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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Iroquois Book of Rites, by Horatio Hale
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: The Iroquois Book of Rites
+
+Author: Horatio Hale
+
+Posting Date: December 15, 2012 [EBook #8567]
+Release Date: July, 2005
+[This file was first posted on July 23, 2003]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IROQUOIS BOOK OF RITES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Thomas Hutchinson and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+BRINTON'S LIBRARY OF ABORIGINAL AMERICAN LITERATURE.
+
+NUMBER II.
+
+
+
+
+THE IROQUOIS BOOK OF RITES.
+
+EDITED BY HORATIO HALE; M.A.,
+
+AUTHOR OF "THE ETHNOGRAPHY AND PHILOLOGY OF THE U.S. EXPLORING
+EXPEDITION," ETC.
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+The aboriginal composition now presented to the public has some peculiar
+claims on the attention of scholars. As a record, if we accept the
+chronology of its custodians,--which there is no reason to question,--it
+carries back the authentic history of Northern America to a date
+anterior by fifty years to the arrival of Columbus. Further than this,
+the plain and credible tradition of the Iroquois, confirmed by much
+other evidence, links them with the still earlier Alligewi, or
+"Moundbuilders," as conquerors with the conquered. Thus the annals of
+this portion of the continent need no longer begin with the landing of
+the first colonists, but can go back, like those of Mexico, Yucatan and
+Peru, to a storied past of singular interest.
+
+The chief value of the Book of Rites, however, is ethnological, and is
+found in the light which it casts on the political and social life, as
+well as on the character and capacity of the people to whom it belongs.
+We see in them many of the traits which Tacitus discerned in our
+ancestors of the German forests, along with some qualities of a higher
+cast than any that he has delineated. The love of peace, the sentiment
+of human brotherhood, the strong social and domestic affections, the
+respect for law, and the reverence for ancestral greatness, which are
+apparent in this Indian record and in the historical events which
+illustrate it, will strike most readers as new and unexpected
+developments.
+
+The circumstances attending the composition of this record and its
+recent discovery are fully detailed in the introductory chapters. There
+also, and in the Notes and Appendix, such further explanations are given
+as the various allusions and occasional obscurities of the Indian work
+have seemed to require. It is proper to state that the particulars
+comprised in the following pages respecting the traditions, the usages,
+and the language of the Iroquois (except such as are expressly stated to
+have been derived from books), have been gathered by the writer in the
+course of many visits made, during several years past, to their
+Reservations in Canada and New York. As a matter of justice, and also as
+an evidence of the authenticity of these particulars, the names of the
+informants to whom he has been principally indebted are given in the
+proper places, with suitable acknowledgment of the assistance received
+from each. He ventures to hope that in the information thus obtained, as
+well as in the Book of Rite's itself, the students of history and of the
+science of man will find some new material of permanent interest and
+value.
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+MAP
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+CHAPTER I. THE HURON-IROQUOIS NATIONS
+
+CHAPTER II. THE LEAGUE AND ITS FOUNDERS
+
+CHAPTER III. THE BOOK OF RITES
+
+CHAPTER IV. THE CONDOLING COUNCIL.--CLANS AND CLASSES
+
+CHAPTER V. THE CONDOLENCE AND THE INSTALLATION
+
+CHAPTER VI. THE LAWS OF THE LEAGUE
+
+CHAPTER VII. HISTORICAL TRADITIONS
+
+CHAPTER VIII. THE IROQUOIS CHARACTER
+
+CHAPTER IX. THE IROQUOIS POLICY
+
+CHAPTER X. THE IROQUOIS LANGUAGE
+
+
+THE BOOK OF RITES
+
+THE CANIENGA BOOK
+
+THE ONONDAGA BOOK
+
+NOTES ON THE CANIENGA BOOK
+
+NOTES ON THE ONONDAGA BOOK
+
+
+APPENDIX
+
+NOTE A.--Names of the Huron-Iroquois Nations
+
+NOTE B.--Meaning of _Ohio, Ontario, Onontio, Rawennito_
+
+NOTE C.--The Era of the Confederacy
+
+NOTE D.--The Hiawatha Myths
+
+NOTE E.--The Iroquois Towns
+
+NOTE F.--The Pre-Aryan Race in Europe and America
+
+
+GLOSSARY
+
+INDEX
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE HURON-IROQUOIS NATIONS AND THE SURROUNDING TRIBES.
+A.D. 1535 TO 1780.]
+
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE HURON-IROQUOIS NATIONS.
+
+
+At the outset of the sixteenth century, when the five tribes or
+"nations" of the Iroquois confederacy first became known to European
+explorers, they were found occupying the valleys and uplands of northern
+New York, in that picturesque and fruitful region which stretches
+westward from the head-waters of the Hudson to the Genesee. The Mohawks,
+or Caniengas--as they should properly be called--possessed the Mohawk
+River, and covered Lake George and Lake Champlain with their flotillas
+of large canoes, managed with the boldness and skill which, hereditary
+in their descendants, make them still the best boatmen of the North
+American rivers. West of the Caniengas the Oneidas held the small river
+and lake which bear their name, the first in that series of beautiful
+lakes, united by interlacing streams, which seemed to prefigure in the
+features of nature the political constitution of the tribes who
+possessed them. West of the Oneidas, the imperious Onondagas, the
+central and, in some respects, the ruling nation of the League,
+possessed the two lakes of Onondaga and Skeneateles, together with the
+common outlet of this inland lake system, the Oswego River, to its issue
+into Lake Ontario. Still proceeding westward, the lines of trail and
+river led to the long and winding stretch of Lake Cayuga, about which
+were clustered the towns of the people who gave their name to the lake;
+and beyond them, over the wide expanse of hills and dales surrounding
+Lakes Seneca and Canandaigua, were scattered the populous villages of
+the Senecas, more correctly styled Sonontowanas or Mountaineers. Such
+were the names and abodes of the allied nations, members of the
+far-famed Kanonsionni, or League of United Households, who were destined
+to become for a time the most notable and powerful community among the
+native tribes of North America. [Footnote: See Appendix, note A, for the
+origin and meaning of the names commonly given to the Iroquois nations.]
+
+The region which has been described was not, however, the original seat
+of those nations. They belonged to that linguistic family which is known
+to ethnologists as the Huron-Iroquois stock. This stock comprised the
+Hurons or Wyandots, the Attiwandaronks or Neutral Nation, the Iroquois,
+the Eries, the Andastes or Conestogas, the Tuscaroras, and some smaller
+bands. The tribes of this family occupied a long, irregular area of
+inland territory, stretching from Canada to North Carolina. The northern
+nations were all clustered about the great lakes; the southern bands
+held the fertile valleys bordering the head-waters of the rivers which
+flowed from the Allegheny mountains. The languages of all these tribes
+showed a close affinity. There can be no doubt that their ancestors
+formed one body, and, indeed, dwelt at one time (as has been well said
+of the ancestors of the Indo-European populations), under one roof.
+There was a Huron-Iroquois "family-pair," from which all these tribes
+were descended. In what part of the world this ancestral household
+resided is a question which admits of no reply, except from the merest
+conjecture. But the evidence of language, so far as it has yet been
+examined, seems to show that the Huron clans were the older members of
+the group; and the clear and positive traditions of all the surviving
+tribes, Hurons, Iroquois and Tuscaroras, point to the lower St. Lawrence
+as the earliest known abode of their stock. [Footnote: See Cusick,
+_History of the Six Nations_, p. 16; Colden, _Hist, of the Five
+Nations_, p. 23; Morgan, _League of the Iroquois_, p. 5; J.V.H. Clark,
+_Onondaga_, vol. I, p. 34; Peter D. Clarke, _Hist. of the Wyandots_. p.
+I.]
+
+Here the first explorer, Cartier, found Indians of this stock at
+Hochelaga and Stadaconé, now the sites of Montreal and Quebec. Centuries
+before his time, according to the native tradition, the ancestors of the
+Huron-Iroquois family had dwelt in this locality, or still further east
+and nearer to the river's mouth. As their numbers increased, dissensions
+arose. The hive swarmed, and band after band moved off to the west and
+south.
+
+As they spread, they encountered people of other stocks, with whom they
+had frequent wars. Their most constant and most dreaded enemies were the
+tribes of the Algonkin family, a fierce and restless people, of northern
+origin, who everywhere surrounded them. At one period, however, if the
+concurrent traditions of both Iroquois and Algonkins can be believed,
+these contending races for a time stayed their strife, and united their
+forces in an alliance against a common and formidable foe. This foe was
+the nation, or perhaps the confederacy, of the Alligewi or Talligewi,
+the semi-civilized "Mound-builders" of the Ohio Valley, who have left
+their name to the Allegheny river and mountains, and whose vast
+earthworks are still, after half-a-century of study, the perplexity of
+archaeologists. A desperate warfare ensued, which lasted about a hundred
+years, and ended in the complete overthrow and destruction, or
+expulsion, of the Alligewi. The survivors of the conquered people fled
+southward, and are supposed to have mingled with the tribes which
+occupied the region extending from the Gulf of Mexico northward to the
+Tennessee river and the southern spurs of the Alleghenies. Among these
+tribes, the Choctaws retained, to recent times, the custom of raising
+huge mounds of earth for religious purposes and for the sites of their
+habitations, a custom which they perhaps learned from the Alligewi; and
+the Cherokees are supposed by some to have preserved in their name
+(Tsalaki) and in their language indications of an origin derived in part
+from the same people. Their language, which shows, in its grammar and
+many of its words, clear evidence of affinity with the Iroquois, has
+drawn the greater portion of its vocabulary from some foreign source.
+This source is conjectured to have been the speech of the Alligewi. As
+the Cherokee tongue is evidently a mixed language, it is reasonable to
+suppose that the Cherokees are a mixed people, and probably, like the
+English, an amalgamation of conquering and conquered races. [Footnote:
+This question has been discussed by the writer in a paper on "Indian
+Migrations as evidenced by Language," read before the American
+Association for the Advancement of Science, at their Montreal Meeting,
+in August, 1882, and published in the American Antiquarian for January
+and April, 1883.]
+
+The time which has elapsed since the overthrow of the Alligewi is
+variously estimated. The most probable conjecture places it at a period
+about a thousand years before the present day. It was apparently soon
+after their expulsion that the tribes of the Huron-Iroquois and the
+Algonkin stocks scattered themselves over the wide region south of the
+Great Lakes, thus left open to their occupancy. Our concern at present
+is only with the first-named family. The native tradition of their
+migrations has been briefly related by a Tuscarora Indian, David Cusick,
+who had acquired a sufficient education to become a Baptist preacher,
+and has left us, in his "Sketches of Ancient History of the Six
+Nations," [Footnote: Published at Lewiston, N. Y., in 1825, and
+reprinted at Lockport, in 1848.] a record of singular value. His
+confused and imperfect style, the English of a half-educated foreigner,
+his simple faith in the wildest legends, and his absurd chronology, have
+caused the real worth of his book, as a chronicle of native traditions,
+to be overlooked. Wherever the test of linguistic evidence, the best of
+all proofs in ethnological questions, can be applied to his statements
+relative to the origin and connection of the tribes, they are invariably
+confirmed. From his account, from the evidence of language, and from
+various corroborating indications, the course of the migrations may, it
+is believed, be traced with tolerable accuracy. Their first station or
+starting point, on the south side of the Lakes, was at the mouth of the
+Oswego river. Advancing to the southeast the emigrants struck the Hudson
+river, and, according to Cusick's story, followed its course southward
+to the ocean. Here a separation took place. A portion remained, and kept
+on their way toward the south; but the "main company," repelled by the
+uninviting soil and the turbulent waste of waves, and remembering the
+attractive region of valleys, lakes, and streams through which they had
+passed, retraced their steps northward till they reached the Mohawk
+river. Along this stream and the upper waters of the Hudson they made
+their first abode; and here they remained until, as their historian
+quaintly and truly records, "their language was altered." The Huron
+speech became the Iroquois tongue, in the form in which it is spoken by
+the Caniengas, or Mohawks. In Iroquois tradition, and in the
+constitution of their league, the Canienga nation ranks as the "eldest
+brother" of the family. A comparison of the dialects proves the
+tradition to be well founded. The Canienga language approaches nearest
+to the Huron, and is undoubtedly the source from which all the other
+Iroquois dialects are derived. Cusick states positively that the other
+"families," as he styles them, of the Iroquois household, leaving the
+Mohawks in their original abode, proceeded step by step to the westward.
+The Oneidas halted at their creek, the Onondagas at their mountain, the
+Cayugas at their lake, and the Senecas or Sonontowans, the Great Hill
+people, at a lofty eminence which rises south of the Canandaigua lake.
+In due time, as he is careful to record, the same result happened as had
+occurred with the Caniengas. The language of each canton "was altered;"
+yet not so much, he might have added, but that all the tribes could
+still hold intercourse, and comprehend one another's speech.
+
+A wider isolation and, consequently, a somewhat greater change of
+language, befell the "sixth family." Pursuing their course to the west
+they touched Lake Erie, and thence, turning to the southeast, came to
+the Allegheny river. Cusick, however, does not know it by this name. He
+calls it the Ohio,--in his uncouth orthography and with a locative
+particle added, the Ouau-we-yo-ka,--which, he says, means "a principal
+stream, now Mississippi." This statement, unintelligible as at the first
+glance it seems, is strictly accurate. The word Ohio undoubtedly
+signified, in the ancient Iroquois speech, as it still means in the
+modern Tuscarora, not "beautiful river", but "great river." [Footnote:
+See Appendix, note B.] It was so called as being the main stream which
+receives the affluents of the Ohio valley. In the view of the Iroquois,
+this "main stream" commences with what we call the Allegheny river,
+continues in what we term the Ohio, and then flows on in what we style
+the Mississippi,--of which, in their view, the upper Mississippi is
+merely an affluent. In Iroquois hydrography, the Ohio--the great river
+of the ancient Alligewi domain--is the central stream to which all the
+rivers of the mighty West converge.
+
+This stream the emigrants now attempted to cross. They found, according
+to the native annalist, a rude bridge in a huge grape-vine which trailed
+its length across the stream. Over this a part of the company passed,
+and then, unfortunately, the vine broke. The residue, unable to cross,
+remained on the hither side, and became afterwards the enemies of those
+who had passed over. Cusick anticipates that his story of the grape-vine
+may seem to some incredible; but he asks, with amusing simplicity, "why
+more so than that the Israelites should cross the Red Sea on dry land?"
+That the precise incident, thus frankly admitted to be of a miraculous
+character, really took place, we are not required to believe. But that
+emigrants of the Huron-Iroquois stock penetrated southward along the
+Allegheny range, and that some of them remained near the river of that
+name, is undoubted fact. Those who thus remained were known by various
+names, mostly derived from one root--Andastes, Andastogues, Conestogas,
+and the like--and bore a somewhat memorable part in Iroquois and
+Pennsylvanian history. Those who continued their course beyond the river
+found no place sufficiently inviting to arrest their march until they
+arrived at the fertile vales which spread, intersected by many lucid
+streams, between the Roanoke and the Neuse rivers. Here they fixed their
+abode, and became the ancestors of the powerful Tuscarora nation. In the
+early part of the eighteenth century, just before its disastrous war
+with the colonies, this nation, according to the Carolina surveyor,
+Lawson, numbered fifteen towns, and could set in the field a force of
+twelve hundred warriors.
+
+The Eries, who dwelt west of the Senecas, along the southern shore of
+the lake which now retains their name, were according to Cusick, an
+offshoot of the Seneca tribe; and there is no reason for doubting the
+correctness of his statement. After their overthrow by the Iroquois, in
+1656, many of the Eries were incorporated with the ancestral nation, and
+contributed, with other accessions from the Hurons and the
+Attiwandaronks, to swell its numbers far beyond those of the other
+nations of the confederacy.
+
+To conclude this review of the Huron-Iroquois group, something further
+should be said about the fortunes of the parent tribe, or rather
+congeries of tribes,--for the Huron household, like the Iroquois, had
+become divided into several septs. Like the Iroquois, also, they have
+not lacked an annalist of their own race. A Wyandot Indian, Peter
+Doyentate Clarke, who emigrated with the main body of his people to the
+Indian Territory, and afterwards returned for a time to the remnant of
+his tribe dwelling near Amherstburg, in Canada, published in 1870 a
+small volume entitled "Origin and Traditional History of the Wyandots."
+[Footnote: Printed by Hunter, Rose & Co., of Toronto.] The English
+education of the writer, like that of the Tuscarora historian, was
+defective; and it is evident that his people, in their many wanderings,
+had lost much of their legendary lore. But the fact that they resided in
+ancient times near the present site of Montreal, in close vicinity to
+the Iroquois (whom he styles, after their largest tribe, the Senecas),
+is recorded as a well-remembered portion of their history. The flight of
+the Wyandots to the northwest is declared to have been caused by a war
+which broke out between them and the Iroquois. This statement is opposed
+to the common opinion, which ascribes the expulsion of the Hurons from
+their eastern abode to the hostility of the Algonkins. It is, however,
+probably correct; for the Hurons retreated into the midst of the
+Algonkin tribes, with whom they were found by Champlain to be on terms
+of amity and even of alliance, while they were engaged in a deadly war
+with the Iroquois. The place to which they withdrew was a nook in the
+Georgian Bay, where their strongly palisaded towns and well-cultivated
+fields excited the admiration of the great French explorer. Their object
+evidently was to place as wide a space as possible between themselves
+and their inveterate enemies. Unfortunately, as is well known, this
+precaution, and even the aid of their Algonkin and French allies, proved
+inadequate to save them. The story of their disastrous overthrow, traced
+by the masterly hand of Parkman, is one of the most dismal passages of
+aboriginal history.
+
+The only people of this stock remaining to be noticed are the
+Attiwandaronks, or Neutral Nation. They dwelt south of the Hurons, on
+the northern borders of Lakes Erie and Ontario. They had, indeed, a few
+towns beyond those lakes, situated east of the Niagara river, between
+the Iroquois and the Eries. They received their name of Neutrals from
+the fact that in the war between the Iroquois and the Hurons they
+remained at peace with both parties. This policy, however, did not save
+them from the fate which overtook their Huron friends. In the year 1650
+the Iroquois set upon them, destroyed their towns, and dispersed the
+inhabitants, carrying off great numbers of them, as was their custom, to
+be incorporated with their own population. Of their language we only
+know that it differed but slightly from the Huron. [Footnote: "Our
+Hurons call the Neutral Nation Attiwandaronk, meaning thereby 'People of
+a speech a little different.'"--_Relation_ of 1641, p. 72. Bruyas, in
+his "_Iroquois Root-words_" gives _gawenda_ (or _gawenna_), speech, and
+_gaRONKwestare_, confusion of voices.] Whether they were an offshoot
+from the Hurons or from the Iroquois is uncertain. It is not unlikely
+that their separation from the parent stock took place earlier than that
+of the Iroquois, and that they were thus enabled for a time to avoid
+becoming embroiled in the quarrel between the two great divisions of
+their race.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE LEAGUE AND ITS FOUNDERS.
+
+
+How long the five kindred but independent tribes who were afterwards to
+compose the Iroquois confederacy remained isolated and apart from one
+another, is uncertain. That this condition endured for several centuries
+is a fact which cannot be questioned. Tradition here is confirmed by the
+evidence of language. We have good dictionaries of two of their
+dialects, the Canienga (or Mohawk) and the Onondaga, compiled two
+centuries ago by the Jesuit missionaries; and by comparing them with
+vocabularies of the same dialects, as spoken at the present day, we can
+ascertain the rate of change which prevails in their languages. Judging
+by this test, the difference which existed between these two dialects in
+1680 (when the Jesuit dictionaries were written) could hardly have
+arisen in less than four hundred years; and that which exists between
+them and the Tuscarora would demand a still longer time. Their
+traditions all affirm--what we should be prepared to believe--that this
+period was one of perpetual troubles. The tribes were constantly at war,
+either among themselves, or with the neighboring nations of their own
+and other stocks, Hurons, Andastes, Algonkins, Tuteloes, and even with
+the distant Cherokees.
+
+There are reasons for believing that attempts were made during this
+period to combine the tribes, or some of them, in a federal alliance.
+But if such connections were formed, they proved only temporary leagues,
+which were dissolved when the dangers that had called them into being
+had passed away. A leader of peculiar qualities, aided by favoring
+circumstances, was able at last to bring about a more permanent union.
+There is no exact chronology by which the date of this important event
+can be ascertained; but the weight of evidence fixes it at about the
+middle of the fifteenth century. [Footnote: The evidence on this point
+is given in the Appendix, note C. It should be mentioned that some
+portion of the following narrative formed part of a paper entitled "A
+Lawgiver of the Stone Age," which was read at the Cincinnati meeting of
+the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in August,
+1882, and was published in the Proceedings of the meeting. The
+particulars comprised in it were drawn chiefly from notes gathered
+during many visits to the Reserve of the Six Nations, on the Grand
+River, in Ontario, supplemented by information obtained in two visits to
+the Onondaga Reservation, in the State of New York, near Syracuse. My
+informants were the most experienced councillors, and especially the
+"wampum-keepers," the official annalists of their people. Their names,
+and some account of them, will be given in a subsequent chapter. It
+should be mentioned that while the histories received at the two
+localities were generally in close accord, thus furnishing a strong
+proof of the correctness with which they have been handed down, there
+were circumstances remembered at each place which had not been preserved
+at the other. The Onondagas, as was natural, retained a fuller
+recollection of the events which took place before the flight of
+Hiawatha to the Caniengas; while the annalists of the latter tribe were
+better versed in the subsequent occurrences attending the formation of
+the League. These facts should be borne in mind by any inquirer who may
+undertake to repeat or continue these investigations. When the
+narratives varied, as they sometimes did in minor particulars, I have
+followed that which seemed most in accordance with the general tenor of
+the history and with the evidence furnished by the Book of Rites.]
+
+At this time two great dangers, the one from without, the other from
+within, pressed upon these tribes. The Mohegans, or Mohicans, a powerful
+Algonkin people, whose settlements stretched along the Hudson river,
+south of the Mohawk, and extended thence eastward into New England,
+waged a desperate war against them. In this war the most easterly of the
+Iroquois, the Caniengas and Oneidas, bore the brunt and were the
+greatest sufferers. On the other hand, the two western nations, the
+Senecas and Cayugas, had a peril of their own to encounter. The central
+nation, the Onondagas, were then under the control of a dreaded chief,
+whose name is variously given, Atotarho (or, with a prefixed particle,
+Thatotarho), Watatotahro, Tadodaho, according to the dialect of the
+speaker and the orthography of the writer. He was a man of great force
+of character and of formidable qualities--haughty, ambitious, crafty and
+bold--a determined and successful warrior, and at home, so far as the
+constitution of an Indian tribe would allow, a stern and remorseless
+tyrant. He tolerated no equal. The chiefs who ventured to oppose him
+were taken off one after another by secret means, or were compelled to
+flee for safety to other tribes. His subtlety and artifices had acquired
+for him the reputation of a wizard. He knew, they say, what was going on
+at a distance as well as if he were present; and he could destroy his
+enemies by some magical art, while he himself was far away. In spite of
+the fear which he inspired, his domination would probably not have been
+endured by an Indian community, but for his success in war. He had made
+himself and his people a terror to the Cayugas and the Senecas.
+According to one account, he had subdued both of those tribes; but the
+record-keepers of the present day do not confirm this statement, which
+indeed is not consistent with the subsequent history of the
+confederation.
+
+The name Atotarho signifies "entangled." The usual process by which
+mythology, after a few generations, makes fables out of names, has not
+been wanting here. In the legends which the Indian story-fellers recount
+in winter, about their cabin fires, Atotarho figures as a being of
+preterhuman nature, whose head, in lieu of hair, is adorned with living
+snakes. A rude pictorial representation shows him seated and giving
+audience, in horrible state, with the upper part of his person enveloped
+by these writhing and entangled reptiles. [Footnote: This picture and
+some other equally grotesque illustrations, produced in a primitive
+style of wood engraving, are prefixed to David Cusick's History of the
+Six Nations. The artist to whom we owe them was probably the historian
+himself. My accomplished friend, Mrs. E. A. Smith, whose studies have
+thrown much light upon the mythology and language of the Iroquois
+nations, and especially of the Tuscaroras, was fortunate enough to
+obtain either the originals or early copies of these extraordinary
+efforts of native art.] But the grave Councillors of the Canadian
+Reservation, who recite his history as they have heard it from their
+fathers at every installation of a high chief, do not repeat these
+inventions of marvel-loving gossips, and only smile with good-humored
+derision when they are referred to.
+
+There was at this time among the Onondagas a chief of high rank, whose
+name, variously written--Hiawatha, Hayenwatha, Ayonhwahtha,
+Taoungwatha--is rendered, "he who seeks the wampum belt." He had made
+himself greatly esteemed by his wisdom and his benevolence. He was now
+past middle age. Though many of his friends and relatives had perished
+by the machinations of Atotarho, he himself had been spared. The
+qualities which gained him general respect had, perhaps, not been
+without influence even on that redoubtable chief. Hiawatha had long
+beheld with grief the evils which afflicted not only his own nation, but
+all the other tribes about them, through the continual wars in which
+they were engaged, and the misgovernment and miseries at home which
+these wars produced. With much meditation he had elaborated in his mind
+the scheme of a vast confederation which would ensure universal peace.
+In the mere plan of a confederation there was nothing new. There are
+probably few, if any, Indian tribes which have not, at one time or
+another, been members of a league or confederacy. It may almost be said
+to be their normal condition. But the plan which Hiawatha had evolved
+differed from all others in two particulars. The system which he devised
+was to be not a loose and transitory league, but a permanent government.
+While each nation was to retain its own council and its management of
+local affairs, the general control was to be lodged in a federal senate,
+composed of representatives elected by each nation, holding office
+during good behavior, and acknowledged as ruling chiefs throughout the
+whole confederacy. Still further, and more remarkably, the confederation
+was not to be a limited one. It was to be indefinitely expansible. The
+avowed design of its proposer was to abolish war altogether. He wished
+the federation to extend until all the tribes of men should be included
+in it, and peace should everywhere reign. Such is the positive testimony
+of the Iroquois themselves; and their statement, as will be seen, is
+supported by historical evidence.
+
+Hiawatha's first endeavor was to enlist his own nation in the cause. He
+summoned a meeting of the chiefs and people of the Onondaga towns. The
+summons, proceeding from a chief of his rank and reputation, attracted a
+large concourse. "They came together," said the narrator, "along the
+creeks, from all parts, to the general council-fire." [Footnote: The
+narrator here referred to was the Onondaga chief, Philip Jones, known in
+the council as Hanesehen (in Canienga, Enneserarenh), who, in October,
+1875, with two other chiefs of high rank, and the interpreter, Daniel La
+Fort, spent an evening in explaining to me the wampum records preserved
+at "Onondaga Castle," and repeating the history of the formation of the
+confederacy. The later portions of the narrative were obtained
+principally from the chiefs of the Canadian Iroquois, as will be
+hereafter explained.] But what effect the grand projects of the chief,
+enforced by the eloquence for which he was noted, might have had upon
+his auditors, could not be known. For there appeared among them a
+well-known figure, grim, silent and forbidding, whose terrible aspect
+overawed the assemblage. The unspoken displeasure of Atotarho was
+sufficient to stifle all debate, and the meeting dispersed. This result,
+which seems a singular conclusion of an Indian council--the most
+independent and free-spoken of all gatherings--is sufficiently explained
+by the fact that Atotarho had organized, among the more reckless
+warriors of his tribe, a band of unscrupulous partisans, who did his
+bidding without question, and took off by secret murder all persons
+against whom he bore a grudge. The knowledge that his followers were
+scattered through the assembly, prepared to mark for destruction those
+who should offend him, might make the boldest orator chary of speech.
+Hiawatha alone was undaunted. He summoned a second meeting, which was
+attended by a smaller number, and broke up as before, in confusion, on
+Atotarho's appearance. The unwearied reformer sent forth his runners a
+third time; but the people were disheartened. When the day of the
+council arrived, no one attended. Then, continued the narrator, Hiawatha
+seated himself on the ground in sorrow. He enveloped his head in his
+mantle of skins, and remained for a long time bowed down in grief and
+thought. At length he arose and left the town, taking his course toward
+the southeast. He had formed a bold design. As the councils of his own
+nation were closed to him, he would have recourse to those of other
+tribes. At a short distance from the town (so minutely are the
+circumstances recounted) he passed his great antagonist, seated near a
+well-known spring, stern and silent as usual. No word passed between the
+determined representatives of war and peace; but it was doubtless not
+without a sensation of triumphant pleasure that the ferocious war-chief
+saw his only rival and opponent in council going into what seemed to be
+voluntary exile. Hiawatha plunged into the forest; he climbed mountains;
+he crossed a lake; he floated down the Mohawk river in a canoe. Many
+incidents of his journey are told, and in this part of the narrative
+alone some occurrences of a marvelous cast are related, even by the
+official historians. Indeed, the flight of Hiawatha from Onondaga to the
+country of the Caniengas is to the Five Nations what the flight of
+Mohammed from Mecca to Medina is to the votaries of Islam. It is the
+turning point of their history. In embellishing the narrative at this
+point, their imagination has been allowed a free course. Leaving aside
+these marvels, however, we need only refer here to a single incident,
+which may well enough have been of actual occurrence. A lake which
+Hiawatha crossed had shores abounding in small white shells. These he
+gathered and strung upon strings, which he disposed upon his breast, as
+a token to all whom he should meet that he came as a messenger of peace.
+And this, according to one authority, was the origin of wampum, of which
+Hiawatha was the inventor. That honor, however, is one which must be
+denied to him. The evidence of sepulchral relics shows that wampum was
+known to the mysterious Mound-builders, as well as in all succeeding
+ages. Moreover, if the significance of white wampum-strings as a token
+of peace had not been well known in his day, Hiawatha would not have
+relied upon them as a means of proclaiming his pacific purpose.
+
+Early one morning he arrived at a Canienga town, the residence of the
+noted chief Dekanawidah, whose name, in point of celebrity, ranks in
+Iroquois tradition with those of Hiawatha and Atotarho. It is probable
+that he was known by reputation to Hiawatha, and not unlikely that they
+were related. According to one account Dekanawidah was an Onondaga,
+adopted among the Caniengas. Another narrative makes him a Canienga by
+birth. The probability seems to be that he was the son of an Onondaga
+father, who had been adopted by the Caniengas, and of a Canienga mother.
+That he was not of pure Canienga blood is shown by the fact, which is
+remembered, that his father had had successively three wives, one
+belonging to each of the three clans, Bear, Wolf, and Tortoise, which
+composed the Canienga nation. If the father had been of that nation
+(Canienga), he would have belonged to one of the Canienga clans, and
+could not then (according to the Indian law) have married into it. He
+had seven sons, including Dekanawidah, who, with their families, dwelt
+together in one of the "long houses" common in that day among the
+Iroquois. These ties of kindred, together with this fraternal strength,
+and his reputation as a sagacious councillor, gave Dekanawidah great
+influence among his people. But, in the Indian sense, he was not the
+leading chief. This position belonged to Tekarihoken (better known in
+books as Tecarihoga), whose primacy as the first chief of the eldest
+among the Iroquois nations was then, and is still, universally admitted.
+Each nation has always had a head-chief, to whom belonged the hereditary
+right and duty of lighting the council fire and taking the first place
+in public meetings. But among the Indians, as in other communities,
+hereditary rank and personal influence do not always, or indeed,
+ordinarily, go together. If Hiawatha could gain over Dekanawidah to his
+views, he would have done much toward the accomplishment of his
+purposes.
+
+In the early dawn he seated himself on a fallen trunk, near the spring
+from which the inhabitants of the long house drew their water. Presently
+the wife of one of the brothers came out with a vessel of elm-bark, and
+approached the spring. Hiawatha sat silent and motionless. Something in
+his aspect awed the woman, who feared to address him. She returned to
+the house, and said to Dekanawidah, "A man, or a figure like a man, is
+seated by the spring, having his breast covered with strings of white
+shells." "It is a guest," said the chief to one of his brothers; "go and
+bring him in. We will make him welcome." Thus Hiawatha and
+Dekanawidah--first met. They found in each other kindred spirits. The
+sagacity of the Canienga chief grasped at once the advantages of the
+proposed plan, and the two worked together in perfecting it, and in
+commending it to the people. After much discussion in council, the
+adhesion of the Canienga nation was secured. Dekanawidah then dispatched
+two of his brothers as ambassadors to the nearest tribe, the Oneidas, to
+lay the project before them. The Oneida nation is deemed to be a
+comparatively recent offshoot from the Caniengas. The difference of
+language is slight, showing that their separation was much later than
+that of the Onondagas. In the figurative speech of the Iroquois, the
+Oneida is the son, and the Onondaga is the brother, of the Canienga.
+Dekanawidah had good reason to expect that it would not prove difficult
+to win the consent of the Oneidas to the proposed scheme. But delay and
+deliberation mark all public acts of the Indians. The ambassadors found
+the leading chief, Odatsehte, at his town on the Oneida creek. He
+received their message in a friendly way, but--required time for his
+people to consider it in council. "Come back in another day," he said to
+the messengers. In the political speech of the Indians, a day is
+understood to mean a year. The envoys carried back the reply to
+Dekanawidah and Hiawatha, who knew that they could do nothing but wait
+the prescribed time. After the lapse of a year, they repaired to the
+place of meeting. The treaty which initiated the great league was then
+and there ratified by the representatives of the Canienga and Oneida
+nations. The name of Odatsehte means "the quiver-bearer;" and as
+Atotarho, "the entangled," is fabled to have had his head wreathed with
+snaky locks, and as Hiawatha, "the wampum-seeker," is represented to
+have wrought shells into wampum, so the Oneida chief is reputed to have
+appeared at this treaty bearing at his shoulder a quiver full of arrows.
+
+The Onondagas lay next to the Oneidas. To them, or rather to their
+terrible chief, the next application was made. The first meeting of
+Atotarho and Dekanawidah is a notable event in Iroquois history. At a
+later day, a native artist sought to represent it in an historical
+picture, which has been already referred to. Atotarho is seated in
+solitary and surly dignity, smoking a long pipe, his head and body
+encircled with contorted and angry serpents. Standing before him are two
+figures which cannot be mistaken. The foremost, a plumed and cinctured
+warrior, depicted as addressing the Onondaga chief, holds in his right
+hand, as a staff, his flint-headed spear, the ensign, it may be
+supposed, which marks him as the representative of the Caniengas, or
+"People of the Flint." Behind him another plumed figure bears in his
+hand a bow with arrows, and at his shoulder a quiver. Divested of its
+mythological embellishments, the picture rudely represents the interview
+which actually took place. The immediate result was unpromising. The
+Onondaga chief coldly refused to entertain the project, which he had
+already rejected when proposed by Hiawatha. The ambassadors were not
+discouraged. Beyond the Onondagas were scattered the villages of the
+Cayugas, a people described by the Jesuit missionaries, at a later day,
+as the most mild and tractable of the Iroquois. They were considered an
+offshoot of the Onondagas, to whom they bore the same filial relation
+which the Oneidas bore to the Caniengas. The journey of the advocates of
+peace through the forest to the Cayuga capital, and their reception, are
+minutely detailed in the traditionary narrative. The Cayugas, who had
+suffered from the prowess and cruelty of the Onondaga chief, needed
+little persuasion. They readily consented to come into the league, and
+their chief, Akahenyonk ("The Wary Spy"), joined the Canienga and Oneida
+representatives in a new embassy to the Onondagas. Acting probably upon
+the advice of Hiawatha, who knew better than any other the character of
+the community and the chief with whom they had to deal, they made
+proposals highly flattering to the self-esteem which was the most
+notable trait of both ruler and people. The Onondagas should be the
+leading nation of the confederacy. Their chief town should be the
+federal capital, where the great councils of the league should be held,
+and where its records should be preserved. The nation should be
+represented in the council by fourteen senators, while no other nation
+should have more than ten. And as the Onondagas should be the leading
+tribe, so Atotarho should be the leading chief. He alone should have the
+right of summoning the federal council, and no act of the council to
+which he objected should be valid. In other words, an absolute veto was
+given to him. To enhance his personal dignity, two high chiefs were
+appointed as his special aids and counselors, his "Secretaries of
+State," so to speak. Other insignia of preeminence were to be possessed
+by him; and, in view of all these distinctions, it is not surprising
+that his successor, who two centuries later retained the same
+prerogatives, should have been occasionally styled by the English
+colonists "the Emperor of the Five Nations." It might seem, indeed, at
+first thought, that the founders of the confederacy had voluntarily
+placed themselves and their tribes in a position of almost abject
+subserviency to Atotarho and his followers. But they knew too well the
+qualities of their people to fear for them any political subjection. It
+was certain that when once the league was established, and its
+representatives had met in council, character and intelligence would
+assume their natural sway, and mere artificial rank and dignity would be
+little regarded. Atotarho and his people, however, yielded either to
+these specious offers, or to the pressure which the combined urgency of
+the three allied nations now brought to bear upon them. They finally
+accepted the league; and the great chief, who had originally opposed it,
+now naturally became eager to see it as widely extended as possible. He
+advised its representatives to go on at once to the westward, and enlist
+the populous Seneca towns, pointing out how this might best be done.
+This advice was followed, and the adhesion of the Senecas was secured by
+giving to their two leading chiefs, Kanya-dariyo ("Beautiful Lake") and
+Shadekaronyes ("The Equal Skies"), the offices of military commanders of
+the confederacy, with the title of doorkeepers of the "Long-house," that
+being the figure by which the league was known.
+
+The six national leaders who have been mentioned--Dekanawidah for the
+Caniengas, Odatsehte for the Oneidas, Atotarho for the Onondagas,
+Akahenyonk for the Cayugas, Kanyadariyo and Shadekaronyes for the two
+great divisions of the Senecas--met in convention near the Onondaga
+Lake, with Hiawatha for their adviser, and a vast concourse of their
+followers, to settle the terms and rules of their confederacy, and to
+nominate its first council. Of this council, nine members (or ten, if
+Dekanawidah be included) were assigned to the Caniengas, a like number
+to the Oneidas, fourteen to the lordly Onondagas, ten to the Cayugas,
+and eight to the Senecas. Except in the way of compliment, the number
+assigned to each nation was really of little consequence; inasmuch as,
+by the rule of the league, unanimity was exacted in all their decisions.
+This unanimity, however, did not require the suffrage of every member of
+the council. The representatives of each nation first deliberated apart
+upon the question proposed. In this separate council the majority
+decided; and the leading chief then expressed in the great council the
+voice of his nation. Thus the veto of Atotarho ceased at once to be
+peculiar to him, and became a right exercised by each of the allied
+nations. This requirement of unanimity, embarrassing as it might seem,
+did not prove to be so in practice. Whenever a question arose on which
+opinions were divided, its decision was either postponed, or some
+compromise was reached which left all parties contented.
+
+The first members of the council were appointed by the convention--under
+what precise rule is unknown; but their successors came in by a method
+in which the hereditary and the elective systems were singularly
+combined, and in which female suffrage had an important place. When a
+chief died or (as sometimes happened) was deposed for incapacity or
+misconduct, some member of the same family succeeded him. Rank followed
+the female line; and this successor might be any descendant of the late
+chief's mother or grandmother--his brother, his cousin or his
+nephew--but never his son. Among many persons who might thus be
+eligible, the selection was made in the first instance by a family
+council. In this council the "chief matron" of the family, a noble dame
+whose position and right were well defined, had the deciding voice. This
+remarkable fact is affirmed by the Jesuit mission-ary Lafitau, and the
+usage remains in full vigor among the Canadian Iroquois to this day.
+[Footnote: "La dignité de chef est perpetuelle et héréditaire dans sa
+Cabane, passant toujours aux enfans de ses tantes, de ses soeurs, on de
+ses ničces du côté maternel. Dčs que l'arbre est tombé, il fault, disent
+ils, le relever. La matrone, qui a la principale autorité, aprčs en
+avoir conferé avec ceux de sa Cabane, en confčre de nouveau avec ceux de
+sa Tribu [clan], ŕ qui elle fait agréer oelui qu'elle a choisi pour
+succeder, ce qui lui est assez libre. Elle n'a pas toujours égard au
+droit d'ainesse, et d'ordinaire, elle prend celui qui paroit le plus
+propre ŕ soűtenir ce rang par ses bonnes qualités."--_Lafitau: Maurs des
+Savages Ameriquains_, p. 471.] If there are two or more members of the
+family who seem to have equal claims, the nominating matron sometimes
+declines to decide between them, and names them both or all, leaving the
+ultimate choice to the nation or the federal council. The council of the
+nation next considers the nomination, and, if dissatisfied, refers it
+back to the family for a new designation. If content, the national
+council reports the name of the candidate to the federal senate, in
+which resides the power of ratifying or rejecting the choice of the
+nation; but the power of rejection is rarely exercised, though that of
+expulsion for good cause is not unfrequently exerted. The new chief
+inherits the name of his predecessor. In this respect, as in some
+others, the resemblance of the Great Council to the English House of
+Peers is striking. As Norfolk succeeds to Norfolk, so Tekarihoken
+succeeds Tekarihoken. The great names of Hiawatha and Atotarho are still
+borne by plain farmer-councillors on the Canadian Reservation.
+
+When the League was established, Hiawatha had been adopted by the
+Canienga nation as one of their chiefs. The honor in which he was held
+by them is shown by his position on the roll of councillors, as it has
+been handed down from the earliest times. As the Canienga nation is the
+"elder brother," the names of its chiefs are first recited. At the head
+of the list is the leading Canienga chief, Tekarihoken, who represents
+the noblest lineage of the Iroquois stock. Next to him, and second on
+the roll, is the name of Hiawatha. That of his great colleague,
+Dekanawidah, nowhere appears. He was a member of the first council; but
+he forbade his people to appoint a successor to him. "Let the others
+have successors," he said proudly, "for others can advise you like them.
+But I am the founder of your league, and no one else can do what I have
+done." [Footnote: In Mr. Morgan's admirable work, "_The League of the
+Iroquois_," the list of Councillors (whom he styles _sachems_),
+comprises the name of Dekanawidah--in his orthography, Daganoweda.
+During my last visit to my lamented friend (in September, 1880), when we
+examined together my copy of the then newly discovered Book of Rites, in
+which he was greatly interested, this point was considered. The original
+notes which he made for his work were examined. It appeared that in the
+list as it was first written by him, from the dictation of a
+well-informed Seneca chief, the name of Dekanawidah was not comprised. A
+later, but erroneous suggestion, from another source, led him to believe
+that his first informant was mistaken, or that he had misunderstood him,
+and to substitute the name of Dekanawidah for the somewhat similar name
+of Shatekariwate (in Seneca Sadekeiwadeh), which stands third on the
+roll, immediately following that of Hiawatha. The term _sachem_, it may
+be added, is an Algonkin word, and one which Iroquois speakers have a
+difficulty in pronouncing. Their own name for a member of their Senate
+is _Royaner_, derived from the root _yaner_, noble, and precisely
+equivalent in meaning to the English "nobleman" or "lord," as applied to
+a member of the House of Peers. It is the word by which the missionaries
+have rendered the title "Lord" in the New Testament.]
+
+The boast was not unwarranted. Though planned by another, the structure
+had been reared mainly by his labors. But the Five Nations, while
+yielding abundant honor to the memory of Dekanawidah, have never
+regarded him with the same affectionate reverence which has always clung
+to the name of Hiawatha. His tender and lofty wisdom, his wide-reaching
+benevolence, and his fervent appeals to their better sentiments,
+enforced by the eloquence of which he was master, touched chords in the
+popular heart which have continued to respond until this day. Fragments
+of the speeches in which he addressed the council and the people of the
+league are still remembered and repeated. The fact that the league only
+carried out a part of the grand design which he had in view is
+constantly affirmed. Yet the failure was not due to lack of effort. In
+pursuance of his original purpose, when the league was firmly
+established, envoys were sent to other tribes to urge them to join it,
+or at least to become allies. One of these embassies penetrated to the
+distant Cherokees, the hereditary enemies of the Iroquois nations. For
+some reason with which we are not acquainted, perhaps the natural
+suspicion or vindictive pride of that powerful community, this mission
+was a failure. Another, dispatched to the western Algonkins, had better
+success. A strict alliance was formed with the far-spread Ojibway
+tribes, and was maintained inviolate for at least two hundred years,
+until at length the influence of the French, with the sympathy of the
+Ojibways for the conquered Hurons, undid to some extent, though not
+entirely, this portion of Hiawatha's work.
+
+His conceptions were beyond his time, and beyond ours; but their effect,
+within a limited sphere, was very great. For more than three centuries
+the bond which he devised held together the Iroquois nations in perfect
+amity. It proved, moreover, as he intended, elastic.--The territory of
+the Iroquois, constantly extending as their united strength made itself
+felt, became the "Great Asylum" of the Indian tribes. Of the conquered
+Eries and Hurons, many hundreds were received and adopted among their
+conquerors. The Tuscaroras, expelled by the English from North Carolina,
+took refuge with the Iroquois, and became the sixth nation of the
+League. From still further south, the Tuteloes and Saponies, of Dakota
+stock, after many wars with the Iroquois, fled to them from their other
+enemies, and found a cordial welcome. A chief still sits in the council
+as a representative of the Tuteloes, though the tribe itself has been
+swept away by disease, or absorbed in the larger nations. Many fragments
+of tribes of Algonkin lineage--Delawares, Nanticokes, Mohegans,
+Mississagas--sought the same hospitable protection, which never failed
+them. Their descendants still reside on the Canadian Reservation, which
+may well be styled an aboriginal "refuge of nations," affording a
+striking evidence in our own day of the persistent force of a great
+idea, when embodied in practical shape by the energy of a master mind.
+
+The name by which their constitution or organic law is known among them
+is _kayánerenh_, to which the epitaph _kowa_, "great," is frequently
+added. This word, _kayánerenh_, is sometimes rendered "law," or
+"league," but its proper meaning seems to be "peace." It is used in this
+sense by the missionaries, in their translations of the scriptures and
+the prayer-book. In such expressions as the "Prince of Peace," "the
+author of peace," "give peace in our time," we find _kayánerenh_
+employed with this meaning. Its root is _yaner_, signifying "noble," or
+"excellent," which yields, among many derivatives, _kayánere_,
+"goodness," and _kayánerenh_, "peace," or "peacefulness." The national
+hymn of the confederacy, sung whenever their "Condoling Council" meets,
+commences with a verse referring to their league, which is literally
+rendered, "We come to greet and thank the PEACE" (_kayánerenh_). When
+the list of their ancient chiefs, the fifty original councillors, is
+chanted in the closing litany of the meeting, there is heard from time
+to time, as the leaders of each clan are named, an outburst of praise,
+in the words--
+
+  "This was the roll of you--
+   You that combined in the work,
+   You that completed the work,
+   The GREAT PEACE." (_Kayánerenh-kowa_.)
+
+The regard of Englishmen for their Magna Charta and Bill of Rights, and
+that of Americans for their national Constitution, seem weak in
+comparison with the intense gratitude and reverence of the Five Nations
+for the "Great Peace," which Hiawatha and his colleagues established for
+them. Of the subsequent life of Hiawatha, and of his death, we have no
+sure information. The records of the Iroquois are historical, and not
+biographical. As Hiawatha had been made a chief among the Caniengas, he
+doubtless continued to reside with that nation. A tradition, which is in
+itself highly probable, represents him as devoting himself to the
+congenial work of clearing away the obstructions in the streams which
+intersect the country then inhabited by the confederated nations, and
+which formed the chief means of communication between them. That he
+thus, in some measure, anticipated the plans of De Witt Clinton and his
+associates, on a smaller scale, but perhaps with a larger statesmanship,
+we may be willing enough to believe. A wild legend recorded by some
+writers, but not told of him by the Canadian Iroquois, and apparently
+belonging to their ancient mythology, gives him an apotheosis, and makes
+him ascend to heaven in a white canoe. It may be proper to dwell for a
+moment on the singular complication of mistakes which has converted this
+Indian reformer and statesman into a mythological personage.
+
+When by the events of the Revolutionary war the original confederacy was
+broken up, the larger portion of the people followed Brant to Canada.
+The refugees comprised nearly the whole of the Caniengas, and the
+greater part of the Onondagas and Cayugas, with many members of the
+other nations. In Canada their first proceeding was to reestablish, as
+far as possible, their ancient league, with all its laws and ceremonies.
+The Onondagas had brought with them most of their wampum records, and
+the Caniengas jealously preserved the memories of the federation, in
+whose formation they had borne a leading part. The history of the league
+continued to be the topic of their orators whenever a new chief was
+installed into office. Thus the remembrance of the facts has been
+preserved among them with much clearness and precision, and with little
+admixture of mythological elements. With the fragments of the tribes
+which remained on the southern side of the Great Lakes the case was very
+different. A feeble pretense was made, for a time, of keeping up the
+semblance of the old confederacy; but except among the Senecas, who, of
+all the Five Nations, had had least to do with the formation of the
+league, the ancient families which had furnished the members of their
+senate, and were the conservators of their history, had mostly fled to
+Canada or the West. The result was that among the interminable stories
+with which the common people beguile their winter nights, the traditions
+of Atotarho and Hiawatha became intermingled with the legends of their
+mythology. An accidental similarity, in the Onondaga dialect, between
+the name of Hiawatha and that of one of their ancient divinities, led to
+a confusion between the two, which has misled some investigators. This
+deity bears, in the sonorous Canienga tongue, the name of Taronhiawagon,
+meaning "the Holder of the Heavens." The Jesuit missionaries style him
+"the great god of the Iroquois." Among the Onondagas of the present day,
+the name is abridged to Taonhiawagi, or Tahiawagi. The confusion between
+this name and that of Hiawatha (which, in another form, is pronounced
+Tahionwatha) seems to have begun more than a century ago; for Pyrteus,
+the Moravian missionary, heard among the Iroquois (according to
+Heckewelder) that the person who first proposed the league was an
+ancient Mohawk, named Thannawege. Mr. J. V. H. Clarke, in his
+interesting History of Onondaga, makes the name to have been originally
+Ta-oun-ya-wat-ha, and describes the bearer as "the deity who presides
+over fisheries and hunting-grounds." He came down from heaven in a white
+canoe, and after sundry adventures, which remind one of the labors of
+Hercules, assumed the name of Hiawatha (signifying, we are told, "a very
+wise man"), and dwelt for a time as an ordinary mortal among men,
+occupied in works of benevolence. Finally, after founding the
+confederacy and bestowing many prudent counsels upon the people, he
+returned to the skies by the same conveyance in which he had descended.
+This legend, or, rather, congeries of intermingled legends, was
+communicated by Clark to Schoolcraft, when the latter was compiling his
+"Notes on the Iroquois." Mr. Schoolcraft, pleased with the poetical cast
+of the story, and the euphonious name, made confusion worse confounded
+by transferring the hero to a distant region and identifying him with
+Manabozho, a fantastic divinity of the Ojibways. Schoolcraft's volume,
+which he chose to entitle "The Hiawatha Legends," has not in it a single
+fact or fiction relating either to Hiawatha himself or to the Iroquois
+deity Taronhiawagon. Wild Ojibway stories concerning Manabozho and his
+comrades form the staple of its contents. But it is to this collection
+that we owe the charming poem of Longfellow; and thus, by an
+extraordinary fortune, a grave Iroquois lawgiver of the fifteenth
+century has become, in modern literature, an Ojibway demigod, son of the
+West Wind, and companion of the tricksy Paupukkeewis, the boastful
+Iagoo, and the strong Kwasind. If a Chinese traveler, during the middle
+ages, inquiring into the history and religion of the western nations,
+had confounded King Alfred with King Arthur, and both with Odin, he
+would not have made a more preposterous confusion of names and
+characters than that which has hitherto disguised the genuine
+personality of the great Onondaga reformer. [Footnote: This subject is
+further discussed in the Appendix, Note D.]
+
+About the main events of his history, and about his character and
+purposes, there can be no reasonable doubt. We have the wampum belts
+which he handled, and whose simple hieroglyphics preserve the memory of
+the public acts in which he took part. We have, also, in the Iroquois
+"Book of Rites," which in the present volume is given in its original
+form, a still more clear and convincing testimony to the character both
+of the legislator and of the people for whom his institutions were
+designed. This book, sometimes called the "Book of the Condoling
+Council," might properly enough be styled an Iroquois Veda. It comprises
+the speeches, songs, and other ceremonies, which, from the earliest
+period of the confederacy, have composed the proceedings of their
+council when a deceased chief is lamented and his successor is installed
+in office. The fundamental laws of the league, a list of their ancient
+towns, and the names of the chiefs who constituted their first council,
+chanted in a kind of litany, are also comprised in the collection. The
+contents, after being preserved in memory, like the Vedas, for many
+generations, were written down by desire of the chiefs, when their
+language was first reduced to writing; and the book is therefore more
+than a century old. Its language, archaic when written, is now partly
+obsolete, and is fully understood by only a few of the oldest chiefs. It
+is a genuine Indian composition, and must be accepted as disclosing the
+true character of its authors. The result is remarkable enough. Instead
+of a race of rude and ferocious warriors, we find in this book a kindly
+and affectionate people, full of sympathy for their friends in distress,
+considerate to their women, tender to their children, anxious for peace,
+and imbued with a profound reverence for their constitution and its
+authors. We become conscious of the fact that the aspect in which these
+Indians have presented themselves to the outside world has been in a
+large measure deceptive and factitious. The ferocity, craft and cruelty,
+which have been deemed their leading traits, have been merely the
+natural accompaniments of wars of self-preservation, and no more
+indicated their genuine character than the war-paint, plume and tomahawk
+of the warrior displayed the customary guise in which he appeared among
+his own people. The cruelties of war, when war is a struggle for
+national existence, are common to all races. The persistent desire for
+peace, pursued for centuries in federal unions, and in alliances and
+treaties with other nations, has been manifested by few as steadily as
+by the countrymen of Hiawatha. The sentiment of universal brotherhood
+which directed their policy has never been so fully developed in any
+branch of the Aryan race, unless it may be found incorporated in the
+religious quietism of Buddha and his followers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE BOOK OF RITES.
+
+
+For a proper appreciation of this peculiar composition, some further
+particulars respecting its origin and character will be needed. During
+my earlier visits to the Reserve of the Six Nations, near Brantford, I
+had heard of an Indian book which was used at their "Condoling
+Councils," the most important of their many public gatherings. But it
+was not until the month of September, 1879, that I had an opportunity of
+seeing the work. At that time two copies of the book were brought to me
+by the official holders, two of the principal chiefs of the confederacy.
+One of these was Chief John "Smoke" Johnson, who for many years had held
+the high office of Speaker of the Great Council, though, of late,
+yielding to age and infirmity, he has withdrawn from the public
+performance of its duties. His second name is a rude rendering of his
+truly poetical Indian appellation, Sakayen-gwaraton, or "Disappearing
+Mist." It signifies properly, I was told, the haze which rises from the
+ground in an autumn morning and vanishes as the day advances. His
+English name, and, in part, his blood, Chief Johnson derives from no
+less distinguished an ancestor than Sir William Johnson, who played so
+notable a part in colonial history during the last century, and who
+exercised, perhaps, a greater influence on the destiny of the Iroquois
+than any other individual since the formation of their confederacy. To
+him, indeed, may be ascribed the distinction, such as it is, of
+destroying the work which Hiawatha and Dekanawidah had founded. But for
+the influence over the Indians which he had acquired, and was able to
+bequeath to others, it is probable that the Six Nations would have
+remained neutral during the Revolutionary War, and the disruption of
+their League would not have taken place. Yet there can be no doubt that
+he was sincerely attached to them, and desired their good. Unfortunately
+for them, they held, as was natural, only the second place in his
+affections. He was, by adoption, an Iroquois chief, but his first
+allegiance was due to his native country, to whose interests, both in
+the war with France and in the separation which he foresaw between
+England and her colonies, he did not hesitate to sacrifice the welfare
+of his red brethren. Against his subtle arts and overmastering energy
+the wisest of their statesmen, worthy successors of the great founders
+of their constitution, strove in vain, on each occasion, to maintain
+that neutrality which was evidently the true policy of their people.
+[Footnote: For the confirmation of these statements see the excellent
+biographies of Sir William Johnson and Joseph Brant, by Wm. L. Stone,
+_passim_.]
+
+Sakayengwaraton is not an elected chief, nor does he bear one of the
+hereditary titles of the Great Council, in which he holds so
+distinguished a station. Indeed, his office is one unknown to the
+ancient constitution of the Kanonsionni. It is the creation of the
+British Government, to which he owes, with the willing consent of his
+own people, his rank and position in the Council. The Provincial
+administrators saw the need of a native official who should be, like the
+Speaker of the English House of Commons, the mouthpiece of the Council,
+and the intermediary between it and the representative of the Crown. The
+grandson of Sir William Johnson was known as a brave warrior, a capable
+leader, and an eloquent speaker. In the war of 1812, at the early age of
+twenty, he had succeeded an elder brother in the command of the Indian
+contingent, and had led his dusky followers with so much skill and
+intrepidity as to elicit high praise from the English commander. His
+eloquence was noted, even among a race of orators. I can well believe
+what I have heard of its effects, as even in his old age, when an
+occasion has for a moment aroused his spirit, I have not known whether
+most to admire the nobleness and force of his sentiments and reasoning,
+or the grace and flowing ease with which he delivered the stately
+periods of his sonorous language. He has been a worthy successor of the
+distinguished statesmen, Garagontieh, Garangula, Decanasora, Canasatego,
+Logan, and others, who in former years guided the destinies of his
+people. He is considered to have a better knowledge of the traditions
+and ancient usages of the Six Nations than any other member of the
+tribes, and is the only man now living who can tell the meaning of every
+word of the "Book of Rites."
