 with every choral chant that burst out. As he rose the sound 
 of the music became more soft and faint, until he vanished 
 amid the summer clouds, and the melody ceased. Thus ter- 
 minated the labors and cares of the long-cherished memory 
 of Ta-ren-ya-wa-gon. 
 
 I will now resume the history of the sixth and last family, 
 the Tuscarora On-gwe-hon-wa, that were left at the Neuse 
 river, or Gan-ta-no. Here they increased in numbers, valor 
 and skill, and in all knowledge of the arts necessary in forest 
 life. The country was wide and covered with dense wilder- 
 ness, large rivers and lakes, which gave shelter to many fierce 
 animals and monsters which beset their pathways and kept 
 them in dread. Now the Evil Spirit also plagued them with 
 monstrous visitations. They were often induced to change 
 their locations ; sometimes from fear of enemies and sometimes 
 from epidemics, or some strange visitations. 
 
54 
 
 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 I will now relate a few of the monsters that plagued them : 
 The first enemy that appeared to question their power or dis- 
 turb their peace was the fearful phenomenon of Ko-nea-rah- 
 yah-neh, or the flying heads. The heads were enveloped in 
 beard and hair, flaming like fire ; they were of monstrous size, 
 and shot through the air with the speed of meteors. Human 
 power was not adequate to cope with them. The priests pro- 
 nounced them a flowing power of some mysterious influence, 
 and it remained with the priests alone to expel them by their 
 magic power. 
 
 FLYING HEAD AND WOMAN SITTING BY THE FIRE. 
 
 Drum and rattle and enchantments were deemed more 
 effective than arrows or clubs. One evening, after they 
 had been plagued a long time with fearful visitations, the fly- 
 ing head came to the door of a lodge occupied by a single 
 female and her dog. She was sitting composedly before the 
 fire roasting acorns, which, as they became cooked, she delib- 
 erately took from the fire and ate. Amazement seized the 
 flying head, who put out two huge black paws from under his 
 streaming beard. Supposing the woman to be eating live 
 coals he withdrew, and from that time he came no more 
 among them. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 55 
 
 And they were also invaded by a still more fearful enemy, 
 the Ot-nea-yar-heh, or Stonish Giants. They were a powerful 
 tribe from the wilderness, tall, fierce and hostile, and resistance 
 to them was vain. They defeated and overwhelmed an army 
 which was sent out against them, and put the whole country 
 in fear. These giants were not only of great strength, but 
 they were cannibals, devouring men, women and children in 
 their inroads. 
 
 STOMSll ulANT CHASING INDIANS. 
 
 It is said by the Shawnees that these giants were descended 
 from a certain family which was journeying on the east side of 
 the Mississippi. After some of them had crossed the river on 
 a vine it broke, which left the main body on the east bank of 
 the river. Those who were on the west side of the river went 
 toward the northwest. Being abandoned in their wanderings, 
 and being vagrants, without any knowledge of the arts of life, 
 they forgot the rules of humanity. They at first began to eat 
 their game in the raw flesh, which led them finally to become 
 cannibals, and they practiced to roll themselves in the sand, 
 which caused their bodies to be covered with a hard skin, so 
 
56 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 that the arrows of the Tuscaroras only rattled against their 
 rough bodies and fell at their feet. And the consequence was, 
 that they were obliged to hide in caves and glens, and were 
 brought into subjection by those fierce invaders for many win- 
 ters. At length the Holder of the Heavens visited his people, 
 and finding that they were in great distress, he determined to 
 relieve them of these barbarous invaders. To accomplish this 
 he changed himself as into one of those giants. As you will 
 remember, it is said that he was able to change himself into 
 any shape that he wished. He then joined himself with the 
 invaders, and brandishing his heavy war-club, led them on un- 
 der the pretence of finding the other five nations, which they 
 were also in the habit of visiting. When they came near to 
 the strong fort at Onondaga, they being weary of the long 
 journey, and the night being dark, their leader bade them lie 
 down at the foot of a mountain until the customary time to. 
 make the attack, which was at the break of day. But during 
 the night the Indian benefactor ascended the height and over- 
 whelmed the slumberers below with a vast mass of rocks. At 
 this catastrophe only one escaped to carry the news of their 
 dreadful fate, and he fled toward the north. 
 
 The Tuscaroras and the other five nations were so much 
 troubled with giants and other monsters that they were obliged 
 to build forts to protect themselves. The way they built them 
 was always by selecting an eminence, or rocky cliff, and on the 
 back part was dug a trench according to the plan of the fort. 
 Then timbers were set in the trench upright, projecting 
 above the ground several feet, and being adjusted together as 
 close as possible, and the trench being filled in again. They 
 had two gates, one way to get their water, the other for- a 
 sally port. 
 
 They were also molested by a terrific animal which they 
 called Ro-qua-ho a variegated lizzard a swift runner and 
 strikes very violent blows with its tail, which destroyed many 
 hunters while lying in lurk for them. One day while a party 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 57 
 
 of hunters were on their journey to camp-out for the purpose 
 of hunting, the party consisting of four, they came to a very 
 large hollow tree where they noticed quite a number of great 
 marks of claws on the bark of the tree. Supposing it to be 
 the lodge of bears, they laid their bundles down and made 
 ready for their game. One of them bounded on the tree and 
 climbed it, and he struck the trunk of the tree several times. 
 When the supposed bear appeared, to their consternation it 
 was found to be the enemy they so much dreaded, the Ro- 
 qua-ho. The person on the tree only stepped behind it and 
 the other three ran away for their lives. The Ro-qua-ho came 
 down and pursued them, and while yet in sight one was caught, 
 killed and brought back, and he carried the body into the tree. 
 Then- he went after the second which was brought in a short 
 time, after which, he went for the third ; then the one on the 
 tree came down and ran away also. While on his way he 
 heard a voice calling him ; he stopped, and behold, a man of 
 stately form, with long flowing hair stood and said, " Why run? 
 I have seen the distress of my people, I have come to deliver 
 them out of trouble; now confide in me and we will prevail. 
 I am your benefactor, Tarenyawagon. Get behind me, the 
 enemy is approaching." 
 
 In the twinkling of an eye this Celestial being was changed, 
 and assumed himself into a great white bear. When the Ro- 
 quaho came a great struggle ensued, but with the help of the 
 man the enemy was killed. 
 
 They were again molested by an extraordinary and ferocious 
 animal in various places a mammoth bear. One morning 
 while a party of hunters were in their camp, they were alarm- 
 ed by a great tumult breaking out from the forest. Upon 
 going to ascertain the cause of this extraordinary noise, they 
 saw the great monster on the bank pawing and rolling stones 
 and logs in every direction, exhibiting the utmost rage. 
 Another great animal of the cat kind appeared, and seized the 
 bear and a dreadful fight ensued. In the end the bear got the 
 
 (7) 
 
58 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 worst of it and retired horribly mangled, and never was heard 
 of afterwards. 
 
 After a while a pestiferous and annoying creature of the 
 insect kind appeared in the guise of the Ro-tay-yo (a huge 
 mosquito). It first appeared among the Tuscaroras along the 
 Neuse river. It flew about with vast wings, making a loud 
 noise, with a long stinger ; and on whomsoever it lighted it 
 sucked out all the blood and killed them. Many warriors 
 were destroyed in this way, and all attempts made to subdue 
 it were vain ; but at length it retired of itself. Next they 
 heard that it appeared about the fort at Onondaga, where it 
 also destroyed many lives, until Tarenyawagon made a visit to 
 the ruler of the Onondagas. The great mosquito happened to 
 come flying about the fort as usual at that time. Tarenya- 
 wago immediately made his attack, but such was the rapidity 
 of its flight, that he could scarcely keep in sight of it. He 
 chased it around the borders of the great lakes, towards the 
 sun-setting, and around the great country at large, east and 
 west. At last he overtook it, and took his strong bow and 
 sent an arrow which struck him through the heart and killed 
 him, near Gen-an-do-a (the salt lake of Onondaga). From the 
 blood flowing out on this occasion were the present species of 
 small mosquito originated. 
 
 I have now related a few of the tragedies of the dark recess- 
 es of the forest, from the many that our tradition relates. 
 
 There was also a little old man of singular appearance that 
 frequented among them at their ball plays, and did not seem 
 to be inclined to make acquaintance with any one, but kept 
 by himself and appeared to be mild and humble. At length 
 this man became very sick with putrefying sores from head to 
 foot and was very loathesome. Nobody knew who he was or 
 where he came from ; he had no home ; he gave his name as 
 Qua-ra, or Rabbit ; he went from house to house of all the 
 different clans or tribes in the nation, as for instance, the Eel, 
 Snipe, Beaver, Turtle, Wolf, Deer. When he would approach 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 59 
 
 the house, seemingly to go in, they would loathe him to enter, 
 and when he came to the doorstep he would seem to hear 
 their thoughts and then return ; thus he was repulsed from all 
 the houses of the above clans, he finally came to the house of 
 the Bear clan. When the mistress of the house observed him 
 coming, she had pity on him, and presently prepared a bed for 
 him with the best deerskins she had ; when he came to the 
 door he knew her hospitable heart and went in. She immedi- 
 ately assured him of his welcome in her meanly hut, and that 
 she was ready to do everything in her power to relieve his dis- 
 tress, and appointed his lodge where he had laid himself near- 
 ly exhausted. He then told her to go and get the root of a 
 certain kind of plant, which she immediately did and prepared 
 according to his direction, which he took and readily recovered. 
 He then went through a series of diseases, directing her as 
 before to get the different kind of medicines for the different 
 diseases. Lastly, he became sick with that fatal disease, con- 
 sumption. This he said was incurable, and he must die. He 
 then told her he was a messenger from Tarenyawagon, to show 
 them the diseases that they should be subjected to, and also 
 the medicine to cure them. And also to tell them the predic- 
 tions of their fate and dcom. Said he could not withhold the 
 water from his eyes, or keep from quaking when he thought 
 of their irrevocable doom to which they were destined, and 
 said : " There is a habitation beyond these great waters to- 
 wajds the sun-rising, which are inhabited by beings of very 
 pale faces, and are looking only to themselves, have pity for 
 nobody, and make their delight in doing mischief. They have 
 killed Rah-wah-ne-yo (God) ; they mocked him and done all 
 manner of bad things to him, and finally, they fastened him to 
 a tree until he died. But death and the grave had not power 
 to hold kirn. He arose and lives again, and he has gone to 
 the world above, in those happy hunting grounds where all 
 good O-qua-ho-wa (Indians), uill go when they die, and will 
 see him as he is. 
 
60 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 " Now this class of pale-faces will come across the great wa- 
 ters and make their abode on this island, and will bring poison 
 to give you to drink, which will poison the spirit and kill the 
 body. They will kill your husbands, brothers and sons, and 
 drive you away to the sun-setting, and will deprive the child- 
 ren that are coming behind, off their domain. They will drive 
 you until you are in the great salt water up to your waist. 
 Oh, hostess, this is the final doom of your great nation. 
 
 " And now as for you, Oh, mother, I have no words that I 
 can utter, to express the sincere gratitude of my inmost soul. 
 I have nothing to give to compensate you for all the tender- 
 ness you have given me. But my blessings I will leave with 
 you. I place in the midst of your clan, the Bear, a ma- 
 jestic pine tree, which is ever green, and as the top reaches 
 above all other trees, so will your clan be. Wherever the na- 
 tion will be driven to, your clan will multiply aboVe all others, 
 and be the ruler of the nation. This is all I have to deliver 
 unto you. I now commend myself to that Great Spirit that 
 has made us all, who ruleth above." 
 
 Thus ended the last messenger of Tarenyawagon, who is 
 now basking in the pleasures of that hunting ground in the 
 world above. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 6l 
 
 TUSCARORA. 
 
 Before the discovery, by Columbus, the Tuscartfras consisted 
 of six towns, and they were a powerful nation, numbering over 
 twelve hundred warriors, which, at a ratio according to the rule 
 of estimating, would bring them at about five or six thousand 
 souls. 
 
 The Tuscaroras had many years of enjoyment and peaceful 
 possession of their domain, consisting of six towns on the Ro- 
 anoke, Neuse, Taw and Pemlico rivers, in the State of North 
 Carolina. And they were also confederated to six other 
 nations, which were the Corees, Mattamuskeets, Notaways 
 and the Bear River Indians ; the names of the other two 
 nations I have been unable to obtain. My readers will readily 
 see why some writers have it that they consisted in twelve 
 towns, and other writers would have it that they consisted 
 in six towns. The real Tuscaroras consisted in six towns ; but 
 with the confederate nations, altogether, were known to be in 
 twelve towns, and all these different nations which composed 
 the confederacy went under the name of Tuscarora, the Tus- 
 caroras being the most powerful of the several nations. 
 
 The tradition of the Tuscaroras admits of having captured 
 Lawson and his party, and executed some of them to death' on 
 account of their encroachments upon their domain ; but con- 
 cerning the massacre of Oct. 2d, 1711, the Tuscaroras emphat- 
 ically deny having taken any part in the affair whatever, offic- 
 
62 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 ially. The project was presented to them and in the council 
 of the sachems, chiefs and warriors, they emphatically declined 
 taking any part in such a movement, but said if the colonists 
 made encroachments and trespass on their domain, it is no 
 more than right and just that we defend our rights, and even 
 cautioned their young men that they should not take any part 
 whatever in the action; but, nevertheless, there were a few of 
 the rash and reckless warriors that took part in the disorder. 
 
 The Corees, Mattamuskeets, and Bear River Indians seemed 
 to be the instigators of the project ; but there were several 
 other nations that took part in the massacre. These three na- 
 tions being considered Tuscaroras, on account of the confeder- 
 acy, and the capture of Lawson and his party a little previous 
 to this time by the Tuscaroras, led the colonists to conclude 
 that it was the Tuscaroras who caused the disaster, and to 
 them was directed the feud of the colonists. 
 
 A little previous to these disorders, it seems that there were 
 some white men, as our tradition states, with long coats and 
 wide brimmed hats, visited several nations of the Indians in 
 that neighborhood, and appeared to be very friendly toward 
 them, wished them success in everything, and told them that 
 those settlers who were on the borders of their lands and con- 
 stantly encroaching and committing depredations upon the 
 Indians, were not of the government, but were merely squat- 
 ters, who settled there of their own accord, and if they were 
 cut off, there would be none to avenge them, and were advised 
 to do so. 
 
 It has always been a question in my mind who those white 
 men were, to give such rash advice. Were they Quakers ? 
 But what motive had they in advising, from which so great a 
 disaster was the result ? Or, were they men in disguise, from 
 the county of Bath, in which the massacre was committed, to 
 make the Indians believe that they were Quakers, as the two 
 counties were in arms against each other at that time. 
 
OF THE 1ROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 63 
 
 To coroborate the tradition above, I would call your atten- 
 tion to part of a letter from President Pollock to Lord Craven, 
 in the year 1712, who attributes the calamity thus : 
 
 41 Our divisions," says he, " chiefly occasioned by the Quak- 
 ers, and some other ill-disposed persons, have been the cause 
 of all the troubles, for the Indians were informed by some of 
 the traders that the people who lived here are only a few vag- 
 abonds, who had run away from other governments and set- 
 tled here of their own accord, without any authority, so that if 
 they were cut off, there would be none to revenge them. This 
 with their seeing our differences rise to such a heighth, that 
 consisting of two counties only, were in arms one against the 
 other, encouraged them to fall upon the county of Bath, ex- 
 pecting it would have no assistance from this nor any other 
 of the English plantations. This is the chief cause that moved 
 the Indians to rise against us, as far as I understand." 
 
 The Tuscaroras never had the inclination of cutting off the 
 inhabitance of the pale faces. Nevertheless, they did not al- 
 ways remain idle or unconcerned spectators of the feuds and 
 dissensions that so long prevailed among the white people, to- 
 ward the red men. The successive and regular encroachmants 
 on their hunting grounds and plantations, which the increase 
 of the European population occasioned, had not always been 
 submitted to without murmur. 
 
 Although they were pleased with the neighbors, from whom 
 they had trade for their furs, and could procure spirituous 
 liquors and other articles, which tended to the gratification of 
 their real or imaginary wants. And they were required to sur- 
 render larger and larger portions of their domain, and at last, 
 the removal of families from the neighborhood of their long 
 cherished memories of the graves of their ancestors, to the 
 more distant and less valuable tracts of land. Other causes of 
 animosity and ill-will were not wanting. Their hunters were 
 shot down like so many beasts, at the edge of the settlement, 
 killed in their wigwams, their young females' chastity violated, 
 
64 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 and many other things might be related, which their tradition 
 shows. But I have neither heart nor inclination to bring to a 
 resurrection the long gone-by memories of our forefathers. I 
 would that. all were cast into oblivion, where might not be 
 found neither trace nor track; but rather that the chain of 
 friendship which has existed for more than a century between 
 the Tuscaroras and the United States Government may be 
 made brighter and brighter as time rolls on. 
 
 I have said that the Tuscaroras never had the inclination of 
 cutting off the first colonies, and if that were their desire, 
 how readily would they have excepted the advice of President 
 Thomas Carey, through one of his counsel Edward Porter 
 in the year 1710, of which you will find in Martin's History of 
 'North Carolina a difficulty between Gov. Hyde and the above, 
 to-wit.: " Before any relief could be sent he attempted the 
 landing of some of his men under fire of his brig, but they 
 were repulsed by the militia of the neighborhood, which Gov. 
 Hyde had time to collect. They returned on board, and their 
 Chief sought a safe retreat in the swamps of the Tar river, 
 where he raised his standard and endeavored to bring the Tus- 
 carora Indians into an alliance. For this purpose he dispatched 
 to them Edward Porter, one of his counsel, who endeavored 
 by promises of great rewards to induce them to cut off all the 
 inhabitants of that part of the province who adhered to Gov. 
 Hyde. This was acceded to by some of his young warriors, 
 but when the matter was debated in council the old men dis- 
 suaded them from listening to Porter." 
 
 Now, did not some of Carey's men go afterwards to some of 
 the neighboring Indian nations and induced them, in the year 
 1710, to commit the massacre? 
 
 I suppose to the critical reader, and to the people generally, 
 my writing will appear to them fictitious, because of their first 
 impression, which has been taught them by many historians. 
 Historians generally have given only one side of the story, 
 and have avoided, as much as possible, to give the history of 
 
OF Tl^E IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 65 
 
 the wrongs done to the Tuscaroras, but they are very scrupu- 
 lous to preserve the history of the capture of Lawson, his 
 execution and of the massacre, which they allege to have been 
 committed by the Tuscaroras, and are styled by many as being 
 inimical, haughty, jealous, warlike bloodhounds, bloodthirsty 
 and scarcely to be human. These are the first impressions 
 made by the historians upon the mind of the world. I suppose, 
 for the purpose of getting a general verdict, that it was right ; 
 that they were crushed as a nation, their domain snatched 
 from them, driven into the cold world, and not a word has 
 been written by historians, or the Tuscaroras themselves, to 
 vindicate their cause. 
 
 But with all the great tide of prejudiced feelings towards 
 the Tuscaroras, I have ventured to write their history as I have 
 received it, and think it to be true. 
 
 After the massacre, and the Tuscaroras heard it reported 
 that they were charged with being the author of the disaster, 
 they immediately sent messengers and denied the charge of 
 having officially taken any part in the disorder, but acknowl- 
 edged that a few of the reckless and lawless warriors did take 
 part against their admonitions, but they were willing to make 
 all the restoration that was in their power to do, and would 
 fight for them if necessary. At different times they petitioned, 
 remonstrated and supplicated for peace, which was slighted 
 and disregarded, and only produced more violence and insult. 
 
 Notice what Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, said concern- 
 ing the Tuscaroras, to-wit : 
 
 " On the first of the disaster I sent a detachment' of the 
 militia to the tributary Indians of this province to prevent 
 them from joining in the war, and understanding that the In- 
 dians in some of the Tuscarora towns had refused to march 
 against the whites, sent a messenger to invite them, with the 
 rest of the friendly tribes, to a conference at the Nottoway 
 line, on the southern border of Virginia, where he met them 
 on the /th of November." 
 (8) 
 
66 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND "LAWS 
 
 " The Governor, after entering into some conversation with 
 the Chiefs, had the pleasure of finding the report which his 
 messengers had made, from their observations while in the 
 Tuscarora towns, that they were very desirous of continuing 
 in peace, and were greatly concerned that any of their nation 
 should have joined in the massacre." 
 
 The Chiefs, after accounting for the delay that occurred, ex- 
 pressed the desire of the Indians of their towns to continue in 
 strict friendship with the whites, and assist them in chastising 
 the authors of the late disorder. 
 
 " But now an unfortunate difference arose between the Gov- 
 ernor and the burgesses, the latter insisting on the passage of 
 a bill for raising an army in Virginia, without trusting to the 
 sincerity of the profession of the Tuscarora Chiefs. The 
 Governor refusing to accede to this proposition, and declin- 
 ing to co-operate in their plans, the dispute ended by. a disso- 
 lution of the assembly." 
 
 There was at one time a treaty of peace concluded between 
 the Sachems and Chiefs of the Tuscaroras and Governor Spots- 
 wood, of Virginia, and one of the conditions of the treaty was 
 to help in chastising the authors of the late massacre. In 
 conformity with this pledge the Tuscaroras made an attack on 
 the Mattamuskeets, where they obtained thirty scalps and 
 presented them to the authorities of the whites, of which they 
 pretended to be pleased. I don't doubt but that they were 
 really pleased, but not with any good feelings towards the 
 Tuscaroras. I suppose the object was to get .all the other In- 
 dian nations alienated from them, so that in due time they 
 might be easily conquered, because they were the nation that 
 the whites seemed bent on destroying. The Tuscaroras had 
 faith in the treaty, but only to disappoint them in the thought 
 of having the dark cloud which hung so glowingly over them 
 taken away. It is said by historians that the Tuscaroras dis- 
 regarded the treaty and began hostilities. But I will relate a 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 67 
 
 tradition, handed down from generation to generation, which 
 is as follows, to-wit : 
 
 Some little time after the treaty concluded, several white 
 men went into one of their towns and said that they were sent 
 by the government to distribute among them an annuity of 
 goods in token of friendship ; and also said, " In token of your 
 sincerity to the treaty of peace, you will all repair to a place 
 where there is a cord stretched out in a straight line, you must 
 all take hold of the line with your right hand, and all those 
 that refuse to take hold will be considered as hostile and will 
 be omitted in the distribution of the goods." They all went 
 to the place designated and found the cord strung out for 
 nearly a mile ; at one end of it was a bundle covered with 
 cloth, which, as they supposed, contained the goods ; so the 
 unsuspecting Indians, women and children, with eager hearts, 
 laid hold on the rope. When it was thought that they were 
 in a proper position, the white men all at once uncovered the 
 supposed goods, which was a large cannon, and being prepared 
 to shoot in a line with the cord it was at once fired and roared 
 like thunder. In a moment the ground along the cord was 
 strewn with the meats of the Tuscaroras. This is one of the 
 effects of the treaty at that time. 
 
 I will copy a report of Governor Spotswood to the Lord's 
 Commissioners of Trade, in the year 1711, to-wit : 
 
 " Had they," said he, " really intended to carry on the war 
 against the Indians, they could not have done it in a more 
 frugal way than by the treaty I concluded with the Tuscarora 
 chiefs. 
 
 " Indeed, some of that house, since the dissolution, own 
 more freely than they would do while sitting, that most of the 
 irregularities of their proceedings are owing to some rash 
 votes, passed without foresight, which they could not after- 
 wards get over without breaking the rules of their house ; and 
 so they chose, rather, to let the country suffer than to own 
 in an error. 
 
68 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 ' Some of the Tuscarora chiefs have lately been with Gov- 
 ernor Spotswood, of Virginia, and pretend a great inclination 
 to peace. 
 
 " They are again to be with him on the 26th of this month ; 
 we are to send two agents to meet them there Mr. Tobias 
 Knight and Mayor Christophe Gale not with any expectation 
 that the Governor will make any treaty for us, for that would 
 be dishonorable- to your lordship and make us appear con- 
 temptible in the eyes of the Indians, but with a view to hear 
 what they have to propose." 
 
 I might quote many more passages similar to those above, 
 but let these few suffice to show how the Tuscaroras were 
 treated. Now, finally, with a combination of causes, they 
 were, in 1713, crushed and broken down as a nation, to satisfy 
 the inclinations of the white people, persecutions being kept 
 up by neighboring whites and southern Indians until June fol- 
 lowing. The Oneida Indians, having heard of 'the disaster to 
 the Tuscarora Nation, invited them to come and make their 
 dwelling among them ; so, accordingly, they left Carolina and 
 took their journey north to rejoin their sister nations. 
 
 Methink I can'see them leaving their once cherished homes 
 the aged, the helpless, the women and children, and the 
 warriors faint and few the ashes are cold on their native 
 hearth ; the smoke no more curls round their lowly cabin ; 
 they move on with slow, unsteady steps ; they turn to take a 
 last look upon their doomed village and cast a last glance 
 upon the long cherished memories of their fathers' graves. 
 They shed no tears ; they utter no cries ; they heave no groans ; 
 they linger but a moment. They know and feel that there is 
 for them still one more remove further, not distant nor unseen. 
 One bright, sunny June morning, in the year Ij8^3> was one 
 of the darkest days that the Tuscaroras ever witnessed, when 
 most of the nation took their pace to the north until they 
 came within the bounds of the Oneida domain, about two 
 miles west of Tamaqua, in the state of Pennsylvania, where 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 69 
 
 they located and set out apple trees which can be seen to this 
 day ; some of the trees will measure about two feet in diam- 
 eter. Here they dwelled for about two years. 
 
 In about the year 1815, the Iroquois, being the Mohawk, 
 Onondaga, Seneca, Oneida and Cayuga nations, which were 
 then called the five nations, had a general council where the 
 Tuscarora made an application through their brothers the 
 Oneida, to be admitted into the Iroquois and become the sixth 
 nation, on the grounds of a common generic origin, which was 
 granted them unanimously. Then the Seneca adopted the 
 Tuscarora as their children. Ever since that time to the present, 
 if a Seneca addresses the Tuscaroras, he will invariably salute 
 them as " my sons," in social or in council ; and also the Tus- 
 caroras in return will say " my fathers." The relation has 
 always been kept up to the present. 
 
 The Tuscaroras were then initiated without enlarging the 
 frame-work of the confederacy and formation of the League, 
 by allowing them their own Sachems and Chiefs, which they 
 had as hereditary from their nation in the south, except on 
 which they gave, as the Holder of the Tree, to sit and enjoy 
 a nominal equality in the councils of the League, by the cour- 
 tesy of the other five nations. They were not dependent, but 
 were admitted to as full an equality as could be granted them 
 without enlarging the frame-work of the confederacy. In the 
 councils of the League they had no national designation. 
 They were then assigned a portion of the Oneidas' territory, 
 which is lying upon the Unadilla river on the east, the Chen- 
 ango on the west, and the Susquehanna on the south, where 
 they dwelled and enjoyed their peace again for about seventy 
 years. In 1736 they numbered 200 warriors of fighting men. 
 
 We again hear of the Tuscarora by history, concerning a 
 massacre of the German Flats, N. Y., in November, 1757. 
 
 A narrative communicated to the author of the Docu- 
 mentary History of New York, vol. 2, page 520, viz: "A few 
 days after this massacre and desolation had been perpetrated, 
 
70 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Sir William Johnson dispatched Geo. Croghan, Esq., Deputy 
 Agent, with Mr. Montour, the Indian interpreter, to the Ger- 
 man Flats, where he understood several of the Oneida and 
 Tuscarora Indians were assembled, in order to call upon them 
 to explain why they had not given more timely notice to the 
 Germans of the designs and approach of the enemy, it having 
 been reported that no intelligence had been given by the In- 
 dians until the same morning the attack -was made, and as 
 these Indians might naturally be supposed, from their situation 
 and other circumstances, to have had an earlier knowledge of 
 the enemy's design and march. 
 
 Before Mr. Croghan could get up to the German Flats the 
 aforesaid Indians were on their road homewards, but he was 
 informed that the Chief Sachem of the Upper Oneida town, 
 with a Tuscarora Sachem (which is supposed to be Solomon 
 Longboard) and another Oneida Indian, were still about four 
 miles from Fort Harkeman, upon which he sent a messenger 
 to acquaint them that he was at the said fort. 
 
 The aforesaid Indians returned, and on the 3Oth of Novem- 
 ber, at Fort Harkeman, Conaghquieson, the Oneida Sachem, 
 made the following speech to Mr. Croghan, having first called 
 in one Rudolph Shumaker, Hanjost Harkman and several other 
 Germans who understood the Indian language, and desired 
 them to sit down and hear what he had to say. Conaghquieson 
 then proceeded and said : 
 
 " Brothers : I can't help telling you that we were very much 
 surprised to hear that our English brethren suspect and charge 
 us with not giving them timely notice of the designs of the 
 French, as it is well known we have not neglected to give them 
 every piece of intelligence that came to our knowledge. 
 
 " Brothers, about fifteen days before the affair happened we 
 sent the Germans word that some Swegatchi Indians told us 
 that the French were determined to destroy the German Flats, 
 desired them to be on their guard. About six days after 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 71 
 
 that we had a further account from the Swegatchi Indians that 
 the French were preparing to march. 
 
 " 1 then came to the German Flats, and in a meeting with 
 the Germans told them what we had heard, and desired to col- 
 lect themselves together in a body at their fort, * and secure 
 their women, children and effects, and to make the best defence 
 they could. At the same time I told them to write what I had 
 said to our brother, Warraghryagey (meaning Sir William John- 
 son t), but they paid not the least regard to what I told them, 
 and laughed at me, slapping their hands on their buttocks, say- 
 ing they did not value the enemy, upon which I returned home 
 and sent one of our people to the lake (meaning Oneida Lake) 
 to find out whether the enemy were coming or not. After he 
 had staid there two days the enemy arrived at the carrying- 
 place, and sent word to the castle at the lake that they were 
 there, and told them what they were going to do, but charged 
 them not to let us at the upper castle know anything of their 
 design. As soon as the man I sent there heard this he came 
 on to us with the account that night; and as soon as we received 
 it we sent a belt of wampum, to confirm the truth thereof, to 
 the Flats, which came here the day before the enemy made 
 their attack ; but the people would not give credit to the 
 account even then, or they might have saved their lives. J 
 This is the truth, and those Germans here present know it to 
 be so. The aforesaid Germans did acknowledge it to be so, 
 and that the}' had such intelligence. 
 
 " GEORGE CROGHAN." 
 
 The Oneida being the original owner of the tract of land 
 assigned to the Tuscarora as aforesaid, were made party with 
 
 * A stockaded work round the church, and a block-house, with a ditch, and a 
 parapet thrown up by Sir William Johnson, a year ago, upon an alarm then given. 
 
 f They never sent this intelligence to Sir William Johnson. 
 
 J The Indians who brought the belt of wampum, rinding the Germans still in- 
 credulous, the next morning, just before the attack began, laid hold on the German 
 Minister, and in a manner forced him over to the other side of the river, by which 
 means he and some who followed him escaped the fate of their brethren. 
 
72 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 the Tuscarora to the treaty made at Fort Herkimer in the 
 year 1785, by which it was ceded to the State, and the Oneida 
 took all the avails of the treaty. The Tuscaroras were then 
 again left without a home and were partially scattered among 
 the other nations, although they continued to preserve their 
 nationality. They had some settlements, at a later period, in 
 Oneida Castle, called by them Gaunea-wahro-hare (signifying 
 head on the pole), and one in the valley of the Genesee below 
 Avon, called by them Ju-na-stre-yo (signifying the beautiful 
 valley) ; another settlement at Con-na-so-ra-ga, on the line 
 between Onondaga and Oneida; another in the fork of Chat- 
 tenango Creek, which they called Ju-ta-nea-ga (signifying where 
 the sun shines); and another on the Jordan Creek, which they 
 called Kan-ha-to (signifying limb in water). These several 
 places were settled at different periods, which I am not able to 
 give. 
 
 In the revolutionary war between the United States and 
 Great Britain, the Tuscaroras then had their settlement 
 at the place alotted them by the league in 1715, between 
 the Unadilla river and the Chenango. They took an active 
 part with the United States. Many a soldier and scout of the 
 United States, in their fatigue and hunger, found a rest and a 
 morsel in the rude homes of the Tuscaroras, which were ever 
 hospitably open to them. 
 
 When the other Indians which took part with the British 
 knew that the Tuscaroras took part with the United States, 
 they invaded their settlement, destroyed their property and 
 burned down their houses to ashes, which scattered them for a 
 while. There was a party that settled at Oyouwayea, or John- 
 son's landing place, on lake Ontario, about four miles east of 
 the mouth of Niagara River, which is at the mouth of the four- 
 mile creek, for the purpose of getting out of the centre of the 
 other Indians which were for the British. 
 
 About the close of the war there were two families of the 
 Tuscaroras hunting and fishing along the shores of lake Ontario, 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 73 
 
 and then up the east shore of Niagara River as far as Lewiston, 
 and there left their canoe ; then traveled east and up the moun- 
 tain as far as a place which they now call the Old Saw Mill 
 (now on the Tuscarora Reservation), abbve the Ayers* farm, 
 where they saw great quantities of butternuts and walnnts and 
 and a nice stream of water flowing down the mountain ; there 
 they took their rest, and after remaining several days they con- 
 cluded to make their winter quarters at that place, which they 
 did. After they were missing for a time from the settlement 
 at Johnson's landing, they were hunted by their people and 
 finally found at this place. A few years after this the Oneidas 
 and Tuscaroras ceded the tract of land that was apportioned 
 to the Tuscaroras ; then families after families came and locat- 
 ed with those two families mentioned above. This is the be- 
 ginning of the settlement of the present Tuscarora Reservation. 
 
 The Tuscaroras, ever since the revolutionary war, have had 
 their residence within the territory of the Seneca nation, they 
 being considered the father of the Tuscarora by being adopted 
 as such, at the time of their initiation into the confederacy, in 
 the year 1715. 
 
 I will here give the boundary of the Seneca Nation domain, 
 according to the treaty entitled "A Treaty between the United 
 States of America and .the Tribes of Indians called the Six 
 Nations " : 
 
 " The President of the United States having determined to 
 hold a conference with the Six Nations of Indians, for the pur- 
 pose of removing from their minds all causes of complaint, and 
 establishing a firm and permanent friendship with them, and 
 fimothy Pickering being appointed sole agent for that purpose, 
 and the agent having met and conferred with the sachems, 
 chiefs and warriors, of the Six Nations, in a general council, 
 now, in order to accomplish the good design of the conference, 
 the parties have agreed on the following articles, when ratified 
 by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate of 
 (9) 
 
74 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 the United States, shall be binding on them and the Six Na- 
 tions. 
 
 "Article I. Peace and friendship are hereby firmly establish- 
 ed, and shall -be perpetual between the United States and the 
 Six Nations. 
 
 "Article 2. The United States acknowledge the lands re- 
 served to the Oneida, Onondaga, and Cayuga Nations, in their 
 respective treaties with the State of New York, and called their 
 reservations, to be their property ; and the United States will 
 never claim the same, nor disturb them or either of the Six Na- 
 tions, nor their Indian friends residing thereon and united with 
 them, in the free use and enjoyment thereof ; but the said res- 
 ervations shall remain theirs until they choose to sell the same 
 to the people of the United States, who have the right to 
 purchase. 
 
 "Article 3. The land of the Seneca Nation is bounded as fol- 
 lows : Beginning on Lake Ontario at the northwest corner 
 of the land they sold to Oliver Phelps, the line runs westerly 
 along the lake as Far as O-yong-wong-yeh creek, at Johnson's 
 landing place, about four miles eastward from the fort of Niag- 
 ara ; then southerly up that creek to its main fork ; then straight 
 to the main fork of Stedman's creek, which empties into the 
 Niagara river above fort Schlosser ; and then onward from that 
 fort, continuing the same straight course, to the river (this line 
 from the mouth of O-yong-wong-yeh creek to the river Niagara 
 above Fort Schlosser, being the eastern boundary of a strip of 
 land extending from the same line to Niagara river, which the 
 Seneca Nation ceded to the king of Great Britain at a treaty 
 held about thirty years ago, with Sir William Johnson); then 
 the line runs along the river Niagara to Lake Erie ; then along 
 Lake Erie to the eastern corner of a triangle piece of land 
 which the United States ceded to the state of Pennsylvania, as 
 by the President's patent, dated the third day of March, 1792 ; 
 then due south to the boundary of that state ; then due east to 
 the southwest corner of the land sold by the Seneca Nation to 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATION-. 75 
 
 Oliver Phelps ; and then northerly along Phelps' line to the 
 place of beginning, on Lake Ontario. Now, the United States 
 acknowledge all the land within the aforementioned boundary 
 to be the property of the Seneca Nation ; and the United States 
 will never claim the same, nor disturb the Seneca Nation, nor 
 their Indian friends residing thereon and united with them, 
 in the free use and enjoyment thereof ; but it shall remain theirs 
 until they choose to sell the same to the people of the United 
 States, who have the right to purchase. 
 
 "Article 4. The United States having thus described and ac- 
 knowledged what lands belong to the Oneidas, Onondagas, 
 Cayugas and Senecas, and engaged never to claim the same, 
 nor disturb them or any of the Six Nations, nor their Indian 
 friends residing thereon and united with them, in the free use 
 and enjoyment thereof, etc. Proclaimed January 21,1785." 
 
 You will observe in the treaty above that the name of the 
 Tuscarora Nation is not mentioned at all, and yet speaks of 
 the Six Nations, which includes the Tuscarora Nation. The 
 reason is this : In Article 2 you will observe that all the na- 
 tions that have their lands on the east side of what is known 
 as the Phelps line were named, and west of that line was the 
 land of the Seneca Nation on which the Tuscaroras resided, 
 and were considered as being merged into the Seneca Na- 
 tion, and have the benefit of the laws enacted for them. 
 
 There was also a contract entered into between the Seneca 
 Nation of Indians of the first part, and Robert Morris, Esq., of 
 the city of Philadelphia, of the second part. At a treaty held 
 under the authority of the United States, at Genesee, in the 
 county of Ontario, State of New York, on the fifteenth day of 
 September, 1797, and on sundry days immediately prior there- 
 to, by the Honorable Jeremiah Wadsworth, Esq., a commis- 
 sioner appointed by the President of the United States to hold 
 the same, when the Senecas ceded the country that included 
 the now Tuscarora Reservation. The Tuscaroras then and 
 there made their complaint by their chiefs, for the first since 
 
76 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 they were initiated into the confederacy of the Iroquois ; in the 
 presence of the commissioner and the others that are parties to 
 the treaty ; that the Troquois had from time to time allotted 
 them lands and had been ceded each time by the Iroquois, 
 without giving them a farthing to remunerate them for their 
 portion of the lands so ceded, or for the improvements that 
 they had made, and asked if they were to be driven in this 
 manner from place to place all the days of their existence, and 
 if that is the way a father should use their children, or brothers 
 should use their brothers, and to keep them living in disap- 
 pointment ; they also alluded to a treaty concluded at Fort 
 Stanwix three years before this, where the commissioners of 
 the United States reserved to them land, which read as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 "Article 2. The Oneida and Tuscarora Nations shall be se- 
 cured in the possession of the lands on which they are settled." 
 
 The commissioner then inquired into the merits of the com- 
 plaint of the Tuscaroras, which the Iroquois affirmed ; the 
 commissioner then said to them, that it is not right to make a , 
 contract, or to grant anything without faith ; it is only honor- 
 able when you adhere to your stipulation. 
 