+
+The other chief to whom I have referred is the Onondaga Councillor who
+is known to the whites as John Buck, but who bears in council the name
+of Skanawati ("Beyond the River"), one of the fifty titular names which
+have descended from the time of Hiawatha. He is the official keeper of
+the "wampum records" of the confederacy, an important trust, which, to
+his knowledge, has been in his family for at least four generations. His
+rank, his character, and his eloquence make him now, virtually, the
+Iroquois premier--an office which among the Six Nations, as among the
+Athenians of old and the English of modern days, is both unknown to the
+constitution and essential to its working. His knowledge of the legends
+and customs of his people is only inferior to that of the more aged
+Speaker of the Council.
+
+The account which Chief J. S. Johnson gave me of the book may be briefly
+told. The English missionaries reduced the Canienga language to writing
+in the early part of the last century. The Jesuit fathers, indeed, had
+learned and written the language--which they styled the Iroquois--fifty
+years before; but it does not appear that they had instructed any of the
+Indians in the art of writing it, as their successors in the Eastern
+Province have since done. The English missionaries took pains to do
+this. The liturgy of their church was printed in the Mohawk tongue, at
+New York, as early as the year 1714. [Footnote: This date is given in
+the preface to the Mohawk Prayer Book of 1787. This first version of the
+liturgy was printed under the direction of the Rev. Wm. Andrews, the
+missionary of the "New England Society."] By the middle of the century
+there were many members of the tribe who could write in the well-devised
+orthography of the missionaries--an orthography which anticipated in
+most points the well known "Pickering alphabet," now generally' employed
+in writing the Indian languages of North America. The chiefs of the
+Great Council, at once conservative and quick to learn, saw the
+advantages which would accrue from preserving, by this novel method, the
+forms of their most important public duty--that of creating new
+chiefs--and the traditions connected with their own body. They caused
+the ceremonies, speeches and songs, which together made up the
+proceedings of the Council when it met for the two purposes, always
+combined, of condolence and induction, to be written down in the words
+in which they had been preserved in memory for many generations. A
+Canienga chief, named David, a friend of Brant, is said to have
+accomplished the work. In Stone's Life of Sir William Johnson, mention
+is made of a Mohawk chief, "David of Schoharie," who in May, 1757, led a
+troop of Indians from his town to join the forces under Sir William, in
+his expedition to Crown Point, to repel the French invaders. [Footnote:
+_Life of Sir William Johnson_, Vol. II. p. 29] Brant appears to have
+been in this expedition. [Footnote: Ibid., p. 174] It is highly probable
+that in Chief David of Schoharie we have the compiler, or rather the
+scribe, of this "Iroquois Veda."
+
+The copy of this book which Chief J. S. Johnson possessed was made by
+himself under the following circumstances: During the prevalence of the
+Asiatic cholera, in 1832, the tribes on the Reserve suffered severely.
+Chief Johnson, then a young man and not yet a leader in the Great
+Council, was active in attending on the sick. He was called to visit an
+aged chief, who was not expected to live. The old chief informed him
+that he had this book in his possession, and advised him, as he was one
+of the few who could write the language, to make a copy of it, lest by
+any accident the original should be lost. Johnson followed this advice,
+and copied the book on loose sheets of paper, from which he afterwards
+transcribed it into a small unbound book, resembling a schoolboy's
+copy-book. He states that the original book contained, besides the
+ceremonies of the Condoling Council, an addition by a later hand,
+comprising some account of the more recent history of the Six Nations,
+and particularly of their removal from New York to Canada. This portion
+of it he unfortunately omitted to copy, and shortly afterwards the book
+itself was destroyed, when the house of the old chief was accidentally
+burned.
+
+The other copy which I transcribed was held by Chief John Buck, in his
+official capacity of record-keeper. It is written in a somewhat
+different orthography. The syllables are separated, as in the usual
+style of Indian hymnbooks, and some of the words, particularly the
+proper names, show by their forms that the person who copied the book
+was an Onondaga. The copy was evidently not made from that of Chief
+Johnson, as it supplies some omissions in that copy. On the other hand,
+it omits some matters, and, in particular, nearly all the adjurations
+and descriptive epithets which form the closing litany accompanying the
+list of hereditary councillors. The copy appears, from a memorandum
+written in it, to have been made by one "John Green," who, it seems, was
+formerly a pupil of the Mohawk Institute at Brantford. It bears the date
+of November, 1874. I could not learn where he found his original.
+
+The translation has been made from the dictation of Chief J. S. Johnson,
+who explained the meaning of the archaic words in the modern Canienga
+speech. This was interpreted in English by his son, Chief George H. M.
+Johnson, and afterwards more fully elucidated by my esteemed friend, the
+Rev. Isaac Bearfoot, who kindly came from his parish, at Point Edward
+(near Sarnia), to the Reserve, to assist me in this work. Mr. Bearfoot
+is an Onondaga by birth, but a Canienga by adoption, and has a thorough
+knowledge of the Canienga language. He prepared the revised edition of
+the hymnbook in that language, which is now used on the Reserve. He is a
+good English scholar, and, having been educated in Toronto for the
+ministry, has filled for some years, with much acceptance, the office of
+pastor to a white congregation of the Church of England. I am greatly
+indebted to him for his judicious assistance, and, finally, for a
+complete revision of the entire version of the Canienga portion of the
+book.
+
+To my friend Chief George Johnson I am under still greater obligations.
+Mr. Johnson, as has been stated, is the son of Chief J. S. Johnson, and
+is himself a high chief of the Canienga nation. He bears in the Great
+Council the name of Teyonhehkwen (otherwise spelt Deyonheghgonh),
+meaning "Double Life," one of the titular names which were borne by the
+companions of Hiawatha and Atotarho in the first council. He succeeded
+in this title, according to the rules of the confederacy, his maternal
+uncle, on the nomination of his mother, as the chief matron of the
+family. Mr. Johnson is an educated gentleman. In early life he was a
+pupil of the English missionaries. He now holds the position of
+Government Interpreter for the Six Nations, and is, in fact, the chief
+executive officer of the Canadian government on the Reserve. His duties
+have several times brought him into collision with the white ruffians
+who formerly infested the Reserve, and from whom he has on two occasions
+suffered severe injuries, endangering his life. His courage and
+firmness, however, have been finally successful in subduing this
+mischief, and the Reserve is now as secure and as free from disorder as
+any part of Canada. To Chief, George Johnson's assistance and
+encouragement I owe most of the information contained in these pages,
+and I am glad to have an opportunity of paying him this tribute of
+respect and gratitude.
+
+The second or supplementary part of the Book, which is in the Onondaga
+dialect, was found on the, small Reservation in the State of New York,
+near Syracuse, where a feeble remnant of the great Onondaga nation still
+cling to the home of their forefathers. In October, 1875, during my
+first visit to Onondaga Castle, as this Reservation is called, I
+obtained from the intelligent interpreter, Daniel La Fort--a son of the
+distinguished chief Abram La Fort (Dehatkatons), who is commemorated in
+Clark's "Onondaga"--a list of the original councillors in the Onondaga
+dialect, and also a copy, in the same dialect, of the "Condoling Song,"
+which I had heard sung on the Canadian Reserve, and which I afterwards
+found in the Canienga Book of Rites. He read them to me from a small
+manuscript book, in which, as I then supposed, he had noted them for his
+own convenience. When I afterwards discovered the Canienga book, it
+occurred to me that I might have been mistaken on this point, and that
+the manuscript from which he read was possibly a copy of the Book of
+Rites in the Onondaga dialect. To clear up this point, I again visited
+Onondaga Castle, in September, 1880. I then found, to my great
+gratification, that his book was not a copy, but a valuable addition, or
+rather an essential complement, to the Canienga book. The last-named
+book comprises the speeches which are addressed by the representatives
+of the three elder nations to the younger members of the League,
+whenever a chief who belonged to the latter is lamented. The Onondaga
+book, on the other hand, gives us the exhortations which are addressed
+by the younger nations to the elder when a chief of the latter is
+mourned. The circumstance to which it owes its preservation on the
+Onondaga Reserve is easily explained. Of late years, since the
+chieftainships among the New York Senecas and Tuscaroras have been made
+purely elective offices, the only body of Indians in that State among
+whom the original system of mingled descent and appointment has been
+retained is the remnant of the intensely conservative Onondagas. Among
+these, in spite of missionary efforts continued for two centuries,
+paganism still lingers, and chiefs are still "raised up" as nearly as
+possible after the ancient fashion. When a chief dies, the members of
+his family or clan select another, who is presented to the national
+council for induction. The ceremonies of condolence, with which the
+proceedings commence, are modeled after the primitive form. As the
+Onondagas were one of the elder nations, the addresses of condolence
+must proceed from a younger brother. Fortunately for this purpose, a few
+Oneidas reside on the Reserve, among whom is a single chief, by name
+Abram Hill. To him is committed the duty of representing the "younger
+brothers" on this occasion, and with it the charge of the wampum
+strings, which are produced occasionally as the ceremony proceeds, each
+string representing one section or topic of the condoling address.
+
+La Fort said that he had copied his book from a manuscript in his
+father's handwriting. This manuscript, unfortunately, was lost, and he
+could not say whether his rather had first written it down from memory,
+or had merely transcribed it from an earlier composition. However this
+may have been, the substance of the composition undoubtedly dates from a
+period preceding the disruption of the confederacy. The language,
+indeed, so far as can be judged from the very irregular orthography, is
+modern. If, as there is reason to suppose, the composition is ancient,
+it has evidently undergone a "revision" at the hands of the later
+copyists. In former times, as we know from the Jesuit vocabularies, the
+sound of _r_ existed in the Onondaga dialect. Since their day this sound
+has disappeared from it entirely. In La Fort's manuscript the letter
+frequently occurred, but always, as his pronunciation showed, either as
+a diacritical sign following the vowel _a_, to give to that vowel the
+sound of _a_ in "far," or else as representing itself this vowel sound.
+Thus the syllable which should properly be written _sa_ was written by
+La Fort either _sar_ or _sr_. But, though the language is modern, the
+speeches themselves, as I am assured by Chief John Buck, are precisely
+those which are still in use among his people in Canada, and which are
+believed to have been preserved in memory from the days of their
+forefathers. [Footnote: The disappearance of a vocal element from a
+language is a phenomenon with which etymologists are familiar. The loss
+of the Greek digamma is a well-known instance. The harsh guttural,
+resembling the German ch. which formerly existed in the English
+language, has vanished from it, leaving its traces in the uncouth
+orthography of such words as _plough_, _high_, _though_, and the like.
+Within the past three centuries the sound of _I_ has been lost from many
+words, such as _walk_, _talk_, _balm_ and _calm_. The sound of _r_ is
+disappearing from a large portion of the language. In ordinary speech,
+_arm_ rhymes with _calm_, _morning_ with _fanning_, _higher_ with
+_Sophia_. Modern French, as is well known, has attained its present
+euphony through the disappearance of consonantal elements from many
+words in which they formerly existed.]
+
+The translation of La Fort's book was procured from him and another
+educated member of his tribe; but there was not time to obtain all the
+elucidations needed to ensure precise verbal accuracy throughout.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE CONDOLING COUNCIL.--CLANS AND CLASSES.
+
+
+The name usually given to the Book of Rites, or rather to its contents,
+is, in the Canienga dialect, _Okayondonghsera Yondennase_ (or in the
+French missionary orthography, _Okaiontonhstra Iontennase_), which may
+be rendered "Ancient Rites of the Condoling Council." [Footnote:
+_Okaionlonhsera_ is a substantive derived from _akaion_, old, or
+ancient. The termination _sera_ gives it an abstract sense. "The
+antiquities," or rather "the ancientnesses," is the nearest literal
+rendering which our language allows, _Iontennase_ is a verbal form,
+derived from _kitenre_ (in Bruyas, _gentenron_), to pity, or sympathize
+with. It may be rendered "they who sympathize," or "the condolers."
+Both, words, however, have acquired a special meaning in their
+application to these ceremonies.] Among the many councils, civil and
+religious, tribal and federal, in which the public spirit and social
+temper of the Iroquois found their most congenial and most popular mode
+of display, the Yondennase, the Condoling (or Mourning) Council, held
+the highest rank. It was, in a certain way, typical of the whole, and
+comprised the elements of all the other councils. In its earlier form
+this council was not peculiar to the Iroquois. We know, from the Jesuit
+reports, that it was the custom of the Hurons to hold a public
+lamentation for the death of a chief, and at the same time to appoint
+another who should take his place and assume his name. But that which
+among the Hurons was merely a tribal custom became, in the Iroquois form
+of government, an important institution, essential to the maintenance of
+their state. By the ordinances of their League, it was required that the
+number of their federal senate should be maintained undiminished. On the
+death of one of its members, it was the duty of the nation to which he
+belonged to notify the other nations of the event, and of the time and
+place at which he would be lamented and his successor installed. The
+notice was given in the usual manner, by official messengers, who bore
+for credentials certain strings of wampum, appropriate to the occasion.
+The place of meeting was commonly the chief town of the nation which had
+suffered the loss. In this nation a family council, under the
+presidency, and subject, indeed (as has been shown), to the controlling
+decision, of the chief matron of the deceased senator's kindred--usually
+his mother, if she survived him--was in the meantime convened to select
+his successor. The selection must be approved both by his clan and by
+his nation; but as their sentiments were generally known beforehand,
+this approval was rarely withheld. Indeed, the mischief resulting from
+an unsuitable choice was always likely to be slight; for both the
+national council and the federal senate had the right of deposing any
+member who was found unqualified for the office.
+
+At the appointed day the chiefs of the other nations approached the
+place of meeting. A multitude of their people, men and women, usually
+accompanied them, prepared to take part both in the exhibitions of grief
+and in the festivities which always followed the installation of the new
+councillor. The approaching chiefs halted when they reached the border
+of the "opening," or cleared space surrounding the town. Here took place
+the "preliminary ceremony," styled in the Book of Rites,
+"_Deyughnyonkwarakda_," a word which means simply "at the edge of the
+woods." At this point a fire was kindled, a pipe was lighted and passed
+around with much formality, and an address of welcome was made by the
+principal chief of the inviting nation. The topics of this address
+comprised a singular mixture of congratulation and condolence, and seem
+to have been prescribed forms, which had come down from immemorial
+antiquity, as appropriate to the occasion.
+
+The guests were then formally conducted--"led by the hand," as the Book
+recites--to the Council House of the town. They seem, anciently at
+least, to have advanced in the order of their clans. The towns belonging
+to the Wolf clan were first enumerated--probably as the chiefs belonging
+to them took their places--then the towns of the Tortoise clan (or
+double clan, as it is styled), and finally those of the Bear clan. In
+all, twenty-three towns are named. Five of them are expressly stated to
+have been "added lately." The residue are supposed to be the names of
+the towns in which the people of the Five Nations resided at the time
+when the confederacy was formed, though this point is uncertain. That
+few of these can now be identified, is what would naturally be expected.
+It is well known that the Indians had the custom of removing their towns
+from time to time, at intervals varying from ten to twenty years, as the
+fuel in their neighborhood became exhausted, and as the diminished crops
+under their primitive mode of agriculture showed the need of fresher
+soil. Only those villages would be permanent whose localities offered
+some special advantages, as fortresses, fishing places, or harbors.
+[Footnote: See Appendix, note E.]
+
+This list of towns has another peculiarity which arrests the attention.
+It apparently comprises all the towns of the League, but these are
+divided among only three clans, those of the Wolf, the Tortoise and the
+Bear. The other clans of the confederacy are not once named in the book.
+Yet there are indications which show that when the list of chiefs which
+concludes the book was written, at a date long after this list of towns
+was first recited, other clans existed in three of the nations. This is
+an important point, which merits further consideration. Those who have
+read the admirable account of the "League of the Iroquois," by Morgan,
+and his philosophic work on "Ancient Society," are aware that he has
+brought out and elucidated with much clearness and force the nature and
+results of the remarkable clan system which prevails among the North
+American Indians. It is not universal, as it does not seem to be known
+among the widely scattered bands of the Crees and the Athapascans, or
+among the Indians of Oregon. [Footnote: See _Ancient Society_, pp. 167,
+175, 177.] It was found, however, among the great majority of tribes in
+the region north of Mexico and east of the Rocky Mountains, and was
+sufficiently alike in all to indicate a common origin. Mr. Morgan finds
+this origin in a kinship, real or supposed, among the members of each
+clan. He considers the clan, or gens, and not the single family, to be
+the natural unit of primitive society. It is, in his view, a stage
+through which the human race passes in its progress from the savage
+state to civilization. It is difficult, however, to reconcile this
+theory with the fact that among some races, as for example, the
+Polynesian and Feejeean, which are in precisely the same stage of social
+advancement as the North American Indians, this institution is unknown;
+and even among the Indians, as has been said, it is not everywhere
+found. There are many indications which seem to show that the system is
+merely an artificial arrangement, instituted for social convenience. It
+is natural, in the sense that the desire for association is natural to
+man. The sentiment is one which manifests itself alike in all stages of
+society. The guilds of the middle ages, the masonic and other secret
+brotherhoods, religious organizations, trade unions, clubs, and even
+political parties, are all manifestations of this associative instinct.
+The Indian clan was simply a brotherhood, an aggregate of persons united
+by a common tie, sometimes of origin, sometimes merely of locality.
+These brotherhoods were not permanent, but were constantly undergoing
+changes, forming, dividing, coalescing, vanishing. The names of many of
+them show their recent origin. The Chicasas have a "Spanish clan."
+[Footnote: _Ancient Society_, p. 163.] The Shawnees had a "Horse clan."
+[Footnote: Ibid, p. 168.] The Iroquois, of Eastern Canada, made up of
+fragments of all the Five Nations, had an "Onondaga clan," and an
+"Oneida clan." [Footnote: Rotisennakete, and Rotinenhiotronon. See J. A.
+Cuoq, _Lexique de la Langut Iroquoise_, p. 154. The proper meaning of
+these names will be hereafter shown.] It is a curious fact that, as Mr.
+Morgan states, "the Iroquois claim to have originated a division of the
+people into tribes [clans or gentes] as a means of creating new
+relationships, to bind the people more firmly together. It is further
+asserted by them that they forced or introduced this social organization
+among the Cherokees, the Chippeways (Massasaugas) and several other
+Indian nations, with whom, in ancient times, they were in constant
+intercourse." "The fact," he adds, "that this division of the people of
+the same nation into tribes does not prevail generally among our Indian
+races, favors the assertions of the Iroquois." [Footnote: _League of the
+Iroquois_, p. 91.] Further inquiry and reflection led this distinguished
+investigator to take a totally different view, and to go to what may be
+deemed the opposite extreme of regarding this clan system as an
+essential stage in the growth of human society.
+
+There can be no question that an idea of kinship pervaded the clan
+system, and was its ruling element. It may, in many instances, have been
+purely imaginary and, so to speak, figurative, like the "brotherhood" of
+our secret associations; but it was none the less efficacious and
+binding. As the members of a clan regarded themselves as brothers and
+sisters, marriages among them were not allowed. This led, of course, to
+constant intermarriages between members of the different clans of which
+a nation was composed, thus binding the whole nation together. What the
+founders of the Iroquois League did was to extend this system of social
+alliances through the entire confederacy. The Wolf clansman of the
+Caniengas was deemed a brother of the Wolf clansman of the Senecas,
+though originally there may have been no special connection between
+them. It was a tie apparently artificial in its origin, as much so as
+the tie which binds a freemason of Berlin to a freemason of New Orleans.
+But it came to have all the strength of a tie of kindred. Mr. Morgan has
+well pointed out the wisdom shown by the Iroquois founders, in availing
+themselves of this powerful element of strength in the formation of
+their federal constitution. [Footnote: _League of the Iroquois_, p. 82,
+_et seq_.] Their government, though politically a league of nations, was
+socially a combination of clans. In this way Hiawatha and Dekanawidah
+may be deemed to have given to the system of clan-ship an extension and
+a force which it had not previously possessed; and it is by no means
+unlikely that this example may, as the Iroquois assert, have acted upon
+neighboring nations, and led to a gradual increase in the number and
+influence of these brotherhoods.
+
+But here a discrepancy presents itself in the Iroquois system, which has
+perplexed all who have written on the subject. Two of the Six Nations,
+the Caniengas and Oneidas, had only three clans, the Wolf, the Tortoise
+and the Bear; while the others had, or at least have, each eight or
+nine, and these variously styled in the different nations. The three
+which have been named are, indeed, found in all; but besides these
+three, the Onondagas have five, Deer, Eel, Beaver, Ball and Snipe. The
+Cayugas and Senecas have also eight clans, which are similar to those of
+the Onondagas, except that among the Cayugas the Ball clan is replaced
+by the Hawk, and among the Senecas both Ball and Eel disappear, and are
+replaced by Hawk and Heron. The Tuscaroras have likewise eight clans,
+but among these are neither the Hawk, the Heron or the Ball. In lieu of
+them the Wolf clan is divided into two, the Gray Wolf and the Yellow
+Wolf, and the Tortoise furnishes two, the Great Tortoise and the Little
+Tortoise; [Footnote: It is deserving of notice that this division of the
+Tortoise clan seems to exist in a nascent form among the Onondagas. The
+name of this clan is Hahnowa, which is the general word for tortoise;
+but the clan is divided into two septs or subdivisions, the
+Hanyatengona, or Great Tortoise, and the Nikahnowaksa, or Little
+Tortoise, which together are held to constitute but one clan. How or why
+the distinction is kept up I did not learn. In the Book of Rites the
+Tortoise clan is also spoken of in the dual number--"the two clans of
+the Tortoise." It is probable, therefore, that this partial subdivision
+extended throughout the original Five Nations, and became complete among
+the Tuscaroras.] the Bear, the Beaver, the Eel and the Snipe remain, as
+among the Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas.
+
+We are naturally led to ask how it happens that only three clans are
+found among the Caniengas and Oneidas, while the other nations have
+eight. Mr. Morgan was inclined to think that the other five once existed
+among the two former nations, and had become extinct. [Footnote: _League
+of the Iroquois_, p. 81. Ancient Society, p. 92.] The native annalists
+of those nations, however, affirm that no more than three clans ever
+existed among them. This assertion is now confirmed, indirectly but
+strongly, by the testimony of the Book of Rites, which seems to show
+that only three clans were recognized in the whole confederacy when the
+League was formed. All the towns of the united nations were distributed
+among the three primary clans of the Wolf, the Tortoise and the Bear. If
+the other clans existed, it was probably merely as septs or divisions of
+these three. [Footnote: "The Turtle family, or the Anowara, was the most
+noble of the whole League; next came the Ochquari, or clan of the Bear,
+and the Oquacho, or that of the Wolf. These three were so prominent that
+Zeisberger hardly recognizes the others."--_De Sckweinitz's Life of
+Zeisberger_, p.79. Zeisberger had been adopted into the nation of the
+Onondagas and the clan of the Tortoise. His knowledge of the laws and
+usages of the Kanonsionni was acquired chiefly in that nation.
+Charlevoix makes the Bear the leading clan of the Iroquois. It would
+seem that the relative rank of the clans varied in the different
+nations. The chiefs of the Wolf clan come first in the list of Oneida
+councillors.] It is more likely, however, that these additional clans
+were of later creation or introduction. Their origin, as well as their
+restriction to the three western nations, may be easily explained. The
+successive conquests achieved by the Iroquois in the early part of the
+seventeenth century had the result of incorporating with their people
+great numbers of Hurons, Eries, Attiwandaronks, Andastes, and other
+captives belonging to tribes of the same stock, speaking similar
+dialects, and having usages closely resembling those of their captors.
+Of these captives, some were directly adopted into the Iroquois families
+and clans; but a larger number remained for a time in separate towns,
+retaining their own usages. They were regarded, however, and they
+regarded themselves, as Iroquois. Constant intercourse and frequent
+intermarriages soon abolished all distinctions of national origin. But
+the distinction of clan-ship would remain. The Hurons (or, at least, the
+Tionontates, or Tobacco Nation) had clans of the Deer and the Hawk, and
+they had a Snake clan bearing a name (_yagonirunon_) not unlike the name
+of the Onondaga Eel clan (_ogontena_), and evidently derived from the
+same root. The other conquered nations had doubtless some peculiar
+clans; for these brotherhoods, as has been shown, were constantly in
+process of formation and change among the Indian tribes. Almost all the
+captives were incorporated with the three western nations of the League,
+to whom the conquered tribes were mostly nearer than to the Caniengas
+and Oneidas. The origin of the additional clans among the Onondagas,
+Cayugas and Senecas is thus readily understood.
+
+One fact, important in its connection with the structure of the federal
+council, remains to be noted, and if possible, elucidated. The
+councillors of each nation were divided into classes, whose part in the
+deliberations of the councils bore a certain resemblance to that held by
+the committees of our legislatures. The operation of this system cannot
+be better described than in the words of Morgan: "The founders of the
+confederacy, seeking to obviate, as far as possible, altercation in
+council, and to facilitate their progress to unanimity, divided the
+sachems of each nation into classes, usually of two or three each, as
+will be seen by referring to the table of sachemships. No sachem was
+permitted to express an opinion in council, until he had agreed with the
+other sachem or sachems of his class upon the opinion to be expressed,
+and had received an appointment to act as speaker for the class. Thus
+the eight Seneca sachems, being in four classes, could have but four
+opinions, the ten Cayuga sachems but four. In this manner each class was
+brought to unanimity within itself. A cross-consultation was then held
+between the four sachems who represented the four classes; and when they
+had agreed, they appointed one of their number to express their
+resulting opinion, which was the answer of their nation. The several
+nations having, by this ingenious method, become of 'one mind'
+separately, it only remained to compare their several opinions to arrive
+at the final sentiment of all the sachems of the League. This was
+effected by a conference between the individual representatives of the
+several nations; and when they had arrived at unanimity, the answer of
+the League was determined." [Footnote: _League of the Iroquois_, p,
+112.]
+
+A careful consideration of the facts, in the light cast upon them by the
+evidence of the "Book of Rites" and the testimony of the Canadian
+Iroquois, leaves no doubt that these classes were originally identical
+with the clans. Among the Caniengas and Oneidas this identity still
+exists. Each of these nations received nine representatives in the
+federal council. These were--and still are--divided into three each
+composed of three members, and each class representing a clan. In the
+Canienga tribe the members of the first class are all of the Tortoise
+clan, those of the second class are of the Wolf clan, and those of the
+third class of the Bear clan. Among the Oneidas, the councillors of the
+first class belong to the Wolf clan, those of the second class to the
+Tortoise clan, and those of the third class to the Bear clan. Such was
+the information which Mr. Morgan received from his Seneca friends, and
+such I found to be the fact among the Iroquois now in Canada. When we
+come to the other nations we find a wholly different state of things. No
+correspondence now exists between the classes and the clans. The Cayugas
+have now, as has been shown, eight clans; but of these only six,
+according to the list given by Morgan, and only five in that furnished
+to me by the Canadian chiefs, are represented in the council. These are
+distributed in three classes, which do not correspond to the clans. In
+Morgan's list the first class has five members, the first of whom
+belongs to the Deer clan, the second to that of the Heron, the third and
+fourth to that of the Bear, and the fifth to that of the Tortoise. In my
+list this class also comprises five chiefs, of whom the first two
+(identical in name with the first two of Morgan) belong to the Deer
+clan, while the third (who bears the same name as Mr. Morgan's third) is
+of the Bear clan. In the "Book of Rites" the first Cayuga class
+comprises only two chiefs, but their clans (which were supposed to be
+known to the hearers) are not indicated. The fourteen Onondaga
+councillors are divided into five classes, according to Morgan, and also
+in the modern Canadian list. The "Book of Rites" seems to give only
+four, but none of these--according to the evidence of the Canadian
+chiefs--correspond with the modern clans; and the same councillor, in
+lists received from different sources, is found to belong to different
+classes and different clans. Thus the distinguished title of Skanawati
+is borne, in Mr. Morgan's list, by a chief of the fifth class and of the
+third clan. In the list obtained by me at Onondaga Castle this chief is
+of the fourth class and of the Ball clan. The great Seneca chief
+Kanyadariyo is, in Mr. Morgan's list, a member of the Tortoise clan,
+while among the Canadian Senecas he belongs to the Wolf clan. In short,
+it is evident that the introduction of the new clans among the western
+nations has thrown this part of their constitutional system into
+confusion. The probability is that when the confederacy was established
+only three clans, Bear, Wolf and Tortoise, existed among the Iroquois,
+as only three clans, Bear, Wolf and Turkey, existed in recent times
+among their Algonkin neighbors, the Lenni Lenape, or Delawares. Thus the
+classes of their Council grew spontaneously out of their clan system, as
+the senators of each clan would naturally consult together. Afterwards
+new clans arose; but it seems probable that when the list of councillors
+comprised in the "Book of Rites" was written--that is, about the middle
+of the last century--the correspondence of classes and clans was still
+maintained. The number of both was increased in the western tribes, but
+each class was still composed of chiefs of the same clan. The written
+book fixed the classes to a certain extent, but the clans to which their
+members belonged continued to vary, under the influence of political and
+social changes. If, at the death of a councillor, no member of his clan
+was found qualified to succeed him, a successor would be elected from
+another clan which was deemed to be in some way connected with him. I
+was assured by the Onondaga chiefs of the New York Reservation that this
+was their rule at present; and it is quite sufficient to account for the
+departure, in the western nations, from the ancient system. It is
+evident that after the nations and clans were rent to fragments by the
+dissensions and emigration caused by the American Revolution, these
+changes would, for a time, be necessarily frequent. And thus it happens
+that chiefs are found in the duplicate confederacies which after this
+disruption were established in Canada and New York, who bear the same
+titular designation, but differ both in the clans and in the classes to
+which they belong.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE CONDOLENCE AND THE INSTALLATION.
+
+
+With the arrival at the Council House the "opening ceremony" is
+concluded. In the house the members of the Council were seated in the
+usual array, on opposite sides of the house. On one side were the three
+elder nations, the Caniengas, Onondagas, and Senecas, and on the other
+the younger, who were deemed, and styled in Council, the offspring of
+the former. These younger members, originally two in number, the Oneidas
+and Cayugas, had afterwards an important accession in the Tuscarora
+nation; and in later years several smaller tribes, or, as they were
+styled, additional braces of the Extended House, were
+received;--Tuteloes, Nanticokes, Delawares and others. In the Onondaga
+portion of the book the younger tribes speak as "we three brothers." The
+earliest of the later accessions seems to have taken place about the
+year 1753, when the Tuteloes and Nanticokes were admitted. [Footnote:
+_N. Y. Hist. Col._, Vol. 6, p. 811. Stone's _Life of Sir William
+Johnson_, p. 414.] These circumstances afford additional evidence that
+the Book was originally written prior to that date and subsequent to the
+year 1714, when the Tuscaroras were received into the League.
+
+If the deceased chief belonged to one of the three older nations, the
+duty of conducting the condoling ceremony which followed was performed
+by the younger nations, who mourned for him as for a father or an uncle.
+If he were a chief of one of the younger nations, the others lamented
+him as a son or a nephew. The mourning nations selected as their
+representative a high chief, usually a distinguished orator, familiar
+with the usages and laws of the League, to conduct these ceremonies. The
+lamentations followed a prescribed routine, each successive topic of
+condolence being indicated by a string of wampum, which, by the
+arrangement of its beads, recalled the words to the memory of the
+officiating chief. In the "Book of Rites" we have these addresses of
+condolence in a twofold form. The Canienga book gives us the form used
+by the elder nations; and the Onondaga supplement adds the form employed
+by the younger brothers. The former is more ancient, and apparently more
+dignified and formal. The speaker addresses the mourners as his children
+(_konyennetaghkwen_, "my offspring,") and recites each commonplace of
+condolence in a curt and perfunctory style. He wipes away their tears
+that they may see clearly; he opens their ears that they may hear
+readily. He removes from their throats the obstruction with which their
+grief is choking them, so that they may ease their burdened minds by
+speaking freely to their friends. And finally, as the loss of their
+lamented chief may have occurred in war--and at all events many of their
+friends have thus perished--he cleans the mats on which they are sitting
+from the figurative bloodstains, so that they may for a time cease to be
+reminded of their losses, and may regain their former cheerfulness.
+
+The condolence of the younger brothers, expressed in the Onondaga book,
+is more expansive and more sympathetic. Though apparently disfigured and
+mutilated by repeated transcriptions, it bears marks of having been
+originally the composition of a superior mind. All such topics of
+consolation as would occur to a speaker ignorant or regardless of a
+future life are skillfully presented, and the whole address is imbued
+with a sentiment of cordial tenderness and affection. Those who have
+been accustomed to regard the Indians as a cold-hearted people will find
+it difficult to reconcile that view of their character with the contrary
+evidence afforded by this genuine expression of their feelings, and,
+indeed, by the whole tenor of the Book.
+
+This address concludes with the emphatic words, "I have finished; now
+point me the man;" or, as the words were paraphrased by the interpreter,
+"Now show me the warrior who is to be the new chief." The candidate for
+senatorial honors, who is to take the place and name of the deceased
+councillor, is then brought forward by his nation. His admission by the
+assembled Council, at this stage of the proceedings, is a matter of
+course; for his nation had taken care to ascertain, before the meeting,
+that the object of their choice would be acceptable to the councillors
+of the other nations. The ceremony of induction consisted in the formal
+bestowal of the new name by which he was henceforth to be known. A chief
+placed himself on each side of the candidate, and, grasping his arms,
+marched him to and fro in the Council house, between the lines of the
+assembled senators. As they walked they proclaimed his new name and
+office, and recited, in a measured chant, the duties to which he was now
+called, the audience responding at every pause with the usual chorus of
+assent.
+
+When this ceremony was finished, and the new councillor had taken his
+proper seat among the nobles of his nation, the wampum belts, which
+comprised the historical records of the federation, were produced, and
+the officiating chief proceeded to explain them, one by one, to the
+assemblage. This was called "reading the archives." In this way a
+knowledge of the events signified by the wampum was fastened, by
+repeated iteration, in the minds of the listeners. Those who doubt
+whether events which occurred four centuries ago can be remembered as
+clearly and minutely as they are now recited, will probably have their
+doubts removed when they consider the necessary operation of this
+custom. The orator's narrative is repeated in the presence of many
+auditors who have often heard it before, and who would be prompt to
+remark and to correct any departure from the well-known history.
+
+This narrative is not recorded in the Book of Rites. At the time when
+that was written, the annals of the confederacy were doubtless supposed
+to be sufficiently preserved by the wampum records. The speeches and
+ceremonies which followed, and which were of equal, if not greater
+importance, had no such evidences to recall them. From this statement,
+however, the "hymn" should be excepted; to each line of it, except the
+last, a wampum string was devoted. With this exception, all was left to
+the memory of the orator. The Homeric poems, the hymns of the Vedas, the
+Kalewala, the Polynesian genealogies, and many other examples, show the
+exactness with which a composition that interests a whole nation may be
+handed down; but it is not surprising that when the chiefs became aware
+of the superior advantages of a written record, they should have had
+recourse to it. We need not doubt that Chief David of Schoharie, or
+whoever else was the scribe appointed to this duty, has faithfully
+preserved the substance, and, for the most part, the very words, of the
+speeches and chants which he had often heard under such impressive
+circumstances.
+
+The hymn, or _karenna_, deserves a special notice. In every important
+council of the Iroquois a song or chant is considered a proper and
+almost essential part of the proceedings. Such official songs are
+mentioned in many reports of treaty councils held with them by the
+French and English authorities. In this greatest of all councils the
+song must, of course, have a distinguished place. It follows immediately
+upon the address of greeting and condolence, and is, in fact, regarded
+as the completion of it, and the introduction to the equally important
+ceremony which is to follow, viz., the repetition of the ancient laws of
+the confederacy. This particular hymn is of great antiquity. Some of the
+chiefs expressed to me the opinion that it was composed by Dekana-widah
+or Hiawatha. Its tenor, however, as well as that of the whole book,
+shows that it belongs to a later period. The ceremonies of the council
+were doubtless prescribed by the founders of the League; but the
+speeches of the Book, and this hymn, all refer to the League as the work
+of a past age. The speakers appeal to the wisdom of their forefathers
+(literally, their grandsires), and lament the degeneracy of the later
+times. They expressly declare that those who established the "great
+peace" were in their graves, and had taken their work with them and
+placed it as a pillow under them. This is the language of men who
+remembered the founders, and to whom the burial of the last of them was
+a comparatively recent event. If the league was formed, as seems
+probable, about the year 1450, the speeches and hymn, in their present
+form, may reasonably be referred to the early part of the next century.
+There is reason to believe that the formation of the confederacy was
+followed by wars with the Hurons and Algonkin tribes, in which, as
+usual, many changes of fortune took place. If the Hurons, as has been
+shown, were expelled from their abode on the northern shore of the St.
+Lawrence, the Mohegans, on the other hand, inflicted some serious blows
+upon the eastern nations of the confederacy. [Footnote: See the Jesuit
+_Relation_ for 1660, p. 6.] The Delawares were not conquered and reduced
+to subjection without a long and sanguinary struggle. In a Condoling
+Council we might expect that the tone of feeling would be lugubrious;
+but the sense of loss and of danger is too marked in all the speeches of
+the Canienga Book to be merely a formal utterance. It does not appear in
+those of the Onondaga Book, which is seemingly of later composition.
+
+The "karenna," or chant of the Condoling Council, may be styled the
+National Hymn of the Iroquois. A comparison between it and other
+national hymns, whose chief characteristics are self-glorification and
+defiance, might afford room for some instructive inferences. This hymn,
+it should be remarked, brief as it is, is regarded by the Indians as a
+collection of songs. Each line, in fact, is, in their view, a song by
+itself, and is brought to mind by its own special wampum string. In
+singing, each line is twice repeated, and is introduced and followed by
+many long-drawn repetitions of the exclamation _aihaigh_ (or rather
+_haihaih_) which is rendered "hail!" and from which the hymn derives its
+designation. In the first line the speaker salutes the "Peace," or the
+league, whose blessings they enjoy. In the next he greets the kindred of
+the deceased chief, who are the special objects of the public sympathy.
+Then he salutes the _oyenkondonh_, a term which has been rendered
+"warriors." This rendering, however, may have a misleading effect. The
+word has nothing to do with war, unless in the sense that every grown
+man in an Indian community is supposed to be a soldier. Except in this
+hymn, the word in question is now disused. An elderly chief assured me
+that he had sung it for years without knowing its precise meaning. Some
+of his fellow-councillors were better informed. The word is apparently
+derived from _ankwe_, man, which in the Onondaga dialect becomes
+_yenkwe_. It comprises all the men (the "manhood" or mankind) of the
+nation--as, in the following verse, the word _wakonnyh_, which is also
+obsolete, signifies the "womanhood," or all the women of the people with
+whom the singer condoles. In the next line he invokes the laws which
+their forefathers established; and he concludes by calling upon his
+hearers to listen to the wisdom of their forefathers, which he is about
+to recite. As a whole, the hymn may be described as an expression of
+reverence for the laws and for the dead, and of sympathy with the
+living. Such is the "national anthem,"--the Marseillaise,--of the
+ferocious Iroquois.
+
+The regard for women which is apparent in this hymn, and in other
+passages of the Book, is deserving of notice. The common notion that
+women among the Indians were treated as inferiors, and made "beasts of
+burden," is unfounded so far as the Iroquois are concerned, and among
+all other tribes of which I have any knowledge. With them, as with
+civilized nations, the work of the community and the cares of the family
+are fairly divided. Among the Iroquois the hunting and fishing, the
+house-building and canoe-making, fell to the men. The women cooked, made
+the dresses, scratched the ground with their light hoes, planted and
+gathered the crops, and took care of the children. The household goods
+belonged to the woman. On her death, her relatives, and not her husband,
+claimed them. The children were also hers; they belonged to her clan,
+and in case of a separation they went with her. She was really the head
+of the household; and in this capacity her right, when she chanced to be
+the oldest matron of a noble family, to select the successor of a
+deceased chief of that family, was recognized by the highest law of the
+confederacy. That this rank and position were greatly prized is shown by
+a remarkable passage in the Jesuit Relations. A Canienga matron,
+becoming a Christian, left her country, with two of her children, to
+enjoy greater freedom in her devotions among the French. The act, writes
+the missionary, so offended her family that, in a public meeting of the
+town, "they degraded her from the rank of the nobility, and took from
+her the title of Oyander, that is, honorable (_considerable_)--a title
+which they esteem highly, and which she had inherited from her
+ancestors, and deserved by her good judgment, her prudence, and her
+excellent conduct; and at the same time they installed another in her
+place." [Footnote: _Relation_ of 1671, p. 6. The word _oyander_ in
+modern pronunciation becomes _oyaner_. It is derived from the root
+_yaner_, noble, and is the feminine form of the word _royaner_, lord, or
+nobleman,--the title applied to the members of the federal council.]
+
+The complete equality of the sexes in social estimation and influence is
+apparent in all the narratives of the early missionaries, who were the
+best possible judges on this point. Casual observers have been misled by
+the absence of those artificial expressions of courtesy which have
+descended to us from the time of chivalry, and which, however gracious
+and pleasing to witness, are, after all, merely signs of condescension
+and protection from the strong to the weak. The Iroquois does not give
+up his seat to a woman, or yield her precedence on leaving a room; but
+he secures her in the possession of her property, he recognizes her
+right to the children she has borne, and he submits to her decision the
+choice of his future rulers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE LAWS OF THE LEAGUE.
+
+
+It is the custom of the officiating orator, while the chant is going on,
+to walk to and fro in the council-house. When the hymn is finished, he
+breaks out into a passionate invocation to their forefathers, and a
+lament over the degeneracy of the times. This, as the French
+missionaries inform us, was a favorite topic of Indian speakers.
+[Footnote: See the _Relation_ of 1659, p. 57: "C'est la plainte
+ordinaire des Capitaines [of the Hurons] que tout se va perdant, a faute
+de garder les formes et coustoumes de leurs ancestres."] Among the
+Iroquois, who could look back to an era of genuine statesmen and heroes,
+the authors of their constitution, this complaint must have had a
+peculiar force and sincerity. After this appeal to the founders of their
+state, there naturally followed an address to the Council and the
+people, reciting "all the rules they decided on, which they thought
+would strengthen the house." By "the house" was meant, of course, the
+house of many hearths, to which they likened their confederacy. The
+"rules" or laws which follow require some explanation, that their full
+value may be understood.
+
+The first law prescribes that when a chief dies his office shall not
+perish with him. This is expressed, in their metaphorical style, by an
+injunction that the "horns," or insignia of office, shall not be buried
+with the deceased chief, but shall be taken off at his death, to be
+transferred to his successor. This rule is laid down in the most urgent
+and impressive terms. "We should perhaps all perish if his office is
+buried with him in his grave." This systematic transmission of official
+rank was, in fact, the vital principle of their government. It was in
+this system that their federal union differed from the frequent and
+transitory confederacies common among the Indian tribes. In general,
+among nearly all the tribes, the rank of a chief was personal. It was
+gained by the character and achievements of the individual, and it died
+with him. Hence their government and policy, so far as they can be said
+to have had any, were always uncertain and fluctuating. No person
+understood the Indian usages better than Zeisberger. His biographer has
+well described the difference which existed in this respect between the
+Iroquois and their neighbors. "The Algonkins," he writes, "knew nothing
+of regular government. They had no system of polity; there was no unity
+of action among them. The affairs even of a single tribe were managed in
+the loosest manner." After briefly, but accurately, delineating the
+Iroquois system of councils, he adds: "Thus they became both a political
+and a military power among the aborigines; the influence of their league
+was felt everywhere, and their conquests extended in every direction."
+[Footnote: De Schweinitz: _Life of Zeisberger_, p. 39.] The principle
+that "the chief dies but the office survives,"--the regular transmission
+of rank, title and authority, by a method partly hereditary and partly
+elective,--was the principle on which the life and strength of the
+Iroquois constitution depended.
+
+Next followed a provision of hardly less importance. The wars among the
+Indian tribes arise almost always from individual murders. The killing
+of a tribesman by the members of another community concerns his whole
+people. If satisfaction is not promptly made, war follows, as a matter
+of course. [Footnote: _Relation, of_ 1636, p. 119. "C'est de la que
+naissent les guerres, et c'est un sujet plus que suffisant de prendre
+les armes contre quelque Village quand il refuse de satisfaire par les
+presents ordonnez, pour celuy qui vous aurait tue quelq'un des
+vostres."--_Brebeuf, on the Hurons_.] The founders of the Iroquois
+commonwealth decreed that wars for this cause should not be allowed to
+rise between any of their cantons. On this point a special charge was
+given to the members of the Great Council. They were enjoined (in the
+figurative language employed throughout the Book) not to allow the
+murder to be discussed in a national assembly, where the exasperation of
+the young men might lead to mischief, but to reserve it for their own
+consideration; and they were required as soon as possible to bury all
+animosities that might arise from it. The figure employed is impressive.
+They were to uproot a huge pine-tree--the well-known emblem of their
+League--disclosing a deep cavity, below which an underground stream
+would be swiftly flowing. Into this current they were to cast the cause
+of trouble, and then, replacing the tree, hide the mischief forever from
+their people.
+
+How strictly in spirit these injunctions were followed, and with what
+good effect, their whole history shows. A notable instance of the
+readiness and ingenuity of their statesmen in finding the means of
+public reconciliation in such cases is given in the Jesuit narrative. On
+the 24th of July, 1657, a great council was held at Onondaga to consider
+three matters, all of special import. First in order was the necessity
+of appeasing a threatened quarrel between two of the leading nations,
+the Senecas and the Caniengas, caused by a misadventure in which a
+Seneca "captain" had been killed by some warriors of the eastern nation.
+Next in importance was the reception of a large party of Frenchmen,
+headed by Father Francis le Mercier, the Superior of the Jesuit
+missionaries in Canada, who had come to form a settlement among the
+Iroquois. And, finally, they had to prepare the plan and the means for
+an expedition against some hostile tribes. Before the meeting of the
+Council the Frenchmen had paid a formal visit to the Seneca delegates,
+whom they found "filling the air with songs of mourning" for their
+slaughtered chief, and had manifested their sympathy by a present, "to
+alleviate the grief" of the mourners. This incident seems to have
+suggested to the assembled councillors a method of effecting--or at
+least of announcing--the desired accommodation, and of paying at the
+same time a happy compliment to their reverend visitors. By common
+consent the affair was referred to the arbitrament of the Father
+Superior, by whom the difference was promptly settled. [Footnote: On
+the: Grand conseil le 24 du mois de Juillet, ou toutes les Nations
+remisent entre les mains d'Achiendase qui est nostre Pčre Superieur le
+diffrend Centre les Sonnontoüeronnons et les Agnieronnons, qui fait bien
+et terminé.--_Relation of_ 1657, p. 16.] It was not necessary for the
+politic senators to inform their gratified visitors that the performance
+in which they thus took part was merely a formality which ratified, or
+rather proclaimed, a foregone conclusion. The reconciliation which was
+prescribed by their constitution had undoubtedly been arranged by
+previous conferences, after their custom in such matters, before the
+meeting of the Council. [Footnote: For a curious instance of the manner
+in which questions to be apparently decided by a Council were previously
+settled between the parties, see the _Life of Zeisberger_, p. 190:
+"Gietterowane was the speaker on one side, Zeisberger on the other.
+These two consulted together privately,--Zeisberger unfolding the import
+of the strings [of wampum which he had brought as ambassador] and
+Gietterowane committing to memory what he said."] So effective was this
+provision of their constitution that for more than three centuries this
+main cause of Indian wars was rendered innocuous, and the "Great Peace"
+remained undisturbed. This proud averment of their annalists, confirmed
+as it is for more than half the period by the evidence of their white
+neighbors, cannot reasonably be questioned. What nation or confederacy
+of civilized Europe can show an exemption from domestic strife for so
+long a term?
+
+The third rule or ordinance which the founders enacted "to strengthen
+the house" is of a remarkable character. It relates to the mortuary
+usages of the people; and when these are understood, the great
+importance of this law becomes apparent. Among the Indians of the
+Huron-Iroquois family the ordinary mourning for the dead became
+exaggerated into customs of the most extravagant character, exhausting
+the time and strength of the warriors, and devouring their substance.
+The French missionaries have left us an account of these singular usages
+among the Hurons, some of which excited their respect, and others their
+astonishment. "Our savages," they wrote, "are in no way savage as
+regards the duties which nature herself requires us to render to the
+dead. You would say that their efforts, their toils and their commerce
+had no other end than to amass the means of honoring the departed. They
+have nothing too precious for this object. To this they devote their
+robes of skins, their hatchets and wampum, in such profusion that you
+would fancy they made nothing of them; and yet these are the riches of
+their country. Often in midwinter you will see them going almost naked,
+while they have at home, laid up in store, good and handsome robes,
+which they keep in reverence for the dead. This is their point of honor.
+In this, above all, they seek to show themselves magnificent."
+[Footnote: Brebeuf, _Relation of_ 1636, p. 128.]
+
+During the three days that preceded the burial of the dead, or the
+removal of his remains to the scaffold, the wails, groans and
+lamentations of the relatives and neighbors resounded in the cabin where
+he lay. All the stored riches were brought forth and lavished in gifts
+"to comfort the mourners." The mourning did not end with the burial; in
+fact, it may be said to have then only begun. The "great mourning," as
+the missionaries term it, lasted for six days longer, during which the
+mourners lay, face downward, upon their mats, and enveloped in their
+robes, speechless, or replying only by an ejaculation to those who
+addressed them. During this period they had no fire in the house, even
+in winter; they ate their food cold, and left the cabin only at night,
+and as secretly as possible. The "lesser mourning" lasted for a year,
+during which they refrained from oiling their hair, attended public
+festivals rarely, and only (in the case of women) when their mothers
+ordered, and were forbidden to marry again.
+
+This, however, was not all. Once in twelve years was held a great
+ceremony of re-interment,--a solemn "feast of the dead," as it was
+called. Until the day of this feast arrived, funeral rites in honor of
+the departed were repeated from time to time, and feasts were held, at
+which, as the expression was, their names were revived, while presents
+were distributed, as at the time of their death. The great Feast of the
+Dead, however, was the most important of all their ceremonies. The
+bodies of all who had died in the nation during the preceding twelve
+years were then exhumed, or removed from the scaffolds on which they had
+been laid, and the festering corpses or cleansed bones were all interred
+together in a vast pit lined with robes of beaver skins, the most
+precious of all their furs. Wampum, copper implements, earthenware, the
+most valued of their possessions, were cast into the pit, which was then
+solemnly closed with earth. While the ceremony was going on, rich
+presents of all descriptions, the accumulations of the past twelve
+years, were distributed by the relatives of the deceased among the
+people. In this distribution, strange to say, valuable fur robes were
+frequently cut and torn to pieces, so as to be rendered worthless. A
+lavish display and reckless destruction of wealth were deemed honors due
+to the shades of the departed. [Footnote: See the _Relation_ for 1636,
+p. 131. A most vivid and graphic description of these extraordinary
+ceremonies is given in Parkman's admirable work, _The Jesuits in North
+America_, Chapter 7.]
+
+The Attiwandaronks, or Neutrals, who were the nearest neighbors of the
+Iroquois, were still more extravagant in their demonstrations of
+affection for their lost friends. They, too, had their feasts of the
+dead, at regular intervals. In the meantime the bodies were kept in
+their houses as long as possible--"until the stench became intolerable."
+Then, when this proximity could no longer be borne, the remains were
+left for a period to decay on a scaffold in the open air. After a time
+the remaining flesh was removed from the bones, which were arranged on
+the sides of their cabins, in full view of the inmates, until the great
+day of general interment. With these mournful objects before their eyes,
+renewing constantly the sense of their loss, the women of the household
+were excited to frequent outbursts of grief, expressed in wailing
+chants. [Footnote: "Cet object qu'ils ont devant les yeux, leur
+renouvellant continuellement le resentiment de leurs pertes, leur fait
+ordinairement letter des cris, et faire des lamentations tout ŕ fait
+lugubres, le tout en chanson. Mais cela ne se fait que par les
+femmes."--_Relation_ of 1641, p. 73.]
+
+That the Iroquois in ancient times had funeral customs similar to those
+of their sister nations, and not less revolting, cannot be doubted. How
+these shocking and pernicious usages were abolished at one swoop is
+shown by the brief passage in the Book of Rites now under discussion.
+The injunctions are laconic, but full of meaning. When a death occurs,
+the people are told, "this shall be done." A delegation of persons,
+officially appointed for the purpose, shall repair to the dwelling of
+the deceased, bearing in a pouch some strands of mourning wampum. The
+leader, holding these strands, and standing by the hearth, shall
+address, in the name of the whole people, a few words of comfort to the
+mourners. And then "they shall be comforted," and shall go on with their
+usual duties. To this simple ceremony--supplemented, in the case of a
+high chief, by the rites of the "Condoling Council,"--the preposterous
+funeral usages, which pervaded the lives and wasted the wealth of the
+other nations of this stock, were reduced, by the wisdom of the Iroquois
+legislators.
+
+In considering these remarkable laws, it becomes evident that the work
+which Hiawatha and Dekanawidah accomplished was really a Great
+Reformation, not merely political, but also social and religious. They
+desired not only to establish peace among the nations, but also to
+abolish or modify such usages and beliefs as in their opinion were
+injurious to their people. It is deserving of notice that a divinity
+unknown, at least in name, to the Hurons, received special reverence
+among the Iroquois. The chief characters of the Huron pantheon were a
+female deity, Ataensic, a sort of Hecate, whom they sometimes identified
+with the moon, and her grandson, Juskeha, who was sometimes regarded as
+the sun, and as a benevolent spirit, but most commonly in their stories
+appears as a fantastic and capricious goblin, with no moral attributes
+whatever. In the Iroquois mythology these deities are replaced by a
+personage of a much higher character. Taronhiawagon, the Holder of the
+Heavens, was with them the Master of Life. He declared his will to them
+in dreams, and in like manner disclosed future events, particularly such
+as were important to the public welfare. He was, in fact, the national
+god of the Iroquois. It was he who guided their fathers in their early
+wanderings, when they were seeking for a place of abode. He visited them
+from time to time, in person, to protect them from their enemies and to
+instruct them in useful arts.
+
+It is possible that the Iroquois Taronhiawagon may have been originally
+the same as the Huron Juskeha. Some eminent authorities on Indian
+mythology are inclined to this opinion. On the other hand, the earlier
+Jesuit missionaries give no hint of such identity, and the Tuscarora
+historian, Cusick, seems to distinguish between these divine personages.
+But whether we accept this view or seek for any other origin, there
+seems reason to suppose that the more exalted conception of this deity,
+who is certainly, in character and attributes, one of the noblest
+creations of the North American mythologies, dates from the era of the
+confederacy, when he became more especially the chief divinity and
+protector of the Kanonsionni. [Footnote: See for Taronhiawagon the
+Jesuit _Relations_ for 1670, pp. 47, 66, and for 1671, p. 17: also
+Cusick, pp. 20, 22, 24, 34. For Juskeha, see the _Relation_ for 1635, p.
+34; 1636, pp. 101-103; 1640, p. 92. Lafitau in one place makes
+Tharonhiawagon a deified man, and in another the grandson of
+Ataensic.--_Moeurs des Sauvages Ameriquains_, Vol. 1. p. 146 and p.
+244.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+HISTORICAL TRADITIONS.
+
+
+After the declaration of the laws of the League, there follows a passage
+of great historical importance. The speaker recites the names of the
+chiefs who represented the Five Nations in the conference by which the
+work of devising their laws and establishing their government was
+accomplished. The native name of the confederacy is here for the first
+time mentioned. In the guttural and rather irregular orthography of the
+Book it is spelt _Kanonghsyonny_. The Roman Catholic missionaries,
+neglecting the aspirate, which in the Iroquois pronunciation appears and
+disappears as capriciously as in the spoken dialects of the south of
+England, write the word Kanonsionni. It is usually rendered by
+interpreters the "Long House," but this is not precisely its meaning.
+The ordinary word for "long house" is _kanonses_ or _kanonsis_,--the
+termination _es_ or _is_ being the adjective suffix which signifies
+_long_. _Kanonsionni_ is a compound word, formed of _kanonsa_, _house_,
+and _ionni_, extended, or drawn out. The confederacy was compared to a
+dwelling which was extended by additions made to the end, in the manner
+in which their bark-built houses were lengthened,--sometimes to an
+extent exceeding two hundred feet. When the number of families
+inhabiting these long dwellings was increased by marriage or adoption,
+and a new hearth was required, the end-wall,--if this term may be
+applied to the slight frame of poles and bark which closed the
+house,--was removed, an addition of the required size was made to the
+edifice, and the closing wall was restored. Such was the figure by which
+the founders of the confederacy represented their political structure, a
+figure which was in itself a description and an invitation. It declared
+that the united nations were not distinct tribes, associated by a
+temporary league, but one great family, clustered for convenience about
+separate hearths in a common dwelling; and it proclaimed their readiness
+to receive new members into the general household. [Footnote: The people
+of the confederacy were known as _Rotinonsionni_, "They of the Extended
+House." In the Seneca dialect this was altered and abridged to
+Hotinonsonni, the n having the French nasal sound. This word is written
+by Mr. Morgan, "Hodenosaunee."]