 When Robert Morris knew that the Tuscaroras were desti- 
 tute of land, he reserved and donated to them two square miles 
 being 1280 acres ; the Senecasalso granted to them one square 
 mile being 640 acres, which grant was made at the convention 
 dated above. On the I3th day of March, 1808, the sachems, 
 chiefs and head men of the Seneca Nation of Indians executed 
 a written indenture of the grant or deed to the Tuscarora Na- 
 tion, of the one square mile of land above mentioned, and was 
 duly signed by the sachems, chiefs and head men of the afore- 
 said Indians. On the 22d day of September, 1810, it was en- 
 tered and put on file in the Niagara County Clerk's office, on 
 page 56 ; and was again put on file in the Niagara County 
 Clerk's Office, Lockport, in book of deeds 151, page 168, March 
 13, 1879. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 77 
 
 About the year 1800, Solomon Longbardand his brother held 
 private council between themselves, consulting how they might 
 obtain more land to make a permanent home for the Tuscaroras 
 and their generation after them, -they concluded to repair to 
 North Carolina and see if they could procure any means from 
 that source, whereby they might obtain more land. In pursu- 
 ance, the Tuscarora Chiefs in council appointed as delegates 
 Solomon Longboard and Sacarrissa, being sachems of the na- 
 tion in the year 1801, and in 1802 they effected a lease by the 
 aid of the Legislature of North Carolina, from which accrued 
 $13,722; and in the year 1804, General Dearborn, then Secre- 
 tary of War, was authorized by Congress to buy land for the 
 Tuscaroras with the said money, by which he bought 4,329 
 acres of the Holland Land Company, which is now on the 
 south and east side of the three square miles mentioned above, 
 which now constitutes the Tuscarora Reservation. 
 
 The Tuscarora Nation was once more at peace and in pos- 
 session of lands which they could eall their own. 
 
 
78 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Tuscaroras at North Carolina. 
 
 f 
 
 oke 
 
 In tracing the history of the Tuscaroras that migrated to 
 the north and joined themselves with the Iroquois, we would 
 not forget those few who remained with King James Blunt, a 
 Tuscarora Chief, in North Carolina, who had a tract of land 
 allotted to them on Pamplico river. The smallness of their 
 number disabling them from resisting the attacks of the south- 
 ern Indians, Governor Charles Eden, of North Carolina, and 
 the council, on the 5th day of June, 1718, entered into a treaty, 
 by which the land on Pamplico river was abandoned by 
 Tuscaroras and another tract granted to them, on Roanol 
 river, in the present county of Birtie, in consideration of which 
 they relinquished all claims of any other land in the province, 
 butted and bounded as follows, viz.: Beginning at the mouth 
 of Quitsnoy swamp, running up the said swamp four hundred 
 and 35 poles, to a scrubby oak near the head of the swamp, 
 by a great spring ; then north ten degrees east, eight hundred 
 and fifty poles, to a persimmon tree on Raquis swamp; then 
 along the swamp and Pacosin main course north fifty-seven 
 degrees west, two thousand six hundred and forty poles, to a 
 hickory tree on the east side of the Falling Run, or Deep 
 cre<ek, and down the various courses of the said run to Morat- 
 tock ; then down the river to the first station. 
 
 In the administration of the Governor, Gabriel Johnson, 
 Esq., at a General Assembly held at New Bern on the I5th 
 day of October, 1748, by virtue of an act, this same limit of 
 
OF THE IROQU-OIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 79 
 
 land above was confirmed and assured to James Blunt, Chief 
 of the Tuscarora Nation, and the people under his charge, 
 their heirs, and successors forever, any law, usage, custom or 
 grant to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 At the time the Tuscaroras migrated to the north, King 
 James Blunt was the Sachem of those that remained, and his 
 successor in office, as we see in an act of the General Assem- 
 bly of North Carolina, in the year 1778, was Whitmell Tuff- 
 dick. The last Sachem, or Chief, of that part of the Tusca- 
 roras Samuel Smith expired in the year 1802, at which time 
 Sacarrissa and Solomon Longboard, both being Sachems of the 
 northern Tuscaroras, migrated the residue of the Tuscaroras 
 from North Carolina to their Reservation in Niagara county, 
 State of New York, where they were again blended together 
 in one nation. 
 
 Concerning the land allotted to the Tuscaroras in Birtie 
 they have leased it several times ; and I have selected a few 
 of the laws of North Carolina that are now in force, concerning 
 the Tuscaroras in that state, namely : 
 
 "A. D. 1748, Vol. I, Chapter 43, page 174 ; by Potter, Taylor 
 and Yancy, Esqs. Anno Regni Georgvi 1 1, Vicessinio second. 
 
 " Gabriel Johnson, Esq., Governor. 
 
 "At a general assembly held at New Bern, the fifteenth day 
 of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hun- 
 dred and forty-eight. 
 
 CHAPTER 43. 
 
 'An Act for ascertaining the bounds of a certain tract of 
 land formerly laid out by treaty to the use of the Tuscarora 
 Indians, so long as they, or any of them, shall occupy and live 
 upon the same, and to prevent any person or persons taking 
 up lands, or settling within the said bounds, by pretense of 
 any purchase or purchases made, or that shall be made, from 
 the said Indians, 
 
80 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 " I. Whereas, complaints are made by the Tuscarora Indi- 
 ans, of divers encroachments made by the English on their 
 lands, and it being but just that the ancient inhabitants of this 
 .Province shall have and enjoy a quiet and convenient dwelling 
 place in this their native country, wherefore, 
 
 " Bounds of 'the Indians' lands confirmed, 2. We pray that it 
 may be enacted, and be it enacted by His Excellency Gabriel 
 Johnson, Esquire, Governor, by and with the advice and con- 
 sent of his majesty's council, and general assembly of this 
 province, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same 
 that the lands formerly allotted the Tuscarora Indians by sol- 
 emn treaty, lying on Morattock river, in Birtie county, being 
 the same whereon they now dwell. Butted and bounded as 
 follows, viz : Beginning at the mouth of Quitsnoy Swamp, 
 running up the said swamp four hundred and thirty-five poles, 
 to a scrubby oak, near the head of the swamp, by a great 
 spring ; thence north ten degrees east, eight hundred and fifty 
 poles, to a persimmon tree, on Raquis swamp ; thence along 
 the swamp, and Pacosin main course, north fifty-seven degrees 
 west, two thousand six hundred and forty poles, to a hickory 
 on the east side of the falling run or deep creek, and down the 
 various courses of the said run to Morattock river, then down 
 the river to the first station ; shall be confirmed and assured ; 
 and by virtue of this act, is confirmed and assured, to James 
 Blunt, chief of the Tuscarora Nation, and the people under his 
 charge, their heirs and successors, forever, any law, usage, 
 custom, or grant, to the contrary, notwithstanding. 
 
 " Persons having grants to enter on desertion of the Indians. 
 3. Provided, always, That it shall and may be lawful for any 
 person or persons that have formerly obtained any grant or 
 grants, under the Lord's proprietors, for any tract or parcels 
 of lands within the aforesaid boundaries, upon the said Indians 
 deserting or leaving the said lands, to enter, occupy and enjoy 
 the same according to the tenor of their several grants. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 8 1 
 
 " Indians not to pay quitrents. 4. And be it further enacted 
 by the authority aforesaid, That it shall not nor may be law- 
 ful for the Lord Granville's receiver to ask, have or demand 
 any quitrents for any of the said tracts or parcels of land 
 taken up within the said Indian boundaries, as aforesaid, until 
 such time when the Indians have deserted the same and the 
 patentee be in possession thereof, and only for such rents as 
 shall from thence arise and become due, any law, usage or 
 custom to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 " Pmalty on persons purchasing lands of the Indians. 5. And 
 be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no per- 
 son, for any consideration whatsoever, shall purchase or buy 
 any tract or parcel of land claimed or in possession of any 
 Indian or Indians, but all such bargains and sales shall be, and 
 are hereby declared to be null and void, and of no effect; and 
 the person so purchasing or buying any land of any Indian or 
 Indians shall further forfeit the sum of ten pounds, proclama- 
 tion money, for every hundred acres by him purchased and 
 bought, one-half to the use of the public, the other half to 
 him or them that shall sue for the same, to be recovered by 
 action of debt, bill, plaint or information, in any court of 
 record within this Government, wherein no possession, pro- 
 tection, injunction or wager of law shall be allowed or ad- 
 mitted of. 
 
 " Persons settled on the Indian lands to remove, and no others 
 to settle there under a penalty. 6. And be it further enacted 
 by the authority aforesaid, That all and every person and per- 
 sons, other than the said Indians who are now dwelling on any 
 of the lands within the bounds above mentioned to have been 
 allotted, laid out and prescribed to the said Tuscarora Indians, 
 shall, on or before the twenty-fifth day of March next ensuing 
 the ratification of this act, remove him or herself and family 
 off the said lands, under the penalty of twenty pounds, procla- 
 mation money; and if any shall neglect or refuse to move him 
 (10) 
 
82 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 or herself and family off the said lands, on or before the said 
 twenty-fifth day of March next, and if any person or persons, 
 other than the said Indians, shall hereafter presume to settle, 
 inhabit or occupy any of the said lands hereby allotted and 
 assigned for the said Tuscarora Indians, such person or persons 
 shall forfeit the further penalty of twenty shillings, proclama- 
 tion money, for each and every day he, she or they shall inhabit 
 or occupy any lands within the said Indian bounds after the 
 said twenty-fifth day of March next, the said penalties to be 
 recovered and applied in the same manner as the penalty in 
 this act above mentioned. 
 
 " Surveyor s fee for laying out the Indians lands. 7. And 
 whereas, The said lands belonging to the said Tuscarora In- 
 dians have been lately laid out and newly marked by George 
 Goulde, Esq., Surveyor General, at the request of the said In- 
 dians ; therefore, be it enacted, that the said George Goulde, 
 Esq., have and receive for the trouble and expense he hath 
 been at in laying out and marking the Indians' lands aforesaid, 
 the sum of twenty-five pounds, proclamation money, to be 
 paid by the public, out of moneys in the public treasury. 
 
 " Penalty of persons ranging stock on the Indians' lauds. 8. 
 And whereas, the Indians complain of injuries received from 
 people driving stock, horses, cattle and hogs, to range on 
 their lands, for remedy thereof, Be it enacted, That persons 
 driving stock to range, or stock actually ranging on the Indi- 
 ans' lands, shall, and are hereby declared, to be liable and sub- 
 ject to the like penalties and forfeitures, and may be proceed- 
 ed against in the same manner, and subject to the same recov- 
 eries, as by the law of this province stock driven or ranging 
 upon any white people's land are liable and subject to ; and 
 the said Indians shall and may enjoy the benefit of the laws 
 in that case made and provided, in the same manner as the 
 white people do or can, any law, usage, or custom, to the con- 
 trary notwithstanding. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 83 
 
 LAWS OF NORTH CAROLINA, A. D. 1878, CHAPTER 136, PAGE 
 359, VOL. I, BY POTTER, TAYLOR & YANCEY. 
 
 "An Act for quieting and securing the Tuscarora Indians, and 
 others claiming under the Tuscaroras, in the possession of 
 their lands. 
 
 " Indian lands secured to tJie Indians. I. Be it enacted, &c., 
 That Whitmell Tuffdeck, Chief or head man of the Tuscarora 
 nation, and the Tuscarora Indians now living in the county of 
 Birtie, shall have, hold, occupy, possess and enjoy, all the 
 lands lying in the county of Birtie aforesaid, whereof they are 
 now seized and possessed, (being part of the lands heretofore 
 alotted to the Indians aforesaid by solemn treaty, and con- 
 firmed to them and their successors by act of assembly, in the 
 year one thousand seven hundred and forty-eight,) without let, 
 molestation or hindrance, clear of all quit-rents, or any public 
 demands by way of tax whatever, to them the said Tuscarora 
 Indians, and their heirs and successors ; and that they, the said 
 Tuscaroras, and their heirs and successors, shall forever be 
 clear and exempt from every kind of poll-tax. 
 
 " No purchases to be made of the Indians, nor their lands culti- 
 vated. 2. And whereas, the said Tuscarora Indians, by nature 
 ignorant, and strongly addicted to drinking, may be 'easily im- 
 posed on by designing persons, and unwarily deprived of their 
 said lands ; Be it enacted, That no person, for any considera- 
 tion whatever, shall hereafter purchase, buy or lease, any tract 
 or parcel of land now claimed by, or in possession of the said 
 Tuscarora Indians, or any of theirs ; nor shall any person set- 
 tle on or cultivate the said lands, or any part thereof, in his 
 own right, or. under pretence, as acting as overseer for the In- 
 dians ; and if any person shall hereafter purchase, buy or lease 
 lands of the said Indians, or settle on or cultivate any part 
 thereof in his own right or as overseer for the Indians, all such 
 purchases, sales, leases or agreements shall be and they are 
 hereby declared null and void ; and the person so purchasing 
 
 
84 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 buying or leasing, settling on or cultivating such lands, or any 
 part thereof, shall forfeit and pay the sum of three hundred 
 pounds current money for every hundred acres by him so pur- 
 chased, bought or leased, settled on or cultivated as aforesaid, 
 one-half to the use of the Tuscarora Indians, the other to the 
 use of him or her who shall sue for the same ; to be recovered 
 by action of debt, bill, plaint or information in any court having 
 cognizance thereof. Provided that the said Tuscarora Indians 
 may sell or dispose of their lands or any part thereof, with the 
 consent of the general assembly first had and obtained. 
 
 " Former purchases from the Indians, under the sanction of the 
 Assembly, secured. 3. And whereas, the chieftains and head 
 men of the Tuscarora Indians, living in the county, did, on the 
 twelfth day of July, in the year one thousand seven hundred 
 and sixty-six, for the consideration of fifteen hundred pounds 
 to them paid by Robert Jones, Jun., William Williams and 
 Thomas Pugh, by indenture under their hands and seals, de- 
 mise, grant and to farm let, unto the said Robert Jones, Wil- 
 liam Williams and Thomas Pugh, a certain tract of land lying 
 in the county aforesaid, containing about eight thousand acres, 
 more or less, bounded as follows, to-wit : Beginning at the 
 mouth of Deep creek, otherwise called Falling Run ; thence 
 running up the said creek to the Indian head line; thence by 
 the said line south seventeen degrees east, twelve hundred and 
 eighty poles ; thence on a course parallel with the general 
 current of the said creek to the Roanoke river ; and then up 
 the river to the beginning, together with the appurtenances 
 thereto belonging, to be held and enjoyed by the said Robert 
 Jones, William Williams and Thomas Pugh, their executors, 
 administrators and assigns, in severalty, for and during the 
 term of one hundred and fifty years, as may more fully appear 
 by the said indenture, registered in the county of Birtie afore- 
 said and ratified by act -of Assembly, passed at Newbern, in 
 the year one thousand seven hundred und'sixty-six : Be it en- 
 acted, That each and every of the persons entitled to claims 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 85 
 
 under the demise aforementioned, or by grants from the per- 
 sons claiming under the same, or either of them, and their 
 heirs and assigns, shall and may have, hold, occupy, possess 
 and enjoy the several shares, dividends or parcels of the said 
 land to them belonging, in as full, free and absolute manner, 
 and with the same legal privileges and advantages in every 
 respect, and subject to the same taxes as if the said land had 
 been originally granted to the said Robert Jones, William 
 Williams and Thomas Pugh by Lord Granville or by this 
 State. 
 
 " Regulations in regard to former demises.^. And whereas, 
 the said Tuscarora Indians, for good and sufficient reasons, and 
 for valuable consideration, have, since the twelfth day of July, 
 one thousand seven hundred and sixty-six, and previous to the 
 first day of December last, demised, granted and to farm let 
 sundry tracts or parcels of land lying in said county of Birtie 
 to sundry persons, as by indentures duly executed may more 
 fully appear: Be it enacted, That all the land contained in 
 the last mentioned demises, if the said demises were fairly, 
 bona fide and without fraud, made by and obtained from the 
 said Tuscarora Indians since the year one thousand seven hun- 
 dred and sixty-six, and previous to the first day of December 
 last past, shall not be deemed vacant lands, or be liable to be 
 entered as such in the Land Offitfe, unless the General Assem- 
 bly shall hereafter so direct, but nevertheless shall be subject 
 to the same taxes as other lands in this State are liable to. 
 
 " Method of trial for demises alleged to have been unfairly 
 obtained. 5. And whereas, it is suggested by the Tuscarora 
 Indians, that unfair dealings have been used in obtaining one 
 or more of the demises aforementioned, and that they, the 
 said Indians have at present no mode of obtaining redress in 
 such cases. Be it therefore enacted, that the commissioners 
 herein mentioned or a majority of them, shall and may, upon 
 complaint of the said Tuscarora Indians, in court or meeting 
 assembled, that a person or persons has or have unfairly or 
 
86 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 fraudulently obtained any grant or demise for lands to them 
 belonging since the year one thousand seven hundred and 
 sixty-six, and previous to the first day of December last, sum- 
 mon the per$on or persons so complained against, or cause him 
 or them to be summoned to appear before them on a certain 
 day on the land in dispute (giving at best ten days' notice pre- 
 vious to the day in such summons appointed), then and there 
 to answer the complaint of the Indians for having fraudulently 
 or unfairly obtained a grant or demise of the land in question; 
 and shall also summon, or cause to be summoned, a jury of 
 twelve men, being freeholders in the county of Birtie and not 
 resident on or owners of any lands purchased of the said Tus- 
 carora Indians ; and the said commissioners, or a majority of 
 them, shall attend at the time and place appointed, with the 
 jury aforesaid, and having first sworn the jury to try and deter- 
 mine fairly between the said Indians and the person or persons 
 complained against, shall and may cause witnesses to be exam- 
 ined on both sides, receive the verdict of the jury and return 
 the same, with the panel, to the next County Court of the said 
 county of Birtie, to be entered upon the record ; and such ver- 
 dict shall be as good and effectual as if obtained in any court 
 of record ; and if the same be general the said commissioners, 
 or a majority of them, shall and may appoint one or more per- 
 sons to carry the same into execution ; but if special, then the 
 court shall decide thereon, and cause the Sheriff of the county 
 to carry such decision into execution. 
 
 " Commissioners for Indian affairs. 6. And whereas the said 
 Indians are often injured by horses, cattle and hogs, driven on 
 their lands by white people, the said horses, cattle and hogs 
 breaking into the enclosure and disUoying their corn and other 
 effects, and are also frequently deprived of their property, 
 and abuses by ill disposed persons ; for remedy whereof, and 
 also for recovery of suits or demands now due, or which may 
 hereafter become due and owing to the said Tuscarora Indians; 
 Be it enacted, that William Williams, Thomas Pugh, Willie 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 8/ 
 
 Jones, Simon Turner and Zedekiah Stone, be, and they are 
 hereby appointed commissioners for the said Indians, and they, 
 or any three of them, shall and may inquire into the com- 
 plaints made by the said Indians, summon the persons com- 
 plained against, before them, and award such restitution and 
 redress as to them shall seem just and necessary ; and may ap- 
 point an Officer or Officers to serve subpoena as, and to exe- 
 cute such awards and determinations as they shall or may make 
 in regard of the premises ; and the court of said county of Bir- 
 tie, is hereby authorized and required to fill up, from time to 
 time, by new appointments any vacancies which may happen 
 among the commissioners by death or resignations ; and upon 
 complaint of the chiefs or head men of the nation, and the rest 
 of the Indians, in court or meeting properly assembled, against 
 any of the commissioners for misbehavior, may inquire into 
 the conduct of the person or persons complained against, re- 
 move him or them if necessary, and appoint another or others 
 in his or their stead. 
 
 " Reversion of Indian lands. 7. And be it further enacted, 
 that the lands leased by the said Tuscarora Indians to Robert 
 Jones, Jr., William Williams and Thomas Pugh, and to other 
 persons, shall revert and become the property of the State, at 
 the expiration of the terms of the several leases mentioned, 
 if the said nation be extinct ; and the lands now belonging to, 
 and possessed by the said Tuscaroras, shall revert to and be- 
 come the property of the State, whenever the said nation shall 
 become extinct, or shall entirely abandon or remove them- 
 selves off the said lands, and every part thereof. Provided, 
 that no person shall have any preference of entry to any of 
 the said lands by virtue of any lease or occupancy whatever, 
 since December, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, 
 
 whenever the general assembly shall declare the said lands to 
 be vacant. 
 
 Read three times and ratified in general assembly, the 2d 
 day of May, A. D. 1778. 
 
 Signed by WHITMILL HlLL, S. S. 
 
 THOMAS BENBURY, S. C. 
 
88 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 LAWS OF NORTH CAROLINA, A. D. 1780, CHAPTER 167, PAGE 
 406, VOL. I, BY POTTER, TAYLOR & YANCEY. 
 
 " An Act to amend an act, entitled an act for quieting and se- 
 curing the Tuscarora Indians, and others claiming under the 
 Tuscaroras, in the possession of their lands. 
 
 " i. Whereas, By the said act there is no penalty imposed on 
 the jurors or witnesses duly summoned, and failing to attend. 
 
 "Attendance of Jurors. 2. Be it enacted, &c., That the com- 
 missioners by the said act appointed, or any three of them, 
 assembled for the purpose of holding a court, shall, and may 
 inflict fines on jurors or witnesses so failing to attend, not ex- 
 ceeding one hundred pounds, at their discretion ; and unless 
 sufficient excuse be to them afterwards shown, cause the same 
 to be levied and applied towards defraying the county expens- 
 es of Birtie ; and witnesses and jurors who shall attend on the 
 trial of any dispute between the said Tuscaroras and others, 
 shall have and receive ten dollars per day for their attendance, 
 to be paid by the party cost with all other cost ; and such 
 trials may hereafter be had on the part of the lands belonging 
 to said Tuscaroras, Birtie County, which commissioners shall 
 direct. 
 
 Read three times and ratified in general assembly, the loth 
 day of May, A. D. 1780. 
 
 Signed by ALEX. MARTIN, S. S. 
 
 THOMAS BENBURY, S. C. 
 
 LAWS OF NORTH CAROLINA, A. D. l8oi, CHAPTER 608, PAGE 
 965, VOL. 2, BY POTTER, TAYLOR & YANCEY. 
 
 " James Turner, Esq., Governor.' 
 
 " At the general assembly begun and held at Raleigh, on 
 the fifteenth day of November, in the year of our lord one 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 89 
 
 thousand eight hundred and two, and in the thirty-seventh 
 year of the independence of said State. 
 
 " An Act for the relief of the Tuscarora Nation of Indians. 
 
 "Whereas, the Indians composing the Tuscarora nation, have, 
 by their chief Sacarrissa, and others, regularly deputed and au- 
 thorized, requested the concurrence of the general assembly 
 of this State, to enable them to lease or demise, for a number 
 of years, the residue of their lands situated in the county of 
 Birtie, in such a manner that the whole of the said leases shall 
 terminate at the same period. 
 
 " Chiefs authorized to lease their lands* i. Be it enacted, &c., 
 That the said chiefs Sacarrissa, Longboard and Samuel Smith, 
 or a majority of them, be and they are hereby authorized to 
 lease and to farm let the undemised residue of the lands allot- 
 ted to the Tuscarora Nation in Birtie County, for a term of 
 years that shall expire and end when the lease made by the 
 Tuscarora Nation to Robert Jones and others, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty-six, 
 shall end and expire ; and also extend the term or terms 
 of the leases already made or granted for a shorter term, 
 to a term or terms which shall expire at the same time with 
 the said lease made in the year one thousand seven hundred 
 and sixty-six, in such parcels and on such rents and conditions 
 as may be approved by the commissioners appointed in pur- 
 suance of this act, and which may best promote the interest 
 and convenience of the said Indian nation. 
 
 " And, whereas, some difficulties have arisen respecting the 
 receipt and payment on the rents of some of the present leases. 
 
 " To make alterations with respect to rents. 2. Be it further 
 enacted, That the said chiefs, or a majority of them, be, and 
 they are hereby authorized to make such alterations, by cove- 
 nant and agreement, respecting the payment and receipt of 
 any rents due, or that may become due on any of the existing 
 
90 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 leases, as the commissioners appointed in pursuance of this 
 act, or a majority of them shall approve. 
 
 ' Whereas, the said Indian chiefs are ignorant of the usual 
 forms of business, and may want advice and assistance in 
 transacting the business respecting their lands, for remedy 
 whereof and to prevent their being injured. 
 
 " Governor to appoint three commissioners to carry this act into 
 effect. 3. Be it further enacted, That the Governor shall ap- 
 point three commissioners for the purpose of carrying the pro- 
 visions of this act into effect ; and no lease, grant, demise, 
 covenant or agreement made by the said Indian chiefs as afore- 
 said, respecting said lands, or the rents thereof, shall be good 
 or valid in law, unless the same shall be approved by the said 
 commissioners, or a majority of them, and such approbation 
 shall be expressed in writing and annexed or endorsed on such 
 lease, covenant or agreement, and registered in the Register's 
 Office in the county of Birtie, together with said lease or 
 agreement ; and the said commissioners shall receive the sum 
 of twenty shillings per day for their compensation and expens- 
 es, to be paid out of the monies received by the said chiefs on 
 leasing said lands. 
 
 " Possessions of the tenants to be deemed the possessions of tlie 
 TH scar or a Indians. 4, And be it further enacted, That the 
 occupaucy and possession of the tenants under the said lease, 
 heretofore confirmed by act or acts of the general assembly, 
 and such leases as may be made under this act, shall be 
 held and deemed in all cases whatsoever, the occupancy and 
 possession of the said Tuscarora Nation, to all intents "end pur- 
 poses, as if said nation, or the Indians thereof, or any of them, 
 actually resided on said lands. 
 
 " Whereas, The said chiefs, Sacarrissa, Longboard, and Sam- 
 uel Smith, being duly and freely authorized and empowered by 
 the said Tuscarora Nation, have consented that the Indians' 
 claim to the use, possession, and occupancy of said lands shall 
 cease and be extinguished, when the said lease made in the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 91 
 
 year one thousand seven hundred seventy-six, fro Robert Jones 
 and others, shall expire. 
 
 " The land to revert to the state. 5. Be it enacted, That from 
 and after the twelfth day of July, which shall be in the year 
 One Thousand nine and sixteen, the whole of the lands alloted 
 to the said Tuscarora Indians, by act of General Assembly 
 passed at Newbern, on the fifteenth day of October, in the 
 year of our Lord One Thousand seven hundred and forty eight, 
 shall revert to, and become the property of the state, and the 
 claim thereto, from that time, be held, and deemed forever ex- 
 tinguished. 
 
 " If any of the lands be vacant it is not to be entered but by an 
 express act. 6. And be further enacted, After the said lands 
 shall revert to the State, if the same or any part thereto, shall 
 be vacant, the same shall not be liable to the entry or entries 
 of any person or persons, without an express act of the legisla- 
 tion to that effect ; Provided always, That it shall not be law- 
 ' ful for any person or persons to make any entry or entries on 
 the said lands, after the passing of this act. Provided always, 
 That nothing in this act contained shall be construed so as to 
 effect the title of any individual ; Provided nevertheless, That 
 no lot or parcel of lands laid off under the direction of said com- 
 missioners, shall exceed two hundred acres ; And Provided 
 further, That no lease shall be made but by public auction, of 
 which due notice shall be given in the Halifax and Edenton 
 newspapers." 
 
 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY FROM 1 82 1 TO 1825, PAGE 13, CHAPTER 13, 
 STATE LIBRARY. 
 
 " An act concerning the lands held under leases from the Tus- 
 carora tribe of Indians. 
 
 " Whereas it is represented to this General Assembly, in be- 
 half of persons holding lands under leases for a long term of 
 
92 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 years from the Tuscarora tribe of Indians, that they are sub- 
 ject to great inconveniences from their estates being mere cat- 
 tle interest : For remedy whereof, 
 
 " Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
 North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of 
 the same. 
 
 " That the estates in lands now held by certain individuals, 
 under leases for a term of years from the Tuscarora tribe of 
 Indians, made in pursuance of certain acts of the General As- 
 sembly of this State, shall be hereafter considered real estate ; 
 shall decend to, and be devided among the heirs of any intes- 
 tate, subject to dower and tenancy by courtesy, and other in- 
 cidents to real estate, and its liabilitiy to execution, and its 
 conveyance and devise, shall be governed by the same rules as 
 are now prescribed in the case of real estate held in fee simple ; 
 Provided that nothing herein contained, shall be so construed 
 as to give to the individuals holding the said term of years, a 
 right to enjoy the same for a longer period than is designated ' 
 in the leases executed by the Tuscarora Indians, in pursurance 
 of acts of the General Assembly of this state, nor as to give to 
 said individuals any right which by the constitution of this 
 state, is exclusively confirmed to the freeholders. 
 
 LAWS OF NORTH CAROLINA FROM 1827 TO 1831, PAGE II, VOL. 
 
 I, CHAPTER XIX, IN STATE LIBRARY. ACT OF NOV. 
 
 I7TH, 1828. 
 
 " An act concerning the lands formerly occupied by the Tusca- 
 rora tribe of Indians lying in Bertie County, on the north 
 side of Roanoke river. 
 
 "Whereas the Tuscarora Indians have for more than a cen- 
 tury been the firm and undividing friends of the white people 
 of this country, insomuch that the people of North Carolina 
 not only render to them full and complete Justice, but also to 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 93 
 
 exercise towards them that spirit of generosity which their 
 conduct has merrited : Therefore, 
 
 " I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
 North Carolina, and is hereby enacted by the authority of the 
 same, that William R. Smith of Halifax, Simon J. Barker, of 
 Martin and William Brittin of Bertie, be, and they are hereby 
 appointed commissioners for the purpose of advertising and 
 selling in manner hereinafter directed, the above named tract 
 of land bounded as follows, to wit : beginning at the mouth of 
 Quitsnoy swamp ; running up the swamp 430 poles to a scrub- 
 by oak, near the head of said swa^mp by a great spring ; thence 
 north 10 degrees east 850 poles, to a persimmon tree, on Raquis 
 Swamp ; thence along the swamp and Pocasin main course 
 north 57 degrees west 2,640 poles, to a hickory on the east side 
 of Falling Run on Deep Creek, and down the various courses 
 of said Run to Roanoke River ; then down the river to the 
 first station. 
 
 " II. And be it further enacted, That the title so to be sold 
 by said commissioners shall be understood to extend only to 
 the reversion of the State in said lands after the expiration of 
 the lease from the Indians, under which they are now held, 
 and after the ratification of this act, and notice thereof to the 
 commissioners, it shall be their duty to proceed forthwith to 
 advertise in the newspapers most convenient to the premises, 
 and also in five of the most public places in -the counties of 
 Bertie, Halifax and Martin, including the court houses in said 
 counties, that a sale of said lands, according to the provisions 
 of this act, will take place on Tuesday of the ensuing March 
 term of the Superior Court of Birtie county, that is, on the 
 1 7th day of March next ; and it shall be the duty of the said 
 commissioners to attend to the aforesaid time and place, and 
 offer in the court house yard, at public sale to the highest bid- 
 der, the said lands, according to advertisement, subject howev- 
 er to the lease aforesaid, and the commissioners shall have pow- 
 er to continue or postpone the sale from day to day until the 
 
94 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 end of the week, and should they, by unavoidable accident or 
 otherwise be prevented from selling all or any part of the lands 
 during the same week, it shall be their duty to advertise in like 
 manner, for two months next preceding the following Septem- 
 ber term of the Bertie court, and to sell at said term, as is 
 heretofore directed, at the March term, and said commissioners 
 shall be empowered to put up said lands in such parcels as they 
 may deem most advantageous for selling, and that they shall 
 give the purchasers a credit of twelve months on one-half the 
 purchase money, and a credit of twelve months on the other 
 half ; Provided always, that the purchaser shall deliver to the 
 commissioners bonds with good and sufficient security for the 
 same, payable to the Governor of the State. 
 
 " III. And be it further enacted, That should the commis- 
 sioners upon offering said lands as aforesaid perceive that they 
 were likely to be sacrificed, or to sell for an amount greatly 
 below their value, it shall be their duty forthwith to discontin- 
 ue the sale, and it shall be the duty of the commissioners after 
 making sale, or if no sale be made, immediately after Septem- 
 ber next to make report to the public Treasurer of the State 
 of all such proceedings that they may have had under this act> 
 and also to hand over to him all such bonds as they may have 
 taken from purchasers ; and it shall be the duty of the Secre- 
 tary of State, upon a certificate from the Treasurer of pay. 
 ment of the purchase money and a certificate from the com- 
 missioners of the boundaries of the land so purchased, to grant 
 a title of release from the State of North Carolina to such per- 
 sons as may be reported purchasers by said commissioners 
 under the act of Assembly. 
 
 " IV. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty 
 of the public Treasurer to collect the money on said lands 
 when they shall become due and hold the same subject to the 
 order of the Tuscarora tribe of Indians ; and whenever such 
 order shall be presented, properly and duly authenticated, by 
 said tribe or nation of Indians, it shall be his duty to pay the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 95 
 
 same over accordingly ; Provided always that upon paying 
 such monies, the Public Treasurer shall take from said Indians 
 or agents, a full and complete release of all such claim, pretence 
 of title, as they now make or ever may have to the aforesaid 
 tract of lands. 
 
 "V. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners 
 shall be allowed each the sum of three dollars for every day 
 that they shall necessarily be employed in examining said 
 lands, or in attending the sale of same, to be paid out of the 
 funds arising from the sale. 
 
 " VI. Be it further enacted, That if it should appear at any 
 time thereafter that the said Indians have parted with their 
 claims, or contracted for the same, so that in fact the benefit 
 of the sale shall, agreeable to the provisions of this act, re- 
 vert to the State." 
 
 Governor John Owen, Esq., appointed as commissioners, 
 William R. Smith, of Halifax ; Simon J. Baker, of Martin ; and 
 William Brittain, of Birtie ; to sell the Tuscarora lands in pur- 
 suance to the lease effected by the help of the General Assem- 
 bly, Nov. 17, 1823, of which they reported to William Roberts, 
 Public Treasurer in bonds the sum of $2977.87, payable in 
 installments of one and two years from the I7th day of March, 
 1829, which are on file in the Public Treasurer's Office. And 
 on Nov. 21, 1831, William S. Mahon, the Public Treasarer, re- 
 reported cash in bonds for sale of Tuscarora lands 
 
 Principle $1400.27. 
 
 Interest 3O-74- 
 
 Total $1431.01. 
 
 Another report of the same man January, 1832, that all has 
 been collected, and remains in the treasury, subject to the or- 
 der of the Indians. $3,220.71^. 
 
 Paid on May 3 1st, 1831, and found on file. 
 
 " For this amount paid Bates Cooke, being their agent to re- 
 
96 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 ceive the same under the Act of Assembly of 1828, $3,- 
 220.71^." 
 
 In about the year 1818, the New York Indians, (which in- 
 cludes the Tuscaroras), were engaged in a stipulation, to buy a 
 tract of land from the Menomonees and Winnebagoes, which 
 was questioned in Congress about the validity of a contract on 
 purchases of lands between Indian nations. But Congress did 
 concur in the stipulation made between the New York Indians 
 of the first part, and the Menomonees and Winnebagoes of the 
 second part, for lands lying in Green Bay, Wisconsin, bought 
 and paid for by the former according to the stipulation con- 
 cluded in the year 1822. 
 
 For the payment of the said land above, I can only speak * 
 for the Tuscaroras. The precise amount paid I am unable to 
 state. But a tax was made on the nation ; children paid 
 twenty-five cents each, adults paid more according to their 
 ability ; the amount obtained in this way I am unable to state. 
 They also gave their annuities of two years, which they drew 
 from the government, and also two hundred dollars in money 
 which they loaned from the Oneida Indians (which they after- 
 wards refunded). 
 
 All those goods and moneys were paid to the Menomonees 
 and Winnebagoes, as their part of the Green Bay lands. These 
 facts I obtained of the widow of Jonathan Printup, an honora- 
 ble chief of the Tuscarara nation, by whom was entrusted with 
 the goods and money for the payment of said lands, which he 
 faithfully performed, and was accompanied as delegates by Dr. 
 John Patterson and James Cusick, who were appointed to the 
 honorable office of purchasing a tract of land for a future home 
 of their people. I am indebted to the widow of Dr. John Pat- 
 terson, and also his brother Harry, for information which cor- 
 roborates with that of the widow above mentioned, and also of 
 other old people. 
 
 In a short time afterwards, the Menomonees denied the con- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 97 
 
 tract in various ways, they denied the efficiency of the Chiefs 
 who signed the treaty, and also denied of having received any 
 payment, and also denied the boundary of the land ceded. This 
 naturally created difficulty and discord between them, and kept 
 growing worse from year to year. But the Winebagoes never 
 denied any of the denials of the Menomonees. 
 
 In a treaty of the United States and the Menomonees and 
 Winebagoes, of Feb. 6th, 1826, in Article 8th, it was acknowl- 
 edged that there existed some uncertainty in consequence of 
 the cession made by the tribes upon Fox River and Green Bay, 
 to the New York Indians. Finally the Menomonees made 
 their complaint before the President, concerning the New 
 York Indians, which has reference to the case, in the treaty 
 by the United States, with the several tribes of Green Bay on 
 Feb. 23rd, 1829, in Article 2nd, which read as follows, viz: 
 
 " Much difficulty having arising from the negotiations be- 
 tween the Menomonees and Winebago tribes and the various 
 tribes and portions of tribes of Indians of the State of New 
 York, and the claims of the respective parties being much con- 
 tested, as well with relation to the tenure and boundaries of 
 the two tracts claimed by the New York Indians, west of Lake 
 Michigan, as to the authority of the persons who signed the 
 agreement on the part of the Monomonees, and the whole sub- 
 ject having been fully examined at the council this day con- 
 cluded, and the allegations, proofs, and statements of the re- 
 spective parties having been entered upon the Journal of the 
 commissioners, so that the same can be decided by the Presi- 
 dent of the United States, it is agreed by the Monomonees 
 and Wincbagoes, that so far as respects their interests in the 
 premises, the whole matter shall be referred to the President of 
 the United States, whose decision shall be final. And the 
 President is authorized, on the parts, to establish such boun-* 
 daries between them and the New York Indians as he may con- 
 sider equitable and just." 
 
 And also i-n the treaty of Feb. 8th, 1838, we find, in enumer- 
 (12) 
 
98 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 ating the several reasons for effecting a treaty at the above 
 date, the following, commencing at line 20,928, in the Revision 
 of Indian Treaties, viz : " as well as for the purpose of settling 
 the long existing dispute between themselves, and the several 
 tribes of the New York Indians, who claim to have purchased 
 a portion of their lands, the undersigned, Chiefs and head men 
 of the Menomenees tribe, stipulate and agree with the Uuited 
 States as follows : 
 
 ' First. The Menomonee tribe of Indians declare themselves 
 the friend and allies of the United States, under whos parental 
 care and protection they desire to continue ; and although al- 
 ways protesting that they are under no obligation to recognize 
 any claim of the New York Indians to any portions of their 
 country ; that they neither sold nor received any value for the 
 land claimed by these tribes ; yet at the solicitation of their 
 Great Father, the President of the United States, and as an 
 evidence of their great love and veneration for him, they agree 
 that such a part of the land described, being within the follow- 
 ing boundaries, as he may direct, may be set apart as homes 
 for the several tribes of the New York Indians, who may re- 
 move to and settle upon the same within three years from the 
 date of this agreement. &c." Commencing at line 20,970, the 
 President of the United States is hereby empowered to appor- 
 tion the lands among the actual occupants at that time, so as 
 not to assign to any tribe a greater number of acres than may 
 be 'equal to one hundred for each soul actually settled upon 
 the lands, and if, at any time of such apportionment any lands 
 shall remain unoccupied by any tribes of the New York 
 Indians, such portion as would have belonged to said Indians, 
 had it l>r<'n occupied, shall revert to the United States. That 
 ]> nt inn, if any, so reverting to be laid off by the President of 
 the United States. It is destinctly understood that the lands 
 hereby ceded to the United States for the New York Indians 
 are to be held by those tri'bes, under such tenure as the Men- 
 omonee Indians now hold their land?, subject to such regula- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 99 
 
 tions and alternation of tenure as Congress and the President 
 of the United States shall from time to time think proper to 
 adopt. 
 
 " Second.- For the above cession the Unifed States for the 
 benefit of the New York Indians, the United States consent 
 to pay the Menomonee Indians twenty Thousand Dollars, &c. 
 
 Also commencing at line 21,118, Article 6th, the Menom- 
 onee Chiefs request that such part of it as relates to the New 
 York Indians be immediately submmitted to the representa- 
 tives of their tribes, and if they refuse to accept the provision 
 made for their benefit and to remove upon the lands set apart 
 for them, on the west side of Fox River, that they will direct 
 their immediate removal from the Menomonee county ; but if 
 they agree to accept the liberal offer made to them by parties 
 of this compact, then the Menomonee tribe, as dutiful children 
 of the Great Father, the President, will take them by the hand 
 as brothers, and settle down with them in peace and friend- 
 ship." 
 
 SUPPLE M E X T A R V A RT Id. K S . 
 
 First. It is agreed between the undersigned, commissioners 
 on behalf of the United States and the chiefs and warriors 
 representing the Menomonee tribe of Indians, that for the 
 reasons above expressed, such part of the first Article of the 
 agreement entered into between the parties hereto, on the 8th 
 instant, as limits the removal and settlement of the New York 
 Indians upon the lands therein provided for their future homes, 
 three years, shall be altered and amended so as to read as fol- 
 lows : That the President of the United States shall prescribe 
 the time for the removal and settlement of the New York In- 
 dians upon the lands thus provided for them ; and at the ex- 
 piration of such reasonable time, he shall apportion the lands 
 among the actual settlers in such manner as he shall deem 
 equitable and just. And if, within such reasonable time as the 
 President of the United States shall prescribe for that purpose, 
 the New York Indians shall refuse to accept the provisions 
 
IOO LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 made for their benefit, or, having agreed, shall neglect or refuse 
 to remove from New York, and settle on the said lands, within 
 the time prescribed for that purpose, that then, and in cither 
 of these events, the lands aforesaid shall be and remain in the 
 property of the United States, according to the said first arti- 
 cle, excepting so much thereof as the President shall deem 
 justly due to such of the New York Indians as shall actually 
 have removed to and settled on the said lands. 
 
 " Second, It is further agreed that the part of the 'Sixth Ar- 
 ticle of the agreement aforesaid, which requires the removal of 
 those of the New York Indians who may not be settled on the 
 lands at the end of three years, shall be so amended as to leave 
 such removal discretionary with the President of the United 
 States ; the Menomonee Indians having full confidence that in 
 making his decision he will take into consideration the welfare 
 and prosperity of their nation ; Provided, That for the pur- 
 pose of establishing the rights of the New York Indians upon 
 a permanent and just footing, the said treaty shall be ratified 
 with the express understanding that two townships of land,"&c. 
 which goes on and locates the different portion of lands to the 
 several tribes or bands of the New York Indians which was 
 proclaimed, July 9, 1832. 
 
 " Whereas articles of agreement between the United States 
 of America, and the Menomonee Indians, were made aud con- 
 cluded at the city of Washington, on the 8th day of Februa- 
 ry A. D. 1831, by John H, Eaton, and Samuel C.-Stambaugh, 
 commissioners on the part of the United States, and certain 
 Chiefs and headmen of the Menomonee nation., on the part of 
 the said nation ; to which articles an addition or supplemental 
 article was afterwards made, on the i^th day of February, in 
 the same year, by which the said Menomonee nation agree to 
 cede to the United States certain parts of their lands : and 
 that a tract of country therein defined, shall be set apart for 
 the New York Indians ; all which, with the many other stip- 
 ulations therein contained, will more fully appear by reference 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX 'NATiOAS. IOi 
 
 to the same. When said agreement thus forming a treaty, 
 were laid before the Senate of the United States', during their 
 then session, but were not at said session acted oh by that 
 body. Whereupon a further agreement was on the fifteenth 
 day of March, in the same year, entered into for the purpose 
 of preserving the provisions of the treaty made as aforesaid ; 
 by which it is stipulated that the said articles of agreement 
 concluded as aforesaid, should be laid before the next Senate 
 of the United States at their ensuing session, and if sanction- 
 ed and confirmed by them, that each and every article threof 
 should be as binding and obligatory upon the parties respect- 
 ively as if they had been sanctioned at the previous session ; and 
 whereas, The Senate of the United States, by their reso- 
 lution of the twenty fifth day of June, 1832, did advise and 
 consent to accept, ratify, and confirm the same, and every 
 clause and article thereof, upon the conditions expressed in the 
 proviso contained in their said resolution, which proviso is as 
 follows : Provided, That for the purpose of establishing the 
 right of the New York Indians on a permanent and just foot- 
 ing, the said treaty shall be ratified, with the express under- 
 standing that two townships of land, &c.," as in article second 
 above. 
 
 "Whereas, Before the treaty aforesaid, conditionally ratified, 
 according to the proviso to the said resolution of the Senate, 
 above recited, could be obligatory upon the said Menomomee 
 nation, their assent to the same must be had and obtained." 
 Which was clone after some modifications respecting the locr\- 
 tion of the portion of land for the New York Indians. And 
 as the modifications so made and desired, was acceded to also 
 by the New York Indians, which was as follows: 
 
 " To all to. whom these presents shall come, the undersigned 
 chiefs and head men of the sundry tribes of the New York In- 
 dians (as set forth in the specifications annexed* to their signa- 
 tures), send greeting; 
 
 " Whereas, a tedious, perplexing and harassing dispute and 
 
102 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 controversy have long existed between the Menomonee Nation 
 of Indians and the New York Indians, more particularly those 
 known as the Stockbridge, Munsee and Brothertown tribes, 
 the Six Nations and the St. Regis tribe. The treaty made be- 
 tween the said Menomonee Nation and the United States, 
 and the conditional ratification thereof by the Senatt of the 
 .United States being stated and set forth in the within agree- 
 ment, entered into between the chiefs and head men of the 
 said Menomonee, and George B. Porter, Governor of Michigan, 
 commissioners specially appointed, with instructions referred 
 to in the said agreement. 
 
 "And whereas, the undersigned are satisfied and believe 
 that the best efforts of the said commissioners were directed 
 and used to procure, if practicable, the unconditional assent of 
 the said Menomonees to the change proposed by the Senate 
 of the United States in the ratification of the said treaty, but 
 without success. 
 
 "And whereas, the undersigned, further believe that the 
 terms stated in the within agreement are the best practicable 
 terms short of those proposed by the Senate of the United 
 States, which could be obtained from the said Menomonees ; 
 and being asked to signify our acceptance of the modifications 
 preposed, as aforesaid, by the Menomonees, we are compelled 
 by a sense of duty and propriety to say that we do hereby ac- 
 cept of the same. So far as the tribes to which we belong are 
 concerned, we are perfectly satisfied that the treaty should be 
 ratified on the terms proposed by the Menomonees. We fur- 
 ther believe that the tract of land which the Menomonees in 
 the within agreement are willing to cede, in exchange for an 
 equal quantity on.the northeast side of the tract of five hun- 
 dred thousand acres, contains a sufficient quantity of good land, 
 favorably and advantageously situated, to answer all the wants 
 of the New York Indians and St. Regis tribe. For the pur- 
 pose, then, of putting an end to strife, and that we may sit 
 down in peace and harmony, we thus signify by our acceptance 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 103 
 
 of the modifications proposed by the Menomonees ; and we 
 most respectfully request that the treaty as now modified by 
 the agreement this day entered into with the Menomonees, 
 may be ratified and approved by the President and Senate of 
 the United States. 
 
 "Proclaimed March I3th, 1835." 
 
104 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Treaties of New York Indians. 
 
 Treaty with the New York Indians as amended by the Sen- 
 ate, and assented to by the several Tribes 1838. 
 
 Articles of a treaty made and concluded at Buffalo Creek, in 
 the State of New York, the fifteenth day of January, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, 
 by Ransom H. Gillett, a commissioner on the part or the Uni- 
 ted States, and the chiefs, head men and warriors of the several 
 tribes of the New York Indians, assembled in council ; witnes- 
 seth; 
 
 " Whereas, The Six Nations of New York Indians, not long 
 after the close of the war of the Revolution, became convinced, 
 from the rapid increase of the white settlers around, that the 
 time was not far distant when their true interest must lead 
 them to seek a new home among their brethren in the West ; 
 and, 
 
 ' Whereas, This subject was agitated in a general council of 
 the Six Nations as early as 1810, and resulted in sending a me- 
 morial to the President of the United States, inquiring wheth- 
 er the Government would consent to their leaving their habi- 
 tations, and removing into the neighborhood of their western 
 brethren, and if they could procure a home there, by gift or 
 purchase, whether the Government would acknowledge their 
 title to the lands so obtained in the same manner it had ac- 
 knowledged it in those from whom they might receive it ; and 
 further, whether the existing treaties would in such a case re- 
 main in full force, and their annuities be paid as heretofore ; 
 and, 
 
OF. THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 10$ 
 
 " Whereas, With the approbation of the President of the 
 United States, purchases were made by the New York Indians 
 from the Menomonees and Winnebago Indians of certain 
 lands at Green Bay, in the Territory of Wisconsin, which, after 
 much difficulty and contention with those Indians concerning 
 the extent of the purchase, the whole subject was finally set- 
 tled by a treaty between the United States and the Menomo- 
 nee Indians, concluded in February, 1831, to which the New 
 York Indians gave their assent on the seventeenth day of Oc- 
 tober, 1832 ; and 
 
 " Whereas, By a provision of that treaty, five hundred thou-, 
 sand acres of land are secured to the New York Indians of the 
 Six Nations and the St. Regis tribe, as a future home, on the 
 condition that they all remove to the same within three years, 
 or such reasonable time as the President shall prescribe ; and 
 , " Whereas, The President is satisfied that various consider- 
 ations have prevented those still residing in New York from 
 removing to Green Bay, and among other reasons, that many 
 who were in favor of emigration preferred to remove at once 
 to the Indian Territory, which they were fully persuaded was 
 the only permanent and peaceable home for all the Indians. 
 And they therefore applied to take their Green Bay lands .and 
 provide them a new home among their brethren in the Indian 
 Territory ; and 
 
 " Whereas, The President, being anxious to promote the 
 peace, prosperity and happiness of his red children, and deter- 
 mined to carry out the Jiumane policy of the Government in 
 removing the Indians from the east to the 'west of the Missis- 
 sippi, within the Indian Territory, by bringing them to see and 
 feel, by his justice and liberality, that it is their true policy 
 and for their interest to do so without delay ; 
 
 " Therefore, Taking into consideration the foregoing premi- 
 ses, the following articles of a treaty are entered into, between 
 the United States of America and the several tribes of the 
 New York Indians, the names of whose chiefs, head men and 
 
 (13) 
 
106 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 warriors are hereto subscribed, and those who may hereafter 
 give their assent to this treaty in writing within such time as 
 the President shall appoint." 
 
 GENERAL PROVISIONS. 
 
 "Article i. The several tribes of the New York Indians, the 
 names of whose chiefs, head men, warriors and representatives 
 are hereunto annexed, in consideration of the premises above 
 recited, and the covenants hereinafter contained, to be perform- 
 ed on the part of the United States, hereby cede and relinquish 
 to the United States all their right, title and interest in the 
 lands secured to them at Green Bay by the Menomonee treaty 
 of 1831, except the following tract on which a part of the New 
 York Indians now reside : Beginning at the southwesterly 
 corner of the French grants at Green Bay, and running thence 
 southwardly to a point and line to be run from the little Coca- 
 lin, parallel to a line of the French grants, and six miles from 
 Fox river ; from thence, on said parallel line, northwardly six 
 miles ;. from thence eastwardly to a point on the northeast line 
 of the Indian lands, and being a right angle to the same. 
 
 "Article 2. In consideration of the above cession and relin- 
 quishment on the part of the tribes of the New York Indians, 
 and in order to manifest the deep interest of the United States 
 in the future peace and prosperity of the New York Indians, 
 the United States agree to set apart the following tract of 
 country, situated directly west of the State of Missouri, as a 
 permanent home for the New York Indians now residing in the 
 State of New York, or in Wisconsin, or elsewhere in the United 
 States, who have no permanent homes; which said country is 
 described as follows: Beginning on the west line of the State 
 of Missouri, at the northeast corner of the Cherokee tract, ami 
 running thence north along the west line of the State of Mis- 
 souri, twenty-seven miles to the southerly line of the Missouri 
 lands ; thence west so far as shall be necessary, by runr.iiu; a 
 line, at right an-le> and parallel to the west line ah-ioaid. to 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 107 
 
 the Osage lands ;' and thence easterly along the Osage and 
 Cherokee lands to the place of beginning ; to include one mil- 
 lion eight hundred and twenty-four thousand acres of land, be- 
 ing three hundred and twenty acres for each soul of said 
 Indians, as their numbers are at present computed. To have 
 and hold the same, in fee simple, to the said tribes or nations 
 of Indians, by patent from the President of the United States, 
 issued in conformity with the third section of the act entitled, 
 'An act to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians 
 residing in any of the States or Territories, and for their remov- 
 al west of the Mississippi/ approved on the 28.th day of May, 
 1830, with full power and authority in the said Indians to 
 divide said lands among the different tribes, nations or bands 
 in severalty, with the right to sell and convey to and from each 
 other, under such laws and regulations as may be adopted by 
 the respective tribes, acting by themselves or by a general 
 council of the said New York Indians, acting for all the tribes 
 collectively. It is understood and agreed that the above de- 
 scribed country is intended as a future home for the following 
 tribes, to-wit : The Senecas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, 
 Oncidas, St. Regis, Stockbridges, Munsees and Brothertowns, 
 residing in the State of New York ; and the same is to be di- 
 vided equally among them according to their respective num- 
 bers, as mentioned in a schedule hereunto annexed. 
 
 " Article 3. It is further agreed that such of the tribes of 
 the New York Indians as do not accept and agree to remove 
 to the country set apart for their new homes, within five years, 
 or such other time as the President may from time to time ap- 
 point, shall forfeit all interest in the lands so set apart, to the 
 United States. 
 
 " Article 4. Perpetual peace and friendship shall exist be- 
 tween the United States and the New York Indians.; and the 
 United States hereby* guarantee to protect and defend them 
 in the peaceable possession and enjoyment of their new home, 
 and hereby secure to them, in said country, the right to estab- 
 
108 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 lish their own form of government, appoint their own officers, 
 and administer their own laws; subject, however, to the legis- 
 lation of the United States, regulating trade and intercourse 
 with the Indians. The lands secured to them by patent under 
 this treaty shall .never be included in any state or territory of 
 this Union. The said Indians shall also be entitled in all re- 
 spects to the same political and civil rights and privileges that 
 are granted and secured by the United States to any of the 
 several tribes of emigrant Indians settled in the Indian Ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 "Article 5. The Oneidas are to have their lands in 'the In- 
 dian Territory, in the tract set apart for the New York Indians, 
 adjoining the Osage tract, and that hereinafter set apart for 
 the Senecas ; and the same shall be so laid off as to secure 
 them a sufficient quantity of timber for their use. 
 
 Those tribes whose lands are not specially designated in this 
 treaty are to have such as shall be set apart by the President. 
 
 "Article 6. It is further agreed that the United States will 
 pay to those who remove west, at their new homes, all such 
 annuities as shall properly belong to them. The schedule 
 hereunto annexed shall be deemed and taken as a part of this 
 treaty. 
 
 " Article 7. It is expressly understood and agreed that the 
 treaty must be approved by the President and ratified and con- 
 firmed by the Senate of the United States, before it shall be 
 binding upon the parties to it. 
 
 It is further expressly understood and agreed that the rejec- 
 tion, by the President and Senate, of the provisions thereof, 
 applicable to one tribe or distant branch of a tribe shall not 
 be construed to invalidate as to others ; but as to them, it shall 
 be binding and remain in full force and effect. 
 
 Article 8. It is stipulated and agreed that the accounts of 
 the commissioner and expenses incurred, by him in holding a 
 council with the New York Indians, and concluding treaties 
 at Green Bay and Duck Creek in Wisconsin, and in the State 
 
OF THE IROOUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. ICX) 
 
 of New York in 1836, and those for the exploring party of the 
 present treaty, shall be allowed and settled according to 
 former precedents. 
 
 SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE ST. REGIS. 
 
 "Article 9. It is agreed with the American party of the St. 
 Regis Indians, that the United States will pay to the said 
 tribe, on their removal west, or at such time as the President 
 shall appoint, the sum of five thousand dollars, as a remunera- 
 tion for moneys laid out by the said tribe and services render- 
 ed by their chiefs and agents in securing the title to the Green 
 Bay lands ; and in removal to the same, to be apportioned out 
 to the several claimants by the chiefs of the said party, and a 
 United States commissioner, as may be deemed by them 
 equitable and just. It is further agreed that the following res- 
 ervation of land sh'all be made to the Rev. Eleazar Williams 
 of said tribe, which he claims in his own right and that of his 
 wife, which he is to hold in fee simple by patent from the Pres- 
 ident, with full power and authority to sell and dispose of the 
 same, to-wit : Beginning at a point in the west bank of the 
 Fox River, thirteen chains above the old mill-dam at the rap- 
 ids of the little Kockalin ; thence north fifty-two degrees and 
 thirty minutes west, two hundred and forty chains ; thence 
 north thirty-seven degrees and thirty minutes east, two hun- 
 dred chains ; thence south fifty-two degrees and thirty minutes 
 cast, two hundred and forty chains to the bank of the Fox 
 river ; thence up along the bank of 'the Fox river to the place 
 of beginning. 
 
 SPECIAL' PROVISION FOR THE SENEGAS. 
 
 ''Article 10. It is agreed \vith the Senecas that they shall 
 have for themselves and their friends the Cayugas and Onon- 
 dagas residing among them, the easterly part of the tract set 
 apart for the New York Indians, and to extend so far west as 
 to include one-half section (three hundred and twenty acres) 
 
I 10 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 of land for each soul of the Senecas, Cayugas and Onondagas 
 residing among them ; and if on removing west they find there 
 is not sufficient timber on this tract for their use, then the 
 President shall add thereto timber land sufficient for their ac- 
 commodation ; and they agree to remove from the State of 
 New York to their new homes within five years, and to con- 
 tinue to reside there. And Whereas, At the making of this 
 treaty, Thomas L. Ogden and Joseph Fellows, the assignees of 
 the State of Massachusetts have purchased of the Seneca Na- 
 tion of Indians, in the presence and with the approbation of 
 the United States Commissioner, appointed by the United 
 States to hold said treaty or convention, all the rights, title, 
 interest and claim of the said Seneca Nation to certain lands 
 by a deed of conveyance, a duplicate of which is hereunto an- 
 nexed ; and whereas, the consideration money mentioned in 
 said deed, amounting to two hundred and* two thousand dol- 
 lars, belonging to the Seneca Nation, and the said nation agrees 
 to receive the same, to be disposed of as follows , The sum of 
 one hundred thousand dollars to be invested by the President 
 of the United States in safe stock, for their use, the income of 
 which is to be paid to them at their new homes annually, and 
 the balance, being one hundred and two thousand dollars, is to 
 be paid to the owners of the improvements on lands so deeded 
 according to an appraisement of said improvements, and a dis- 
 tribution and award of said sum of money among the owners 
 of said improvement, to be made by appraisers hereafter to be 
 appointed by the Seneca nation, in the presence of the United 
 States' Commissioner hereafter to be appointed, to be paid by 
 the United States to the individuals who are entitled to the 
 same, according to said -appraisal and award, and their several- 
 ly relinquishing their respective possessions to the said Ogden 
 and Fellows." 
 
 SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE CAYUGAS. 
 " Article II. The United States will not set apart for the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. Ill 
 
 Cayugas, on their removing to their new nomes at the west, 
 two thousand dollars, and will invest the same in some safe 
 stocks, the income of which shall be paid them annually at 
 their new homes. The United States further agree to the said 
 nation on their removal west, two thousand five hundred dol- 
 lars, to be disposed of as the chiefs shall deem just and equi- 
 table." 
 
 SPECIAL PROVISION FOR THE ONONDAGAS ON THE SENECA 
 RESERVATIONS. 
 
 "Article 12. The United States agreed to set apart for the 
 Onondagas residing on the Seneca Reservation, two thousand 
 five hundred dollars, on their removing west, and to invest the 
 same in safe stock, the income of which shall be paid to them 
 annually, at their new homes. And the United States further 
 agree to pay to the said Onondagas, on their removal to their 
 new homes in the west, two thousand dollars, to be disposed 
 of as the chiefs shall deem equitable and just." 
 
 SPECIAL PROVISION'S H>R THE ONEIDAS RESIDING IN THE 
 STATE OF NEW YORK.' 
 
 . "Article 13. The United States will pay the sum of four 
 thousand dollars, to be paid to Babtist Powlis, and the chiefs 
 of the first Christian party residing at Oneida, and the sum of 
 two thousand dollars shall be paid to "William Day, and the 
 chiefs of the Orchard party residing there, for expenses i-ncurr- 
 ed and services rendered in securing the Green Bay country, 
 and the settlement of a portion thereof ; and they hereby agree- 
 to remove to their -new homes in the Indian Territory as soon 
 as they can make satisfactory arrangements with th<i Governor 
 of the State of New York for tjie purchase of their lands at 
 Oneida," 
 
 SPECIAL PROVISION FOR THE TUSCAROKAS. 
 
 " Article 14. The Tuscarora Nation agree to accept the 
 country set apart for them in the Indian Territory, and to re- 
 
112 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 move there within five years, and continue to reside there. It 
 is further agreed that the Tuscaroras shall have their lands in 
 the Indian country, at the forks or the Neasha River, which 
 shall be so laid off as to secure a sufficient quantity of timber 
 for the accommodation of the nation. But if on examination, 
 they are not satisfied with this location, they are to have their 
 lands at such a place as the President of the United States 
 shall designate. The United States will pay to the Tuscarora 
 Nation, on their settling at the west, three thousand dollars, to 
 be disposed of as the chiefs shall deem most equitable and just. 
 
 " Whereas, The said nation owns, in fee simple, five thous- 
 and acres of land lying in Niagara county, in the State of New 
 York, which was conveyed to the said nation by Henry Dear- 
 born, and they wish to sell and convey the same before they 
 remove west. 
 
 " Now, therefore, in order to have the same done in a legal 
 and proper way, they hereby convey the same to the United 
 States, and to be held in trust for them ; and they authorize 
 the President to sell and convey the same, and the money 
 which shall be received for the said lands, exclusive of the im- 
 provement, the President shall invest in safe stock for their 
 benefit, the income from which shall be paid to the nation at 
 their new homes annually; and the money which shall be re- 
 ceived for improvements on said lands shall be paid to the 
 owners of the improvements, when the lands are sold. The 
 President shall cause the lands to be surveyed, and the im- 
 provements shall be appraised by such persons as the nation 
 shall appoint ; and said lands shall also be appraised, and shall 
 not be sold at a less price than the appraisal, without the con- 
 sent of James Cusick, William Mount Pleasant and William 
 Chew, or the survivor or survivors of them. And the expen- 
 ses incurred by the United States in relation to this trust are 
 to be deducted from the moneys received before investment. 
 And whereas, at the making of this treaty, Thomas L. Ogclen 
 and Joseph Fellows, the assignees of the State of Massachu- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 113 
 
 setts, have purchased of the Tuscarora Nation of Indians, in 
 the presence and with the approbation of the commissioner 
 appointed on the part of the United States, to hold a treaty 
 or convention, all the right, title, interest, and claim of the 
 Tuscarora Nation to certain lands, by a deed of conveyance, a 
 duplicate of which is hereunto annexed ; and whereas, the con- 
 sideration money for said lands has been secured to the said 
 nation to their satisfaction, by Thomas L. Ogden and Joseph 
 Fellows. Therefore the United States hereby assent to the 
 said sale and conveyance, and sanction the same. 
 
 " Article 15. The United States hereby agree that they will 
 appropriate the sum of four hundred thousand dollars, to be 
 applied from time to time, under the direction of the President 
 of the United States, in such proportions as may be best for 
 the interests of the said Indians, parties to the treaty, for the 
 following purposes to wit : To aid them in removing to their 
 new homes, and supporting themselves the first year after their 
 removal ; to encourage and assist them in education, and in 
 being taught to cultivate their lands, in erecting mills and oth- 
 er necessary houses ; in purchasing domestic animals and farm- 
 ing utensils, and acquiring a knowledge of the mechanical 
 arts. 
 
 SCHEDULE A. 
 
 OF THE NEW YORK INDIANS AS TAKEN IN 1837. 
 
 Number residing on the Seneca Reservations: 
 
 s 2,309 
 
 Onoiuiagas 194 
 
 Cay u gas 1 30 
 
 2,633 
 
 Onondagas at Onondaga 300 
 
 Stockbridge 217 
 
 .Munsees 132 
 
 (14) 
 
114 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Brothertowns , 360 
 
 Oneidas in New York 620 
 
 Oneidas at Green Bay 600 
 
 St. Regis in New York 350 
 
 Tuscaroras 273 
 
 The above was made before the execution of the treaty. 
 
 R. H. GILLET, Commissioner. 
 
 SCHEDULE B. 
 
 The following is the disposition agreed to be made of the 
 sum of three thousand dollars provided in the treaty for the 
 Tuscaroras by the chiefs, and assented to by the Commissioner, 
 and is to form a part of the treaty : 
 
 To Jonathan Printess, ninety-three dollars. 
 
 To William Chew, one hundred and fifteen dollars. 
 
 To John Patterson, forty-six dollars. 
 
 To Wm. Mt. Pleasant, one hundred and seventy-one dollars. 
 
 To James Cusick, one hundred and twenty-five dollars. 
 
 To David Peter, fifty dollars. 
 
 The rest and residue thereof is t6 be paid to the Nation. 
 
 The above was agreed to before the execution of the treaty. 
 
 R. H. GILLET, Commisioner. 
 
 SCHEDULE .C. 
 
 SCHEDULE APPLICABLE TO THE ONONDAGAS AND CAYUGAS 
 RESIDING ON THE SENECA RESERVATIONS. 
 
 It is agreed that the following disposition shall be made of 
 the amount set apart to be divided by the chiefs of those na- 
 tions in the preceding part of this treaty, anything to the con- 
 trary notwithstanding : 
 
 To William King, one thousand five hundred dollars. 
 
 To Joseph Isaac, seven hundred dollars. 
 
 To Ja|% Wheelbarrow, three hundred dollars. 
 
 To William Jacket, five hundred dollars. 
 
 To Buton George, five hundred dollars. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 1 15 
 
 The above was agreed to before the treaty was fully exe- 
 cuted. 
 
 R. H. GILLET, Commissioner. 
 
 At a treaty held under the authority of the United States 
 of America at Buffalo Creek, in the county of Erie and the 
 State of New York, between the chiefs and head men of the 
 Seneca Nation of Indians, duly assemble^ in council, and 
 representing and acting for the said Nation, on the one part, 
 and Thomas Ludlow Ogden, of the city of New York, and 
 Joseph Fellows, of Geneva, in the county of Ontario, on the 
 other part, concerning the purchase of the right and claims of 
 the said Indians in and to the lands within the State of New 
 York, remaining in their occupation. Ransom H. Gillet, Esq., 
 a commissioner appointed by the President of the United 
 States to attend and hold the said treaty, and also Josiah 
 Trowbridge, Esq., the superintendent on behalf of the Com- 
 monwealth of Massachusetts, being severally present at the said 
 treaty, the said chiefs and head men, on behalf, of the Seneca 
 Nation, did agree to sell and release to the said Thomas Lud- 
 low Ogden and Joseph Fellows, and they, the said Thomas 
 Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, did agree to purchase all 
 the right, title and claim of the saio^Seneca Nation of, in and 
 to the several tracts, pieces or parcels of land mentioned and 
 described in the instrument of writing next hereinafter set 
 forth, and at the price or sum therein^specified, as the consid- 
 eration or purchase money for such sale and release ; which 
 instrument, being read and explained to the said parties and 
 
 utually agreed to, was signed and sealed by the said con- 
 tracting parties, and is in the words following : 
 
 This indenture, made this fifteenth day of January, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, 
 between the chiefs and head men of the Seneca Ration of In- 
 dians, duly assembled in council, and acting for a a >_f on behalf 
 of the said Seneca Nation, of the first part, and f homas Lud- 
 
Il6 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 low Ogden, of the city of New York, and Joseph Fellows, of 
 Geneva, in the county of Ontario, of the second part, witness- 
 eth: 
 
 That the said chiefs and head men of the Seneca Nation 
 of Indians, in consideration of the sum of two hundred and 
 two thousand dollars to them in hand paid by the said Thomas 
 Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, the receipt whereof is 
 hereby acknowfcdged, have granted, bargained, solji, released 
 and confirmed, and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell, 
 release and confirm unto the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and 
 Joseph Fellows, and to their heirs and assigns, all that certain 
 tract or parcel of land situate, lying and being in the county of 
 Erie and State of New York, commonly called and known by 
 the name of Buffalo Creek Reservation, containing by estima. 
 tion forty-nine thousand nine hundred and twenty acres, be the 
 contents thereof more or less. Also all that certain other tract 
 or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the counties of 
 Erie, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus, in said State, commonly 
 called and known by the name of Cattaraugus Reservation, 
 Containing by estimation twenty-one thousand six hundred and 
 eighty acres, be the contents thereof more or less. Also all 
 that certain other trac^ or parcel of land, situate, lying and 
 being in the said county of Cattaraugus, in said State, com- 
 monly called and known by the name of the Alleghany Reser- 
 vation, containing by estimation thirty thousand four hundred 
 and sixty-nine acres, bt the contents more or less. And also 
 all that certain other tract or parcel of land, situate, lying and 
 being partly in said county of Erie and partly in the county of 
 Genesee in said State, commonly called and known by 
 name of the Tonawanda Reservation, and containing by esti- 
 mation twelve thousand eight hundred acres, be the same more 
 or less : As the said several tracts of land have been heretofore 
 reserved/** nd are held and occupied by the Seneca Nation of 
 Indians, cf 11 by individuals thereof, together with all and singu- 
 lar the rights, privileges, hereditaments and appurtenances to 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 1 17 
 
 each and every of the said tracts or parcels of land belonging 
 or appertaining ; and all the estate, right, title, interest, claim 
 and demand of the said party of the first part, and of the said 
 Seneca Nation of Indians, of, in and to the same, and to each 
 and every parcel thereof ; to have and to hold all and singular 
 the above described and released premises unto the said 
 Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, their heirs and 
 assigns, to their proper use and behalf forever, as joint tenants, 
 and not as tenants in common. 
 
 At the before-mentioned treaty, held in my presence, as 
 superintendent on the part of the Commonwealth of Massa- 
 chusetts, and this day concluded, the foregoing instrument of 
 writing was agreed to by the contracting parties therein named, 
 and was in my presence executed by them, and being approved 
 by me, I do hereby certify and declare such my approbation 
 thereof. 
 
 Witness my hand and seal, at Buffalo Creek, this i5th day of 
 January, in the year 1838. 
 
 JOSIAH TROWBRIDGE. 
 
 I have attended a treaty of the Seneca Nation of Indians, 
 held at Buffalo Creek, in the county of Erie, in the State of 
 New York, on the fiteenth day of January, in the year of our 
 Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, when the 
 within instrument was duly executed in my presence, by the 
 chiefs of the Seneca Nation, being fairly and properly under- 
 stood by them. I do therefore certify and approve the same. 
 
 R. H. GILLET, Commissioner. 
 
 At a treaty held under and by authority of the United 
 States of America, at Buffalo Creek, in the county of Erie, and 
 State of New York, between the sachems, chiefs and warriors 
 of the Tuscarora Nation of Indians, duly assembled in council, 
 and representing and voting for the said Nation, on the one 
 part, and Thomas Ludlow Ogden, of the city of New York, 
 
n8 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 and Joseph Fellows, of Geneva, in the county of Ontario, on 
 the other part, concerning the purchase of the rights and 
 claim of the said Indians in 'and to the lands within the State 
 of New York remaining in their occupation. Ransom H. 
 Gillett, Esq., a commissioner appointed by the President of the 
 United States to attend and hold the said treaty, and also 
 Josiah Trowbridge, Esq., the superintendent on behalf of the 
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, being severally present at 
 the said treaty, the said sachems, chiefs and warriors, on behalf 
 of the said Tuscarora Nation, did agree to sell and release to 
 the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, and they, 
 the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph Fellows, did agree 
 to purchase all the right, title and claim of the Tuscarora Na- 
 tion of, in and to the tract, piece or parcel of land mentioned 
 and described in the instrument of writing next hereafter set 
 forth, and at the price or sum therein specified as the considera- 
 tion or purchase money for such sale and release ; which instru- 
 ment being read and explained to the said parties, and mutu- 
 ally agreed to, was signed and sealed by the contracting par- 
 ties, and is in the words following : 
 
 This indenture, made this fifteenth day of January, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, 
 between the sachems, chiefs and warriors of the Tuscarora Na- 
 tion of Indians, duly assemblnd in council, and acting for and 
 on behalf of the said Tuscarora Nation, of the first part, and 
 Thomas Ludlow Ogden, of the city of New York, and Joseph 
 Fellows, of Geneva, in the county [of Ontario, of the second 
 part, witnesseth : 
 
 That the said sachems, chiefs and warriors of the Tuscarora 
 Nation, in consideration of the sum of nine thousand six hun- 
 dred dollars to them in hand paid by the said Thomas Ludlow 
 Ogden and Joseph Fellows, the receipt whereof is hereby 
 acknowledged, have granted, bargained, sold, released and con- 
 firmed, and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell, release 
 and confirm to the said Thomas Ludlow Ogden and Joseph 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 1 19 
 
 Fellows, and to their heirs and assigns, all that tract or parcel 
 of land situated, lying and being in the county of Niagara, and 
 State of New York, conmonly called and known by the name 
 of the Tuscarora Reservation, or Seneca grant, containing nine- 
 teen hundred and twenty acres, be the same more or less, being 
 the lands in their occupancy, and not included in the land con- 
 veyed to them by Henry Dearborn, together with all and 
 singular the rights, privileges, hereditaments and appurtenances 
 to the said tract or parcel of land belonging or appertaining, 
 and all the estate, right, title, interest, claim and demand of the 
 said party of the first part, and of the said Tuscarora Nation of 
 Indians of, in and to the same, and to every part and parcel 
 thereof ; to have and to hold all and singular the above de- 
 scribed and released premises unto the said Thomas Ludlow 
 Ogden and Joseph Fellows, and their heirs and assigns, to their 
 proper use and behoof forever, as joint tenants and not as 
 tenants in common. 
 
 At the above-mentiojied treaty, held in my presence as super- 
 intendent on the part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
 and this day concluded, the foregoing instrument was agreed to 
 by the contracting parties therein named, and was in my pres- 
 ence executed by them ; and being approved by me, I do here- 
 by certify and declare such my approbation thereof. 
 
 Witness my hand and seal at Buffalo Creek, this i$th day of 
 January, in the year 1838, 
 
 J. TROWBRIDGE, Superintendent. 
 
 I have attended a treaty of the Tuscarora Nation of Indians, 
 held at Buffalo Creek, in the county of Erie, in the State of 
 New York, on the fifteenth day of 7anuary, in the year of our 
 Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, when the 
 
 within instrument was duly executed in my. presence by the 
 sachems, chiefs and warriors of the said nation, being fairly 
 and properly understood and transacted by all the parties of 
 Indians concerned, and declared to be done to their full satis- 
 faction. I do therefore certify and approve the same. 
 
 R. H. GILLET, Commissioner, 
 
120 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 SUPPLEMENTAL ARTICLE TO THE TREATY CONCLUDED AT 
 BUFFALO CREEK, IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, ON THE 
 I5TH DAY OF JANUARY, 1838, CONCLUDED BETWEEN RAN- 
 SOM H. GILLET, COMMISSIONER, ON THE PART OF THE 
 UNITED STATES, AND CHIEFS AND HEAD MEN OF THE ST. 
 REGIS INDIANS, CONCLUDED ON THE I3TH OF FEBRUARY, 
 1838. 
 
 The undersigned, chiefs and head men of the St, Regis In- 
 dians, residing in the State of New York, having heard a copy 
 of said treaty read by Ransom H. Gillet, the commissioner who 
 concluded that treaty on the part of the United States, and he 
 having fully and publicly explained the same, and believing 
 the conditions of the said treaty to be very liberal on the part 
 of the United States, and calculated to be highly beneficial to 
 the New York Indians, including the St. Regis, who are em- 
 braced in its provision, do hereby assent to every part of the 
 said treaty, and approve the same. And it is further agreed 
 that any of the St. Regis Indians who wish to do so shall be at 
 liberty to remove to the said country at any time hereafter 
 within the time specified in this treaty, but under it the Gov- 
 ernment shall not compel them to. remove. 
 
 The United States will, within one year after the ratification 
 of this treaty, pay over to the American party of said Indians 
 one thousand dollars, part of the sum of five thousand dollars 
 mentioned in the special provisions for the St. Regis Indians, 
 anything in the article contained to the contrary notwitlv 
 standing. 
 
 Proclaimed April 4, 1840. 
 
 In the year 1846, on the i6th day of May, about forty of 
 the Tuscaroras emigrated from the reservation to their new 
 homes in the Indian Territory, and in one year about one-third 
 of them died on account of the sufferings they endured. They 
 were destitute of everything, and the Government was to have 
 
OF THE I&OQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 121 
 
 sustained them for one year, and to build houses for them, and 
 provide all the necessaries of life, but they failed in fulfilling 
 their promises on account of the misconduct of Dr. A. Hoge- 
 boom, the moving agent of the emigration party. 
 
 By reference to official documents in the Indian department 
 it appears that a petition from a small party of discontented 
 emigrationists at the Tuscarora village, dated March 4th, 1845, 
 was sent to the President of the United States, expressing a 
 desire to remove to the West. It also further appears that a 
 letter had been received by the department from a certain D. 
 G. Garnsey, dated May 8th, 1845, stating that a portion of the 
 Senecas, and others of the Six Nations in western New York, 
 were now ready to remove. The' Government, justly fearing 
 that there might be persons so anxious to possess themselves 
 of the moneys appropriated by law for the removal and sup- 
 port of emigrating Indians, as to resort to fraudulent means for 
 the purpose, by letters warned the Indian agent at Buffalo to 
 be oh his guard against such imposition. Afterwards, several 
 petitioners from small fragments of the Senecas and other 
 tribes, were prevailed on to sign memorials to the President, 
 asking to be removed, and begging appropriations for that 
 purpose. To those well acquainted with these movements, 
 there was sufficient evidence that persons interested in their 
 removal were at the bottom of all this business. 
 
 Of the Six Nations, once the owners and lords of the soil 
 within the boundaries of the great Commonwealth of New 
 York, there were many small remnants scattered over the 
 western part of this State in a condition of wretched vagrancy ; 
 reduced by idleness and intemperance to poverty, and ready, 
 for a trifling compensation, to have their names attached to 
 any memorial, without regard to its objects, for a small sum of 
 money they would lend themselves to the service of any artful 
 intriguer whose designs were to defraud the Government. 
 
 By an act of Congress passed on the 3rd day of April, 1843, 
 the sum of twenty thousand four hundred and seventy-seven 
 
 05) 
 
122 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 dollars and fifty cents was appropriated for the removal of two 
 hundred and fifty Indians to the countries west and south of 
 the Missouri river. 
 