+
+The names of the six great chiefs who, as representatives of their
+several nations, formed the confederacy, are in this narrative linked
+together in a manner which declares their political kinship. The first
+rulers or heads of the combined households were the Canienga Dekanawidah
+with his "joint-ruler" and political son, the Oneida Otatsehte (or
+Odadsheghte), whose union with Dekanawidah was the commencement of the
+League. Next follows Otatsehte's uncle (and Dekanawidah's brother), the
+Onondaga Wathadodarho (Atotarho), who is accompanied by his son, the
+Cayuga Akahenyonh. The uncle of the Cayuga representative, the Seneca
+chief Kanadariyu, and his cousin, Shadekaronyes, represent the two
+sections into which the great Seneca nation was divided. The name of
+Hiawatha does not appear in this enumeration. According to the uniform
+tradition of the Five Nations, he was not merely present in the
+convention, but was the leading spirit in its deliberations. But he did
+not officially represent any nation. By birth a high chief of the
+Onondagas, he had been but newly adopted among the Caniengas. Each of
+these nations had entrusted its interests to its own most influential
+chief. But the respect with which Hiawatha was regarded is indicated, as
+has been already remarked, by his place in the list of fifty
+councillors, with whose names the Book concludes. Though so recently
+received among the haughty Caniengas, whose proud and jealous temper is
+often noticed by the missionaries and other early observers, his name is
+placed second in the list of their representatives, immediately
+following that of Tekarihoken, the chief who stood highest in titular
+rank among the nobles of the Kanonsionni, and whose lineage was perhaps
+derived from the leader of their primitive migrations.
+
+The tradition runs that when the political frame of their confederacy
+had been arranged by the members of this convention, and the number of
+senators who should represent each nation in the federal council had
+been determined, the six delegates, with Hiawatha and some other
+advisers, went through all the nations, selecting--doubtless with the
+aid of a national council in each case--the chiefs who were to
+constitute the first council. In designating these,--or rather,
+probably, in the ceremonies of their installation,--it is said that some
+peculiar prerogative was conceded to the Onondagas,--that is, to
+Atotarho and his attendant chiefs. It was probably given as a mark of
+respect, rather than as conferring any real authority; but from this
+circumstance the Onondagas were afterwards known in the council by the
+title of "the nominators." The word is, in the Canienga dialect,
+_Rotisennakehte_,--in Onondaga, _Hotisennakehte_. It means literally,
+"the name-carriers,"--as if, said one of my informants, they bore a
+parcel of names in a bag slung upon the back.
+
+Each of the other nations had also its peculiar name in the Council,
+distinct from the mere local designation by which it was commonly
+called. Thus the Caniengas had for their "Council name" the term
+_Tehadirihoken_. This is the plural form of the name of their leading
+chief, Tekarihoken. Opinions differ much among the Indians as to the
+meaning of this name. Cusick, the Tuscarora historian, defines it "a
+speech divided," and apparently refers it to the division of the
+Iroquois language into dialects. Chief George Johnson, the interpreter,
+rendered it "two statements together," or "two pieces of news together."
+Another native informant thought it meant "one word in two divisions,"
+while a third defined it as meaning "between two words." The root-word
+of the name is the Canienga _orihwa_, or _karihwa_, (properly
+_karihoa_), which is defined "thing, affair, speech, news." [Footnote:
+See Bruyas, _sub voce Gorihoa_. Mr. Morgan (_League of the Iroquois_, p.
+97), who derived his information from the Senecas, says that the name
+"was a term of respect, and signifies 'neutral,' or, as it may be
+rendered, the shield." He adds, "its origin is lost in obscurity."] It
+also apparently means office; thus we have the derivatives _garihont_,
+"to give some charge of duty to some one," and _atrihont_, "to be an
+officer, or captain." The name is in the peculiar dual or rather
+duplicative form which is indicated by the prefix _te_ and the affix
+_ken_ or _ke_. It may possibly, therefore, mean "holding two offices,"
+and would thus be specially applicable to the great Canienga noble, who,
+unlike most of his order, was both a civil ruler and a war-chief. But
+whether he gave his name to his people, or received it from them, is
+uncertain. In other instances the Council name of a nation appears to
+have been applied in the singular number to the leading chief of the
+nation. Thus the head-chief of the Onondagas was often known by the
+title of _Sakosennakehte_, "the Name-carrier." [Footnote: "Il y avait en
+cette bande un Capitaine qui porte'le nom le plus considerable de toute
+sa Nation, Sagochiendagehte."--_Relation_ of 1654, p. 8. Elsewhere, as
+in the _Relation_ for 1657, p. 17, this name is spelt Agochiendaguete.]
+
+The name of the Oneida nation in the Council was _Nihatirontakowa_--or,
+in the Onondaga dialect, _Nihatientakona_--usually rendered the
+"Great-Tree People,"--literally, "those of the great log." It is derived
+from _karonta_, a fallen tree or piece of timber, with the suffix _kowa_
+or _kona_, great, added, and the verb-forming pronoun prefixed. In the
+singular number it becomes _Niharontakowa_, which would be understood to
+mean "He is an Oneida." The name, it is said, was given to the nation
+because when Dekanawidah and Hiawatha first went to meet its chief, they
+crossed the Oneida creek on a bridge composed of an immense tree which
+had fallen or been laid across it, and noted that the Council fire at
+which the treaty was concluded was kindled against another huge log.
+These, however, may be merely explanations invented in later times.
+
+The Cayugas bore in Council the name of _Sotinonnawentona_, meaning "the
+Great-Pipe People." In the singular it is _Sononnawentona_. The root of
+the word is _kanonnawen_, which in composition becomes _kanonnawenta_,
+meaning pipe, or calumet. It is said that the chief who in the first
+Council represented the Cayugas smoked a pipe of unusual size, which
+attracted the notice of the "name-givers."
+
+Finally the Seneca mountaineers, the _Sonnontowanas_, bore the title, in
+the Canienga speech, of _Ronaninhohonti_, "the Door-keepers," or
+literally, "they who are at the doorway." In the singular this becomes
+_Roninhohonti_. In the Onondaga dialect it is _Honinhohonta_. It is a
+verbal form, derived from _Kanhoha_, door, and _ont_, to be. This name
+is undoubtedly coeval with the formation of the League, and was bestowed
+as a title of honor. The Senecas, at the western end of the "extended
+mansion," guarded the entrance against the wild tribes in that quarter,
+whose hostility was most to be dreaded.
+
+The enumeration of the chiefs who formed the confederacy is closed by
+the significant words, "and then, in later times, additions were made to
+the great edifice." This is sufficient evidence that the Canienga "Book
+of Rites" was composed in its present form after the Tuscaroras, and
+possibly after the Nanticokes and Tuteloes, were received into the
+League. The Tuscaroras were admitted in 1714; the two other nations were
+received about the year 1753. [Footnote: The former date is well known;
+for the latter, see _N. Y. Hist. Col._, Vol. 6, p. 311; Stone's _Life of
+Sir William Johnson_, p. 434.]
+
+An outburst of lamentation follows. The speaker has recited the names of
+the heroes and statesmen to whom the united nations were indebted for
+the Great Peace which had so long prevailed among them. He has recalled
+the wise laws which they established; and he is about to chant the
+closing litany, commemorating the fifty chiefs who composed the first
+federal council, and whose names have remained as the official titles of
+their successors. In recalling these memories of departed greatness his
+mind is filled with grief and humiliation at the contrast presented by
+the degeneracy of his own days. It is a common complaint of all
+countries and all times; but the sentiment was always, according to the
+missionaries, especially strong among the Indians, who are a
+conservative race. The orator appeals to the shades of their ancestors,
+in words which, in the baldest of literal versions, are full of
+eloquence and pathos. The "great law" has become old, and has lost its
+force. Its authors have passed away, and have carried it with them into
+their graves. They have placed it as a pillow under their heads. Their
+degenerate successors have inherited their names, but not their mighty
+intellects; and in the flourishing region which they left, naught but a
+desert remains. A trace, and not a slight one, of the mournful sublimity
+which we admire in the Hebrew prophets, with a similar cadence of
+"parallelism" in the style, will be noticed in this forest lament.
+
+The same characteristics mark the chanted litany which closes the
+address. There is not merely parallelism and cadence, but occasionally
+rhyme, in the stanzas which are interspersed among the names, as is seen
+in the oft-repeated chorus which follows the names composing each clan
+or "class":--
+
+    Etho natejonhne,
+  Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe,
+  Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayaterenhkowa. [Footnote: For the translation, see _ante_, p. 33.]
+
+This litany is sung in the usual style of their mourning or religious
+chants, with many long-drawn repetitions of the customary ejaculation
+_haihhaih_,--an exclamation which, like the Greek "ai! ai!" belongs to
+the wailing style appropriate to such a monody. The expressions of the
+chant, like those of a Greek chorus, are abrupt, elliptical, and
+occasionally obscure. It is probable that this chant, like the condoling
+Hymn in the former part of the Book, is of earlier style than the other
+portions of the work, their rhythmical form having preserved the
+original words with greater accuracy. Such explanations of the doubtful
+passages as could be obtained from the chiefs and the interpreters will
+be found in the notes.
+
+The chant and the Book end abruptly with the mournful exclamation, "Now
+we are dejected in mind." The lament which precedes the litany, and
+which is interrupted by it, may be said to close with these words. As
+the council is held, nominally at least, for the purpose of condolence,
+and as it necessarily revives the memory of the departed worthies of
+their republic, it is natural that the ceremonies throughout should be
+of a melancholy cast. They were doubtless so from the beginning, and
+before there was any occasion to deplore the decay of their commonwealth
+or the degeneracy of the age. In fact, when we consider that the
+founders of the League, with remarkable skill and judgment, managed to
+compress into a single day the protracted and wasteful obsequies
+customary among other tribes of the same race, we shall not be surprised
+to find that they sought to make the ceremonies of the day as solemn and
+impressive as possible.
+
+But there are other characteristics of the "Book of Rites," prominent in
+the Canienga section, and still more marked in the Onondaga portion,
+which may well excite our astonishment. They have been already noticed,
+but seem to deserve fuller consideration. It will be observed that, from
+beginning to end, the Book breathes nothing but sentiments of kindness
+and sympathy for the living, and of reverence for the departed,--not
+merely for the chief whom they have come to mourn, but also for the
+great men who have preceded him, and especially for the founders of
+their commonwealth. Combined with these sentiments, and harmonizing with
+them, is an earnest desire for peace, along with a profound respect for
+the laws under which they lived. The work in which these feelings are
+expressed is a genuine composition of the Indians themselves, framed
+long before they were affected by any influences from abroad, and
+repeated among them for centuries, with the entire assent of the
+hearers. It affords unquestionable evidence of the true character both
+of those who composed and of those who received it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE IROQUOIS CHARACTER.
+
+
+The popular opinion of the Indian, and more especially of the Iroquois,
+who, as Mr. Parkman well observes, is an "Indian of the Indians,"
+represents him as a sanguinary, treacherous and vindictive being,
+somewhat cold in his affections, haughty and reserved toward his
+friends, merciless to his enemies, fond of strife, and averse to
+industry and the pursuits of peace. Some magnanimous traits are
+occasionally allowed to him; and poetry and romance have sometimes
+thrown a glamour about his character, which popular opinion, not without
+reason, energetically repudiates and resents. The truth is that the
+circumstances under which the red and white races have encountered in
+North America have been such as necessarily to give rise to a wholly
+false impression in regard to the character of the aborigines. The
+European colonists, superior in civilization and in the arts of war,
+landed on the coast with the deliberate intention of taking possession
+of the country and displacing the natives. The Indians were at once
+thrown on the defensive. From the very beginning they fought, not merely
+for their land, but for their lives; for it was from their land that
+they drew the means of living. All wars between the whites and the
+Indians, whatever the color or pretence on either side, have been on
+both sides wars of extermination. They have been carried on as such wars
+always have been and always will be carried on. On the side of the
+stronger there have been constant encroachments, effected now by menace
+and now by cajolery, but always prefaced by the display and the
+insolence of superior power. On the side of the weaker there have been
+alternations of sullen acquiescence and of fierce and fruitless
+resistance. It is not surprising that under such circumstances the
+character of each party has been presented to the other in the most
+forbidding light.
+
+The Indians must be judged, like every other people, not by the traits
+which they display in the fury of a desperate warfare, but by their
+ordinary demeanor in time of peace, and especially by the character of
+their social and domestic life. On this point the testimony of
+missionaries and of other competent observers who have lived among them
+is uniform. At home the Indians are the most kindly and generous of men.
+Constant good humor, unfailing courtesy, ready sympathy with distress,
+and a truly lavish liberality, mark their intercourse with one another.
+The Jesuit missionaries among the Hurons knew them before intercourse
+with the whites and the use of ardent spirits had embittered and debased
+them. The testimony which they have left on record is very remarkable.
+The missionary Brebeuf, protesting against the ignorant prejudice which
+would place the Indians on a level with the brutes, gives the result of
+his observation in emphatic terms. "In my opinion," he writes, "it is no
+small matter to say of them that they live united in towns, sometimes of
+fifty, sixty, or a hundred dwellings, that is, of three or four hundred
+households; that they cultivate the fields, from which they derive their
+food for the whole year; and that they maintain peace and friendship
+with one another." He doubts "if there is another nation under heaven
+more commendable in this respect" than the Huron "nation of the Bear,"
+among whom he resided. "They have," he declares, "a gentleness and an
+affability almost incredible for barbarians." They keep up "this perfect
+goodwill," as he terms it, "by frequent visits, by the aid which they
+give one another in sickness, and by their festivals and social
+gatherings, whenever they are not occupied by their fields and
+fisheries, or in hunting or trade." "They are," he continues, "less in
+their own cabins than in those of their friends. If any one falls sick,
+and wants something which may benefit him, everybody is eager to furnish
+it. Whenever one of them has something specially good to eat, he invites
+his friends and makes a feast. Indeed, they hardly ever eat alone."
+[Footnote: _Relation_ for 1636, p. 117.]
+
+The Iroquois, who had seemed little better than demons to the
+missionaries while they knew them only as enemies to the French or their
+Huron allies, astonished them, on a nearer acquaintance, by the
+development of similar traits of natural goodness. "You will find in
+them," declares one of these fair-minded and cultivated observers,
+"virtues which might well put to blush the majority of Christians. There
+is no need of hospitals among them, because there are no beggars among
+them, and indeed, none who are poor, so long as any of them are rich.
+Their kindness, humanity and courtesy not merely make them liberal in
+giving, but almost lead them to live as though everything they possess
+were held in common. No one can want food while there is corn anywhere
+in the town." It is true that the missionaries often accuse the Iroquois
+of cruelty and perfidy; but the narrative shows that these qualities
+were only displayed in their wars, and apparently only against enemies
+whose cruelty and perfidy they had experienced.
+
+We can now see that the plan of universal federation and general peace
+which Hiawatha devised had nothing in itself so surprising as to excite
+our incredulity. It was, indeed, entirely in accordance with the genius
+of his people. Its essence was the extension to all nations of the
+methods of social and civil life which prevailed in his own nation. If
+the people of a town of four hundred families could live in constant
+"peace and friendship," why should not all the tribes of men dwell
+together in the same manner? The idea is one which might readily have
+occurred to any man of benevolent feelings and thoughtful temperament.
+The project in itself is not so remarkable as the energy and skill with
+which it was carried into effect. It is deserving of notice, however,
+that according to the Indian tradition, Hiawatha was impelled to action
+mainly by experience of the mischiefs which were caused in his own
+nation through a departure from their ordinary system of social life.
+The missionaries, in describing the general harmony which prevailed
+among the Hurons, admit that it was sometimes disturbed. There were "bad
+spirits" among them, as everywhere else, who could not always be
+controlled. [Footnote: _Relation of 1636_, p. 118: "Ostez quelques
+mauvais esprits, qui se rencontrent quasi partout," etc.] Atotarho,
+among the Onondagas, was one of these bad spirits; and in his case,
+unfortunately, an evil disposition was reinforced by a keen intellect
+and a powerful will. His history for a time offered a rare instance of
+something approaching to despotism, or the Greek "tyranny," exercised in
+an Indian tribe. A fact so strange, and conduct so extraordinary, seemed
+in after-times to require explanation. A legend is preserved among the
+Onondagas, which was apparently devised to account for a prodigy so far
+out of the common order of events. I give it in the words in which it is
+recorded in my journal. [Footnote: This story was related to me in
+March, 1882, by my intelligent friend, Chief John Buck, who was inclined
+to give it credence,--sharing in this, as in other things, the
+sentiments of the best among his people.]
+
+"Another legend, of which I have not before heard, professed to give the
+origin both of the abnormal ferocity and of the preterhuman powers of
+Atotarho. He was already noted as a chief and a warrior, when he had the
+misfortune to kill a peculiar bird, resembling a sea-gull, which is
+reputed to possess poisonous qualities of singular virulence. By his
+contact with the dead bird his mind was affected. He became morose and
+cruel, and at the same time obtained the power of destroying men and
+other creatures at a distance. Three sons of Hiawatha were among his
+victims. He attended the Councils which were held, and made confusion in
+them, and brought all the people into disturbance and terror. His bodily
+appearance was changed at the same time, and his aspect became so
+terrible that the story spread, and was believed, that his head was
+encircled by living snakes."
+
+The only importance of this story is in the evidence it affords that
+conduct so anti-social as that of Atotarho was deemed to be the result
+of a disordered mind. In his case, as in that of the Scottish tyrant and
+murderer, "the insane root that took the reason prisoner," was doubtless
+an unbridled ambition. It is interesting to remark that even his fierce
+temper and determined will were forced to yield at last to the pressure
+of public opinion, which compelled him to range himself on the side of
+peace and union. In the whimsical imagery of the narrative, which some
+of the story-tellers, after their usual fashion, have converted from a
+metaphor to a fact, Hiawatha "combed the snakes out of the head" of his
+great antagonist, and presented him to the Council changed and restored
+to his right mind.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE IROQUOIS POLICY.
+
+
+Few popular notions, it may be affirmed, are so far from the truth as
+that which makes the Iroquois a band of treacherous and ferocious
+ravagers, whose career was marked everywhere by cruelty and devastation.
+The clear and positive evidence of historical facts leads to a widely
+different conclusion. It is not going too far to assert that among all
+uncivilized races the Iroquois have shown themselves to be the most
+faithful of allies, the most placable of enemies, and the most clement
+of conquerors. It will be proper, in justice to them, as well as in the
+interest of political and social science, to present briefly the
+principles and methods which guided them in their intercourse with other
+communities. Their system, as finally developed, comprised four distinct
+forms of connection with other nations, all tending directly to the
+establishment of universal peace.
+
+1. As has been already said, the primary object of the founders of their
+League was the creation of a confederacy which should comprise all the
+nations and tribes of men that were known to them. Experience, however,
+quickly showed that this project, admirable in idea, was impossible of
+execution. Distance, differences of language, and difficulties of
+communication, presented obstacles which could not be overcome. But the
+plan was kept in view as one of the cardinal principles of their policy.
+They were always eager to receive new members into their League. The
+Tuscaroras, the Nanticokes, the Tuteloes, and a band of the Delawares,
+were thus successively admitted, and all of them still retain
+representative in the Council of the Canadian branch of the confederacy.
+
+2. When this complete political union could not be achieved, the
+Iroquois sought to accomplish the same end, as far as possible, by a
+treaty of alliance. Two notable examples will show how earnestly this
+purpose was pursued, and how firmly it was maintained. When the Dutch
+established their trading settlements on the Hudson River, one of their
+first proceedings was to send an embassy to the Five Nations, with
+proposals for a treaty. The overture was promptly accepted. A strict
+alliance was formed, and was ratified in the usual manner by an exchange
+of wampum belts. When the English took the place of the Dutch, the
+treaty was renewed with them, and was confirmed in the same manner. The
+wampum-belts then received by the Confederates are still preserved on
+their Canadian Reservation, and are still brought forth and expounded by
+the older chiefs to the younger generation, in their great Councils.
+History records with what unbroken faith, through many changes, and
+despite many provocations from their allies and many enticements from
+the French rulers and missionaries, this alliance was maintained to the
+last.
+
+If it be suggested that this fidelity was strengthened by motives of
+policy, the same cannot be affirmed of the alliance with the Ojibways,
+which dates from a still earlier period. The annalists of the
+Kanonsionni affirm that their first treaty with this widespread people
+of the northwest was made soon after the formation of their League, and
+that it was strictly maintained on both sides for more than two hundred
+years. The Ojibways then occupied both shores of Lake Superior, and the
+northern part of the peninsula of Michigan. The point at which they came
+chiefly in contact with the adventurous Iroquois voyagers was at the
+great fishing station of St. Mary's Falls, on the strait which unites
+Lake Superior with Lake Huron; and here, it is believed, the first
+alliance was consummated. After more than two centuries had elapsed, the
+broken bands of the defeated Hurons, fleeing from their ravaged homes on
+the Georgian Bay, took refuge among the Ojibways, with whom they, too,
+had always maintained a friendly understanding. Their presence and the
+story of their sufferings naturally awakened the sympathy of their
+hosts. The rapid spread of the Iroquois empire created alarm. A great
+agitation ensued among the far-dispersed bands of the Ojibway name.
+Occasional meetings between hunting-parties of the younger warriors of
+the two peoples,--the Iroquois arrogant in the consciousness of their
+recent conquests, the Ojibways sullen and suspicious,--led to bitter
+words, and sometimes to actual strife. On two occasions several Ojibway
+warriors were slain, under what provocation is uncertain. But the
+reparation demanded by the Ojibway chiefs was promptly conceded by the
+Iroquois Council. The amplest apology was made, and for every slain
+warrior a pack of furs was delivered. The ancient treaty was at the same
+time renewed, with every formality. Nothing could more clearly show the
+anxiety of the Iroquois rulers to maintain their national faith than
+this apology and reparation, so readily made by them, at the time when
+their people were at the height of their power and in the full flush of
+conquest. [Footnote: The Ojibway historian, Copway, in his "_Traditional
+History of the Ojibway Nation_" (p. 84), gives the particulars of this
+event, as preserved by the Ojibways themselves. Even the strong national
+prejudice of the narrator, which has evidently colored his statement,
+leaves the evidence of the magnanimity and prudence of the Iroquois
+elders clearly apparent.] These efforts, however, to preserve the
+ancient amity proved unavailing. Through whose fault it was that the
+final outbreak occurred is a question which the annalists of the two
+parties differ. But the events just recounted, and, indeed, all the
+circumstances, speak strongly in favor of the Iroquois. They had shown
+their anxiety to maintain the peace, and they had nothing to gain by
+war. The bleak northern home of the Ojibways offered no temptation to
+the most greedy conqueror. To the Ojibways, on the other hand, the broad
+expanse of western Canada, now lying deserted, and stretching before
+them its wealth of forests full of deer, its lakes and rivers swarming
+with fish, its lovely glades and fertile plains, where the corn harvests
+of the Hurons and Neutrals had lately glistened, were an allurement
+which they could not resist. They assumed at once the wrongs and the
+territories of their exiled Huron friends, and plunged into the
+long-meditated strife with their ancient allies. The contest was
+desperate and destructive. Many sanguinary battles took place, and great
+numbers of warriors fell on both sides. On the whole the balance
+inclined against the Iroquois. In this war they were a southern people,
+contending against a hardier race from the far north. They fought at a
+distance from their homes, while the Ojibways, migrating in bands,
+pitched their habitations in the disputed region.
+
+Finally, both sides became weary of the strife. Old sentiments of
+fellowship revived. Peace was declared, and a new treaty was made. The
+territory for which they had fought was divided between them. The
+southwestern portion, which had been the home of the Attiwandaronks,
+remained as the hunting-ground of the Iroquois. North and east of this
+section the Ojibways possessed the land. The new treaty, confirmed by
+the exchange of wampum-belts and by a peculiar interlocking of the right
+arms, which has ever since been the special sign of amity between the
+Iroquois and the Ojibways, was understood to make them not merely allies
+but brothers. As the symbol on one of the belts which is still preserved
+indicates, they were to be as relatives who are so nearly akin that they
+eat from the same dish. This treaty, made two centuries ago, has ever
+since been religiously maintained. Its effects are felt to this day.
+Less than forty years ago a band of the Ojibways, the Missisagas, forced
+to relinquish their reserved lands on the River Credit, sought a refuge
+with the Iroquois of the Grand River Reservation. They appealed to this
+treaty, and to the evidence of the wampum-belts. Their appeal was
+effectual. A large tract of valuable land was granted to them by the Six
+Nations. Here, maintaining their distinct tribal organization, they
+still reside, a living evidence of the constancy and liberality with
+which the Iroquois uphold their treaty obligations.
+
+3. When a neighboring people would neither join the confederacy nor
+enter into a treaty of alliance with it, the almost inevitable result
+would be, sooner or later, a deadly war. Among the nomadic or unsettled
+Indian tribes, especially the Algonkins and Sioux, the young men are
+expected to display their bravery by taking scalps; and a race of
+farmers, hunters, and fishermen, like the Iroquois, would be tempting
+victims. Before the confederacy was formed, some of its members,
+particularly the Caniengas and Oneidas, had suffered greatly from wars
+with the wilder tribes about them. The new strength derived from the
+League enabled them to turn the tables upon their adversaries. But they
+made a magnanimous use of their superiority. An enemy who submitted was
+at once spared. When the great Delaware nation, the Lenapes, known as
+the head of the Algonkin stock, yielded to the arms of the Kanonsionni,
+they were allowed to retain their territory and nearly all their
+property. They were simply required to acknowledge themselves the
+subjects of the Iroquois, to pay a moderate tribute in wampum and furs,
+and to refrain thenceforth from taking any part in war. In the
+expressive Indian phrase, they were "made women." This phrase did not
+even imply, according to Iroquois ideas, any serious humiliation; for
+among them, as the French missionaries tell us, women had much
+authority. [Footnote: "Les femmes ayant beaucoup d'autorité parmi ces
+peuples, leur vertu y fait d'autant plus de fruit qu'autre
+part."--_Relation of_ 1657, p. 48.] Their special office in war was that
+of peace-makers. It was deemed to be their right and duty, when in their
+opinion the strife had lasted long enough, to interfere and bring about
+a reconciliation. The knowledge of this fact led the Lenapes, in
+aftertimes, to put forward a whimsical claim to dignity, which was
+accepted by their worthy but credulous historian, Heckewelder. They
+asserted that while their nation was at the height of power, their
+ancestors were persuaded by the insidious wiles of the Iroquois to lay
+aside their arms, for the purpose of assuming the lofty position of
+universal mediators and arbiters among the Indian nations. [Footnote:
+Heckewelder's _History of the Indian Nations_, p. 56.] That this
+preposterous story should have found credence is surprising enough. A
+single fact suffices to disprove it, and to show the terms on which the
+Delawares stood with the great northern confederacy. Golden has
+preserved for us the official record of the Council which was held in
+Philadelphia, in July, 1742, between the provincial authorities and the
+deputies of the Six Nations, headed by their noted orator and statesman,
+the great Onondaga chief, Canasatego. The Delawares, whose claim to
+certain lands was to be decided, attended the conference. The Onondaga
+leader, after reciting the evidence which had been laid before him to
+show that these lands had been sold to the colonists by the Delawares,
+and severely rebuking the latter for their breach of faith in
+repudiating the bargain, continued: "But how came you to take upon you
+to sell land at all? We conquered you. We made women of you. You know
+you are women, and can no more sell land than women. Nor is it fit that
+you should have the power of selling lands, since you would abuse it.
+This very land that you now claim has been consumed by you. You have had
+it in meat and drink and clothes, and now you want it again, like
+children, as you are. But what makes you sell land in the dark? Did you
+ever tell us that you had sold this land? Did we ever receive any part
+of the price, even the value of a pipe-stem from you? You have told us a
+blind story--that you sent a messenger to inform us of the sale; but he
+never came among us, nor have we ever heard anything about it. And for
+all these reasons we charge you to remove instantly. We don't give you
+the liberty to think about it. We assign you two places to go, either to
+Wyoming or Shamokin. You may go to either of those places, and then we
+shall have you more under our eyes, and shall see how you behave. Don't
+deliberate, but remove away; and take this belt of wampum." [Footnote:
+Golden: _History of the Five Nations_, Vol. II, p. 36 (2d Edition).]
+
+This imperious allocution, such as a Cinna or a Cornelius might have
+delivered to a crowd of trembling and sullen Greeks, shows plainly
+enough the relation in which the two communities stood to one another.
+It proves also that the rule under which the conquered Delawares were
+held was anything but oppressive. They seem to have been allowed almost
+entire freedom, except only in making war and in disposing of their
+lands without the consent of the Six Nations. In fact, the Iroquois, in
+dealing with them, anticipated the very regulations which the
+enlightened governments of the United States and England now enforce in
+that benevolent treatment of the Indian tribes for which they justly
+claim high credit. Can they refuse a like credit to their dusky
+predecessors and exemplars, or deny them the praise of being, as has
+been already said, the most clement of conquerors?
+
+4. Finally, when a tribe within what may be called "striking distance"
+of the Confederacy would neither join the League, nor enter into an
+alliance with its members, nor come under their protection, there
+remained nothing but a chronic state of warfare, which destroyed all
+sense of security and comfort. The Iroquois hunter, fisherman, or
+trader, returning home after a brief absence, could never be sure that
+he would not find his dwelling a heap of embers, smoldering over the
+mangled remains of his wife and children. The plainest dictates of
+policy taught the Confederates that the only safe method in dealing with
+such persistent and unappeasable foes was to crush them utterly. Among
+the most dangerous of their enemies were the Hurons and the eastern
+Algonkins, sustained and encouraged by the French colonists. It is from
+them and their historians chiefly that the complaints of Iroquois
+cruelties have descended to us; but the same historians have not omitted
+to inform us that the first acquaintance of the Iroquois with triese
+colonists was through two most wanton and butcherly assaults which
+Champlain and his soldiers, in company with their Indian allies, made
+upon their unoffending neighbors. No milder epithets can justly describe
+these unprovoked invasions, in which the Iroquois bowmen, defending
+their homes, were shot down mercilessly with firearms, by strangers whom
+they had never before seen or perhaps even heard of. This stroke of evil
+policy, which tarnished an illustrious name, left far-reaching
+consequences, affecting the future of half a continent. Its first result
+was the destruction of the Hurons, the special allies and instigators of
+the colonists in their hostilities. The Attiwandaronks, or Neutrals,
+with whom, till this time, the Iroquois had maintained peaceful
+relations, shared the same fate; for they were the friends of the Hurons
+and the French. The Eries perished in a war provoked, as the French
+missionaries in their always trustworthy accounts inform us, by a
+perverse freak of cruelty on their own part.
+
+Yet, in all these destructive wars, the Iroquois never for a moment
+forgot the principles which lay at the foundation of their League, and
+which taught them to "strengthen their house" by converting enemies into
+friends. On the instant that resistance ceased, slaughter ceased with
+it. The warriors who were willing to unite their fortunes with the
+Confederates were at once welcomed among them. Some were adopted into
+the families of those who had lost children or brothers. Others had
+lands allotted to them, on which they were allowed to live by
+themselves, under their own chiefs and their native laws, until in two
+or three generations, by friendly intercourse, frequent intermarriages,
+and community of interests, they became gradually absorbed into the
+society about them. Those who suppose that the Hurons only survive in a
+few Wyandots, and that the Eries, Attiwandaronks, and Andastes have
+utterly perished, are greatly mistaken. It is absolutely certain that of
+the twelve thousand Indians who now, in the United States and Canada,
+preserve the Iroquois name, the greater portion derive their descent, in
+whole or in part, from those conquered nations. [Footnote: "Ces
+victoires lear caasant presque autant de perte qu'a leurs ennemis, elles
+ont tellement depeuplé leurs Bourgs, qu'on y compte plus d'Estfangers
+que de naturels du pays. Onnontaghe a sept nations differentes qut s'y
+sont venues establir, et il s'en trouve jusqu'a onze dans Sonnontoiian."
+_Relation of_ 1657, p. 34. "Qui feroit la supputation des francs
+Iroquois, auroit de la peine d'en trouver plus de douze cents (i. e.
+combattans) en toutes les cinq Nations, parce que le plus grand nombre
+n'est compose que d'un ramas de divers peuples qu'ils ont conquestez,
+commes des Hurons, des Tionnontateronnons, autrement Nation du Petun;
+des Attiwendaronk, qu'on appelloit Neutres, quand ils estoient sur pied;
+des Riquehronnons, qui sont ceux de la Nation des Chats; des Ontwaganha,
+ou Nation du Feu; des Trakwaehronnons, et autres, qui, tout estrangers
+qu'ils sont, font sans doute la plus grande et la meilleure parties des
+Iroquois." _Ret. de_ 1660, p. 7. Yet, it was this "conglomeration of
+divers peoples" that, under the discipline of Iroquois institutions and
+the guidance of Iroquois statesmen and commanders, held high the name of
+the Kanonsionni, and made the Confederacy a great power on the continent
+for more than a century after this time; who again and again measured
+arms and intellects with French generals and diplomatists, and came off
+at least with equal fortune; who smote their Abenaki enemies in the far
+east, punished the Illinois marauders in the far west, and thrust back
+the intruding Cherokees into their southern mountains; who were a wall
+of defence to the English colonies, and a strong protection to the many
+broken bands of Indians which from every quarter clustered round the
+shadow of the "great pine tree" of Onondaga.] No other Indian community,
+so far as we know, has ever pursued this policy of incorporation to
+anything near the same extent, or carried it out with anything like the
+same humanity. Even towards the most determined and the most savage of
+their foes, the Kanonsionni, when finally victorious, showed themselves
+ever magnanimous and placable.
+
+The common opinion of the cruelty of the Iroquois has arisen mainly from
+the custom which they occasionally practiced, like some other Indians,
+of burning prisoners at the stake. Out of the multitude of their
+captives, the number subjected to this torture was really very
+small,--probably not nearly as large in proportion as the number of
+criminals and political prisoners who, in some countries of Europe, at
+about the same time, were subjected to the equally cruel torments of the
+rack and the wheel. These criminals and other prisoners were so tortured
+because they were regarded as the enemies of society. The motives which
+actuated the Iroquois were precisely the same. As has been before
+remarked, the mode in which their enemies carried on their warfare with
+them was chiefly by stealthy and sudden inroads. The prowling warrior
+lurked in the woods near the Iroquois village through the day, and at
+night fell with hatchet and club upon his unsuspecting victims. The
+Iroquois lawgivers deemed it essential for the safety of their people
+that the men who were guilty of such murderous attacks should have
+reason to apprehend, if caught, a direful fate.
+
+If the comparatively few instances of these political tortures which
+occurred among the Iroquois are compared with the awful list of similar
+and worse inflictions which stain the annals of the most enlightened
+nations of Europe and Asia, ancient and modern,--the crucifixions, the
+impalements, the dreadful mutilations--lopping of hands and feet,
+tearing out of eyes--the tortures of the rack and wheel, the red-hot
+pincers, the burning crown, the noisome dungeon, the slow starvation,
+the lingering death in the Siberian mines,--it will become evident that
+these barbarians were far inferior to their civilized contemporaries in
+the temper and arts of inhumanity. Even in the very method of punishment
+which they adopted the Indians were outdone in Europe, and that,
+strangely enough, by the two great colonizing and conquering nations,
+heirs of all modern enlightenment, who came to displace them,--the
+English and the Spaniards. The Iroquois never burnt women at the stake.
+To put either men or women to death for a difference of creed had not
+occurred to them. It may justly be affirmed that in the horrors of
+Smithfield and the Campo Santo, the innate barbarism of the Aryan,
+breaking through his thin varnish of civilization, was found, far
+transcending the utmost barbarism of the Indian. [Footnote: The Aryans
+of Europe are undoubtedly superior in humanity, courage and
+independence, to those of Asia. It is possible that the finer qualities
+which distinguish the western branch of this stock may have been derived
+from admixture with an earlier population of Europe, identical in race
+and character with the aborigines of America. See Appendix, Note F.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE IROQUOIS LANGUAGE.
+
+
+As the mental faculties of a people are reflected in their speech, we
+should naturally expect that the language of a race manifesting such
+unusual powers as the Iroquois nations have displayed would be of a
+remarkable character. In this expectation we are not disappointed. The
+languages of the Huron-Iroquois family belong to what has been termed
+the polysynthetic class, and are distinguished, even in that class, by a
+more than ordinary endowment of that variety of forms and fullness of
+expression for which languages of that type are noted. The
+best-qualified judges have been the most struck with this peculiar
+excellence. "The variety of compounds," wrote the accomplished
+missionary, Brebeuf, concerning the Huron tongue, "is very great; it is
+the key to the secret of their language. They have as many genders as
+ourselves, as many numbers as the Greeks." Recurring to the same
+comparison, he remarks of the Huron verb that it has as many tenses and
+numbers as the Greek, with certain discriminations which the latter did
+not possess. [Footnote: _Relation_ of 1636, pp 99,100.] A great living
+authority has added the weight of his name to these opinions of the
+scholarly Jesuit. Professor Max Muller, who took the opportunity
+afforded by the presence of a Mohawk undergraduate at Oxford to study
+his language, writes of it in emphatic terms: "To my mind the structure
+of such a language as the Mohawk is quite sufficient evidence that those
+who worked out such a work of art were powerful reasoners and accurate
+classifiers." [Footnote: In a letter to the author, dated Feb. 14, 1882.
+In a subsequent letter Prof. Muller writes, in regard to the study of
+the aboriginal languages of this continent: "It has long been a puzzle
+to me why this most tempting and promising field of philological
+research has been allowed to lie almost fallow in America,--as if these
+languages could not tell us quite as much of the growth of the human
+mind as Chinese, or Hebrew, or Sanscrit." I have Prof. Max Miller's
+permission to publish these extracts, and gladly do so, in the hope that
+they may serve to stimulate that growing interest which the efforts of
+scholars like Trumbull, Shea, Cuoq, Brinton, and, more recently, Major
+Powell and his able collaborators of the Ethnological Bureau, are at
+length beginning to awaken among us, in the investigation of this
+important and almost unexplored province of linguistic science.]
+
+It is a fact somewhat surprising, as well as unfortunate, that no
+complete grammar of any language of the Huron-Iroquois stock has ever
+been published. Many learned and zealous missionaries, Catholic and
+Protestant, have labored among the tribes of this stock for more than
+two centuries. Portions of the Scriptures, as well as some other works,
+have been translated into several of these languages. Some small books,
+including biographies and hymn-books, have been composed and printed in
+two of them; and the late devoted and indefatigable missionary among the
+Senecas, the Rev. Asher Wright, conducted for several years a
+periodical, the "Mental Elevator" (_Ne Jaguhnigoageswatha_), in their
+language. Several grammars are known to have been composed, but none
+have as yet been printed in a complete form. One reason of this
+unwillingness to publish was, undoubtedly, the sense which the compilers
+felt of the insufficiency of their work; Such is the extraordinary
+complexity of the language, such the multiplicity of its forms and the
+subtlety of its distinctions, that years of study are required to master
+it; and indeed it may be said that the abler the investigator and the
+more careful his study, the more likely he is to be dissatisfied with
+his success. This dissatisfaction was frankly expressed and practically
+exhibited by Mr. Wright himself, certainly one of the best endowed and
+most industrious of these inquirers. After residing for several years
+among the Senecas, forming an alphabet remarkable for its precise
+discrimination of sounds, and even publishing several translations in
+their language, he undertook to give some account of its grammatical
+forms. A little work printed in 1842, with the modest title of "_A
+Spelling-book of the Seneca Language_," comprises the variations of
+nouns, adjectives and pronouns, given with much minuteness. Those of the
+verbs are promised, but the book closes abruptly without them, for the
+reason--as the author afterwards explained to a correspondent--that he
+had not as yet been able to obtain such a complete knowledge of them as
+he desired. This difficulty is further exemplified by a work purporting
+to be a "_Grammar of the Huron Language, by a Missionary of the Village
+of Huron Indians, near Quebec, found amongst the papers of the Mission,
+and translated from the Latin, by the Rev. John Wilkie_." This
+translation is published in the "_Transactions of the Literary and
+Historical Society of Quebec_," for 1831, and fills more than a hundred
+octavo pages. It is a work evidently of great labor, and is devoted
+chiefly to the variations of the verbs; yet its lack of completeness may
+be judged from the single fact that the "transitions," or in other
+words, the combinations of the double pronouns, nominative and
+objective, with the transitive verb, which form such an important
+feature of the language, are hardly noticed; and, it may be added,
+though the conjugations are mentioned, they are not explained. The work,
+indeed, would rather perplex than aid an investigator, and gives no
+proper idea of the character and richness of the language. The same may
+be said of the grammatical notices comprised in the Latin "Proemium" to
+Bruyas' Iroquois dictionary. These notices are apparently modeled to
+some extent on this anonymous grammar of the Huron language,--unless,
+indeed, the latter may have been copied from Bruyas; the rules which
+they give being in several instances couched in the same words.
+
+Some useful grammatical explanations are found in the anonymous Onondaga
+dictionary of the seventeenth century, published by Dr. Shea in his
+"_Library of American Linguistics_." But by far the most valuable
+contribution to our knowledge of the structure of this remarkable group
+of languages is found in the works of a distinguished writer of our own
+day, the Rev. J. A. Cuoq, of Montreal, eminent both as a missionary and
+as a philologist. After twenty years of labor among the Iroquois and
+Algonkin tribes in the Province of Quebec, M. Cuoq was led to appear as
+an author by his desire to defend his charges against the injurious
+effect of a judgment which had been pronounced by a noted authority. M.
+Renan had put forth, among the many theories which distinguish his
+celebrated work on the Semitic languages, one which seemed to M. Cuoq as
+mischievous as it was unfounded. M. Renan held that no races were
+capable of civilization except such as have now attained it; and that
+these comprised only the Aryan, the Semitic, and the Chinese. This
+opinion was enforced by a reference to the languages spoken by the
+members of those races. "To imagine a barbarous race speaking a Semitic
+or an Indo-European language is," he declares, "an impossible
+supposition (_une fiction, conradictoire_), which no person can
+entertain who is familiar with the laws of comparative philology, and
+with the general theory of the human intellect." To one who remembers
+that every nation of the Indo-European race traces its descent from a
+barbarous ancestry, and especially that the Germans in the days of
+Tacitus were in precisely the same social stage as that of the Iroquois
+in the days of Champlain, this opinion of the brilliant French
+philologist and historian will seem erratic and unaccountable. M. Cuoq
+sought to refute it, not merely by argument, but by the logic of facts.
+In two works, published successively in 1864 and 1866, he showed, by
+many and various examples, that the Iroquois and Algonkin languages
+possessed all the excellences which M. Renan admired in the
+Indo-European languages, and surpassed in almost every respect the
+Semitic and Chinese tongues. [Footnote: See _Jugement Erroné de M.
+Ernest Renan sur les Langues Sauvages:_ (2d edit.) Dawson Brothers,
+Montreal: 1870; and _Etudes Philologiques sur quelques Langues Sauvages
+de r Amerique. Par N. O., Ancien Missionaire_. Ibid: 1866. Also _Lexique
+de la Langue Iroquoise, avec notes et appendices. Par J. A. Cuoq, Prétre
+de St. Sulpice_. J. Chapleau & Fils, Montreal: 1882. These are all works
+indispensable to the student of Indian languages.] The resemblances of
+these Indian languages to the Greek struck him, as it had struck his
+illustrious predecessor, the martyred Brebeuf, two hundred years before.
+M. Cuoq is also the author of a valuable Iroquois lexicon, with notes
+and appendices, in which he discusses some interesting points in the
+philology of the language. This lexicon is important, also, for
+comparison with that of the Jesuit missionary, Bruyas, as showing how
+little the language has varied in the course of two centuries.
+[Footnote: _Radices Verborum Iroquaeorum. Auctore R. P. Jacopo Bruyas,
+Societatis Jesu_. Published in Shea's "_Library of American
+Linguistics_" For the works in this invaluable Library, American
+scholars owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Shea's enlightened zeal in the
+cause of science and humanity.] The following particulars respecting the
+Iroquois tongues are mainly derived from the works of M. Cuoq, of
+Bruyas, and of Mr. Wright, supplemented by the researches of the author,
+pursued at intervals during several years, among the tribes of Western
+Canada and New York. Only a very brief sketch of the subject can here be
+given. It is not too much to say that a complete grammar of any Iroquois
+language would be at least as extensive as the best Greek or Sanscrit
+grammar. For such a work neither the writer, nor perhaps any other
+person now living, except M. Cuoq himself, would be competent.
+
+The phonology of the language is at once simple and perplexing.
+According to M. Cuoq, twelve letters suffice to represent it: _a, c, f,
+h, i, k, n, o, r, s, t, w_. Mr. Wright employs for the Seneca seventeen,
+with diacritical marks, which raise the number to twenty-one. The
+English missionaries among the Mohawks found sixteen letters sufficient,
+_a, d, e, g, h, i, j, k, n, o, r, s, t, u, w, y._ There are no labial
+sounds, unless the _f_, which rarely occurs, and appears to be merely an
+aspirated _w_, may be considered one. No definite distinction is
+maintained between the vowel sounds _o_ and _u_, and one of these
+letters may be dispensed with. The distinction between hard and soft (or
+surd and sonant) mutes is not preserved. The sounds of _d_ and _t_, and
+those of _k_ and _g_, are interchangeable. So also are those of _l_ and
+_r_, the former sound being heard more frequently in the Oneida dialect
+and the latter in the Canienga. From the Western dialects,--the
+Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca,--this _l_ or _r_ sound has, in modern
+times, disappeared altogether. The Canienga _konoronkwa_, I esteem him
+(in Oneida usually sounded _konolonkwa_), has become _konoenkwa_ in
+Onondaga,--and in Cayuga and Seneca is contracted to _kononkwa_.
+Aspirates and aspirated gutturals abound, and have been variously
+represented by _h, hh, kh_, and _gh_, and sometimes (in the works of the
+early French missionaries) by the Greek [Greek: chi] and the _spiritus
+asper_. Yet no permanent distinction appears to be maintained among the
+sounds thus represented, and M. Cuoq reduces them all to the simple _h_.
+The French nasal sound abounds. M. Cuoq and the earlier English
+missionaries have expressed it, as in French, simply by the _n_ when
+terminating a syllable. When it does not close a syllable, a diaeresis
+above the n, or else the Spanish _tilde (n)_ indicates the sound. Mr.
+Wright denotes it by a line under the vowel. The later English
+missionaries express it by a diphthong: _ken_ becomes _kea; nonwa_
+becomes _noewa_; _onghwentsya_ is written _oughweatsya_.
+
+A strict analysis would probably reduce the sounds of the Canienga
+language to seven consonants, _h, k, n, r, s, t,_ and _w_, and four
+vowels, _a, e, i_, and _o_, of which three, _a, e, and o_, may receive a
+nasal sound. This nasalizing makes them, in fact, distinct elements; and
+the primary sounds of the language may therefore be reckoned at
+fourteen. [Footnote: A dental _t_, which the French missionaries
+represent sometimes by the Greek _theta_ and sometimes by _th_, and
+which the English have also occasionally expressed by the latter method,
+may possibly furnish an additional element. The Greek _theta_ of the
+former is simply the English _w_.] The absence of labials and the
+frequent aspirated gutturals give to the utterance of the best speakers
+a deep and sonorous character which reminds the hearer of the stately
+Castilian speech.
+
+The "Book of Rites," or, rather, the Canienga portion of it, is written
+in the orthography first employed by the English missionaries. The _d_
+is frequently used, and must be regarded merely as a variant of the _t_
+sound. The _g_ is sometimes, though rarely, employed as a variant of the
+_k_. The digraph _gh_ is common and represents the guttural aspirate,
+which in German is indicated by _ch_ and in Spanish by _j_. The French
+missionaries write it now simply _h_, and consider it merely a harsh
+pronunciation of the aspirate. The _j_ is sounded as in English; it
+usually represents a complex sound, which might be analysed into _ts_ or
+_tsi_; _jathondek_ is properly _tsiatontek_. The _x_, which occasionally
+appears, is to be pronounced _ks_, as in English. _An, en, on_, when not
+followed by a vowel, have a nasal sound, as in French. This sound is
+heard even when those syllables are followed by another _n_. Thus
+_Kanonsionni_ is pronounced as if written _Kanonsionni_ and _yondennase_
+as if written _yondennase_. The vowels have usually the same sound as in
+German and Italian; but in the nasal _en_ the vowel has an obscure
+sound, nearly like that of the short _u_ in _but_. Thus _yondennase_
+sounds almost as if written _yondunnase_, and _kanienke_ is pronounced
+nearly like _kaniunke_.
+
+The nouns in Iroquois are varied, but with accidence differing from the
+Aryan and Semitic variations, some of the distinctions being more
+subtle, and, so to speak, metaphysical. The dual is expressed by
+prefixing the particle _te_, and suffixing _ke_ to the noun; thus, from
+_kanonsa_, house, we have _tekanonsake_, two houses. These syllables, or
+at least the first, are supposed to be derived from _tekeni_, two. The
+plural, when it follows an adjective expressive of number, is indicated
+by the syllable _ni_ prefixed to the noun, and _ke_ suffixed; as, _eso
+nikanonsake_, many houses. In other cases the plural is sometimes
+expressed by one of the words _okon_ (or _hokon_) _okonha_, _son_ and
+_sonha_, following the noun. In general, however, the plural
+significance of nouns is left to be inferred from the context, the verb
+always and the adjective frequently indicating it.
+
+All beings are divided into two classes, which do not correspond either
+with the Aryan genders or with the distinctions of animate and inanimate
+which prevail in the Algonkin tongues. These classes have been styled
+noble and common. To the noble belong male human beings and deities. The
+other class comprises women and all other objects. It seems probable,
+however, that the distinction in the first instance was merely that of
+sex,--that it was, in fact, a true gender. Deities, being regarded as
+male, were included in the masculine gender. There being no neuter form,
+the feminine gender was extended, and made to comprise all other beings.
+These classes, however, are not indicated by any change in the noun, but
+merely by the forms of the pronoun and the verb.
+
+The local relations of nouns are expressed by affixed particles, such as
+_ke_, _ne_, _kon_, _akon_, _akta._ Thus, from _onónta_ mountain, we have
+_onontáke_, at (or to) the mountain; from _akéhrat_, dish, _akehrátne_,
+in (or on) the dish; from _kanónsa_, house, _kanonsákon_, or
+_kanónskon_, in the house, _kanonsókon_, under the house, and
+_kanonsákta_, near the house. These locative particles, it will be seen,
+usually, though not always, draw the accent towards them.
+
+The most peculiar and perplexing variation is that made by what is
+termed the "crement," affixed to many (though not all) nouns. This
+crement in the Canienga takes various forms, _ta, sera, tsera, kwa._
+_Onkwe_, man, becomes _onkwéta_; _otkon_, spirit, _otkónsera_; _akáwe_,
+oar, _akawétsera_; _ahta_, shoe, _ahhtákwa_. The crement is employed
+when the noun is used with numeral adjectives, when it has adjective or
+other affixes, and generally when it enters into composition with other
+words. Thus _onkwe_, man, combined with the adjective termination _iyo_
+(from the obsolete _wiyo_, good) becomes _onkwetiyo_, good man. _Wenni_,
+day, becomes in the plural _niate_ _niwenniserake_, many days, etc. The
+change, however, is not grammatical merely, but conveys a peculiar shade
+of meaning difficult to define. The noun, according to M. Cuoq, passes
+from a general and determinate to a special and restricted sense.
+_Onkwe_ means man in general; _asen nionkwetake_, three men (in
+particular.) One interpreter rendered _akawétsera_, "the oar itself."
+The affix _sera_ or _tsera_ seems to be employed to form what we should
+term abstract nouns, though to the Iroquois mind they apparently present
+themselves as possessing a restricted or specialized sense. Thus from
+_iotarihen_, it is warm, we have _otarihénsera_, heat; from _wakeriat_,
+to be brave, _ateriatitsera_, courage. So _kakweniátsera_, authority;
+_kanaiésera_, pride; _kanakwénsera_, anger. Words of this class abound
+in the Iroquois; so little ground is there for the common opinion that
+the language is destitute of abstract nouns. [Footnote: See, on this
+point, the remarks of Dr Brinton to the same effect, in regard to the
+Aztec, Qquichua, and other languages, with interesting illustrations, in
+his _"American Hero Myths"_, p. 25]
+
+The adjective, when employed in an isolated form, follows the
+substantive; as _kanonsa kowa_, large house; _onkwe honwe_ (or _onwe_) a
+real man. But, in general, the substantive and the adjective coalesce in
+one word. _Ase_ signifies new, and added to _kanonsa_ gives us
+_kanonsáse_, new house. Karonta, tree, and _kowa_, or _kowanen_, great,
+make together _karontowánen_, great tree. Frequently the affixed
+adjective is never employed as an isolated word. The termination _iyo_
+(or _iio_) expresses good or beautiful, and _aksen_, bad or ugly; thus
+_kanonsiyo_, fine house, _kanonsasken_, ugly house. These compound forms
+frequently make their plural by adding _s_, as _kanonsiyos_,
+_kanonsaksens_.
+
+The pronouns are more numerous than in any European language, and show
+clearer distinctions in meaning. Thus, in the singular, besides the
+ordinary pronouns, I, thou, he and she, the language possesses an
+indeterminate form, which answers very nearly to the French _on_. The
+first person of the dual has two forms, the one including, the other
+excluding, the person addressed, and signifying, therefore,
+respectively, "thou and I," and "he and I." The first person plural has
+the same twofold form. The third persons dual and plural have masculine
+and feminine forms. Thus the language has fifteen personal pronouns, all
+in common use, and all, it may be added, useful in expressing
+distinctions which the English can only indicate by circumlocutions.
+These pronouns are best shown in the form in which they are prefixed to
+a verb. The following are examples of the verb _katkahtos_, I see (root
+_atkahto_) and _kenonwes_, I love (root _nonwe_), as conjugated in the
+present tense:--
+
+  _katkahtos_, I see.
+  _satkahtos_, thou seest.
+  _ratkahtos_, he sees.
+  _watkahtos_, she sees,
+  _iontkahtos_, one sees.
+  _tiatkahtos_, we two see (thou and I.)
+  _iakiatkahtos_, we two see (he and I.)
+  _tsiatkahtos_, ye two see.
+  _hiatkahtos_, they two see (masc.)
+  _kiatkahtos_, they two see (fem.)
+  _tewatkahtos_, we see (ye and I.)
+  _iakwatkahtos_, we see (they and I.)
+  _sewatkahtos_, ye see.
+  _rontkahtos_, they see (masc.)
+  _kontkahtos_, they see (fem.)
+
+  _kenonwes_, I love.
+  _senonwes_, thou lovest.
+  _rononwes_, he loves.
+  _kanonwes_, she loves.
+  _icnonwes_, one loves.
+  _teninonwes_, we two love (thou and I)
+  _iakeninonwes_, we two love (he and I)
+  _seninonwes_, ye two love.
+  _hninonwes_, they two love (masc.)
+  _keninonwes_, they two love (fem.)
+  _tewanonwes_, we love (ye and I.)
+  _iakwanonwes_, we love (they and I.)
+  _sewanonwes_, ye love.
+  _ratinonwes_, they love (masc.)
+  _kontinonwes_, they love (fem.)
+
+It will be observed that in these examples the prefixed pronouns differ
+considerably in some cases. These differences determine (or are
+determined by) the conjugation of the verbs. _Katkahtos_ belongs to the
+first conjugation, and _kenonwes_ to the second. There are three other
+conjugations, each of which shows some peculiarity in the prefixed
+pronouns, though, in the main, a general resemblance runs through them
+all. There are other variations of the pronouns, according to the
+"paradigm," as it is called, to which the verb belongs. Of these
+paradigms there are two, named in the modern Iroquois grammars paradigms
+K and A, from the first or characteristic letter of the first personal
+pronoun. The particular conjugation and paradigm to which any verb
+belongs can only be learned by practice, or from the dictionaries.
+
+The same prefixed pronouns are used, with some slight variations, as
+possessives, when prefixed to a substantive; as, from _sita_, foot, we
+have (in Paradigm A) _akasita_, my foot, _sasita_, thy foot, _raosita_,
+his foot. Thus nouns, like verbs, have the five conjugations and the two
+paradigms.
+
+Iroquois verbs have three moods, indicative, imperative, and
+subjunctive; and they have, in the indicative, seven tenses, the
+present, imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, aorist, future, and paulo-post
+future. These moods and tenses are indicated either by changes of
+termination, or by prefixed particles, or by both conjoined. One
+authority makes six other tenses, but M. Cuoq prefers to include them
+among the special forms of the verb, of which mention will presently be
+made.
+
+To give examples of these tenses, and the rules for their formation,
+would require more space than can be devoted to the subject in the
+present volume. The reader who desires to pursue the study is referred
+to the works of M. Cuoq already mentioned.
+
+The verb takes a passive form by inserting the syllable _at_ between the
+prefixed pronoun and the verb; and a reciprocal sense by inserting
+_atat_. Thus, _kiatatas_, I put in; _katiatatas_, I am put in;
+_katatiatatas_, I put myself in; _konnis_, I make; _katonnis_, I am
+made; _katatonnis_, I make myself. This syllable _at_ is probably
+derived from the word _oyala_, body, which is used in the sense of
+"self," like the corresponding word _hakty_ in the Delaware language.