 This appropriation was granted in consequence of repeated 
 assurances made to the Indian department that this number 
 were anxious to emigrate. The glittering prize thus hung up 
 in the face of the noon-day sun was so bright and alluring that 
 a goodly number of hungry candidates were soon seen entering 
 the lists and struggling for the prize. But, alas ! for the condi- 
 tions ; unless two hundred and fifty Indians could be procured 
 to enrol themselves on the emigration* engagement, and actu- 
 ally embark for the West, the stakes could not be legally 
 won. Here was the great difficulty. And yet one would sup- 
 pose that out of four thousand eight hundred and eighty-five 
 Indians, belonging to the following tribes, to wit : the Senecas, 
 Onondagas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, Oneidas, St. Regises, Stock- 
 bridges, Munsees and Brothertowns, by taking up all the poor, 
 degraded individuals, and gathering together all the sincere 
 emigrationists, such a small proportion of the whole might 
 easily be procured ; especially if these candidates for an agency 
 had told the truth when they asserted that large bodies of the 
 Indians were anxious to remove. By these movements the 
 Government had been induced to believe that there really was 
 an emigration party sufficiently large to meet the objects of 
 the late appropriation, and to warrant the appointment of an 
 emigration agent. Under this impression, the Secretary of 
 War, by a letter dated Sept. 12, 1845, addressed to Dr. Abra- 
 ham Hogeboom, appointed him to that office, instructing him, 
 however, that no movement was to be made unless the full com- 
 plement of emigrants should desire, in good faith, to remove to 
 the West, and Hogeboom was also explicitly informed that 
 " the Government would not undertake the emigration of these 
 Indians unless two hundred and fifty of them, then residing in 
 the State of New York, exclusive of the Canada Indians, 
 should muster themselves and actually go with the agent." 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 123 
 
 As if to leave no door open for misunderstanding, the Commis- 
 sioner of Indian Affairs at Washington addressed a letter to 
 Hogeboom, dated Oct. 2nd, 1845, m which it was expressly 
 declared that " two hundred and fifty Indians is the smallest 
 number that will be emigrated." 
 
 On the 2/th of that month, Hogeboom wrote to the depart- 
 ment giving it information that two hundred and nine Indians 
 had enrolled themselves, and some of their chiefs had assured 
 him that at Buffalo, Cattaraugus and Alleghany there would 
 be twenty more. Thus the utmost number that the Doctor 
 could dare to hope for was two hundred and twenty-nine. If 
 that letter was written in order to feel after the temper of the 
 department, and to ascertain how far it was disposed to relax 
 its determination to send no less away than two hundred and 
 fifty, he was not long in suspense, for by a letter dated Nov. 
 4th the Secretary of War again reminded him that he was 
 " selected to act as emigrating agent only in the event that 
 two hundred and fifty would go." But on the /th of that 
 month Hogeboom again writes to him, dating his letter from 
 Buffalo, saying he had ascertained that two hundred and sixty 
 Indians had enrolled themselves, and had fixed on the 2Oth of 
 that month as the time for starting." This sudden and unex- 
 pected movement was not agreeable to the Secretary on 
 account of the advanced state of the season ; but, hoping they 
 might get out before the lakes and rivers should be impassable 
 on account of the ice, he immediately ordered provisions for 
 their sustenance at their intended homes, to be procured and 
 be in readiness at the time of their arrival. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these assurances on the part of Hoge- 
 boom, when the time for tellling the truth came the whole 
 scheme failed ; a sufficient number of Indians could not be 
 persuaded to go. The emigration was therefore indefinitely 
 postponed. 
 
 It will be seen by the foregoing statement that on the 2/th 
 day of October Hogeboom wrote to the department that only 
 
 
124 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LA\VS 
 
 two hundred and nine had enrolled themselves, and he then 
 admitted that only twenty more could be hoped for in addi- 
 tion ; of course there was no prospect of emigrating that season. 
 Indeed the Doctor says in that letter-, speaking of the Indians, 
 "they do not think they will be able to obtain the number of 
 two hundred and fifty to emigrate this fall." Up to this time 
 nothing had been done to induce the war department to ad- 
 vance any money to the agent. So,- not only had the emigra- 
 tion scheme failed, but, so far as the Doctor had been moved 
 by pecuniary motives, he had also failed. This was no doubt 
 a trying circumstance, but the trial did not long continue, for 
 only ten days after he had written to the war department that 
 the Indians did not think they could emigrate this fall, he 
 wrote again to the Secretary of War, under date of Nov. 7th, 
 1845, saying " I have ascertained that two hundred and sixty 
 Indians have enrolled themselves for emigration, and have 
 fixed the time for starting on the 2Oth inst." The following is 
 an extract from a letter from the department to Hogeboom, 
 dated Nov. I4th, in answer to his of the /th. It was no doubt 
 a letter such as the Doctor much desired : 
 
 SIR, I have received your letter of the /th inst., informing 
 the department of the enrollment of two hundred and sixty 
 New York Indians for emigration to their western homes, and 
 proceed, now that there appears to be no doubt of tJie movement 
 taking place, to give you some instructions, &c. * 
 A requisition for $10,000 has this day been issued in your 
 favor, with which you will be charged and held accountable 
 for, under the head of "removal, &c., of New York Indians," 
 per act March 3rd, 1843. 
 
 (Signed) W. MEDILL, Commissioner. 
 
 Thus the Doctor was put in possession of the sum of ten 
 tlioiisaud dollars, and we hear no more about the two hundred 
 and sixty Indians, nor of any more trouble about Indian emi- 
 gration during the remainder of the year. 
 
 The proceedings of Dr. Hogeboom, and other persons inter- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 125 
 
 ested in removing the Senecas, necessarily produced great agi- 
 tation, and a very unsettled state among those who had no 
 idea of emigrating. The chiefs on the reservations of Alle- 
 ghany and Cattaraugus, harassed and perplexed by this vexa- 
 tious state of things, at length determined to address the 
 President on the occasion. This application procured the ap- 
 pointment of the council which was held at Cattaraugus on 
 June 2d, 1846. 
 
 In the spring of 1846 Dr. Hogeboom, hearing that the Gov- 
 ernment had called a council of the Senecas, for the express 
 purpose of inquiring officially whether there was an emigration 
 party among them, and, if there was one, what its number, 
 made great exertions to push off his emigrants. Regardless of 
 the positive instructions of the Government, and without its 
 knowledge, he hastily collected as many of the Indians as ne 
 could bring under his influence, and with them embarked in a 
 steamboat at Silver Creek, on Lake Erie, near Cattaraugus 
 Reservation. 
 
 The circmmstances and manner of the embarkation throws 
 much light on the motives and conduct of this emigrating 
 agent. The subject is graphically related in a speech of Israel 
 Jemison, as made in a council of 1846, and addressed to the 
 Commissioners of the United States, as follows, to wit : 
 
 " Brothers ! The question relative to emigration being dis- 
 posed of, I will explain the manner in which this removal of 
 the Indians to the West has been effected. I believe it was 
 irregularly conducted. Indeed, I may say, of this I am con- 
 vinced. The agent who came to execute it was duly notified 
 that the Government had called the present council for the con- 
 sideration and investigation of this matter. As soon as it was 
 known that this had been determined on, great efforts were 
 made to Imrry off the emigrants and induce them to leave before 
 the council would meet. I am satisfied that many were decoyed 
 away by various contrivances and gross misrepresentations on 
 
LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 the part of the emigrating agent and his emissaries. I myself 
 remonstrated against these proceedings, and asked if it could 
 be proper to inveigle and deceive the Indians in this manner. 
 In reply I was^ desired to be silent, to which I rejoined that 
 many of them whom they had decoyed on board were then 
 drunk, and in a state of unconsciousness ! These remonstrances 
 availed nothing, and the whole were hurried away. If any 
 showed an unwillingness to go they were told they might 
 return if they^chose, should they not like the place when they 
 got there." 
 
 The painful, and indeed the awful result of this inhuman 
 conduct of Dr. Hogeboom will be seen by reference to the 
 memorial of the Seneca chiefs to the President of the United 
 States, invoking the aid of the Government to bring back the 
 wretched surviving remnant of the poor duped people. It is 
 as follows : 
 
 To His Excellency, James K* Polk, President of the United 
 States : 
 
 The memorial of the undersigned chiefs and warriors of the 
 Seneca Nation of Indians, residing in the State of New York, 
 respectfully showeth, 
 
 That a party of the Seneca Nation, consisting, as your 
 memorialists have been informed, of sixty-two persons, together 
 with a portion of the Cayugas, Onondagas and Oneidas, resid- 
 ing with us, and a party of the Tuscaroras, residing near Lew- 
 iston, in Niagara county, left the State of New York last 
 spring to settle in the country west of Missouri. That your 
 memorialists have been credibly informed by letters received 
 from individuals among them, and by the statements of such 
 as have returned, that great distress has, from their first arrival 
 there, existed among them, and does exist without mitigation, 
 in consequence of the insalubrity of the climate ; that twenty 
 persons of the sixty-two Senecas were already dead some six 
 weeks since, and about the same proportion of our friends of 
 the other tribes ; that many others were sick ; that three of 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 127 
 
 the leading Seneca chiefs, one of the Onondagas, one of the 
 Oneidas, and a leading man of the Tuscaroras, were dead ; 
 that the remnant of the* people, with very few exceptions, were 
 very anxious to return, but were destitute of the means of 
 doing so ; that many of them have sent earnest requests to us 
 for assistance to enable them to do so ; but that only a few 
 families among us are able to furnish efficient relief to their 
 suffering friends. In view of all these facts, we would respect- 
 fully request the President to furnish the necessary assistance 
 to bring back the remnant of the party to their former homes, 
 and to arrange for the payment of the annuities belonging to 
 them, so that in future they may receive them here. Although 
 they went out from us against our earnest remonstrance and en- 
 treaty, and some of them mocking our expressions of concern 
 for them as we stood around the boat when they were going 
 on board, still we shall rejoice to have them home again 
 amongst us, for they are our brethren and their sufferings 
 grieve us to the heart. Thirteen of the Senecas have already 
 returned, and three others, we have heard, are on the way. 
 This makes the condition of those unable to return the more 
 lonely and wretched. We hope the President will not say it 
 was their own fault that they went there, for even if they were 
 to be blamed for doing so, they have already suffered a fearful 
 punishment. But we think that if the President were ac- 
 quainted with the circumstances he would pity rather than 
 blame them for going. Notice had been repeatedly given from 
 the War Department that unless a company of two hundred 
 and fifty emigrants could be organized, none would be re- 
 moved. Such a company having failed to be organized in the 
 fall of 1845, we were told that the Department had required 
 the removing agent to refund the money he had received for 
 the purpose of removing them. In the spring of the present 
 year certain men were running from house to house among our 
 people saying that the agent still held the money in his hands, 
 and would remove all who wished to go, upon the opening of 
 
128 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 navigation. Directly after, notice was received from the Gov- 
 ernment that commissioners were appointed, and that a Coun- 
 cil would-be 'held on a specified day, to ascertain if the requi- 
 site number wished to emigrate. When this became known it 
 was immediately reported that the removing agent (Dr. Hoge- 
 boom) had already contracted for their passage that the 
 steamboat would take them in at Cattaraugus Creek on a cer- 
 tain day, and it was not necessary for them to wait for the 
 action of the Government. The agent soon after appeared, 
 accompanied by two individuals from Buffalo, who, as we were 
 afterward credibly informed, instigated him to practice this 
 fraud upon the Government, and endeavored, by representing 
 the country west as a paradise, to induce a large company to 
 go on board their boat. Some of our friends, who had not dis- 
 posed of their effects, were told not to mind their stuff, for the 
 country to which they w r ere going was so rich, and they would 
 prosper there so rapidly that they would never feel the loss of 
 it, and one family were hurried away from their table, leaving 
 everything upon it just as it was when they arose from their 
 dinner. We have reason to believe that the whole company, 
 except a few leaders, most of whom are now dead, were de- 
 luded by these flattering but false representations of those 
 white men, and inasmuch as the removing Agent appeared on 
 the ground, with the money in his hand, these simple people 
 were made to discredit the orders received from the depart- 
 ment, relative to the council of the 2d of June. Justice would 
 indeed seem to require that these white men should repair the 
 injury they have done to us, and not to us alone, but also to 
 the government. 
 
 But we have no power to compel them. Our only resource 
 is to appeal to the government in behalf of our afflicted and 
 desponding brethren, who are perishing under the accumula- 
 ted pressure of disappointed expectations grief for the dead 
 and the heavy hand of disease upon their own persons. We 
 trust our appeal will not be disregarded. We think it is the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 129 
 
 dictate of humanity, and we confidently believe that the voice 
 of the whole country would approve the course of the Presi- 
 dent if he would grant the needed relief. We would beg leave 
 further to request the President to make known to us through 
 our friend Philip E. Thomas, of Baltimore, who will present 
 our memorial, the decision he may make in regard to it. 
 
 And your memorialists, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c. 
 
 Cattaraugus Reservation, Dec. 16, 1846. 
 (Signed) 
 
 James X Shongo, Moses Stephenson, N. T. Strong, William 
 X Jones, Robert X Gordon, Zachariah X L. Jimison, Daniel 
 Two Guns, Samuel X Wilson, William X Johnson, John X 
 Bolden, Benjamin Williams, George Lindsay, John Kennedy, 
 Jr., George Greenblanket, David X Snow, John Huson, Solo- 
 mon W. Lane, Jim X Junius, Henry Two Guns, Little X John, 
 John Talor, John X Luke, Governor X Blacksnake, Israel X 
 Jimison, William X Patterson, John X Greenblanket, S. M. 
 Patterson, Moses X Pierce, James X Stephenson, Abraham X 
 John, Jabez X Stephenson, Peter X White, Charles Graybeard. 
 
 In reply to this memorial, the following answer was received 
 from the Indian Bureau at Washington : 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, ) 
 
 Feb. 23rd, 1847. ) 
 
 SIR : The application for the removal of the Seneca Indians 
 back to New York who emigrated West from there last sum- 
 mer has been duly considered. With every disposition to 
 gratify the wishes of the Society of Friends, and of the New 
 York Indians, so far as it cquld properly be done, I have to in- 
 form you that the Executive Department of the Government 
 has neither the authority nor the means to justify a compliance 
 with their desire. In this particular Congress only could 
 authorize the measure and provide the requisite means for the 
 expense it would invalue. 
 
 Respectfully your ob't servant, W. MEDILL. 
 
 To PHILIP E. THOMAS, Esq., Baltimore, Md. 
 (16) 
 
130 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 When the chiefs were made acquainted with the result of 
 this application, they addressed the following communication 
 to the joint committee of Friends : 
 
 CATTARAUGUS RESERVATION, ) 
 March 22nd, 1847, ) 
 
 RESPECTED FRIEND, PHILIP E. THOMAS : Permit us to 
 address you a few lines, and, through you, the committee of 
 the four-yearly meetings of the Society of Friends, in reference 
 to the condition of our suffering friends and brethren still re- 
 maining in the country west of the Mississippi. We suppose 
 the committee are already thoroughly acquainted with the 
 means used to decoy those Indians off, in contravention of the 
 instructions of the Government to the removing agent. They 
 were flattered with prospects of almost unbounded prosperity. 
 The country was described as a paradise ; and they were told 
 that there friends here, who might now refuse to accompany 
 them, would soon be compelled to follow, and that it would 
 be better to go now and get well started in their improve- 
 ments, &c., as soon as possible. But, when they reached that 
 country, instead of being a paradise, they found it rather a 
 land of desolation, disease and death, and a large proportion of 
 them are now lying beneath the turf. The survivors are dis- 
 couraged and broken-hearted, in addition to the sufferings from 
 the disease which has swept off their companions, and they 
 are anxious to return. Application has been made to the Gov- 
 ernment in their behalf, without obtaining relief, and, from a 
 recent letter from Dr. Wilson, we learn that a similar applica- 
 tion to the Legislature of this State is likely to fail. We can- 
 not make any appropriation from our national funds until the 
 meeting of our national council, as a law has been passed 
 which would forbid it ; but if we delay till that meeting it will 
 expose our friends to the horrors of the sickly season once 
 more, and doubtless many more of them will perish in conse- 
 quence. Under these circumstances, we see no other resource 
 but to l$ok a^ain to those kind-hearted friends who have done 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 131 
 
 in 
 
 so much already to relieve us in our distresses. Our obligations 
 are already very great, and we cherish deep feelings of gratitude 
 for past favors. We would not willingly burden your kindness 
 now were it not for the peculiarly difficult and perplexing con- 
 dition of things just at the present time. But we feel that 
 humanity towards our own people demands of us to make this 
 application in their behalf, as well as of ourselves, for we will 
 always cherish a lively remembrance of your kindness. 
 
 Wishing you the reward of the benevolent in the great day, 
 we subscribe ourselves your obliged and sincere friends, 
 In presence of Aher Wright, 
 
 HENRY TWO GUNS, 
 WILLIAM KROUSE, 
 GEORGE X BUTTON, 
 JOHN X GREENBLANKET, 
 ABRAHAM X JOHN, 
 JAMES SPRING, 
 DANIEL TWO GUNS. 
 
 Notwithstanding the fact that these Indians were carried 
 away without the knowledge or sanction of the Government, 
 and consequently without the requisite preparation for their 
 comfort and subsistence in the western country, yet the Com- 
 missioner of Indian Affairs, as soon as he was apprised of the 
 movements of Dr. Hogeboom, anxious to afford them all the 
 relief in his power, promptly ordered arrangements for their 
 reception at the place of their destination, as will be seen by 
 the following documents in the War Department, to wit : 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, ) 
 
 June loth, 1846. ( 
 
 SlR: Information has been receently received at this office 
 that A. Hogeboom had started for St. Louis with a party of 
 New York Indians, in number about two hundred. This act 
 of starting with a less number than two hundred and fifty, in 
 connection with the recent action of this office, looking to a 
 
132 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 suspension of the emigration for a time, was wholly unauthor- 
 ized, and of course unexpected, but as the party are without 
 the reach of the Department, measures must be taken to sub- 
 sist them. I have therefore to request that you will give direc- 
 tions to the Osage sub.-agent to invite proposals as contem- 
 plated in my instructions to you of the I4th November, 1845, 
 
 to which you are referred. 
 
 Respectfully, &c., 
 
 W. MEDILL. 
 To T. W. HARVEY, Esq., Supt. Indian Affairs, St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 Notwithstanding this humane effort on f the part of the Com- 
 missioner to make provision for the reception and accommo- 
 dation of these emigrants, it appears that from the hardships 
 and exposures to which they were subjected, and from the un- 
 wholesome nature of the climate one-third of them perished 
 within six months after their arrival at their intended residence. 
 When their distressed situation was made known to the Depart- 
 ment, the Commissioner immediately addressed a letter to the 
 Indian Agent at St. Louis, calling his attention to their case, 
 from which the following is extracted : 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE INDIAN AFFAIRS, ( 
 
 October, 29, 1846. ) 
 
 SIR : I transmit herewith a copy of a letter just received 
 from James Cusick, one of the party of the New York Indians 
 removed west last summer by Dr. Hogeboom, from which it 
 appears that there has been much sickness and mortality among 
 those Indians, and that they are in a distressed situation. Mr. 
 Cusick's letter, supported by Capt. Burbanks, is calculated to 
 excite much anxiety on account of these Indians. They were 
 removed contrary to the instructions and expectations of the 
 Department at the time, and their having gone west was not 
 known until they were some distance on the route. There 
 was, consequently, no opportunity for making the requisite 
 preliminary arrangement for their comfort and welfare on their 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 133 
 
 arrival west. After giving you the instructions of June roth 
 for their subsistance, such had to be left to the judgment and 
 views of duty, under these circumstances, of yourself and the 
 Osage Sub. Agent, under whose immediate supervision they 
 came, in regard to what further required to be done for them. 
 In my letter of the 3oth ultimo your attention was especially 
 called to their situation, and no doubt is entertained, that your 
 answers to that communication will show you have done, or 
 caused to be done, all that could be done, under the circum- 
 stances, for their relief. Should the amount now remitted not 
 be sufficient to cover the expenses of what you have already 
 done, or what it may be, in your judgment, further requisite 
 to do for them in addition to their subsistance, for which there 
 is a special appropriation, you will please report promptly ac- 
 cordingly, and the necessary funds will be furnished. Funds 
 will also be remitted on account of their subsistance when this 
 office is informed that they are needed. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 W. MEDILL. 
 THOMAS H. HARVEY, Esq., St. Louis, Mo. 
 
134 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Missionary Work. 
 
 A RECORD OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN THE TUSCA- 
 RORA RESERVATION OBTAINED BY INQUIRY. 
 
 The church in the Tuscarora Reservation was organized in 
 the year 1805, embracing six members only, under the care of 
 the New York Missionary Society. 
 
 Rev. Elkanah Holmes, first missionary, from 1805 to 1808. 
 
 Members of the Church Sacarissa, a Sachem, and his wife ; 
 Nicholas Cusick, an interpreter, and his wife ; Apollas Jacobs 
 and Mary Pempleton. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Gray, second missionary, 'from 1808 to 1813. At 
 first the Indians converted their Council House into one for 
 public worship, and also for school operations, and in time they 
 built a convenient chapel, which was painted red, and was des- 
 tined to share the same fate as their dwelling houses at the 
 hands of the British Indians in the war of 1812. 
 
 It was on December 2Oth, 1813, when they were burned to 
 the ground, in consequence of which the operations of the 
 mission were suspended from 1813 to 1817, when Rev. James 
 C. Crane took charge of the mission until the end of the year 
 1826. 
 
 In the year 1821 this mission was transferred from the New 
 York Missionary Society to the United Foreign Mission 
 Society. 
 
 Rev. Joseph B. Lane, the fourth missionary, took charge of 
 the mission from January 3, 1827, to June 8, 1827. 
 
 Rev. John Elliot, the fifth missionary, also labored among 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 135 
 
 these Indians from June 22, 1827, to May 7, 1833, when he left 
 the mission by his'own request, being dismissed from the ser- 
 vice of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
 Missions, to which this mission was transferred from the United 
 Foreign Mission Society in the year 1826. 
 
 Rev. Joel Wood also labored in this mission from October 
 15, 1833, to October, 1834. 
 
 Rev. William Williams also labored among them from Octo- 
 ber 26, 1834, to August 29, 1837. 
 
 Mr. Gilbert Rockwood arrived and took charge of the station 
 as teacher and overseer of the affairs of the church, and was 
 afterwards ordained to the ministry. 
 
 Before he was ordained he would summon to his aid in the 
 discipline and ordinances of the Church, at different times, 
 Brother Asher Wright, and Mr. Bliss, of Cattaraugus Reserva- 
 tion, and Rev. J. Elliott, of Youngstown. 
 
 Ordained at Tuscarora Mission, July 3rd, 1839, Rev. Gilbert 
 Rockwood as a missionary of the American Board of Commis- 
 sioners for Foreign Missions, to labor among the Tuscarora 
 Indians. Invocation and reading of the Scriptures were per- 
 formed by Rev. Lemuel Clark, of Lewiston ; first prayer by 
 Rev. John Elliott, of Youngstown, and former missionary at 
 Tuscarora ; sermon by Rev. E. Parmely, of Jamestown , con- 
 secrating prayer by the Rev. Asher Wright, of the Seneca 
 mission ; charge by Rev. Asher Bliss, of Cattaraugus mission ; 
 right hand of fellowship by Rev. A. Wright ; address to the 
 Church and people by Rev. John Elliott ; concluding prayer 
 by Rev. Elisha B. Sherrod, of Wilson ; benediction by Rev. 
 Gilbert Rockwood. 
 
 The exercises were listened to by an attentive audience of 
 Indians, who probably never witnessed anything of the kind 
 before. The ceremonies were solemn and interesting to the 
 people to the very close, although considerably protracted by 
 passing through an interpreter. 
 
 What added to the Interest of the occasion was the ordina- 
 
136 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 tion of three native members as Deacons of the Church, at the 
 close of the ordination. The Church has received a refreshing 
 from on high during the last winter, which has added a num- 
 ber of members, and is still in a peaceful and prosperous con- 
 dition. 
 
 Rev. G. Rockwood was a faithful missionary ; he went in and 
 out among the Indians, visited in their homes, and talked with 
 them in their inroads, and was a great advocate in the cause of 
 Temperance. He was a powerful preacher, and at times had 
 great revivals; for instance, in the year 1852, when I was first 
 awakened to concern for my soul's welfare. It was then my 
 soul was first filled with rejoicing in my newly found Saviour; 
 it was then I first poured out my soul in fervent prayer. 
 
 On the 7th day of March, 1852, was held a communion sea- 
 son, and on that memorable day forty converts were admitted 
 to the full communion of the Church. Old men of seventy 
 winters and youths of fourteen bowed down together to receive 
 the ordinance of baptism, of whom I was one of the number, 
 at the age of fifteen. It was a scene that angels might rejoice 
 to behold. The whole number admitted to the Church that 
 winter were fifty converts. 
 
 Rev. G. Rockwood finished his work among the Tuscarora 
 Indians on the first day of January, 1861. Thus it is claimed 
 that Rev. G. Rockwood spent the longest term of ministerial 
 service at one installation in Niagara county but one, which was 
 Rev. W, C. Wisner of the First Presbyterian church, Lock- 
 port, N.Y. 
 
 The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 
 when they withdrew Rev. Rockwood from this mission, also 
 withdrew their supplies, when the Tuscaroras were thrown 
 upon their own resources. In October following the church 
 appointed as delegates Mr. John Mt. Pleasant, a Sachem ; 
 Dea. Samuel Jacobs and Elias Johnson, interpreter, to attend 
 a meeting of the Niagara Presbytery at Yates, to make an 
 application that this mission might come under the care of that 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 137 
 
 body, which was granted them on October 29, 1861. The 
 Presbytery appointed as Committee on Supplies, Rev. Joshua 
 Cook, of Lewiston, and H. E. Niles. In January, 1862, Rev. 
 Charles A. Keeler was sent to take charge of the mission, who 
 labored among them until 1863, after which the preaching was 
 supplied by some of the members of the church, and more 
 particularly by Dea. S. Jacobs. 
 
 Rev. George Ford supplied the Church with preaching every 
 fourth Sabbath, and was succeeded by Rev. Wm. Hall, and he 
 by Rev. W. P. Barker, who began his labors among us in Oct., 
 1877* and was formerly a missionary in India. 
 
 A letter by James Cusick, concerning the Baptist mission at 
 Tuscarora, to wit : 
 
 " In 1836, a portion of the Tuscarora Nation thought it ex. 
 pcdient to become Baptists, according to the dictates of their 
 own conscience and free enjoyment of their religion in this Re- 
 publican government. . Consequently a Baptist church was built 
 and organized among the Tuscaroras, and they were called in 
 council with several Baptist churches in this county. In 1838 
 they were admitted into the Niagara Baptist Association at 
 Shalby. 
 
 " In a ministerial council June I4th, 1838, Mr. James Cusick 
 was examined touching his Christian experience, and called to 
 preach the Gospel by Providence and the council. They de- 
 cided on that question, and gave him ordination as a native 
 preacher, deciding that he was well qualified by a knowledge of 
 theology ; and now he has labored among several tribes of the 
 Six Nations." 
 
 The first Baptist Church at Tuscarora was broken up in the 
 spring of 1846, on account of an emigration to the Indian Ter- 
 ritory, under the influence of Rev. James Cusick, the party 
 being composed mostly of the members of that Church, which 
 caused its overthrow. The next year, after about one-third of 
 the emigration party had died in the Indian Territory, the re- 
 
 (17) 
 
138 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 mainder came home among the Tuscaroras, but Rev. Mr. Cusick 
 removed into Canada and labored among the Six Nations at 
 Grand river. 
 
 In the year 1860 Rev. James Cusick began his labors again 
 among the Tuscaroras, in the town of Lewiston, having been 
 invited here by James Johnson, with the view of reorganizing 
 the former Baptist Church. 
 
 On the fifteenth day of February, 1860, there was held a 
 deliberative meeting at the house of James Johnson, Rev. 
 James Cusick acting as moderator. There were present, Wil- 
 liam Green, of Grand River ; James Johnson, Isaac N. Jack, 
 Isaac Patterson, Joseph Williams, Adam Williams, Sr. 
 
 The church was organized on March 21, 1860, at the house 
 of James Johnson, Rev. James Cusick, Moderator, and Isaac 
 N. Jack, Clerk. 
 
 A council of delegates from Wilson and Ransomville was 
 invited by the reorganized Baptist church to meet on the 26th 
 day of April, 1860, for recognition, which duly met. Rev. Wil- 
 liam Sawyer, Chairman ; James Bullock, Clerk. Introductory 
 prayer by Rev. L. C. Pattengill ; hand of fellowship by Rev. 
 Wm. Sawyer ; address by Rev. L. C. Pattengill, including 
 prayer and benediction by Rev. Wm. Sawyer. The following 
 delegates were present, to-wit : 
 
 From Wilson Rev. L. C. Pattengill, Dea. R. Robinson, 
 Dea. A. Chapin. 
 
 From Ransomville Rev. Wm. Sawyer, Dea. G. Hopkins, 
 Dea. J. Bullock. 
 
 They were received into fellowship of the Niagara Baptist 
 Association June 14, 1860, held at Akron, Erie county, N. Y. 
 James Johnson, the first deacon, was chosen April 13, 1860. 
 
 They finished an edifice of 30x40 feet, a convenient chapel, 
 which was dedicated February 5, 1862. A sermon by Rev. L. 
 C. Pattengill, prayer of dedication by Rev. Wm. Sawyer, report 
 of building by J. C. Hopkins. 
 
 Rev. James Cusick was to have been their first installed pas- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 139 
 
 tor, but in the year 1861 death took him to his long rest. He 
 was a powerful preacher, and we had great revivals under his 
 ministrations. 
 
 Rev. Thomas Green, a native, was baptized Jan. 9th, 1861, 
 and on the third day of Oct., 1863, was licensed to preach the 
 Gospel of Christ, a helper for Rev. Nicholas Smith, and on 
 Sept. 25th, 1867, was ordained to the ministry, and succeeded 
 Rev. N. Smith as pastor of that Church, which office he faith- 
 fully filled, went in and out among them, with meek and hum- 
 ble spirit, ever faithful to his trust. He had the gift of natural 
 oratory, and we had some powerful revivals under his preach- 
 ing. It would seem to us that he was called away too soon, 
 but the Omniscient Being knows best. God called him from 
 his labors and trials in this vale of tears to weal in the pleas- 
 ures of his presence and of his only Son, Jesus, of whom he 
 had preached, and fought, as did Paul, the good fight of faith, 
 and finished his course on Jan. 12, 1877, and has seen the 
 crown of life which was lad up for him in Heaven. 
 
 Rev. Franklin P. Mt. Pleasant, a native, began to preach the 
 Gospel in the spring of 1877, by the invitation of Rev. T. 
 Green, and was licensed on the 23d day of October, 1879, 
 has been their constant preacher. 
 
140 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 School Operations. 
 
 For the earlier part of the history of school operations among 
 the Tuscarora Indians, I can do no better than to give the re- 
 port of Rev. John Elliot to the Secretary of War, in the year 
 1832, viz.: 
 
 " To the Secretary of War : 
 
 " This will show the operations of the schools from their or- 
 ganization in 1805, to September 30, 1832. 
 
 " The first school among the Tuscaroras was taught by Rev. 
 Mr. Homes, the first missionary. This, according to the best 
 information, was in 1805. What amount has been expended, 
 either from the fund of the society or by the Government, to 
 sustain its operation, I am wholly unable to state. The In- 
 dians converted their Council House into one for public worship, 
 and also one for school operations, until 1828, when, with a 
 little assistance from abroad, they completed a convenient 
 chapel, 28x38 feet, for public worship. In 1831 they raised 
 and finished a frame school-house 24 x 20 feet, at an expense 
 probably of $200.' This sum, with the exception of $8, the 
 Indians obtained by contributions among themselves. 
 
 " We have but one teacher, whose whole time is engrossed 
 in the concerns of the school .(Mrs. Elliot and myself are occa- 
 sionally employed). Her name is Elizabeth Stone, and the 
 compensation she receives is only the means of support, the 
 same that we receive. Ninety scholars have,, to our certain 
 knowledge, entered the school since its commencement. One 
 of the number is the principal Chief and stated interpreter, 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 14! 
 
 who can communicate in three languages. Eighty of this 
 number have attended the school within the last six years. 
 Sixty have left with the prospect, in most cases, of exerting 
 a happy influence. This influence is the result of a belief in, 
 and adherence to, the doctrines of the Gospel. Since they 
 have embraced the principals of Christianity in full their pro- 
 gress in industry and temperance has been strikingly visible 
 and rapid. But few of the number now sip ardent spirits 
 not more than one in twenty. 
 
 " The young men are enterprising ; some have large, conve- 
 nient barns and comfortable dwellings, fine fields of wheat, 
 corn, oats, &c. ; others are beginning to plant orchards ; they 
 now depend on the cultivation of their lands for a livelihood." 
 
 The second teacher who taught the school among the Tus- 
 caroras was the son of Rev. Mr. Gray, the second missionary, 
 in the years from 1808 to 1813, and was then followed by a 
 young man by the name of Mr. Youngs. These were the first 
 three teachers who broke in and shed the light of education 
 upon the dark minds of our forefathers. The schools were 
 supported by the missionary societies in the same order as in 
 the different transfers that were made concerning the support 
 of the missionaries. In the year 1858 was the last transfer 
 made from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
 Mission to the State of New York, by whom they are now sus- 
 tained. There were many changes made in the teachers, all of 
 whose names, with dates, in the order in which they came, I 
 am not able to record ; but I will record such names as I have 
 been able to obtain which came under the appointment of 
 missionary teachers, to wit : 
 
 Miss Elizabeth Stone, from 1831 to 1837. 
 
 Miss Lucia G. Smith, 1836. 
 
 * Miss Hannah T. Whitcomb, from Oct. 5, 1839, to Aug. 25, 
 1849. 
 
 Miss Mary J. T. Thayer, from 1849 to l %54- 
 
 Miss Cinderella Britto, from 1853 to 1854. 
 
142 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 ? ' 
 'Miss Abigail Peck, from 1853 to 1858. 
 
 Assistant teachers not having regular appointment. 
 Miss Emily Parker, 1831. 
 Burt, 1837. 
 
 Nancy Wood, 1856. 
 Maria Colton, 1857. 
 " Eleanor B. Lyon, 1857. 
 Under the New York State supervision ; 
 Miss Abigail Peck, from 1858 to 1879. 
 " Mary A. Smith, native. 
 " Robinson. 
 " Emily Chew, native, 
 " Pomeroy. 
 " Margaret Eddy. 
 " Helen Gansvort, native. 
 Mr. William Sage, seven winters. 
 
 " Philip T. Johnson, native. 
 
 In the year of 1850 there was another school house built by 
 the natives under the proposition of Miss Mary J. F. Thayer. 
 I have here a brief history of her labors among the Tuscaroras, 
 from her own writings, which is very interesting, to wit : 
 
 MISS M. j. F. THAYER'S LABORS AS A MISSIONARY TEACHER. 
 
 At the invitation of Rev. G. Rockwood (then the ordained 
 missionary at Tuscarora) Miss M. J. F, Thayer commenced her 
 labors among the Tuscaroras as teacher on April 30, 1849, m 
 the old school-house opposite Mr. Rockwood's house, receiving 
 from the American Board one dollar and fifty cents per week, 
 besides her board. There were but few scholars, and these were 
 very irregular in their attendance. Miss T. visited the parents 
 and tried to get them interested. She finally came to the con- 
 clusion that time and money were thrown away on that little 
 day school, and drew up a paper, which was read to the Tus- 
 caroras at their New Year's feast, January i, 1850, in which 
 she detailed her plans and wishes, asking their aid in executing 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 143 
 
 them. Their response was cordial and hearty. They resolved 
 to build a new school-house ; the site was selected on a corner 
 near Isaac Miller's, and the people, as one man, went to work 
 with great alacrity, under the leadership of one of their chiefs, 
 Wm. Mt. Pleasant, and had, before the next New Year's, a 
 snug house, 18x24 feet, well finished, furnished with two stoves, 
 and a large pile of wood prepared. Miss Thayer commenced 
 teaching at the new station (which she was pleased to call Mt. 
 Hope) Jan. 14, 1851, having forty scholars the first day. On 
 Saturday, Jan. 12, before school began, a church meeting was 
 held at the new station. There were thirty persons present, 
 and they voted to hold prayer meetings there every Wednes- 
 day evening. 
 
 Feb. 20 Miss T. wrote ' Fifty is the average attendance at 
 school. Scholars happy and bright and very eager to learn 
 Nearly every one has bought a new spelling book. The 
 prayer meetings are well attended ; Sabbath evenings there are 
 fifty present, Wednesdays, thirty. They conduct these meet- 
 ings without their pastor, usually. Christians are being revived ; 
 there is an increasing spirit of prayer ; the women have begun 
 to pray ; we had a precious meeting last Sabbath evening." 
 
 In March there was a great deal of sickness (typhoid fever), 
 of which several died. The school was interrupted for a few 
 days. 
 
 May 2, she wrote " My school flourishes. It is difficult to 
 say which seem the happier, the children or their teacher. I 
 have five little girls boarding with me. As the ' boarding 
 school fund' is exhausted, I am obliged to meet all the expenses 
 from my own allowance" It might be stated that Miss Thayer 
 never received a " formal appointment" from the American 
 Board, because her health was so poor, but she was employed 
 and paid by them. After she went to the new schoolhou.se 
 they paid her one hundred and fifty dollars a year, and she 
 found everything. By " boarding school fund" is meant money 
 received by Miss Thayer from friends of hers who were inter- 
 
144 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 ested in her work and sent her, from time to time, small sums 
 of money and sometimes articles of food and clothing for the 
 children, deficiencies she met from her own allowance. 
 
 Thus the work went on. Several children were anxious to 
 become inmates of the teacher's family. Celia Green, Eliza- 
 beth Cusick, Ann and Mary Henry, Susan Patterson and Sarah 
 Mt. Pleasant were the favored ones. 
 
 Sept. 10, 1851, Miss T. wrote ". My school is small now, 
 owing to the prevalence of the measles. The little girls living 
 with me being attacked, their mothers have taken them home," 
 Under the same date adds " Two weeks ago I passed a sleep- 
 less night, contemplating the deplorable condition of the young 
 people here, agonizing and with tears wrestling in prayer for 
 them. Last week I learned that three young women had de- 
 cided to forsake there evil ways, repenting of their sins, and 
 looking to Jesus for salvation. Two of them came forward at 
 the church, meeting last Saturday, and 'offered themselves as 
 candidates for admission to the church. One of the young 
 women stayed with me last Sabbath night (this was Louisa 
 Henry). She gives evidence of a change of heart. May many 
 more be led to a saving knowledge of the truth." 
 
 Writing again to her father, (these extracts are all from let- 
 ters to her father), Dec. 8, 1851 " It would do your heart good 
 to look in upon my little family my little ones so confiding, 
 affectionate and happy. My heart has again been made glad 
 by the conversion of one. of my older pupils, an interesting 
 youth of seventeen. He and the two young women mention- 
 ed in a former letter united with the Church at our last com- 
 munion, I wept for joy at these tokens of the presence of a 
 prayer-answering God." 
 
 Jan. i, 1852 "Attended the New Years' feast to-day. Told 
 the people of my plans for building an addition to the school- 
 house, so that I might take more children into my family. 
 They adjourned to the Council-house, and will talk over my 
 propositions there this evening." 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 145 
 
 Jan. 3 " The church meeting to-day was very interesting. 
 Five young women offered themselves to the church, were ex- 
 amined and accepted. Most of them state that they found the 
 Saviour last summer. As near as I can learn from their state- 
 ments it was at the very time when I was so exercised in their 
 behalf. For some time I agonized in prayer ; then I became 
 calm, and felt assured that my prayer was heard and would be 
 granted." 
 
 Jan. 4, Sabbath " An interesting day. Never saw so many 
 of the Tuscaroras present at a religious meeting. Some one 
 who counted them stated that there were nearly one hundred 
 and forty, and all seemed serious and attentive. Bro. B.'s dis- 
 course in the forenoon was full of instruction to the young 
 converts. In the afternoon the young women examined yes- 
 terday were received into the Church. Eight children were 
 baptized, and the sacrament administered. In the evening I 
 repaired to the council house, where the sacrament was again 
 administered, on account of an aged sister, nearly one hundred 
 years old, too infirm to go to the meeting-house." 
 
 Jan. 5 " Commenced school to-day with twenty-five schol- 
 ars ; have seven girls f boarding with me ; my little house is too 
 small, but I hope soon to enlarge it; as the Tuscaroras give en- 
 couragement that they will take hold and help about building. 
 They hold another council to-day to make necessary arrange- 
 ments." 
 
 Jan. 6 " A committee of chiefs called on me this rnt>rning, 
 and advised me to accept the thirty dollars offered by Mr. E. 
 S. Ely, of Checktowga ; it would be needed to purchase the 
 fine lumber, which they can buy cheaper in Canada than in the 
 States. To-morrow they will turn out with their teams and 
 draw logs to mill for the coarse lumber, and next week they 
 will go to Canada for the fine lumber, which Mr. Mt. Pleasant 
 will prepare. -When all things are ready they will frame the 
 building, enclose and shingle it." 
 
 Jan. 12, 1852 " Louisa Henry, who seems to be in the last 
 (18) 
 
146 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 stages of consumption, has been with me since New Year's ; 
 is failing fast ; told me when she came that she expected to 
 die soon, and wished to spend her last days with me ; does not 
 fear death ; takes great delight in prayer and reading the Bible ; 
 the 23d Psalm is her favorite portion." 
 
 Jan. 14 At an inquiry meeting this evening, as Bro. R. was 
 absent, I conversed with those who came ; explained^the para- 
 ble of ' The Prodigal Son/ making personal application ; three 
 young persons requested prayers ; one was only ' almost per- 
 suaded ;' the other two expressed their determination to begin 
 a new life at once ; invited Elias Johnson and his brother 
 James to^stop after school for a season of prayer ; they~were 
 both rejoicing in their newly-found Savior, and poured out 
 their souls in fervent prayer ; my soul is filled with joy." 
 
 Jan. 19 " Feel quite worn out ; thought Louisa dying ; 
 watched with her all night ; sent for her aunt, who will watch 
 with her to-night." 
 
 Jan. 21 " Bro. R. called; decided to send the little ones 
 home ; close school for a few days, and take Louisa to the 
 mission house." 
 
 Jan. 25 " Louisa's aunt took her home at the instance of 
 the Chiefs, who did not like to have the school interrupted." 
 
 Jan. 26 " Louisa died to-day ; her sufferings are over ; her 
 happy spirit is doubtless with the ransomed above." 
 Jan. 27 " Attended L's funeral." 
 
 Jar?. 28 " Returned to the school-house, where we had an 
 inquiry meeting in the evening ; about fifty present, of whom 
 one-half seem seriously inquiring the way to be saved ; I con- 
 versed with the females ; found five indulging a hope ; others 
 greatly distressed on account of their sins.^Within a few 
 months there have been twenty^hopeful conversions." 
 
 Jan. 31 " Met the sisters according to appointment ; there 
 was some earnest wrestling with God ; had conversation with 
 one who, for many years, has been a backslider, but thinks she 
 has now returned to God," 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 147 
 
 Feb. 4 " At the inquiry meeting many were present ; sev- 
 eral indulging a hope ; deep feeling, but no excitement." 
 
 Feb. 7 " At the church meeting thirty-two candidates were 
 examined for admission to the church/' 
 
 Feb. 8 " Sabbath ; ninety Tuscaroras in attendance upon 
 divine services ; a most solemn assembly." 
 
 Feb. 12 "An interesting young converts' prayer-meeting." 
 
 Feb. 13 " My children all have the whooping cough." 
 
 Feb. 14 " Detained from church meeting by the sick child- 
 ren." 
 
 Feb. 15 "Sabbath; detained from church; though I am 
 much confined by home duties, the work of the Lord prospers ; 
 Bro. R. is very faithful, and the Lord crowns his labors with 
 great success. He now numbers fifty new converts ; has united 
 several couple in lawful marriage ; many drunkards seem to be 
 reclaimed ; twelve of my Bible-class have found the Savior ; 
 so have three of the little girls that have boarded with me and 
 ten of my day scholars." 
 
 Feb. 17 " I was afraid that 1 should have to stop teaching 
 and devote myself to the care of my sick children, but their 
 friends took them home last Saturday ; it seemed lonesome 
 without them, but little Elizabeth, who seems to love me with 
 all her little heart, cried so much to come back that they could 
 not keep her at home ; she is with me now and seems quite 
 happy. Have written to Secretary Treat, urging that Bro. 
 Rockwaod be permitted to remain here ; none could be more 
 active and efficient than he now is." 
 
 Feb. 24 " So many children have the whooping-cough that 
 but few attend school. I, also, have a most troublesome 
 cough, and find it difficult to teach ; should have to give. up if 
 my school was very large, as I have fits of coughing just like 
 the whooping-cough." 
 
 March 4 " My brother in Buffalo sent the sash and doors 
 for my boarding-house ; the building is going forward. Miss 
 Howe writes that she will come to my assistance if I need her." 
 
I4 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 March 7 "Communion season forty additions to the 
 church. The old man of seventy and the youth of fourteen 
 bowed together to receive the ordinance of baptism. A scene 
 that angels might rejoice to behold." 
 
 March 8 " Have written to Miss Howe to come on, my 
 health being very poor. Have obtained leave of absence for a 
 few weeks, or months, if I should find it expedient to go on 
 to New York to Dr. Nichols' Medical Institute." 
 
 March 1 1 " Several calls from my Tuscarora friends. They 
 are very loth to have me leave, even for a short time, and it is 
 a sore trial for me." 
 
 March 13 "Arrived at my father's in Lancaster, N. Y." 
 
 March 18 " Wrote in my journal, ' still at my father's,' but 
 thinking continually of my dear Tuscarora children. May I 
 soon be restored to them, invigorated both in body and mind." 
 
 March 23 " Quite unwell ; cannot tell how long I shall have 
 to stay away from my school." 
 
 April 26 " Left Lancaster for Tuscarora," 
 
 Mt. Hope, Tuscarora, April* 28, 1852 "Once more in my 
 own sweet home, greeted by the sparkling eyes and smiling 
 faces of my dear children. Found Miss Howe nearly worn 
 out and glad to be relieved. 
 
 There have been several deaths during my absence some 
 among my scholars. Several calls this evening from my adopt- 
 ed people, who seem so glad to see me." 
 
 April 29 " Resumed my duties in the school-room." 
 
 May I Sabbath " Rising early went on foot with my lit- 
 tle girls, thoughj:he road was muddy, reached the meeting 
 house before 9 A. M., in time for Sunday-school ; sacrament 
 in the afternoon. Five received into the church three of 
 them my scholars. So thankful to be once more with my be- 
 loved Tuscaroras." 
 
 May 1 8 " Have had to relinquish my school again to Miss 
 Howe, I am too feeble for school duties." 
 
 June 22 "A week ago yesterday almost the whole nation 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 149 
 
 turned out to help at the " raising." The excitement of the 
 day was so great that I could sleep but little that night ; so 
 happy ! The Lord be praised. How mountains of difficulties 
 have vanished. The Tuscaroras are doing nobly ; but, besides 
 their work, to finish and furnish all will require about four hun- 
 dred dollars ; this will take all my funds, but when I need 
 more, I know that the Lord will provide. Have already ex- 
 pended nearly one hundred dollars, yet, I trust there will be 
 no lack. Donations are coming in from various quarters." 
 
 July 23 " How different my labors this summer from those 
 of last winter. Unable to teach, have given my school to 
 another ; nor, am I able to visit much among the people. Oc- 
 cupy my time chiefly in taking care of my little girls, teaching 
 them to sew, and preparing bedding for my contemplated 
 boarding school ; thankful that I may do a little, though I long 
 to do more." 
 
 Sept. 3 " Being unable to teach, and thinking that I might 
 do more good here, if ever, to study medicine, having consult- 
 ed my friends and Mr. Treat, I shall go to Philadelphia to at- 
 tend medical lectures. Have bade adieu to my humble home, 
 not to return before next February." 
 
 Miss Thayer returned from Philadelphia in February, 1853. 
 Miss Mary Walker had taught the school during her absence. 
 Shortly after her return to Mt. Hope, Miss Abigail Peck and 
 Miss Cinderella Britto arrived, the former to teach school, the 
 latter to assist in housework, Miss Thayer to have general su- 
 pervision as matron of the boarding school. The American 
 Board doubled their appropriation, so that each one of the la- 
 dies were to receive one hundred dollars a year, and find their 
 own board. Miss Thayer taking it upon herself to meet the 
 other expenses of the school. Timely donations in money 
 were received from Philadelphia, Brooklyn and New York, and 
 various small sums ; also boxes of clothing and some provision 
 from friends in neighboring towns. 
 
 March 23 Miss Thayer writes : "Have received one hun- 
 
150 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 dred dollars from the Sunday school in Mr. Barnes' church, for 
 my building ; have hired two carpenters to do the inside work, 
 it having been framed, shingled, enclosed, and most of the 
 lathing done by the Tuscaroras. My health is failing again 
 and my mind much racked with planning, as my associates 
 each want a separate room for their own private use, I have 
 been obliged to vary from my original plan so as to secure 
 pleasant rooms for them with chimneys for stoves." 
 
 May 7 " The building goes forward rather slowly, and my 
 associates are becoming somewhat impatient on account of the 
 delay ; yet we shall have a better finished and more commodi- 
 ous house than I had at first planned. Though very much 
 worn both in body and mind, I do not regret having undertak- 
 en the work. Am more and more convinced that the only 
 hope for the moral and physical well-being of the Tuscaroras> 
 is to train up the children in the way they should go. The 
 work is begun, and the Lord is able to carry it forward, either 
 with or without me." 
 
 Miss Thayer's health continued poor and she took a vacation 
 of four weeks, in the summer, leaving her associates in charge. 
 Then wrote to Mr. Treat that she should be obliged to give up 
 the management of financial affairs, and asking them to assume 
 the responsibility. 
 
 To confer with him on the subject, Mr. Treat requested Mr. 
 Rockwood, Miss Thayer and her associates to meet him in 
 Buffalo, where he would stop on his way to the meeting of the 
 American Board at Cincinnati. The result of the conference : 
 The boarding school was transferred to the immediate care of 
 the Board, with Mr. Rockwood as Superintendent ; the ladies 
 to retain their respective positions teacher, house-keeper and 
 matron. From this time Miss Thayer felt greatly fettered, 
 and the impression grew upon her that her presence was not 
 desired at Mt. Hope ; that her usefulness there was at an end. 
 Long and prayerfully did she weigh the matter, and at last, 
 though it nearly broke her heart, she asked to be- dismissed 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 151 
 
 from the field. Her request was granted, and Miss Thayer 
 closed her labors at Mt. Hope, December 31, 1853, and longed 
 to die. It was the saddest day of her life, the bitterest trial 
 she ever experienced, this giving up all her hopes of useful- 
 ness among her beloved Tuscaroras. She knew not whither 
 to go ; could not tell the people what she had done. 
 
 Samuel Jacobs was going to Cattaraugus, and Miss Thayer 
 went with him, hoping the Lord would give her work to do 
 there. Engaged temporarily in teaching, was there until 
 the latter part of July, 1854; in August applied to the Pres- 
 byterian Board for an appointment as missionary teacher for 
 one of their schools among the Southwestern Indians, which 
 was granted, and she was sent to the Chickasaws, in the Indian 
 Territory ; arrived there in November, 1854 ; labored among 
 the Chickasaws, Creeks and Choctaws until September, 1865, 
 when again broken down in health, she reluctantly gave up 
 the work of a missionary teacher, and returned to her father's 
 house in Bristol, Wis., accompanied by her husband, (Theo- 
 dore Jones), and her three young children (tw sons and a 
 daughter). She has since resided in Bristol, Wis., on the farm 
 given to her by her father and brothers, a quiet, pleasant home. 
 Her children are growing up in the fear of the Lord, having 
 all of them, five years ago, (in April, 1873), united with the 
 Congregational church in Bristol. Although she has not the 
 means to give them a liberal education, she hopes that they 
 will be useful workers in the Lord's vineyard. 
 
 Mrs. Jones often thinks of her beloved Tuscaroras, and 
 would gladly visit them if it were not for the expense of such 
 a journey. 
 
 Mrs. Jones has culled the material for the foregoing pages 
 from numerous letters written to her father, from Tuscarora, 
 and also made extracts from her private journal, kept whilst at 
 Tuscarora, and she gives Elias Johnson leave to embody such 
 portions of it in his history of the Tuscaroras as shall best 
 suit his purpose. She sends herewith Mr. Treat's reply to her 
 
152 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 request to be released from the work at Mt. Hope; also a let- 
 ter written by the Tuscarora chiefs, representing her departure 
 
 from their people." 
 
 "MRS. MARY J. F. JONES, 
 
 February 22, 1878. Bristol, Wis." 
 
 To ELIAS JOHNSON, Tuscarora, 
 
 Temperance Society. 
 
 About the year 1800, a new religion was introduced among 
 the Six Nations, who alleged to have received a revelation 
 from the Great Spirit, with a commission to preach to them 
 the new doctrine in which he was instructed. 
 
 This revelation was received in circumstances so remarkable 
 and the precepts which he sought to inculcate, contained in 
 themselves such evidences of wisdom and beneficence, that he 
 was universally received among them, not only as a wise and 
 good man, but as one commissioned by the Great Spirit to be- 
 come their religious teacher, by the name of Ga-nc-o-di-yo, or 
 " Handsomelake." This new religion, as it has ever since been 
 called, with all the ancient and new doctrines, was also taught, 
 strenuously, the doctrine of Temperance, which seemed to be 
 the main and ultimate object of his mission, and upon which 
 he chiefly used his influence and eloquence through the re- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 153 
 
 mainder of his life. He went from village to village, among 
 the several nations of the Iroquois, and continuing his visits 
 from year to year, preaching the new doctrine with remarkable 
 effect ; many abandoned their dissolute hctbits and became 
 sober and moral men. 
 
 The wholesome doctrine of sobriety was not preached in 
 vain, even among the Tuscaroras ; nevertheless, they did not 
 embrace the ancient and the new faith, nor its ceremonies, 
 but the 'preaching of this singular person. The influ- 
 ence of his eloquence, with which he enforced the doctrine 
 of temperance, had the effect of forming a temperance society, 
 which was kept up a number of years, by holding meetings 
 and by lectures given by the leading men of the nation, until 
 the year 1830, when a regular temperance society was organiz- 
 ed, which was based on a written constitution ; and in the year 
 1832 there was a general temperance society formed at the 
 Cattaraugus Reservation, embracing all the, then, different 
 Seneca Reservations ; and in the year 1833 the Tuscaroras re- 
 organized so as to be connected with the Seneca temperance 
 society, organized at Cattaraugus. I found the following ar- 
 ticles in the records of the Tuscarora temperance society, 
 to-wit : 
 
 " Temperance Society, formed among the Tuscaroras, Feb- 
 ruary iQth, 1830, re-organized January 2/th, 1833. 
 
 "PREAMBLE. 
 
 " Whereas, Present and past occurrences clearly prove that 
 intemperance is a great and destructive evil ; therefore, Resolv- 
 ed, That we, the chiefs and warriors of the Tuscarora Nation, 
 will do all in our power to arrest its progress, both in this vil- 
 lage and elsewhere." 
 
 Experience has taught us that efforts to advance this good 
 cause are not in vain, encouraged by what we have already ef- 
 fected, we have concluded to re-organize our society, which 
 shall be named and governed as follows : 
 
 (19) 
 
154 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 " CONSTITUTION. 
 
 "Article i. This society shall be denominated the Temper- 
 ance Society auxiliary to the general Temperance Society 
 formed at Cattarftugus, March 1st, 1832, by our red brothers 
 from five different Reservations. 
 
 Article 2. It shall embrace individuals of both sexes of 
 men, women and children. 
 
 Article 3$ We who sign our names to this constitution, 
 solemnly pledge ourselves to abstain entirely from the use of 
 intoxicating liquors, and persuade others in an affectionate, 
 faithful manner to do the same, not suffering it to be used in 
 our families, nor purchasing it for those in our employ. 
 
 Article 4. It shall be the duty of those who were appointed 
 a committee by the general Temperance Society to visit the 
 members of this Society individually, and enquire whether 
 they adhere to or strictly obey the articles of the constitution, 
 and converse with others on the subject of temperance, so far 
 as practicable, and make a report of their doings to the Society. 
 Article 5. The officers of this Society shall be a President, 
 Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. The duty of the 
 President shall be as follows, viz : To open the meetings by 
 calling the assembly to order; to appoint the time for meet- 
 ing ; to settle questions in any discussions made in the Society ; 
 to appoint the speakers. The duty of the Secretary shall be 
 to minute the proceedings of every meeting, and read the 
 report at the close of every meeting, and to keep in record the 
 names of the members of the Society. The Treasurer shall 
 keep in charge the revenues of the contributions, and attend 
 to the lights." 
 
 Names of the first officers of this Society : 
 President Nicholas Cusick. 
 Vice-PresidentWilliam Mt. Pleasant. 
 Secretary and Treasurer James N. Cusick. 
 Names of Chiefs at that time : 
 William Chew, William Printup, 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 155 
 
 Jonathan Printup, Mathew Jack, 
 
 John Mt. Pleasant, John Johnson, 
 
 John Fox, George Printup, 
 
 Isaa Miller. 
 
 This united Temperance Society held a yearly convention 
 on the different Reservations, alternately, for a number of 
 years, but the interest in the convention gradually declined, 
 until the convention was entirely given up. Afterwards they 
 somewhat remodeled the constitution to suit their circum- 
 stances, and added the following article, viz : 
 
 " In the temperance assemblies the following subjects are to 
 be lectured on : Temperance, Industry, Education and Moral 
 Reform." 
 
 We have also a cornet band, which is connected with the 
 temperance society, which enliven and cheer the meetings by 
 the sweet strains of their music, and adds very much to the 
 interest of each meeting. This band goes by the name of the 
 " Tuscarora Temperance Cornet Band." It was organized in 
 the year 1842, and has existed continually to the present 
 time, in 1880. 
 
 -On the nth day of November, 1844, there was a delegation 
 sent here by the Tuscaroras, from Grand River, then Canada 
 West, now Ontario, to connect themselves with our temper- 
 ance society, which was granted them, and the following dele- 
 gates were admitted, viz : William Green, a Sachem ; David 
 Hill, Jacob Hill, Rev. Nicholas Smith and Thomas Thomas. 
 
 This society was afterwards invited to hold a temperance 
 meeting on the Tuscarora Reservation at Grand River, Ontario, 
 with the view of organizing a temperance society in conjunc- 
 tion to ours. The meeting was held according to the time 
 designated. The meetings were opened and conducted with 
 much interest, but dissolved without the formation of a society. 
 There was a disagreement concerning the constitution of the 
 society, respecting the subjects of discussion in the meetings 
 of the society. The Canada Indians wished to have the three 
 
I$6 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND. LAWS 
 
 other subjects, from that of temperance, to be stricken out, 
 but the Tuscaroras of the States adhered to the forms of the 
 constitution of their society, which includes Industry, Educa- 
 tion and Moral Reform, as the subject of lecture of each meet- 
 ing, which was adopted at an early period. 
 
 In the autumn of 1862, the cornet band and a number of 
 the members of the society made a visit to Grand River, 
 Ontario, among their Indian brethren, and when they arrived 
 there the Sons of Temperance had a social party, to which we 
 were very cordially invited to participate of the sumptous 
 feast, which was already prepared, and were two days devoted 
 to temperance meetings. The time was taken up by lectures 
 on temperance and music by the two cornet bands, which 
 played their music alternately, and added very much to the 
 interest of the meetings. The speeches were interspersed 
 with the rehearsals of the different traditions of the causes of 
 the declension of the Indian nations, and regretting the slow- 
 ness of the progress of their civilization, and attribute to temper- 
 ance^ to be the great cause of the retard of their advancement 
 in industry and civilization. 
 
 They were invited several times by these, our Canada red 
 brothers, to their Sons of Temperance conventions at Grand 
 River, of which they faithfully attended, and they were also 
 invited at one of their conventions held at Monseetown, near 
 London, Ontario, on the reservation of the Oneidas ; our cor- 
 net band and quite a number of the members of our society 
 complied to the invitation. The meetings were very interest- 
 ing. There were many speeches made on the subject of tem- 
 perance, and on various topics for the advancement of the 
 respective Indian nations. A speech was also made by the 
 author of this book, which began as follows, to-wit : 
 
 " My dear friends and relatives, I Have been interested in the 
 great and good cause of temperance for a number of years, 
 and have attended many meetings and assemblies in the tem- 
 perance cause, but this, our present gathering, is to me, unus- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 157 
 
 ually interesting ; it brings my mind back for more than a cen- 
 tury, when the Tuscaroras were broken down, as a nation, by 
 the pale faces, arid expelled from their long-cherished homes, 
 and driven from the graves of our noble ancestors, into the 
 wild and cold-hearted world ; and when they were without a 
 friend and without a home, and no one to pity them, in this, 
 their time of trouble. You, the Oneidas, gave us the hand of 
 friendship and brotherly love, and gave us peaceful homes 
 within your wide extended domain, and whispered in our ears 
 the words of consolation ; when, and how shall we ever forget 
 or repay you for the unbounded kindness that your fathers ex- 
 ercised towards ours ? We have ever given you a place near- 
 est our hearts, with all its affections, here we give you our 
 hands and our hearts in the great and good cause of temper- 
 ance, and we wish you prosperity in every sense of the w'ord- 
 .both temporally and morally." 
 
 This convention was denominated the Six Nations Sons of 
 Temperance Convention,. although we, from the States were 
 not members of that order. It seems that they deemed it not 
 derogatory to their dignity that we. should be present at their 
 conventions, although ours is a common, open and free .temp- 
 erance society. 
 
 We, also, invited them to hold their convention on our res- 
 ervation, which was acceded to and held in the fall of 1865, 
 and there were delegates of several Oneidas, from-Monseetown, 
 Ontario, and of the Tuscaroras, from Grand River, Ontario, 
 and also a cornet band of .the Onondagas, from Onondaga, Cas- 
 tle, N. Y., which favored us with the sweet strains of their 
 music, alternately, with our cornet band. 
 
 Every morning the assembly would meet at the school-house, 
 Mt. Hope, at 10 o'clock, A. M., and there form in procession 
 and march to the council-house, about one mile, to the place 
 of meeting ; the two cornet bancls; played their music while 
 the procession was moving, and our temperance banners \\cix 
 floating in the air, as if to say, rally round the 'temperance 
 banner. 
 
158 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Our temperance banner was made in the year 1844, by our 
 people, assisted by, then, our Missionery, Rev. G. Rockwood. 
 It is illustrated by several animals illustrative of the several 
 clans that are in the nation ; and also, six stars that are group- 
 ed in the upper corner of the banner, next to the pole, indica- 
 ative, as in the animals, of the several clans, that they, aught, 
 also, group together and combine as in one, to work against 
 the great monster, intemperance, which is also illustrated by a 
 seven-headed serpent. As this monster is formidable, so aught 
 we abstain from all intoxicating liquors. There is also, a great 
 eagle soaring in the air, in the act of grasping the great seven- 
 headed serpent. This illustrates that in our endeavers in the 
 capacity of a society, to defeat the great monster intemper- 
 ance we have a helper, which is the Legislature of the State 
 of New York and the United States, in enacting laws to the 
 effect of staying the great tide of intemperance among the In- 
 dians, in which we should take courage. 
 
 There was another convention held here in 1873, when there 
 was quite a large delegation of the Oneidas, from Monseetown, 
 Ontario, and also from Grand River, Ontario, among them was 
 the Tuscarora cornet band of Grand River. The meetings 
 were occupied by lectures on temperance and on other topics, 
 which were thought to be the most needed for the advance- 
 ment of the social and moral conditions of our red brethren. 
 
 The Grand River cornet band, and ours, played, alternately, 
 their angelic melodies, to cheer us in the great temperance 
 cause. It was then the convention of the Sons of Temperance 
 urged upon us to adopt their Order, but our people thought 
 it not advisable to change the order of our society, as it has 
 existed since the year 1830; the form maybe different, but 
 the object is the same. We said we preferred to adhere to the 
 old form of our society, open to all, and free to partake of the 
 benefits of it ; we prayed them God's speed in their turning 
 the great wheel of temperance, and we should lay hold on the 
 same wheel and turn the same way. That same night the con- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 1 59 
 
 vention closed. There was a great bonfire made in the street ; 
 and then there was a general farewell, hand-shaking, and it 
 closed with music from the bands in the dead of the night. 
 
 The next convention was held at Grand River, Ontario, in 
 October, 1874, in the Six Nation council-house. There was 
 quite a large representation of the Six Nations. Speeches 
 were made on the subject of temperance by all the different 
 nations, to-wit : 
 
 Mr. Josiah Hill, Sachem, of Grand River, Tuscarora. 
 Mr. David Hill, " " Seneca. 
 
 Mr. Levi Jonathan, " " Onondaga. 
 
 Mr. Clinch, " " Mohawk. 
 
 Mr. James Jemison, Cayuga. 
 
 Mr. Eligah, of Monseetown, Oneida. 
 
 Mr. William Patterson, Sachem, of Lewiston, Tuscarora. 
 Dea. Samuel Jacobs, 
 Mr. William Chew, 
 
 Mr. Elias Johnson, " 
 
 The winter after the meetings above, a communication was 
 received by the Secretary of our society, Dea. Samuel Jacobs, 
 from the Tuscaroras of Grand River, Ontario, wishing him to 
 forward to them a copy of the constitution of our temperance 
 society, and stating that they wish to form a society based 
 upon the same, which was deferred by Dea. Jacobs until the 
 June following, when Dea. Jacobs,Wm. Patterson, Rev. Thomas 
 Green and Wm. Chew went to Grand River with the constitu- 
 tion. After it was read in their meeting, the Canadian brothers 
 adopted it and formed a society based on the same. It was 
 then proposed and adopted that a convention should be held 
 in the Six Nations council-house, at Grand River, Ontario, in 
 October, 1875. Accordingly the convention duly met and 
 continued three days. Our cornet band was present, with 
 quite a number of the members of our society. The meetings 
 were very pleasant and interesting. The officers were as fol- 
 lows, to-wit : 
 
l6o LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 President Wm. Chew, of Lewiston. 
 
 Vice-President John Hill, of Grand River. 
 
 Secretary Josiah Hill, of Grand River. 
 
 Before the convention closed it was decided that the next 
 convention should be' at the Tuscorora Reservation, 'Lewis- 
 ton, N. Y., on the i/th day of October, 1876, and the officers 
 appointed were as follows, to-wit : 
 
 President Josiah Hill, of Grand River. 
 
 Vice-President 'Dea. Samuel Jacobs, of Lewiston. N. Y. 
 
 SecretaryEllas Johnson, of Lewiston, N. Y. 
 
 Just before the appointed time for the convention to meet, 
 there was a communication received by Mr. John Mt. Pleas- 
 ant, our head chief, from A. Sim Logan, of Cattaraugus Res- 
 ervation, N. Y., being leader of the Seneca national cornet 
 band, asking the privilege of attending the contemplated 
 convention with 'his band. The letter was read at 
 one of the temperance meetings, and was not only acceded to, 
 but they were cordially invited to attend, and on the I7th day 
 of October, 1876, the day appointed for the convention, they 
 were on hand. A. Sims Logan, with his national cornet band, 
 of Cattaraugus, and Levi Jonathan, with his Tuscasora cornet 
 band, of .Grand River, and Solomon Cusick, with his temper- 
 ance cornet band, of Lewiston, N. Y , were present, which com- 
 prise the three leading bands of music of any nations of In- 
 dians. 
 
 The programme was substantially as follows : 
 
 1 The meeting was called to order by the president, Josiah 
 Hill, of Grand River. 
 
 A hymn was sung by the assembly, in the Indian language, 
 words, " Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing my Redeemer's 
 praise ;" tune, Dundee. ' 
 
 Prayer by Dea. Samuel Jacobs, of Lewiston, N. Y. 
 
 The following were chosen as committees of arrangement, 
 to-wit : 
 
 Mr. Wm. Chew, of Lewiston, N. Y. 
 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. l6l 
 
 Mr. Wm. Printup, of Lewiston, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Henry, of Grand River, Ont. 
 
 Mr. George Beaver, of Grand River, Ont. 
 
 Mr. Wm. Nephew, of Cattaraugus, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. Wm. Printup made the congratulatory speech of the 
 meeting, through an intrepreter, Joseph Henry. 
 
 The speakers of the first session were as follows, to-wit : 
 
 Mr. Levi Jonathan, of Grand River, Ont., on Temperance. 
 
 Dea. Samuel Jacobs, of Lewiston, N.Y., on Moral Reform. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Henry, of Grand River, Ont., on Industry. 
 
 Mr. A. Sim Logan, of Cattaraugus, N. Y., on Education. 
 
 The Tuscarora cornet band favored this session with music 
 between the speeches. 
 
 Adjourned at 2 o'clock P. M. and convened again at 5 
 
 oclock P. M. 
 
 The assembly was called to order by the president. 
 
 The following were the speakers, to-wit : 
 
 Mr. Simon Carrier, of Grand River, Ont. 
 
 Mr. Josiah Hill, of Grand River, Ont. 
 
 Mr. William Anderson, of Grand River, Ont. 
 
 Mr. Wm. Chew, of Lewiston, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. John Mt. Pleasant, of Lewiston, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. Elias Johnson, of Lewiston, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. Wm. Nephew, of Cattaraugus, N. Y. 
 
 Music was favored the second session by the Seneca national 
 band, of Cattaraugus, N. Y. 
 
 Adjourned at 8:30 o'clock P. M. to 10 o'clock A. M. to-mor- 
 row, after singing the tune Greenville, words, " Savior, Visit 
 Thy Plantation." 
 
 Benediction by Rev. Thomas Green. 
 
 Oct. 1 8. The assembly was called to order by the Vice- 
 Prcsident, Dea. Samuel Jacobs, of Lewiston, at 10 o'clock A.M. 
 Opened by singing an Indian hymn. Prayer by Rev. Thomas 
 Green, of Lewiston, N. Y. 
 
 The Jbrtt-owing were the speakers, to-wit : 
 
 (20) 
 
1 62 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 
 
 Mr. Thomas Williams, of Grand River. 
 
 Mr. George Beaver, " " " 
 
 Mr. John C. Lay, " Cattaraugus. 
 
 Adjourned at 1:30 o'clock P. M. to 4 P. M. 
 
 The assembly was called to order at 4 o'clock P. M. by the 
 President. 
 
 The following were the speakers, to-wit : 
 
 Mr. John John, of Grand River. 
 
 Mr. Levi Jonathan, 
 
 Dr. Bombry, " " 
 
 President Josiah Hill, " 
 
 Mr. Albert Cusick, of Onondaga Castle. 
 
 Mr. Abram Hill, " 
 
 Rev. Thomas Green, of Lewiston, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. John Mt. Pleasant, 
 
 Mr. William Patterson, " " 
 
 Mr. Marvin Crows, of Cattaraugus, " 
 
 This forenoon we were favored with music by our temper- 
 ance cornet band between the speeches. 
 
 lu the afternoon session we were favored with music by 
 C. C. Lay's orchestra band, of Cattaraugus, N. Y. 
 
 President Hill in the chair, business was resumed. 
 
 Mr. John C. Lay moved that the next convention be held 
 on the Cattaraugus Reservation, N. Y. This was followed by 
 a motion of Levi Jonathan, that the next convention be held 
 at Grand River, Ontario, who claimed that they had adopted 
 the constitution, while the Senecas had not. After some dis- 
 cussion, A. Sim Logan said, " If you will give us a copy of 
 your constitution, we will accept of it and form a society 
 based on the same." 
 
 It was then put to vote and carried that the next conven- 
 tion should be held at Cattaraugus, N. Y,, on the 25th day of 
 September, 1877. 
 
 The following officers were appointed, viz : 
 
 Mr. Elias Johnson, Tuscarora, of Lewiston, N. Y., President. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 163 
 
 Mr. Josiah Hill, Tuscarora, of Grand River, Vice-President. 
 
 Dr. Bombry, Cayuga, of Grand River, Secretary. 
 
 On the evening of October 25th, as aforesaid, the conven- 
 tion duly met, and was called to order by the President, E. 
 Johnson ; opened by singing and prayer. Business was then 
 resumed. The Secretary not being present, Prof. Chancy C. 
 Jemison, of Cattaraugus, was appointed to fill the vacancy. 
 
 The committee of arrangements was as follows, viz : 
 
 Mr. John Canada, Seneca, of Cattaraugus. 
 
 Mr. A. Sim Logan, Seneca, of Cattaraugus. 
 
 Mr. Job King, Seneca, of Cattaraugus. 
 
 Mr. Levi Jonathan, Onondaga, of Grand River. 
 . Mr. James Jemison, Cayuga, of Grand River. 
 
 Mr, Josiah Hill, Tuscarora, of Grand River. 
 
 Mr. John Mt. Pleasant, Tuscarora, of Lewiston. 
 
 Mr. Wm. Chew, Tuscarora, of Lewiston. 
 
 Mr. Daniel La Fort, Onondaga, of Syracuse, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. Abram Hill, Oneida, of Syracuse, N. Y. 
 
 The convention continued three days. Many speeches were 
 made by the leading men of the several nations that were 
 represented. The meetings were unusually interesting. Every 
 speaker seemed to be moved to the utmost of their enthu- 
 siasm. The congregations were large, and every face seemed 
 to glow with the interest that was awakened in the great 
 cause of temperance. The order and decorum that prevailed 
 throughout all the meetings was becoming to any community. 
 
 There were also four cornet bands which favored the assem- 
 blies with music, in their proper times, which added very much 
 to the interest of the convention. The bands were as fol- 
 lows, to-wit : 
 
 Mr. A. Sim Logan's national cornet band, of Cattarau- 
 gus, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. Chester C. Lay's silver cornet band, of the same place. 
 
 Mr. Levi Jonathan's Tuscarora cornet band, of Grand 
 River, Ontario. 
 
164 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Mr. Enos Johnson's temperance cornet band, e Tusca- 
 rora, N. Y. 
 
 On the morning of the last day of the convention before 
 the services began, the four cornet bands consolidated in one, 
 which made over fifty members, and played several tunes to- 
 gether outsfde of the Presbyterian church, in which the con 
 vention was held, and made a rousing band of music. 
 
 The first article of the constitution, which reads thus : " This 
 society shall be denominated the Temperance Society," was 
 amended so as to read thus: " This society shall be denomi- 
 nated the Six Nations Temperance Society of the United 
 States and Canada." 
 
 The assembly was then called to sign the temperance pledge 
 of this society. There were upwards of two hundred that 
 signed, most of whom resided on the reservation in which 
 the convention was held ; but there were some from the Tona- 
 wanda, Alleghany and Onondaga reservations, and also one 
 Oneida, from Green Bay, Wis. 
 
 The Onondagas and Tonawandas made application for a 
 copy of the constitution to be sent to them, that they might 
 form temperance societies on their respective reservations, 
 which was granted them, and Mr. Josiah Hill was appointed 
 to write the copy and send the same to them. 
 
 The convention adjourned on the evening of the third clay. 
 to meet again the next year at Grand River, Ontario. 
 
 OFFICERS. 
 
 Mr. John Canada, Seneca, of Cattaraugus, President- 
 
 Mr. Wm. Patterson, Tuscarora, of Lewiston, N. Y., Vice- 
 President. 
 
 Mr. Josiah Hill, Tuscarora, of Grand River, Secretary. 
 
 Mr. John Mt. Pleasant, Tuscarora, of Lewiston, N. Y., 
 Treasurer. 
 
 It will be seen by the above t that the Tuscaroras have not 
 been altogether idle on the subject of temperance. The tempta- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 165 
 
 tions of intemperance surrounding our reservation are great. 
 We hope that the legislature will aid us in enacting more rigid 
 laws, for the temptation is working even in cider, which seems 
 to be more intoxicating now than in former times. 
 
 Friendship of the Tuscaroras to the 
 United States. 
 
 The Tuscarora Indians have for more than a century been 
 a firn) friend to the* United States. In the Revelutionary war 
 they took an active part for the declaration of independence ; 
 many took part, but few were enrolled, consequently, but few 
 that drew pension from the United States. For instance, 
 Nicholas Cusick, a Tuscarora Indian ; where shall you look for 
 another instance of friendship, greater than his, towards the 
 distinguished Marquis de Lafayette, or for christia"n principle 
 more firm and true than he evinced concerning his pension. 
 
 In the war of the Revolution he was under command of La- 
 fayette. Many years after peace was concluded, as he was 
 passing through Washington, he accidentally heard the name 
 of his old commander spoken of in the office in which he 
 stopped on business. The moment his ear caught the sound, 
 his eyes brightened, and full of earnestness he asked, " Is he 
 yet alive?" " Yes," was the reply, " he is alive and looking 
 well and hearty." With decided emphasis, he said, " I am glad 
 to hear it." " Then you knew Lafayette, Mr. Cusick ?" " Oh, 
 yes ;" he answered, " I knew him well, and many a time in bat- 
 
1 66 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 tie I threw myself between him and the bullets, for I loved 
 him." On asking him if he had a commission, he said, " Yes ; 
 General Washington gave me one, and he was Lieutenant." 
 This suggested to his friends that he was entitled to a pension, 
 and on looking over the records, the truth of what he said was 
 confirmed, and he received one for several years. 
 
 Afterwards, congress passed a law making it necessary that 
 each recipient should swear that he could not live without the 
 pension. When the old warrior was called upon to do this, he 
 said, " Now, here is my little log cabin, and it is my own ; here 
 is my patch of ground, where I raise my corn and beans, and 
 there is lake Oneida, where I can catch fish ; with these I can 
 make out to live without the pension, and to say that I could 
 not, would be to lie to the Great Spirit." 
 
 This is the honor of the Tuscarora hero. How many among 
 those of the white people who receive a pension would have 
 done likewise, for conscience sake. Cusick could speak the Eng- 
 lish language very well, but when he made an audible prayer, 
 or said grace at the table, he used his native Tuscarora lan- 
 guage, " because," said he, " when I speak in English, I am of- 
 ten at a loss for a word ; when, therefore, I speak to the Great 
 Spirit, I do not like to be perplexed, or have my mind distract- 
 ed to look after a word, when I use my own language, it is like 
 my breath", I am composed." In this is exemplified that he 
 fully understood the reverence which was due to the great 
 Architect of the universe. 
 
 Solomon Longboard, also a Tuscarora Sachem, took an ac- 
 tive part in the Revolutionary war, with many others of his 
 nation. In one of their scouting parties, he, with others, was 
 taken captive by the British Indians and brought to fort Niag- 
 ara, where they were kept for some time, and urged to take up 
 arms and fight against the revolutionists. Finally, this cele- 
 brated sachem, Longboard, held a secret council among the 
 captives, and instructed them all to take arms and advance 
 with the British Indians, and use their influence to lead them 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. l6/ 
 
 to a place where they might be captured, and they with the 
 rest, which they successfully effected, and were re-captured by 
 the Americans. Instead of gaining honor and laurels to his 
 crown, he was to be sentenced to be shot as a traitor, but 
 through the entreaties of the Tuscarora chiefs, and the influ- 
 ence of the feasibility of their story that was made on the ex- 
 ecutives, he was released, but never drew pension as did Mr. 
 Cusick. 
 