+
+The "transitions," or the pronominal forms which indicate the passage of
+the action of a transitive verb from the agent to the object, play an
+important part in the Iroquois language. In the Algonkin tongues these
+transitions are indicated partly by prefixed pronouns, and partly by
+terminal inflections. In the Iroquois the subjective and objective
+pronouns are both prefixed, as in French. In that language "_il me
+voit_" corresponds precisely with RAKAthatos, "he-me-sees." Here the
+pronouns, _ra_, of the third person, and _ka_ of the first, are evident
+enough. In other cases the two pronouns have been combined in a form
+which shows no clear trace of either of the simple pronouns; as in
+_helsenonwes_, thou lovest him, and _hianonwes_, he loves thee. These
+combined pronouns are very numerous, and vary, like the simple pronouns,
+in the five conjugations.
+
+The peculiar forms of the verb, analogous to the Semitic conjugations
+are very numerous. Much of the force and richness of the language
+depends on them. M. Caoq enumerates--
+
+1. The diminutive form, which affixes _ha_; as _knekirhaHA_, I drink a
+little; _konkweHA_ (from _onkwe_, man), I am a man, but hardly one
+(_i.e._, I am a little of a man).
+
+2. The augmentative, of which _tsi_ is the affixed sign; as,
+_knekirhaTSI_, I drink much. This is sometimes lengthened to _tsihon_;
+as _wakatonteTSIHON_, I understand perfectly.
+
+3 and 4. The cislocative, expressing motion towards the speaker, and the
+translocative, indicating motion tending from him. The former has _t_,
+the latter _ie_ or _ia_, before the verb, as _tasataweiat_, come in;
+_iasataweiat_, go in.
+
+5. The duplicative, which prefixes _te_, expresses an action which
+affects two or more agents or objects, as in betting, marrying, joining,
+separating. Thus, from _ikiaks_, I cut, we have _tekiaks_, I cut in two,
+where the prefix _te_ corresponds to the Latin bi in "bisect". The same
+form is used in speaking of acts done by those organs of the body, such
+as the eyes and the hands, which nature has made double. Thus
+_tekasenthos_, I weep, is never used except in this form.
+
+6 The reiterative is expressed by the sound of _s_ prefixed to the verb.
+It sometimes replaces the cislocative sign; thus, _tkahtenties_, I come
+from yonder; _skahtenties_, I come again.
+
+7. The motional is a form which by some is considered a special future
+tense. Thus, from _khiatons_, I write, we have _khiatonnes_, I am going
+to write; from _katerios_, I fight, _katerioseres_, I am going to the
+war; from _kesaks_, I seek, _kesakhes_, I am going to seek. These forms
+are irregular, and can only be learned by practice.
+
+8. The causative suffix is _tha_; as from _k'kowanen_, I am great, we
+have _k'kowanaTHA_, I make great, I aggrandize. With _at_ inserted we
+have a simulative or pretentious form, as _katkowanaTHA_, I make myself
+great, I pretend to be great. The same affix is used to give an
+instrumental sense; as from _keriios_, I kill, we have _keriiohTHA_, I
+kill him with such a weapon or instrument.
+
+9. The progressive, which ends in _tie_ (sometimes taking the forms
+_atie_, _hatie_, _tatie_), is much used to give the sense of becoming,
+proceeding, continuing, and the like; as _wakhiatontie_, I go on
+writing; _wakatrorihatie_, I keep on talking; _wakeriwaientatie_, I am
+attending to the business. The addition of an _s_ to this form adds the
+idea of plurality or diversity of acts; thus, _wakhiatonties_, I go on
+writing at different times and places; _wakatrorihaties_, I keep on
+telling the thing, _i. e._, going from house to house.
+
+10. The attributive has various forms, which can only be learned by
+practice or from the dictionaries. It expresses an action done for some
+other person; as, from _wakiote_, I work, we have _kiotense_, I work for
+some one; from _katatis_, I speak, _katatiase_, I speak in favor of some
+one.
+
+11. The habitual ends in _kon_. From _katontats_, I hear, I consent, we
+have _wakatontatskon_, I am docile; from _katatis_, I speak,
+_wakatatiatskon_, I am talkative.
+
+12. The frequentative has many forms, but usually ends in _on_, or
+_ons_. From _khiatons_, I write, we have in this form _khiatonnions_, I
+write many things; from _katkahtos_, I look, _katkahtonnions_, I look on
+all sides.
+
+These are not all the forms of the Iroquois verb; but enough have been
+enumerated to give some idea of the wealth of the language in such
+derivatives, and the power of varied expression which it derives from
+this source.
+
+The Iroquois has many particles which, like those of the Greek and
+French languages, help to give clearness to the style, though their
+precise meaning cannot always be gathered by one not perfectly familiar
+with the language. _Ne_ and _nene_ are frequently used as substitutes
+for the article and the relative pronouns. _Onenh_, now; _kati_, then,
+therefore; _ok_, _nok_, and _neok_, and; _oni_ and _neoni_, also; _toka_
+and _tokat_, if, perhaps; _tsi_, when; _kento_, here; _akwah_, indeed,
+very; _etho_, thus, so; _are_, sometimes, again; _ken_, an interrogative
+particle, like the Latin _ne_--these and some others will be found in
+the Book of Rites, employed in the manner in which they are still used
+by the best speakers.
+
+It must be understood that the foregoing sketch affords only the barest
+outline of the formation of the Iroquois language. As has been before
+remarked, a complete grammar of this speech, as full and minute as the
+best Sanscrit or Greek grammars, would probably equal and perhaps
+surpass those grammars in extent. The unconscious forces of memory and
+of discrimination required to maintain this complicated intellectual
+machine, and to preserve it constantly exact and in good working order,
+must be prodigious. Yet a comparison of Bruyas' work with the language
+of the present day shows that this purpose has been accomplished; and,
+what is still more remarkable, a comparison of the Iroquois with the
+Huron grammar shows that after a separation which must have exceeded
+five hundred years, and has probably covered twice that term, the two
+languages differ less from one another than the French of the twelfth
+century differed from the Italian, or than the Anglo-Saxon of King
+Alfred differed from the contemporary Low German speech. The forms of
+the Huron-Iroquois languages, numerous and complicated as they are,
+appear to be certainly not less persistent, and probably better
+maintained, than those of the written Aryan tongues.
+
+
+
+
+ANCIENT RITES OF THE CONDOLING COUNCIL.
+
+[Originally presented as one page Iroquois, followed by one page English
+translation. This is confusing in electronic texts, so have changed it
+here to be the complete Iroquois text followed by the complete English
+translation.]
+
+
+
+
+OKAYONDONGHSERA YONDENNASE.
+
+OGHENTONH KARIGHWATEGHKWENH:
+
+DEYUGHNYOXKWARAKTA, RATIYATS.
+
+
+1. Onenh weghniserade wakatyerenkowa desawennawenrate ne kenteyurhoton.
+Desahahishonne donwenghratstanyonne ne kentekaghronghwanyon.
+Tesatkaghtoghserontye ronatennossendonghkwe yonkwanikonghtaghkwenne,
+konyennetaghkwen. Ne katykcnh nayoyaneratye ne sanikonra?
+Daghsatkaghthoghseronne ratiyanarenyon onkwaghsotsherashonkenhha; neok
+detkanoron ne shekonh ayuyenkwaroghthake jiratighrotonghkwakwe. Ne
+katykenh nayuyaneratye ne sanikonra desakaghserentonyonne?
+
+2. Niyawehkowa katy nonwa onenh skennenji thisayatirhehon. Onenh nonwa
+oghseronnih denighroghkwayen. Hasekenh thiwakwekonh deyunennyatenyon
+nene konnerhonyon, "Ie henskerighwaghfonte." Kenyutnyonkwaratonnyon,
+neony kenyotdakarahon, neony kenkontifaghsoton. Nedens
+aesayatyenenghdon, konyennedaghkwen, neony kenkaghnekdnyon nedens
+aesayatyenenghdon, konyennethaghkwen, neony kenwaseraketotanese
+kentewaghsatayenha kanonghsakdatye. Niyateweghniserakeh yonkwakaronny;
+onidatkon yaghdekakonghsonde oghsonteraghkowa nedens aesayatyenenghdon,
+konyennethaghkwen.
+
+3. Niyawenhkowa kady nonwa onenh skennenjy thadesarhadiyakonh. Hasekenh
+kanoron jinayawenhon nene aesahhahiyenenhon, nene ayakotyerenhon
+ayakawen, "Issy tyeyadakeron, akwah deyakonakorondon!" Ayakaweron
+oghnonnekenh niyuiterenhhatye, ne konyennedaghkwen.
+
+4. Rotirighwison onkwaghsotshera, ne ronenh,
+"Kenhenyondatsjistayenhaghse. Kendeyughnyonkwarakda
+eghtenyontatitenranyon orighokonha." Kensane yeshotiriwayen
+orighwakwekonh yatenkarighwentaseron, nene akwah denyontatyadoghseronko.
+Neony ne ronenh, "Ethononweh yenyontatenonshine, kanakdakwenniyukeh
+yenyontatideron."
+
+5. Onenh kady iese seweryenghskwe sathaghyonnighshon:
+
+  Karhatyonni.
+  Oghskawaserenhon.
+  Gentiyo.
+  Onenyute.
+  Deserokenh.
+  Deghhodijinharakwenh.
+  Oghrekyonny.
+  Deyuyewenton.
+
+Etho ne niwa ne akotthaghyonnishon.
+
+6. Onenh nene shehhawah deyakodarakeh ranyaghdenghshon:
+
+  Kaneghsadakeh.
+  Onkwehieyede.
+  Waghkerhon.
+  Kahhendohhon.
+  Dhogvvenyoh.
+  Kayyhekwarakeh.
+
+Etho ne niwa ne ranyaghdenshon.
+
+7. Onenh nene jadadeken roskerewake:
+
+  Deyaokenh.
+  Jonondese.
+  Otskwirakeron.
+  Onaweron.
+
+8. Onenh nene onghwa kehaghshonha:
+
+  Karhawenghradongh.
+  Karakenh.
+  Deyuhhero.
+  Deyughsweken.
+  Oxdenkeh.
+
+Etho ne niwa roghskerewake. Eghnikatarakeghne orighwakayongh.
+
+9. Ne kaghyaton jinikawennakeh ne dewadadenonweronh, "ohhendonh
+karighwadeghkwenh" radiyats. Doka enyairon, "Konyennedaghkwen; onenh
+weghniserade yonkwatkennison. Rawenniyo raweghniseronnyh. Ne onwa
+konwende yonkwatkennison nene jiniyuneghrakwah jinisayadawen. Onenh
+oaghwenjakonh niyonsakahhawe jinonweh nadekakaghneronnyonghkwe. Akwah
+kady okaghserakonh thadetyatroghkwanekenh."
+
+10. "Onenh kady yakwenronh, wakwennyonkoghde okaghsery, akwah kady ok
+skennen thadenseghsatkaghthonnyonhheke."
+
+11. "Nok ony kanekhere deyughsihharaonh ne sahondakon. Onenh kady
+watyakwaghsiharako waahkwadeweyendonh tsisaronkatah, kady nayawenh ne
+skennen thensathondeke enhtyewenninekenneh."
+
+12. "Nok ony kanekhere deyughsihharaonh desanyatokenh. Onenh kady hone
+yakwenronh watyakwaghsihharanko, akwah kady ok skennen
+deghsewenninekenne dendewadatenonghweradon."
+
+13. Onenh are oya, konyennethaghkwen. Nene kadon yuneghrakwah
+jinesadawen. Niyadeweghniserakeh sanekherenhonh ratikowanenghskwe.
+Onghwenjakonh niyeskahhaghs; ken-ony rodighskenrakeghdethaghkwe, ken-ony
+sanheghtyensera, ken-ony saderesera. Akwagh kady ok onekwenghdarihengh
+thisennekwakenry.
+
+14. Onenh kady yakwenronh wakwanekwenghdarokewanyon jisanakdade, ogh
+kady nenyawenne seweghniserathagh ne akwah ok skennen then kanakdiyuhake
+ji enghsitskodake denghsatkaghdonnyonheke.
+
+15. Onenh nene Karenna,
+
+     Yondonghs "Aihaigh."
+
+  Kayanerenh dcskenonghweronne;
+  Kheyadawenh deskenonghweronne;
+  Oyenkondonh deskenonghweronne;
+  Wakonnyh deskenonghweronne.
+  Ronkeghsotah rotirighwane,--
+  Ronkeghsota jiyathondek.
+
+16. Enskat ok enjerennokden nakwah oghnaken nyare enyonghdentyonko
+kanonghsakonghshon, enyairon.
+
+17. "A-i Raxhottahyh! Onenh kajatthondek onenh enyontsdaren ne
+yetshiyadare! Ne ji onenh wakarighwakayonne ne sewarighwisahnonghkwe ne
+kayarenghkowah. Ayawenhenstokenghske daondayakotthondeke."
+
+18. "Na-i Raxhottahyh! Ne kenne iesewenh enyakodenghthe nene noghnaken
+enyakaonkodaghkwe."
+
+19. "Na-i Raxhottahyh! Onenh nonwa kathonghnonweh dhatkonkoghdaghkwanyon
+jidenghnonhon nitthatirighwayerathaghkwe."
+
+20. "Na-i Raxbottahyh! Nene ji onenh wakarighwakayonne ne
+sewarighwisahnonghkwe, ne Kayarenghkowa. Yejisewatkonseraghkwanyon
+onghwenjakonshon yejisewayadakeron, sewarighwisahnhonkwe ne
+Kayanerenhkowah. Ne sanekenh ne seweghne aerengh niyenghhenwe
+enyurighwadatye Kayanerenghkowah."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+21. Eghnikonh enyerighwawetharho kenthoh, are enjonderennoden enskat
+enjerenokden, onenh ethone enyakohetsde onenh are enjondentyonko
+kanonghsakonghshon, enyairon wahhy:
+
+22. "A-i Raxhotthahyh! Onenh jatthondek kady nonwa
+jinihhotiyerenh,--orighwakwekonh natehaotiya-doreghtonh, nene roneronh
+ne enyononghsaghniratston. A-i Raxhotthahyh! nene ronenh: 'Onen nonwa
+wetewayennendane; wetewennakeraghdanyon; watidewenna-karondonnyon.'"
+
+23. "Onenh are oya eghdeshotiyadoreghdonh, nene ronenh: 'Kenkisenh
+nenyawenne. Aghsonh thiyenjide-watyenghsaeke, onok enjonkwanckheren.'
+Nene ronenh: 'Kenkine nenyawenne. Aghsonh denyakokwanentonghsaeke, onok
+denjontadenakarondako. Nene doka ok yadayakonakarondatye onghwenjakonh
+niyaonsakahawe, A-i Raxhottahyh,' none ronenh, 'da-edewenhheye onghteh,
+neok yadayakonakarondatye onghwenjakonh niyaonsakahawe.'"
+
+24. "Onenh are oya eghdeshodiyadoreghtonh, nai Raxhottahyh! Nene ronenh
+ne enyononghsaghniratston. Nene ronengh: 'Doka onwa
+kenenyondatyadawenghdate, ne kenkarenyakeghrondonhah ne nayakoghstonde
+ne nayeghnyasakenradake, ne kenh ne iesewenh, kenkine nenyawenne.
+Kendenyethirentyonnite kanhonghdakde dewaghsadayenhah."
+
+25. "Onenh are oya eghdejisewayudoreghdonh, nene isewenh:
+'Yahhonghdehdeyoyanere nene kenwedewayen, onwa enyeken nonkwaderesera;
+kadykenh niyakoghswathah, akwekonh nityakawenonhtonh ne
+kenyoteranentenyonhah. Enyonterenjiok kendonsayedane akwah
+enyakonewarontye, onok enyerighwanendon oghnikawenhonh ne
+kendeyerentyonny; katykenh nenyakorane nenyerighwanendon akare onenh
+enyakodokenghse. Onok na entkaghwadasehhon nakonikonra, onenh are ne eh
+enjonkwakaronny.'"
+
+26. "Onenh are oya eghdeshotiyadoreghdonh, nene ronenh: 'Kenkine
+nenyawenne. Endewaghneghdotako skarenhhesekowah, enwadonghwenjadethare
+eghyendewasenghte tyoghnawatenghjihonh kathonghdeh thienkahhawe; onenh
+denghnon dentidewaghneghdoten, onenh denghnon yaghnonwendonh
+thiyaensayeken nonkwateresera.'"
+
+27. "Onenh are oya eghdeshotiyadoreghdonh, nene roneronh ne
+enyononghsaghniratston. Nene ronenh: 'Onenh wedewaweyennendane;
+wedewennakeraghdanyon. Doka nonkenh onghwajok onok enjonkwanekheren. Ken
+kady ne nenyawenne. Kenhendewaghnatatsherodarho ken kanakaryonniha
+deyunhonghdoyenghdongh yendewanaghsenghde, kennikanaghseshah, ne
+enyehharako ne kaneka akonikonghkahdeh. Enwadon ok jiyudakenrokde
+thadenyedane doghkara nentyewenninekenne enjondatenikonghketsko ne
+enyenikonghkwenghdarake. Onokna enjeyewendane yenjonthahida ne
+kayanerenghkowa.'"
+
+28. "Onenh kady ise jadakweniyu ken Kanonghsyonny, Dekanawidah, ne
+deghniwenniyu ne rohhawah Odadsheghte; onenh nene yeshodonnyh
+Wathadodarho; onenh nene yeshohowah akahenyonh; onare nene yeshodonnyh
+Kanyadariyu; onenh nene yeshonarase Shadekaronyes; onenh nene onghwa
+kehhaghsaonhah yejodenaghstahhere kanaghsdajikowah."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+29. Onenh jatthondek sewarihwisaanonghkwe Kayarenhkowah. Onenh
+wakarighwakayonne. Onenh ne oknejoskawayendon. Yetsisewanenyadanyon ne
+sewariwisaanonghkweh. Yejisewahhawihtonh, yetsisewennitskarahgwanyon;
+agwah neok ne skaendayendon. Etho yetsisewanonwadaryon.
+Sewarihwisaanonghkwe yetsisewahhawitonh. Yetsisewatgonseraghkwanyon
+sewarihwisaanonghkwe, Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+30. Onenh kady jatthondek jadakweniyosaon sewarihwisaanonghkwe:
+
+      DEKARIHAOKESH!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      AYONHWAHTHA!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      SHATEKARIWATE!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+    Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe,
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe.
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+    31. Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      SHARENHAOWANE!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      DEYONNHEHGONH!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      OGHRENREGOWAH!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+    Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe,
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+   32. Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      DEHENNAKARINE!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      AGHSTAWENSERONTHA!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      SHOSGOHAROWANE!
+    Etho natejonhne,
+    Sewatarihwakhaonghkwe,
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+   33. Ise seniyatagweniyohkwe,
+    Jatathawhak.
+    Senirighwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenghkowah.
+    Ne deseniyenah;
+    Seninonsyonnitonh.
+    Onenh katy jatthontenyonk
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      ODATSEGHTE!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      KANONHGWENYODON!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      DEYOHHAGWENTE!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+    Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe.
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+  34. Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      SHONONSESE!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      DAONAHROKENAGH!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon.
+
+      ATYATONNENHTHA!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+    Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe,
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+  35. Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      DEWATAHONHTENYONK!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      KANIYATAHSHAYONK!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      ONWATSATONHONH!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+    Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe,
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+  36. Eghyesaotonnihsen:
+    Onenh jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      THATOTARHO!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Etho ronarasehsen:
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      ENNESERARENH!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      DEHATKAHTHOS!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Waghontenhnonterontye.
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      ONYATAJIWAK!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      AWEKENYADE!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+    DEHAYADKWARAYEN!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+
+  37. Yeshohawak:
+    Rokwahhokowah.
+    Etho kakeghrondakwe
+    Ne kanikonghrashon,
+
+      RONONGHWIREGHTONH!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+
+  38. Etho yeshotonnyh,
+    Tekadarakehne.
+
+      KAWENENSERONDON!
+
+      HAGHRIRON!
+    Etho nadehhadihne!
+
+  39. Wahhondennonterontye,
+
+      RONYENNYENNIH!
+
+      SHODAKWARASHONH!
+
+      SHAKOKENGHNE!
+    Etho nadejonhne!
+
+  40. Etho niyawenonh,
+    Karihwakayonh.
+    Shihonadewiraratye,
+    Tehhodidarakeh.
+    Rakowanenh,
+
+      RASERHAGHRHONK!
+    Etho wahhoronghyaronnyon:
+    Roghskenrakeghdekowah,
+    Rakowanenh,
+    Tehhotyatakarorenh,
+
+      SKANAWADYH!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+
+  41. Yeshohhawak,
+
+      TEKAHENYONK:
+    Yeshonadadekenah:
+
+      JINONTAWERAON!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+
+  42. KADAKWARASONH!
+
+      SHOYONWESE!
+
+      ATYASERONNE!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  43. Yeshondadekenah,
+
+      TEYORONGHYONKEH!
+
+      TEYODHOREGHKONH!
+
+      WATHYAWENHETHON!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+
+  44. ATONTARAHERHA!
+
+      TESKAHE!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  45. Yeshotonnyh,
+
+      SKANYADARIYO!
+    Yeshonaraseshen,
+
+      SHADEKARONYES!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  46. SATYENAWAT!
+    Yeshonaraseshen,
+
+      SHAKENJOWANE!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  47. KANOKARIH!
+    Yeshonarase,--onwa
+
+      NISHARYENEN!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  48. Onghwa keghaghshonah
+    Yodenaghstahhere
+    Kanaghstajikowah.
+    Yatehhotihohhataghkwen.
+    Etho ronaraseshen,
+    Yadehninhohhanonghne:
+
+      KANONGHKERIDAWYH!
+    Yeshonaraseshen,
+
+      TEYONINHOKARAWENH!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  49. Onenh watyonkwentendane
+    Kanikonrakeh.
+
+
+
+
+ANCIENT RITES OF THE CONDOLING COUNCIL
+
+[English Translation]
+
+THE PRELIMINARY CEREMONY:
+
+CALLED, "AT THE WOOD'S EDGE."
+
+
+1. Now [Footnote: The paragraphs are not numbered in the original text.
+The numbers are prefixed in this work merely for convenience of
+reference.] to-day I have been greatly startled by your voice coming
+through the forest to this opening. You have come with troubled mind
+through all obstacles. You kept seeing the places where they met on whom
+we depended, my offspring. How then can your mind be at ease? You kept
+seeing the footmarks of our forefathers; and all but perceptible is the
+smoke where they used to smoke the pipe together. Can then your mind be
+at ease when you are weeping on your way?
+
+2. Great thanks now, therefore, that you have safely arrived. Now, then,
+let us smoke the pipe together. Because all around are hostile agencies
+which are each thinking, "I will frustrate their purpose." Here thorny
+ways, and here falling trees, and here wild beasts lying in ambush.
+Either by these you might have perished, my offspring, or, here by
+floods you might have been destroyed, my offspring, or by the uplifted
+hatchet in the dark outside the house. Every day these are wasting us;
+or deadly invisible disease might have destroyed you, my offspring.
+
+3. Great thanks now, therefore, that in safety you have come through the
+forest. Because lamentable would have been the consequences had you
+perished by the way, and the startling word had come, "Yonder are lying
+bodies, yea, and of chiefs!" And they would have thought in dismay, what
+had happened, my offspring.
+
+4. Our forefathers made the rule, and said, "Here they are to kindle a
+fire; here, at the edge of the woods, they are to condole with each
+other in few words." But they have referred thither [Footnote: That is,
+to the Council House.] all business to be duly completed, as well as for
+the mutual embrace of condolence. And they said, "Thither shall they be
+led by the hand, and shall be placed on the principal seat."
+
+5. Now, therefore, you who are our friends of the Wolf clan:
+
+    _In John Buck's MS._   _Supposed Meaning._
+  Ka rhe tyon ni.           The broad woods.
+  Ogh ska wa se ron hon.    Grown up to bushes again.
+  Gea di yo.                Beautiful plain.
+  O nen yo deh.             Protruding stone.
+  De se ro ken.             Between two lines.
+  Te ho di jen ha ra kwen.  Two families in a long-house,
+  Ogh re kyon ny.           (Doubtful.) [one at each end.]
+  Te yo we yen don.         Drooping wings.
+
+Such is the extent of the Wolf clan.
+
+6. Now, then, thy children of the two clans of the Tortoise:
+
+  Ka ne sa da keh.          On the hill side.
+  Onkwi i ye de.            A person standing there.
+  Weg'h ke rhon.            (Doubtful.)
+  Kah ken doh hon.          "
+  Tho gwen yoh.             "
+  Kah he kwa ke.            "
+
+Such is the extent of the Tortoise clan.
+
+7. Now these thy brothers of the Bear clan:
+
+  De ya oken.         The Forks.
+  Jo non de seh.      It is a high hill.
+  Ots kwe ra ke ron.  Dry branches fallen to the ground.
+  Ogh na we ron.      The springs.
+
+8. Now these have been added lately:
+
+  Ka rho wengh ra don.  Taken over the woods.
+  Ka ra ken.            White.
+  De yo he ro.          The place of flags (rushes).
+  De yo swe ken.        Outlet of the river.
+  Ox den ke.            To the old place.
+
+Such is the extent of the Bear clan.
+
+These were the clans in ancient times.
+
+9. Thus are written the words of mutual greeting, called "the opening
+ceremony." Then one will say, "My offspring, now this day we are met
+together. God has appointed this day. Now, to-day, we are met together,
+on account of the solemn event which has befallen you. Now into the
+earth he has been conveyed to whom we have been wont to look. Yea,
+therefore, in tears let us smoke together."
+
+10. "Now, then, we say, we wipe away the tears, so that in peace you may
+look about you."
+
+11. "And, further, we suppose there is an obstruction in your ears. Now,
+then, we remove the obstruction carefully from your hearing, so that we
+trust you will easily hear the words spoken."
+
+12. "And also we imagine there is an obstruction in your throat. Now,
+therefore, we say, we remove the obstruction, so that you may speak
+freely in our mutual greetings."
+
+13. "Now again another thing, my offspring. I have spoken of the solemn
+event which has befallen you. Every day you are losing your great men.
+They are being borne into the earth; also the warriors, and also your
+women, and also your grandchildren; so that in the midst of blood you
+are sitting."
+
+14. "Now, therefore, we say, we wash off the bloodmarks from your seat,
+so that it may be for a time that happily the place will be clean where
+you are seated and looking around you."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+15. Now the Hymn,
+
+          CALLED "HAIL."
+
+  I come again to greet and thank the League;
+  I come again to greet and thank the kindred;
+  I come again to greet and thank the warriors;
+  I come again to greet and thank the women.
+  My forefathers,--what they established,--
+  My forefathers,--hearken to them!
+
+16. The last verse is sung yet again, while he walks to and fro in the
+house, and says:
+
+17. "Hail, my grandsires! Now hearken while your grandchildren cry
+mournfully to you,--because the Great League which you established has
+grown old. We hope that they may hear."
+
+18. "Hail, my grandsires! You have said that sad will be the fate of
+those who come in the latter times."
+
+19. "Oh, my grandsires! Even now I may have failed to perform this
+ceremony in the order in which they were wont to perform it." "Oh, my
+grandsires! Even now that has become old which you established,--the
+Great League. You have it as a pillow under your heads in the ground
+where you are lying,--this Great League which you established; although
+you said that far away in the future the Great League would endure."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+So much is to be said here, and the Hymn is to be sung again, and then
+he is to go on and walk about in the house again, saying as follows:
+
+"Hail, my grandsires! Now hear, therefore, what they did--all the rules
+they decided on, which they thought would strengthen the House. Hail, my
+grandsires! this they said: 'Now we have finished; we have performed the
+rites; we have put on the horns.'
+
+"Now again another thing they considered, and this they said: 'Perhaps
+this will happen. Scarcely shall we have arrived at home when a loss
+will occur again.' They said, 'This, then, shall be done. As soon as he
+is dead, even then the horns shall be taken off. For if invested with
+horns he should be borne into the grave,' oh, my grandsires, they said,
+'we should perhaps all perish if invested with horns he is conveyed to
+the grave.'
+
+"Then again another thing they determined, oh my grandsires! 'This,'
+they said, 'will strengthen the House.' They said, if any one should be
+murdered and [the body] be hidden away among fallen trees by reason of
+the neck being white, then you have said, this shall be done. We will
+place it by the wall in the shade."
+
+25. "Now again you considered and you said: 'It is perhaps not well that
+we leave this here, lest it should be seen by our grandchildren; for
+they are troublesome, prying into every crevice. People will be startled
+at their returning in consternation, and will ask what has happened that
+this (corpse) is lying here; because they will keep on asking until they
+find it out. And they will at once be disturbed in mind, and that again
+will cause us trouble.'"
+
+26. "Now again they decided, and said: 'This shall be done. We will pull
+up a pine tree--a lofty tree--and will make a hole through the
+earth-crust, and will drop this thing into a swift current which will
+carry it out of sight, and then never will our grandchildren see it
+again.'"
+
+27. "Now again another thing they decided, and thought, this will
+strengthen the House. They said: 'Now we have finished; we have
+performed the rites. Perhaps presently it will happen that a loss will
+occur amongst us. Then this shall be done. We will suspend a pouch upon
+a pole, and will place in it some mourning wampum--some short
+strings--to be taken to the place where the loss was suffered. The
+bearer will enter, and will stand by the hearth, and will speak a few
+words to comfort those who will be mourning; and then they will be
+comforted, and will conform to the great law.'"
+
+28. "Now, then, thou wert the principal of this Confederacy,
+Dekanawidah, with the joint principal, his son, Odadsheghte; and then
+again _his_ uncle, Wathadodarho; and also again _his_ son, Akahenyonh;
+and again _his_ uncle, Kanyadariyu; and then again _his_ cousin,
+Shadekaronyes; and then in later times additions were made to the great
+edifice."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+29. Now listen, ye who established the Great League. Now it has become
+old. Now there is nothing but wilderness. Ye are in your graves who
+established it. Ye have taken it with you, and have placed it under you,
+and there is nothing left but a desert. There ye have taken your
+intellects with you. What ye established ye have taken with you. Ye have
+placed under your heads what ye established--the Great League.
+
+30. Now, then, hearken, ye who were rulers and founders: [Footnote: The
+names in this version are in the orthography of John Buck's MS.]
+
+      TEHKARIHHOKEN!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      HAYENWATHA!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      SHADEKARIHWADE!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  31. Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      SHARENHHOWANE!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHYONHEGHKWEN!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      OWENHEGHKOHNA!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  32. Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHHENNAGHKARIHNE!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      AGHSTAWENSERONTTHA!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      SHAGHSKOHAROWANE!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  33. Ye two were principals,
+    Father and son,
+    Ye two completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+    Ye two aided each other,
+    Ye two founded the House.
+    Now, therefore, hearken!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      ODATSEGHDEH!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      KAHNONKWENYAH!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHYOHHAKWENDEH!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  34. Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      SHONONGHSESEH!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      THONAEGHKENAH!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      HAHTYADONNENTHA!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  35. Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHWAHTAHONTENYONK!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+      KAHNYADAGHSHAYEN!
+
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      HONWATSHADONNEH!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  36. These were his uncles:
+    Now hearken!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+      WATHADOTARHO:
+    Continue to listen!
+    These were the cousins:
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      ONEHSEAGHHEN!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHHATKAHDONS!
+    Continue to listen!
+    These were as brothers thenceforth:
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      SKANIADAJIWAK:
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      AWEAKENYAT!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHAYATKWAYEN!
+    That was the roll of you!
+
+  37. Then his son:
+    He is the great Wolf.
+    There were combined
+    The many minds!
+
+      HONONWIREHDONH!
+    That was the roll of you.
+
+  38. These were his uncles,
+    Of the two clans:
+
+      KAWENENSEAGHTONH!
+
+      HAHHIHHONH!
+    That was the roll of them!
+
+  39. These were as brothers thenceforth:
+
+      HOHYUNHNYENNIH!
+
+      SHOTEHGWASEH!
+
+      SHAHKOHKENNEH!
+    This was the roll of you.
+
+  40. This befell
+    In ancient times.
+    They had their children,
+    Those the two clans.
+    He the high chief,
+
+      SAHHAHWIH!
+    This put away the clouds:
+    He was a war chief;
+    He was a high chief--
+    Acting in either office:
+
+      SKAHNAHWAHTIH!
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  41. Then his son,
+
+      TAHKAHENHYUNH!
+    With his brother,
+
+      JIHNONTAHWEHHEH.
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  42. KAHTAHGWAHJIH!
+
+      SHONYUNHWESH!
+
+      HAHTYAHSENHNEH!
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  43. Then they who are brothers:
+
+      TEHYUHENHYUNHKOH!
+
+      TEHYUHTOHWEHGWIH!
+
+      TYAWENHHEHTHONH!
+    This was the roll of you.
+
+  44. HAHTONHTAHHEHHAH!
+      TESHKAHHEA!
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  45. Then his uncle,
+
+      SKAHNYAHTEIHYUH!
+    With his cousin,
+
+      SHAHTEHKAHENHYESH.
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  46. SAHTYEHNAHWAHT!
+    With his cousin,
+      SHAKENHJOHNAH!
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  47. KAHNOHKAIH!
+    With his cousin,--then
+
+       NISHAHYEHNENHHAH
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  48. Then, in later times,
+    They made additions
+    To the great mansion.
+    These were at the doorway,
+    They who were cousins,
+    These two guarded the doorway:
+
+       KANONHKEHIHTAWIH!
+    With his cousin,
+
+       TYUHNINHOHKAWENH
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  49. Now we are dejected
+    In our minds.
+
+
+
+
+  THE BOOK OF THE YOUNGER NATIONS.
+
+  (ONONDAGA DIALECT.)
+
+
+  [Originally presented as one page Onandaga, followed by one page
+  English translation. This is confusing in electronic texts, so have
+  changed it here to be the complete Onandaga text followed by the
+  complete English translation.]
+
+  [*** Original used ' ' for syllable breaks and '  ' (two spaces) for word
+  breaks. Changed to '-' for syllable breaks and a single space for word
+  breaks.]
+
+
+  1. a. Yo o-nen o-nen wen-ni-sr-te o-nen wa-ge-ho-gar-a-nyat
+  ne-tha-non-ni-sr-son-tar-yen na-ya-ne o-shon-tar-gon-go-nar
+  nen-tis-no-war-yen na-ye-ti-na gar-weear-har-tye ne swih-ar-gen-ahr
+  ne-tho-se hen-ga-ho-gar-a-nyat nen-tha-o-ta-gen-he-tak
+  ne-tho-har-ten-gar-ton-ji-yar-hon-on nar-ye-en-gwa-wen-ne-kentar
+  ne-ten-gon-nen-tar-hen na-a-yen-tar.
+
+  1. b. Tar onon na-on-gen shis-gis-war-tha-en-ton-tye na
+  on-gwr-non-sen-shen-tar-qua nar-te-har-yar-ar-qui-nar
+  nan-gar-wen-ne-srh-ha-yo-ton-har-ye nen-gar-nen-ar-ta
+  ho-ti-sgen-ar-ga-tar nen-o-ne gar-nen-ar-ti kon-hon-wi-sats nen-o-ni
+  tar-ga-non-tye na on-quar-sat-har nen-o hon-tar-gen-hi-se-non-tye nen-o
+  wen-gr-ge go-yar-da-nen-tar-hon nen-tho nr-ta-war ta-har-yar-ar-qui-nar
+  nen-gar-wen-ne-sar han-yo-ton-hr-tye tar o-nen-ti
+  tya-quar-wen-ne-gen-har nen-a-shen ne-yar-quar-tar-ta-gen.
+
+  1. c. O-nen-ti-a-wen-hen nar-ya-he-yr-genh thar-ne-ho-ti-e-quar-te
+  nen-on-quar-noh-shen-ta-qua nen-o on-qua-jas-harn-ta-qua
+  nar-ye-gen-na-ho-nen nar-ye-na te-was-hen nen-ne-gon-hi-war na-tho
+  na-ho-te-yen-nen-tar-e tar-day-was-shen nen-ne-yo-e-wa
+  na-ar-wen-ha-yo-dar-ge nen-on-quar-twen-non-ty o-nen en-hen-wa-yar-shon
+  nen-nat-ho-on-ne-yar-quar-ya-ar nen-a-shen ne-yar-quar-tar-te-ken.
+
+  1. d. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-ta-yar-quar-wen-ni-ken-ar
+  nar-ya-hi-yar-gen na-ar-quar-ton sis-jih-wa-tha-en-ton-tye o-yar-na
+  son-quar-yo-ten-se-nar tar-nr-ye-ti-na hon-sar-ho-har-we-ti-har-tye
+  nen-qr-nen-hr-te ho-ti-sken-ar-ga-tar nen-o-ne gar-nen-har-te
+  gon-thon-we-sas on-sar-ho-na-tar-que-har-tye nar-ya-har-tes-gar-no-wen
+  na o-nen na-en-gar-ya-tye-nen-har nen-war-thon-wi-sas ar-ques-sis-jit
+  nar-te-yo-nen-ha-ase en-war-nten-har-wat-tha nen-on-quar-ta-shar o-nen
+  o-yar-nen-eh-te-ge-non-tyes on-quar-te-shar nr-ya-o-ne
+  sar-o-har-we-ti-har-tye o-nen o-yar nens-o-ni-ta-gen-hi-se-non-tyes
+  o-wen-gar-ge ga-yr-tr-nen-tak-hon ne-tho nr-te-war
+  on-sar-ho-har-we-ti-har-tye.
+
+  I. e. O-nen ty-a on-yar ta-ya-quar-wen-ne-ken-har nen-a-sen
+  ne-yar-quar-tar-te-gen o-nen-ty ton-tar-wen-ten-eh nen-o-nen
+  thon-tar-yar-tyar-ton-tye nen-wa-gon-yon-wenjar-nan-har tar-o-nen
+  ha-o-yar nen-ta-yo-quar-wen-ne-ken-e-har-tye. O-nen-te-ar-wen-han o-nen
+  war-quar-de-yen-non-nyar-hen na-shar-non-wa nr-o-tas-are-quar-hen-ten
+  o-nen wa-tya-quar-ha-tar-wen-ya-hon nen-ar-o-ar-shon-ar
+  nen-tar-yon-quar-ty ne-tho hon-ne-yar-quar-ya-ar nen-ar-shen
+  ne-yar-quar-ta-te-kenh.
+
+  2. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-tar-yar-quar-wen-ne-ken-har
+  nen-o-son-tar-gon-go-nar nen-ti-sno-war-gen. O-nen-ti
+  ton-sar-gon-en-nya-eh-tha ar-guas hi-yar-ga-tha te-jo-ge-grar O-nen-ti
+  sar-gon-ar-gwar-nen-tak-ten sken-nen-gink-ty then-skar-ar-tayk. O-nen
+  en-gar-ar-qui-ken-nha ne-tho tens-shar-ar-tyen. O-nen
+  yo-nen-tyon-ha-tye. Ar-ghwas ten-yo-ten-har-en-ton-nyon-ne. Ne-tho
+  tens-gar-ar-tye a-ghwas sken-non-jis ten-yo-yar-neh ne onen
+  en-gr-ar-gwen-har o-ty-nen-yar-wen-har hen-jo-har-ten-har
+  sar-ne-gon-are. Ne-tho han-ne-yar-gwar-ya-ar nen-ar-sen
+  ne-yar-quar-tr-ta-gen.
+
+  3. O-nen-ti-ch-o-yar nen-ton-ta-yar-quar-wen-ne-ken-har. O-nen-nen-ti
+  war-tyar-war-see-har-an-qua te-shar-hon-tar-gar-en-tar
+  nen-they-yon-tar-ge-har-te nen-te-sar-nar-ton-ken hon-ne-ty
+  ar-war-na-gen-tar wen-jar-wa-gar ha-e nar-ya-har ten-skar-har-we-tar-han
+  nen-o-ge-gwr-en-yone nen-tye-sar-nar-ton-ken o-ty-nen-yar-wen-har
+  nen-en-jo-har-ten-ar sar-ne-gon-are ne-tho hon-ne-yar-war-ya-ar
+  nen-a-sen ne-yar-quar-tar-te-kenh.
+
+  4. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-tar-yr-quar-wen-ne-ken-tye hon-nen
+  ton-sar-war-kon-ha-jar-ha-jan nen-they-gar-kon-ha-shon-ton-har-tye
+  hon-nen-ti nen-sar-kon-ge-ter-yen-has hon-nen-oni
+  nen-ton-sar-gon-nen-ha-tieh o-nen o-tieh-nen-yar-wen-har
+  nen-en-jo-har-tyen-har sar-ne-gon-are ne-tho hon-ne-yar-quar-yar-ar
+  nen-a-sen ne-yar-qwr-tar-te-kenh.
+
+  5. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-tar-yar-qwar-wen-ne-ken-har
+  nar-ya-ti-ar-wen-han nen-tar-ehe-tar-nen-jar-tar-ti-war-ten
+  nen-ton-gar-ke-sen nen-na-hon-yar-na on-har-wen-ne-gen-tar nar-ya-na
+  sar-hon-ta-je-wants as-kar-we ar-san-nen-sen-wen-hat ne-tho o-ni
+  nis-nen-yar-wen-hon-sken-are-gen-tar hor-go-war-nen-nen-hon-yar-na
+  an-har-wen-ne-gen-tar are-we ar-sen-nen-sun-sar-wen-hat ne-tho
+  on-ne-yar-quar-ya-ar nen-ar-sen ne-yr-qwar-tr-ta-kenh.
+
+  6. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-tar-yar-quar-wen-ne-ken-hr
+  nar-ye-ti-na-ar-wen-han nen-an-har-ya-tye-nen-har nen-na-hon-yar-na
+  nr-ya-ti-nar nen-ne-yo-sar-tar ken-yar-tar nen-ji-gar-han
+  nen-ta-hon-gren-tar wi-nar-na-ge-ne-yo-snon-wa
+  nen-o-yar-en-sar-tyar-tar-nyar-ten a-ren ne-tho one-yar-qwar-yaar
+  nen-ar-sen ne-yr-quar-tar-te-kenh.
+
+  7. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-tr-yar-quar-wen-ne-ken-har
+  nr-ya-ti-ar-wen-han sar-gon-nr-tar-eh-ya-tars nen-gr-nr-gar-yon-ne-ta-ar
+  nen-jar-ne-qr-nar-sis-ah nen ne-tho war-ar-guar-sins-tar
+  na-tho-ti-an-sar-wa nen-thon-gr-gey-san e-his-an-skas-gen-nen one-ha-yat
+  nen-war-o-yan-quar-a-ton-on-tye nen-yar-gar-ker ta-gr-nr-squaw-ya-an-ne
+  ne-tho on-ne-yar-quar-ya-ar nen-ar-sen ne-yar-quar-ta-te-kenh.
+
+  7. b. Tar-o-nen sar-gon-yan-nen-tar-ah tar-o-nen-ti ton-tar-ken-yar-tas.
+
+
+
+
+  THE BOOK OF THE YOUNGER NATIONS.
+
+  (TRANSLATION.)
+
+
+  I. a. Now--now this day--now I come to your door where you are mourning
+  in great darkness, prostrate with grief. For this reason we have come
+  here to mourn with you. I will enter your door, and come before the
+  ashes, and mourn with you there; and I will speak these words to comfort
+  you.
+
+  I. b. Now our uncle has passed away, he who used to work for all, that
+  they might see the brighter days to come,--for the whole body of
+  warriors and also for the whole body of women, and also the children
+  that were running around, and also for the little ones creeping on the
+  ground, and also those that are tied to the cradle-boards; for all these
+  he used to work that they might see the bright days to come. This we
+  say, we three brothers.
+
+  I. c. Now the ancient lawgivers have declared--our uncles that are gone,
+  and also our elder brothers--they have said, it is worth twenty--it was
+  valued at twenty--and this was the price of the one who is dead. And we
+  put our words on it (_i.e._ the wampum), and they recall his
+  name--the one that is dead. This we say and do, we three brothers.
+
+  I. d. Now there is another thing we say, we younger brothers. He who has
+  worked for us has gone afar off; and he also will in time take with him
+  all these--the whole body of warriors and also the whole body of
+  women--they will go with him. Rut it is still harder when the woman
+  shall die, because with her the line is lost. And also the grandchildren
+  and the little ones who are running aruund--these he will take away; and
+  also those that are creeping on the ground, and also those that are on
+  the cradle-boards; all these he will takeaway with him.
+
+  1. e. Now then another thing we will say, we three brothers. Now you
+  must feel for us; for we came here of our own good-will--came to your
+  door that we might say this. And we will say that we will try to do you
+  good. When the grave has been made, we will make it still better. We
+  will adorn it, and cover it with moss. We will do this, we three
+  brothers.
+
+  2. Now another thing we will say, we younger brothers. You are mourning
+  in the deep darkness. I will make the sky clear for you, so that you
+  will not see a cloud. And also I will give the sun to shine upon you, so
+  that you can look upon it peacefully when it goes down: You shall see it
+  when it is going. Yea! the sun shall seem to be hanging just over you,
+  and you shall look upon it peacefully as it goes down. Now I have hope
+  that you will yet see the pleasant days. This we say and do, we three
+  brothers.
+
+  3. Now then another thing we say, we younger brothers. Now we will open
+  your ears, and also your throat, for there is something that has been
+  choking you and we will also give you the water that shall wash down all
+  the troubles in your throat. We shall hope that after this your mind
+  will recover its cheerfulness. This we say and do, we three brothers.
+
+  4. Now then there is another thing we say, we younger brothers. We will
+  now remake the fire, and cause it to burn again. And now you can go out
+  before the people, and go on with your duties and your labors for the
+  people. This we say and do, we three brothers.
+
+  5. Now also another thing we say, we younger brothers. You must
+  converse with your nephews; and if they say what is good, you must
+  listen to it. Do not cast it aside. And also if the warriors should say
+  anything that is good, do not reject it. This we say, we three brothers.
+
+  6. Now then another thing we say, we younger brothers. If any one
+  should fall--it may be a principal chief will fall and descend into the
+  grave--then the horns shall be left on the grave, and as soon as
+  possible another shall be put in his place. This we say, we three
+  brothers.
+
+  7. Now another thing we say, we younger brothers. We will gird the belt
+  on you, with the pouch, and the next death will receive the pouch,
+  whenever you shall know that there is death among us, when the fire is
+  made and the smoke is rising. This we say and do, we three brothers.
+
+  7. b. Now I have finished. Now show me the man! [Footnote: _i. e._,
+  "Point out to me the man whom I am to proclaim as chief, in place of the
+  deceased."]
+
+
+
+
+  NOTES ON THE CANIENGA BOOK
+
+
+  The meaning of the general title, _Okayondonghsera Yondennase_, has
+  been already explained (Introduction, p. 48). In the sub-title, the word
+  _oghentonh_ is properly an adverb, meaning firstly, or
+  foremost. This title might be literally rendered. "First the ceremony,
+  'At-the-wood's-edge' they call it."
+
+  1. The chiefs, in their journey to the place of meeting, are supposed to
+  have passed the sites of many deserted towns, in which councils had
+  formerly been held. Owing to the frequent removals of their villages,
+  such deserted sites were common in the Iroquois country. The speaker who
+  welcomes the arriving guests supposes that the view of these places had
+  awakened in their minds mournful recollections.
+
+  _Desawennawenrate_, "thy voice coming over." This word is explained
+  in the Glossary. It is in the singular number. According to the Indian
+  custom, the speaker regards himself as representing the whole party for
+  whom he speaks, and he addresses the leader of the other party as the
+  representative and embodiment of all who come with him. Throughout the
+  speeches "I" and "thou" are used in the well understood sense of "we"
+  and "ye." In like manner, tribes and nations are, as it were,
+  personified. A chief, speaking for the Onondagas, will say, "I (that is,
+  my nation) am angry; thou (the Delaware people) hast done wrong." This
+  style of bold personification is common in the scriptures. Moses warns
+  the Israelites: "Thou art a stiff-necked people." "Oh my people!"
+  exclaims Isaiah; "they which lead thee cause thee to err."
+
+  2. _Denighroghkwayen_, "let us two smoke." This word is in the dual
+  number, the two parties, the hosts and the guests, being each regarded
+  as one individual.
+
+  The difficulties and dangers which in the early days of the confederacy
+  beset the traveler in threading his way through the forest, from one
+  Indian nation to another, are vividly described in this section. The
+  words are still employed by their speakers as an established form,
+  though they have ceased to have any pertinence to their present
+  circumstances.
+
+  3. _Alnuah deyakonakarondon_, "yea, of chiefs,"--literally, "yea,
+  having horns." The custom of wearing horns as part of the head-dress of
+  a chief has been long disused among the Iroquois; but the idiom remains
+  in the language, and the horns, in common parlance, indicate the chief,
+  as the coronet suggests the nobleman in England. Among the western
+  Indians, as is well known, the usage still survives. "No one," says
+  Catlin, "wears the head-dress surmounted with horns except the
+  dignitaries who are very high in authority, and whose exceeding valor,
+  worth, and power are admitted by all." These insignia of rank are, he
+  adds, only worn on special and rare occasions, as in meeting embassies,
+  or at warlike parades or other public festivals, or sometimes when a
+  chief sees fit to lead a war-party to battle. [Footnote: _Letters and
+  Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American
+  Indians._ By George Catlin; p. 172.] The origin of the custom is
+  readily understood. The sight, frequent enough in former days, of an
+  antlered stag leading a herd of deer would be quite sufficient to
+  suggest to the quick apprehension of the Indian this emblem of authority
+  and pre-eminence.
+
+  5. _Sathaghyortnighson_, "thou who art of the Wolf clan."  The clan
+  is addressed in the singular number, as one person. It is deserving of
+  notice that the titles of clan-ship used in the language of ceremony are
+  not derived from the ordinary names of the animals which give the clans
+  their designations. _Okwatho_ is wolf, but a man of the Wolf clan
+  is called _Tahionni_,--or, as written in the text,
+  _Taghyonni_. In ordinary speech, however, the expression
+  _rokwaho_, "he is a Wolf," might be used.
+
+  The English renderings of the names in the list of towns are those which
+  the interpreters finally decided upon. In several instances they doubted
+  about the meaning, and in some cases they could not suggest an
+  explanation. Either the words are obsolete, or they have come down in
+  such a corrupt form that their original elements and purport cannot be
+  determined. As regards the sites of the towns, see the Appendix, Note E.
+
+  6. _Deyako-larakeh ranyaghdenghshon_,--"the two clans of the
+  Tortoise." Respecting the two sub-gentes into which the Tortoise clan
+  was divided, see _ante_, p. 53. _Anowara_ is the word for
+  tortoise, but _raniahten_ (or, in the orthography of the text,
+  _ranyaghdengh_) signifies, "he is of the Tortoise clan."
+
+  7. _Jadadeken roskerewake_, "thy brother of the Bear clan."
+  _Okwari_ is bear, but _roskerewake_ signifies "he is of the
+  Bear clan." _Rokwari_, "he is a Bear," might, however, be used with
+  the same meaning.
+
+  8. _Onghwa kehaghshonha_, "now recently." It is possible that
+  _onghwa_ is here written by mistake for _orighwa_. The word
+  _orighwakayongh_, which immediately follows, signifies "in ancient
+  times," and the corresponding word _orighwake-haghshonha_ would be
+  "in younger times." The period in which these additions were made,
+  though styled recent, was probably long past when the "Book of Rites"
+  was committed to writing; otherwise many towns which are known to have
+  existed at the latter date would have been added to the list. In fact,
+  the words with which the catalogue of towns closes--"these were the
+  clans in ancient times,"--seem to refer these later additions, along
+  with the rest, back to a primitive era of the confederacy.
+
+  9. _Rawenniyo raweghniseronnyh_, "God has appointed this day," or,
+  literally, "God makes this day." In these words are probably found the
+  only trace of any modification of the Book of Rites caused by the
+  influence of the white visitors and teachers of the modern Iroquois. As
+  the very fact that the book was written in the alphabet introduced by
+  the missionaries makes us certain that the person who reduced it to
+  writing had been under missionary instruction, it might be deemed
+  surprising that more evidences of this influence are not apparent. It is
+  probable, however, that the conservative feeling of the Council would
+  have rejected any serious alterations in their ancient forms. It seems
+  not unlikely that David of Schoharie--or whoever was the penman on this
+  occasion--may have submitted his work to his missionary teacher, and
+  that in deference to his suggestion a single interpolation of a
+  religious cast, to which no particular objection could be made, was
+  allowed to pass.
+
+  The word _Rawenniyo_, as is well known, is the term for God which
+  was adopted by the Catholic missionaries. It is, indeed, of
+  Huron-Iroquois origin, and may doubtless have been occasionally employed
+  from the earliest times as an epithet proper for a great divinity. Its
+  origin and precise meaning are explained in the Appendix, Note B. The
+  Catholic missionaries appropriated it as the special name of the Deity,
+  and its use in later times is probably to be regarded as an evidence of
+  Christian influence. That the sentence in which it occurs in the text is
+  probably an interpolation, is shown by the fact that the words which
+  precede this sentence are repeated, with a slight change, immediately
+  after it. Having interjected this pious expression, the writer seems to
+  have thought it necessary to resume the thread of the discourse by going
+  back to the phrase which had preceded it. It will be observed that the
+  religious sentiment proper to the Book of Rites appears to us confined
+  to expressions of reverence for the great departed, the founders of the
+  commonwealth. This circumstance, however should not be regarded as
+  indicating that the people were devoid of devotional feeling of another
+  kind. Their frequent "thanksgiving festivals" afford sufficient evidence
+  of the strength of this sentiment; but they apparently considered its
+  display out of place in their political acts.
+
+  15. _Nene karcnna_, "the song," or "hymn." The purport of this
+  composition is explained in the Introduction (_ante_,
+  p. 62). Before the Book of Rites came into my possession I had often
+  heard the hymn repeated, or sung, by different individuals, in slightly
+  varying forms. The Onondaga version, given me on the Syracuse
+  Reservation, contains a line, "_Negwiyage teskenonhenhne_" which is
+  not found in the Canienga MS. It is rendered "I come to greet the
+  children." The affection of the Indians for their children, which is
+  exhibited in various passages of the Book, is most apparent in the
+  Onondaga portion.
+
+  _Kayanerenh_. This word is variously rendered,--"the peace," "the
+  law," and "the league," (see _ante_, p. 33). Here it evidently
+  stands for _Kayancrenhkowa_, "the Great Peace," which is the name
+  usually given by the Kanonsionni to their league, or federal
+  constitution.
+
+  _Deskenonghweronne_, or in the modern French orthography,
+  _teskenonhweronne_, "we come to greet and thank," is a good example
+  of the comprehensive force of the Iroquois tongue. Its root is
+  _nonhwe_, or _nanwe_, which is found in _kenonhws_, I
+  love, like, am pleased with--the initial syllable _ke_ being the
+  first personal pronoun. In the frequentative form this becomes
+  _kenonhweron_, which has the meaning of "I salute and thank," i.e.,
+  I manifest by repeated acts my liking or gratification. The _s_
+  prefixed to this word is the sign of the reiterative form:
+  _skenonhweron_, "_again_ I greet and thank."  The terminal
+  syllable _ne_ and the prefixed _te_ are respectively the signs
+  of the motional and the cislocative forms,--"I _come hither_ again
+  to greet and thank." A word of six syllables, easily pronounced (and in
+  the Onondaga dialect reduced to five) expresses fully and forcibly the
+  meaning for which eight not very euphonious English words are
+  required. The notion that the existence of these comprehensive words in
+  an Indian language, or any other, is an evidence of deficiency in
+  analytic power, is a fallacy which was long ago exposed by the clear and
+  penetrative reasoning of Duponceau, the true father of American
+  philology. [Footnote: See the admirable Preface to his translation of
+  Zeisberger's Delaware Grammar, p. 94.] As he has well explained,
+  analysis must precede synthesis. In fact, the power of what may be
+  termed analytic synthesis,--the mental power which first resolves words
+  or things into their elements, and then puts them together in new
+  forms,--is a creative or co-ordinating force, indicative of a higher
+  natural capacity than the act of mere analysis. The genius which framed
+  the word _teskenonhweronne_ is the same that, working with other
+  elements, produced the steam-engine and the telephone.
+
+  _Ronkeghsota jivathondek_. Two translations of this verse were
+  given by different interpreters. One made it an address to the people:
+  "My forefathers--hearken to them!" i.e., listen to the words of our
+  forefathers, which I am about to repeat. The other considered the verse
+  an invocation to the ancestors themselves. "My forefathers! hearken ye!"
+  The words will bear either rendering, and either will be consonant with
+  the speeches which follow.
+
+  The lines of this hymn have been thus cast into the metre of
+  Longfellow's "Hiawatha:"--
+
+   "To the great Peace bring we greeting!
+    To the dead chiefs kindred, greeting!
+    To the warriors round him, greeting!
+    To the mourning women, greeting!
+    These our grandsires' words repeating,
+    Graciously, O grandsires, hear us!"
+
+16. _Enyonghdentyonko kanonghsakonghshen_,-"he will walk to and fro in
+the house." In councils and formal receptions it is customary for the
+orator to walk slowly to and fro during the intervals of his speech.
+Sometimes, before beginning his address, he makes a circuit of the
+assembly with a meditative aspect, as if collecting his thoughts. All
+public acts of the Indians are marked with some sign of deliberation.
+
+21. _Eghnikonh enyerighwawetharho kenthoh_,--"thus they will close the
+ceremony here." The address to the forefathers, which is mainly an
+outburst of lamentation over the degeneracy of the times, is here
+concluded. It would seem, from what follows, that at this point the
+candidate for senatorial honors is presented to the council, and is
+formally received among them, with the usual ceremonies, which were too
+well known to need description. The hymn is then sung again, and the
+orator proceeds to recite the ancient laws which the founders of their
+confederacy established.
+
+22. _Watidewennakarondonnyon_, "we have put on the horns;" in other
+words, "we have invested the new chief with the ensigns of office,"--or,
+more briefly, "we have installed him." The latter is the meaning as at
+present understood; but it is probable that, in earlier days, the
+panoply of horns was really placed on the head of the newly inducted
+councillor.
+
+23. _Aghsonh denvakokwanentonghsacke_, etc., "as soon as he is dead"
+(or, according to another rendering, "when he is just dying") the horns
+shall be taken off. The purport and object of this law are set forth in
+the Introduction, p.67.
+
+24. _Ne nayakoghstonde ne nayeghnyasakenradake,_ "by reason of the neck
+being white." The law prescribed in this section to govern the
+proceedings of the Council in the case of homicide has been explained in
+the Introduction, p. 68. The words now quoted, however, introduce a
+perplexity which cannot be satisfactorily cleared up. The aged chief,
+John S. Johnson, when asked their meaning, was only able to say that
+neither he nor his fellow councillors fully understood it. They repeated
+in council the words as they were written in the book, but in this case,
+as in some others, they were not sure of the precise significance or
+purpose of what they said. Some of them thought that their ancestors,
+the founders, had foreseen the coming of the white people, and wished to
+advise their successors against quarreling with their future neighbors.
+If this injunction was really implied in the words, we must suppose that
+they were an interpolation of the Christian chief, David of Schoharie,
+or possibly of his friend Brant. They do not, however, seem to be, by
+any means, well adapted to convey this meaning. The probability is that
+they are a modern corruption of some earlier phrase, whose meaning had
+become obsolete. They are repeated by the chiefs in council, as some
+antiquated words in the authorized version of the scriptures are read in
+our own churches, with no clear comprehension--perhaps with a total
+misconception--of their original sense.
+
+27. _Enjonkwanekheren_, "we shall lose some one," or, more literally, we
+shall fail to know some person. This law, which is fully explained in
+the Introduction, p. 70, will be found aptly exemplified in the Onondaga
+portion of the text, where the speeches of the "younger brothers" are
+evidently framed in strict compliance with the injunctions here given.
+
+28. _Jadakweniyu_. This word, usually rendered "ruler," appears to mean
+"principal person," or perhaps originally a "very powerful person." It
+is a compound word, formed apparently from _oyata_, body or person,
+_kakwennion_, to be able, and the adjective termination _iyu_ or _iyo_,
+in its original sense of "great." (See Appendix, Note B.) M. Cuoq, in
+his Iroquois Lexicon, defines the verb _kiatakwenniyo_ as meaning "to be
+the important personage, the first, the principal, the president." It
+corresponds very nearly to the Latin _princeps_, and, as applied in the
+following litany to the fifty great hereditary chiefs of the Iroquois,
+might fairly enough be rendered "prince."
+
+_Kanonghsyonny_, in modern orthography, _Kanonsionni_. For the origin
+and meaning of this word, and an explanation of the following section,
+see the Introduction, p. 75.
+
+_Yejodenaghstahhere kanaghsdajikowah_, lit., "they added frame-poles to
+the great framework." Each of these compounds comprises the word
+_kanaghsta_, which is spelt by Bruyas, _gannasta_, and defined by him,
+"poles for making a cabin,--the inner one, which is bent to form the
+frame of a cabin." The reference in these words is to the Tuscaroras,
+Tuteloes, Nanticokes, and other tribes, who were admitted into the
+confederacy after its first formation. From a manuscript book, written
+in the Onondaga dialect, which I found at "Onondaga Castle," in
+September, 1880, I copied a list of the fifty councillors, which closed
+with the words, "_shotinastasonta kanastajikona
+Ontaskaeken_"--literally, "they added a frame-pole to the great
+framework, the Tuscarora nation."
+
+29. _Onenh jathondek, sewarihwisaanonghkwe Kayanerenghkowa,_--"now
+listen, ye who completed the work, the Great League." This section,
+though written continuously as prose, was probably always sung, like the
+list of chiefs which follows. It is, in fact, the commencement of a
+great historical chant, similar in character to the 78th Psalm, or to
+some passages of the Prophets, which in style it greatly resembles. In
+singing this portion, as also in the following litany to the chiefs, the
+long-drawn exclamation of _hai_, or _haihhaih_, is frequently
+introduced. In the MS. book referred to in the last note, the list of
+councillors was preceded by a paragraph, written like prose, but with
+many of these interjections interspersed through it. The interpreter,
+Albert Cusick, an intelligent and educated man, assured me that this was
+a song, and at my request he chanted a few staves of it, after the
+native fashion. The following are the words of this hymn, arranged as
+they are sung. It will be seen that it is a sort of cento or
+compilation, in the Onondaga dialect, of passages from various portions
+of the Canienga Book of Rites, and chiefly from the section (29) now
+under consideration:--
+
+    _ Haihhaih!_              Woe! Woe!
+  _Jiyathonick!_            Hearken ye!
+  _Xivonkliti!_             We are diminished!
+     _ Haihhaih!_             Woe! Woe!
+  _Tejoskawayenton._        The cleared land has become a thicket.
+    _ Haihhaih! _             Woe! Woe!
+  _Skakentahenyon._         The clear places are deserted.
+    _ Hai!_                   Woe!
+  _Shatyherarta--_          They are in their graves--
+  _Hotyiwisahongwe--_       They who established it--
+    _ Hai!_                   Woe!
+  _Kayaneengoha._           The great League.
+  _Netikenen honen_         Yet they declared
+  _Nene kenyoiwatatye--_    It should endure--
+  _Kayaneengowane._         The great League.
+    _ Hai!_                   Woe!
+  _Wakaiwakayonnheha._      Their work has grown old.
+    _ Hai!_                   Woe!
+  _Netho watyongwententhe._ Thus we are become miserable.
+
+The closing word is the same as the Canienga _watyonkwentendane_, which
+is found in the closing section of the Canienga book. The lines of the
+Onondaga hymn which immediately precede this concluding word will be
+found in Section 20 of that book, a section which is probably meant to
+be chanted. It will be noticed that the lines of this hymn fall
+naturally into a sort of parallelism, like that of the Hebrew chants.
+
+30. _Dekarihaokenh_, or _Tehkarihhoken_. In John Buck's MS. the list of
+chiefs is preceded by the words "_Nene Tehadirihoken_," meaning the
+Caniengas, or, literally, "the Tekarihokens." For an explanation of this
+idiom and name, see _ante_, p. 77.
+
+_Ayonhwahtha_, or _Hayeirwatha_. This name, which, as Hiawatha, is now
+familiar to us as a household word, is rendered "He who seeks the wampum
+belt." Chief George Johnson thought it was derived from _oyonwa_,
+wampum-belt, and _ratiehwatha_, to look for something, or, rather, to
+seem to seek something which we know where to find. M. Cuoq refe/s the
+latter part of the word to the verb _katha_, to make. [Footnote: Lexique
+de la Langue Iroquois, p. 161] The termination _atha_ is, in this sense,
+of frequent occurrence in Iroquois compounds. The name would then mean
+"He who makes the wampum-belt," and would account for the story which
+ascribes to Hiawatha the invention of wampum. The Senecas, in whose
+language the word _oyonwa_ has ceased to exist, have corrupted the name
+to _Hayowentha_, which they render "he who combs." This form of the name
+has also produced its legend, which is referred to elsewhere (p. 87).
+Hiawatha "combed the snakes out of Atotarho's head," when he brought
+that redoubted chief into the confederacy.
+
+_Shatekariwalf_, "two equal statements," or "two things equal." This
+name is derived-from _sate_ or _shate_, equal, and _kariwa_, or
+_karihwa_, for which see the Glossary.
+
+_Etho natejonhne_, "this was your number," or, this was the extent of
+your class. These words, or the similar form, _etho natehadinhne_, "this
+was their number," indicate apparently that the roll of chiefs belonging
+to a particular class or clan is completed. They are followed by three
+other words which have been already explained (_ante_, pages 33 and 80),
+_sewater-ihwakhaonghkwe, sewarihwisaanonghkwe, kayanerenhkowa_. In the
+written litany these three words are omitted toward the close,--probably
+to save the penman the labor of transcription; but in the actual
+ceremony it is understood that they are chanted wherever the formula
+_etho natejonhne_, or _etho natchadinhne_, occurs. In the modern
+Canienga speech this verb is thus conjugated in the plural,--_etho_
+being contracted to _eh_:--
+
+  _ehnatetionhne_,  we were that number;
+  _ehnatejionhne_,  ye were that number;
+  _ehnatehadinhne_, they were that number.
+
+The three Canienga councillors of the first class all belong to the
+Tortoise clan.
+
+31. _Sharenhowane_; in Onondaga, _Showenhona_. This name was translated
+by the interpreters, "he is the loftiest tree." It seems properly to
+mean "he is a great tree-top," from _karenha_, or _garenha_, which
+Bruyas renders _cime d'arbre_, and _kowane_, great.
+
+_Deyonnhehgonh_, or _Teyonhehkwen_, "double life," from _onnhe_, life.
+My friend, Chief George Johnson, who bears this titular appellation,
+tells me that it is properly the name of a certain shrub, which has a
+great tenacity of life.
+
+_Ohrenregowah_; in Onondaga, _Owenhegona_. The interpreters differed
+much in opinion as to the meaning of this name. Some said "wide
+branches;" another, "a high hill." The root-word, _ohrenre_, is
+obsolete, and its meaning is apparently lost.
+
+The three chiefs of the second class or division of the Caniengas belong
+to the Wolf clan.
+
+32. _Dehennakarine_; in Onondaga, _Tehennakaihne_; "going with two
+horns." The root is _onakara_, horn; the termination _ine_, or _ihne_,
+gives the sense of going; _de_ or _te_ is the duplicative prefix.
+
+_Aghstawenserontha_ (Onon. _Hastawensenwa_), "he puts on the rattles."
+Mr. Bearfoot writes, "_Ohstawensera_ seems to have been a general name
+for anything denuded of flesh, but is now confined to the rattles of the
+rattlesnake."
+
+_Shosgoharowane_ (Onon. _Shosgohaehna_), "he is a great wood-drift."
+"_Yohskoharo_, writes Mr. Bearfoot, means an obstruction by driftwood in
+creeks or small rivers."
+
+The councillors of the third Canienga class are of the Bear clan.
+
+33. _Ise seniyatagweniyohkwe_, "ye two were the principals."
+_Atagweniyo_, or _adakweniyu_ (see _ante_, note to Sec. 28) here becomes
+a verb in the imperfect tense and the dual number. The reference is
+either to Dekanawidah and Odatsehte, the chiefs of the Caniengas and
+Oneidas, who worked together in founding the confederacy, or, rather,
+perhaps, to their two nations, each regarded as an individual, and, in a
+manner, personified.
+
+_Jatatawhak_, or, more properly _jatatahwak_, means, literally, "son of
+each other." It is from the root-word _kaha-wak_ (or _gahawak_), which
+is defined by Bruyas, _avoir pour enfant_, and is in the reciprocal
+form. Here, however, it is understood to mean "father and son," in
+reference to the political relationship between the Canienga and Oneida
+nations.
+
+_Odatsehte_ (Onon., Tatshehte), "bearing a quiver,"--or the pouch in
+which the arrows are carried. According to the tradition, when
+Dekanawidah's brother and ambassador formally adopted _Odatsehte_ as the
+political son of the Canienga chief, he took the quiver off his own
+shoulder, and hung it upon that of the Oneida chieftain.
+
+_Kanonhgwenyodon_, "setting up ears of corn in a row." From
+_ononhkwenha_, an ear of corn.
+
+_Deyohhagwente_ (Onon., _Tyohagwente_), "open voice" (?) This is another
+obsolete, or semi-obsolete word, about which the interpreters differ
+widely in opinion. "Hollow tube," "windpipe," "opening in the woods,"
+"open voice," were the various renderings suggested. The latter would be
+derived from _ohakwa_ or _ohagwa_, voice, and the termination _wente_ or
+_gwente_, which gives the sense of "open."
+
+The three chiefs of the first Oneida class belong to the Wolf clan.
+
+34. _Shononhsese_ (Onon., Shononses), "his long house." or, "he has a
+long house." From _kanonsa_, house, with the adjective termination _es_,
+long.
+
+_Daonahrokenagh_ (Onon., Tonaohgena), "two branches." This is another
+doubtful word. In modern Canienga, "two branches" would be _Tonenroken_.
+
+_Atyatonentha_ (Onon., Hatyatonnentha), "he lowers himself," or,
+literally, "he slides himself down," from _oyata_, body, self, and
+_tonnenta_, to slide.
+
+The councillors of the second Oneida class are of the Tortoise clan.
+
+35. _Dewatahonhtenyonk_ (Onon., _Tehatahonhtenyonk_), "two hanging
+ears," from _ohonta_, ear.
+
+_Kaniyatahshayonk_ (Onon., _Kanenyatakshayen_). This name was rendered
+"easy throat," as if derived from _oniata_, throat; but the Oneida form
+of the word seems to point to a derivation from _onenya_ (or _onenhia_),
+stone. This word must be regarded as another obsolete compound.
+
+_Onwatsatonhonk_ (Onon., _Onwasjatenwi_), "he is buried."
+
+The three chiefs of the third Oneida class are of the Bear clan.
+
+36. _Eghyesaotonnihsen_, lit., "this was his uncle,"--or, as the words
+would be understood by the hearers, "the next are his uncles." The
+Onondaga nation, being the brother of the Canienga, was, of course, the
+uncle of the Oneida. In John Buck's MS. the Onondagas are introduced
+with more ceremony, in the following lines:
+
+  _Etho yeshodonnih_;   These are the uncles;
+  _Rodihsennakeghde_,   They, the name-bearers--
+  _Tehhotiyena_,        They took hold here;
+  _Rodihnonsyonnihton_. They made the League.
+
+That is, they helped, or joined, in making the League.
+
+_Thatotarho, Wathatotarho_ (Onon., _Thatotarho_). _Thatotarho_ is the
+passive voice and cislocative form of _otarho_, which is defined "to
+grasp," or "catch" (_accrocher_) but in the passive signifies
+"entangled." This great chief, whose name is better known as Atotarho
+(without the cislocative prefix), is of the Bear clan.
+
+_Etho ronaraschsen_, "these were cousins," or rather, "the next were
+cousins." This cousinhood, like all the relationships throughout the
+book, is political, and indicates some close relationship in public
+affairs. The announcement applies to the following chiefs, Enneserarenh
+and Dehatkahthos, who were the special aids and counselors of Atotarho.
+
+_Enneserarenh_ (Onon. _Hanesehen_). One Onondata chief said that he knew
+no meaning for this word. Another thought it might mean "the best soil
+uppermost." It is apparently from some obsolete root.
+
+_Dehatkahthos_ (Onon. _Tchatkahtons_), "he is two-sighted," or, "he
+looks both ways." Another rendering made it "on the watch." This and the
+preceding chief belong now to the Beaver clan. In one of the Onondaga
+lists which I received, these two, with their principal, Atotarho,
+formed a "class" by themselves, and were doubtless originally of the
+same clan.
+
+_Waghontenhnonterontye_, "they were as brothers thenceforth;" or, more
+fully rendered, "the next continued to be brothers." This declaration
+refers to the three next following chiefs, who were connected by some
+special political tie. The first who bore the name were, probably, like
+the two preceding chiefs, leading partisans and favorites of the first
+Atotarho.
+
+_Onyatajiwak_, or _Skanyadajiwak_ (Onon., _Oyatajiwak_). One authority
+makes this "a fowl's crop;" another, "the throat alone," from _oniata_,
+throat, and _jiwak_, alone; another defined it, "bitter throat." Mr.
+Morgan renders it "bitter body,"--his informant probably seeing in it
+the word _oyata_, body. This chief belongs now to the Snipe clan.
+
+_Awekenyade_. "the end of its journey,"--from awe, going, and
+_akonhiate_(Can.) "at the end." This chief is of the Ball tribe, both in
+Canada, and at Onondaga Castle. In the list furnished to Mr. Morgan by
+the Senecas, he is of the Tortoise clan.
+
+_Dehadkwarayen_ (Onon., _Tchatkwayen_). This word is obsolete. One
+interpreter guessed it to mean "on his body;" another made it "red
+wings." He is of the Tortoise clan.
+
+In the Book of Rites the first six chiefs of the Onondagas make but one
+class, as is shown by the fact that their names are followed by the
+formula, _etho natejonhne_, "this was the number of you." It may be
+presumed that they were originally of one clan,--probably that of the
+Bear, to which their leader, Atotarho, belonged.
+
+37. _Yeshohawak_, _rakwahhokowah_, "then his next son, he the great
+Wolf." The chief who follows, _Ronenghwireghtonh_, was evidently a
+personage of great importance,--probably the leading chief of the Wolf
+class. He forms a "clan" by himself,--the only instance of the kind in
+the list. The expression, "there (or, in him) were combined the minds,"
+indicates--as Mr. Bearfoot suggests--his superior intellect. It may also
+refer to the fact that he was the hereditary keeper of the wampum
+records. The title was borne in Canada by the late chief George Buck,
+but the duties of record-keeper were usually performed by his more
+eminent brother, John (_Skanawati_).
+
+_Rononghwireghtonh_ (Onon., _Honanwiehti_), "he is sunk out of sight."
+This chief, who, as has been stated, alone constitutes the second
+Onondaga class, is of the Wolf clan.
+
+38. _Etho yeshotonnyh tekadarakehne_, "then his uncles of the two
+clans." The five chiefs who follow probably bore some peculiar political
+relation to Rononghwireghton. The first two in modern times are of the
+Deer clan; the last three are of the Eel clan. It is probable that they
+all belonged originally, with him, to one clan, that of the Wolf, and
+consequently to one class, which was afterwards divided into three.
+_Kawenenseronton_ (Onon., _Kawenensenton_). A word of doubtful meaning;
+one interpreter thought it meant "her voice suspended." _Haghriron_
+(Onon., _Hahihon_), "spilled," or "scattered."
+
+39. _Wahhondennonterontye_. This word has already occurred, with a
+different orthography, and is explained in the Note to Section 36.
+_Ronyennyennih_ (Onon., _Honyennyenni_). No satisfactory explanation
+could be obtained of this word. Chief John Buck did not know its
+meaning. _Shodakwarashonh_ (Onon., _Shotegwashen_), "he is bruised."
+_Shakokenghne_ (Onon. _Shahkohkenneh_), "he saw them." As stated above,
+the three chiefs in this class are of the Eel clan.
+
+40. _Shihonadewiraralye_, "they had children," or, rather, "they
+continued to get children." Mr. Bearfoot writes in regard to this word:
+"Yodewirare, a fowl hatching, referring to the time when they were
+forming the league, when they were said to be hatching, or producing,
+the children mentioned--i.e., the other tribes who were taken into the
+confederacy." _Tehhodidarakeh_, "these the two clans." Taken in
+connection with the preceding lines of the chant, it seems probable that
+this expression refers to the introduction of other clans into the
+Council besides the original three, the Bear, Wolf and Tortoise, which
+existed when the confederacy was formed. _Raserhaghrhonh_ (Onon.,
+_Sherhakwi_), "wearing a hatchet in his belt," from _asera_, hatchet.
+This chief is of the Tortoise clan. _Etho wahhoronghyaronnyon_, "this
+put away the clouds." These "clouds," it is said, were the clouds of
+war, which were dispelled by the great chief whose name is thus
+introduced, _Skanawadyh_, or as now spelt, _Skanawati_. He had the
+peculiar distinction of holding two offices, which were rarely combined.
+He was both a high chief, or "Lord of the Council," and a "Great
+Warrior." In former times the members of the Great Council seldom
+assumed executive duties. They were rarely sent out as ambassadors or as
+leaders of war-parties. These duties were usually entrusted to the
+ablest chiefs of the second rank, who were known as "Great Warriors,"
+_rohskenrakehte-kowa_. Skanawati was an exception to this rule. It would
+seem that the chief who first bore this title had special aptitudes,
+which have come down in his family. A striking instance, given in the
+"_Relations_" of the Jesuit missionaries among the Hurons, has been
+admirably reproduced by Mr. Parkman in the twenty-third chapter of his
+"Jesuits in North America," and cannot be better told than in his words.
+In the year 1648, during the desperate war between the Kanonsionni and
+the Hurons, the Onondagas determined to respond to the pacific overtures
+which they had received from their northern foes.
+
+"They chose for their envoy," continues the historian, "Scandawati, a
+man of renown, sixty years of age, joining with him two colleagues.
+[Footnote: _Scandawali_ is the Huron--and probably the original
+Onondaga--pronunciation of the name.] The old Onondaga entered on his
+mission with a troubled mind. His anxiety was not so much for his life
+as for his honor and dignity; for, while the Oneidas and the Cayugas
+were acting in concurrence with the Onondagas, the Senecas had refused
+any part in the embassy, and still breathed nothing but war. Would they,
+or still more, the Mohawks, so far forget the consideration due to one
+whose name had been great in the Councils of the League, as to assault
+the Hurons while he was among them in the character of an ambassador of
+his nation, whereby his honor would be compromised and his life
+endangered? 'I am not a dead dog,' he said, 'to be despised and
+forgotten. I am worthy that all men should turn their eyes on me while I
+am among enemies, and do nothing that may involve me in danger.' Soon
+there came dire tidings. The prophetic heart of the old chief had not
+deceived him. The Senecas and Mohawks, disregarding negotiations in
+which they had no part, and resolved to bring them to an end, were
+invading the country in force. It might be thought that the Hurons would
+take their revenge on the Onondaga envoys, now hostages among them; but
+they did not do so, for the character of an ambassador was, for the most
+part, held in respect. One morning, however, Scandawati had disappeared.
+They were full of excitement; for they thought that he had escaped to
+the enemy. They ranged the woods in search of him, and at length found
+him in a thicket near the town. He lay dead, on a bed of spruce boughs
+which he had made, his throat deeply gashed with a knife. He had died by
+his own hand, a victim of mortified pride. 'See,' writes Father
+Ragueneau, 'how much our Indians stand on the point of honor!'"
+
+It is worthy of note that the same aptitude for affairs and the same
+keen sense of honor which distinguished this highspirited chief survives
+in the member of his family who, on the Canadian Reservation, now bears
+the same title,--Chief John Buck,--whom his white neighbors all admit to
+be both a capable ruler and an able and trustworthy negotiator.
+
+In Canada _Skanawati_ is of the Tortoise clan. At Onondaga, where the
+original family has probably died out, the title now belongs to the Ball
+clan.
+
+41. _Yeshohawak_, "then his next son,"--or rather, perhaps, "then, next,
+his son." The Cayuga nation was politically the son of the Onondaga
+nation. _Tekahenyonk_ (Onon., _Hakaenyonk_), "he looks both ways," or,
+"he examines warily." In section 28 (_ante_ p. 126) this name is spelt
+_Akahenyonh_. The prefixed _te_ is the duplicative particle, and gives
+the meaning of "spying on both sides." This and the following chief
+belong, in Canada, to the Deer clan, and constitute the first Cayuga
+class. _Jinontaweraon_ (Onon., _Jinontaweyon_), "coming on its knees."
+
+42. _Katakwarasonh_ (Onon., _Ketagwajik_), "it was bruised." This name,
+it will be seen, is very similar to that of an Onondaga chief,--_ante_,
+Note to Section 39. The chief now named and the one who follows are of
+the Bear clan. _Shoyonwese_ (Onon., _Soyonwes_), "he has a long
+wampumbelt." The root-word of this name is _oyonwa_, wampum-belt, the
+same that appears in _Hayonwatha_. _Atyaseronne_ (Onon., _Halyasenne_),
+"he puts one on another," or "he piles on." This chief is of the
+Tortoise clan, and completes, with the two preceding councillors, the
+second Cayuga class.
+
+43. _Yeshonadadekenah_, "then they who are brothers." The three chiefs
+who follow are all of the Wolf clan, and make the third class of the
+Cayuga councillors. _Teyoronghyonkeh_ (Onon., _Thowenyongo_), "it
+touches the sky." _Teyodhoreghkonh_ (Onon., _Tyotowegwi_), "doubly
+cold." _Wathyawenhehetken_ (Onon., _Thaowethon_), "mossy place."
+
+44. The two following chiefs are of the Snipe clan, and constitute the
+fourth and last Cayuga class. _Atontaraheha_ (Onon., _Hatontaheha_)
+"crowding himself in." _Teskahe_ (Onon., _Heskahe_) "resting on it."
+
+45. _Yeshotonnih_, "and then his uncle." The Seneca nation, being the
+brother of the Onondaga, is, of course, the uncle of the Cayuga nation.
+_Skanyadariyo_ (Onon., _Kanyataiyo_), "beautiful lake;" originally,
+perhaps, "great lake." (See Appendix, Note B.) This name is spelt in
+Section 28 (_ante_, p. 128) _Kanyadariyu_. The prefixed _s_ is the sign
+of the reiterative form, and when joined to proper names is regarded as
+a token of nobility,--like the French _de_, or the German _von_.
+[Footnote: See J. A. Cuoq: _Jugement Erroné_, etc., p. 57. "Le
+reiteratif est comme un signe de noblesse dans les noms propres."]
+_Kanyadariyo_, was one of the two leading chiefs of the Senecas at the
+formation of the confederacy. The title belongs to the Wolf clan.
+_Yeshonaraseshen_, lit., "they were cousins." In the present instance,
+and according to the Indian idiom, we must read "Skanyadariyo, with his
+cousin, Shadekaronyes." _Shadekaronyes_ (Onon., _Shatekaenyes_), "skies
+of equal length." This chief (whose successor now belongs to the Snipe
+clan) was in ancient times the head of the second great division of the
+Senecas. These two potentates were made a "class" in the Council by
+themselves, and were thus required to deliberate together and come to an
+agreement on any question that was brought up, before expressing an
+opinion in the council. This ingenious device for preventing differences
+between the two sections of the Seneca nation is one of the many
+evidences of statesmanship exhibited in the formation of the League.
+
+46. _Satyenawat_, "withheld." This chief, in the Canadian list, is of
+the Snipe clan; in Mr. Morgan's Seneca list, he is of the Bear clan. His
+comrade in the class, Shakenjowane, is, in both lists, of the Hawk clan.
+_Shakenjowane_ (Onon., _Shakenjona_), "large forehead."
+
+There has apparently been some derangement here in the order of the
+classes. In Mr. Morgan's list, and also in one furnished to me at
+Onondaga Castle, the two chiefs just named belong to different classes.
+The variance of the lists may be thus shown:--
+
+  _The Book of Rites_. _The Seneca and Onondaga Lists_.
+
+       Second Seneca Class.
+
+  _Satyenawat_ _Kanokarih_
+  _Shakenjowane_ _Shakenjowane_.
+
+       Third Seneca Class.
+
+  _Kanokarih_ _Satyenawat_
+  _Nisharyenen_ _Nisharyenen_.
+
+Satyenawat and Kanokarih have changed places. As the Book of Rites is
+the earlier authority, it is probable that the change was made among the
+New York Senecas after a part of their nation had removed to Canada.
+
+  47. _Kanokarih_ (Onon., _Kanokaehe_), "threatened."
+      _Nisharyenen_ (Onon., _Onishayenenha_), "the day fell down."
+
+One of the interpreters rendered the latter name, "the handle drops."
+The meaning of the word must be considered doubtful. The first of these
+chiefs is of the Tortoise clan, and the second is, in Canada, of the
+Bear clan. In Mr. Morgan's list he is of the Snipe clan. The disruption
+of the Seneca nation, and the introduction of new clans, have thrown
+this part of the list into confusion.
+
+48. _Onghwakeghaghshonah_, etc. The verses which follow are repeated
+here from the passage of the Book which precedes the chanted litany.
+(See _ante_, Section 28.) Their repetition is intended to introduce the
+names of the two chiefs who composed the fourth and last class of the
+Seneca councillors. _Yatehhotinhohhataghkwen_, "they were at the
+doorway," or, according to another version, "they made the doorway." The
+chiefs are represented as keeping the doorway of the "extended mansion,"
+which imaged the confederacy. _Kanonghkeridawyh_, (Onon.,
+_Kanonkeitawi_,) "entangled hair given." This chief, in Canada, is of
+the Bear clan; in New York, according to Morgan's list, he is of the
+Snipe clan. _Teyoninhokarawenh_, (Onon., _Teyoninhokawenh_,) "open
+door." In both lists he is of the Wolf clan.
+
+Mr. Morgan (in his "League of the Iroquois," page 68,) states that to
+the last-named chief, or "sachem," the duty of watching the door was
+assigned, and that "they gave him a sub-sachem, or assistant, to enable
+him to execute this trust." In fact, however, every high chief, or
+_royaner_ (lord), had an assistant, or war chief (_roskenrakehte-kowa_,
+great warrior), to execute his instructions. The Book of Rites shows
+clearly that the two chiefs to whom the duty of "guarding the doorway"
+was assigned were both nobles of the first rank. Their office also
+appears not to have been warlike. From the words of the Book it would
+seem that when new tribes were received into the confederacy, these two
+councillors had the formal office of "opening the doorway" to the
+new-comers--that is (as we may suppose), of receiving and introducing
+their chiefs into the federal council.
+
+In another sense the whole Seneca nation was deemed, and was styled in
+council, the Doorkeeper (_Ronhohonti_, pl., _Roninhohonti_) of the
+confederacy. The duty of guarding the common country against the
+invasions of the hostile tribes of the west was specially committed to
+them. Their leaders, or public representatives, in this duty would
+naturally be the two great chiefs of the nation, Kanyateriyo and
+Shadekaronyes. The rules of the League, however, seem to have forbidden
+the actual assumption by the councillors of any executive or warlike
+command. At least, if they undertook such duties, it must be as private
+men, and not in their capacity of nobles--just as an English peer might
+serve as an officer in the army or as an ambassador. The only exceptions
+recognized by the Iroquois constitution seem to have been in the cases
+of Tekarihoken and Skanawati, who were at once nobles and war-chiefs.
+(See _ante_, pages 78 and 159.) The two great Seneca chiefs would
+therefore find it necessary to make over their military functions to
+their assistants or war-chiefs. This may explain the statement made by
+Morgan ("League of the Iroquois," p. 74) that there were two special
+"war-chiefships" created among the Senecas, to which these commands were
+assigned.
+
+49. _Onenh watyonkwentendane kanikonrakeh_. The condoling chant
+concludes abruptly with the doleful exclamation, "Now we are dejected in
+spirit." _Enkitenlane_, "I am becoming poor," or "wretched," is
+apparently a derivative of _kitenre_, to pity, and might be rendered, "I
+am in a pitiable state." "We are miserable in mind," would probably be a
+literal version of this closing ejaculation. Whether it is a lament for
+the past glories of the confederacy, or for the chief who is mourned, is
+a question which those who sing the words at the present day would
+probably have a difficulty in answering. It is likely, however, that the
+latter cause of grief was in the minds of those who first composed the
+chant.
+
+It is an interesting fact, as showing the antiquity of the names of the
+chiefs in the foregoing list, that at least a fourth of them are of
+doubtful etymology. That their meaning was well understood when they
+were borne by the founders of the League cannot be questioned. The
+changes of language or the uncertainties of oral transmission, in the
+lapse of four centuries, have made this large proportion of them either
+obsolete or so corrupt as to be no longer intelligible. Of all the names
+it may probably be affirmed with truth that the Indians who hear them
+recited think of their primitive meaning as little as we ourselves think
+of the meaning of the family names or the English titles of nobility
+which we hear or read. To the Iroquois of the present day the hereditary
+titles of their councillors are--to use their own expression--"just
+names," and nothing more. It must not be supposed, however, that the
+language itself has altered in the same degree. Proper names, as is well
+known, when they become mere appellatives, discharged of significance,
+are much more likely to vary than the words of ordinary speech.
+
+
+
+
+NOTES ON THE ONONDAGA BOOK
+
+
+1 _a. Yo onen onen wen ni sr te,_ "oh now--now this day." It will be
+noticed that this address of the "younger brothers" commences in nearly
+the same words which begin the speeches of the Canienga book. This
+similarity of language exists in other parts of the two books, though
+disguised by the difference of dialect, and also by the very irregular
+and corrupt spelling of the Onondaga book. To give some idea of this
+irregularity, and of the manner in which the words of this book are to
+be pronounced, several of these words are subjoined, with the
+pronunciation of the interpreter, represented in the orthography of the
+Canienga book:
+
+  _Words as written._         _As pronounced by La Fort._
+
+  wen ni sr te                     wennisaate
+  ho gar a nyat                    hogaenyat
+  son tar yen                      sontahien
+  na ya ne                         nayeneh
+  o shon ta gon gonar              osontagongona
+  gar weear har tye                gawehehatie
+  on gwr non sen shen tar qua      ongwanonsenshentakwa
+  ga nen ar ta (or, ga nen ar ti)  ganenhate
+  kon hon wi sats                  konthonwitsas
+  o wen gr ge                      ohwengage
+  nar ya he yr genh                nayehiyaken.
+
+The letter _r,_ it will be seen, is not a consonant. In fact, it is
+never heard as such in the modern Onondaga dialect. As used by La Fort,
+its office is either to give to the preceding vowel _a_ the sound which
+it has in _father,_ or by itself to represent that sound. The _a,_ when
+not followed by _r,_ is usually sounded like _a_ in _fate_, but
+sometimes keeps the sound of _a_ in _far._ The _e_ usually represents
+the English _e_ in _be,_ or, when followed by _n,_ the _e_ in _pen._ The
+_i_ and _y_ are commonly sounded as in the word _city._ The _g_ is
+always hard, and is interchangeable with _k._ The _t_ and _d_ are also
+interchangeable.
+
+While the syllables in the original are written separately, the words
+are not always distinguished; and it is doubtful if, in printing, they
+have in all cases been properly divided. The translation of the
+interpreter, though tolerably exact, was not always literal; and in the
+brief time at our command the precise meaning of some of the words was
+not ascertained. No attempt, therefore, has been made to form a glossary
+of this portion of the text.
+
+In the original the addresses of the "younger brothers" are divided into
+sections, which are numbered from one to seven, and each of which, in
+the ceremony, is called to mind by its special wampum-string, which is
+produced when the section is recited. As the first of these sections is
+of much greater length than the others, it has been divided in this
+work, for the purpose of ready reference, into sub-sections, which are
+numbered 1_a_, 1_b_, and so on.
+
+1 _b_. _Nenthaotagenhetak_, "by the ashes," or "near the hearth." The
+root-word is here _agenhe_, the Onondaga form of the Canienga word
+_akenra_, ashes, which is comprised in the compound form,
+_jiudakenrokde_, in Section 27 of the Canienga book. It will be seen
+that the spokesman of the younger nations is here complying strictly
+with the law laid down in that section. He "stands by the hearth and
+speaks a few words to comfort those who are mourning."
+
+1 _c_. "_It was valued at twenty._" The interpreters explained that by
+"twenty" was understood the whole of their wampum, which constituted all
+their treasure. A human life was worth the whole of this, and they
+freely gave it, merely to recall the memory of the chief who was gone.
+Among the Hurons, when a man had been killed, and his kindred were
+willing to renounce their claim to vengeance on receiving due
+satisfaction, the number of presents of wampum and other valuables which
+were to be given was rigidly prescribed by their customary law.
+[Footnote: _Relation_ of 1648, p. 80.] From this custom would easily
+follow the usage of making similar gifts, in token of sympathy, to all
+persons who were mourning the loss of a near relative,
+
+1 _d_. "_Because with her the line is lost._" The same sentiment
+prevailed among the Hurons. "For a Huron killed by a Huron," writes
+Father Ragueneau in the letter just quoted, "thirty gifts are commonly
+deemed a sufficient satisfaction. For a woman forty are required,
+because, as they say, the women are less able to defend themselves; and,
+moreover, they being the source whence the land is peopled, their lives
+should be deemed of more value to the commonwealth, and their weakness
+should have a stronger support in public justice." Such was the
+reasoning of these heathen barbarians. Enlightened Christendom has
+hardly yet advanced to the mark of these opinions.
+
+I _e. "Where the grave has been made,"_ &c. The recital of Father
+Ragueneau also illustrates this passage. "Then followed," he writes,
+"nine other presents, for the purpose, as it were, of erecting a
+sepulchre for the deceased. Four of them were for the four pillars which
+should support this sepulchre, and four others for the four cross-pieces
+on which the bier of the dead was to rest. The ninth was to serve as his
+pillow."
+
+2. "I will make the sky clear to you." In this paragraph the speaker
+reminds the mourners, in the style of bold imagery which the Iroquois
+orators affected, that continued grief for the dead would not be
+consonant with the course of nature. Though all might seem dark to them
+now, the sky would be as clear, and the sun would shine as brightly for
+them, as if their friend had not died. Their loss had been inevitable,
+and equally sure would be the return of the "pleasant days." This
+reminder, which may seem to us needless, was evidently designed as a
+reproof, at once gentle and forcible, of those customs of excessive and
+protracted mourning which were anciently common among the Huron-Iroquois
+tribes.
+
+3. _"You must converse with your nephews,"_ &c. The "nephews" are, of
+course, the chiefs of the younger nations, who are here the condolers.
+The mourners are urged to seek for comfort in the sympathy of their
+friends, and not to reject the consolations offered by their visitors
+and by their own people.
+
+4. _"And now you can go out before the people, and go on with your
+duties,"_ &c. This, it will be seen, corresponds with the injunctions of
+the Canienga book. (See Section 27, _ante,_ p. 127): "And then they will
+be comforted, and will conform to the great law."
+
+6. _"Then the horns shall be left on the grave,"_ &c. The same figure is
+here used as in the Canienga book, Section 23 (_ante,_ p. 125). It is
+evident that the importance of keeping up the succession of their
+councillors was constantly impressed on the minds of the Iroquois people
+by the founders of their League.
+
+7. _"And the next death will receive the pouch."_ The "mourning wampum,"
+in modern days, is left, or supposed to be left, with the kindred of the
+late chief until another death shall occur among the members of the
+Council, when it is to be passed on to the family of the deceased. This
+economy is made necessary by the fact that only one store of such wampum
+now exists, as the article is no longer made. It is probable that in
+ancient times the wampum was left permanently with the family of the
+deceased, as a memorial of the departed chief.
+
+_"Where the fire is made and the smoke is rising," i.e.,_ when you
+receive notice that a Condoling Council is to be held in a certain
+place. The kindled fire and the rising smoke were the well-understood
+images which represented the convocation of their councils. In the
+Onondaga book before referred to (_ante,_ p. 152) a few pages were
+occupied by what might be styled a pagan sermon, composed of
+exhortations addressed to the chiefs, urging them to do their duty to
+the community. The following is the commencement of this curious
+composition, which may serve to illustrate both the words now under
+consideration and the character of the people. The orthography is much
+better than that of La Fort's book, the vowels generally having the
+Italian sound, and the spelling being tolerably uniform. The translation
+was made by Albert Cusick, and is for the most part closely literal: The
+discourse commences with a "text," after the fashion which the pagan
+exhorter had probably learned from the missionaries:--
+
+Naye ne iwaton ne gayanencher:
+
+Onen wahagwatatjistagenhas ne Thatontarho. Onen wagayengwaeten, naye ne
+watkaenya, esta netho tina enyontkawaonk. Ne enagenyon nwatkaonwenjage
+shanonwe nwakayengwaeten netho titentyetongenta shanonwe
+nwakayengwaeten, ne tokat gishens enyagoiwayentaha ne oyatonwetti.
+
+Netho hiya nigawennonten ne ongwanencher ne Ayakt Niyongyonwenjage ne
+Tyongwehonwe.
+
+Ottinawahoten ne oyengwaetakwit? Nayehiya, ne agwegeh
+enhonatiwagwaisyonk ne hatigowanes,--tenhontatnonongwak gagweki,--oni
+enshagotino-ongwak ne honityogwa, engenk ne hotisgenrhergeta, oni ne
+genthonwisash, oni ne hongwagsata, oni ne ashonsthateyetigaher ne
+ongwagsata; netho niyoh tehatinya agweke sne sgennon enyonnontonnyonhet,
+ne hegentyogwagwegi. Naye ne hatigowanens neye gagwegi honatiiwayenni
+sha oni nenyotik honityogwa shanya yagonigonheten. Ne tokat gishen naye
+enyagotiwatentyeti, negaewane akwashen ne honiyatwa shanityawenih.
+
+
+_Translation._
+
+"The law says this:
+
+"Now the council-fire was lighted by Atotarho. Now the smoke rises and
+ascends to the sky, that everybody may see it. The tribes of the
+different nations where the smoke appeared shall come directly where the
+smoke arises, if, perhaps, they have any business for the council to
+consider.
+
+"These are the words of our law,--of the Six Nations of Indians.
+
+"What is the purpose of the smoke? It is this--that the chiefs must all
+be honest; that they must all love one another; and that they must have
+regard for their people,--including the women, and also our children,
+and also those children whom we have not yet seen; so much they must
+care for, that all may be in peace, even the whole nation. It is the
+duty of the chiefs to do this, and they have the power to govern their
+people. If there is anything to be done for the good of the people, it
+is their duty to do it."
+
+7 _b. "Now I have finished! Now show him to me!"_ With this laconic
+exclamation, which calls upon the nation of the late chief to bring
+forward his successor, the formal portion of the ceremony--the
+condolence which precedes the installation--is abruptly closed.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE A.
+
+THE NAMES OF THE IROQUOIS NATIONS.
+
+
+The meaning of the term _Kanonsionni,_ and of the other names by which
+the several nations were known in their Council, are fully explained in
+the Introduction. But some account should be given of the names, often
+inappropriate and generally much corrupted, by which they were known to
+their white neighbors. The origin and proper meaning of the word
+_Iroquois_ are doubtful. All that can be said with certainty is that the
+explanation given by Charlevoix cannot possibly be correct. "The name of
+Iroquois," he says, "is purely French, and has been formed from the term
+_hiro,_ 'I have spoken,' a word by which these Indians close all their
+speeches, and _koue,_ which, when long drawn out, is a cry of sorrow,
+and when briefly uttered, is an exclamation of joy." [Footnote: _History
+of New France,_ Vol. i, p. 270.] It might be enough to say of this
+derivation that no other nation or tribe of which we have any knowledge
+has ever borne a name composed in this whimsical fashion. But what is
+decisive is the fact that Champlain had learned the name from his Indian
+allies before he or any other Frenchman, so far as is known, had ever
+seen an Iroquois. It is probable that the origin of the word is to be
+sought in the Huron language; yet, as this is similar to the Iroquois
+tongue, an attempt may be made to find a solution in the latter.
+According to Bruyas, the word _garokwa_ meant a pipe, and also a piece
+of tobacco,--and, in its verbal form, to smoke. This word is found,
+somewhat disguised by aspirates, in the Book of
+Rites--_denighroghkwayen,_--"let us two smoke together." (_Ante._ p.
+114, Section 2). In the indeterminate form the verb becomes _ierokwa,_
+which is certainly very near to "Iroquois." It might be rendered "they
+who smoke," or "they who use tobacco," or, briefly, "the Tobacco
+People." This name, the Tobacco Nation (_Nation du Petun_) was given by
+the French, and probably also by the Algonkins, to one of the Huron
+tribes, the Tionontates, noted for the excellent tobacco which they
+raised and sold. The Iroquois were equally well known for their
+cultivation of this plant, of which they had a choice variety.
+[Footnote: "The Senecas still cultivate tobacco. Its name signifies
+'_the only tobacco,'_ because they consider this variety superior to all
+others."--Morgan: _League of the Iroquois,_ p. 375.] It is possible that
+their northern neighbors may have given to them also a name derived from
+this industry. Another not improbable supposition might connect the name
+with that of a leading sept among them, the Bear clan. This clan, at
+least among the Caniengas, seems to have been better known than any
+other to their neighbors. The Algonkins knew that nation as the Maquas,
+or Bears. In the Canienga speech, bear is _ohkwari_; in Onondaga, the
+word becomes _ohkwai_, and in Cayuga, _iakwai_,--which also is not far
+from _Iroquois_. These conjectures--for they are nothing more--may both
+be wrong; but they will perhaps serve to show the direction in which the
+explanation of this perplexing word is to be sought.
+
+The name of _Mingo_ or _Mengwe,_ by which the Iroquois were known to the
+Delawares and the other southern Algonkins, is said to be a contraction
+of the Lenape word _Mahongwi_, meaning the "People of the Springs."
+[Footnote: E. G. Squier: _"Traditions of the Algonquins,"_ in Beach's
+Indian Miscellany, p. 28.] The Iroquois possessed the headwaters of the
+rivers which flowed through the country of the Delawares, and this
+explanation of the name may therefore be accepted as a probable one.
+
+The first of the Iroquois nations, the "oldest brother" of the
+confederacy, has been singularly unfortunate in the designations by
+which it has become generally known. The people have a fine, sonorous
+name of their own, said to be derived from that of one of their ancient
+towns. This name is _Kanienke_, "at the Flint." _Kansen_, in their
+language, signifies flint, and the final syllable is the same locative
+particle which we find in _Onontake,_ "at the mountain." In
+pronunciation and spelling, this, like other Indian words, is much
+varied, both by the natives themselves and by their white neighbors,
+becoming _Kanieke, Kanyenke, Canyangeh,_ and _Canienga._ The latter
+form, which accords with the sister names of Onondaga and Cayuga, has
+been adopted in the present volume.
+
+The Huron frequently drops the initial _k,_ or changes it to _y._ The
+Canienga people are styled in that speech _Yanyenge,_ a word which is
+evidently the origin of the name of _Agnier,_ by which this nation is
+known to the French.
+
+The Dutch learned from the Mohicans (whose name, signifying Wolves, is
+supposed to be derived from that of their leading clan) to call the
+Kanienke by the corresponding name of _Maqua_ (or _Makwa_), the Algonkin
+word for Bear. But as the Iroquois, and especially the Caniengas, became
+more and more a terror to the surrounding nations, the feelings of
+aversion and dread thus awakened found vent in an opprobrious epithet,
+which the southern and eastern Algonkins applied to their obnoxious
+neighbors. They were styled by these enemies _Mowak,_ or _Mowawak_ a
+word which has been corrupted to _Mohawk._ It is the third person
+plural, in the sixth "transition," of the Algonkin word _mowa_, which
+means "to eat," but which is only used of food that has had life.
+Literally it means "they eat them;" but the force of the verb and of the
+pronominal inflection suffices to give to the word, when used as an
+appellative, the meaning of "those who eat men," or, in other words,
+"the Cannibals." That the English, with whom the Caniengas were always
+fast friends, should have adopted this uncouth and spiteful nickname is
+somewhat surprising. It is time that science and history should combine
+to banish it, and to resume the correct designation. [Footnote: William
+Penn and his colonists, who probably understood the meaning of the word
+_Mohawk_ forbore to employ it. In the early records of the colony
+(published by the Pennsylvania Historical Society) the nation is
+described in treaties, laws, and other public acts, by its proper
+designation, a little distorted in the spelling,--_Canyingoes,
+Ganyingoes, Cayinkers, etc._]
+
+The name _Oneida_, which in French became _Onneyoutk_ or _Onneyote_, is
+a corruption of a compound word, formed of _onenhia_, or _onenya_,
+stone, and _kaniote_, to be upright or elevated. _Onenniote_ is rendered
+"the projecting stone." It is applied to a large boulder of syennite,
+which thrusts its broad shoulder above the earth at the summit of an
+eminence near which, in early times, the Oneidas had planted their chief
+settlement.
+
+As has been already stated, _Onondaga_ is a softened pronunciation of
+_Onontake_, "at the mountain,"--or, perhaps, more exactly, "at the
+hill." It is probable that this name was unknown when the confederacy
+was formed, as it is not comprised in the list of towns given in the
+Book of Rites. It may be supposed to have been first applied to this
+nation after their chief town was removed to the site which it occupied
+in the year 1654, when the first white visitors of whom we have any
+certain account, the Jesuit Father Le Moyne and his party, came among
+them,--and also in 1677, when the English explorer, Greenhalgh, passed
+through their country. This site was about seven miles east of their
+present Reservation. I visited it in September, 1880, in company with my
+friend, General John S. Clark, who has been singularly successful in
+identifying the positions of the ancient Iroquois towns. The locality is
+thus described in my journal: "The site is, for an Indian town,
+peculiarly striking and attractive. It stretches about three miles in
+length, with a width of half a mile, along the broad back and gently
+sloping sides of a great hill, which swells, like a vast oblong cushion,
+between two hollows made by branches of a small stream, known as
+Limehouse creek. These streams and many springs on the hillside yielded
+abundance of water, while the encircling ridges on every side afforded
+both firewood and game. In the neighborhood were rich valleys, where--as
+well as on the hill itself--the people raised their crops of corn,
+beans, pumpkins, and tobacco. There are signs of a large population." In
+the fields of stubble which occupied the site of this ancient capital,
+the position of the houses could still be traced by the dark patches of
+soil; and a search of an hour or two rewarded us with several
+wampum-beads, flint chips, and a copper coin of the last century. The
+owner of the land, an intelligent farmer, affirmed that "wagon-loads" of
+Indian wares,--pottery, hatchets, stone implements, and the like--had
+been carried off by curiosity seekers.
+
+The name of the _Cayugas_ (in French _Goyogouin_) is variously
+pronounced by the Iroquois themselves. I wrote it as I heard it, at
+different times, from members of the various tribes. _Koyúkweń, Koiúkwe,
+Kwaiúkweń, Kayúkwe._ A Cayuga chief made it _Kayúkwa,_ which is very
+near the usual English pronunciation of the word. Of its purport no
+satisfactory account could be obtained. One interpreter rendered it "the
+fruit country," another "the place where canoes are drawn out." Cusick,
+the historian, translates it "a mountain rising from the water." Mr.
+Morgan was told that it meant "the mucky land." We can only infer that
+the interpreters were seeking, by vague resemblances, to recover a lost
+meaning.
+
+The _Senecas_, who were called by the French _Tsonontouan_ or
+_Sonnontouan_, bore among the Iroquois various names, but all apparently
+derived from the words which appear in that appellation,--_ononta_,
+hill, and _kowa_ or _kowane,_ great. The Caniengas called them
+_Tsonontowane_; the Oneidas abridged the word to _Tsontowana_; the
+Cayugas corrupted it to _Onondewa_; and the Onondagas contracted it yet
+farther, to _Nontona_. The Senecas called themselves variously
+_Sonontowa, Onontewa,_ and _Nondewa._ _Sonontowane_ is probably the most
+correct form.
+
+The word _Seneca_ is supposed to be of Algonkin origin, and like
+_Mohawk_, to have been given as an expression of dislike, or rather of
+hostility. _Sinako_, in the Delaware tongue, means properly "Stone
+Snakes;" but in this conjunction it is understood, according to the
+interpretation furnished to Mr. Squier, to signify "Mountain Snakes."
+[Footnote: _"Traditions of the Algonquins,"_ in Beach's _Indian
+Miscellany,_ p. 33.] The Delawares, it appears, were accustomed to term
+all their enemies "snakes." In this case they simply translated the
+native name of the Iroquois tribe (the "Mountain People"), and added
+this uncomplimentary epithet. As the name, unlike the word Mohawk, is
+readily pronounced by the people to whom it was given, and as they seem
+to have in some measure accepted it, there is not the same reason for
+objecting to its use as exists in the case of the latter word,--more
+especially as there is no absolute certainty that it is not really an
+Iroquois word. It bears, in its present form, a close resemblance to the
+honorable "Council name" of the Onondagas,--_Sennakehte,_ "the
+title-givers;" a fact which may perhaps have made the western nation
+more willing to adopt it.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE B.
+
+MEANING OF OHIO, ONTARIO, ONONTIO, RAWENNIIO.
+
+
+The words _Ohio, Ontario_ and _Onontio_ (or _Yonnondio_)--which should
+properly be pronounced as if written _Oheeyo, Ontareeyo,_ and
+_Ononteeyo_--are commonly rendered "Beautiful River," "Beautiful Lake,"
+"Beautiful Mountain." This, doubtless, is the meaning which each of the
+words conveys to an Iroquois of the present day, unless he belongs to
+the Tuscarora tribe. But there can be no doubt that the termination _io_
+(otherwise written _iyo, iio, eeyo_, etc.) had originally the sense, not
+of "beautiful," but of "great." It is derived from the word _wiyo_ (or
+_wiio_) which signifies in the Seneca dialect _good,_ but in the
+Tuscarora, _great_. It is certain that the Tuscaroras have preserved the
+primitive meaning of the word, which the Hurons and the proper Iroquois
+have lost. When the French missionaries first studied the languages of
+these nations, traces of the original usage were apparent. Bruyas, in
+the "Proemium" to his _Radices Verborum Iroquaorum_, (p. 14), expressly
+states that _jo (io)_ in composition with verbs, "signifies magnitude."
+He gives as an example, _garihaioston_, "to make much of anything," from
+_garihea_, thing, and _io_, "great, important." The Jesuit missionaries,
+in their _Relation_ for 1641, (p. 22) render _Onontio_ "great mountain,"
+and say that both Hurons and Iroquois gave this title to the Governor of
+that day as a translation of his name, Montmagny.
+
+_Ontario_ is derived from the Huron _yontare_, or _ontare_, lake
+(Iroquois, _oniatare_), with this termination. It was not by any means
+the most beautiful of the lakes which they knew; but in the early times,
+when the Hurons dwelt on the north and east of it and the Iroquois on
+the south, it was to both of them emphatically "the great lake."
+
+_Ohio,_ in like manner, is derived, as M. Cuoq in the valuable notes to
+his Lexicon (p. 159) informs us, from the obsolete _ohia,_ river, now
+only used in the compound form _ohionha_. _Ohia_, coalescing with this
+ancient affix, would become _ohiio,_ or _ohiyo,_ with the signification
+of "great river," or, as the historian Cusick renders it, "principal
+stream."
+
+M. Cuoq. in his _"Etudes Philologiques"_ (p. 14) has well explained the
+interesting word _Rawenniio,_ used in various dialectical forms by both
+Hurons and Iroquois, as the name of the deity. It signifies, as he
+informs us, "he is master," or, used as a noun, "he who is master."
+This, of course, is the modern acceptation; but we can gather from the
+ancient Huron grammar, translated by Mr. Wilkie, (_ante_, p. 101) that
+the word had once, as might be supposed, a larger meaning. The phrase,
+"it is the great master," in that grammar (p. 108) is rendered
+_ondaieaat eOarontio or eOauendio_. The Huron _nd_ becomes in Iroquois
+_nn_. _EOauendio_ is undoubtedly a form of the same word which appears
+in the Iroquois _Rawenniio_. We thus learn that the latter word meant
+originally not merely "the master," but "the great master." Its root is
+probably to be found in the Iroquois _kawen_, or _gawen_ (Bruyas, p.
+64), which signifies "to belong to any one," and yields, in combination
+with _oyata_, person, the derivatives _gaiatawen_, to have for subject,
+and _gaiatawenston_, to subject any one.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE C.
+
+THE ERA OF THE CONFEDERACY.
+
+
+Mr. Morgan, in his work on "Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the
+Human Family" (p. 151), fixes the date of the formation of the Iroquois
+league at about the middle of the fifteenth ^ century. He says: "As near
+as can now be ascertained, the league had been established about one
+hundred and fifty years when Champlain, in 1609, first encountered the
+Mohawks within their own territories, on the west coast of Lake George.
+This would place the epoch of its formation about A. D. 1459." Mr.
+Morgan, as he informed me, deduced this conclusion from the testimony of
+the most intelligent Indians whom he had consulted on the subject. His
+informants belonged chiefly to the Seneca and Tuscarora nations. Their
+statements are entirely confirmed by those of the Onondaga
+record-keepers, both on the Syracuse Reservation and in Canada. When the
+chiefs at Onondaga Castle, who, in October, 1875, met to explain to me
+their wampum records, were asked how long it had been since their league
+was made, they replied (as I find the answer recorded in my notes) that
+"it was their belief that the confederacy was formed about six
+generations before the white people came to these parts." Hudson
+ascended the river to which he gave his name in September, 1609. A boat
+from his ship advanced beyond Albany, and consequently into the
+territories of the League. "Frequent intercourse," says Bancroft, in his
+account of this exploration, "was held with the astonished natives of
+the Algonquin race; and the strangers were welcomed by a deputation from
+the Mohawks." If we allow twenty-five years to a generation, the era of
+the confederacy is carried back to a period a hundred and fifty years
+before the date of Hudson's discovery,--or to the year 1459. This
+statement of the Onondaga chiefs harmonizes, therefore, closely with
+that which Mr. Morgan had heard among the other nations.