 The Tuscaroras again evinced their friendship for the Unit- 
 ed States in the war of 1812, when they were asked to guard 
 the Niagara river at Lewiston and down the river, against the 
 British crossing it. 
 
 Here again we hear of the Tuscarora sachem, Solomon Long- 
 board, with about thirty-five Tuscarora volunteers, stationed 
 at Lewiston on guard. I have recorded some of the names of 
 these volunteers, which I was able to obtain from some of the 
 old people that were yet living in the year 1878, which are as 
 follows, to-wit : The two sons of Solomon Longboard, Jacob 
 Taylor, Joseph Cusick, John Cusick, David Cusick, John Black 
 Nose and his brother, Samuel Thompson, John Obediah, Aaron 
 Pempleton, James Pempleton, John Mt. Pleasant, Harry Pat- 
 terson, John Green, Isaac Allen, Capt. Williams, Gau-ya-re-na- 
 tea, Wm. Printup, better known as little Billy, Black Chief, 
 John Printup, Isaac Green, Surgin Green, George Printup. 
 There were but few of these that drew pension, as it was alleg- 
 ed that they were not enrolled upon the army roll,* 
 
 On the night of December iQth, 1813, the British army 
 and British Indians crossed the Niagara River near Calvin 
 Hotchkis' place, about two miles below Lewiston. They 
 noticed at first there were lights going across the river during 
 the night, and at the dawn of day were despatceed, Jacob 
 Taylor (better known as Colonel Jacobs), and another Indian 
 to accompany him both being Tuscaroras. On their return 
 they reported that the British Indians had crossed the river in 
 great numbers. The news was circulated in the village of 
 
1 68 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Lewiston and the neighboring country, that they might evac- 
 uate their places and go east, which they did, taking the 
 Ridge road. The Tuscarora volunteers took the rear of the 
 train as they moved eastward, commanded by their Sachem, 
 Solomon Longboard. 
 
 The British Indians went on the pursuit. After they had 
 gone about two miles from the village of Lewiston, where the 
 Tuscarora Indians branched off on a road leading to their 
 reservation, known as the Indian hill, or Mountain road. As 
 they had advanced part way up the mountain they observed a 
 Canada Indian on horseback, who headed off some of the 
 train, and among the rest was also Bates Cooke, of Lewiston. 
 One of his legs had, a little previous to that time, been ampu- 
 tated, and the main Canada force were about half a mile in 
 the rear on pursuit. The commander of the Tuscarora force 
 ordered that the Indian heading off the train be shot, which 
 was done by John Obediah. The Indian tumbled off the 
 horse and fell to the ground, and then got up and ran down 
 the little hill into the wood, where it is said he died from the 
 wound he received. 
 
 When the report of the gun was heard by the Canadian 
 force and they saw the effect it had on their comrade, they 
 halted. Their commander, Mr. Longboard, of the Tuscaroras, 
 which numbered at that time twenty-six, from them selected 
 three men and instructed them to get upon and to go along 
 the top of t^e mountain and to blow a horn occasionally, which 
 they had in their possession, and to keep nearly opposite the 
 Canada Indians. The object was to serve as a scare-crow, to 
 make them believe that there was a force also on the moun- 
 tain in the act of flanking them. But the remaining force of 
 Mr. Longboard rushed down the monntain with their .war 
 whoops as if legion were coming down, and pursued the 
 Canada Indians, while the train of white people had gone on 
 in their flight. The Canada Indians retreated about one mile 
 and a half, near to where the main force were. Then one of 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 169 
 
 their men halted and aimed his gun at one of our men, John 
 Obediah, and the latter also aimed to his opponent, while Sam- 
 uel Thompson got behind a large elm tree. In the meantime, 
 John Obediah spoke to the stranger in all the different six 
 languages of the Iroquois, but did not get an answer. These 
 were the only two men in pursuit at this time, as the rest of 
 them had halted some ways back. Finally the British Indian 
 retreated backwards, keeping aim as he went, and all at once 
 gave a spring and ran off. The three men that were on the 
 mountain kept occasionally blowing the horn as they went, as 
 the road is parallel with the mountain. 
 
 By this time the train of white people had gone quite a good 
 Ways in their flight ; it is evident that the timely intervention 
 of the Tuscarora Indians, saved great slaughter of men, women 
 and children among the white people. 
 
 The Tuscaroras then went back and kept in the rear of the 
 white people in their flight. The British Indians perceiving 
 that it was the Tuscarora Indians that killed one of their num- 
 ber and repulsed them, made their way v to their reservation, 
 (the nation had already deserted their homes), and began to 
 burn their houses indiscriminately, and also a meeting-house 
 which was built by them, except eight dollars, a convenient 
 chapel where the early Christian Tuscaroras such as Sacaresa 
 and Solomon Longboard, both sachems, with many others, de- 
 lighted to worship the Almighty in the simplicity of their 
 faith. And after they had finished their destruction they went 
 down in pursuit of the fleeing train of white people on the ridge 
 road ; by this time the Tuscaroras had stationed themselves at 
 a log house, eight or ten miles from Lewiston, near Nathan 
 Peterson's, which was used as an armory ; when the Tuscaroras 
 first came, there were a few white men there breaking open the 
 powder kegs in this log house, making it ready to set on fire 
 but the chief, Mr. Longboard, remonstrated in having it burn_ 
 ed, and was interpreted to them by Colonel Jacobs, so they 
 consented not to destroy the powder. 
 
 (31) 
 
I/O LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 When the British Indians came in sight, Mr. Longboard in- 
 structed his men to keep moving back and forth from the log 
 house or armory, to a thicket in the rear of the house, for the 
 purpose of making the enemy believe that there was a large 
 force stationed there ; the enemy halted and finally went back, 
 and thus the armory was saved. The manouvre of the Tusca- 
 rora Indians in these two cases above, was done with but very 
 little sacrifice on their part, but the beneficence was great ; but 
 then, who cares anything about that, it was nothing but an In- 
 dian affair anyhow ; this will probably be the thought of those 
 who peruse my little pages. 
 
 When the Tuscaroras evacuated their reservation they went 
 to Oneida Castle and remained there during the war. In about 
 the last part of June, 1814, there was a company of volunteers 
 composed of about thirty Tuscaroras and a number of Oneida 
 Indians, that started from Oneida Castle to Sackett's Harbor, 
 to join themselves to an army that was commanded by General 
 Brown ; on their way there, when they arrived at Tonawanda, 
 an officer came to them and asked where they were going ; 
 they answered, " to Sackett's Harbor, to join General Brown's 
 army." The officer said, " that is right ;" he then asked them 
 if they lacked anything, and they said, " nothing more than 
 being short of victuals, but we can get along with what game 
 we can procure on the way." The officer then gave them one 
 dollar each and told them to go and buy some bread. 
 
 They then went on, and on the 3d or 4th of July they crossed 
 the river from Sackett's Harbor, and on the 4th, they, with 
 General Brown and his army approached an intrenchment of 
 Gcn-eral Riall's, which was in a strong position. Brown told 
 the Tuscaroras, that he with his army would attack the enemy 
 direct, " but," said lie, " you must go around and attack the 
 enemy on their flank." 
 
 It is acceded by all American nations, that the characteristic 
 of the Indians in their war battles, is to fi^ht in scouting and 
 to attack by surprise ; consequently, it seems that General Ri- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 1 71 
 
 all instructed the British Indians, which numbered several hun- 
 dred, that when he was attacked, they the Indians, should 
 move and attack their enemy also on the flank ; it seems that 
 they moved in the shape of a V with the two points foremost. 
 On the 5th occurred the battle of Chippewa ; the contest was 
 obstinate and bloody ; the Tuscarora Indians in moving on 
 the flank of Brown's army, they entered in the enemy's 
 moving V of British Indians, and when they arrived at the fork, 
 and not until then, did the Tuscaroras know where they were ; 
 but, nevertheless, they all made the war-whoop, fired and. made 
 a desperate charge at one point and broke through the ranks 
 of the enemy. Strange as it may seem, there was but one 
 wounded and that slightly on the cheek, and not one killed ; 
 it was a very close contest, we getting away with the loss of 
 bul? a few guns and coats, for when the enemy took hold of 
 their coats they would only pull off and run. It was then that 
 the enemy's V closed in on the rear of the Tuscaroras and the 
 bloody scene began ; the enemy fired against themselves, and 
 n0t until they had completely destroyed themselves did they 
 discover in what frenzy they were ; but at length the Ameri- 
 cans were victorious. These same Tuscaroras were present at 
 the memorable battle at Bridgewater, near Niagara Falls, 
 where a desperate engagement, it is said, ensued, commencing 
 about sunset and lasting until midnight, where Generals Brown 
 and Scott were wounded. 
 
 In every instance when the United States were in trouble, 
 the Tuscaroras were ever ready to sacrifice their blood upon the 
 American altar, which they again fully evinced in the war of 
 the rebellion, when twenty-three of the Tuscarora Indian 
 warriors enlisted as volunteers in the United States army, 
 some of whom died in the service of the country ; but some 
 were spared by the good Providence, and were permitted yet 
 to share the sweets of home ; some inherited diseases which 
 they will probably carry down to their graves. 
 
 In the year 1862 Cornelius C. Cusick, a grandson of Nicholas 
 
1/2 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Cusick, the revolutionist, was commissioned to the office of 
 Second Lieutenant. There were four other Tuscaroras mus- 
 tered in with him in the 3d N. Y. Volunteers, I32d Reg't, Co. 
 D, to-wit : Jeremiah Peters, John Peters, Hulett Jacobs, George 
 Garlow, and there are others who enlisted afterwards at dif- 
 ferent times during the war, to wit : 
 
 Twelfth N. Y. Vol's, Cav., Co. M. Ozias Chew, John Pem- 
 pleton, Charles Pempleton, Nichodemus Thompssn. 
 
 Bat. K, ist N. Y. Light Art. Samuel Bearfoot (Ely Pat- 
 terson), Wm. Joseph (Lewis Patterson), Alexander John (Davis 
 Miller), Zhacariah Johnson (Elijah Johnson), Wm. Anderson 
 (Samuel Jack). 
 
 Clinton Mt. Pleasant, 3Oth, transferred to 3ist N. J. Vol's, 
 Inv. colored brigade. 
 . Wilson Jacobs, 1st N. Y., Vet. Cav., Co. M. 
 
 Edward Spencer (Edward Anderson), Inv. sway, Co. A, i/th 
 Corps. 
 
 Alvis D. Hewett, isist N. Y. Vol's. 
 
 Thomas Cornelius, Co. K, 2d N. Y. Mounted Rifles. 
 
 Charles Green, I2oth N. Y. Vol's, Co. K. 
 
 John Longboard, Samuel Mt. Pleasant, 
 
 During the war, Cornelius C. Cusick was promoted to First 
 Lieutenant, and at the close of the war he was promoted to 
 Captain. He was some time afterwards commissioned into 
 the regular army of the United States as First Lieutenant. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 173 
 
 Antique Rock Citadel of Kiemika ; 
 
 OR, GAU-STRAU-YEA. 
 
 There has been much said by different writers of aboriginal 
 forts, and fort builders of western New York, in availing them- 
 selves of steeps, gulfs, defiles, and other marked localities, in 
 establishing works for security or defense. This trait is, how- 
 ever, in no case more strikingly exemplified than in the curious 
 antique work of Kienuka. The term " Kienuka," means the 
 stronghold or fort ; but the original name of this fort is Gau- 
 strau-yea, which means bark laid down ; this has a metaphori- 
 cal meaning, in the similitude of a freshly peeled slippery elm 
 bark, the size of the fort and laid at the bottom as a flooring, 
 so that if any person or persons go in they must be circum- 
 spect, and act according to the laws of the fort, or else they 
 will slip and fall down to their own destruction. 
 
 The citadel of Kienuka is situated about four miles east- 
 ward of the inlet of Niagara gorge at Lewiston, on a natural 
 escarpment of the ridge on the Tuscarora reservation, known 
 at present by the name of the Old Saw Mill. 
 
 There is quite an interesting tradition connected with the 
 antique fort Gau-strau-yea. At the formation of the confed- 
 eracy of the Iroquois, there was a virgin selected from a nation 
 which was called Squawkihaws (a remote branch of the Sene- 
 ca nation), and was ordained a Queen or Peacemaker, who was 
 stationed at this fort to execute her office of peace, her official 
 name was Ge-keah-saw-sa. 
 
1/4 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 The fort was built by the Senecas aided by the Squawki- 
 haws, on an eminence on the north side of a steep of perpen- 
 dicular rocks, which was about eight or ten feet down ; and on 
 the east, south and west sides they dug a trench four or five 
 feet deep, and in this trench were placed timbers which were 
 put up perpendicularly and jointed as close as possible, they 
 projected above the ground ten or twelve feet, inclosing a 
 place of about twenty by fifty rods. The house for the Queen 
 was in the center of this inclosure or fort, and adjacent houses 
 were built in two rows, with a trail or path between them di- 
 recting towards the Queen's house ; on each end and inside of 
 the fort, which ran lengthwise east and west, was an entrance 
 corresponding with the trail prepared leading to the house of 
 the Queen. 
 
 Then a suitable number of warriors were selected from the 
 Squawkihaws' nation, the ablest bodied, the swiftest runners 
 and the most expert in the arts of war, which were stationed 
 at this fort (and made their dwelling in the adjacent houses), 
 to keep it in order and execute its regulations and laws ; they 
 were to be supported with subsistance and all other necessaries 
 of life, and furnished with suitable implements of war by the 
 Iroquois. 
 
 In order more fully to understand the laws and regulations 
 of the fort or place of peace, it must be observed that at this 
 period there were contentions, strife and wars between all the 
 different known nations of the continent ; nation against na- 
 tion, like fishes of the waters, the larger ones eating the 
 smaller. The warrior who can report in his rehearsal in the 
 war-dance of having obtained the greatest number of scalps 
 from the enemy, was the most honored and had the most lau- 
 rels in his crown ; consequently, they were constantly forming 
 companies for an expedition to some nation in quest of honor 
 and the applause of their nation. At this time the confederacy 
 of the Iroquois was formed, and this place of peace was ordain- 
 ed for the purpose, it may be, to alleviate the distress and com- 
 motion of the nations of the forest. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS,. OR SIX NATIONS. 1/5 
 
 The laws were that there shall be no nation or nations of 
 the Iroquois make war against any nation or nations of the 
 same league, under any circumstances ; and the Iroquois must 
 not make war with 'any alien nation without the consent of 
 the Queen. This fort must ever be held sacred, as it is a 
 place of peace, by never allowing the shedding of blood within 
 the inclosure. All executions decreed by the Queen should 
 be made outside of the fort. And any person or persons, 
 aside from the keepers of the fort, should, on entering, never 
 go any faster than a walk. And the Queen must always have 
 meals ready at every hour of the day and night allegorically 
 speaking, it is called a kettle of hominy hanging, for all 
 fugitives and pursuers from any nation on the continent to 
 partake. All fugtiives, irrespective of their nationalities, flee- 
 ing for life, from their enemy, when once their feet touch the 
 threshold of the fort, their life is safe ; then the Queen con- 
 ducts him or them into one end of her house, which is length- 
 wise east and west, with a door at each end and a partition 
 in the center of the room by a curtain made of deer skin, and 
 when the pursuer comes, she also conducts him or them to 
 the other end of the room. She then gives to each of these 
 parties, which are enemies to each other, sustenance to eat ; 
 .when this being done, she rolls away the curtain, so that 
 each party can see the other ; when they have done eating 
 they pass out and go home to their respective nations in peace. 
 It is contrary to law after a fugitive arrives at this fort and 
 has gone out, for the enemy to execute their death scheme 
 without the consent of the Queen ; and if this be violated, 
 then the Iroquois demand the trespasser from the nation to 
 which he or they belong. If this is acceded to, 'tis well ; then 
 the trespassers are executed, of which the penalty is death. 
 But should the nation harbor the trespasser, then the nation 
 must suffer the devastations of war at the hands of the 
 Iroquois. 
 
 I would here say a few words in relation to the question 
 
176 LEGENBS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 often asked, "Who were the Squawkihows, Kah-Kwahs, and 
 the Eries?" There has been much controversy on the ques- 
 tion. These three named tribes were of one language and of 
 one nation a remote branch of the Seneca nation and spoke 
 the same language as the Senecas, varying but very little in 
 a few words. These three tribes originally were called Squaw- 
 kihows. In time they became very numerous and powerful. 
 They had their settlement from the shores of Lake Ontario 
 and along the Niagara River, and up Lake Erie as far as a 
 place now called Erie, and as far east as to the Genesee river. 
 This was their domain, within these limits. 
 
 A settlement of this nation in the neighborhood of, now, 
 North Evans, south of Buffalo, a place called by them Kah- 
 kwah-ka, and the Squawkihows living in this vicinity were called 
 Kah-kwahs ; and the Squawkihows living further on along the 
 shores of Lake Erie were called cats or Eries, a name that 
 originated from the name of the lake. By this explanation 
 you will better understand my story. 
 
 There was a time when the Kah-kwahs' branch of that nation 
 made a challenge to the Seneca nation, another very powerful 
 nation having their settlement on the east side of the Genesee 
 river, to play a game of ball, which the Senecas readily accept- 
 ed and a day was appointed ; accordingly, the combat ensued, 
 and was a hotly contested game, but the Senecas finally came 
 out victorious. The Kah-kwahs immediately made another 
 challenge, that of having a foot race, which the Senecas also 
 accepted. Each nation chose their swiftest runners, then the 
 flyers went which and tucker for a ways, but the Senecas final- 
 ly came out glorious. The Kah-kawhs being mortified by the 
 defeat of the two contests made the third challenge, that of 
 wrestling, with the understanding that an umpire must be 
 chosen from each nation and both to have a war club in hand, 
 and the one that is defeated should suffer death by having his 
 head struck with the war club while down, by the umpire op- 
 ponent to the one defeated, and should be best two in three. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 1 77 
 
 Even in this the Senecas accepted the challenge, and in this re- 
 markable contest they were also victorious. With this the 
 assemblage dispersed. 
 
 The defeats of the Kah-kwahs considerably alieniated the 
 Squawkihows from the Senecas ; the report, of course, reached 
 the ears of the Queen, which also alienated her feelings from 
 the Senecas, she being by birth a Squawkihow, but the office 
 to which she was ordained was by the Iroquois. 
 
 After this in one of the scouting tours of the Senecas across 
 the Niagara river, among the Masassauka Indians, on their re- 
 turn at night to the " place of peace " or Gau-strau-yea, they 
 were pursued by a number of the Masassaukas ; when both 
 parties had arrived and had their repast, they all lodged there 
 to rest in peace for the night, as they were wont to do. But in 
 the slumber and stillness of the midnight hour, was tested the 
 treachery of the Queen, by the Masassaukas, in asking her 
 consent to massacre the Senecas in their unsuspecting slum- 
 ber ; her feelings having been previously somewhat alienated 
 from the Senecas, she was induced to give her consent, where- 
 upon they were massacred ; their number I have not been able 
 to obtain. They were buried southwest from the Queen's 
 house, the mound of which was perceptible until a few years 
 ago, when it was cultivated. 
 
 This breach of the law of that fort by the Queen giving 
 consent in the shedding of blood in that sacred place, grated 
 the conscience of the Squawkikows,and being alienated by the 
 defeat they experienced a short time previous by the matches 
 they had with the Senecas. 
 
 This affair was kept secret for a while. At the same time 
 the Squawkihows urged the consent of the Queen for them to 
 exterminate the Seneca nation and to take them on surprise, 
 for, they said, when they hear of the massacre, they will at 
 once wage war against us. They finally prevailed on her, so 
 she condemned the Seneca nation to be exterminated. 
 
 At this time there was one warrior of the Senecas who had 
 
 (22) 
 
1/8 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 married into the Squawkihows' nation and lived among them. 
 When he heard that the Queen had given up the Seneca nation 
 into the hands of the Squawkihows, to be exterminated, he 
 resolved to go to a place called Tah-nyh-yea, among the Sene- 
 cas east side of Genesee river, on the Seneca river where 
 dwelled the head Sachem of the Seneca nation, by the name 
 of Onea-gah-re-tah-wa, and matte his report to that venerable 
 Sachem, the decision of the Queen, which was final. To ac- 
 complish this, without exciting the suspicion of his family and 
 neighbors, he went under the pretense of going away to hunt 
 on the lake shore of Ontario, and would not be expected home 
 in two or three days. Early one fine morning this warrior 
 started on his high mission from his house, which was located 
 near the fort (Gau-strau-yea). He went northerly and touched 
 Lake Ontario, where he had a canoe for the purpose of hunt- 
 ing and fishing, in which he embarked and rowed eastward to 
 the mouth of the Oswego river, and up the river as far as the 
 Seneca river; then up that river to the settlement of the 
 Senecas. He there left his canoe and made for Tah-nyh-yea, 
 and went directly to the Sachem, (Onea-gah-re-tah-wa's) wigwam 
 in the dead of night, and called him out doors. He there 
 related to the Sachem the decree of the Queen, concerning the 
 Seneca nation and the massacre, and requested him to keep 
 secret the way he had received the message. The warrior im- 
 mediately returned home in the same way that he came. 
 
 In the morning the venerable Sachem went out early and 
 gave the war cry, which denoted that they were massacred, 
 that war was inevitable, and for the warriors to rally and 
 prepare for war. The nation soon gathered. He then related 
 the message he had received during the night, and said he had 
 heard that some of their warriors were massacred at the fort 
 (Gau-strau-yea), and that the Queen had decreed their exter- 
 mination at the hand of the Squawkihows. He then appoint- 
 ed four warriors of the best runners to go and spy the fort and 
 the settlement if there was any indication of" preparation for 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 179 
 
 war, with instructions that with the very first indication of a 
 preparation for war that they should at once dispatch one of 
 their number home to make his report, and the others to go 
 on and to observe the progress of the preparation and make 
 their reports accordingly. 
 
 The four gallant warriors now made their way to the settle- 
 ment at Gau-strau-yea. When they arrived, they saw only the 
 eldest people, from about upwards of sixty-five years of age, 
 and the younger children, from about fourteen years of age 
 and under. While they were traveling they saw two boys 
 picking up sticks for firewood. One of them asked the smaller 
 boy where his father was. The bright little fellow spoke 
 promptly and said, "Gone to war." Before the older boy 
 could divert his attention by touching him, the little fellow 
 finished his answer. This they took to be news, and immedi- 
 ately dispatched one of their number home to make the report. 
 When this one made his report to Onea-gah-re-tah-wa, he at 
 once dispatched runners to the other nations of the league to 
 inform them of what had happened to their father, the Seneca 
 nation, and the desecration of their fort. The three that were 
 left after the one was dispatched home, went on to a settle- 
 ment of the same nation at Gill Creek, above Niagara Falls, 
 where they found the people the same as at Gau-straw-yea. 
 The elders and the youngers only were at home. They also 
 asked a boy there where his father was. He aswered : "At 
 Kah-kwah-ka," which is south of Buffalo. These three spies 
 took pains to get at Kah-kwah-ka in the night. When they 
 got there they fouud a great multitude gathered, and engaged 
 in the war dance. The spies went right among the multitude 
 without being suspected, because their language was the same 
 as the Squawkihows, and took part in the dances. They saw 
 the warriors in their dance have a head of a bear, tossing it 
 about and striking it with the war club, and at the same time 
 exclaiming : "We will have the head of Onea-gah-re-tah-wa, 
 (the Seneca Sachem) and strike it thus," at the same time 
 
180 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 hitting it with their club. And the war chief said that they 
 would start in the morning and on the third day they would 
 have the head of Onea-gah-re-tah-wa strung up on a pole. 
 With that the spies dispatched home the second one to make 
 his report of what they saw and heard, and this one retired 
 from the crowd privately some little time before daybreak. 
 The two still remained with the crowd, talking and chatting 
 with them as if they were one of their nation. 
 
 In the morning the grand march took their place in the war 
 path towards their intended destruction. The ablest warriors 
 took the front rank; then came the older ones; after them 
 the boys upwards of fourteen years of of age ; lastly came the 
 able bodied females. Thus they marched until the next night, 
 when they prepared ground for a dance, and went through the 
 same performance as the night before. Now the third spy 
 withdrew from the crowd just before daybreak to make his 
 report and keep the Senecas posted in the advance of the 
 enemy. On the second day the march was renewed, and pro- 
 ceeded in the same order as on the first day. The next night 
 was also spent as that of the last, in flattering themselves of 
 the wonderful things that they were to accomplish. About 
 two hours before daybreak the last spy also withdrew from the 
 crowd and made for home, to inform them how far off they 
 were from the Seneca settlement. After the last one had made 
 his report, Onea-gah-re-tah-wa arose from his seat, with that 
 majestic movement which only would become him as the head 
 Sachem of the Seneca nation, and said : " To you, first, my 
 most beloved comrades, the Chiefs and Sachems of our noble 
 nation, I would bring to your minds the past in a few words, 
 and it may be for the last time. How often have we sat to- 
 gether around tke council fire of our nation. I congratulate 
 you all in the good feeling that has always prevailed in our 
 deliberations of various subjects in relation to the welfare and 
 happiness of our nation, and more particularly our sisters and 
 their offspring, and we have not been unmindful even of those 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. iSl 
 
 that are not yet born, for in them have we hoped of the exist- 
 ence of our nation. Have not the nations of the Iroquois re- 
 spected and even honored your counsels around the great 
 council fire of the league, and now is destruction awaiting your 
 dawn? But if that is the will of the Great Spirit, by running 
 we cannot flee from it. And to you, our sisters, have we not 
 ever been mindful of you in our deliberations and ever wished 
 you success ; and have we not, as it were, embraced you and 
 your children in our arms to protect you ? We now commend 
 you to the Great Spirit, who is our helper. And now to you, 
 most noble warriors, in whom the council looks for the enforce- 
 ment of their decrees. In bringing difficulties and contentions 
 among yourselves, have we not brought back to you peace, 
 by meting out to you justice ; and in your troubles have we 
 not whispered in your ears words of consolation? And we have 
 ever placed you close to our hearts. In you is the power of 
 the nation, and in you we look for safety. You have under- 
 stood it that our nation has been given into the hands of our 
 enemy by the Queen, and we are now in jeopardy. As I have 
 said, we cannot, by running, flee from the decree of the Great 
 Spirit, but if He is for us we shall prevail. He will give 
 strength to our bow, direct our arrows, give might to our arms 
 and direct our blows, and put to flight our enemy, and we 
 shall conquer. He is able to give us peace in this our time 
 of trouble, if we all but trust in Him. It is he that made us 
 and He is able to preserve us from our enemies. Now my 
 dear relatives in the different ties of blood, it is not meet that 
 we should have our blood spilt within our domain, nor to have 
 the dead bodies of our enemies strewed within our settlement. 
 We must now march and meet our foe. We must not turn 
 our heel to them; but if we are to be exterminated, let the 
 last drop of Seneca blood be spilt upon the bosom of our 
 mother earth, and let the sun in the heavens be the witness 
 that we die in the defence of our wives, children and homes, 
 which is pleasing in the sight of the Great Spirit." 
 
1 82 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 They now made their~march, and after they had advanced a 
 number of miles they met the enemy. It was now sometime 
 in the afternoon. A desperate battle ensued. The storm of 
 the arrows headed with flint, and also the creased poisoned 
 arrows was kept up until evening, when a peculiar war cry was 
 given, which indicated rest, at which in an instant the storm 
 of arrows ceased, when the Sachems of the two parties came 
 near together and deliberated on the conditions of rest during 
 the night, that each party should retreat a ways and rest with- 
 out either molesting the other during the night, but in the 
 morning they should come together and resume the battle. 
 
 In the morning the battle was renewed, even with more 
 vigor than the day before, until nearly noon, when the war cry 
 of rest was again given. The fight was again suspended for 
 the purpose of taking refreshments. 
 
 At this time Onea-gah-re-tah-wa said to the Chiefs of the 
 Squawkihows, " While we are resting let us have a recreation 
 by having a wrestling between the two parties, and each one 
 should have a war club in his belt, and the one that is de- 
 feated should die at the hands of his victor with the war club." 
 The Squawkihows accepted the challenge. Then the wrest- 
 ling was continued to several contests, in which the Senecas 
 were victorious. There were several of the very ablest war- 
 riors of the Squawkihows killed in this simple contest of wrest- 
 ling. 
 
 They again resumed the battle. At this time the Senecas 
 reserved quite a number of their smartest warriors, with each 
 of them a bunch of bark prepared for the purpose of tying 
 prisoners. They were in the rear and laid low. The battle 
 was still more deeperate. They finally came in hand-in-hand. 
 Then they made use of their war clubs. At this time the 
 Squawkihows summoned to their aid their reserved company, 
 which they kept in the rear. The young women came on the 
 flank of the Senecas' ranks, and beat them with clubs, which 
 made the Senecas falter for a while. Finally they called on 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 183 
 
 their reserved warriors, who made a desperate charge on the 
 enemy and made them retreat. The Senecas began taking 
 prisoners. They tied their hands behind them to trees. In 
 this way they took a great many prisoners, particularly the 
 females. The warriors rallied and fought as they retreated. 
 After a while a company suddenly broke off from their ranks 
 and ran away. In a moment they had disappeared in the 
 forest. Those that remained rallied again and fought as they 
 were retreating until evening, when all at once the whole com- 
 pany wheeled right around, gave a spring, and off they went. 
 The Senecas made their pursuit, every now and then taking a 
 prisoner until dark, when they rested and camped for the night. 
 The next morning they selected the best runners, the ablest 
 bodied and the most skilled in the arts of war, who were sent 
 out to exterminate the nation, to begin at the settlement of 
 fort Gau-strau-yea, and so on south to the other settlements of 
 the nation. 
 
 When the Seneca invaders came at the fort (Gau-strau-yea), 
 they found it was evacuated and all the settlement had fled. 
 The trail they left behind pointed southward plainly. The 
 invaders followed to the next settlement at Gill Creek, above 
 Niagara Falls, which they found vacated. They still followed 
 on, bent on retaliation. They then came to the settlement of 
 Kah-kwas, which they also found evacuated. They kept on 
 the pursuit until they came to the settlement of the Eries, 
 and also found it evacuated as the others. Still they kept on 
 their pursuit, and when they came to the Alleghany river they 
 saw pieces floating, which indicated the making of canoes. 
 They immediately ascended the river. After they had 
 gone some ways they found where the enemies had been 
 encamped, and saw indications where they had built several 
 canoes. The fires indicated that they must have just embarked 
 that morning and rowed down the river. They then went down 
 the river some distance, and finally gave up the chase. The 
 
1 84 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 invaders returned to their settlement the Seneca nation. 
 A glorious victory crowned their severe trial and labor. 
 
 A grand council was called of the Seneca nation for the just 
 returned warriors to make their report of the glory they had 
 won, and the complete overthrow of the enemy. After they 
 had finished making their report a great feast was made, and 
 after that they were again permitted to smoke the calumet of 
 peace, and once more settle down as heretofore, as one of the 
 bright stars of heaven, among the several nations of the Iroquois. 
 At night they had a general dance, both young and old, irre- 
 spective of sex, to celebrate the great victory they had won. 
 
 The Squawkihows have never been heard of since, as a 
 nation, to the present time. It is supposed that they must 
 have gone in the far west and changed their name; but this 
 is merely a supposition. Those that the Senecas took captives 
 are still among the different settlements of the Seneca nation, 
 more particularly among the Cattaraugus reservation. 
 
 That is the way the Senecas came in possession of so large a 
 dominion. They held their domain east of the Genesee river, 
 and also took possession of the dominion of the Squawkihows, 
 which run from Lake Ontario and along Niagara river and 
 Lake Erie to the Pennsylvania line. 
 
 The office of the Queen Ge-keah-sau-sa, of fort Gau-strau-yea, 
 for several hundred years (it is said by the Senecas about six 
 hundred years ago she evacuated the fort), the Iroquois did 
 not reordain, for the reason, as it is alleged by them, that the 
 female is the weaker sex of humanity. Physically, it must fol- 
 low that they are weaker also mentally, as it is evinced by the 
 treachery of the Queen in her easily being decoyed in making 
 her rash decision concerning the massacre in the fort, and 
 also in the giving up of the Seneca nation in the hands of 
 their enemy. They considered it not prudent to vest so much 
 authority in the weaker sex. And as no one has been con- 
 sidered capable or worthy of the high honor that Ge-keah-sau-wa 
 once reigned, until about twenty-five years ago, from the year 
 
OF THE IROQUOlS, OR SIX NATIONS. 185 
 
 1878, there was a Virgin selected from among the Tonawanda 
 band of the Seneca nation by the name of Caroline Parker, 
 sister to Eli Parker, once in General Grant's staff, and Com- 
 missioner of Indian Affairs, who was ordained to the high 
 office of Queen, or Ge-keah-sau-sa. She is now the wife of a 
 noted Sachem of the Tuscarora nation, Mr. John Mount 
 Pleasant, of no common wealth. She is located about two 
 miles southwest of the antique fort Gah-strau-yea, or Kienuka, 
 on the Tuscarora reservation, where she ever held open her 
 hospitable house, not only to the Iroquois, but of every nation, 
 including the pale faces. Allegorical speaking, she has ever 
 had a kettle of hominy hanging over her fire-place, ready to 
 appease the hunger of those who trod her threshold. 
 
 The New Religion. 
 
 About the year 1800 a new religion was introduced among 
 the Six Nations, the exponent of which alleged to have receiv- 
 ed a revelation from the Great Spirit, with a commission to 
 preach to them the new doctrine in which he was instructed. 
 This revelation was received in circumstances so remarkable, 
 and the precepts he sought to inculcate contained in themselves 
 such evidences of wisdom and beneficence that he was univers- 
 ally received among them, not only as a wise and good man, 
 byt as one commissioned by the Great Spirit to become their 
 
 (23) 
 
1 86 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 religious teacher. The new religion, as it has ever since been 
 called, embodied all the precepts of the ancient faith, recog- 
 nized the ancient mode of worship giving it a new sanction of 
 the Great Spirit, and also comprehend such new doctrines as 
 came in aptly, to lengthen out and enlarge the original system 
 without impairing it. Charges of imposture and deception 
 were at first preferred against him, but disbelief of his divine 
 mission gradually subsided, until at the time of his death the 
 whole unchristianized portion of the Six Nations had become 
 firm believers in the new religion, which to the present day- 
 has continued to some extent as a prevailing faith. 
 
 This singular person who was destined to obtain such a spir- 
 itual sway over the descendants of the ancient Iroquois was 
 Ga-ne-o-di-yo, or " Handsomelake," a Seneca sachem of the 
 highest class ; he was born at the Indian village of Ga-no-wau- 
 ges, near Avon, about the year 1735, and .died at Onondaga in 
 1815, where he happened to be on one of his pastoral visits. 
 By birth he was a Seneca of the Turtle clan, and a half broth- 
 er to the celebrated Corn Planter by a common father. The 
 most part of his life was spent in idleness and dissipation, dur- 
 ing which time, although a sachem and ruler among the Sene- 
 cas for many years, and through the most perilous time of 
 their history, he acquired no particular reputation. Reforming 
 late in life, in his future career he showed himself to be pos- 
 sessed of superior talents and to be animated by a sincere and 
 ardent desire for the welfare of his race. 
 
 At this period and for about a century preceding, the pre- 
 vailing habit of intemperance among the Iroquois was the 
 fruitful source of their domestic troubles ; this in connection 
 with their political disasters seemed to threaten the speedy 
 extinction of their race. A temperance reformation, universal 
 and radical, was the main and ultimate object of the mission 
 which he assumed, and upon which he chiefly used his influence 
 and eloquence through the remainder of his life. To secnre a 
 more speedy reception of his admonitions, he clothed them 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 1 87 
 
 with divine sanction, to strengthen their moral principles, he 
 enforced anew the precepts of the ancient faith ; and to insure 
 obedience to his teachings, he held over the wicked the terrors 
 of eternal punishment. Going from village to village among 
 the several nations of the league, with the exception of the 
 christainized Oneidas and Tuscaroras, continuing his visits from 
 year to year, preaching the new doctrine with remarkable effect. 
 Many abandoned their dissolute habits and became sober and 
 moral men ; discord and contentions gave place to harmony 
 and order, and vagrancy and sloth to ambition and industry. 
 The origin of this project has at times been ascribed to 
 Cornplanter, as a means to increase his own influence, but 
 this is not only improbable but is expressly denied. The mo- 
 tives by which Handsomelake claimed to be actuated were 
 entirely of a religious and benevolent character, and in pursu- 
 ance of the injunctions of his spiritual guides. 
 
 At the time of his supernatural visitation, about the year 
 1800, Handsomelake resided at the village of Cornplanter, on 
 the Alleghany river in the State of Pennsylvania. As he ex- 
 plained the case to his brethren, having lain ill for a long time 
 he had given up all hope of recovery and resigned himself to 
 die. When in the hourly expectation of death, three spiritual 
 beings in the form of men, sent by the Great Spirit appeared 
 before him, each carried in his hand a shrub bearing different 
 kinds of berries, which, having been given him to eat, he was 
 by their miraculous virtue immediately restored to health. 
 They afterward revealed to him the will of the Great Spirit 
 upon a variety of subjects, and particularly in relation to the 
 prevailing intemperance, commissioning him to promulgate 
 these doctrines among the league, causing him to see realities 
 of the evil-minded, and to behold with his mortal eyes the pun- 
 ishment inflicted upon the' wicked, that he might with more 
 propriety warn his people of their impending destiny. He was 
 also permitted to behold the realm and felicities of the Heav- 
 enly residence of the virtuous. With his mind thus prepared, 
 
1 88 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAAVS 
 
 and stored with divine precepts, and with his zeal enkindled by 
 the dignity of his mission, Handsomelake at once commenced 
 his labors. 
 
 After his death, Sase-ha-wa, (Johnson) of Tonawanda, was 
 appointed his successor. The first and only person ever " rais- 
 ed up" by the Iroquois, and invested with the office of a su- 
 preme religious instructor : a sincere believer in the verity of 
 Handsomelake's mission, and an eminently pure and virtuous 
 man Sase-ha-wa (Johnson) has devoted himself with zeal and 
 fidelity to the duties of his office, as a spiritual guide and 
 teacher of the Iroquois. He was a grand-son of Handsomlake, 
 a nephew of Red Jacket, and was born at the Indian village of 
 Ga-no-wan-ges, near Avon, about the year 1774. 
 
 At the condolence and religious councils of the Iroquois, 
 which are still held at intervals of a few years, among the scat- 
 tered descendants of the long house, it has long been custom- 
 ary to set apart portions of two or three days to listen to .a 
 discourse from Johnson upon -the new religion. On these oc- 
 casions he explains minutely the circumstance attending the 
 supernatural visitation of Handsomelake, and delivers the in- 
 structions, word for word, which he had been accustomed to 
 give during his own ministration. Handsomelake professed to 
 repeat the messages which were given to him from time to time 
 by the celestial visitants, with whom he alleged to be in fre- 
 quent communication, and whom he addressed as his spiritual 
 guardian, thus enforcing his precepts as the direct command of 
 the Great Spirit. 
 
 At their councils and religious festivals, it was customary for 
 the chiefs and keepers of the faith to express their confidence 
 in the new religion, and to exhort others to strengthen their 
 belief. The late Abraham La Fort, an educated Onondaga 
 Sachem, thus expressed himself upon this subject at a condol- 
 ence council of the league, held at Tonawanda as late as 
 October, 1847. 
 
 "Let us observe the operations of nat ' lie } car is di- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 189 
 
 vided into seasons, and every season has its fruits. The birds 
 of the air, though clothed in the same dress of feathers, arc 
 divided into many classes, and one class is never seen to asso- 
 ciate or intermingle with any but its own kind. So with the 
 beasts of the field and woods. Each and every class and spe- 
 cie have their own separate rules by which they seem to be 
 governed, and by which their actions are regulated. These 
 distinctions, classes and colors the Great Spirit has seen fit to 
 make. But the rule does not stop here. It is universal. It 
 embraces man also. The human race was created and divided 
 into different classes, which were placed separate from each 
 other having different customs, manners, laws and religions. 
 To the Indians it seems that no more religion had originally 
 been than was to be found in the operations of nature, which 
 taught him that there was a Supreme Being, all powerful and 
 all wise ; and on this account, as well as on account of his 
 great goodness, they learned to love and reverence Him. But 
 these later times, when the restless and ambitious spirit of the 
 whiteskinncd race had crossed the boundary line and made in- 
 roads upon the manners, customs and primitive religion of the 
 Indian, the Great Spirit determined to and through His servant, 
 Handsomelake, did reveal his will to the Indians. The sub- 
 stance of that will was no more than to confirm their ancient 
 belief that they were entitled to a different religion a religion 
 adapted to their customs, manners and ways of thinking." 
 
 As the discourses delivered by Johnson from time to time 
 contains a very full exposition of their ancient beliefs and 
 mode of worship, together with the recent views introduced 
 by Handsomelake, mingled up in one collection, presenting 
 probably a better idea of their ethical and religious system 
 than could be conveyed in any other manner, it is given 
 entire, and will explain itself as delivered, thus: 
 
 " The Mohawks, the Onondagas, the Senecas, and our chil- 
 dren, the Oneidas, Cayugas and Tuscaroras, have assembled 
 here to-day to listen to the repetition of the will of the Great 
 
I QO LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Spirit, as communicated to us from heaven through His servant, 
 Handsomelake. 
 
 " Chiefs, warriors, women and children, we give you a cordial 
 welcome. The sun has advanced far in its path, and I am 
 warned that my time to instruct you is limited to the meridian 
 sun. I must hasten to perform my duty. Turn you minds 
 to the Great Spirit, and listen with strict attention. Think 
 seriously upon what I am about to speak. Reflect upon it 
 well, that it may benefit you and your children. I thank the 
 Great Spirit that He has spared the lives of so many of you to 
 be present on this occasion. I return thanks to Him that my 
 life is yet spared. The Great Spirit looked down from heaven 
 upon the suffering and the wanderings of the red children. 
 He saw that they had greatly decreased and degenerated. He 
 saw the ravages of the firewater among them. He therefore 
 raised up for them a sacred inspiration, who, having lived and 
 traveled among them for sixteen years, was called from his 
 labors to enjoy eternal felicity with the Great Spirit in Heaven. 
 Be patient while I speak. I cannot at all times arrange and 
 prepare my thoughts with precision. But I will relate 
 what my memory bears. 
 
 " It was in the month of June when Handsomelake was yet 
 sick. He had been ill for years. He was accustomed to tell 
 us that he had resigned himself to the will of the Great Spirit. 
 1 1 nightly returned my thanks to the Great Spirit,' said he, 
 1 as my eyes were gladdened at evening by the sight of the 
 stars of heaven. I viewed the ornamental heaven at evening 
 through the opening in the roof of my lodge, with grateful 
 feelings to my Creator. I had no assurance that I should 
 at the next evening contemplate His works. For this reason 
 my acknowledgment to Him was more fervent and sincere. 
 When night was gone, and the sun again shed its light upon 
 the earth, I saw and acknowledged in the return of day His 
 continued goodness to me and to all mankind. At length, I 
 began to have an inward conviction that my end was near. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 191 
 
 I resolved once more to exchange friendly words with my peo- 
 ple, and I sent my daughter to summon my brothers Corn- 
 planter and Blacksnake.' She hastened to do his bidding, 
 but before she returned he had fallen into insensibility and 
 apparent death. Blacksnake, upon returning to the lodge, 
 hastened to his brother's couch and discovered that portions 
 of his body were yet warm. This happened at early day be- 
 fore the morning dew had dried. When the sun had advanced 
 half way to the meridian his heart began to beat, and he 
 opened his eyes. Blacksnake asked him if he was in his right 
 mind, but he answered not. At meridian he again opened his 
 eyes, and the same question was repeated. He then answered 
 and said, 'A man spoke from without and some one might 
 come forth. I looked and saw some men standing without. 
 I rose", and as I attempted to step over the threshold of my 
 door I stumbled, and should have fallen had they not caught 
 me. They were three holy men who looked alike and were 
 dressed alike. The paint they wore seemed but a day old. 
 Each held in his hand a shrub bearing different kinds of fruits. 
 One of them addressing me said, 'We have cme to comfort 
 and relieve you ; take of these berries and eat ; they will restore 
 you to health ; we have been witnesses of your lengthy illness ; 
 we have seen with what resignation you have given yourself 
 up to the Great Spirit ; we have heard your daily return of 
 thanks ; He has heard them all ; His ear has ever been open 
 to hear; you was thankful for the return of night, when you 
 could contemplate the beauties of heaven ; you was accus- 
 tomed to look upon the moon as it coursed in its mighty paths ; 
 when there were no hopes to you that you would- again behold 
 these things, you willingly resigned yourself to the mind of 
 the Great Spirit ; this is right ; since the Great Spirit made 
 the earth and put man upon it, we have been His constant 
 servants to guard anck^rotect His works; there are four of us ; 
 some other time you will be permitted to see the other ; the 
 Great Spirit is pleased to know your patient resignation to 
 
192 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 His will ; as a reward for your devotion He has cured your 
 sickness ; tell your people to assemble to-morrow, and at morn 
 go in and speak to them.' After they had further revealed 
 their intentions concerning him they departed. 
 
 "At the time appointed Handsomelake appeared at the 
 council and thus addressed the people upon the revelations 
 which had been made to him : 
 
 ' I have a message to deliver to you. The servant of the 
 Great Spirit has told me that I should yet live upon the earth 
 to become an instructor to my people. Since the creation of 
 man the Great Spirit has often raised up men to teach his 
 children what they should do to please him; but they have 
 been unfaithful to their trust. I hope I shall profit by their 
 example. Your Creator has seen that you have transgressed 
 greatly against His laws. He made men pure and good.* He 
 did not intend that he should sin. You create a great sin in 
 taking the firewater. The Great Spirit say's you must abandon 
 this enticing habit. Your ancestors have brought great misery 
 upon you. They first took the firewater of the white man, and 
 entailed upon you its consequences. None of them have gone 
 to heaven. The firewater does not belong to you. It was 
 made by the white man beyond the great waters. For the 
 white man it is a medicine; but they, too, have violated the 
 will of their Maker. The Great Spirit says drunkenness is a 
 great crime, and He forbids you to indulge in this evil habit. 
 His command is to the old and young. The abandonment of 
 its use will relieve much of your sufferings, and greatly increase 
 the comforts and happiness of your children. The Great 
 Spirit is grieved that so much crime and wickedness should de- 
 file the earth. There are many evils which He never intended 
 should exist among His red children. The Great Spirit has 
 for many wise reasons withheld from man the number of his 
 days, but He has not left him without *i guide, for He has 
 pointed out to him the path in which he may safely tread the 
 journey of life. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 1 93 
 
 " When the Great Spirit made man He also made woman. 
 He instituted marriage, and enjoined upon them to love each 
 other and be faithful. It is pleasing to Him to see men and 
 women obey His will. Your Creator abhors a deceiver and a 
 hypocrite. By obeying His commands you will die an easy 
 and happy death. When the Great Spirit instituted marriage 
 He ordained to bless those who were faithful with children. 
 Some women are unfaithful and others become so by misfor- 
 tune. Such have great opportunities to do much good. There 
 are many orphans and poor children whom they can adopt as 
 their own. If you tie up the clothes of an orphan child the 
 Great Spirit will notice it and reward you for it. Should an 
 orphan ever cross your path be kind to him and treat him 
 with tenderness, for this is right. Parents must constantly 
 teach their children morality and reverence for their Creator. 
 Parents must also guard their children against improper mar- 
 riages. They, having much experience, should select a suitable 
 match for their child. When the parents of both parties have 
 agreed, then bring the' young, pair together and let them know 
 what good their parents have designed for them. If in time 
 they so far disagree that they cannot possibly live contented 
 and happy with each other they may separate in mutual good 
 feeling, and in this it is no wrong. 
 
 ' \Vhen a child is born to a husband and wife they must give 
 great thanks to the Great Spirit, for it is His gift and an evi- 
 dence of His kindness. Let parents instruct their children in 
 their duty to the Great Spirit, to their parents and to their 
 fellowmen. Children should obey their parents and guardians, 
 and submit to them in all things. Disobedient children occa- 
 sion great pain and misery. They wound their parents' feelings 
 and often drive them to desperation, cause them great distress 
 and final admission into the place of evil spirit. The marriage 
 obligations should generate good to all who have assumed 
 them. Let the married be faithful to each other, that when 
 they die it may be in peace. Children should never permit 
 
 (24) 
 
IQ4 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 their parents to suffer in their old age. Be kind to them, and 
 support them. The Great Spirit requires all children to love, 
 revere and obey their parents. To do this is highly pleasing 
 to Him. The happiness of parents is greatly increased by the 
 affection and the attention of their children. To abandon a 
 wife or children is a great wrong, and produces many evils. 
 It is wrong for a father or mother-in-law to vex a son or 
 daughter-in-law, but they should use them as if they were 
 their own children. It often happens that parents hold angry 
 disputes over their infant child. This is also a great sin. The 
 infant hears and comprehends the angry words of its parents. 
 It feels bad and lonely. It can see for itself no happiness in 
 prospect. It concludes to return to its Maker. It wants a 
 happy home, and dies. The parents then weep because their 
 child has left them. You must put this evil practice from 
 among you if you would live happy. 
 
 'The Great Spirit when He made the earth never intended 
 that it should be made merchandise, but His will is that all 
 His creatures should enjoy it equally.' Your chiefs have vio- 
 lated and betrayed their trust by selling lands. Nothing is 
 now left of our once large possessions save a few small reser- 
 vations. Chiefs and aged men, you, as men, have no lands to 
 sell. You occupy and possess tract in trust for your children. 
 You should hold that trust sacred, lest your children are driven 
 from their homes by your unsafe conduct. Whoever sells 
 land offends the Great Spirit, and must expect a great punish- 
 ment after death." 
 
 Johnson here suspended the naration of the discourse of 
 Handsomelake's, and thus addressed the council : 
 
 " Chiefs, keepers of the faith, warriors, women and children- 
 You all know that our religion teaches that the early day is 
 dedicated to the Great Spirit, and that the late day is granted 
 to the spirits of the dead. It is now meridian, and 1 must 
 close. Preserve in your minds that which has been said. 
 Accept my thanks for your kind and patient attention. It is 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 1 95 
 
 meet that I should also return my thanks to the Great Spirit 
 that he has assisted me thus far in my feeble frame to instruct 
 you. We ask you all to come up again to-morrow at early 
 day, to hear what further may be said. I have done," 
 
 The next morning, after the council had been opened in the 
 usual manner, Johnson thus continued : 
 
 " Relatives, uncover now your heads and listen. The clay 
 has thus far advanced, and again gathered around the council- 
 fire I see around me the several nations of the long house. 
 This gives me great joy. I see also seated around me my 
 counselors (keepers of the faith), who have been regularly 
 appointed, as is the custom of our religion. Greetings have- 
 been exchanged with each other. Thanks have been returned 
 to Handsomelake. Thanks also have been returned to our 
 Creator by the council now assembled. At this moment the 
 Great Spirit is looking upon this assembly. He hears our 
 words, knows our thoughts, and is always pleased to see us 
 gathered together of good. The sun is now high, and soon it 
 will reach the middle heavens. I must therefore make haste. 
 Listen attentively, and consider well what you shall hear. 
 I return thanks to our Creator, that He has spared your lives 
 through the dangers of. the darkness. I salute and return my 
 thanks to the four Celestial Beings who have communicated 
 what I am about to say to you. I return thanks to my grand- 
 father (Handsomelake), from whom you first heard what I am 
 about to speak. We all feel his loss. We miss him at our 
 councils. I now occupy his place before you, but I am con- 
 scious that I have not the power which he possessed. 
 
 " Counselors, warriors, mother sand children Listen to good 
 instruction. Consider it well. Lay it up in your hearts, and 
 forget it not. Our Creator when He made us designed that 
 we should live by hunting. It sometimes happens that a man 
 goes out for to hunt, leaving his wife with his friends. After 
 a long absence he returns and finds tli.it his wife has taken 
 another husband. The Great Spirit says this is a great sin, 
 and must be put from among us. 
 
196 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 " The four messengers further said that it was wrong for a 
 mother to punish a child with a rod. It is not right to punish 
 much, and our Creator never intended that children should be 
 punished with a whip or be used with much violence. In pun- 
 ishing a refractory child water .only is necessary, and it is suffi- 
 cient. Plunge them under. This is not wrong. Whenever a 
 child promises to do better the punishment must cease. It is 
 wrong to continue it after promises of amendment are made. 
 Thus they said. 
 
 " It is right and proper always to look upon the dead. Let 
 your face be brought near to theirs, and address them. Let 
 the dead know that their absence is regretted by their friends, 
 and that they grieve for their death. Let the dead know, too, 
 how their surviving friends intend to live. Let them know 
 whether they will so conduct themselves that they will meet 
 them again in the future w r orld. The dead will hear and 
 remember. Thus they said. 
 
 " Continue to listen whiie I proceed to relate what further 
 they said. Our Creator made the earth. Upon it He placed 
 man, and gave him certain rules of conduct. It pleased Him 
 also to give them many kinds of amusement. He also ordered 
 that the earth should produce all that is good for man. So 
 long as he remains, it will not cease to yield. Upon the sur- 
 face of the ground berries of various kinds are produced. It 
 is the will of the Great Spirit that when they ripen we should 
 return our thanks to Him, and have a public rejoicing for the 
 continuance of these blessings. He made everything which 
 we live upon, and requires us to be thankful at all times for 
 the continuance of His favors. When our life (corn, &c.), 
 has again appeared, it is the will of the Great Spirit that we 
 assemble for a general thanksgiving. It is His will also that 
 II is children be brought and to participate in the feather 
 dance. Your feast must consist of the new production. It is 
 proper at these times, should any present not have their names 
 published, or any changes have been made, to announce them 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 197 
 
 then. The festival must last four days. Thus they said. 
 Upon the first day must be performed the feather dance. 
 This ceremony must take place in the early day, and cease at 
 the middle day. In the same manner, upon the second day, is 
 to be performed the Thanksgiving dance. On the third, the 
 Thanksgiving concert. Ah-do-weh is to be introduced. The 
 fourth day is set apart for the peach-stone game. All these 
 ceremonies instituted by our Creator must be commenced at 
 early day, and cease at the middle day. At all these times we 
 are required to return thanks to our Grandfather Heno (Thunder) 
 and his assistants. To them is assigned the duty of watch- 
 ing over the earth and all its produces for our good. The 
 great Feather and Thanksgiving dances are the appropriate 
 ceremonies of Thanksgiving to the Ruler and Maker of all 
 things. The Thanksgiving concert belongs appropriately to 
 our grandfathers. In it we return thanks to them. During 
 the performance of this ceremony we are required also to give 
 them the smoke of tobacco. Again we must at this time re- 
 turn thanks to our mother the earth for she is our relative. 
 We must also return thanks to our life and its sister. All 
 these things are required to be done by the light of the sun. 
 It must not be protracted unt-il the sun has hid its face and 
 darkness surrounds all things. 
 
 " Continue to listen. We have a change of season. We 
 have a season of cold. This is the hunting season. It is also 
 one in which the people can amuse themselves. Upon the 
 fifth day of the new moon Nis-go-wuk-na (about February 1st), 
 we are required to commence the annual jubilee of thanksgiv- 
 ing to our Creator. At this festival all can give evidence of 
 their devotion to the will of the Great Spirit, by participating 
 in all of its ceremonies. 
 
 <k Continue to listen. The four Messengers of the Great 
 Spirit have always watched over us, and have ever seen what 
 was transpiring among men. At some times Handsomelake 
 \va.s transported by them to the regions above. He looked 
 
198 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 down upon the earth and saw an assembly. Out of it came a 
 man. His garments were torn, tattered and filthy. His 
 whole appearance indicated great misery arid poverty. They 
 asked him how this spectacle appeared to him. He replied 
 that it was hard to look upon. They then told him that the 
 man he saw was a drunkard ; that he had taken the firewater 
 and it had reduced him to poverty. Again he looked and saw 
 a woman, seated on the ground. She was constantly engaged 
 in gathering up and secreting about her person her w r orldly 
 effects. They said the woman you see is inhospitable. She 
 is selfish to spare anything, and will never leave her worldly 
 goods. She can never pass from earth to heaven. Tell this 
 to your people. Again he looked, and saw a man carrying in 
 each hand large pieces of meat. He went about the assembly 
 to give each a piece. This man they said is blessed, for he is 
 hospitable and kind. He looked again, and saw streams of 
 blood. They said thus will the earth be if the firewater is not 
 put from among you. Brother will kill brother, and friend 
 kill friend. Again they told him to look towards the east. 
 He obeyed as far as his vision reached. He saw the increasing 
 smoke of numberless distilleries arising and shutting out the 
 light of the sun. It was a horrible spectacle to witness. They 
 told him that here was the place that manufactured the fire- 
 water. Again he looked, and saw a costly house, made and 
 furnished by the pale faces. It was a house of confinement 
 where were fetters, ropes and whips. They said those who per- 
 sisted in the use of firewater would fall into this. Our Creator 
 commands us to put this destructive vice far from us. Again 
 he looked and saw various assemblages. Some of them were 
 uihrilling to listen to instruction. They were rioters, and took 
 great pride in drinking the strong waters. He observed another 
 group who were half inclined to hear, but the temptations of 
 vice that surrounded them allured them back', and they also 
 revelled in the fumes of the firewater. He saw another assem- 
 blage who had met to hear instruction. This they said was 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 199 
 
 pleasing to the Great Spirit. He loves those who will listen 
 and obey. It has grieved Him that His children are now 
 divided by separate interests, and are pursuing so many paths. 
 It pleases Him to see His people live together in harmony 
 and quiet. The firewater creates many dissensions and divisions 
 among us. They said the use of it would cause many to die 
 unnatural deaths. Many will be exposed to cold and freeze. 
 Many will be burned, and others will be drowned while under 
 the influence of the firewater. 
 
 " Friends and relations, all these things have often hap- 
 pened. How many of our people have frozen to death ; how 
 many have burned to death ; how many have been drowned 
 while under the influence of the strong water. The punish- 
 ment of those who use' the firewater commences while they are 
 yet on the earth. Many are now thrown into houses of con- 
 finement by the pale faces. I repeat to you the Ruler of us 
 all requires us to unite and put this evil from among us. Some 
 say the use of the firewater is not wrong, and that it is food. 
 Let those who do not believe it is wrong make this experiment: 
 Let all who use the firewater assemble and organize into a 
 council, and those who do not into another council near them. 
 A great difference will then be discovered. The council of 
 drunkards will end in a riot and tumult, while the other will 
 have harmony and quiet. It is hard to think of the great prev- 
 alence of this evil among us. Reform, and put it from among 
 you. Many resolve to use the firewater until near death, when 
 they will repent. If they do this nothing can save them from 
 destruction, for medicine can then have no power. Thus they 
 said. 
 
 "All men were made equal by the Great Spirit, but He has 
 given them a variety of gifts. To some a pretty face, to others 
 an ugly one ; to some a comely form, to others a deformed 
 figure ; some are fortunate in collecting around them worldly 
 goods ; but you are all entitled to the same privileges, and 
 therefore must put pride from among you. You are not your 
 
200 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 own maker, nor the builders of your own fortunes ; all things 
 are the gifts of the Great Spirit, and to Him must be returned 
 thanks for their bestowal ; He alone must be acknowledged as 
 the giver. It has pleased Him to make differences among 
 men, but it is wrong for one man to exalt himself above 
 another. Love each other, for you are all brothers and sisters 
 of the same great family. The Great Spirit enjoins upon all to 
 observe hospitality and kindness, especially to the needy and 
 helpless, for this is pleasing to Him. If a stranger wanders 
 about your abode, speak to him with kind words ; be hospitable 
 toward him ; welcome him to your home, and forget not always 
 to mention the Great Spirit. In the morning give thanks to 
 the Great Spirit for the return of day and the light of the sun. 
 At night renew your thanks to Him that His ruling power has 
 preserved you from harm during the day and that night has 
 again come in which you may rest your weaned bodies, 
 
 "The four messengers said further to Handsomelake, 'Tell 
 your people, and particularly the keeper of the faith, to be 
 strong-minded and adhere to the true faith. We fear the evil- 
 minded will go among them with tempations. He may intro- 
 duce the fiddle ; he may bring cards and leave them among you ; 
 the use of these is a great sin. Let the people be on their 
 guard and the keepers of the faith be watchful and vigilant 
 that none of these evils may find their way among the people. 
 Let the keepers of the faith preserve the law of moral conduct 
 in all its purity. When meetings are to be held for instruction 
 and the people are preparing to go, the evil-minded is then 
 busy. He goes from one to another whispering many tempta- 
 tions, by which to keep them away. He will even follow per- 
 sons into the door of the council and induce some at that time 
 to bend their steps away ; many resist until they have entered, 
 and then leave. This habit once indulged in, obtains fast hold 
 and the evil propensity increases with age. This is a great sin, 
 and should be at once abandoned. Thus they said.' 
 
 "Speak evil of no one; if you can say no good of a person, 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 2OI 
 
 then be silent ; let all be mindful of this, for these are the words 
 of our Creator. Let all strive to cultivate friendship with 
 those who surround them. This is pleasing to the Great Spirit. 
 
 "Counselors, warriors, women and children I shall now 
 rest. I thank you all for you kind and patient attention. I 
 thank the Great Spirit that He has spared the lives of so many 
 of us to witness this day. I request you all to come up again 
 to-morrow at early day. Let us all hope that until we meet 
 again the Creator and Ruler of us all may be kind to us and 
 preserve our lives, , na-ho." 
 
 The council on the following day was opened with a few 
 short speeches by some of the chiefs or keepers of the faith, 
 returning thanks for the privileges of the occasion, as usual at 
 councils ; after which Johnson, resuming his discourse, spoke as 
 follows : 
 
 " Friends and relatives, uncover now you heads. Continue 
 to listen to my rehearsal of the saying communicated to Hand- 
 somelake by the four messengers of the Great Spirit. We 
 have met again around the council fire. We have followed the 
 ancient custom and greeted each other. This is right and 
 highly pleasing to our Maker. He now looks down upon this 
 assemblage ; He sees us all ; He is informed of the cause of 
 our gathering, and it is pleasing to Him. Life is uncertain; 
 while we live let us love each other ; let us sympathize always 
 with the suffering and needy; let us also always rejoice with 
 those who are glad. This is now the third day, and my time 
 for speaking to you is drawing to a close. It will be a long time 
 before we meet again ; many moons and seasons will have 
 passed before the sacred council-brand be again uncovered ; be 
 watchful, therefore, and remember faithfully what you may now 
 hear. 
 
 "In discoursing yesterday upon the duties of the keepers of 
 the faith, I omitted some important things. The Great Spirit 
 created this office ; He designed that its duties should nevcr 
 end. There are some who are selected and set apart by our 
 
 (25) 
 
202 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Maker to perform the duties of this office; it is therefore their 
 duty to be faithful, and to be always watching. These duties 
 they must ever perform during their lives. The faithful when 
 they leave' this earth will have a pleasant path to travel. The 
 same office exists in heaven, the home of our Creator. They 
 will take the same place when they arrive there. There are 
 dreadful penalties awiting those keepers of the faith who re- 
 sign their office without a cause. Thus they said. 
 
 " It was the original intention of our Maker that all our 
 feasts of thanksgiving should be seasoned with the flesh of 
 wild animals, but we are surrounded by the pale faces, and in 
 a short time the woods will all be removed ; then there will 
 be no game for the Indians to use in their feasts. The four 
 messengers said in consequence of this that we might use the 
 flesh of domestic animals. This will not be wrong. The pale 
 faces are pressing upon every side. You must therefore live 
 as they do. How far you can do so without sin I will now tell 
 you. You may grow cattle and for yourselves a comfortable 
 dwelling house. This is not sin, and it is all you can safely 
 adopt of the customs of the pale faces. You cannot live as 
 they do. Thus they said. 
 
 "Continue to listen. It has pleased our Creator to set apart 
 as our life the three Sisters. For this special favor let us ever 
 be thankful. When we have gathered in our harvest let the 
 people assemble and hold a general thanksgiving for so great a 
 good. In this way you will show your obedience to the will 
 and pleasure of your Creator. Thus they said. 
 
 " Many of you are ignorant of the spirit of medicine. It 
 watches over us constantly, and assists the needy whenever 
 necessity requires, The Great Spirit designed that some man 
 should possess the gift and skill in medicine, but He is pained 
 td fcee a medicine man making exorbitant charges for attend 
 ing the sick. Our Creator made for us tobacco. This plant 
 must always be used in administering medicine. When a sick 
 person recovers his health he must return hi> thanks to the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 3O3 
 
 Great Spirit by means of tobacco, for it is by His goodness 
 that he is made well. He blesses the medicine, and the medi- 
 cine man must receive as a reward whatever the gratitude of 
 the restored may tender. This is right and proper. There 
 are many that are unfortunate and cannot pay for attendance. 
 It is sufficient for such to return thanks to the medicine man 
 upon recovery. The remembrance that he has saved the life 
 of a relative will be a sufficient reward. 
 
 " Listen further to what the Great Spirit has been pleased to 
 communicate to us. He has made us, as a race, separate and 
 distinct from the pale faces. It is a great sin to intermarry 
 and intermingle the blood of the two races. Let none be 
 guilty of this transgression. 
 
 "At one time the four messengers said to Handsomelake, 'Lest 
 the people should disbelieve you and not repent and forsake 
 their evil ways, we will now disclose to you the house of tor- 
 ment, the dwelling place of the evil-minded.' Handsomelake 
 was particular in describing to us all that he witnessed and 
 the course which departed spirits were accustomed to take on 
 leaving the earth. There was a road which led upward ; at a 
 certain point it branched ; one branch led straight forward to 
 the house of the Great Spirit, and the other turned aside to 
 the house of torment ; at the place where the roads separated 
 were stationed two keepers, one representing the good and 
 the other the evil spirit ; when a person reached the fork, if 
 wicked, by a motion of the evil keeper, he turned instinctively 
 upon the road which led to the abode of the evil-minded ; but 
 if virtuous and good, the other keeper directed him upon the 
 straight road ; the latter was not much traveled, while the 
 former was so frequently trodden that no grass could grow in 
 the pathway. It sometimes happens that the keepers have 
 great difficulty in deciding which path the person should take, 
 when the good and bad actions of the individual were nearly 
 balanced. Those sent to the house of torment sometimes re- 
 main one day, (which is one year with us); some for a longer 
 
204 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 period. After they have atoned for their sins they pass to 
 heaven ; but when they have committed either of the great 
 sins, (witchcraft, murder, or infantcide), they never pass to 
 heaven, but are tormented forever. Having conducted Hand- 
 somelake to this place, he saw a large dark-colored mansion, 
 covered with soot, and beside it stood a lesser one. One of 
 the four then held out his rod, and the top of the house moved 
 up until they could look down upon all that was within. He 
 saw many rooms. The first object which met his eyes was a 
 haggard-looking man, his sunken eyes cast upon the ground, 
 and his form half consumed by the torments he had undergone. 
 This man was a drunkard. The evil-minded then appeared 
 and called him by name. As the man obeyed his call, he 
 dipped from a caldron a quantity of red-hot liquid and com- 
 manded him to drink it, as it was an article he loved. The 
 man did as he was commanded, and immediately from his 
 mouth issued a stream of blaze. He cried in vain for help. 
 The tormentor then requested him to sing and make himself 
 merry as he had done while on earth, after drinking the firewater. 
 Let drunkards take warning from this. Others were then sum- 
 moned. There came before him two persons who appeared to 
 be husband and wife. He told them to exercise the privilege 
 they w r ere so fond of while on earth. They immediately com- 
 menced a quarrel of words. They raged at each other with 
 such violence that their tongues and eyes ran out so far they 
 could neither see nor speak. This, said they, is the punish- 
 ment of quarrelsome and disputing husbands and wives. Let 
 such also take warning, and live together in peace and harmony. 
 Next he called up a woman who had been a witch. First he 
 plunged her into a caldron of boiling liquid. In her cries of 
 distress she begged the evil-minded to give her some cooler 
 place. He then immersed her into one containing liquid at 
 the point of freezing. Her cries were then that she was too 
 cold. This woman, said the four messengers, shall always be 
 tormented in this manner. He proceeded to mention the pun- 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 2O$ 
 
 ishment which awaits all those who cruelly ill-treat their wives. 
 The evil-minded next called up a man who had been accus- 
 tomed to beat his wife. Having led him up to a red-hot statue 
 of a woman, he directed him to do that which he was fond of 
 while upon earth. He obeyed, and struck the figure. The 
 sparks flew in every direction, and by the contact his arm was 
 consumed. Such is the punishment, they said, awaiting those 
 who ill-treat their wives. From this take seasonable warning. 
 He looked again and saw a woman, whose arms and hands 
 were nothing but bones. She had sold firewater to the Indians, 
 and the flesh was eaten from her hands and arms. This, they 
 said, would be the fate of rum-sellers. Again he looked, and 
 in one apartment saw and recognized Ho-ne-ya-wus (farmer's 
 brother), his former friend. He was engaged in removing a 
 heap of sand, grain by grain, and although he labored con- 
 tinually, yet the heap was not diminished. This, they said, 
 was the punishment of those who sold land. Adjacent to the 
 house of torment was a field of corn filled with weeds. He 
 saw a woman in the act of cutting them down, but as fast as 
 this was done they grew up again. This, they said, was the 
 punishment of lazy women. It would be proper and right, 
 had we time, to tell more of this place of punishment, but my 
 time is limited and must pass to other things. 
 
 "The Creator made men dependent upon each other. He 
 made them sociable beings ; therefore, when your neighbors 
 visit you, set food before them. If it be your next door neigh- 
 bor, you must give him to eat. He will partake and thank 
 you. 
 
 "Again they said, 'You must not steal.' Should you want 
 for anything necessary, you have only to tell your wants and 
 they will be supplied. This is right. Let none ever steal any- 
 thing. Children are often tempted to take things home 
 which do not belong to them. Let parents instruct their 
 children in this rule. 
 
 " Many of our people live to a very old age. Your Creator 
 
206 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 says that your deportment toward them must be that of rever- 
 ence and affection. They have seen and felt much of the 
 miseries and pains of earth. Be always kind to them when 
 old and helpless. Wash their hands and face and nurse them 
 with care. This is the will of the Great Spirit. 
 
 " It has been the custom among us to mourn for the dead 
 one year. This custom is wrong. As it causes the death of 
 many children, it must be abandoned. Ten days mourn for 
 the dead, and not longer. When one dies, it is right and 
 proper to make an address over the body, telling how much 
 you loved the deceased. Great respect for the dead must be 
 observed among us. 
 
 "At another time the four messengers said to Handsomelake 
 that they would show him the ' destroyer of villages ' (Wash- 
 ington), of whom you have so often heard. Upon the road 
 leading to heaven he could see a light,-far away in the distance; 
 moving to and fro. Its brightness far exceeded the brilliancy 
 of the noonday sun. They told him the journey was as follows : 
 First they came to a cold spring, which was a resting place ; 
 from this point they proceeded into pleasant fairy grounds, 
 which spread away in every direction ; soon they reached 
 heaven ; the light was dazzling ; berries of every description 
 grew in vast abundance ; the size and quality were such that a 
 single berry was more than sufficient to appease the appetite; 
 a sweet fragrance perfumed the air; fruits of every kind met 
 the eye. The inmates of this celestial abode spent their time 
 in amusement and repose. No evil could enter there. None 
 in heaven ever transgress again ; families are reunited and 
 dwell together in harmony ; they possessed a bodily form, the 
 senses and the remembrance of earthly life; but no white man 
 ever enters heaven. Thus they said. He looked and saw 
 an inclosure upon a plain, just without the entrance of heaven. 
 Within it was a fort. Here he saw the 'destroyer f villages/ 
 walking to and fro within the inclosure. His countenance in- 
 dicated a great and good man. They said to Handsomelake, 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 2OJ 
 
 ' The man you see is the only pale face that ever left the earth ; 
 he was kind to you, when on the settlement of the great diffi- 
 culty between the Americans and the Great Crown (Great 
 Riitain), you were abandoned to the mercy of your enemies. 
 The Crown told the great American that as for his allies, the 
 Indians, he might kill them if he liked. The great American 
 judged that this would be cruel and unjust; he believed they 
 were made by the Great Spirit, and were entitled to the enjoy- 
 ments of life ; he was kind to you and extended over you his 
 protection ; for this reason he has been allowed to leave the 
 earth. But he is never permitted to go into the presence of 
 the Great Spirit. Although alone, he is perfectly happy. 
 All faithful Indians pass by him as they go to heaven. They 
 see him and recognize him, but pass on in silence. No words 
 ever pass his lips. 
 
 " Friends and relatives, it was by the influence of this great 
 man that we w r ere spared as a people, and yet live. Had he 
 not granted us his protection, where would we have been ? 
 Perished all perished. 
 
 "The four messengers further said to Handsomelake that 
 they were fearful that unless the people repent and obey his 
 commands, the forbearance and patience of the Creator would 
 be exhausted ; that He would grow angry with them and cause 
 their increase to cease. 
 
 " Our Creator made light and darkness ; He made the sun 
 to heat and shine over the world ; He made the moon, also, to 
 shine by night and to cool the world, if the sun make it too 
 hot by day. The keeper of the clouds, by direction of the 
 Great Spirit, will then cease to act. The keeper of the springs 
 and running brooks will cease to rule them for the good of 
 man. The sun will cease to fulfil its office. Total darkness 
 will then cover the earth. A great smoke will rise and spread 
 over the face of the earth. Then will come out of it all mon- 
 sters and poisonous animals created by the evil-minded, and 
 they, with the wicked upon the earth, will perish together. 
 
2O8 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 " But before this dreadful time shall come, the Great Spirit 
 will take home to Himself all the good and faithful. They 
 will lay themselves down to sleep, and from this sleep of death 
 they will arise and go home to their Creator. Thus they said. 
 
 " I have done. I close thus, that you may remember and 
 understand the fate which awaits the earth, the unfaithful and 
 the unbelieving. Our Creator looks down upon us. The four 
 Beings from above see us. They witness with pleasure this 
 assemblage, and rejoice at the object for which it is gathered. 
 It is now forty-eight years since we first began to listen to the 
 renewed will of our Creator. I have been unable, during the 
 time alloted to me, to rehearse all the sayings of Ga-ne-o-di-yo 
 (Handsomelake); I regret very much that you cannot hear 
 them all. 
 
 "Counselors, warriors, women and children, I have done. 
 I thank you all for your attendance, and for your kind and 
 patient attention. May the Great Spirit, who rules all things, 
 watch over and protect you from every harm and danger while 
 Vbu travel the journey of life. May the Great Spirit bless all, 
 and bestow upon you life, health, peace and prosperity ; and 
 may you in turn appreciate His great goodness. This is all." 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 209 
 
 Sketches of an Iroquois Council, or 
 Condolence. 
 
 In giving the description of the condolence, I have chosen 
 the following writings of Mr. G. S. Riley, of Rochester, to-wit : 
 
 A grand council of the confederate Iroquois was held Octo- 
 ber I, 1845, at the Indian councilhouse, on the Tonawanda 
 reservation, in the county of Genesee. Its proceedings occu- 
 pied three days. It embraced representatives from all the six 
 nations the Mohawk, the Onondaga, the Seneca, the Oneida, 
 the Cayuga, and the Tuscarora. It is the only one of the kind 
 which has been held for a number of years, and is probably 
 the last which will ever be assembled with a full representation 
 of the confederate nations. 
 
 The Indians from abroad arrived at the council-grounds, or 
 the immediate vicinity, two days previous, and one of the 
 most interesting spectacles of the occasion was the entry of 
 the different nations upon the domain and hospitality of the 
 Senecas, on whose grounds the council was to be held. The 
 representation of the Mohawks, coming as they did from Can- 
 ada, was necessarily small. The Onondagas, with acting Todo- 
 tahhoh, of the confederacy, and his two counselors, made an 
 exceedingly creditable appearance. Nor was the array of the 
 Tuscaroras, in point of numbers, at least, deficient in attractive 
 and improving features. 
 
 We called upon and were presented to Black Smith, the most in- 
 fluential and authoritative of the Seneca sachems. He is about 
 sixty years old, is somewhat portly, is easy enough in his man- 
 (26) 
 
210 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 ncrs, and is well disposed, and even kindly towards all who 
 convinced him that they have no sinister designs in coming 
 among his people. 
 
 Jemmy Johnson is the great high priest of the confederacy. 
 Though now sixty-nine years old, he is yet an erect, fine-look- 
 ing and energetic Indian, and is hospitable and intelligent. 
 He is in possession of the medal presented by Washington to 
 Red Jacket in 1792, which, among other things of interest, he 
 showed us. 
 
 It would be imcompatible with the present purpose to de- 
 scribe all the interesting men who were assembled, among 
 whom were Captain Frost, Messrs. Le Fort, Hill, John Jacket, 
 Dr. Wilson and others. We spent much of the time during 
 the week in conversation with the chiefs and most intelligent 
 Indians of the different nations, and gleaned from them much 
 information of the highest interest, in relation to the organiza- 
 tion, government, laws, religion and customs of the people and 
 characteristics of the great men of the old and once powerful 
 confederacy. It is a singular fact, that the peculiar govern- 
 ment and national characteristics of the Iroquois is a most in- 
 teresting field of research and inquiry, which has never been 
 very thoroughly, if at all, investigated, although the historic 
 events which marked the proud career of the confederacy hate 
 been perseveringly sought and treasured up in the writings of 
 Stone, Schoolcraft, Hosmer, Yates and others. 
 
 Many of the Indians speak English readily, but with the aid 
 and interpretations of Mr. Ely S. Parker, a young Seneca of no 
 ordinary degree of attainment in both scholarship and general 
 inteligence, and who, with Le Fort, the Ononciaga, is well 
 versed in old Iroquois matters, we had no difficulty in convers- 
 ing with any and all \ve chose to. 
 
 About midday on Wednesday, October i. ilu- 
 rncnced. The ceremonies with which it was opened and con- 
 ducted were certainly unique -almost indescribable; and as 
 its proceedings were in the Seneca tongue, they were in a great 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 211 
 
 measure unintelligible, and in fact, profoundly mysterious to the 
 pale faces. 
 
 One of the chief objects for which the council had been con- 
 voked, was to fill two vacancies in the Sachems of the Senecas, 
 which had been made by the death of the former incumbents; 
 and preceding the installation of the candidates for the succes- 
 sion there was a general and dolorous lament for the deceased 
 Sachems, the utterance of which, together with the repetition 
 of the laws of the confederacy, the installation of the new 
 Sachems, the impeachment and disposition of three unfaithful 
 Sachems, the elevation of others in their stead, and the per- 
 formance of the various ceremonies attendant upon these pro- 
 ceedings, consumed the principal part of the afternoon. 
 