+
+I afterwards (in 1882) put the same question to my friend, Chief John
+Buck, the keeper of the wampum-records of the Canadian Iroquois. He
+thought it was then "about four hundred years" since the League was
+formed. He was confident that it was before any white people had been
+heard of by his nation. This opinion accords sufficiently with the more
+definite statement of the New York Onondagas to be deemed a confirmation
+of that statement.
+
+There are two authorities whose opinions differ widely, in opposite
+directions, from the information thus obtained by Mr. Morgan and myself.
+David Cusick, in his _"Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations,"_
+supposes that the League was formed "perhaps 1000 years before Columbus
+discovered America." His reasons for this supposition, however, do not
+bear examination. He makes Atotarho the hereditary title of a monarch,
+like Pharaoh or Caesar, and states that thirteen potentates bearing that
+title had "reigned" between the formation of the confederacy and the
+discovery of America by Columbus. The duration of each of these reigns
+he computes, absurdly enough, at exactly fifty years, which, however,
+would give altogether a term of only six hundred and fifty years. He
+supposes the discovery of America to have taken place during the reign
+of the thirteenth Atotarho; and he adds that the conquest and dispersion
+of the Eries occurred "about this time." The latter event, as we know,
+took place in 1656. It is evident that Cusick's chronology is totally at
+fault. As an Iroquois chief was never succeeded by his son, but often by
+his brother, it is by no means improbable that thirteen persons may have
+held successively the title of Atotarho in the term of nearly two
+centuries, between the years 1459 and 1656.
+
+On the other hand, Heckewelder, in his well-known work on the "History,
+Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations." cites a passage from a
+manuscript book of his predecessor, the Rev. C. Pyrlaeus, formerly
+missionary among the Mohawks, from which a comparatively recent date
+would be inferred for the confederation. The inference, however, is
+probably due to a mistake of Heckewelder himself. The passage, as it
+stands in his volume, [Footnote: P. 56 of the revised edition of 1875,
+published by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.] is as follows:--
+
+"The Rev. C. Pyrlaeus, in his manuscript book, p. 234, says: 'The
+alliance or confederacy of the Five Nations was established, as near as
+can be conjectured, one age (or the length of a man's life) before the
+white people (the Dutch) came into the country. Thannawage was the name
+of the aged Indian, a Mohawk, who first proposed such an alliance.'"
+
+The words which Heckewelder has here included between parentheses arc
+apparently explanations which he himself added to the original statement
+of Pyrlaeus. The first of these glosses, by which an "age" is explained
+to be the length of a man's life, is doubtless correct; but the second,
+which identifies the "white people" of Pyrlaeus with the Dutch, is
+probably wrong. The white people who first "came into the country" of
+the Huron-Iroquois nations were the French, under Cartier. It was in the
+summer of 1535 that the bold Breton navigator, with three vessels
+commissioned to establish a colony in Canada, entered the St. Lawrence,
+and ascended the great river as far as the sites of Quebec and Montreal.
+He spent the subsequent winter at Quebec. The presence of this
+expedition, with its soldiers and sailors of strange complexion and
+armed with terrible weapons, must have been known to all the tribes
+dwelling along the river, and would naturally make an epoch in their
+chronology. Assuming the year 1535 as the time when the white people
+first "came into the country," and taking "the length of a man's life"
+at seventy-five years (or three generations) we should arrive at the
+year 1460 as the date of the formation of the Iroquois League.
+[Footnote: There is an evident difference between the expression used by
+my Onondaga informants and that which is quoted by Heckewelder from
+Pyrlaeus. The latter speaks of the time before the white people "came
+into the country;" the Onondagas referred to the time before they "came
+to these parts." The passage cited from Bancroft seems to indicate that
+the white men of Hudson's crew presented no novel or startling aspect to
+the Mohawks. The French had been "in the country" before them.]
+
+The brief period allowed by Heckewelder's version is on many accounts
+inadmissible. If, when the Dutch first came among the Iroquois, the
+confederacy had existed for only about eighty years, there must have
+been many persons then living who had personally known some of its
+founders. It is quite inconceivable that the cloud of mythological
+legends which has gathered around the names of these founders--of which
+Clark, in his "Onondaga," gives only the smaller portion--should have
+arisen in so short a term. Nor is it probable that in so brief a period
+as has elapsed since the date suggested by Heckewelder, a fourth part of
+the names of the fifty chiefs who formed the first council would have
+become unintelligible, or at least doubtful in meaning. Schoolcraft, who
+was inclined to defer to Heckewelder's authority on this point, did so
+with evident doubt and perplexity. "We cannot," he says, "without
+rejecting many positive traditions of the Iroquois themselves, refuse to
+concede a much earlier period to the first attempts of these interesting
+tribes to form a general political association." [Footnote: "_Notes on
+the Iroquois_ p. 75,"]
+
+In view of all the facts there seems no reason for withholding credence
+from the clear and positive statement of the Iroquois chroniclers, who
+place the commencement of their confederate government at about the
+middle of the fifteenth century.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE D.
+
+THE HIAWATHA MYTHS.
+
+
+While many of the narratives of preternatural events recounted by Clark,
+Schoolcraft and others, in which the name of Hiawatha occurs, are merely
+adaptations of older myths relating to primitive Iroquois or Algonkin
+deities, there are a few which are actual traditions, though much
+confused and distorted, of incidents that really occurred. Among these
+is the story told by Clark, of the marvelous bird by which Hiawatha's
+only daughter was destroyed. Longfellow has avoided all reference to
+this preposterous tale; but to Mr. Clark, if we may judge from the
+fullness and solemnity with which he has recorded it, it appeared very
+impressive. [Footnote: _"Onondaga"_ Vol. I, p. 25.] According to his
+narrative, when the great convention assembled at the summons of
+Hiawatha, to form the league of the Five Nations, he came to it in
+company with his darling and only daughter, a girl of twelve. Suddenly a
+loud rushing sound was heard. A dark spot appeared in the sky. Hiawatha
+warned his daughter to be prepared for the coming doom from the Great
+Spirit, and she meekly bowed in resignation. The dark spot, rapidly
+descending, became an immense bird, which, with long and pointed beak
+and wide-extended wings, swept down upon the beautiful girl, and crushed
+her to atoms. Many other incidents are added, and we are told, what we
+might well believe, that the hero's grief for the loss so suddenly and
+frightfully inflicted upon him was intense and long protracted.
+
+That a story related with so much particularity should be utterly
+without foundation did not appear probable. It seemed not unlikely that
+a daughter of Hiawatha might have been killed at some public meeting,
+either accidentally or purposely, and possibly by an Indian belonging to
+one of the bird clans, the Snipe, the Heron, or the Crane. But further
+inquiry showed that even this conjecture involved more of what may be
+styled mythology than the simple facts called for. The Onondaga chiefs
+on the Canadian Reserve, when asked if they had heard anything about a
+strange bird causing the death of Hiawatha's daughter, replied at once
+that the event was well known. As they related it, the occurrence became
+natural and intelligible. It formed, indeed, a not unimportant link in
+the chain of events which led to the establishment of the confederacy.
+The catastrophe, for such it truly was, took place not at the great
+assembly which met for the formation of the league, but at one of the
+Onondaga councils which were convened prior to that meeting, and before
+Hiawatha had fled to the Caniengas. The council was held in an open
+plain, encircled by a forest, near which temporary lodges had been
+erected for the Councillors and their attendants. Hiawatha was present,
+accompanied by his daughter, the last surviving member of his family.
+She was married, but still lived with her father, after the custom of
+the people; for the wife did not join her husband in his own home until
+she had borne him a child. The discussions had lasted through the day,
+and at nightfall the people retired to their lodges. Hiawatha's daughter
+had been out, probably with other women, into the adjacent woods, to
+gather their light fuel of dry sticks for cooking. She was great with
+child, and moved slowly, with her faggot, across the sward. An evil eye
+was upon her. Suddenly the loud voice of Atotarho was heard, shouting
+that a strange bird was in the air, and bidding one of his best archers
+shoot it. The archer shot, and the bird fell. A sudden rush took place
+from all quarters toward it, and in the rush Hiawatha's daughter was
+thrown down and trampled to death. No one could prove that Atotarho had
+planned this terrible blow at his great adversary, but no one doubted
+it. Hiawatha's grief was profound; but it was then, according to the
+tradition of the Canadian Onondagas,--when the last tie of kindred which
+bound him to his own people was broken,--that the idea occurred to him
+of seeking aid among the eastern nations. [Footnote: This account of the
+events which immediately preceded Hiawatha's flight differs somewhat
+from the narrative which I received from the New York Onondagas, as
+recorded in the Introduction (p. 22). The difference, however, is not
+important; and possibly, if it had occurred to me to inquire of these
+latter informants about the incident of the bird, I might have heard
+from them particulars which would have brought the two versions of the
+story still nearer to accord. The notable fact is that the reports of a
+tradition preserved for four hundred years, in two divisions of a broken
+tribe, which have been widely separated for more than a century, should
+agree so closely in all important particulars. Such concurrence of
+different chroniclers in the main narrative of an event, with some
+diversity in the details, is usually regarded as the best evidence of
+the truth of the history.]
+
+Clark's informants also told him much about a snow-white canoe in which
+Hiawatha--or, rather, Ta-oun-ya-wa-tha--made his first appearance to
+human eyes. In this canoe the demigod was seen on Lake Ontario,
+approaching the shore at Oswego. In it he ascended the river and its
+various branches, removing all obstructions, and destroying all enemies,
+natural and preternatural. And when his work was completed by the
+establishment of the League, the hero, in his human form of Hiawatha,
+seated himself in this canoe, and ascended in it to heaven, amid "the
+sweetest melody of celestial music."
+
+The nucleus and probable origin of this singular story is perhaps to be
+found in the simple fact that Hiawatha, after his flight from the
+Onondagas, made his appearance among the Caniengas a solitary voyager,
+in a canoe, in which he had floated down the Mohawk river. The canoes of
+the Caniengas were usually made of elm-bark, the birch not being common
+in their country. If Hiawatha, as is not unlikely, had found or
+constructed a small canoe of birch-bark on the upper waters of the
+stream, and used it for his voyage to the Canienga town, it might
+naturally attract some attention. The great celebrity and high position
+which he soon attained, and the important work which he accomplished,
+would cause the people who adopted him as a chief to look back upon all
+the circumstances of his first arrival among them with special interest.
+That the canoe was preserved till his death, and that he was buried in
+it, amid funeral wails and mournful songs from a vast multitude, such as
+had never before lamented a chief of the Kanonsioani, may be deemed
+probable enough; and in these or some similar events we may look for the
+origin of this beautiful myth, which reappears, with such striking
+effect, in the closing scene of Longfellow's poem.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE E.
+
+THE IROQUOIS TOWNS.
+
+
+The list of towns comprised in the text contains twenty-three names. Of
+this number only eight or nine resemble names which have been in use
+since the Five Nations were known to the whites; and even of this small
+number it is not certain that all, or indeed any, were in these more
+recent times applied to their original localities. My friend, General
+John S. Clark, of Auburn, N. Y., who has made a special study of the
+positions of the Indian tribes and villages, and whose notes on this
+subject illustrate the excellent work of Dr. Hawley on the early history
+of the Cayuga nation, [Footnote: _Early Chapters of Cayuga History:_ By
+Charles Hawley, D.D., President of the Cayuga Historical Society.] has
+favored me, in a recent letter, with the following brief but valuable
+summary of what is known in regard to the Iroquois towns:--
+
+"When the Mohawks were first known, they occupied three principal towns
+on the south side of the Mohawk river, between Ganajoharie and Schoharie
+creeks. The most eastern was that of the "Turtles" (or Tortoise clan),
+and was usually designated as such, and by the Dutch as the Lower or
+First Castle. The Middle or Second Castle was commonly termed the
+village of the "Bears;" while the Third or Upper Castle was generally
+called Teonnondoge or Tionnontogen, a name apparently having reference
+to the 'two mountains' near which the original town stood. After these
+towns were destroyed by the French, in 1666, their people removed to the
+north side of the river,--those of the lower town retreating a few miles
+up the stream to the rapids; and then for a hundred years this was
+generally known Caughnawaga (_Kahnawake_) "At the Rapids." The Middle or
+Second Castle was called Gandagaro in 1670, Kanagiro in 1744, etc. The
+third appears to have retained its old name in all positions."
+
+"When the Oneidas were first known they occupied a position on the
+headwaters of the Oneida inlet, and afterward gradually drew northward
+toward the lake. Their great town was usually called by the name of the
+tribe, as Onneiot, Onoyut, etc. One site, occupied about 1700, was
+called and known generally as Kanowaroghare, said to signify 'a head on
+a pole.'"
+
+"The Onondagas, first known in 1615, occupied several sites, from a
+point south of the east end of Oneida lake, where they were when first
+known, to the Onondaga valley; but in all cases the chief town, when
+named, was called Onondaga, from the name of the tribe. Their great
+village in the Onondaga valley, according to Zeisberger, was known in
+1750 as Tagochsanagecht, but this was a form derived from the name of
+the Onondagas as used in council. In all ages this chief town, wherever
+located, had other minor towns within from two to five miles, but they
+are rarely named. The great town was also divided into districts, one
+for each clan, each of which must have been known by the clan name, but
+this is seldom referred to. This rule held good also in all the large
+towns. A 'Bear village' was not occupied exclusively by members of the
+Bear clan; but these predominated and exercised authority."
+
+"The Cayugas in 1656 occupied three villages,--Onnontare, on a hill near
+the Canandaigua river,--Thiohero, near the foot of Cayuga lake ('By the
+Marsh,' or, 'Where the Rushes are'),--and a third, which generally took
+the name of the tribe, Cayuga, but was occasionally divided into three
+districts, like the other large towns."
+
+"The Senecas, when visited by the Jesuits, occupied two great towns, and
+several minor villages. The eastern of the two towns, near Victor, was
+called Gandougarae. The western, on Honcoye creek, nearly always, in all
+localities, took the name of the stream, which signifies 'bending.' It
+is said that when the League was first formed, it was agreed that the
+two great Seneca towns should be called by the names of two principal
+sachems; but I am unable to find that this was carried out in practice.
+In La Hontan's narrative of the De Nonville expedition, the great
+western town was separated into two parts, Thegaronhies and
+Danoncaritowi, which were the names of two important chiefs; while De
+Nonville's and other accounts describe it as Totiakton, 'at the bend.'
+This discrepancy, however, is found in all cases where the several towns
+are mentioned, as it was quite common to speak of them by the name of
+the principal chief. Thus, Cayuga in 1750 was called Tagayu, from
+Togahayu, the well-known chief sachem; Onondaga was called Canasatago's
+town, etc."
+
+The frequent changes in the positions and names of Indian towns, thus
+well explained and exemplified, will account; for the fact that so few
+of the ancient names in the list which the tenacious memories of the
+record-keepers retained have come down in actual use to modern times.
+The well-known landmark of the Oneida stone seems to have preserved the
+name of the town,--_Onenyute,_ "the projecting rock,"--from which the
+nation derived its usual designation. _Deserokenh_, or, as the Jesuit
+missionaries wrote it, _Techiroguen_, was situated near the outlet of
+the Oneida lake, at the point where the great northern trail crossed
+this outlet. A village of some importance is likely to have been always
+found at or near that locality. The same may be said of _Deyuhhero,_ or
+_Tiohero,_ where the main trail which united all the cantons crossed the
+river outlet of Lake Cayuga.
+
+In other cases, though the identity of names is clear, that of the
+localities is more doubtful. The _Kaneghsadakeh_ of the list, the
+"Hill-side town," may be the _Kanasadaga_ of the Senecas; but, as
+General Clark remarks, the name might have been applied to any town on
+the side of a mountain. In like manner _Deyughsweken_ (or
+_Deyohsweken_), which is said to mean "flowing out," may have been the
+town from which the Oswego river took its name, or a town at the mouth
+of any other river; and _Deyaokenh,_ "the Forks," may have been Tioga,
+or any other village at the junction of two streams. _Fonondese_ ("it is
+a high hill") is perhaps the same name as Onontare, which in
+Charlevoix's map appears as Onnontatacet; [Footnote: See _"Early
+Chapters of Cayuga History,"_ p. 48.] but the name may well have been a
+common one. A few other apparent coincidences might be pointed out; but
+of most of the towns in the list we can only say that no trace remains
+in name or known locality, and that in some cases even the meaning of
+the names has ceased to be remembered. General Clark sums up his
+conclusions on this point in the following words: "They appear to belong
+to a remote--I may say a very remote--age, and not to be referred to any
+particular known localities; and this, as it appears to me, is more to
+the credit of the manuscript as an archaic work."
+
+
+
+
+NOTE F.
+
+THE PRE-ARYAN RACE IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.
+
+
+[The following is the concluding portion of an essay on "Indian
+Migrations, as evidenced by Language," which was read at the Montreal
+meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in
+August, 1882, and published in the "American Antiquarian" for January
+and April, 1883. As the views set forth in this extract have a bearing
+on the subjects discussed in the present work, the author takes the
+opportunity of reproducing them here for the consideration of its
+readers.]
+
+It will be noticed that the evidence of language, and to some extent
+that of tradition, leads to the conclusion that the course of migration
+of the Indian tribes has been from the Atlantic coast westward and
+southward. The Huron-Iroquois tribes had their pristine seat on the
+lower St. Lawrence. The traditions of the Algonkins seem to point to
+Hudson's Bay and the coast of Labrador. The Dakota stock had its oldest
+branch east of the Alleghenies, and possibly (if the Catawba nation
+shall be proved to be of that stock), on the Carolina coast.
+Philologists are well aware that there is nothing in the language of the
+American Indians to favor the conjecture (for it is nothing else) which
+derives the race from eastern Asia. But in western Europe one community
+is known to exist, speaking a language which in its general structure
+manifests a near likeness to the Indian tongues. Alone of all the races
+of the old continent the Basques or Euskarians of northern Spain and
+southwestern France have a speech of that highly complex and
+polysynthetic character which distinguishes the American languages.
+There is not, indeed, any such positive similarity, in words or grammar,
+as would prove a direct affiliation. The likeness is merely in the
+general cast and mould of speech; but this likeness is so marked as to
+have awakened much attention. If the scholars who have noticed it had
+been aware of the facts now adduced with regard to the course of
+migration on this continent, they would probably have been led to the
+conclusion that this similarity in the type of speech was an evidence of
+the unity of race. There seems reason to believe that Europe--at least
+in its southern and western portions--was occupied in early times by a
+race having many of the characteristics, physical and mental, of the
+American aborigines. The evidences which lead to this conclusion are
+well set forth in Dr. Dawson's recent work on "Fossil Man." Of this
+early European people, by some called the Iberian race, who were
+ultimately overwhelmed by the Aryan emigrants from central Asia, the
+Basques are the only survivors that have retained their original
+language; but all the nations of southern Europe, commencing with the
+Greeks, show in their physical and mental traits a large intermixture of
+this aboriginal race. As we advance westward, the evidence of this
+infusion becomes stronger, until in the Celts of France and of the
+British Islands it gives the predominant cast to the character of the
+people. [Footnote: "The Basque may then be the sole surviving relic and
+witness of an aboriginal western European population, dispossessed by
+the intrusive Indo-European tribes. It stands entirely alone, no kindred
+having yet been found for it in any part of the world. It is of an
+exaggeratedly agglutinative type, incorporating into its verb a variety
+of relations which are almost everywhere else expressed by an
+independent word."--"The Basque forms a suitable stepping-stone from
+which to enter the peculiar linguistic domain of the New World, since
+there is no other dialect of the Old World which so much resembles in
+structure the American languages."--Professor Whitney, in _"The Life and
+Growth of Language"_ p. 258.]
+
+If the early population of Europe were really similar to that of
+America, then we may infer that it was composed of many tribes,
+scattered in loose bands over the country, and speaking languages widely
+and sometimes radically different, but all of a polysynthetic structure.
+They were a bold, proud, adventurous people, good hunters and good
+sailors. In the latter respect they were wholly unlike the primitive
+Aryans, who, as was natural in a pastoral people of inland origin, have
+always had in the east a terror of the ocean, and in Europe were, within
+historic times, the clumsiest and least venturous of navigators. If
+communities resembling the Iroquois and the Caribs once inhabited the
+British islands and the western coasts of the adjacent continent, we may
+be sure that their fleets of large canoes, such as have been exhumed
+from the peat-deposits and ancient river-beds of Ireland, Scotland, and
+France, swarmed along all the shores and estuaries of that region.
+Accident or adventure may easily have carried some of them across the
+Atlantic, not merely once, but in many successive emigrations from
+different parts of western Europe. The distance is less than that which
+the canoes of the Polynesians were accustomed to traverse. The
+derivation of the American population from this source presents no
+serious improbability whatever. [Footnote: The distance from Ireland to
+Newfoundland is only sixteen hundred miles. The distance from the
+Sandwich Islands to Tahiti (whence the natives of the former group
+affirm that their ancestors came) is twenty-two hundred miles. The
+distance from the former islands to the Marquesas group, the nearest
+inhabited land, is seventeen hundred miles. The canoes of the Sandwich
+Islands (as we are assured by Ellis, in his _"Polynesian Researches"_)
+"seldom exceed fifty feet in length." In the river-beds of France,
+ancient canoes have been found, exceeding forty feet in length. One was
+more than forty-five feet long, and nearly four feet deep. See the
+particulars in Figuier's _"Primitive Man,"_ Appleton's edit., p. 177.
+See also Prof. D. Wilson's _"Prehistoric Man,"_ 2d edit., p. 102, for a
+full discussion of this question, with instances of long canoe voyages.]
+
+On the theory which seems thus rendered probable, that the early
+Europeans were of the same race as the Indians of America, we are able
+to account for certain characteristics of the modern nations of Europe,
+which would otherwise present to the student of anthropology a
+perplexing problem. The Aryans of Asia, ancient and modern, as we know
+them in the Hindoos, the Persians, and the Armenians, with the evidence
+afforded by their history, their literature and their present condition,
+have always been utterly devoid of the sentiment of political rights.
+The love of freedom is a feeling of which they seem incapable. To humble
+themselves before some superior power--deity, king, or brahmin--seems to
+be with them a natural and overpowering inclination. Next to this
+feeling is the love of contemplation and of abstract reasoning. A dreamy
+life of worship and thought is the highest felicity of the Asiatic
+Aryan. On the other hand, if the ancient Europeans were what the Basques
+and the American Indians are now, they were a people imbued with the
+strongest possible sense of personal independence, and, resulting from
+that, a passion for political freedom. They were also a shrewd,
+practical, observant people, with little taste for abstract reasoning.
+
+It is easy to see that from a mingling of two races of such opposite
+dispositions, a people of mixed character would be formed, very similar
+to that which has existed in Europe since the advent of the Aryan
+emigrants. In eastern Europe, among the Greeks and Sclavonians, where
+the Iberian element would be weakest, the Aryan characteristics of
+reverence and contemplation would be most apparent. As we advance
+westward, among the Latin and Teutonic populations, the sense of
+political rights, the taste for adventure, and the observing, practical
+tendency, would be more and more manifest; until at length, among the
+western Celts, as among the American Indians, the love of freedom would
+become exalted to an almost morbid distrust of all governing authority.
+
+If this theory is correct, the nations of modern Europe have derived
+those traits of character and those institutions which have given them
+their present headship of power and civilization among the peoples of
+the globe, not from their Aryan forefathers, but mainly from this other
+portion of their ancestry, belonging to the earlier population which the
+Aryans overcame and absorbed. That this primitive population was
+tolerably numerous is evident from the fact that the Aryans,
+particularly of the Latin, Teutonic, and Celtic nations lost in
+absorbing it many vocal elements and many grammatical inflections of
+their speech. They gained, at the same time, the self-respect, the love
+of liberty, and the capacity for selfgovernment, which were unknown to
+them in their Asiatic home. Knowing that these characteristics have
+always marked the American race, we need not be surprised when modern
+researches demonstrate the fact that many of our Indian communities have
+had political systems embodying some of the most valuable principles of
+popular government. We shall no longer feel inclined to question the
+truth of the conclusion which has been announced by Carli, Draper, and
+other philosophic investigators, who affirm that the Spaniards, in their
+conquest of Mexico, Yucatan, and Peru, destroyed a better form of
+society than that which they established in its place. The intellectual
+but servile Aryans will cease to attract the undue admiration which they
+have received for qualities not their own; and we shall look with a new
+interest on the remnant of the Indian race, as possibly representing
+this nobler type of man, whose inextinguishable love of freedom has
+evoked the idea of political rights, and has created those institutions
+of regulated self-government by which genuine civilization and progress
+are assured to the world.
+
+
+
+
+CANIENGA GLOSSARY.
+
+
+The following Glossary comprises all the words of the Canienga text. The
+meanings of these words are given as they were, received from the
+interpreters. For most of them these definitions are confirmed by the
+dictionaries of Bruyas and Cuoq. Some of the words, which are either
+archaic forms or peculiar to the Council ceremonies, are not found in
+those dictionaries; and in a few instances the precise purport of these
+words must be considered doubtful. In some cases, also, the force of a
+grammatical inflection or of an affix may not have been correctly
+ascertained; but it is believed that the vocabulary will be found, in
+general, sufficiently accurate to be of service to the student who may
+desire to acquire some knowledge of the Canienga speech.
+
+When the words of John Buck's copy differ in orthography from those of
+the Johnson MS., the former are added in brackets. Words cited from the
+dictionary of Bruyas are distinguished by the letter B; those from the
+lexicon of M. Cuoq by C.
+
+
+A.
+
+Aerengh [orenh], far. _Heren, ahiren_, B., far; _heren, aheren_, C., far
+away.
+
+Aesahhahiyenenhon [ahesahhahiyenennyonhon], if thou hadst fallen (or
+perished) by the way. _Aha, oha, ohaha_, road, path; _gaienneńon_, B.,
+to fall.
+
+Aesayatyenenghdon [ahesayatyenendon], thou mightest have been destroyed.
+_Gaienneńon_, B., to fall; _gaien_nenton_, to cause to fall.
+_Aesaiatienenton_ is in the perf. subj. passive.
+
+Aghsonh, scarcely, hardly, while.
+
+Ai (excl.), hail! oh!
+
+Aihaigh (excl.), hail! ah! oh! More commonly pronounced _haihai_.
+
+Akare, until.
+
+Akayongh [akcayon], ancient. _Akaion_, C., old, ancient, antique.
+
+Akonikonghkahdeh, they are suffering. _Onikonhra_, mind, and _oga'te_,
+B., raw., _i. e._, having a sore mind.
+
+Akotthaghyonnighshon, one who belongs to the Wolf clan. See
+_Sathaghyonnighshon_.
+
+Akwah, indeed, truly, very, yea.
+
+Akwekon, all.
+
+Are, again, sometimes.
+
+Ayakawen, one would have said. _En_, B, to say (perf. subj.).
+
+Ayakaweron, one would have thought. _Eron_, B., to think, to wish.
+
+Ayakotyerenhon, one would be startled, surprised. From _katyeren_, to
+wonder, be startled.
+
+Ayawenhenstokenghske [ayawenhensthokenske], may it be true. _Enon,
+iaweńnon_, B.,--_iawens_, C., to happen; _togenske_, B., _tokenske_, C.,
+it is true. "May it happen to be true!"
+
+Ayuyeukwaroghthake [ayoyenkwarodake], there might have been tobacco
+smoke (apparent)., _Oienkwa_, C., tobacco; _garst_, B., to smoke (ppf.
+subj.).
+
+
+D.
+
+Da-edewenhheye [dahedewenheyeh], we may all die. _Genheion, genheie_,
+B., to die (subj. mood).
+
+Daghsatkaghthoghseronne [dasatkahthoseronne], thou mightest keep seeing.
+See _Tesatkaghthoghserontyc_. _Tasatkahthoseronne_ (as the word would be
+spelt in modern orthography) appears to be the aorist subjunctive of
+_atkahthos_, to see, in the cislocative and frequentative forms.
+
+Daondayakottondeke, that they may hear. _Athonde_, to hear.
+
+Deghniwenniyu, joint ruler; lit., they two are masters. See _Rawenniyo_.
+
+Deghsewenninekenne, thou mayest speak. See _Entyewenninekenneh_.
+
+Dendewatenonghweradon, in our mutual greetings. See _Dewadadononweronh_.
+
+Denghsatkaghdonnyonheke [densatkatonhnyonsekeh], thou wilt be looking
+about thee. _Atkahthos_, to see.
+
+Denighroghkwayen [dehnihrohkwayen], let us two smoke. _Garoksa_, B.,
+_une pipe, touche de petun_. It is conjectured that the name Iroquois,
+_i. e._, "Tobacco-people," may have been derived from this word. See
+Appendix, Note A.
+
+Dentidewaghneghdoten, we will replace the pine-tree. _Ohnehta_, pine.
+_Oten_, as a suffix (according to M. Cuoq), "serves to express the
+condition, the manner, the kind, the nature of a thing."
+
+Denyakokwatonghsaeke [tenyakokwennhendonghsaeke], he will be dying.
+_Desakkčatouch_, Onon. Dict., I am dying; _kanončenton_, B., sick.
+
+Denyontadenakarondako, they shall take off his horns. _Onakara_, horn.
+
+Desahahishonne, thou art coming troubled.
+
+Desakaghsereutonyonne, thou comest weeping. _Gagasera_, B., tear.
+
+Desanyatokenh, in thy throat. _Oniata,_ C., throat, neck.
+
+Desawennawenrate, thy voice coming over. From _owenna,_ C., _gauenda_ or
+_gauenna,_ B., voice, speech, word, and _auenron,_ B., to pass over. The
+cislocative prefix _de (te)_ gives the sense of "hither."
+
+Deskenonghweronne [deskenonweronne], I come again to greet and thank.
+_Kannonhueron,_ B., to salute any one; _kannonhueronton,_ to salute or
+thank by, or for, anything. See _ante,_ page 149, for an analysis of
+this word.
+
+Detkanoron [detkanorons], all but, almost. From _kanoron,_ costly,
+important, difficult.
+
+Dewadadenonweronh [dewadatenonweron], mutual greeting. _Kannonhueron,_
+B., to salute any one.
+
+Dewaghsadayenhah, in the shade. _Asatagon,_ B., in secret; _asatakon,_
+C., in the dark.
+
+Deyakodarakeh, the two clans. _Ohtara,_ C., tribe, band. (Dual or
+duplicative form.)
+
+Deyakonakarondon, wearing horns, _i.e.,_ being chiefs. _Onnagara,_ B.,
+horn; _kannagaront,_ having horns; _gannagaronni,_ B., _ętre
+considerable._
+
+Deyughnyonkwarakda [deyohnyonkwaraktah], at the wood's edge; near the
+thicket. _Onnionguar,_ B., thorn-bush, bramble; _akta,_ C., beside, near
+to. The word applies to the line of bushes usually found on the border
+between the forest and a clearing. With the cislocative prefix _de_ it
+means "on this side of the thicket."
+
+Deyughsihharaonh [deyohsiharaonh], there is a stoppage. _Gasiharon,_ B.,
+to stop up, to close.
+
+Deyunennyatenyon, hostile agencies, opposing; forces. _Gannenniani,_ B.,
+to surprise or defeat a band; _gannennaton, ib.,_ to seek to destroy.
+
+Deyunhonghdoyenghdonh [deyonhonghdoyendonh], mourning wampum. This word
+appears to be composed of three of Bruyas' radices, viz., _gaionni,_
+wampum belt (_collier de porcelaine_),--_gannonton,_ to throw wampum for
+the dead,--and _gaienton,_ to strike, whence _skaienton,_ to return the
+like, to strike back, and _gaientatonton,_ to give satisfaction for any
+one wounded or killed; and the meaning will be "wampum given as a
+satisfaction or consolation for a death."
+
+Dhatkonkoghdaghkwanyon. [thatkonkohdakwanyon], in going through.
+_Ongóon,_ B., to penetrate, to pass through; _atongotahkon,_ B., the
+place through which one passes.
+
+Doghkara [dohkara], only a few. _Tohkara,_ C., only occasionally, a few,
+a small number of.
+
+Doka, if, perhaps, either, or. _Toka,_ C., or, if; I don't know.
+
+Donghwenghratstanyonne [donwenratstanyonne], coming over. _Asenron,_ B.,
+to pass over.
+
+
+E.
+
+Eghdejisewayadoreghdonh [eghdetsisewayadorehdonh], this ye considered,
+ye deliberated about this. _Kaiatefreton,_ B., to examine, to think, to
+deliberate about anything.
+
+Eghdeshotiyadoreghton, they again considered. (See the preceding word.)
+
+Eghnikatarakeghne [eghnikadarakene], such were the clans. _Ehni--,_ C.,
+for _ethoni,_ there are, so, it is thus that; _ohtara,_ clan, band.
+
+Eghnikouh, thus, in this way.
+
+Eghnonweh, thither, yonder.
+
+Eghtenyontatitenranyon, they will condole with one another, or, there
+will be mutual condolence. _Gentenron,_ B., _kitenre,_ C., to pity any
+one. _Atatitenron,_ B., to deplore one's misery.
+
+Eghyendewasenghte, we will let it fall. _Aseńon,_ B., to fall;
+_asenhton, ib.,_ to cause to fall.
+
+Eghyesaotonnihsen, this was his uncle. See _yeshodonnyk._
+
+Endewaghneghdotako, we will pull up a pine tree. From _onehta,_ pine,
+and _gataksan, gatako,_ to draw out, B., _sub voce At._
+
+Enghsitskodake, thou wilt be resting, thou wilt remain. _Gentskote,_ B.,
+to be in any place.
+
+Entyewenninekenneh, the words which will be said. From _Kawenna,_ word
+(q. v.) and _en,_ B., to say.
+
+Enjerennokden (or enyerennokden), they will finish the song; or, the
+hymn will be finished. _Karenna,_ song, hymn; _okte,_ B., the end; to
+finish.
+
+Enjeyewendane [enjewendane], they will be comforted. _Ganeienthon,_ B,
+to be calm. (This word should probably be written _enjeyeweyendane._)
+
+Enjondatenikonghketsko, they will comfort, lit., will raise the mind.
+_Onikonhra,_ mind, spirit, temper, and _gagetskuan,_ B., to raise up.
+
+Enjondentyonko. See _Enyonghdentionko._
+
+Enjonkwakaronny, it will cause us trouble. _Gagaronnion,_ B., to do harm
+to any one, to cause him some loss.
+
+Enjonkwanekheren, we shall suffer a loss. _Wakenekheren,_ C., not to
+know, not to recognize (_i.e._, we shall cease to see some one).
+
+Enskat, one, once.
+
+Entkaghwadasehhon, will be vexed, excited. _Gahuatase,_ B., to twist,
+turn round.
+
+Enwadon, it will be allowed. _Watons,_ fut. _enwaton,_ C., to be
+possible, feasible, allowed.
+
+Enwadonghwenjadethare, will make a hole through the ground. See
+_Onwentsia._
+
+Enyairon, they will say, one will say. From _en,_ B., fut. _egiron,_ to
+say.
+
+Enyakaonkodaghkwe [enyakaonkohdakwe], they shall have passed. _Ongóon,_
+B., to penetrate, pass through; _ongotanni,_ to cause to penetrate, etc.
+
+Enyakodenghte, they (or one) will be miserable. _Genthenteon,_ B., to be
+deserving of pity.
+
+Enyakodokenghse [enyakodokenseh], they (or one) will discover.
+_Gatogeńon, gatogens,_ B., to know.
+
+Enyakohetsde [enyakohetste], he (or one) will go on. _Kohetstha,_ C., to
+pass beyond.
+
+Enyakonewarontye, they (or one) will be surprised. _Gannesaron,_ B., to
+surprise.
+
+Enyeharako, they will carry it. _Gaha,_ B., to carry off.
+
+Enyeken, they will see. _Gagen,_ B., to see.
+
+Enyenikonghkwendarake, they will be mourning. _Onikonhra._ (q. v.) and
+_gagsentaron,_ stretched on the ground (_i.e.,_ the mind dejected).
+
+Enyerennokden. See _Enjerennokden._
+
+Enyerighwanendon [enyerihwanondon], they will ask (or, will wonder).
+From _karihwa_ (q. v.) and _gannendon,_ B., to wonder, or _annonton,_ to
+seek. _Garihwanonton,_ B., to ask the news.
+
+Enyerighwawetharho, the business will be closed. _Karihwa_ (q. v.) and
+_otarhon,_ B., to grasp; _kotarhos,_ C., to grasp, to stop by grasping.
+
+Enyonderennoden, they will sing it thus. _Karenna,_ q. v. and--_oten,_
+C., which "serves to express the condition, manner, kind, or nature of a
+thing."
+
+Enyonghdentyonko, he will walk to and fro. _Atention,_ B., to go away.
+
+Enyononghsaniratston, it will strengthen the house. _Kanonsa,_ house,
+and _ganniraton,_ B., to strengthen.
+
+Enyontsdaren, they will weep. _Katstaha,_ C., to weep, to shed tears.
+
+Enyontyerenjiok, they will be startled. From _katyeren,_ to wonder, to
+be surprised.
+
+Enyurighwadatye [enyorihwadatye], it will continue: the affair will go
+on. From _kariwa_ (q. v.) as a verb, in the progressive form and future
+tense.
+
+Etho, thus, so.
+
+Ethone, then.
+
+Ethononweh, thither.
+
+
+H.
+
+Hasekenh, because. _Aseken,_ C., for, because.
+
+Henskerighwatoate [enskerighwatonte], I will frustrate their purposes.
+From _karihwa_ (q. v.) and _atoneton,_ B., to cause to lose, to mislead.
+
+Henyondatsjistayenhaghse [henyondatstsistayenhase], they will hold a
+council, lit., they will make a council fire. From _katsista,_ fire;
+_gatsistaien,_ B., to hold council, to light the council fire.
+
+Hone, also. See _Ony._
+
+
+I.
+
+Ie [iih], I.
+
+Iese [ise], thou, ye.
+
+Iesewengh, ye have said. _En,_ B., to say.
+
+Issy [hissih], yonder, there, _Isi,_ C., there.
+
+
+J.
+
+Jadadeken, thy brother (or brothers). _Tsiatatekenha,_ C., ye two are
+brothers.
+
+Jadakweniyosaon (or jatagweniyosaon), thou wert the ruler, or, ye were
+the rulers. See _Jadakweniyu._
+
+Jadakweniyu, thou art the ruler, or, ye are the rulers. See note to sec.
+28, _ante,_ p. 152.
+
+Jatatawhak, father and son, lit., son of each other. _Gahawak,_ B., to
+have for child (reciprocal form).
+
+Jathondek (or jatthontek), listen! hearken thou. Imperative sing. of
+_kathontats,_ C, _athantaton,_ B., to hear.
+
+Jatthontenyonk, keep listening! continue to hear! The frequentative form
+of _jatthontek._
+
+Ji [tsi], that, that which, wherein. See _Jini._
+
+Jidenghnonhon [jidennon], as, like as. _Tennon,_ C., and also, but.
+
+Jinayawenhon, the consequences, the results, lit. what would happen.
+_Eńon,_ B.,--_iawens,_ C, to happen.
+
+Jinesadawen [tsinesadawen]. See _Jinisadawen._
+
+Jini [_tsini_], that which, such, so, so much.
+
+Jinihotiyerenh, what they did. From _Jini_ (q. v.) and
+--_kierha,--wakieren,_ C., to act, do, say. This verb is always preceded
+by some particle, such as _kenni_ (see how), _tsini_ (that which) and
+the like.
+
+Jinikawennakeh, these the words. See _Jini_ and _kawenna._
+
+Jinisayadawen [tsinesayadawenh], that which has befallen you. _Eńon,_
+B., to happen; _gaiataseńon,_ to happen to some one.
+
+Jiniyuneghrakwah [tsiniyohnerakwa], this solemn event. _Gonneragoon,_
+B., to wonder; _jonneragsat,_ that is wonderful. See _yuneghrakwah._
+
+Jinonweh [tsinonweh], thither, whereto.
+
+Jiratighrotonghkwakwe [tsiradirohtonhkwakwe], where they used to smoke.
+_Garst,_ B., to smoke; _otonkwa,_ C., flame. "Where they lighted their
+pipes."
+
+Jisanakdade [tsisanakdate], from thy seat. See _Kanakta._
+
+Jiyudakenrokde [tsiodakenrokde], by the fireplace, near the ashes.
+_Akenra_, ashes; _okte_, end, edge.
+
+Jiyathondek, listen! hearken! Imperative dual of _kathontats_, I hear.
+See _Jathondek_.
+
+Jodenaghstahhere, they made additions to a house; they added a frame.
+_Gannasta_, B., poles for making a house; _onasta_, C., a framework;
+_kaheren_, B. to be upon.
+
+Joskawayendon, there is again wilderness, waste ground. _Gaienthon_, B.,
+to have fields.
+
+
+K.
+
+Kadon, I say, I speak. _Igatonk_ (_sub voce En_), B., I say; _katon_,
+C., to say.
+
+Kady [kadi], therefore, then. _Kati_, C., then, consequently.
+
+Kadykenh, because. See _Katykenh_.
+
+Kaghnekonyon, floods. From _ohneka_, water, in the frequentative form.
+_Gannegonnion_, B., there is much water.
+
+Kaghyaton, it is written. _Kiatons_, C., to write. M. Cuoq says: "the
+perfect participle takes an _h: kahiaton_, written, it is written."
+_Gaiatare_, B., to paint.
+
+Kajatthondek, listen! See _Jathondek_.
+
+Kakeghrondakwe, they were collected; were assembled. _Gageron_, B., to
+be together, or, to put things or persons somewhere.
+
+Kanaghsdajikowah [kanastatsikowah], great framework, great building.
+From _kanasta_, frame, and _kowa_, great.
+
+Kanakaryonniha, on a pole. _Gannagare_, B., pole, long stick.
+
+Kanakdakwenniyukeh, on the principal seat. From _kanakta_ (q. v.) and
+_atakwenniio,_ C, principal.
+
+Kanakdiyuhake, the place (or seat) may be good. From _kanakta,_ place,
+seat, and--_iyu,_ good (subjunctive mood).
+
+Kanakta, mat,--hence couch, bed, seat, place.
+
+Kaneka, where, somewhere.
+
+Kanekhere, I believe, I suppose; surely, certainly. Probably from _eron,
+igere,_ B., to think, or suppose.
+
+Kanhonghdakdeh [kanonhdakdeh], by the wall, or side of the house.
+_Onnhonta,_ wall of house, of a cabin; _akte,_ beside, athwart.
+
+Kanikonrashon, the minds, a plural form of _Onikonhra_ (q.v.)
+
+Kanikonrakeh, in mind. See _Onikonhra._
+
+Kanonghsakdatye [kanonsakdatye], outside the house. _Kanonsakta,_ near
+the house; from _Kanonsa,_ house, and _akta,_ near, beside. The
+progressive affix _tye_ gives the meaning of "passing near the house."
+
+Kanonghsakonshon [kanonsakonshon], in the house.
+
+Kanonsa, house.
+
+Kanoron, important, valuable, serious, difficult, painful, afflicting.
+
+Karenna, song, hymn, chant.
+
+Karighwakayonh, in ancient times. From _Karihwa_ (q. v.), and _akaion_,
+old. See _Orighwakayongh._
+
+Karighwatchkwenh [karihwahtehkonh], this word, which the interpreters
+rendered simply ceremony, probably means "the fire-kindling act," from
+_Karihwa_ (q. v.), and _atchken,_ or _atekha_ (_ategen, ateza,_ B.), to
+burn.
+
+Karihwa or karighwa (_garihsa,_ B., _kariwa, oriwa,_ C.), thing, affair,
+business, action, news, word. This word, in its root-form of _rihwa_
+(_riwa_) or _rihow_ enters largely into compounds having reference to
+business, law, office, news, belief, and the like.
+
+Karonta, tree, log, trunk, post.
+
+Kathonghnonweh [kathonnonweh], I fail, I lose my way. _Atonon_, B., to
+lose one's self, to go astray.
+
+Kathonghdeh, away, out of sight. _Atonhton_, B. (sub voce _atonon_), to
+cause to lose, to mislead.
+
+Katykenh [kadikenh], how then? _Kati_, C., then (done); _ken_,
+interrogative particle.
+
+Kawenna (_gauenda, gattenna_, B.; _owenna_, C.), word, voice, language,
+speech.
+
+Kayanerenh, peace, goodness, justice, law, league. _Wakianere,
+ioianere_, C., to be good, right, proper (_i.e._, noble); _roianer_, he
+is a chief. _Kaianerensera_, law, government, rule, decree, ordinance.
+See _ante_, p. 33.
+
+Kayanerenghkowa, great peace, great law, the great league. _Kayanerenh_
+(q. v.) and _kowa_, great.
+
+Kehaghshonha, kehhasaonhah, recent, lately.
+
+Ken (for kento) here.
+
+Kendenyethirentyonnite, here we will place them. See _Kenderentyonnih_.
+
+Kenderentyonnih, this is lying here. Probably from _Garenton_, B., to
+hang down, and _ionni_, to be extended or laid out.
+
+Kendonsayedane (?) returning here, (qu., pausing here). _Gasaien_, B.,
+to be slow; _gasaiatanne_, to make slow.
+
+Kenenyohdatyadawenghdate, one shall be murdered here. _Aaenthon_, B., to
+kill; _Katawenthos_, C, to kill many people, to massacre.
+
+Kenhendewaghnatatsherodarho, we will attach a pouch. _Gannata_, B.,
+little bag; _otarhon_, to grasp.
+
+Kenkaghnekonyon, here floods. See _kaghnekonyon_.
+
+Kenkarenyakehrondonhah, being hidden here among logs. _Gagarennion_, B.,
+to remove away; _Karonta_, tree, log.
+
+Kenkine [kenki], thus, in this way.
+
+Kenkisenh [kenhkense], thus, in this way.
+
+Kenkontifaghsoton, here things lying in ambush.
+
+Kenne, thus.
+
+Kennikanaghsesha, small strings of wampum. _Kenni--ha_, C., small,
+_kanahses_, (?) a string of wampum.
+
+Kensane, but, however.
+
+Kentekaghronghwanyon [kondekahronwanyon], here obstacles. _Garonhon_,
+B., to place (or to be) athwart.
+
+Kentewaghsatayenha, here in the dark. _Asatagon_, C., in the darkness;
+_asatagon_, B., in secret.
+
+Kenteyurhoton, here to this opening (or cleared space in a forest).
+_Karha_, forest.
+
+Kenthoh (_kento_, C.), here.
+
+Kenwaseraketotanese, here the uplifted hatchet, From _ken_, here,
+_wasera (asera, osera)_, hatchet, and _gagetut_, B., to be shown, to
+appear above.
+
+Kenwedewayen, we place it here. From _ken_, here, and _gaien_, B., to
+put in any place.
+
+Kenyoteranentenyonhah, there is a crevice here. From _ken_, here, and
+_ateronnonte_, B., having space, or showing light between two things not
+well joined.
+
+Kenyutnyonkwaratonnyon, here many thorns. From _ken_, here, and
+_onniongar_, B., thorns, brambles. The word is in the frequentative
+form.
+
+Konnerhonyon [konneronyon], they keep thinking. _Eron_, B., to think, to
+will. (Frequentative form.)
+
+Konyennetaghkwen [konyennedaghkwen], my child, my offspring. From
+_ennet_, B., to hold an infant in one's bosom. "_Gonyennetakan_, says
+the Canienga to the Oneida," B. _Konyennetakkwen_ is properly a verb of
+the third conjugation, in the imperfect tense, and the 1:2 transition:
+"I nursed thee as a child." Here it is used idiomatically as a noun.
+
+Kowa, kowane, great.
+
+
+N.
+
+Nadehhadihne, it was their number. See _Natejonhne_.
+
+Nadekakaghneronnyonghkwe [nedekakanneronnyonkwe], it was commonly looked
+at. _Kagannere_, B., to see (frequentative form, imperfect tense).
+
+Nai (exclam.), hail! oh! ah! (It is the exclamation _ai_ or _hai_, with
+the particle _ne_ prefixed.)
+
+Nakonikonra, their mind. See _Onikonhra_.
+
+Nakwah, (?) indeed. See _Akwah_.
+
+Natehotiyadoreghtonh, they decided on. _Kajatoreton_, B., to examine,
+think, deliberate about anything.
+
+Natejonhne, it was your number; this was the size of your class.
+_Teionihes_, C., large, wide; "_ken ok nateionhes_, not larger than
+that."
+
+Nayakoghstonde [nayakostonde], by reason of, the pretext being.
+_Gastonton_, B., to make a pretext of anything.
+
+Nayawenh, it may be. _Eńon, yaweńon_, B.,--_iawens_, C., to happen. See
+_Nenyawenne_.
+
+Nayeghnyasakenradake,(?) having a white neck. _Onniasa_, B., neck;
+_gagenrat_, B., white.
+
+Ne, the, this, that, who, which (rel.). A demonstrative and relative
+particle, variously used, but always giving a certain emphasis to the
+word which it precedes.
+
+Nedens, either, or.
+
+Nekenne (or _ne kenh ne_), thus.
+
+Nene, the, this, that, these, those, etc. (an emphatic reduplication of
+_ne_).
+
+Nenyakoranne, they will keep on, persist, go so far as. _Garaon,
+garannne_, B., to find any one; _keras, kerane_, C., to approach any
+one, to come to him.
+
+Nenyawenne, it may be; it will happen; it shall be done. Future of
+_Nayawenh_, q. v.
+
+Nenyerighwanendon, they will inquire. See _Enyerighwanendon_.
+
+Neok, nok, and, also. (Contracted from _ne_ and _ok_.)
+
+Neony [neoni], also. See _Ne_ and _Oni_.
+
+Niateweghniserakeh, every day. From _niate_, each, every, and
+_wehnisera_, (or _wennisera_) day, with the locative participle _ke_.
+
+Nitthatirighwayerathaghwe [nithariwayerathakwe], they used to do the
+work. From _karihwa_, business, and _gaieren_, B., to do. (Imperfect
+tense.)
+
+Nityakwenontonh, they search, inquire, pry into. _Annonton, gannenton_,
+B., to seek, search, interrogate.
+
+Niutercnhhatye (?) it was startling. From _katyeren_, to wonder, to be
+startled.
+
+Niwa, extent, size, number.
+
+Niyakoghswathah, they are mischievous, troublesome. _Gasaton_, B., _étre
+méchant_.
+
+Niyawehkowa [niawenhkowa], great thanks. _Niawen_, C., thanks; _kowa_,
+great.
+
+Niyawennonh, it happened. See _Nayawenh_.
+
+Niyenhhenwe [niyenhhenwe], in the future.--_nenwe_ relates to the
+future, C.
+
+Niyieskahhaghs, being borne. _Gaha_, B., to carry away.
+
+Niyonsakahhawe, he is carried. _Gahawi_, B., to bring.
+
+Noghnaken, hereafter, afterwards, in later times. See _Oghnaken_.
+
+Nonkenh, it may be. _Enon_, B., to happen.
+
+Nonkwaderesera, our grandchildren. See _Saderesera_.
+
+Nonwa, now.
+
+Nyare, while, previously. _Niare_, C., beforehand.
+
+
+O.
+
+Oghentonh, in the first place, foremost, firstly. _Gahenton_, B., to go
+first; _ohenton_, C, before, foremost, formerly.
+
+Oghnaken [onaken], afterwards. _Ohnaken_, C., behind, backwards,
+afterwards.
+
+Oghniyawenhonh, what has happened. From _ohni_, C., what? and _iawens_,
+to happen.
+
+Oghnonekenh, dismayed (?) _Kannonhiannion_, B., to fear, to be alarmed.
+
+Oghseronnih [onhseronni]; together. _Oseronni_, C., together.
+
+Oghsonteraghkowa [aghsonderahkowah], disease, pestilence.
+
+Ohhendonh; see _Oghentonh_.
+
+Ok, and, also, indeed.
+
+Okaghserakonh [okaserakonh], an tears. _Gagasera_, B., tears.
+
+Okaghsery [okaseri], tears. _Okaseri_, C., tear, from _Okahra_, eye, and
+_keri_, liquid.
+
+Onakara, horn.
+
+Onekwenghdarihenh, in crimson (_i. e._, in blood). _Onigentara,_ B.,
+red; onnigensa, blood.
+
+Onenh [onen]. Now; at last; finally.
+
+Onghteh [onhteh], perhaps, probably.
+
+Onghwa, now, at present. _Onwa_, C., now. (Same as _Nonwa_.)
+
+Onghwajok, presently.
+
+Onghwenjakonh [onwenjakon], into the earth. See _Onwentsia._
+
+Onidatkon, deadly.
+
+Onikonhra, mind, character, disposition, thought, opinion, sentiment.
+_Gandigonra_, B., _esprit, pensée_.
+
+Onkwaghsotshera [onkwasotsera], our forefathers. The root is _sot_,
+meaning grandparent. _Rak'sotha_, C., my grandfather; _ak'sotha_, my
+grandmother; _onkwa_, our; _sera_, the "crement," generalizing the word.
+
+Onkwaghsotsherashonhkenha, our deceased forefathers. See
+_Onkwaghsotshera, Shon (son)_ is the plural suffix; _kenha_, deceased,
+"the late" (the French _feu_).
+
+Onok, and, and then. See _Ony, Ok_ and _Neok_.
+
+Onokna, and then.
+
+Onwa, now. See _Onghwa_.
+
+Onwentsia, earth, land, field, ground.
+
+Ony [oni], also. See _Neony_.
+
+Orighokonha, few words. From _karihwa_ (q. v.), and _okonha_, an affix
+indicating a restricted plural.
+
+Orighwakayongh [oriwakayon], in ancient times. See _Karihwa_ and
+_Akayongh_.
+
+Orighwakwekonh [oriwakwekon], all business, all matters, all the rules.
+See _Karihwa_ and _Akwekon_.
+
+Owenna. See _Kawenna_.
+
+Oya [oyah], another, another thing.
+
+Oyata (or oyada), body, person, some one, self. _Oiata_, C., body,
+person; _gaiata_, B., living thing.
+
+Oyenkondonh, men, warriors (obsolete).
+
+
+R.
+
+Radiyats. See _Ratiyats_.
+
+Rakowanenh, he is chief (lit. he is a great one). From _kowanen_, to be
+great; root, _kowa_, great.
+
+Ranyaghdenghshon [ranyadenhshon], he is of the Tortoise clan.
+_Keniahten, C., to be of the Tortoise band.
+
+Ratikowanenghskwe, they were great. 3d person, plural, imperfect of
+_kowanen,_ to be great. See _Rakowanenh._
+
+Ratiyanarenyon [radiyanaronnyon], their many footmarks, or traces.
+_Gaianna,_ B., _oiana,_ C, track, trace (frequentative form).
+_Gaiannaronyon,_ B., there are many tracks.
+
+Ratiyats, they call it. 3d person, plural, of _Gaiason,_ B., to name, to
+call.
+
+Raweghniseronnyh [rawenniseronni], he appoints (lit. makes) the day.
+From _weghnisera,_ day, and _konnis,_ C., to make.
+
+Rawenniyo [rawenniyoh], God (lit. he is a master). _Keweniio,_ C., to be
+master. See Appendix, note B.
+
+Raxhottahyh, my forefathers. _Rak sotha,_ C., my grandfather.
+
+Roghskenrakeghdekowah, he is a war-chief. _Oskera,_ C., war;
+_roskenrakehte,_ warrior; _kowa,_ great.
+
+Rodighskenrakeghdethaghkwe [rodiskenrakedetahkwe], they were warriors.
+3d pers. pl. imperfect of _roskenrakehte,_ he is a warrior.
+
+Rokhawah, his son. _Gahaak,_ B., to have for child; _nihaak,_ my child.
+
+Rokwahhokowah, he is the great wolf. _Okwaho,_ wolf; _kowa,_ great.
+
+Ronarasehsen, they are cousins. See _Yeshonarase._
+
+Ronatennossendonghkwe [rondennoshentonhkwe], they used to meet (lit., to
+fraternize). 3d pers. pl. imperfect of _atennossen,_ to be brother and
+sister.
+
+Ronenh, they said. _En,_ B. to say (used only in the preterite).
+
+Roneronh, they thought. _Eron,_ B., to think.
+
+Ronkeghsotah, my forefathers. See _Onkwaghsotshera_ and _Raxhottahyh._
+
+Roskerewake, he is of the Bear clan. _Akskerewake_, C., to be of the
+band of the Bear.
+
+Rotirighwison, they made the rule, they decided. See _Karihwa_.
+_Gariheison_; B., to finish a matter, to conclude.
+
+
+S.
+
+Saderesera, thy grandchildren. _Atere_, grandchild; _sera_, the crement,
+generalizing the word. See _Onkwaghsotshera_.
+
+Sahondakon, in thy ears. _Ahonta_, B., ear.
+
+Sanekenh, although, yet, nevertheless.
+
+Sanekherenhonh, thou art losing.
+
+Sanheghtyensera, thy women, thy womankind. _Gannhetien_, B., woman;
+_sera_, the generalizing affix. See _Saderesera_.
+
+Sanikonra, thy mind. See _Onikonhra_.
+
+Sathaghyonnishon, thou art of the Wolf clan. _Tahionni_, one of the Wolf
+clan.
+
+Senirighwisaanonghkwe, ye two were the founders. See
+_Sewarighwisaanonghkwe_.
+
+Seniyatagweniyohkwe, ye two were the principals. See _Jadakweniyu_; the
+affix _kwe_ indicates the past tense.