 At the setting of the sun a bountiful repast, consisting of 
 an innumerable number of rather formidable looking chunks 
 of boiled fresh beef, and abundance of bread and succotash, 
 was brought into the council house. The manner of saying 
 grace on this occasion was indeed peculiar. A kettle being 
 brought, hot and smoking from the fire, and placed in the cen- 
 ter of the council house, there proceeded from a single person, 
 in a high shrill key, a prolonged and monotonous sound, re- 
 sembling that of the syllable wah or yah. This was immedi- 
 ately followed by a responsive but protracted tone, the syllable 
 iv he or sivc, and this concluded grace. It was impossible not 
 to be somewhat mirthfully affected at the first hearing of grace 
 said in this novel manner. It is, however, pleasurable to re- 
 flect that the Indians recognize the duty of rendering thanks 
 to the Divine Being in some formal way for the bounties and 
 enjoyments which He bestows; and, were an Indian to attend a 
 public feast among his pace faced brethren, he would be affect- 
 ed perhaps to a greater degree of marvel at witnessing a total 
 neglect of this ceremony than we were at his singular way of 
 performing it. 
 
 After supper commenced the dances. All day Tuesday and 
 on Wednesday, up to the time that the places of the deceased 
 
212 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Sachems had been filled, everything like undue joyfulness had 
 been restrained. This was required by the respect customarily 
 due to the distinguished dead. But now the bereaved Sachems 
 being again filled, all were to give utterance of gladness and 
 joy. A short speech by Capt Frost, introductory to the en- 
 joyments of the evening, was received with acclamatory appro- 
 bation, and soon eighty or ninety of these sons and daughters 
 of the forest the old men and the young, the maidens and 
 the matrons were engaged in the dance. It was indeed a rare 
 sight. 
 
 Only two varieties of dancing were introduced the first even- 
 ing, the trotting dance and the fish dance. The figures of either 
 are exceedingly simple, and but slightly different from each 
 other. In the first named, the dancers all move round a circle 
 in a single file, keeping time in a sort of trotting step to an 
 Indian song of yo-ho-ha, or yo-ho-ha-ha-ho, as sung by the 
 leader, or occasionally by all conjoined. In the other, there is 
 the same movement in single file round a circle, but every two 
 persons, a man and a woman, or two men, face each other, the 
 one moving forward, the other backward, and all keeping step 
 to the music of the singers, who are now, however, aided by a 
 a couple of tortoise or turtle shell rattlers, or an aboriginal 
 drum. At regular intervals there is a sort of cadence in the 
 music, during which a change of position by all the couples 
 takes place, the one who had been moving backward taking 
 the place of the one moving forward, when all again move 
 onward, one-half of the whole, of course, being obliged to fol- 
 low on by dancing backwards. 
 
 One peculiarity in Indian dancing would probably strongly 
 commend itself to that class among pale faced beau and 
 belles denominated bashful; though, perhaps, it would not 
 suit others as well. The men, or a number of them, usually 
 begin the dance alone, and the women, or each of them, select- 
 ing the one with whom she would like to dance, presents her- 
 self at his side as he approaches and is immediately received 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 213 
 
 into the circle. Consequently, the young Indian beau knows 
 nothing of the tact required to handsomely invite and gallantly 
 lead a lady to the dance ; and the young Indian maiden, un- 
 annoyed by obnoxious offers, at her own convenience, grace- 
 fully presents her personage to the one she designs to favor, 
 and thus quietly engages herself in the dance. And more- 
 over, while an Indian beau is not necessarily obliged to ex- 
 hibit any gallantry as towards a belle till she has herself mani- 
 fested her own good pleasure in the matter; so, therefore, the 
 belle cannot indulge herself in vascilant flirtations with any 
 considerable number of beaux without being at once detected. 
 
 On Thursday the religious ceremonies commenced, and the 
 council from the time it assembled, which was about 11 o'clock 
 A. M., till 3 or 4 o'clock p. M., gave the most serious attention 
 to the preaching of Jimmy Johnson, the great high priest, 
 and the second in the succession under the new revelation. 
 Though there are some evangelical believers among the In- 
 dians, the greater portion of them cherish the religion of their 
 fathers. This, as they say, has been somewhat changed by the 
 new revelation, which the Great Spirit made to one of their 
 prophets about forty-seven years ago, and which, as they also 
 believe, was approved by Washington. 
 
 The profound regard and veneration which the Indiaus have 
 ever retained towards the name and memory of Washington 
 is most interesting evidence of his universally appreciated 
 worth, and the fact that the red men regard him not merely 
 as one of the best, but as the very best man that ever has ex- 
 isted, or that will ever exist, is beautifully illustrated in a sin- 
 gular credence which they maintain even to this day, namely, 
 that Washington is the .only white man who has ever entered 
 heaven and is the only one who will enter there till the end of 
 the world. 
 
 Among the Senecas public religious exercises takes place but 
 once a year. At these times Jimmy Johnson preaches hour 
 after hour for three days, and then rests from any public dis 
 
214 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 charge of ecclesiastical offices the remaining three hundred 
 and sixty-two days of the year. On this, an unusual occasion, 
 he restricted himself to a few hours in each of the last two 
 days of the' council. . We were told by young Parker, who took 
 notes of his preaching, that his subject matter on Thursday 
 abounded in good teachings, enforced by appropriate and 
 happy illustrations and striking imagery. After he had fin- 
 ished the council took a short respite. Soon, however, a com- 
 pany of warriors, ready and eager to engage in the celebrated 
 corn dance, made their appearance. They were differently 
 attired. While some were completely enveloped in a closely- 
 fitting and gaudy-colored garb, others, though perhaps without 
 intending it, had made wonderfully close approaches to an imi- 
 tation of the costume said to have been so fashionable in many 
 parts of the State of Georgia during the last hot summer, and 
 which is also said to have consisted simply of a shirt collar and 
 a pair of spurs. But, in truth, these warriors, with shoulders 
 and limbs in a state of nudity, with faces bestreaked with 
 paints, with jingling trinkets dangling to their kees, and with 
 feathered war caps waving above them, presented a truly pic- 
 turesque and romantic appearance. When the center of the 
 council house had been cleared and the musicians with the 
 shell rattlers had taken their places, the dance commenced, 
 and for an hour and a half perhaps two hours it proceeded 
 with surprising spirit and energy. Almost eveiy posture of 
 which the human frame is susceptible, without absolutely mak- 
 ing the feet uppermost and the head for once to assume the 
 place of the feet, was exhibited. Some of the attitudes of the 
 dancers were really imposing, and the dance as a whole, could 
 be got up and conducted only by Indians. The women, in the 
 performance of the corn dance are quite by themselves, keep- 
 ing time to the beat of the shells and gliding along sideways, 
 without scarcely lifting their feet from the floor. 
 
 It would probably be well if the Indian everywhere could 
 be inclined to refrain at least from the more grotesque and 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 21 5 
 
 boisterous peculiarities of the dance. The influence of these 
 cannot be productive of any good, and it is questionable 
 whether it will be possible, so long as they are retained, to 
 assimilate them to any greater degree of civilization, or to 
 more refined methods of living and enjoyment than they now 
 possess. The same may be said of certain characteristics of 
 the still more Vandalic war dance. This, however, was not in- 
 troduced at the council. 
 
 A part of the proceedings of Friday, the last day of the 
 council, bore resemblance to those of the preceding day. 
 Jimmy Johnson resumed his preaching, at the close of which 
 the corn dance was again performed, though with far more 
 spirit and enthusiasm than at the first. Double the numbers 
 that then appeared, all hardy and sinewy men, atttired in orig- 
 inal and fantastic style, among whom was one of the chiefs of 
 the confederacy, together with forty or fifty women of the 
 different nations, now engaged, and for more than t\vo hours 
 persevered in the performance of the various complicated and 
 fatigueing movement of this dance. The appearance of the 
 dusty throng, with its increased numbers, and of course pro- 
 portionably increased resources for the production of shrill 
 whoops and noisy stamping, and for the exhibition of striking 
 attitudes and rampant motions, \vas altogether strange, won- 
 derful and seemingly superhuman. 
 
 After the dance had ceased r another kind of sport a well 
 contested foot race claimed attention. In the evening, after 
 another supper in the council house, the more social dances 
 the troting, the fish, and one in which the women alone partic- 
 ipated were resumed. The fish dance seemed to be the 
 favorite, and being invited to join in by one of the chiefs, \\ e 
 at once accepted the invitation, and followed in mirthful chase 
 of pleasure with a hundred forest children. Occasionally the 
 dances are characterized with ebulitions of merriment and 
 flashes of real fun, but generally a singular sobriety and decorum 
 observed. Frequently, when gazing at a throng of sixty 
 
 a re 
 
2l6 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 or perhaps one hundred dancers, we have been scarcely able 
 to decide which was the most remarkable, the staid and im- 
 perturable gravity of the old men and women, or the complete 
 absence of levity and frolicsomeness in the young. 
 
 The social dances of the evening, with occasional speeches 
 from the sachems and chiefs, were the final and concluding 
 ceremonies of this singular but interesting affair. Saturday 
 morning witnessed the separation of the various nations and 
 the departure of each to their respective homes. 
 
 The writer would liked to have said a word or two or rela- 
 tion to the present condition and prospects' of the Indians, 
 but the original design in regard to both the topics and brevity 
 of this writing having been already greatly transcended, it 
 must be deferred. The once powerful confederacy of the Six 
 Nations, occupying in its palmy days the greater portion of 
 New York State, now number only a little over 3,000. Even 
 this remnant will soon be gone. In view of this, as well as of 
 the known fact that the Indian race is everywhere gradually 
 diminishing in numbers, the writer cannot close without invok- 
 ing for this unfortunate people renewed kindliness, sympathy 
 and benevolent attention. It is true, that with some few ex- 
 ceptions, they possess habits and characteristics which render 
 them difficult to approach ; but still, they are only what the 
 creator of us all has made them. And let it be remembered, 
 it must be a large measure of kindliness and benevolence that 
 will repay the injustice and wrongs that have been inflicted 
 upon them. 
 
OF THE IKOQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 21 / 
 
 ATOTARHO. 
 
 Atotarho, who by tradition was an Onondaga, is the great 
 embodiment of the Iroquois courage, wisdom and heroism, 
 and he is invested with allegoric traits which exalt him to a 
 kind of superhuman character. Unequalled in war and arts 
 his fame spread abroad, and exalted the Onondaga nation in 
 the highest scale. He was placed at the head of the confed- 
 eracy, and his name was used after his death as an examplar 
 of glory and honor. While like that of Caesar, it became per- 
 petuated as the official title of the presiding Sachem of the 
 confederacy. He was a man of energy and renown. And 
 such was the estimation in which he was held in his life time, 
 and the popular veneration for his character after death, that, 
 as above denoted, his name became the distincfive title for 
 the office, and is not yet extinct, although the tribes have no 
 longer war to prosecute or foreign embassadors to reply to. 
 
 Iroquois Laws of Descent. 
 
 At the establishment of the confederacy, fifty sachems were 
 founded and a name assigned to each, by which they are still 
 known, and these names are kept as hereditary from the begin- 
 ning to the present time. There were also fifty sub-sachems, 
 or war chiefs that is, to every sachem \vas given a war chief, 
 
 (27) 
 
218 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 to stand behind him to do his biddings. These sachemships 
 were, and are still confined to the five nations ; the Tuscaroras 
 were admitted into the confederacy without enlarging the 
 framework of the league, by allowing them their own sachems 
 and sub-sachems, or war chiefs, as they inherited from their 
 original nation of North Carolina. 
 
 But how, it may be asked, is a government so purely popular, 
 and so simple and essentially advisory in its character, to be 
 reconciled with the laws of hereditary descent, fixed by the 
 establishment of heraldic devices and bringing its proportion 
 of weak and incompetent minds into office, and with the actual 
 power it exercised and the fame it acquired. To answer this 
 question, and to show how the aristocratic and democratic 
 principles were made to harmonize in the Iroquois govern- 
 ment, it will be necessary to go back and examine the laws of 
 descent among the tribes, together with the curious and intric- 
 ate principles of the clans or tribal bonds. 
 
 Nothing is more fully under the cognizance of observers of 
 the manners and customs of the Indians, than the fact of the 
 entire nation or tribe being separated into distinct clans, each 
 of them distinguished by the name and device of some quad- 
 ruped, bird, or other object in the animal kingdom. This de- 
 vice is called by the Tuscaroras Or-reak-sa. (clan). The Iroquois 
 have turned it to account by assuming it as the very basis of 
 their political and tribal bond. 
 
 A government wholly verbal must be conceded to have re- 
 quired this proximity and nearness of access. The original- 
 five nations of the Iroquois were, theoretically, separated into 
 eight clans or original families of kindreds, who are distinguish- 
 ed respectively by the clans of the wolf, bear, turtle, deer, beav- 
 er, falcon, crane and the plover. I find that there is a little 
 difference in the clans of the Tuscaroras, which are the bear, 
 wolf, turtle, beaver, deer, eel and snipe. It is contrary to the 
 usage of the Indians that near kindred should intermarry, and 
 the ancient rule interdicts all intermarriage between persons of 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 2IQ 
 
 the same clan. They must marry into a clan which is different 
 from their own. A Bear or Wolf male cannot marry a Bear or 
 Wolf female. By this custom the purity of blood is preserved, 
 while the ties of relationship between the clans themselves is 
 strengthened or enlarged. 
 
 The line of descent is limited exclusively in the female's 
 children. Owing to this arrangement, a chieftain's son cannot 
 succeed him in office, but in case of his death, the right of de- 
 scent being in his mother, he would be succeeded, not by one 
 of his male children, but by his brother ; or failing in this, 
 then by the son of his sister, or by some direct, however re- 
 mote, descendent of a maternal line. 
 
 It will be noticed that the children are not of the same clan 
 as their father, but are the same as their mother. Thus, he 
 might be succeeded by his own grandson, by the son marrying 
 in his father's clan, and not by his daughter. It is in this way 
 that the chieftainship is continually kept in a family dynasties 
 in the female line. 
 
 While the law of descent is fully recognized, the free will of 
 the female to choose a husband from any of the clans, exclud- 
 ing only her own, is made to govern and determine the distri- 
 bution of political power, and to fix the political character of 
 the tribe. Another peculiarity may be here stated. In choos- 
 ing a candidate to fill a vacancy of the chieftainship, made 
 either by death or misconduct, the power is lodged in the old- 
 er women of the clan to choose the candidate, and then to be 
 submitted for the recognition of the chiefs and sachems in 
 council, for the whole nation. If approved, a day is appointed 
 for the recognition also of the Six Nations, and he is formally 
 installed into office. Incapacity is always, however, without 
 exception, recognized as a valid objection to the approval of 
 the council. 
 
220 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 LEGENDARY. 
 
 On long winter evenings the Indian hunters gatherd around 
 their fireside, to listen to the historical traditions, legends of 
 war and hunting, and fairy tales which had been handed down 
 through their fathers and father's fathers, with scarcely any va- 
 riation for centuries, kindling the enthusiasm of, the warrior 
 and inspiring the little child some day to realize similar dreams, 
 and hand his name down to posterity as the author of similar 
 exploits. 
 
 They have superstitious fears of relating fables in summer ; 
 not until after snow comes will they relate of snakes, lest they 
 should creep into their beds, or of evil genii, lest they in some 
 way be revenged. 
 
 It is very difficult for a stranger to rightly understand the 
 morals of their stories, though it is said by those who know 
 them best, that to them the story was always an illustration of 
 some moral or principle. 
 
 To strangers they offer all the rites of hospitality, but do not 
 open their hearts. If you ask them they will tell you a story, 
 but it will not be such a story as they tell when alone. They 
 will fear your ridicule and suppress their humor and pathos ; 
 so thoroughly have they learned to distrust pale faces, that 
 when they know that he who is present is a friend, they will 
 still shrink from admitting him within the secret portals of 
 their heart. 
 
 And when you have learned all that language can convey, 
 there are still a thousand images, suggestions and associations 
 recurring to the Indian, which can strike no chord in your 
 heart. The myriad voices of nature are dumb to you, but to 
 them they are full of life and power. 
 
OF THE IROOUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 221 
 
 NO. I. THE IITNTKR AND MEDICINE LKCKNI). 
 
 There once lived a man who was a great hunter. His gen- 
 erosity was the theme of praise in all the country, for he not 
 only supplied his own family with food, but distributed game 
 among his friends and neighbors, and even called the birds and 
 animals of the forest to partake of his abundance. For this 
 reason he received the appellation of " Protector of Birds and 
 Animals." 
 
 He lived a hunter's life till war broke out between his own 
 and some distant nation, and then he took the war path. Pie 
 was as brave a warrior as he was a skillful hunter, and slew a 
 great multitude of the enemy, till all were lying dead around 
 him, except one, who was a mighty man of valor, and in an un- 
 guarded moment the hunter received a blow from his toma- 
 hawk on the head, which felled him to the earth ; his enemy 
 then took his scalp and fled. 
 
 Some of his own party saw what befell him, and supposing 
 him dead left him on the field of battle ; but a fox who had 
 wandered this way immediately recognized his benefactor. 
 Sorrowful, indeed, was he to find him thus slain, and began 
 to revolve in his mind some means of restoring him to life. 
 " Perhaps," said he, u some of my friends may know of a med- 
 icine by which his wounds may be healed, and he may live 
 again." So saying, he ran into the forest and uttered the 
 il death lament," which was the signal for all the animals to 
 congregate. From far and near they came, till hundreds and 
 thousands of every kind had assembled around the body of 
 the hunter, eagerly inquiring what had happened. The fox 
 explained he had accidentally came that way and found their 
 friend stretched lifeless upon the earth. The animals drew 
 near and examined him more closely, to be sure that life was 
 extinct ; they rolled him over and over on the ground and 
 were satisfied that he was dead, there was not a single sign of 
 life. 
 
 Then they held a grand council of which the bear was the 
 
222 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 speaker. When all were ready to listen, he asked if any one 
 present was acquainted with any medicine which would restore 
 the dead man to life. With great alacrity each one examined 
 his medicine box, but finds nothing adapted to this purpose. 
 Being defeated in their noble object. of restoring their friend, 
 all join in a mournful howl a requiem for the dead. This at- 
 tracted a singing bird, the oriole, who came quietly to learn 
 the cause of the assembling of the great concourse and their 
 profound lamentation. The bear made known the calamity 
 which had befallen them, and as the birds would feel them- 
 selves equally afflicted, he requested the oriole to flyaway and 
 invite all the feathered tribes to come to the council and see if 
 their united wisdom cannot devise a remedy that will restore 
 their friend to life. 
 
 Soon were assembled all the birds of the air, even the great 
 eagle of the Iroquois, which was seldom induced to appear up- 
 on the earth, hastens to pay her respects to the remains of the 
 renowned and benevolent hunter. All being satisfied that he 
 was really dead, the united council of birds and animals, which 
 remained convened, decided that his scalp must be recovered, 
 saying that any bird or animal who pleased might volunteer to 
 go on this mission. The fox was the first to offer his services 
 and departed full of hope that his zeal would be crowned with 
 success. But after many days he returned, saying he could 
 find no trace of man's footsteps, not a chick or child belonged 
 to any settlement. The great love which they bore their friend 
 prompted several others to go upon the same mission, and to 
 the animals belonged the first right as they had first found 
 him ; but at length the birds were anxious to show their devo- 
 tion and the pigeon hawk begged leave to make the first flight, 
 as he was more swift of wing than any other and could visit 
 the whole world in the shortest space of time. They had 
 scarcely missed him when he returned ; he said he had been 
 over the entire earth and found it not. They did not consider 
 his voyage satisfactory, as he had flown so swiftly that it was 
 impossible for him to see anything distinct!}' by the way. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 223 
 
 Next the white heron proposed that he be sent, because of 
 being so slow of wing he could see every object as he passed. 
 On his aerial voyage he discovered a plain covered with the 
 vines of the wild bean, laden with the delicious fruit ; it was 
 too great a temptation for him to resist, and he descended to 
 enjoy a feast. So gluttonously did he partake that he could 
 not rise again from the earth, and the council after many days 
 of anxious waiting, called for a substitute. Here the crow 
 came forward and acknowledged his fitness for such an 
 office, as he was also slow of wing and was accustomed to hov- 
 er settlements and discern them afar off, he would not be sus- 
 pected of any particular design should he linger near the one 
 that contained the scalp. 
 
 The warrior who possessed the coveted treasure knew the 
 birds and animals were holding council on the field of battle- 
 to devise means to recover it, but when the crow drew near he 
 was not alarmed. The smoke of the wigwams indicated a set- 
 tlement, and as the crow sailed lazily through the air at a great 
 height above the roofs of the cabins, he espied the scalp which 
 he knew must be the one he sought, stretched out to dry. 
 
 After various unsuccessful strategems, he was able to seize 
 it, and flew away to exhibit his trophy to the council. 
 
 Now, they attempted to fit it to his head, but, being dry, it 
 was impossible ; so search was made to find something with 
 which to moisten it, but in vain. Then slowly moved forward 
 the great eagle, and bids them listen to his words. 
 
 " My wings are never furled ; night and day, for years and 
 hundreds of years, the dews of heaven have been collected up- 
 on my back, as I sat in my nest above the clouds. Perhaps 
 these waters may have a virtue no earthly fountain can pos- 
 \ve will see." 
 
 Then she plucked a feather from her wing and dipped it in 
 the dewey elixir, which was then applied to the shriveled scalp, 
 and lo ! it became pliable and fresh as if just removed. Now 
 it would fit, but there must be a healing power to cau.^c the 
 flesh to unite, and again to awaken life. 
 
224 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 All were anxious to do something in the great work, there- 
 fore all went forth to bring rare leaves, flowers, barks, the flesh 
 of animals and the brain of birds, to form a healing mixture, 
 When they returned it was prepared, and having been moist- 
 ed with the dew, was applied to the scalp, and instantly ad- 
 hered to it and became firm. This caused the hunter to sit up; 
 he looked around in astonishment upon his numerous friends, 
 unable to divine the meaning of so strange an assemblage. 
 
 Then they bade him stand upon his feet and told him how 
 he was found dead upon the plain and how great was the lamen- 
 tation of all those who had so long experienced his kindness, 
 and the efforts they had made to restore him to life. They 
 then gave him the compound which had been the means of 
 restoring him to life, saying, " it was the gift of the Great Spir- 
 it to man. He alone had directed them in the affairs of the 
 council, had brought the eagle to furnish the heavenly moist- 
 ure, and gave them wisdom in making the preparation, that 
 they might furnish to man a medicine which should be effect- 
 ual for every wound." 
 
 When they had finished the animals departed to their for- 
 est haunts, the eagle soared again to his eyrie, and the birds of 
 the air flew away to their nests in the tall trees, all happy and 
 rejoicing that they had accomplished this great good. 
 
 The hunter returned to his home and spread abroad the 
 news of the miracle and the knowledge of the wonderful medi- 
 cine, which is used to this day among the Iroquois by those 
 who are the favorites of the Great Spirit. 
 
 An Indian hunter went forth to hunt, and as he wandered 
 through the forest he heard a strain of beautiful music far off 
 among the trees. He listened, but could not tell whence it 
 came ; he knew it could not be by any human \oice, or from 
 any instrument he had ever heard. As it came near it ceased. 
 The next evening he 1 went forth again, but he heard no music, 
 and again, but in van. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 225 
 
 Then came the Great Spirit to him in a dream and told him 
 to fast, wash himself till he was purified, then he might go forth 
 and would hear again the music. So he purified himself and 
 went again among the dark trees of the forest, and soon his 
 ear caught the sweet strains, as he drew near they became more 
 beautiful ; he listened till he learned them and could make the 
 same sweet sound, then he knew that it was a plant with a tall 
 green stem and long tapering leaves. He took his knife and 
 cut the stalk, but ere he had scarcely finished, it healed and 
 was the same as before ; he cut it again, and again it healed. 
 Then he knew it would heal diseases, he took it home, dried it 
 by the fire, pulverized it, and applied a few particles of it to a 
 dangerous wound ; no sooner had it touched the wound than 
 it was healed. Thus the Great Spirit taught the Indian the 
 nature of medicinal plants, and directed him where they were 
 to be feund, when and how used. 
 
 MEDICINE LEGENDS. 
 
 The two above are the legends concerning the principal 
 medicines used among the Iroquois. The ancient manner of 
 administering them, was to take a small wooden goblet and go 
 to a rurming stream, dipping toward the way which the stream 
 ran, fill the goblet and return, place it near the fire with some 
 tobacco near it ; a prayer is offered while tobacco is thrown 
 upon the fire, that the words may ascend upon the smoke. 
 
 The medicine is placed on a piece of skin near the goblet, 
 being very finely pulverized, is taken up with a wooden spoon 
 and dusted upon the water in three spots, in the form of a trian- 
 gle, thus #% The medicine man then looks at it critically, 
 if it spreads over the surface of the water and whirls about, it 
 is a sign that the invalid will be healed ; if it sinks directly in 
 the places where it was put, there is no hope, the sick person 
 must die and the whole is thrown away. 
 
 Once in six months there is a great feast made, at the hunt- 
 ing season in fall and spring. On thenfght of the feast as soon 
 (28) 
 
226 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 as it is dark, all who are present assemble in one room, where 
 no light or fire is allowed to burn, and placing the medicine 
 near the covered embers, the tobacco by its ssde, they com- 
 mence singing, which proclaims that the crows are coming to 
 their feast, and also many other birds and various animals, the 
 brains of whose species form part of their medicine. At the 
 end of the song some one imitates the caw of a crow, the songs 
 of the birds, the howls of the wolf, etc., as if the animals were 
 present. 
 
 Three times in the course of the night they offer a prayer, 
 while throwing tobacco on the smothered flames, asking that 
 the people may be protected from all harm, and if they re- 
 ceive wounds that the medicine may be effectual in healing 
 them. 
 
 At the commencement of the ceremonies the doors are lock- 
 ed, and no one is allowed to enter or leave the house while 
 they continue; neither is any one allowed; to sleep, as that 
 would spoil the medicine. The feast begins just before the 
 dawn of day. The master of ceremonies first takes a deer's 
 'head, bites off a piece, imitates the cry of a crow and passes 
 the head of the animal to another, who does the same, till all 
 have tasted and imitated the peculiar note of some bird or 1 
 animal. 
 
 As soon as it begins to be light the presiding officer takes a 
 duck's bill, and dipping it full of the medicine, gives it to each 
 one present, who puts it in a bit of skin and wraps it in several 
 coverings, keeps it carefully until the next semi-annual feast. 
 The skin of a panther is preferred for the first envelope if it 
 can be obtained. 
 
 Those who take part in the ceremonies are medicine men. 
 Chiefs are allowed to be present ; also, any who have been 
 cured of any disease by the medicine. 
 
 Without the building tin: \ouvu; j><"]>h- gathei tor merri- 
 ment, and the fragments of the feast are given to them when 
 it is finished. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 22/ 
 
 When the medicine described in the second legend is used, 
 the tune is sung which was heard at its discovery, both at the 
 ceremonies of the feast and the time of administering it. 
 
 They seem to think the ceremonies effectual in making the 
 medicinal qualities of the compound imperishable. Each med- 
 icine man has a large quantity which he keeps in a bag, and 
 in order not to exhaust the whole, now and then, adds pulver- 
 ized corn roots, squash vines, etc., and whenever it is adminis- 
 tered several persons assemble and sing. Both kinds are con- 
 sidered especially useful in healing wounds received in war. 
 
 In reading the first legend there will be seen very humorous 
 allusions to the habits of the pigeon, heron and crow, and there 
 is a curious invention inspiring faith in the means used in heal- 
 ing, I have seen many who affirmed that they had tested 
 the wonderful powers of each. 
 
 CIVILIZATION. 
 
 Whatever may be the theories on the subject of Indian civ- 
 ilization, I think it must be evident that the present posi- 
 tion of the Tuscarora nation on their reservation, is extremely 
 favorable for the attainment of that object. They can no longer 
 live by the chase. It is not now with them as it was with the In- 
 dians on the Delaware, when \Villiam Penn said, " their pleas- 
 ures feed them hunting, fishing and fowling." Surrounded 
 by the white settlements, placed in the vicinity of cities and 
 towns, they are obliged to apply to agriculture and other 
 modes of labor, for the means of subsistence. They are now 
 building good houses, planting orchards of various kinds of 
 
228 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 fruit, raising stock, etc.; they have horses and carriages. Ar- 
 tificial wants the very pillars of civilization are increasing 
 upon them. These require exertion, call into action their men- 
 tal faculties, force them to provide for coming exigencies, grad- 
 ually tames down their wild nature, and prepares them for that 
 subdued, but improved state, in which alone is to be found the 
 highest point of cultivation, as well as the highest enjoyment 
 intended for man in this probationary world. 
 
 If this experiment fails, we may, with melancholy, certainly 
 look forward to a period when this futile branch of the human 
 family shall be swept into oblivion, when the fine sounding 
 names of the lofty mountains, the noble rivers, the splendid 
 cataracts, the great inland seas and the silvery lakes will be 
 the sole memorials of a race, that, only two or three centuries 
 ago, covered the face of this vast continent. 
 
 On the other hand, if this experiment should succeed, it will 
 open a door of hope for the preservation, or if we may use the 
 term, physical salvation of this apparently doomed race. It 
 may encourage the philanthropist to stretch forth his hand 
 for the protection of the yet remaining tribes beyond the Mis- 
 sissippi ; and the child may already be born, who will live to 
 behold that vast wilderness thickly dotted over with Indian 
 communities, with towns, villages, farms and manufacturing 
 hamlets. They may live to see the hoe and the spade take 
 the place of the bow and the tomahawk ; the lion and the 
 lamb feeding together ; the sword beaten into a plowshare, 
 and the spear into a pruning hook. 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 22$ 
 
 DOMESTIC 
 
 In the first place, to women, in every well regulated society, 
 should be committed the management of the families and the 
 business connected with the household concerns, and they 
 should be qualified to exercise a salutary influence within their 
 appropriate sphere. 
 
 Secondly, as mothers they are responsible for the nursing 
 and rearing of their children and for the proper sustenance of 
 them in. early life. They are also responsible for the habits of 
 their children, including cleanliness and general propriety of 
 behavior. 
 
 A sensible, judicious mother can greatly control her children 
 in these matters ; she can make them modest or impertinent, 
 ingenuous or deceitful, fearful or intrepid. The germ of all these 
 traits of character exist in childhood, and a mother can repress 
 or strengthen them. 
 
 Thirdly, a mother is responsible for the principles her chil- 
 dren may entertain in early life, and it is for her to say wheth- 
 er they shall be imbued with sentiments of honesty, industry 
 and morality, or with those of a contrary character fraud, 
 idleness and dishonesty. 
 
 She is, to a very considerable extent responsible for the tem- 
 per and disposition of her children. Constitutionally he may- 
 be irritable or revengeful, but she may correct or repress these 
 passions and in their places instil better feelings. 
 
 Lastly, and above all, she is responsible for the religious ed- 
 ucation of her children. The beginning of wisdom is a rever- 
 
230 LEGENDS, TRADITIO NS AND LAWS 
 
 ence for our creator, and obedienc e to his requirings ; and this 
 is within the power of every good mother to inculcate and 
 cherish in the hearts of her children ; at the same time it is 
 the most important duty she owes them, and their usefulness 
 and character throughout life may depend upon her correct 
 and faithful discharge of it. 
 
 If these be the appropriate duties and obligations of a moth- 
 er, will it not be vain to expect that the Indian warrior will be 
 qualified for that station, or that they will be in a condition to 
 give a proper education to their children, or train them up in 
 habits or principles that will render them intelligent and good 
 citizens, whilst they themselves are left in ignorance, and while, 
 instead of devoting their time and attention to his discharge 
 of these high moral duties, they are held in a state of servile 
 degradation and compelled to perform all the menial drudger- 
 ies of life ? 
 
 Women are created by Providence equal to men in every- 
 thing except mere physical strength. Generally, they have 
 much more discretion, and certainly are far more virtuous. 
 They were designed to exercise a conservative influence in so- 
 ciety and should be placed in a position which would enable 
 them to fulfill this most important office ; for history confirms 
 the deeply interesting fact, that no people ever yet were ele- 
 vated to the rank of civilization, while their females were held 
 in a servile condition, and we are also admonished by experi- 
 ence, that no community can be virtuous and happy, which is 
 not chastened by the controlling example of female delicacy 
 and refinement. 
 
 These views are submitted to the consideration of the Tus- 
 caroras, in the hope that they will receive their serious atten- 
 tion, and lead to the adoption of an improved and proper di- 
 vision of the employments, both of the men and women of the 
 nation ; especially to the extension of more care towards the 
 suitable education of their females, and the consequent eleva- 
 tion of the Tuscarora women to their appropriate station and, 
 
'OQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. J^I 
 
 dignity, as the wives and rational companions of intelligent 
 and educated husbands. 
 
 In my communications, I have not felt it my duty to call 
 your attention to any particular forms or observances in rela- 
 tion to your religious obligations. I believe that God is a 
 spirit, and true worship to Him can only be performed in spirit 
 and in truth. I also believe that however diversified the hu- 
 man family may be in regard to the circumstances in which 
 they may be placed, all stand equally before their creator, as 
 objects of His care and personal regard ; in His great mercy He 
 visits us with remorse and sadness, when we have wilfully done 
 what we know to be wrong, and which, if persisted in, might 
 lead us to destruction ; and it is He who fills our hearts with 
 peace and consolation when we do that which we believe to 
 be right. His goodness is not limited to any people or place, 
 nor is that adoration which is due to Him confined within tem- 
 ples built with human hands, or restricted to any particular 
 form ; He is everywhere present and in every place ; the in- 
 cense of a pious, devoted heart, may acceptably be offered to 
 Him in the rude homes of the red man. 
 
 The plants of the earth are not more directly under the in- 
 fluences of the natural light and warmth by which they are 
 nourished, than is the immortal soul or spirit of man under the 
 immediate care and sustaining support of the divine presence, 
 which is ajways near and round about us ; for it is in* Him we 
 and move, and have our existence. 
 
 Deeply impressed with the certainty of these truths, and ful- 
 ly believing He will never fail to lead in the paths of safety 
 and peace, those who sincerely look to Him for instruction and 
 faithfully follow His counsel, I recommend you, with myself, 
 carefully to attend to His manifestations of light and truth 
 upon our minds, which will never deceive nor mslead, but, if 
 obeyed, wisely conduct us through the dangers of this life, and 
 finally will prepare us for a happy admission into the realms 
 ternal rest. 
 
LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 Osteological Remains. 
 
 " In the town of Cambria, six miles west of Lockport, a Mr. 
 Hammon, who was employed with his boy in hoeing corn, in 
 1824, observed some bones of a child, exhumed. No farther 
 thought was bestowed upon the subject for a time, for 
 the plain of the Ridge was supposed to have been the site of 
 an Indian village, and this was supposed to be the remains of 
 some child who had been recently buried there. Eli Bruce, 
 hearing of the circumstance, proposed to Mr. H. that they 
 should repair to the spot, with suitable instruments, and en- 
 deavor to find some relics. The soil was a light loam, which 
 would be dry and preserve bones for centuries without decay. 
 A search enabled them to come to a pit but a slight distance 
 from the surface. The top of the pit was covered with small 
 slabs of the Medina sandstone, and was twenty-four feet square, 
 four and a half feet deep, planes agreeing with the four cardi- 
 nal points. It was filled with human bones of both sexes and 
 ages. T&ey dug down at one extremity and found the same 
 layers to" extend to the bottom, which was the dry loam, and 
 from their calculations, they deduced that at least four thous- 
 and souls had perished in one great massacre. In one skull 
 two flint arrow-heads were found, and many had the appear- 
 ance of having been fractured and cleft open by a sudden blow. 
 They were piled in regular layers, but with no regard to size 
 or sex. Pieces of pottery were picked up in the pit, and had 
 also been plowed up in the field adjacent. Traces of 
 council house were plainly discernable. For, in an ol 
 square, the soil was pdbr, as if it had been cultivated, till the 
 
OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS. 233 
 
 whites broke it up, and where the logs of the house had de- 
 cayed, was a strip of rich mould. A maple tree, over the pit, 
 being cut down, two hundred and fifty concentric circles were 
 counted, making the mound to be A. D. 1574. It has been 
 supposed by the villagers that the bones were deposited there 
 before the discovery of America, but the finding of some metal 
 tools with a French stamp, placed the date within our period. 
 One hundred and fifty persons a day visited this spot the first 
 season, and carried' off portions of the bones. They are now 
 nearly all gone and the pit plowed over. Will any antiquarian 
 inform us, if possible, why these bones were placed here ? To 
 what tribe do they belong? When did such a massacre 
 occur ?" 
 
 The above is taken from the writings of Mr. Schoolscraft. 
 On account of the questions above, I propose to give a tradi- 
 tion, (which the Tuscaroras have preserved,) to give the anti- 
 quarians and critics a question to solve. Was the great massa- 
 cre above made in the circumstance of the tradition below, to 
 wit : There was a settlement or Indian nation where appeared 
 several white men under the cloak of missionaries, (the reason 
 I use the term cloak is by the way it terminated), and preached 
 to them the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the great love evinced 
 by the Father in sending his only son to suffer and die on the 
 cross to redeem the red children of nature, as well as the pale 
 faces, from their degredation, shame and woe, to that of end- 
 less felicity beyond the shores of time. And that they wished 
 to erect a house of worship in their midst, in which they might 
 do their oblation to the Great Spirit, and that if they embraced 
 the gospel they would have annuities from the government, to 
 all of which the simple people of the forest made their assent. 
 They immediately went to work, dug for tne cellar, and erect- 
 ed the building on abutments of wood, and alleged that they 
 would finish the cellar afterwards. When the chapel was fin- 
 ished the Indians began to worship in it. Now the time of the 
 annuity arrived. The Indians were told to all congregate and 
 
234 LEGENDS, TRADITIONS AND LAWS 
 
 get into the church, men, women and children, and all those 
 who refused to enter, should be omitted in the distribution of 
 the annuity. Consequently the building was entered by them 
 and filled jammed full. But there were two suspecting Indians 
 who kept a proper distance away, ambushed, to see the result. 
 After it was thought all had entered, there was a company of 
 soldiers with guns and burning faggots, surrounded the build- 
 ing and set it on fire on all sides, after they had fastened the 
 door. In this condition they all perished within the flames. 
 I will not make any attempt to give a sketch or in any way 
 write in words the horrors and heart-rendings cries and moans 
 of the dying children of nature in the flames, through a dis- 
 guise of sheep's clothing, but will leave it to the conjecture of 
 the reader. 
 
 After the flames had subsided, these two ludians repaired to 
 the doomed spot, and found a heap of bones hob-nob, and they 
 observed that some of the skulls and bones of the different 
 parts of the body were fractured and broke open, supposed to 
 have been, done by the falling timbers of the burning house. 
 It is said, "in one skull, two flint arrow-heads were found." 
 How easy for the artifice of the white men that accomplished 
 the massacre in the manner they did, to have sunk these two 
 flint arrows into one of those skulls, to leave the conjecture in 
 after times to have been done by an Indian war. 
 
 Mr. C. P. Turner, with an honorable age of 72 years, in 1878, 
 told me that he visited the deposit of these bones, the next 
 day after they were uncovered, saw the skull with the two flint 
 arrows in it, and saw the great deposit of bones in this mound, 
 and also said the pile was in hap-hazard, and not " in regular 
 layers," as stated above. He also saw bones which indicated 
 being those of a child about 20 inches in height. 
 
 The Tuscaroras who preserve this tradition are located in the 
 vicinity in which this mound of bones were found. All histo- 
 rians are very cautious to leave out or omit from the pages of 
 their history, any circumstance in the nature of the above tra- 
 dition. 
 
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