+
+Sewarighwisaanonghkwe [sewarihwisahanonkwe], ye established, ye were the
+founders. From _karihwa_, q. v., and _gason_, B., to finish, to
+consummate. _Garihwisaani_, B., to accomplish a work, to complete a
+business.
+
+Sewatarighwakhaonghkwe, ye were combined in the work, ye joined heartily
+in the business. From _karihwa_, (q. v.) and _gagaon_, B., to find good;
+_gariheagáon_, B., to like the affair.
+
+Seweghne [sewenghne], ye said. _En_, B., to say.
+
+Seweghniserathagh, for a time, lit, for a day. See _Weghniserade._
+
+Seweryenghskwe, ye who were comrades. (?) Probably from _Oeri,_ C.,
+friend, comrade,--here a verb in the imperfect tense.
+
+Shehaweh [shehawa], thy child, or children. See _Rohhawah._
+
+Shekonh, yet, still. _Sekon,_ C., still, moreover.
+
+Shihonadewiraratye, they with their children (lit., they kept on
+producing young ones). From _yodewirare,_ a fowl hatching.
+
+Skaendayendon, again a waste place. _Oyente,_ B., woods; _gaienthon,_ to
+have fields. (Reiterative form).
+
+Skarenhesekowah, a lofty tree; lit., a great tree-top. From _garenha,_
+B., tree-top, _ese_ (suffix) long, high, and _kowa,_ great.
+
+Skennen, well, easily, peacefully, pleasantly.
+
+Skennenji, quite well, very peacefully, safely. From _skennen_ and
+_tsi,_ C. an augmentative affix.
+
+
+T.
+
+Tehhodidarakeh, the two clans. See _Tekadarakehne._
+
+Tehotyatakarorenh, acting in two capacities (lit., a person divided).
+From _oiata,_ person, and _tioren,_ B., to split.
+
+Tekadarakehne, there were two clans, or, of the two clans. From _otara_
+or _katara,_ clan or totem (in the reduplicate form and past tense).
+
+Tesatkaghthoghserontye [tesatkahthohserontye], thou sawest in coming.
+_Katkathos,_ C., to see, look. The cislocative, frequentative, and
+progressive forms are all combined in this expressive word--"you kept
+seeing as you came."
+
+Thadenyedane (?), he will stand. _Gataon,_ B., to raise himself upright.
+
+Thadenseghsatkaghthonnyonheke [thadensehsatkatonnyonheke], thou mayest
+look about thee. _Katkathos,_ C., to look (frequentative form,
+subjunctive mood).
+
+Thadetyatroghkwanekenh, let us two smoke together, From _garoksa,_ B.,
+_kahrokwa,_ C, a pipe. Bruyas gives the derivative form
+_tsatrokoannegen,_ but does not explain it; it evidently means, "let us
+(pl.) smoke together."
+
+Thensadondeke, thou wilt hear. _Athonte, athontaton,_ B., _kathontats,_
+C., to hear, obey, consent.
+
+Thienkahhawe, will carry. _Gahawi,_ B., to bring.
+
+Thisayatatirhehon [thisayadadirhehon], thou arrivest.
+
+Thisennekwakenry, thou art sitting in blood. _Gannegse,_ B., blood, and
+_gagenrion,_ to roll, to wallow.
+
+Thiwakwekonh [ohtihwakwekonh], all around.
+
+Thiyaensayeken, they will see it again. _Gagen,_ B., to see.
+
+Thiyenjidewatyenghsaeke [thienjidewatyenseke], we shall have reached
+home; lit., we shall have taken a seat. _Atient, atien,_ B., to sit
+down.
+
+Tsini; see _Jini._
+
+Tsisaronkatah, thy hearing. _Arongen,_ B., to hear, to listen;
+_arongaton,_ B., to hear by anything.
+
+Tyewenninekenne, he will speak some words. See _Entyewenninekenneh._
+
+Tyeyadakeron, bodies are lying. _Oyata,_ body; _gageron,_ B., to be in
+any place.
+
+Tyoghnawatenghjihonh [dyonawaghdehtsihonh], a swift current. _Ohnawa,_
+C., current, swift stream of water; _gannasteton,_ B., swift river;
+_tsihon,_ an augmentative suffix,--"exceedingly swift."
+
+
+W.
+
+Waahkwadewayendonh, taking care, carefully. _Ateseyenton,_ B., to take
+care, to do well.
+
+Waghontenhnonterontye, or Wahhondennonterontye, they were as brothers
+thenceforth. _Atennonteron_, to be brothers. The word is in the aorist
+indicative, 3d pers. pl., progressive form (indicated by the termination
+_tye_).
+
+Wahhoronghyaronnon, he put away the clouds. From _aronhia_, sky, heaven,
+cloud.
+
+Wakarighwakayone [wakarihwakayonne], it has become old. See
+_Karighwakayonh_.
+
+Wakatyerenkowa, I was greatly surprised. From _katyeren_, to wonder, or
+be startled, and _kowa_, greatly.
+
+Wakonnyh [wakonnikih], woman, womankind. (Obsolete.)
+
+Wakwenekwenghdarokwanyon, we have washed off the bloodstains.
+_Garagsentara_, B., blood, and _garagsan_, to take away, or
+_garagsegan_, to efface.
+
+Wakwennyonkoghde, I have stopped for you (as tears). Probably from
+_ganniong_, B., the nose; _kannionkon_, to bleed from the nose, _i.e._,
+flowing from the nose.
+
+Watidewennakarondonyon, we have put the horns on him (_i.e._, made him a
+chief). _Onnagara_, B., horn; _gannagaronni_, B., _ętre considérable_.
+
+Watyakwasiharako, we have removed the obstruction, we have unstopped.
+_Gasiharongsan_, B., to unstop (_desboucher_).
+
+Watyonkwentendane, we have become wretched, or poor. _GenOenteon_, B.,
+to be worthy of compassion.
+
+Wedeweyennendane (see under Wete--).
+
+Wedewennakeraghdanyon (see under Wete--).
+
+Weghniserade [wenniserade], to-day. _Enniscra_, B., day; _nonwa
+wenniserate_, C., to-day.
+
+Wetewayennendane, we have finished. _Gaweyennentáon_, B., to rest, to
+cease from working.
+
+Wetewennakeraghdanyon [wedewennakeratanyon], we have made the signs, we
+have gone through the ceremonies. _Ganneraton_, B., "_se servir de
+rčgle_."
+
+
+Y.
+
+Yadayakonakarondatye, he may be going with horns. From _onakara_, horn
+(progressive form, subjunctive mood).
+
+Yadehninhohhanonghne, they two guarded the door, they two were the
+doorkeepers. _Gannhoha_, B., door; _gannonna_, to guard.
+
+Yaghdekakoghsonde [yaghdegagonhsonde], invisible, (lit., without face);
+from _yahte_, not, and _kakonhsa_ (_okonsa_) face.
+
+Yaghnonwenh, never. _Iah-nonwenton_, C., never. From _Iah_ (_yah_) not,
+and _nonwa_ or _onwa_, now.
+
+Yakwenronh, we say. _En_, B., to say.
+
+Yatehhotinhohhataghkwen, they were together at the doorway (_i. e._,
+they were the doorkeepers). _Gannhoha_, B., door; _atakon_, B. (_sub
+voce At_), "_ce dans quoi il y a_."
+
+Yatenkarighwentaseron, to finish the business. From _karihwa_ (q. v.)
+and _awentas_, to finish.
+
+Yejisewahhawitonh, ye have taken it with you. _Gahal_, B., to bring;
+_gahalton_, to take away.
+
+Yejisewatkonseraghkwanyon, ye have it as a pillow. _Esakonseraka_, B.,
+thou wilt use as a pillow.
+
+Yejisewayadkeron [yetsisewayatakeron], ye are laid together. _Gageron_,
+B., to be together, to place together.
+
+Yejodenaghstahhere, they added a frame. See _Jodennaghstahhere._
+
+Yendewanaghsende, we will drop (or let fall) into it. _Aseńon_ (?), B.,
+to fall; _asenhton,_ to cause to fall.
+
+Yenjontahidah, they will follow. _Gatazori, gatazi,_ B., to run.
+
+Yenyontatenoutshine, they are to be led by the hand. Probably from
+_gannonna,_ B., to keep, and _atsi,_ comrade.
+
+Yenyontatideron, they shall be placed. _Genteron,_ B., to put any
+animate thing in any place.
+
+Yeshodonnyh, or Yeshotonnyh, his uncle (properly, "his father's younger
+brother"); also, as pl., his uncles. _'Atonni,_ C., a relative on the
+father's side. The prefix _yes,_ in which the signs of the translocative
+and reiterative forms are combined, gives the sense of "the next younger
+(uncle) but one."
+
+Yeshohawah, or Yeshohawak, his next younger child but one. See
+_Rohhawah,_ and _Yeshodonnyh._
+
+Yeshonadadekenah, or Yeshondadekenah, they are brothers. _Rontatekenha,_
+C., they are brothers together. This word is made up of the prefix _ye,_
+the sign of the translocative form; _s,_ of the reiterative form (see
+_Yeshodonnyh_); _ron_ or _rona,_ the plural pronoun (they); _tate,_ the
+sign of the reciprocal form; _ken,_ younger brother; and _ha,_ an
+affectionate diminutive affix, generally added to words expressing
+relationship.
+
+Yeshonarase, his second cousin (lit., they are cousins). _Arase,_
+cousin. See _Yeshodonnyh._
+
+Yeshonaraseshen, he was their cousin. See _Yeshonarase._
+
+Yeshotiriwayen, they have again referred the business. From _karihwa,_
+q. v.
+
+Yetsisewanenyadanyon, ye are in your graves. Perhaps from _onenya_,
+stone,--ye are under the stones.
+
+Yetsisewanonwadaryon, ye have taken your intellects (lit., brains) with
+you. _Ononwara_, C., brain, head.
+
+Yetsisewennitskagwanion, ye have placed it under you. _Ennitskare_, B.,
+to be seated on anything.
+
+Yondonghs, it is called; they call it. _Katon_, C., to say.
+
+Yonkwakaronny, they are wasting, or injuring, us. _Gagaronnion_, B., to
+do harm to any one; to cause him some loss.
+
+Yonkwanikonghtaghkwenne [yonkwennikondakwenne], we depended on them.
+
+Yontkwatkennison, we are assembled. _Atkennison_, B., to be assembled.
+
+Yotdakarahon [yotdarahon], things falling on one. _Ga'ráon_, B., to
+fall upon.
+
+Yoyanere, it is good, it is well. From the root _yaner_, noble. See
+_Kayancrenh_.
+
+Yuneghrakwah, solemn event. See _Jiniyuneghrakwah_.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+(_Names of authors are printed in small capitals; of races and tribes in
+italic._)
+
+  Adoption of conquered Enemies
+
+  _Agnier,_ French for Canienga
+
+  Akahenyonk, Cayuga chief, Tekahenyonk in chant
+
+  _Algonkin_ stock
+
+  _Algonkins,_ a nomadic people,
+    their war with the Alligewi,
+    friendly to the Hurons,
+    western (Ojibways),
+    the Lenapes,
+
+  Allegheny mountains
+
+  Allegheny river
+
+  Alliances of Iroquois
+
+  _Alligewi,_ or Moundbuilders
+
+  _Andastes,_ or _Conestogas,_
+    among the Iroquois
+
+  _Aryans,_ their character,
+    in Europe and Asia
+
+  Ataensic, a Huron divinity
+
+  Atotarho, Onondaga chief,
+    meaning of name,
+    his opposition to Hiawatha,
+    joins the League,
+    myths relating to,
+    political kinship,
+    legend of poisonous bird,
+    story of Hiawatha's daughter,
+    his name in the chant,
+    his aids in council,
+    succession of Atotarhos,
+
+  _Attiwandaronks,_ or _Neutrals,_
+    their country,
+    their history,
+    among the Hurons,
+    their mortuary customs,
+    cause of their overthrow,
+
+
+  Ball clan,
+
+  _Basques,_ their language,
+    their character
+
+  Bear clan
+
+  Bearfoot, Rev. Isaac
+
+  Beaver clan
+
+  Book of Rites,
+    its contents,
+    its origin,
+    its name,
+    addresses of condolence,
+    Canienga text,
+    translation,
+    Onandaga book,
+    translation,
+    notes on Canienga book,
+    notes on Onondaga book
+
+  Brant, Joseph
+
+  BREBEUF, on the Huron character
+
+  BRINTOS, D. G.
+
+  BRUYAS, his Iroquois dictionary
+
+  Buck, George, Onondaga chief
+
+  Buck, Chief John
+
+
+  Canandaigua, Lake
+
+  Canasatego, Onondaga chief,
+    rebukes the Delawares
+
+  _Canienga,_ meaning of
+
+  _Caniengas,_ or _Mokawks,_
+    their country,
+    their language,
+    the oldest Iroquois nation,
+    war with Mohegans,
+    their ancient chiefs
+
+  _Caniengas_, remove to Canada
+    their clans
+    their name in council
+    their councillors
+    their towns
+
+  Canoe voyages
+
+  Cartier, J.
+
+  CATLIN, G.
+
+  _Cayuga_, meaning not known
+
+  Cayuga Lake
+
+  _Cayugas_, their country
+    their origin
+    assailed by Atotarho
+    join the League
+    remove to Canada
+    their clans
+    a "younger nation"
+    their name in council
+    their councillors
+    their towns
+
+  Champlain in the Huron country
+    assails the Iroquois
+
+  Champlain, Lake
+
+  _Ckerokees_
+    their language
+    reject the League
+
+  _Chicasas_
+
+  Chief, office of
+    installation of
+    succession of
+    war-chief
+
+  Chief matron, her function
+
+  _Chippeways_, See _Ojibways_,
+
+  _Choctaws_
+
+  Clans, Iroquois
+    origin of
+    number of
+    See _Ball, Bear, Beaver, Deer, Eel, Hawk, Heron,
+           Snake, Snipe, Tortoise, Wolf_,
+
+  CLARK, J. S.
+
+  CLARKE, P. D.
+
+  CLARKE, J. V. H.
+
+  Classes in Council
+
+  Colden, C.
+
+  Condoling council
+    proceedings in
+
+  Condoling song
+    explanation of
+    text of
+    versified
+
+  _Conestogas_, See _Andastes_,
+
+  Confederacy, See _Iroquois_ and _League_,
+
+  Conquered tribes, treatment of
+
+  Convention of Founders
+
+  Council of League
+    its formation
+    number of members
+    unanimity required
+    classes in
+    induction of members
+    held at Onondaga in 1657
+    composing quarrels
+    held in Philadelphia in 1742
+
+  Council Fire
+
+  Councillors
+    number of
+    how selected
+    name of
+    list of
+    clans and classes of
+
+  COPWAY, G.
+
+  _Credit River Indians_
+
+  Cruelties of Indians
+    of civilized nations
+
+  CUOQ, J. A.
+    his philological works
+    his Iroquois dictionary
+
+  Cusick, Albert
+
+  CUSICK, D.
+
+
+  DAWSON, J. W.
+
+  David of Schoharie
+
+  Deer clan
+
+  Dekanawidah, Canienga chief
+    his origin
+    joins Hiawatha
+    has no successor
+    his claims as founder
+
+  _Delawares_, or _Lenapes_
+    their clans
+    their subjection
+    a band received into the League
+
+  DE SCHWEINITZ, E.
+
+  _Doorkeepers_ (_Senecas_)
+
+
+  Eel clan
+
+  Elder nations
+
+  ELLIS, "Polynesian Researches"
+
+  Era of Iroquois confederacy
+
+  Erie, Lake
+
+  _Eries_, a Huron-Iroquois nation
+    their origin
+    their overthrow
+    among the Iroquois
+
+  _Euskarians_, or _Basques_
+
+
+  Feast of the Dead
+
+  Female suffrage
+
+  Fidelity to allies
+
+  FIGUIER, L.
+
+  _Five Nations_, See _Iroquois_
+
+  Founders of League
+
+  Funeral usages
+
+
+  Genesee river
+
+  Georgian bay
+
+  Grand River Reserve
+
+  _Great-Tree People_ (_Oneidas_)
+
+  _Great-Pipe People_ (_Cayugas_)
+
+  Greenhalgh at Onondaga
+
+
+  Hawk clan
+
+  HAWLEY, C.
+
+  Hayonwatha, See _Hiawatha_
+
+  HECKEWELDER, J.
+
+  Heron clan
+
+  Hiawatha, his history
+    meaning of name
+    orthography of name
+    his projected league
+    his flight to the Caniengas
+    reception by Dekanawidah
+    made a Canienga chief
+    myths relating to his reforms
+    his motives
+    his name in the chant
+    his daughter
+    his white canoe
+
+  Hill, Abram, Oneida chief
+
+  Historical chant
+
+  Historical traditions
+    framers of the League
+    Hiawatha's daughter
+
+  Hochelaga
+
+  Horns, as insignia
+    origin of custom
+
+  Horse clan
+
+  Hudson, voyage of
+
+  Hudson river
+
+  _Huron-Iroquois nations_
+    their original country
+    war with the Alligewi
+    their dispersion
+
+  _Hurons_, or _Wyandots_
+    their history
+    among the Iroquois
+    their mortuary customs
+    their deities
+    their character
+    their flight to the Ojibways
+    cause of their overthrow
+    their language
+
+  Hymn, national, See _Condoling Song_
+
+
+  _Iberians_
+
+  Indian character misconception of
+
+  Indian social system
+
+  Indians and whites
+
+  Installation of chiefs
+
+  Iroquois, their country
+    when first known to whites
+     [Footnote: The date as printed is an error.
+                "Sixteenth century" should be "seventeenth."]
+    their migrations
+    conquer the Eries
+    expel the Hurons
+    conquer the Attiwandaronks
+    their League
+    formation of League
+    date of the confederacy
+    name of League
+    League broken up
+
+  Iroquois, in Canada,
+    their towns, See _Towns, Iroquois,_
+    their clans, See _Clans, Iroquois,_
+    their classes, See _Classes in Council,_
+    their national hymn, See _Condoling Song,_
+    their women,
+    their chiefs, succession of,
+    their chief divinity,
+    their character,
+    their love of peace,
+    their foreign policy,
+    object of their League,
+    their alliances,
+    causes of their wars,
+    treatment of subject tribes,
+    adoption of enemies,
+    their language, See _Language, Iroquois,_
+    meaning of "Iroquois,"
+
+
+  Jesuit missionaries,
+
+  Jesuit "Relations,"
+
+  Johnson, Chief George,
+
+  Johnson, Chief J. Smoke,
+    his office,
+    preserves the Book of Rites,
+
+  Johnson, Sir William,
+
+  Jones, Chief Philip,
+
+  Juskeha, Huron divinity,
+
+
+  _Kanienke,_ See _Canienga,_
+
+  _Kanonsionni,_
+    meaning of,
+    spelt Kanonghsyonny,
+
+  Kanyadanyo, Seneca chief,
+    Skanyadariyo in chant,
+
+  Karenna, See _Condoling Song,_
+
+  Kayanerenh, meaning of,
+
+
+  LAFITAU,
+
+  La Fort, Daniel,
+
+  Lamentations,
+
+  Language, Iroquois,
+    its origin and dialects,
+    description of,
+    Brebeuf and Max Mtiller on,
+    works on
+    phonology,
+    grammar,
+    abstract nouns,
+    verbal forms,
+    permanence of,
+    analysis and synthesis,
+
+  Laws of the League,
+    as to succession of chiefs,
+    as to intertribal homicide,
+    as to mortuary usages,
+    a "Great Reformation,"
+
+  LAWSON, J.,
+
+  League, See _Iroquois_ and _Laws,_
+
+  Leagues common among Indians,
+
+  Le Mercier at Onondaga,
+
+  Le Moyne at Onondaga,
+
+  _Lenapes,_ See _Delawarts,_
+
+  LONGFELLOW, H. V.,
+
+  Long-house,
+
+
+  Manabozho, Ojibway divinity,
+
+  _Maqua,_ meaning of,
+
+  Matron, Chief, See _Chief Matron,_
+
+  MAX MÜLLER, F.,
+
+  _Mengwe,_ See _Mingo,_
+
+  Migrations, Iroquois,
+    Indian,
+
+  _Mingo,_ meaning of,
+
+  Missionaries, English,
+    Jesuit, See _Jesuit Missionaries,_
+
+  _Mississagas,_
+    received by Iroquois,
+
+  Mississippi river,
+
+  _Mohawk,_ meaning of,
+
+  Mohawk river,
+
+  _Mohawks,_ See _Caniengas,_
+
+  _Mohegans_, or _Mohicans,_
+    war with the Iroquois,
+    protected by Iroquois,
+
+  Montreal,
+
+  Morgan, L.H.
+
+  Mortuary customs,
+
+  _Moundbuilders_, See _Alligewi,_
+    acquainted with wampum,
+
+  Mourning Council, See _Condoling Council,_
+
+  Mourning customs, See _Funeral usages,_
+
+
+  _Name-carriers_ (_Onondagas_),
+
+  _Nanticokes_, admitted into the League,
+
+  _Neutral Nation,_ See _Attewandaronks_,
+
+  _Nihatirontakowa_, See _Oneidas, name in council,_
+
+  Notes on the Canienga Book,
+
+  Notes on the Onondaga Book,
+
+
+  Odatshehte, Oneida chief,
+
+  Ohio, meaning of,
+
+  Ohio River,
+
+  _Ojibways_,
+    allies of Iroquois,
+    war with,
+    treaty with,
+
+  _Oneida_, meaning of,
+    _Oneidas_,
+    their country
+    their origin
+    war with Mohegans
+    join the League
+    their clans
+    a "younger nation"
+    their name in Council
+    their Councillors
+    their towns,
+
+  _Onondaga_,
+    meaning of,
+    Onondaga castle,
+
+  _Onondogas_,
+    their country,
+    their origin,
+    ruled by Atotarho,
+    join the League,
+    a part remove to Canada,
+    Reservation near Syracuse, N.Y.
+    their Book of Rites,
+    orthography of Book,
+
+  _Onondagas_,
+    their language,
+    their clans, _et seq._
+    an "elder nation,"
+    their name in Council
+    their councillors
+    site of their former capital
+    their towns,
+
+  Oswego river,
+
+  Oyander, title of
+
+
+  PARKMAN, F.
+
+  Peace, preservation of;
+    how restored
+    love of
+
+  Pennsylvania Historical Society,
+
+  Personification,
+
+  Pictures, Indian,
+
+  Political kinship,
+
+  POWELL, J. W.
+
+  Pre-Aryans in Europe and America,
+
+  Preliminary ceremony, the,
+    Proper names, obsolete,
+
+  Protection of weak tribes by Iroquois,
+    _Tuteloes_,
+    _Delawares_,
+    _Nanticokes_,
+    _Mohegans_,
+    _Mississagas_,
+
+  PYRLAEUS, C.,
+
+
+  Quebec,
+
+
+  Rawenniyo, name of deity,
+    meaning of,
+
+  Record-keepers,
+
+  Relations, See _Jesuit Relations,_
+
+  Religious sentiment,
+
+  RENAN, E.,
+
+  Roanoke River,
+
+  _Ronaninhohonti_, Door-keepers,
+    See _Senecas, name in council,_
+
+  _Rotisennakehte_, name-carriers, See _Onondagas, name in
+  council,_
+
+  Royaner, title of,
+
+
+  Sachem, an Algonkin word,
+
+  Sakayengwaraton, See _Johnson, J. S._
+
+  _Saponies_, or _Saponas_
+
+  Scandawati, See _Skanawati_,
+
+  SCHOOLCRAFT, H. R.
+
+  _Seneca_, meaning of
+
+  Seneca, Lake
+
+  _Senecas_,
+    their country
+    their origin
+    assailed by Atotarho
+    their ancient chiefs
+    join the League
+    remain in New York
+    their clans
+    an "elder nation"
+    their name in council
+    their language
+    their councillors
+    their duty as door-keepers
+    their towns
+
+  Sermon, a pagan
+
+  Shadekaronyes, Seneca chief
+
+  Six Nations, See _Iroquois_,
+
+  Six Nations' Reserve, See _Grand River_,
+
+  Skanawati, Onondaga chief
+    Scandawati's suicide
+
+  Skeneateles Lake
+
+  SMITH, Mrs. E. A.
+
+  Smoking in council
+
+  Snake clan
+
+  _Sonontowane_, meaning of
+
+  _Sonontowans_, See _Senecas_,
+
+  _Sotinonnawentona_
+    See _Cayugas_, name in council,
+
+  Spanish clan
+
+  Speaker of council
+
+  SQUIER, E. G.
+
+  Stadaconé
+
+  STONE, W. L.
+
+
+  _Talligewi_, See _Alligewi_,
+
+  Taronhiawagon, Iroquois divinity
+
+  Ta-oun-ya-wat-ha
+
+  _Tehadirihoken_
+    See _Caniengas_, name in council,
+
+  Tekarihoken, Canienga chief
+    meaning of
+
+  _Tionontates_, or _Tobacco Nation_
+
+  Tobacco, Indian
+
+  _Tobacco Nation_, See _Tionontates_,
+
+  Tortoise clan
+    divided
+
+  Towns, Iroquois
+    list of, in Book of Rites
+    deserted sites
+
+  Treaty of Iroquois with the Dutch
+
+  Treaty of Iroquois with the English
+
+  Treaty of Iroquois with the Ojibways
+
+  TROMBULL, J. H.
+
+  Turkey clan
+
+  _Tuscaroras_,
+    their origin
+    their migrations
+    join the Iroquois
+    their clans
+    a "younger nation"
+
+  _Tuteloes_
+    received by Iroquois
+
+
+  Wampum
+    known to Moundbuilders
+    mourning
+
+  Wampum-keepers
+
+  Wampum-records, reading of
+
+  Wampum-strings
+
+  War-chief
+
+  Wars of self-defence
+
+  Wars of extermination
+
+  WHITNEY, W. D.
+
+  WILKIE, J.
+
+  WILSON, D.
+
+  Wolf clan
+
+  Women,
+    condition of
+    as peacemakers
+    regard for
+
+  _Wyandots_, See _Hurons_,
+
+
+  Yondennase, See _Condoling Council_,
+
+  Younger nations
+
+
+  Zeisberger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Iroquois Book of Rites, by Horatio Hale
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Iroquois Book of Rites, by Horatio Hale
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: The Iroquois Book of Rites
+
+Author: Horatio Hale
+
+Posting Date: December 15, 2012 [EBook #8567]
+Release Date: July, 2005
+[This file was first posted on July 23, 2003]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IROQUOIS BOOK OF RITES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Thomas Hutchinson and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+BRINTON'S LIBRARY OF ABORIGINAL AMERICAN LITERATURE.
+
+NUMBER II.
+
+
+
+
+THE IROQUOIS BOOK OF RITES.
+
+EDITED BY HORATIO HALE; M.A.,
+
+AUTHOR OF "THE ETHNOGRAPHY AND PHILOLOGY OF THE U.S. EXPLORING
+EXPEDITION," ETC.
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+The aboriginal composition now presented to the public has some peculiar
+claims on the attention of scholars. As a record, if we accept the
+chronology of its custodians,--which there is no reason to question,--it
+carries back the authentic history of Northern America to a date
+anterior by fifty years to the arrival of Columbus. Further than this,
+the plain and credible tradition of the Iroquois, confirmed by much
+other evidence, links them with the still earlier Alligewi, or
+"Moundbuilders," as conquerors with the conquered. Thus the annals of
+this portion of the continent need no longer begin with the landing of
+the first colonists, but can go back, like those of Mexico, Yucatan and
+Peru, to a storied past of singular interest.
+
+The chief value of the Book of Rites, however, is ethnological, and is
+found in the light which it casts on the political and social life, as
+well as on the character and capacity of the people to whom it belongs.
+We see in them many of the traits which Tacitus discerned in our
+ancestors of the German forests, along with some qualities of a higher
+cast than any that he has delineated. The love of peace, the sentiment
+of human brotherhood, the strong social and domestic affections, the
+respect for law, and the reverence for ancestral greatness, which are
+apparent in this Indian record and in the historical events which
+illustrate it, will strike most readers as new and unexpected
+developments.
+
+The circumstances attending the composition of this record and its
+recent discovery are fully detailed in the introductory chapters. There
+also, and in the Notes and Appendix, such further explanations are given
+as the various allusions and occasional obscurities of the Indian work
+have seemed to require. It is proper to state that the particulars
+comprised in the following pages respecting the traditions, the usages,
+and the language of the Iroquois (except such as are expressly stated to
+have been derived from books), have been gathered by the writer in the
+course of many visits made, during several years past, to their
+Reservations in Canada and New York. As a matter of justice, and also as
+an evidence of the authenticity of these particulars, the names of the
+informants to whom he has been principally indebted are given in the
+proper places, with suitable acknowledgment of the assistance received
+from each. He ventures to hope that in the information thus obtained, as
+well as in the Book of Rite's itself, the students of history and of the
+science of man will find some new material of permanent interest and
+value.
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+MAP
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+CHAPTER I. THE HURON-IROQUOIS NATIONS
+
+CHAPTER II. THE LEAGUE AND ITS FOUNDERS
+
+CHAPTER III. THE BOOK OF RITES
+
+CHAPTER IV. THE CONDOLING COUNCIL.--CLANS AND CLASSES
+
+CHAPTER V. THE CONDOLENCE AND THE INSTALLATION
+
+CHAPTER VI. THE LAWS OF THE LEAGUE
+
+CHAPTER VII. HISTORICAL TRADITIONS
+
+CHAPTER VIII. THE IROQUOIS CHARACTER
+
+CHAPTER IX. THE IROQUOIS POLICY
+
+CHAPTER X. THE IROQUOIS LANGUAGE
+
+
+THE BOOK OF RITES
+
+THE CANIENGA BOOK
+
+THE ONONDAGA BOOK
+
+NOTES ON THE CANIENGA BOOK
+
+NOTES ON THE ONONDAGA BOOK
+
+
+APPENDIX
+
+NOTE A.--Names of the Huron-Iroquois Nations
+
+NOTE B.--Meaning of _Ohio, Ontario, Onontio, Rawennito_
+
+NOTE C.--The Era of the Confederacy
+
+NOTE D.--The Hiawatha Myths
+
+NOTE E.--The Iroquois Towns
+
+NOTE F.--The Pre-Aryan Race in Europe and America
+
+
+GLOSSARY
+
+INDEX
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE HURON-IROQUOIS NATIONS AND THE SURROUNDING TRIBES.
+A.D. 1535 TO 1780.]
+
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE HURON-IROQUOIS NATIONS.
+
+
+At the outset of the sixteenth century, when the five tribes or
+"nations" of the Iroquois confederacy first became known to European
+explorers, they were found occupying the valleys and uplands of northern
+New York, in that picturesque and fruitful region which stretches
+westward from the head-waters of the Hudson to the Genesee. The Mohawks,
+or Caniengas--as they should properly be called--possessed the Mohawk
+River, and covered Lake George and Lake Champlain with their flotillas
+of large canoes, managed with the boldness and skill which, hereditary
+in their descendants, make them still the best boatmen of the North
+American rivers. West of the Caniengas the Oneidas held the small river
+and lake which bear their name, the first in that series of beautiful
+lakes, united by interlacing streams, which seemed to prefigure in the
+features of nature the political constitution of the tribes who
+possessed them. West of the Oneidas, the imperious Onondagas, the
+central and, in some respects, the ruling nation of the League,
+possessed the two lakes of Onondaga and Skeneateles, together with the
+common outlet of this inland lake system, the Oswego River, to its issue
+into Lake Ontario. Still proceeding westward, the lines of trail and
+river led to the long and winding stretch of Lake Cayuga, about which
+were clustered the towns of the people who gave their name to the lake;
+and beyond them, over the wide expanse of hills and dales surrounding
+Lakes Seneca and Canandaigua, were scattered the populous villages of
+the Senecas, more correctly styled Sonontowanas or Mountaineers. Such
+were the names and abodes of the allied nations, members of the
+far-famed Kanonsionni, or League of United Households, who were destined
+to become for a time the most notable and powerful community among the
+native tribes of North America. [Footnote: See Appendix, note A, for the
+origin and meaning of the names commonly given to the Iroquois nations.]
+
+The region which has been described was not, however, the original seat
+of those nations. They belonged to that linguistic family which is known
+to ethnologists as the Huron-Iroquois stock. This stock comprised the
+Hurons or Wyandots, the Attiwandaronks or Neutral Nation, the Iroquois,
+the Eries, the Andastes or Conestogas, the Tuscaroras, and some smaller
+bands. The tribes of this family occupied a long, irregular area of
+inland territory, stretching from Canada to North Carolina. The northern
+nations were all clustered about the great lakes; the southern bands
+held the fertile valleys bordering the head-waters of the rivers which
+flowed from the Allegheny mountains. The languages of all these tribes
+showed a close affinity. There can be no doubt that their ancestors
+formed one body, and, indeed, dwelt at one time (as has been well said
+of the ancestors of the Indo-European populations), under one roof.
+There was a Huron-Iroquois "family-pair," from which all these tribes
+were descended. In what part of the world this ancestral household
+resided is a question which admits of no reply, except from the merest
+conjecture. But the evidence of language, so far as it has yet been
+examined, seems to show that the Huron clans were the older members of
+the group; and the clear and positive traditions of all the surviving
+tribes, Hurons, Iroquois and Tuscaroras, point to the lower St. Lawrence
+as the earliest known abode of their stock. [Footnote: See Cusick,
+_History of the Six Nations_, p. 16; Colden, _Hist, of the Five
+Nations_, p. 23; Morgan, _League of the Iroquois_, p. 5; J.V.H. Clark,
+_Onondaga_, vol. I, p. 34; Peter D. Clarke, _Hist. of the Wyandots_. p.
+I.]
+
+Here the first explorer, Cartier, found Indians of this stock at
+Hochelaga and Stadacone, now the sites of Montreal and Quebec. Centuries
+before his time, according to the native tradition, the ancestors of the
+Huron-Iroquois family had dwelt in this locality, or still further east
+and nearer to the river's mouth. As their numbers increased, dissensions
+arose. The hive swarmed, and band after band moved off to the west and
+south.
+
+As they spread, they encountered people of other stocks, with whom they
+had frequent wars. Their most constant and most dreaded enemies were the
+tribes of the Algonkin family, a fierce and restless people, of northern
+origin, who everywhere surrounded them. At one period, however, if the
+concurrent traditions of both Iroquois and Algonkins can be believed,
+these contending races for a time stayed their strife, and united their
+forces in an alliance against a common and formidable foe. This foe was
+the nation, or perhaps the confederacy, of the Alligewi or Talligewi,
+the semi-civilized "Mound-builders" of the Ohio Valley, who have left
+their name to the Allegheny river and mountains, and whose vast
+earthworks are still, after half-a-century of study, the perplexity of
+archaeologists. A desperate warfare ensued, which lasted about a hundred
+years, and ended in the complete overthrow and destruction, or
+expulsion, of the Alligewi. The survivors of the conquered people fled
+southward, and are supposed to have mingled with the tribes which
+occupied the region extending from the Gulf of Mexico northward to the
+Tennessee river and the southern spurs of the Alleghenies. Among these
+tribes, the Choctaws retained, to recent times, the custom of raising
+huge mounds of earth for religious purposes and for the sites of their
+habitations, a custom which they perhaps learned from the Alligewi; and
+the Cherokees are supposed by some to have preserved in their name
+(Tsalaki) and in their language indications of an origin derived in part
+from the same people. Their language, which shows, in its grammar and
+many of its words, clear evidence of affinity with the Iroquois, has
+drawn the greater portion of its vocabulary from some foreign source.
+This source is conjectured to have been the speech of the Alligewi. As
+the Cherokee tongue is evidently a mixed language, it is reasonable to
+suppose that the Cherokees are a mixed people, and probably, like the
+English, an amalgamation of conquering and conquered races. [Footnote:
+This question has been discussed by the writer in a paper on "Indian
+Migrations as evidenced by Language," read before the American
+Association for the Advancement of Science, at their Montreal Meeting,
+in August, 1882, and published in the American Antiquarian for January
+and April, 1883.]
+
+The time which has elapsed since the overthrow of the Alligewi is
+variously estimated. The most probable conjecture places it at a period
+about a thousand years before the present day. It was apparently soon
+after their expulsion that the tribes of the Huron-Iroquois and the
+Algonkin stocks scattered themselves over the wide region south of the
+Great Lakes, thus left open to their occupancy. Our concern at present
+is only with the first-named family. The native tradition of their
+migrations has been briefly related by a Tuscarora Indian, David Cusick,
+who had acquired a sufficient education to become a Baptist preacher,
+and has left us, in his "Sketches of Ancient History of the Six
+Nations," [Footnote: Published at Lewiston, N. Y., in 1825, and
+reprinted at Lockport, in 1848.] a record of singular value. His
+confused and imperfect style, the English of a half-educated foreigner,
+his simple faith in the wildest legends, and his absurd chronology, have
+caused the real worth of his book, as a chronicle of native traditions,
+to be overlooked. Wherever the test of linguistic evidence, the best of
+all proofs in ethnological questions, can be applied to his statements
+relative to the origin and connection of the tribes, they are invariably
+confirmed. From his account, from the evidence of language, and from
+various corroborating indications, the course of the migrations may, it
+is believed, be traced with tolerable accuracy. Their first station or
+starting point, on the south side of the Lakes, was at the mouth of the
+Oswego river. Advancing to the southeast the emigrants struck the Hudson
+river, and, according to Cusick's story, followed its course southward
+to the ocean. Here a separation took place. A portion remained, and kept
+on their way toward the south; but the "main company," repelled by the
+uninviting soil and the turbulent waste of waves, and remembering the
+attractive region of valleys, lakes, and streams through which they had
+passed, retraced their steps northward till they reached the Mohawk
+river. Along this stream and the upper waters of the Hudson they made
+their first abode; and here they remained until, as their historian
+quaintly and truly records, "their language was altered." The Huron
+speech became the Iroquois tongue, in the form in which it is spoken by
+the Caniengas, or Mohawks. In Iroquois tradition, and in the
+constitution of their league, the Canienga nation ranks as the "eldest
+brother" of the family. A comparison of the dialects proves the
+tradition to be well founded. The Canienga language approaches nearest
+to the Huron, and is undoubtedly the source from which all the other
+Iroquois dialects are derived. Cusick states positively that the other
+"families," as he styles them, of the Iroquois household, leaving the
+Mohawks in their original abode, proceeded step by step to the westward.
+The Oneidas halted at their creek, the Onondagas at their mountain, the
+Cayugas at their lake, and the Senecas or Sonontowans, the Great Hill
+people, at a lofty eminence which rises south of the Canandaigua lake.
+In due time, as he is careful to record, the same result happened as had
+occurred with the Caniengas. The language of each canton "was altered;"
+yet not so much, he might have added, but that all the tribes could
+still hold intercourse, and comprehend one another's speech.
+
+A wider isolation and, consequently, a somewhat greater change of
+language, befell the "sixth family." Pursuing their course to the west
+they touched Lake Erie, and thence, turning to the southeast, came to
+the Allegheny river. Cusick, however, does not know it by this name. He
+calls it the Ohio,--in his uncouth orthography and with a locative
+particle added, the Ouau-we-yo-ka,--which, he says, means "a principal
+stream, now Mississippi." This statement, unintelligible as at the first
+glance it seems, is strictly accurate. The word Ohio undoubtedly
+signified, in the ancient Iroquois speech, as it still means in the
+modern Tuscarora, not "beautiful river", but "great river." [Footnote:
+See Appendix, note B.] It was so called as being the main stream which
+receives the affluents of the Ohio valley. In the view of the Iroquois,
+this "main stream" commences with what we call the Allegheny river,
+continues in what we term the Ohio, and then flows on in what we style
+the Mississippi,--of which, in their view, the upper Mississippi is
+merely an affluent. In Iroquois hydrography, the Ohio--the great river
+of the ancient Alligewi domain--is the central stream to which all the
+rivers of the mighty West converge.
+
+This stream the emigrants now attempted to cross. They found, according
+to the native annalist, a rude bridge in a huge grape-vine which trailed
+its length across the stream. Over this a part of the company passed,
+and then, unfortunately, the vine broke. The residue, unable to cross,
+remained on the hither side, and became afterwards the enemies of those
+who had passed over. Cusick anticipates that his story of the grape-vine
+may seem to some incredible; but he asks, with amusing simplicity, "why
+more so than that the Israelites should cross the Red Sea on dry land?"
+That the precise incident, thus frankly admitted to be of a miraculous
+character, really took place, we are not required to believe. But that
+emigrants of the Huron-Iroquois stock penetrated southward along the
+Allegheny range, and that some of them remained near the river of that
+name, is undoubted fact. Those who thus remained were known by various
+names, mostly derived from one root--Andastes, Andastogues, Conestogas,
+and the like--and bore a somewhat memorable part in Iroquois and
+Pennsylvanian history. Those who continued their course beyond the river
+found no place sufficiently inviting to arrest their march until they
+arrived at the fertile vales which spread, intersected by many lucid
+streams, between the Roanoke and the Neuse rivers. Here they fixed their
+abode, and became the ancestors of the powerful Tuscarora nation. In the
+early part of the eighteenth century, just before its disastrous war
+with the colonies, this nation, according to the Carolina surveyor,
+Lawson, numbered fifteen towns, and could set in the field a force of
+twelve hundred warriors.
+
+The Eries, who dwelt west of the Senecas, along the southern shore of
+the lake which now retains their name, were according to Cusick, an
+offshoot of the Seneca tribe; and there is no reason for doubting the
+correctness of his statement. After their overthrow by the Iroquois, in
+1656, many of the Eries were incorporated with the ancestral nation, and
+contributed, with other accessions from the Hurons and the
+Attiwandaronks, to swell its numbers far beyond those of the other
+nations of the confederacy.
+
+To conclude this review of the Huron-Iroquois group, something further
+should be said about the fortunes of the parent tribe, or rather
+congeries of tribes,--for the Huron household, like the Iroquois, had
+become divided into several septs. Like the Iroquois, also, they have
+not lacked an annalist of their own race. A Wyandot Indian, Peter
+Doyentate Clarke, who emigrated with the main body of his people to the
+Indian Territory, and afterwards returned for a time to the remnant of
+his tribe dwelling near Amherstburg, in Canada, published in 1870 a
+small volume entitled "Origin and Traditional History of the Wyandots."
+[Footnote: Printed by Hunter, Rose & Co., of Toronto.] The English
+education of the writer, like that of the Tuscarora historian, was
+defective; and it is evident that his people, in their many wanderings,
+had lost much of their legendary lore. But the fact that they resided in
+ancient times near the present site of Montreal, in close vicinity to
+the Iroquois (whom he styles, after their largest tribe, the Senecas),
+is recorded as a well-remembered portion of their history. The flight of
+the Wyandots to the northwest is declared to have been caused by a war
+which broke out between them and the Iroquois. This statement is opposed
+to the common opinion, which ascribes the expulsion of the Hurons from
+their eastern abode to the hostility of the Algonkins. It is, however,
+probably correct; for the Hurons retreated into the midst of the
+Algonkin tribes, with whom they were found by Champlain to be on terms
+of amity and even of alliance, while they were engaged in a deadly war
+with the Iroquois. The place to which they withdrew was a nook in the
+Georgian Bay, where their strongly palisaded towns and well-cultivated
+fields excited the admiration of the great French explorer. Their object
+evidently was to place as wide a space as possible between themselves
+and their inveterate enemies. Unfortunately, as is well known, this
+precaution, and even the aid of their Algonkin and French allies, proved
+inadequate to save them. The story of their disastrous overthrow, traced
+by the masterly hand of Parkman, is one of the most dismal passages of
+aboriginal history.
+
+The only people of this stock remaining to be noticed are the
+Attiwandaronks, or Neutral Nation. They dwelt south of the Hurons, on
+the northern borders of Lakes Erie and Ontario. They had, indeed, a few
+towns beyond those lakes, situated east of the Niagara river, between
+the Iroquois and the Eries. They received their name of Neutrals from
+the fact that in the war between the Iroquois and the Hurons they
+remained at peace with both parties. This policy, however, did not save
+them from the fate which overtook their Huron friends. In the year 1650
+the Iroquois set upon them, destroyed their towns, and dispersed the
+inhabitants, carrying off great numbers of them, as was their custom, to
+be incorporated with their own population. Of their language we only
+know that it differed but slightly from the Huron. [Footnote: "Our
+Hurons call the Neutral Nation Attiwandaronk, meaning thereby 'People of
+a speech a little different.'"--_Relation_ of 1641, p. 72. Bruyas, in
+his "_Iroquois Root-words_" gives _gawenda_ (or _gawenna_), speech, and
+_gaRONKwestare_, confusion of voices.] Whether they were an offshoot
+from the Hurons or from the Iroquois is uncertain. It is not unlikely
+that their separation from the parent stock took place earlier than that
+of the Iroquois, and that they were thus enabled for a time to avoid
+becoming embroiled in the quarrel between the two great divisions of
+their race.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE LEAGUE AND ITS FOUNDERS.
+
+
+How long the five kindred but independent tribes who were afterwards to
+compose the Iroquois confederacy remained isolated and apart from one
+another, is uncertain. That this condition endured for several centuries
+is a fact which cannot be questioned. Tradition here is confirmed by the
+evidence of language. We have good dictionaries of two of their
+dialects, the Canienga (or Mohawk) and the Onondaga, compiled two
+centuries ago by the Jesuit missionaries; and by comparing them with
+vocabularies of the same dialects, as spoken at the present day, we can
+ascertain the rate of change which prevails in their languages. Judging
+by this test, the difference which existed between these two dialects in
+1680 (when the Jesuit dictionaries were written) could hardly have
+arisen in less than four hundred years; and that which exists between
+them and the Tuscarora would demand a still longer time. Their
+traditions all affirm--what we should be prepared to believe--that this
+period was one of perpetual troubles. The tribes were constantly at war,
+either among themselves, or with the neighboring nations of their own
+and other stocks, Hurons, Andastes, Algonkins, Tuteloes, and even with
+the distant Cherokees.
+
+There are reasons for believing that attempts were made during this
+period to combine the tribes, or some of them, in a federal alliance.
+But if such connections were formed, they proved only temporary leagues,
+which were dissolved when the dangers that had called them into being
+had passed away. A leader of peculiar qualities, aided by favoring
+circumstances, was able at last to bring about a more permanent union.
+There is no exact chronology by which the date of this important event
+can be ascertained; but the weight of evidence fixes it at about the
+middle of the fifteenth century. [Footnote: The evidence on this point
+is given in the Appendix, note C. It should be mentioned that some
+portion of the following narrative formed part of a paper entitled "A
+Lawgiver of the Stone Age," which was read at the Cincinnati meeting of
+the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in August,
+1882, and was published in the Proceedings of the meeting. The
+particulars comprised in it were drawn chiefly from notes gathered
+during many visits to the Reserve of the Six Nations, on the Grand
+River, in Ontario, supplemented by information obtained in two visits to
+the Onondaga Reservation, in the State of New York, near Syracuse. My
+informants were the most experienced councillors, and especially the
+"wampum-keepers," the official annalists of their people. Their names,
+and some account of them, will be given in a subsequent chapter. It
+should be mentioned that while the histories received at the two
+localities were generally in close accord, thus furnishing a strong
+proof of the correctness with which they have been handed down, there
+were circumstances remembered at each place which had not been preserved
+at the other. The Onondagas, as was natural, retained a fuller
+recollection of the events which took place before the flight of
+Hiawatha to the Caniengas; while the annalists of the latter tribe were
+better versed in the subsequent occurrences attending the formation of
+the League. These facts should be borne in mind by any inquirer who may
+undertake to repeat or continue these investigations. When the
+narratives varied, as they sometimes did in minor particulars, I have
+followed that which seemed most in accordance with the general tenor of
+the history and with the evidence furnished by the Book of Rites.]
+
+At this time two great dangers, the one from without, the other from
+within, pressed upon these tribes. The Mohegans, or Mohicans, a powerful
+Algonkin people, whose settlements stretched along the Hudson river,
+south of the Mohawk, and extended thence eastward into New England,
+waged a desperate war against them. In this war the most easterly of the
+Iroquois, the Caniengas and Oneidas, bore the brunt and were the
+greatest sufferers. On the other hand, the two western nations, the
+Senecas and Cayugas, had a peril of their own to encounter. The central
+nation, the Onondagas, were then under the control of a dreaded chief,
+whose name is variously given, Atotarho (or, with a prefixed particle,
+Thatotarho), Watatotahro, Tadodaho, according to the dialect of the
+speaker and the orthography of the writer. He was a man of great force
+of character and of formidable qualities--haughty, ambitious, crafty and
+bold--a determined and successful warrior, and at home, so far as the
+constitution of an Indian tribe would allow, a stern and remorseless
+tyrant. He tolerated no equal. The chiefs who ventured to oppose him
+were taken off one after another by secret means, or were compelled to
+flee for safety to other tribes. His subtlety and artifices had acquired
+for him the reputation of a wizard. He knew, they say, what was going on
+at a distance as well as if he were present; and he could destroy his
+enemies by some magical art, while he himself was far away. In spite of
+the fear which he inspired, his domination would probably not have been
+endured by an Indian community, but for his success in war. He had made
+himself and his people a terror to the Cayugas and the Senecas.
+According to one account, he had subdued both of those tribes; but the
+record-keepers of the present day do not confirm this statement, which
+indeed is not consistent with the subsequent history of the
+confederation.
+
+The name Atotarho signifies "entangled." The usual process by which
+mythology, after a few generations, makes fables out of names, has not
+been wanting here. In the legends which the Indian story-fellers recount
+in winter, about their cabin fires, Atotarho figures as a being of
+preterhuman nature, whose head, in lieu of hair, is adorned with living
+snakes. A rude pictorial representation shows him seated and giving
+audience, in horrible state, with the upper part of his person enveloped
+by these writhing and entangled reptiles. [Footnote: This picture and
+some other equally grotesque illustrations, produced in a primitive
+style of wood engraving, are prefixed to David Cusick's History of the
+Six Nations. The artist to whom we owe them was probably the historian
+himself. My accomplished friend, Mrs. E. A. Smith, whose studies have
+thrown much light upon the mythology and language of the Iroquois
+nations, and especially of the Tuscaroras, was fortunate enough to
+obtain either the originals or early copies of these extraordinary
+efforts of native art.] But the grave Councillors of the Canadian
+Reservation, who recite his history as they have heard it from their
+fathers at every installation of a high chief, do not repeat these
+inventions of marvel-loving gossips, and only smile with good-humored
+derision when they are referred to.
+
+There was at this time among the Onondagas a chief of high rank, whose
+name, variously written--Hiawatha, Hayenwatha, Ayonhwahtha,
+Taoungwatha--is rendered, "he who seeks the wampum belt." He had made
+himself greatly esteemed by his wisdom and his benevolence. He was now
+past middle age. Though many of his friends and relatives had perished
+by the machinations of Atotarho, he himself had been spared. The
+qualities which gained him general respect had, perhaps, not been
+without influence even on that redoubtable chief. Hiawatha had long
+beheld with grief the evils which afflicted not only his own nation, but
+all the other tribes about them, through the continual wars in which
+they were engaged, and the misgovernment and miseries at home which
+these wars produced. With much meditation he had elaborated in his mind
+the scheme of a vast confederation which would ensure universal peace.
+In the mere plan of a confederation there was nothing new. There are
+probably few, if any, Indian tribes which have not, at one time or
+another, been members of a league or confederacy. It may almost be said
+to be their normal condition. But the plan which Hiawatha had evolved
+differed from all others in two particulars. The system which he devised
+was to be not a loose and transitory league, but a permanent government.
+While each nation was to retain its own council and its management of
+local affairs, the general control was to be lodged in a federal senate,
+composed of representatives elected by each nation, holding office
+during good behavior, and acknowledged as ruling chiefs throughout the
+whole confederacy. Still further, and more remarkably, the confederation
+was not to be a limited one. It was to be indefinitely expansible. The
+avowed design of its proposer was to abolish war altogether. He wished
+the federation to extend until all the tribes of men should be included
+in it, and peace should everywhere reign. Such is the positive testimony
+of the Iroquois themselves; and their statement, as will be seen, is
+supported by historical evidence.
+
+Hiawatha's first endeavor was to enlist his own nation in the cause. He
+summoned a meeting of the chiefs and people of the Onondaga towns. The
+summons, proceeding from a chief of his rank and reputation, attracted a
+large concourse. "They came together," said the narrator, "along the
+creeks, from all parts, to the general council-fire." [Footnote: The
+narrator here referred to was the Onondaga chief, Philip Jones, known in
+the council as Hanesehen (in Canienga, Enneserarenh), who, in October,
+1875, with two other chiefs of high rank, and the interpreter, Daniel La
+Fort, spent an evening in explaining to me the wampum records preserved
+at "Onondaga Castle," and repeating the history of the formation of the
+confederacy. The later portions of the narrative were obtained
+principally from the chiefs of the Canadian Iroquois, as will be
+hereafter explained.] But what effect the grand projects of the chief,
+enforced by the eloquence for which he was noted, might have had upon
+his auditors, could not be known. For there appeared among them a
+well-known figure, grim, silent and forbidding, whose terrible aspect
+overawed the assemblage. The unspoken displeasure of Atotarho was
+sufficient to stifle all debate, and the meeting dispersed. This result,
+which seems a singular conclusion of an Indian council--the most
+independent and free-spoken of all gatherings--is sufficiently explained
+by the fact that Atotarho had organized, among the more reckless
+warriors of his tribe, a band of unscrupulous partisans, who did his
+bidding without question, and took off by secret murder all persons
+against whom he bore a grudge. The knowledge that his followers were
+scattered through the assembly, prepared to mark for destruction those
+who should offend him, might make the boldest orator chary of speech.
+Hiawatha alone was undaunted. He summoned a second meeting, which was
+attended by a smaller number, and broke up as before, in confusion, on
+Atotarho's appearance. The unwearied reformer sent forth his runners a
+third time; but the people were disheartened. When the day of the
+council arrived, no one attended. Then, continued the narrator, Hiawatha
+seated himself on the ground in sorrow. He enveloped his head in his
+mantle of skins, and remained for a long time bowed down in grief and
+thought. At length he arose and left the town, taking his course toward
+the southeast. He had formed a bold design. As the councils of his own
+nation were closed to him, he would have recourse to those of other
+tribes. At a short distance from the town (so minutely are the
+circumstances recounted) he passed his great antagonist, seated near a
+well-known spring, stern and silent as usual. No word passed between the
+determined representatives of war and peace; but it was doubtless not
+without a sensation of triumphant pleasure that the ferocious war-chief
+saw his only rival and opponent in council going into what seemed to be
+voluntary exile. Hiawatha plunged into the forest; he climbed mountains;
+he crossed a lake; he floated down the Mohawk river in a canoe. Many
+incidents of his journey are told, and in this part of the narrative
+alone some occurrences of a marvelous cast are related, even by the
+official historians. Indeed, the flight of Hiawatha from Onondaga to the
+country of the Caniengas is to the Five Nations what the flight of
+Mohammed from Mecca to Medina is to the votaries of Islam. It is the
+turning point of their history. In embellishing the narrative at this
+point, their imagination has been allowed a free course. Leaving aside
+these marvels, however, we need only refer here to a single incident,
+which may well enough have been of actual occurrence. A lake which
+Hiawatha crossed had shores abounding in small white shells. These he
+gathered and strung upon strings, which he disposed upon his breast, as
+a token to all whom he should meet that he came as a messenger of peace.
+And this, according to one authority, was the origin of wampum, of which
+Hiawatha was the inventor. That honor, however, is one which must be
+denied to him. The evidence of sepulchral relics shows that wampum was
+known to the mysterious Mound-builders, as well as in all succeeding
+ages. Moreover, if the significance of white wampum-strings as a token
+of peace had not been well known in his day, Hiawatha would not have
+relied upon them as a means of proclaiming his pacific purpose.
+
+Early one morning he arrived at a Canienga town, the residence of the
+noted chief Dekanawidah, whose name, in point of celebrity, ranks in
+Iroquois tradition with those of Hiawatha and Atotarho. It is probable
+that he was known by reputation to Hiawatha, and not unlikely that they
+were related. According to one account Dekanawidah was an Onondaga,
+adopted among the Caniengas. Another narrative makes him a Canienga by
+birth. The probability seems to be that he was the son of an Onondaga
+father, who had been adopted by the Caniengas, and of a Canienga mother.
+That he was not of pure Canienga blood is shown by the fact, which is
+remembered, that his father had had successively three wives, one
+belonging to each of the three clans, Bear, Wolf, and Tortoise, which
+composed the Canienga nation. If the father had been of that nation
+(Canienga), he would have belonged to one of the Canienga clans, and
+could not then (according to the Indian law) have married into it. He
+had seven sons, including Dekanawidah, who, with their families, dwelt
+together in one of the "long houses" common in that day among the
+Iroquois. These ties of kindred, together with this fraternal strength,
+and his reputation as a sagacious councillor, gave Dekanawidah great
+influence among his people. But, in the Indian sense, he was not the
+leading chief. This position belonged to Tekarihoken (better known in
+books as Tecarihoga), whose primacy as the first chief of the eldest
+among the Iroquois nations was then, and is still, universally admitted.
+Each nation has always had a head-chief, to whom belonged the hereditary
+right and duty of lighting the council fire and taking the first place
+in public meetings. But among the Indians, as in other communities,
+hereditary rank and personal influence do not always, or indeed,
+ordinarily, go together. If Hiawatha could gain over Dekanawidah to his
+views, he would have done much toward the accomplishment of his
+purposes.
+
+In the early dawn he seated himself on a fallen trunk, near the spring
+from which the inhabitants of the long house drew their water. Presently
+the wife of one of the brothers came out with a vessel of elm-bark, and
+approached the spring. Hiawatha sat silent and motionless. Something in
+his aspect awed the woman, who feared to address him. She returned to
+the house, and said to Dekanawidah, "A man, or a figure like a man, is
+seated by the spring, having his breast covered with strings of white
+shells." "It is a guest," said the chief to one of his brothers; "go and
+bring him in. We will make him welcome." Thus Hiawatha and
+Dekanawidah--first met. They found in each other kindred spirits. The
+sagacity of the Canienga chief grasped at once the advantages of the
+proposed plan, and the two worked together in perfecting it, and in
+commending it to the people. After much discussion in council, the
+adhesion of the Canienga nation was secured. Dekanawidah then dispatched
+two of his brothers as ambassadors to the nearest tribe, the Oneidas, to
+lay the project before them. The Oneida nation is deemed to be a
+comparatively recent offshoot from the Caniengas. The difference of
+language is slight, showing that their separation was much later than
+that of the Onondagas. In the figurative speech of the Iroquois, the
+Oneida is the son, and the Onondaga is the brother, of the Canienga.
+Dekanawidah had good reason to expect that it would not prove difficult
+to win the consent of the Oneidas to the proposed scheme. But delay and
+deliberation mark all public acts of the Indians. The ambassadors found
+the leading chief, Odatsehte, at his town on the Oneida creek. He
+received their message in a friendly way, but--required time for his
+people to consider it in council. "Come back in another day," he said to
+the messengers. In the political speech of the Indians, a day is
+understood to mean a year. The envoys carried back the reply to
+Dekanawidah and Hiawatha, who knew that they could do nothing but wait
+the prescribed time. After the lapse of a year, they repaired to the
+place of meeting. The treaty which initiated the great league was then
+and there ratified by the representatives of the Canienga and Oneida
+nations. The name of Odatsehte means "the quiver-bearer;" and as
+Atotarho, "the entangled," is fabled to have had his head wreathed with
+snaky locks, and as Hiawatha, "the wampum-seeker," is represented to
+have wrought shells into wampum, so the Oneida chief is reputed to have
+appeared at this treaty bearing at his shoulder a quiver full of arrows.
+
+The Onondagas lay next to the Oneidas. To them, or rather to their
+terrible chief, the next application was made. The first meeting of
+Atotarho and Dekanawidah is a notable event in Iroquois history. At a
+later day, a native artist sought to represent it in an historical
+picture, which has been already referred to. Atotarho is seated in
+solitary and surly dignity, smoking a long pipe, his head and body
+encircled with contorted and angry serpents. Standing before him are two
+figures which cannot be mistaken. The foremost, a plumed and cinctured
+warrior, depicted as addressing the Onondaga chief, holds in his right
+hand, as a staff, his flint-headed spear, the ensign, it may be
+supposed, which marks him as the representative of the Caniengas, or
+"People of the Flint." Behind him another plumed figure bears in his
+hand a bow with arrows, and at his shoulder a quiver. Divested of its
+mythological embellishments, the picture rudely represents the interview
+which actually took place. The immediate result was unpromising. The
+Onondaga chief coldly refused to entertain the project, which he had
+already rejected when proposed by Hiawatha. The ambassadors were not
+discouraged. Beyond the Onondagas were scattered the villages of the
+Cayugas, a people described by the Jesuit missionaries, at a later day,
+as the most mild and tractable of the Iroquois. They were considered an
+offshoot of the Onondagas, to whom they bore the same filial relation
+which the Oneidas bore to the Caniengas. The journey of the advocates of
+peace through the forest to the Cayuga capital, and their reception, are
+minutely detailed in the traditionary narrative. The Cayugas, who had
+suffered from the prowess and cruelty of the Onondaga chief, needed
+little persuasion. They readily consented to come into the league, and
+their chief, Akahenyonk ("The Wary Spy"), joined the Canienga and Oneida
+representatives in a new embassy to the Onondagas. Acting probably upon
+the advice of Hiawatha, who knew better than any other the character of
+the community and the chief with whom they had to deal, they made
+proposals highly flattering to the self-esteem which was the most
+notable trait of both ruler and people. The Onondagas should be the
+leading nation of the confederacy. Their chief town should be the
+federal capital, where the great councils of the league should be held,
+and where its records should be preserved. The nation should be
+represented in the council by fourteen senators, while no other nation
+should have more than ten. And as the Onondagas should be the leading
+tribe, so Atotarho should be the leading chief. He alone should have the
+right of summoning the federal council, and no act of the council to
+which he objected should be valid. In other words, an absolute veto was
+given to him. To enhance his personal dignity, two high chiefs were
+appointed as his special aids and counselors, his "Secretaries of
+State," so to speak. Other insignia of preeminence were to be possessed
+by him; and, in view of all these distinctions, it is not surprising
+that his successor, who two centuries later retained the same
+prerogatives, should have been occasionally styled by the English
+colonists "the Emperor of the Five Nations." It might seem, indeed, at
+first thought, that the founders of the confederacy had voluntarily
+placed themselves and their tribes in a position of almost abject
+subserviency to Atotarho and his followers. But they knew too well the
+qualities of their people to fear for them any political subjection. It
+was certain that when once the league was established, and its
+representatives had met in council, character and intelligence would
+assume their natural sway, and mere artificial rank and dignity would be
+little regarded. Atotarho and his people, however, yielded either to
+these specious offers, or to the pressure which the combined urgency of
+the three allied nations now brought to bear upon them. They finally
+accepted the league; and the great chief, who had originally opposed it,
+now naturally became eager to see it as widely extended as possible. He
+advised its representatives to go on at once to the westward, and enlist
+the populous Seneca towns, pointing out how this might best be done.
+This advice was followed, and the adhesion of the Senecas was secured by
+giving to their two leading chiefs, Kanya-dariyo ("Beautiful Lake") and
+Shadekaronyes ("The Equal Skies"), the offices of military commanders of
+the confederacy, with the title of doorkeepers of the "Long-house," that
+being the figure by which the league was known.
+
+The six national leaders who have been mentioned--Dekanawidah for the
+Caniengas, Odatsehte for the Oneidas, Atotarho for the Onondagas,
+Akahenyonk for the Cayugas, Kanyadariyo and Shadekaronyes for the two
+great divisions of the Senecas--met in convention near the Onondaga
+Lake, with Hiawatha for their adviser, and a vast concourse of their
+followers, to settle the terms and rules of their confederacy, and to
+nominate its first council. Of this council, nine members (or ten, if
+Dekanawidah be included) were assigned to the Caniengas, a like number
+to the Oneidas, fourteen to the lordly Onondagas, ten to the Cayugas,
+and eight to the Senecas. Except in the way of compliment, the number
+assigned to each nation was really of little consequence; inasmuch as,
+by the rule of the league, unanimity was exacted in all their decisions.
+This unanimity, however, did not require the suffrage of every member of
+the council. The representatives of each nation first deliberated apart
+upon the question proposed. In this separate council the majority
+decided; and the leading chief then expressed in the great council the
+voice of his nation. Thus the veto of Atotarho ceased at once to be
+peculiar to him, and became a right exercised by each of the allied
+nations. This requirement of unanimity, embarrassing as it might seem,
+did not prove to be so in practice. Whenever a question arose on which
+opinions were divided, its decision was either postponed, or some
+compromise was reached which left all parties contented.
+
+The first members of the council were appointed by the convention--under
+what precise rule is unknown; but their successors came in by a method
+in which the hereditary and the elective systems were singularly
+combined, and in which female suffrage had an important place. When a
+chief died or (as sometimes happened) was deposed for incapacity or
+misconduct, some member of the same family succeeded him. Rank followed
+the female line; and this successor might be any descendant of the late
+chief's mother or grandmother--his brother, his cousin or his
+nephew--but never his son. Among many persons who might thus be
+eligible, the selection was made in the first instance by a family
+council. In this council the "chief matron" of the family, a noble dame
+whose position and right were well defined, had the deciding voice. This
+remarkable fact is affirmed by the Jesuit mission-ary Lafitau, and the
+usage remains in full vigor among the Canadian Iroquois to this day.
+[Footnote: "La dignite de chef est perpetuelle et hereditaire dans sa
+Cabane, passant toujours aux enfans de ses tantes, de ses soeurs, on de
+ses nieces du cote maternel. Des que l'arbre est tombe, il fault, disent
+ils, le relever. La matrone, qui a la principale autorite, apres en
+avoir confere avec ceux de sa Cabane, en confere de nouveau avec ceux de
+sa Tribu [clan], a qui elle fait agreer oelui qu'elle a choisi pour
+succeder, ce qui lui est assez libre. Elle n'a pas toujours egard au
+droit d'ainesse, et d'ordinaire, elle prend celui qui paroit le plus
+propre a soutenir ce rang par ses bonnes qualites."--_Lafitau: Maurs des
+Savages Ameriquains_, p. 471.] If there are two or more members of the
+family who seem to have equal claims, the nominating matron sometimes
+declines to decide between them, and names them both or all, leaving the
+ultimate choice to the nation or the federal council. The council of the
+nation next considers the nomination, and, if dissatisfied, refers it
+back to the family for a new designation. If content, the national
+council reports the name of the candidate to the federal senate, in
+which resides the power of ratifying or rejecting the choice of the
+nation; but the power of rejection is rarely exercised, though that of
+expulsion for good cause is not unfrequently exerted. The new chief
+inherits the name of his predecessor. In this respect, as in some
+others, the resemblance of the Great Council to the English House of
+Peers is striking. As Norfolk succeeds to Norfolk, so Tekarihoken
+succeeds Tekarihoken. The great names of Hiawatha and Atotarho are still
+borne by plain farmer-councillors on the Canadian Reservation.
+
+When the League was established, Hiawatha had been adopted by the
+Canienga nation as one of their chiefs. The honor in which he was held
+by them is shown by his position on the roll of councillors, as it has
+been handed down from the earliest times. As the Canienga nation is the
+"elder brother," the names of its chiefs are first recited. At the head
+of the list is the leading Canienga chief, Tekarihoken, who represents
+the noblest lineage of the Iroquois stock. Next to him, and second on
+the roll, is the name of Hiawatha. That of his great colleague,
+Dekanawidah, nowhere appears. He was a member of the first council; but
+he forbade his people to appoint a successor to him. "Let the others
+have successors," he said proudly, "for others can advise you like them.
+But I am the founder of your league, and no one else can do what I have
+done." [Footnote: In Mr. Morgan's admirable work, "_The League of the
+Iroquois_," the list of Councillors (whom he styles _sachems_),
+comprises the name of Dekanawidah--in his orthography, Daganoweda.
+During my last visit to my lamented friend (in September, 1880), when we
+examined together my copy of the then newly discovered Book of Rites, in
+which he was greatly interested, this point was considered. The original
+notes which he made for his work were examined. It appeared that in the
+list as it was first written by him, from the dictation of a
+well-informed Seneca chief, the name of Dekanawidah was not comprised. A
+later, but erroneous suggestion, from another source, led him to believe
+that his first informant was mistaken, or that he had misunderstood him,
+and to substitute the name of Dekanawidah for the somewhat similar name
+of Shatekariwate (in Seneca Sadekeiwadeh), which stands third on the
+roll, immediately following that of Hiawatha. The term _sachem_, it may
+be added, is an Algonkin word, and one which Iroquois speakers have a
+difficulty in pronouncing. Their own name for a member of their Senate
+is _Royaner_, derived from the root _yaner_, noble, and precisely
+equivalent in meaning to the English "nobleman" or "lord," as applied to
+a member of the House of Peers. It is the word by which the missionaries
+have rendered the title "Lord" in the New Testament.]
+
+The boast was not unwarranted. Though planned by another, the structure
+had been reared mainly by his labors. But the Five Nations, while
+yielding abundant honor to the memory of Dekanawidah, have never
+regarded him with the same affectionate reverence which has always clung
+to the name of Hiawatha. His tender and lofty wisdom, his wide-reaching
+benevolence, and his fervent appeals to their better sentiments,
+enforced by the eloquence of which he was master, touched chords in the
+popular heart which have continued to respond until this day. Fragments
+of the speeches in which he addressed the council and the people of the
+league are still remembered and repeated. The fact that the league only
+carried out a part of the grand design which he had in view is
+constantly affirmed. Yet the failure was not due to lack of effort. In
+pursuance of his original purpose, when the league was firmly
+established, envoys were sent to other tribes to urge them to join it,
+or at least to become allies. One of these embassies penetrated to the
+distant Cherokees, the hereditary enemies of the Iroquois nations. For
+some reason with which we are not acquainted, perhaps the natural
+suspicion or vindictive pride of that powerful community, this mission
+was a failure. Another, dispatched to the western Algonkins, had better
+success. A strict alliance was formed with the far-spread Ojibway
+tribes, and was maintained inviolate for at least two hundred years,
+until at length the influence of the French, with the sympathy of the
+Ojibways for the conquered Hurons, undid to some extent, though not
+entirely, this portion of Hiawatha's work.
+
+His conceptions were beyond his time, and beyond ours; but their effect,
+within a limited sphere, was very great. For more than three centuries
+the bond which he devised held together the Iroquois nations in perfect
+amity. It proved, moreover, as he intended, elastic.--The territory of
+the Iroquois, constantly extending as their united strength made itself
+felt, became the "Great Asylum" of the Indian tribes. Of the conquered
+Eries and Hurons, many hundreds were received and adopted among their
+conquerors. The Tuscaroras, expelled by the English from North Carolina,
+took refuge with the Iroquois, and became the sixth nation of the
+League. From still further south, the Tuteloes and Saponies, of Dakota
+stock, after many wars with the Iroquois, fled to them from their other
+enemies, and found a cordial welcome. A chief still sits in the council
+as a representative of the Tuteloes, though the tribe itself has been
+swept away by disease, or absorbed in the larger nations. Many fragments
+of tribes of Algonkin lineage--Delawares, Nanticokes, Mohegans,
+Mississagas--sought the same hospitable protection, which never failed
+them. Their descendants still reside on the Canadian Reservation, which
+may well be styled an aboriginal "refuge of nations," affording a
+striking evidence in our own day of the persistent force of a great
+idea, when embodied in practical shape by the energy of a master mind.
+
+The name by which their constitution or organic law is known among them
+is _kayanerenh_, to which the epitaph _kowa_, "great," is frequently
+added. This word, _kayanerenh_, is sometimes rendered "law," or
+"league," but its proper meaning seems to be "peace." It is used in this
+sense by the missionaries, in their translations of the scriptures and
+the prayer-book. In such expressions as the "Prince of Peace," "the
+author of peace," "give peace in our time," we find _kayanerenh_
+employed with this meaning. Its root is _yaner_, signifying "noble," or
+"excellent," which yields, among many derivatives, _kayanere_,
+"goodness," and _kayanerenh_, "peace," or "peacefulness." The national
+hymn of the confederacy, sung whenever their "Condoling Council" meets,
+commences with a verse referring to their league, which is literally
+rendered, "We come to greet and thank the PEACE" (_kayanerenh_). When
+the list of their ancient chiefs, the fifty original councillors, is
+chanted in the closing litany of the meeting, there is heard from time
+to time, as the leaders of each clan are named, an outburst of praise,
+in the words--
+
+  "This was the roll of you--
+   You that combined in the work,
+   You that completed the work,
+   The GREAT PEACE." (_Kayanerenh-kowa_.)
+
+The regard of Englishmen for their Magna Charta and Bill of Rights, and
+that of Americans for their national Constitution, seem weak in
+comparison with the intense gratitude and reverence of the Five Nations
+for the "Great Peace," which Hiawatha and his colleagues established for
+them. Of the subsequent life of Hiawatha, and of his death, we have no
+sure information. The records of the Iroquois are historical, and not
+biographical. As Hiawatha had been made a chief among the Caniengas, he
+doubtless continued to reside with that nation. A tradition, which is in
+itself highly probable, represents him as devoting himself to the
+congenial work of clearing away the obstructions in the streams which
+intersect the country then inhabited by the confederated nations, and
+which formed the chief means of communication between them. That he
+thus, in some measure, anticipated the plans of De Witt Clinton and his
+associates, on a smaller scale, but perhaps with a larger statesmanship,
+we may be willing enough to believe. A wild legend recorded by some
+writers, but not told of him by the Canadian Iroquois, and apparently
+belonging to their ancient mythology, gives him an apotheosis, and makes
+him ascend to heaven in a white canoe. It may be proper to dwell for a
+moment on the singular complication of mistakes which has converted this
+Indian reformer and statesman into a mythological personage.
+
+When by the events of the Revolutionary war the original confederacy was
+broken up, the larger portion of the people followed Brant to Canada.
+The refugees comprised nearly the whole of the Caniengas, and the
+greater part of the Onondagas and Cayugas, with many members of the
+other nations. In Canada their first proceeding was to reestablish, as
+far as possible, their ancient league, with all its laws and ceremonies.
+The Onondagas had brought with them most of their wampum records, and
+the Caniengas jealously preserved the memories of the federation, in
+whose formation they had borne a leading part. The history of the league
+continued to be the topic of their orators whenever a new chief was
+installed into office. Thus the remembrance of the facts has been
+preserved among them with much clearness and precision, and with little
+admixture of mythological elements. With the fragments of the tribes
+which remained on the southern side of the Great Lakes the case was very
+different. A feeble pretense was made, for a time, of keeping up the
+semblance of the old confederacy; but except among the Senecas, who, of
+all the Five Nations, had had least to do with the formation of the
+league, the ancient families which had furnished the members of their
+senate, and were the conservators of their history, had mostly fled to
+Canada or the West. The result was that among the interminable stories
+with which the common people beguile their winter nights, the traditions
+of Atotarho and Hiawatha became intermingled with the legends of their
+mythology. An accidental similarity, in the Onondaga dialect, between
+the name of Hiawatha and that of one of their ancient divinities, led to
+a confusion between the two, which has misled some investigators. This
+deity bears, in the sonorous Canienga tongue, the name of Taronhiawagon,
+meaning "the Holder of the Heavens." The Jesuit missionaries style him
+"the great god of the Iroquois." Among the Onondagas of the present day,
+the name is abridged to Taonhiawagi, or Tahiawagi. The confusion between
+this name and that of Hiawatha (which, in another form, is pronounced
+Tahionwatha) seems to have begun more than a century ago; for Pyrteus,
+the Moravian missionary, heard among the Iroquois (according to
+Heckewelder) that the person who first proposed the league was an
+ancient Mohawk, named Thannawege. Mr. J. V. H. Clarke, in his
+interesting History of Onondaga, makes the name to have been originally
+Ta-oun-ya-wat-ha, and describes the bearer as "the deity who presides
+over fisheries and hunting-grounds." He came down from heaven in a white
+canoe, and after sundry adventures, which remind one of the labors of
+Hercules, assumed the name of Hiawatha (signifying, we are told, "a very
+wise man"), and dwelt for a time as an ordinary mortal among men,
+occupied in works of benevolence. Finally, after founding the
+confederacy and bestowing many prudent counsels upon the people, he
+returned to the skies by the same conveyance in which he had descended.
+This legend, or, rather, congeries of intermingled legends, was
+communicated by Clark to Schoolcraft, when the latter was compiling his
+"Notes on the Iroquois." Mr. Schoolcraft, pleased with the poetical cast
+of the story, and the euphonious name, made confusion worse confounded
+by transferring the hero to a distant region and identifying him with
+Manabozho, a fantastic divinity of the Ojibways. Schoolcraft's volume,
+which he chose to entitle "The Hiawatha Legends," has not in it a single
+fact or fiction relating either to Hiawatha himself or to the Iroquois
+deity Taronhiawagon. Wild Ojibway stories concerning Manabozho and his
+comrades form the staple of its contents. But it is to this collection
+that we owe the charming poem of Longfellow; and thus, by an
+extraordinary fortune, a grave Iroquois lawgiver of the fifteenth
+century has become, in modern literature, an Ojibway demigod, son of the
+West Wind, and companion of the tricksy Paupukkeewis, the boastful
+Iagoo, and the strong Kwasind. If a Chinese traveler, during the middle
+ages, inquiring into the history and religion of the western nations,
+had confounded King Alfred with King Arthur, and both with Odin, he
+would not have made a more preposterous confusion of names and
+characters than that which has hitherto disguised the genuine
+personality of the great Onondaga reformer. [Footnote: This subject is
+further discussed in the Appendix, Note D.]
+
+About the main events of his history, and about his character and
+purposes, there can be no reasonable doubt. We have the wampum belts
+which he handled, and whose simple hieroglyphics preserve the memory of
+the public acts in which he took part. We have, also, in the Iroquois
+"Book of Rites," which in the present volume is given in its original
+form, a still more clear and convincing testimony to the character both
+of the legislator and of the people for whom his institutions were
+designed. This book, sometimes called the "Book of the Condoling
+Council," might properly enough be styled an Iroquois Veda. It comprises
+the speeches, songs, and other ceremonies, which, from the earliest
+period of the confederacy, have composed the proceedings of their
+council when a deceased chief is lamented and his successor is installed
+in office. The fundamental laws of the league, a list of their ancient
+towns, and the names of the chiefs who constituted their first council,
+chanted in a kind of litany, are also comprised in the collection. The
+contents, after being preserved in memory, like the Vedas, for many
+generations, were written down by desire of the chiefs, when their
+language was first reduced to writing; and the book is therefore more
+than a century old. Its language, archaic when written, is now partly
+obsolete, and is fully understood by only a few of the oldest chiefs. It
+is a genuine Indian composition, and must be accepted as disclosing the
+true character of its authors. The result is remarkable enough. Instead
+of a race of rude and ferocious warriors, we find in this book a kindly
+and affectionate people, full of sympathy for their friends in distress,
+considerate to their women, tender to their children, anxious for peace,
+and imbued with a profound reverence for their constitution and its
+authors. We become conscious of the fact that the aspect in which these
+Indians have presented themselves to the outside world has been in a
+large measure deceptive and factitious. The ferocity, craft and cruelty,
+which have been deemed their leading traits, have been merely the
+natural accompaniments of wars of self-preservation, and no more
+indicated their genuine character than the war-paint, plume and tomahawk
+of the warrior displayed the customary guise in which he appeared among
+his own people. The cruelties of war, when war is a struggle for
+national existence, are common to all races. The persistent desire for
+peace, pursued for centuries in federal unions, and in alliances and
+treaties with other nations, has been manifested by few as steadily as
+by the countrymen of Hiawatha. The sentiment of universal brotherhood
+which directed their policy has never been so fully developed in any
+branch of the Aryan race, unless it may be found incorporated in the
+religious quietism of Buddha and his followers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE BOOK OF RITES.
+
+
+For a proper appreciation of this peculiar composition, some further
+particulars respecting its origin and character will be needed. During
+my earlier visits to the Reserve of the Six Nations, near Brantford, I
+had heard of an Indian book which was used at their "Condoling
+Councils," the most important of their many public gatherings. But it
+was not until the month of September, 1879, that I had an opportunity of
+seeing the work. At that time two copies of the book were brought to me
+by the official holders, two of the principal chiefs of the confederacy.
+One of these was Chief John "Smoke" Johnson, who for many years had held
+the high office of Speaker of the Great Council, though, of late,
+yielding to age and infirmity, he has withdrawn from the public
+performance of its duties. His second name is a rude rendering of his
+truly poetical Indian appellation, Sakayen-gwaraton, or "Disappearing
+Mist." It signifies properly, I was told, the haze which rises from the
+ground in an autumn morning and vanishes as the day advances. His
+English name, and, in part, his blood, Chief Johnson derives from no
+less distinguished an ancestor than Sir William Johnson, who played so
+notable a part in colonial history during the last century, and who
+exercised, perhaps, a greater influence on the destiny of the Iroquois
+than any other individual since the formation of their confederacy. To
+him, indeed, may be ascribed the distinction, such as it is, of
+destroying the work which Hiawatha and Dekanawidah had founded. But for
+the influence over the Indians which he had acquired, and was able to
+bequeath to others, it is probable that the Six Nations would have
+remained neutral during the Revolutionary War, and the disruption of
+their League would not have taken place. Yet there can be no doubt that
+he was sincerely attached to them, and desired their good. Unfortunately
+for them, they held, as was natural, only the second place in his
+affections. He was, by adoption, an Iroquois chief, but his first
+allegiance was due to his native country, to whose interests, both in
+the war with France and in the separation which he foresaw between
+England and her colonies, he did not hesitate to sacrifice the welfare
+of his red brethren. Against his subtle arts and overmastering energy
+the wisest of their statesmen, worthy successors of the great founders
+of their constitution, strove in vain, on each occasion, to maintain
+that neutrality which was evidently the true policy of their people.
+[Footnote: For the confirmation of these statements see the excellent
+biographies of Sir William Johnson and Joseph Brant, by Wm. L. Stone,
+_passim_.]
+
+Sakayengwaraton is not an elected chief, nor does he bear one of the
+hereditary titles of the Great Council, in which he holds so
+distinguished a station. Indeed, his office is one unknown to the
+ancient constitution of the Kanonsionni. It is the creation of the
+British Government, to which he owes, with the willing consent of his
+own people, his rank and position in the Council. The Provincial
+administrators saw the need of a native official who should be, like the
+Speaker of the English House of Commons, the mouthpiece of the Council,
+and the intermediary between it and the representative of the Crown. The
+grandson of Sir William Johnson was known as a brave warrior, a capable
+leader, and an eloquent speaker. In the war of 1812, at the early age of
+twenty, he had succeeded an elder brother in the command of the Indian
+contingent, and had led his dusky followers with so much skill and
+intrepidity as to elicit high praise from the English commander. His
+eloquence was noted, even among a race of orators. I can well believe
+what I have heard of its effects, as even in his old age, when an
+occasion has for a moment aroused his spirit, I have not known whether
+most to admire the nobleness and force of his sentiments and reasoning,
+or the grace and flowing ease with which he delivered the stately
+periods of his sonorous language. He has been a worthy successor of the
+distinguished statesmen, Garagontieh, Garangula, Decanasora, Canasatego,
+Logan, and others, who in former years guided the destinies of his
+people. He is considered to have a better knowledge of the traditions
+and ancient usages of the Six Nations than any other member of the
+tribes, and is the only man now living who can tell the meaning of every
+word of the "Book of Rites."
+
+The other chief to whom I have referred is the Onondaga Councillor who
+is known to the whites as John Buck, but who bears in council the name
+of Skanawati ("Beyond the River"), one of the fifty titular names which
+have descended from the time of Hiawatha. He is the official keeper of
+the "wampum records" of the confederacy, an important trust, which, to
+his knowledge, has been in his family for at least four generations. His
+rank, his character, and his eloquence make him now, virtually, the
+Iroquois premier--an office which among the Six Nations, as among the
+Athenians of old and the English of modern days, is both unknown to the
+constitution and essential to its working. His knowledge of the legends
+and customs of his people is only inferior to that of the more aged
+Speaker of the Council.
+
+The account which Chief J. S. Johnson gave me of the book may be briefly
+told. The English missionaries reduced the Canienga language to writing
+in the early part of the last century. The Jesuit fathers, indeed, had
+learned and written the language--which they styled the Iroquois--fifty
+years before; but it does not appear that they had instructed any of the
+Indians in the art of writing it, as their successors in the Eastern
+Province have since done. The English missionaries took pains to do
+this. The liturgy of their church was printed in the Mohawk tongue, at
+New York, as early as the year 1714. [Footnote: This date is given in
+the preface to the Mohawk Prayer Book of 1787. This first version of the
+liturgy was printed under the direction of the Rev. Wm. Andrews, the
+missionary of the "New England Society."] By the middle of the century
+there were many members of the tribe who could write in the well-devised
+orthography of the missionaries--an orthography which anticipated in
+most points the well known "Pickering alphabet," now generally' employed
+in writing the Indian languages of North America. The chiefs of the
+Great Council, at once conservative and quick to learn, saw the
+advantages which would accrue from preserving, by this novel method, the
+forms of their most important public duty--that of creating new
+chiefs--and the traditions connected with their own body. They caused
+the ceremonies, speeches and songs, which together made up the
+proceedings of the Council when it met for the two purposes, always
+combined, of condolence and induction, to be written down in the words
+in which they had been preserved in memory for many generations. A
+Canienga chief, named David, a friend of Brant, is said to have
+accomplished the work. In Stone's Life of Sir William Johnson, mention
+is made of a Mohawk chief, "David of Schoharie," who in May, 1757, led a
+troop of Indians from his town to join the forces under Sir William, in
+his expedition to Crown Point, to repel the French invaders. [Footnote:
+_Life of Sir William Johnson_, Vol. II. p. 29] Brant appears to have
+been in this expedition. [Footnote: Ibid., p. 174] It is highly probable
+that in Chief David of Schoharie we have the compiler, or rather the
+scribe, of this "Iroquois Veda."
+
+The copy of this book which Chief J. S. Johnson possessed was made by
+himself under the following circumstances: During the prevalence of the
+Asiatic cholera, in 1832, the tribes on the Reserve suffered severely.
+Chief Johnson, then a young man and not yet a leader in the Great
+Council, was active in attending on the sick. He was called to visit an
+aged chief, who was not expected to live. The old chief informed him
+that he had this book in his possession, and advised him, as he was one
+of the few who could write the language, to make a copy of it, lest by
+any accident the original should be lost. Johnson followed this advice,
+and copied the book on loose sheets of paper, from which he afterwards
+transcribed it into a small unbound book, resembling a schoolboy's
+copy-book. He states that the original book contained, besides the
+ceremonies of the Condoling Council, an addition by a later hand,
+comprising some account of the more recent history of the Six Nations,
+and particularly of their removal from New York to Canada. This portion
+of it he unfortunately omitted to copy, and shortly afterwards the book
+itself was destroyed, when the house of the old chief was accidentally
+burned.
+
+The other copy which I transcribed was held by Chief John Buck, in his
+official capacity of record-keeper. It is written in a somewhat
+different orthography. The syllables are separated, as in the usual
+style of Indian hymnbooks, and some of the words, particularly the
+proper names, show by their forms that the person who copied the book
+was an Onondaga. The copy was evidently not made from that of Chief
+Johnson, as it supplies some omissions in that copy. On the other hand,
+it omits some matters, and, in particular, nearly all the adjurations
+and descriptive epithets which form the closing litany accompanying the
+list of hereditary councillors. The copy appears, from a memorandum
+written in it, to have been made by one "John Green," who, it seems, was
+formerly a pupil of the Mohawk Institute at Brantford. It bears the date
+of November, 1874. I could not learn where he found his original.
+
+The translation has been made from the dictation of Chief J. S. Johnson,
+who explained the meaning of the archaic words in the modern Canienga
+speech. This was interpreted in English by his son, Chief George H. M.
+Johnson, and afterwards more fully elucidated by my esteemed friend, the
+Rev. Isaac Bearfoot, who kindly came from his parish, at Point Edward
+(near Sarnia), to the Reserve, to assist me in this work. Mr. Bearfoot
+is an Onondaga by birth, but a Canienga by adoption, and has a thorough
+knowledge of the Canienga language. He prepared the revised edition of
+the hymnbook in that language, which is now used on the Reserve. He is a
+good English scholar, and, having been educated in Toronto for the
+ministry, has filled for some years, with much acceptance, the office of
+pastor to a white congregation of the Church of England. I am greatly
+indebted to him for his judicious assistance, and, finally, for a
+complete revision of the entire version of the Canienga portion of the
+book.
+
+To my friend Chief George Johnson I am under still greater obligations.
+Mr. Johnson, as has been stated, is the son of Chief J. S. Johnson, and
+is himself a high chief of the Canienga nation. He bears in the Great
+Council the name of Teyonhehkwen (otherwise spelt Deyonheghgonh),
+meaning "Double Life," one of the titular names which were borne by the
+companions of Hiawatha and Atotarho in the first council. He succeeded
+in this title, according to the rules of the confederacy, his maternal
+uncle, on the nomination of his mother, as the chief matron of the
+family. Mr. Johnson is an educated gentleman. In early life he was a
+pupil of the English missionaries. He now holds the position of
+Government Interpreter for the Six Nations, and is, in fact, the chief
+executive officer of the Canadian government on the Reserve. His duties
+have several times brought him into collision with the white ruffians
+who formerly infested the Reserve, and from whom he has on two occasions
+suffered severe injuries, endangering his life. His courage and
+firmness, however, have been finally successful in subduing this
+mischief, and the Reserve is now as secure and as free from disorder as
+any part of Canada. To Chief, George Johnson's assistance and
+encouragement I owe most of the information contained in these pages,
+and I am glad to have an opportunity of paying him this tribute of
+respect and gratitude.
+
+The second or supplementary part of the Book, which is in the Onondaga
+dialect, was found on the, small Reservation in the State of New York,
+near Syracuse, where a feeble remnant of the great Onondaga nation still
+cling to the home of their forefathers. In October, 1875, during my
+first visit to Onondaga Castle, as this Reservation is called, I
+obtained from the intelligent interpreter, Daniel La Fort--a son of the
+distinguished chief Abram La Fort (Dehatkatons), who is commemorated in
+Clark's "Onondaga"--a list of the original councillors in the Onondaga
+dialect, and also a copy, in the same dialect, of the "Condoling Song,"
+which I had heard sung on the Canadian Reserve, and which I afterwards
+found in the Canienga Book of Rites. He read them to me from a small
+manuscript book, in which, as I then supposed, he had noted them for his
+own convenience. When I afterwards discovered the Canienga book, it
+occurred to me that I might have been mistaken on this point, and that
+the manuscript from which he read was possibly a copy of the Book of
+Rites in the Onondaga dialect. To clear up this point, I again visited
+Onondaga Castle, in September, 1880. I then found, to my great
+gratification, that his book was not a copy, but a valuable addition, or
+rather an essential complement, to the Canienga book. The last-named
+book comprises the speeches which are addressed by the representatives
+of the three elder nations to the younger members of the League,
+whenever a chief who belonged to the latter is lamented. The Onondaga
+book, on the other hand, gives us the exhortations which are addressed
+by the younger nations to the elder when a chief of the latter is
+mourned. The circumstance to which it owes its preservation on the
+Onondaga Reserve is easily explained. Of late years, since the
+chieftainships among the New York Senecas and Tuscaroras have been made
+purely elective offices, the only body of Indians in that State among
+whom the original system of mingled descent and appointment has been
+retained is the remnant of the intensely conservative Onondagas. Among
+these, in spite of missionary efforts continued for two centuries,
+paganism still lingers, and chiefs are still "raised up" as nearly as
+possible after the ancient fashion. When a chief dies, the members of
+his family or clan select another, who is presented to the national
+council for induction. The ceremonies of condolence, with which the
+proceedings commence, are modeled after the primitive form. As the
+Onondagas were one of the elder nations, the addresses of condolence
+must proceed from a younger brother. Fortunately for this purpose, a few
+Oneidas reside on the Reserve, among whom is a single chief, by name
+Abram Hill. To him is committed the duty of representing the "younger
+brothers" on this occasion, and with it the charge of the wampum
+strings, which are produced occasionally as the ceremony proceeds, each
+string representing one section or topic of the condoling address.
+
+La Fort said that he had copied his book from a manuscript in his
+father's handwriting. This manuscript, unfortunately, was lost, and he
+could not say whether his rather had first written it down from memory,
+or had merely transcribed it from an earlier composition. However this
+may have been, the substance of the composition undoubtedly dates from a
+period preceding the disruption of the confederacy. The language,
+indeed, so far as can be judged from the very irregular orthography, is
+modern. If, as there is reason to suppose, the composition is ancient,
+it has evidently undergone a "revision" at the hands of the later
+copyists. In former times, as we know from the Jesuit vocabularies, the
+sound of _r_ existed in the Onondaga dialect. Since their day this sound
+has disappeared from it entirely. In La Fort's manuscript the letter
+frequently occurred, but always, as his pronunciation showed, either as
+a diacritical sign following the vowel _a_, to give to that vowel the
+sound of _a_ in "far," or else as representing itself this vowel sound.
+Thus the syllable which should properly be written _sa_ was written by
+La Fort either _sar_ or _sr_. But, though the language is modern, the
+speeches themselves, as I am assured by Chief John Buck, are precisely
+those which are still in use among his people in Canada, and which are
+believed to have been preserved in memory from the days of their
+forefathers. [Footnote: The disappearance of a vocal element from a
+language is a phenomenon with which etymologists are familiar. The loss
+of the Greek digamma is a well-known instance. The harsh guttural,
+resembling the German ch. which formerly existed in the English
+language, has vanished from it, leaving its traces in the uncouth
+orthography of such words as _plough_, _high_, _though_, and the like.
+Within the past three centuries the sound of _I_ has been lost from many
+words, such as _walk_, _talk_, _balm_ and _calm_. The sound of _r_ is
+disappearing from a large portion of the language. In ordinary speech,
+_arm_ rhymes with _calm_, _morning_ with _fanning_, _higher_ with
+_Sophia_. Modern French, as is well known, has attained its present
+euphony through the disappearance of consonantal elements from many
+words in which they formerly existed.]
+
+The translation of La Fort's book was procured from him and another
+educated member of his tribe; but there was not time to obtain all the
+elucidations needed to ensure precise verbal accuracy throughout.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE CONDOLING COUNCIL.--CLANS AND CLASSES.
+
+
+The name usually given to the Book of Rites, or rather to its contents,
+is, in the Canienga dialect, _Okayondonghsera Yondennase_ (or in the
+French missionary orthography, _Okaiontonhstra Iontennase_), which may
+be rendered "Ancient Rites of the Condoling Council." [Footnote:
+_Okaionlonhsera_ is a substantive derived from _akaion_, old, or
+ancient. The termination _sera_ gives it an abstract sense. "The
+antiquities," or rather "the ancientnesses," is the nearest literal
+rendering which our language allows, _Iontennase_ is a verbal form,
+derived from _kitenre_ (in Bruyas, _gentenron_), to pity, or sympathize
+with. It may be rendered "they who sympathize," or "the condolers."
+Both, words, however, have acquired a special meaning in their
+application to these ceremonies.] Among the many councils, civil and
+religious, tribal and federal, in which the public spirit and social
+temper of the Iroquois found their most congenial and most popular mode
+of display, the Yondennase, the Condoling (or Mourning) Council, held
+the highest rank. It was, in a certain way, typical of the whole, and
+comprised the elements of all the other councils. In its earlier form
+this council was not peculiar to the Iroquois. We know, from the Jesuit
+reports, that it was the custom of the Hurons to hold a public
+lamentation for the death of a chief, and at the same time to appoint
+another who should take his place and assume his name. But that which
+among the Hurons was merely a tribal custom became, in the Iroquois form
+of government, an important institution, essential to the maintenance of
+their state. By the ordinances of their League, it was required that the
+number of their federal senate should be maintained undiminished. On the
+death of one of its members, it was the duty of the nation to which he
+belonged to notify the other nations of the event, and of the time and
+place at which he would be lamented and his successor installed. The
+notice was given in the usual manner, by official messengers, who bore
+for credentials certain strings of wampum, appropriate to the occasion.
+The place of meeting was commonly the chief town of the nation which had
+suffered the loss. In this nation a family council, under the
+presidency, and subject, indeed (as has been shown), to the controlling
+decision, of the chief matron of the deceased senator's kindred--usually
+his mother, if she survived him--was in the meantime convened to select
+his successor. The selection must be approved both by his clan and by
+his nation; but as their sentiments were generally known beforehand,
+this approval was rarely withheld. Indeed, the mischief resulting from
+an unsuitable choice was always likely to be slight; for both the
+national council and the federal senate had the right of deposing any
+member who was found unqualified for the office.
+
+At the appointed day the chiefs of the other nations approached the
+place of meeting. A multitude of their people, men and women, usually
+accompanied them, prepared to take part both in the exhibitions of grief
+and in the festivities which always followed the installation of the new
+councillor. The approaching chiefs halted when they reached the border
+of the "opening," or cleared space surrounding the town. Here took place
+the "preliminary ceremony," styled in the Book of Rites,
+"_Deyughnyonkwarakda_," a word which means simply "at the edge of the
+woods." At this point a fire was kindled, a pipe was lighted and passed
+around with much formality, and an address of welcome was made by the
+principal chief of the inviting nation. The topics of this address
+comprised a singular mixture of congratulation and condolence, and seem
+to have been prescribed forms, which had come down from immemorial
+antiquity, as appropriate to the occasion.
+
+The guests were then formally conducted--"led by the hand," as the Book
+recites--to the Council House of the town. They seem, anciently at
+least, to have advanced in the order of their clans. The towns belonging
+to the Wolf clan were first enumerated--probably as the chiefs belonging
+to them took their places--then the towns of the Tortoise clan (or
+double clan, as it is styled), and finally those of the Bear clan. In
+all, twenty-three towns are named. Five of them are expressly stated to
+have been "added lately." The residue are supposed to be the names of
+the towns in which the people of the Five Nations resided at the time
+when the confederacy was formed, though this point is uncertain. That
+few of these can now be identified, is what would naturally be expected.
+It is well known that the Indians had the custom of removing their towns
+from time to time, at intervals varying from ten to twenty years, as the
+fuel in their neighborhood became exhausted, and as the diminished crops
+under their primitive mode of agriculture showed the need of fresher
+soil. Only those villages would be permanent whose localities offered
+some special advantages, as fortresses, fishing places, or harbors.
+[Footnote: See Appendix, note E.]
+
+This list of towns has another peculiarity which arrests the attention.
+It apparently comprises all the towns of the League, but these are
+divided among only three clans, those of the Wolf, the Tortoise and the
+Bear. The other clans of the confederacy are not once named in the book.
+Yet there are indications which show that when the list of chiefs which
+concludes the book was written, at a date long after this list of towns
+was first recited, other clans existed in three of the nations. This is
+an important point, which merits further consideration. Those who have
+read the admirable account of the "League of the Iroquois," by Morgan,
+and his philosophic work on "Ancient Society," are aware that he has
+brought out and elucidated with much clearness and force the nature and
+results of the remarkable clan system which prevails among the North
+American Indians. It is not universal, as it does not seem to be known
+among the widely scattered bands of the Crees and the Athapascans, or
+among the Indians of Oregon. [Footnote: See _Ancient Society_, pp. 167,
+175, 177.] It was found, however, among the great majority of tribes in
+the region north of Mexico and east of the Rocky Mountains, and was
+sufficiently alike in all to indicate a common origin. Mr. Morgan finds
+this origin in a kinship, real or supposed, among the members of each
+clan. He considers the clan, or gens, and not the single family, to be
+the natural unit of primitive society. It is, in his view, a stage
+through which the human race passes in its progress from the savage
+state to civilization. It is difficult, however, to reconcile this
+theory with the fact that among some races, as for example, the
+Polynesian and Feejeean, which are in precisely the same stage of social
+advancement as the North American Indians, this institution is unknown;
+and even among the Indians, as has been said, it is not everywhere
+found. There are many indications which seem to show that the system is
+merely an artificial arrangement, instituted for social convenience. It
+is natural, in the sense that the desire for association is natural to
+man. The sentiment is one which manifests itself alike in all stages of
+society. The guilds of the middle ages, the masonic and other secret
+brotherhoods, religious organizations, trade unions, clubs, and even
+political parties, are all manifestations of this associative instinct.
+The Indian clan was simply a brotherhood, an aggregate of persons united
+by a common tie, sometimes of origin, sometimes merely of locality.
+These brotherhoods were not permanent, but were constantly undergoing
+changes, forming, dividing, coalescing, vanishing. The names of many of
+them show their recent origin. The Chicasas have a "Spanish clan."
+[Footnote: _Ancient Society_, p. 163.] The Shawnees had a "Horse clan."
+[Footnote: Ibid, p. 168.] The Iroquois, of Eastern Canada, made up of
+fragments of all the Five Nations, had an "Onondaga clan," and an
+"Oneida clan." [Footnote: Rotisennakete, and Rotinenhiotronon. See J. A.
+Cuoq, _Lexique de la Langut Iroquoise_, p. 154. The proper meaning of
+these names will be hereafter shown.] It is a curious fact that, as Mr.
+Morgan states, "the Iroquois claim to have originated a division of the
+people into tribes [clans or gentes] as a means of creating new
+relationships, to bind the people more firmly together. It is further
+asserted by them that they forced or introduced this social organization
+among the Cherokees, the Chippeways (Massasaugas) and several other
+Indian nations, with whom, in ancient times, they were in constant
+intercourse." "The fact," he adds, "that this division of the people of
+the same nation into tribes does not prevail generally among our Indian
+races, favors the assertions of the Iroquois." [Footnote: _League of the
+Iroquois_, p. 91.] Further inquiry and reflection led this distinguished
+investigator to take a totally different view, and to go to what may be
+deemed the opposite extreme of regarding this clan system as an
+essential stage in the growth of human society.
+
+There can be no question that an idea of kinship pervaded the clan
+system, and was its ruling element. It may, in many instances, have been
+purely imaginary and, so to speak, figurative, like the "brotherhood" of
+our secret associations; but it was none the less efficacious and
+binding. As the members of a clan regarded themselves as brothers and
+sisters, marriages among them were not allowed. This led, of course, to
+constant intermarriages between members of the different clans of which
+a nation was composed, thus binding the whole nation together. What the
+founders of the Iroquois League did was to extend this system of social
+alliances through the entire confederacy. The Wolf clansman of the
+Caniengas was deemed a brother of the Wolf clansman of the Senecas,
+though originally there may have been no special connection between
+them. It was a tie apparently artificial in its origin, as much so as
+the tie which binds a freemason of Berlin to a freemason of New Orleans.
+But it came to have all the strength of a tie of kindred. Mr. Morgan has
+well pointed out the wisdom shown by the Iroquois founders, in availing
+themselves of this powerful element of strength in the formation of
+their federal constitution. [Footnote: _League of the Iroquois_, p. 82,
+_et seq_.] Their government, though politically a league of nations, was
+socially a combination of clans. In this way Hiawatha and Dekanawidah
+may be deemed to have given to the system of clan-ship an extension and
+a force which it had not previously possessed; and it is by no means
+unlikely that this example may, as the Iroquois assert, have acted upon
+neighboring nations, and led to a gradual increase in the number and
+influence of these brotherhoods.
+
+But here a discrepancy presents itself in the Iroquois system, which has
+perplexed all who have written on the subject. Two of the Six Nations,
+the Caniengas and Oneidas, had only three clans, the Wolf, the Tortoise
+and the Bear; while the others had, or at least have, each eight or
+nine, and these variously styled in the different nations. The three
+which have been named are, indeed, found in all; but besides these
+three, the Onondagas have five, Deer, Eel, Beaver, Ball and Snipe. The
+Cayugas and Senecas have also eight clans, which are similar to those of
+the Onondagas, except that among the Cayugas the Ball clan is replaced
+by the Hawk, and among the Senecas both Ball and Eel disappear, and are
+replaced by Hawk and Heron. The Tuscaroras have likewise eight clans,
+but among these are neither the Hawk, the Heron or the Ball. In lieu of
+them the Wolf clan is divided into two, the Gray Wolf and the Yellow
+Wolf, and the Tortoise furnishes two, the Great Tortoise and the Little
+Tortoise; [Footnote: It is deserving of notice that this division of the
+Tortoise clan seems to exist in a nascent form among the Onondagas. The
+name of this clan is Hahnowa, which is the general word for tortoise;
+but the clan is divided into two septs or subdivisions, the
+Hanyatengona, or Great Tortoise, and the Nikahnowaksa, or Little
+Tortoise, which together are held to constitute but one clan. How or why
+the distinction is kept up I did not learn. In the Book of Rites the
+Tortoise clan is also spoken of in the dual number--"the two clans of
+the Tortoise." It is probable, therefore, that this partial subdivision
+extended throughout the original Five Nations, and became complete among
+the Tuscaroras.] the Bear, the Beaver, the Eel and the Snipe remain, as
+among the Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas.
+
+We are naturally led to ask how it happens that only three clans are
+found among the Caniengas and Oneidas, while the other nations have
+eight. Mr. Morgan was inclined to think that the other five once existed
+among the two former nations, and had become extinct. [Footnote: _League
+of the Iroquois_, p. 81. Ancient Society, p. 92.] The native annalists
+of those nations, however, affirm that no more than three clans ever
+existed among them. This assertion is now confirmed, indirectly but
+strongly, by the testimony of the Book of Rites, which seems to show
+that only three clans were recognized in the whole confederacy when the
+League was formed. All the towns of the united nations were distributed
+among the three primary clans of the Wolf, the Tortoise and the Bear. If
+the other clans existed, it was probably merely as septs or divisions of
+these three. [Footnote: "The Turtle family, or the Anowara, was the most
+noble of the whole League; next came the Ochquari, or clan of the Bear,
+and the Oquacho, or that of the Wolf. These three were so prominent that
+Zeisberger hardly recognizes the others."--_De Sckweinitz's Life of
+Zeisberger_, p.79. Zeisberger had been adopted into the nation of the
+Onondagas and the clan of the Tortoise. His knowledge of the laws and
+usages of the Kanonsionni was acquired chiefly in that nation.
+Charlevoix makes the Bear the leading clan of the Iroquois. It would
+seem that the relative rank of the clans varied in the different
+nations. The chiefs of the Wolf clan come first in the list of Oneida
+councillors.] It is more likely, however, that these additional clans
+were of later creation or introduction. Their origin, as well as their
+restriction to the three western nations, may be easily explained. The
+successive conquests achieved by the Iroquois in the early part of the
+seventeenth century had the result of incorporating with their people
+great numbers of Hurons, Eries, Attiwandaronks, Andastes, and other
+captives belonging to tribes of the same stock, speaking similar
+dialects, and having usages closely resembling those of their captors.
+Of these captives, some were directly adopted into the Iroquois families
+and clans; but a larger number remained for a time in separate towns,
+retaining their own usages. They were regarded, however, and they
+regarded themselves, as Iroquois. Constant intercourse and frequent
+intermarriages soon abolished all distinctions of national origin. But
+the distinction of clan-ship would remain. The Hurons (or, at least, the
+Tionontates, or Tobacco Nation) had clans of the Deer and the Hawk, and
+they had a Snake clan bearing a name (_yagonirunon_) not unlike the name
+of the Onondaga Eel clan (_ogontena_), and evidently derived from the
+same root. The other conquered nations had doubtless some peculiar
+clans; for these brotherhoods, as has been shown, were constantly in
+process of formation and change among the Indian tribes. Almost all the
+captives were incorporated with the three western nations of the League,
+to whom the conquered tribes were mostly nearer than to the Caniengas
+and Oneidas. The origin of the additional clans among the Onondagas,
+Cayugas and Senecas is thus readily understood.
+
+One fact, important in its connection with the structure of the federal
+council, remains to be noted, and if possible, elucidated. The
+councillors of each nation were divided into classes, whose part in the
+deliberations of the councils bore a certain resemblance to that held by
+the committees of our legislatures. The operation of this system cannot
+be better described than in the words of Morgan: "The founders of the
+confederacy, seeking to obviate, as far as possible, altercation in
+council, and to facilitate their progress to unanimity, divided the
+sachems of each nation into classes, usually of two or three each, as
+will be seen by referring to the table of sachemships. No sachem was
+permitted to express an opinion in council, until he had agreed with the
+other sachem or sachems of his class upon the opinion to be expressed,
+and had received an appointment to act as speaker for the class. Thus
+the eight Seneca sachems, being in four classes, could have but four
+opinions, the ten Cayuga sachems but four. In this manner each class was
+brought to unanimity within itself. A cross-consultation was then held
+between the four sachems who represented the four classes; and when they
+had agreed, they appointed one of their number to express their
+resulting opinion, which was the answer of their nation. The several
+nations having, by this ingenious method, become of 'one mind'
+separately, it only remained to compare their several opinions to arrive
+at the final sentiment of all the sachems of the League. This was
+effected by a conference between the individual representatives of the
+several nations; and when they had arrived at unanimity, the answer of
+the League was determined." [Footnote: _League of the Iroquois_, p,
+112.]
+
+A careful consideration of the facts, in the light cast upon them by the
+evidence of the "Book of Rites" and the testimony of the Canadian
+Iroquois, leaves no doubt that these classes were originally identical
+with the clans. Among the Caniengas and Oneidas this identity still
+exists. Each of these nations received nine representatives in the
+federal council. These were--and still are--divided into three each
+composed of three members, and each class representing a clan. In the
+Canienga tribe the members of the first class are all of the Tortoise
+clan, those of the second class are of the Wolf clan, and those of the
+third class of the Bear clan. Among the Oneidas, the councillors of the
+first class belong to the Wolf clan, those of the second class to the
+Tortoise clan, and those of the third class to the Bear clan. Such was
+the information which Mr. Morgan received from his Seneca friends, and
+such I found to be the fact among the Iroquois now in Canada. When we
+come to the other nations we find a wholly different state of things. No
+correspondence now exists between the classes and the clans. The Cayugas
+have now, as has been shown, eight clans; but of these only six,
+according to the list given by Morgan, and only five in that furnished
+to me by the Canadian chiefs, are represented in the council. These are
+distributed in three classes, which do not correspond to the clans. In
+Morgan's list the first class has five members, the first of whom
+belongs to the Deer clan, the second to that of the Heron, the third and
+fourth to that of the Bear, and the fifth to that of the Tortoise. In my
+list this class also comprises five chiefs, of whom the first two
+(identical in name with the first two of Morgan) belong to the Deer
+clan, while the third (who bears the same name as Mr. Morgan's third) is
+of the Bear clan. In the "Book of Rites" the first Cayuga class
+comprises only two chiefs, but their clans (which were supposed to be
+known to the hearers) are not indicated. The fourteen Onondaga
+councillors are divided into five classes, according to Morgan, and also
+in the modern Canadian list. The "Book of Rites" seems to give only
+four, but none of these--according to the evidence of the Canadian
+chiefs--correspond with the modern clans; and the same councillor, in
+lists received from different sources, is found to belong to different
+classes and different clans. Thus the distinguished title of Skanawati
+is borne, in Mr. Morgan's list, by a chief of the fifth class and of the
+third clan. In the list obtained by me at Onondaga Castle this chief is
+of the fourth class and of the Ball clan. The great Seneca chief
+Kanyadariyo is, in Mr. Morgan's list, a member of the Tortoise clan,
+while among the Canadian Senecas he belongs to the Wolf clan. In short,
+it is evident that the introduction of the new clans among the western
+nations has thrown this part of their constitutional system into
+confusion. The probability is that when the confederacy was established
+only three clans, Bear, Wolf and Tortoise, existed among the Iroquois,
+as only three clans, Bear, Wolf and Turkey, existed in recent times
+among their Algonkin neighbors, the Lenni Lenape, or Delawares. Thus the
+classes of their Council grew spontaneously out of their clan system, as
+the senators of each clan would naturally consult together. Afterwards
+new clans arose; but it seems probable that when the list of councillors
+comprised in the "Book of Rites" was written--that is, about the middle
+of the last century--the correspondence of classes and clans was still
+maintained. The number of both was increased in the western tribes, but
+each class was still composed of chiefs of the same clan. The written
+book fixed the classes to a certain extent, but the clans to which their
+members belonged continued to vary, under the influence of political and
+social changes. If, at the death of a councillor, no member of his clan
+was found qualified to succeed him, a successor would be elected from
+another clan which was deemed to be in some way connected with him. I
+was assured by the Onondaga chiefs of the New York Reservation that this
+was their rule at present; and it is quite sufficient to account for the
+departure, in the western nations, from the ancient system. It is
+evident that after the nations and clans were rent to fragments by the
+dissensions and emigration caused by the American Revolution, these
+changes would, for a time, be necessarily frequent. And thus it happens
+that chiefs are found in the duplicate confederacies which after this
+disruption were established in Canada and New York, who bear the same
+titular designation, but differ both in the clans and in the classes to
+which they belong.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE CONDOLENCE AND THE INSTALLATION.
+
+
+With the arrival at the Council House the "opening ceremony" is
+concluded. In the house the members of the Council were seated in the
+usual array, on opposite sides of the house. On one side were the three
+elder nations, the Caniengas, Onondagas, and Senecas, and on the other
+the younger, who were deemed, and styled in Council, the offspring of
+the former. These younger members, originally two in number, the Oneidas
+and Cayugas, had afterwards an important accession in the Tuscarora
+nation; and in later years several smaller tribes, or, as they were
+styled, additional braces of the Extended House, were
+received;--Tuteloes, Nanticokes, Delawares and others. In the Onondaga
+portion of the book the younger tribes speak as "we three brothers." The
+earliest of the later accessions seems to have taken place about the
+year 1753, when the Tuteloes and Nanticokes were admitted. [Footnote:
+_N. Y. Hist. Col._, Vol. 6, p. 811. Stone's _Life of Sir William
+Johnson_, p. 414.] These circumstances afford additional evidence that
+the Book was originally written prior to that date and subsequent to the
+year 1714, when the Tuscaroras were received into the League.
+
+If the deceased chief belonged to one of the three older nations, the
+duty of conducting the condoling ceremony which followed was performed
+by the younger nations, who mourned for him as for a father or an uncle.
+If he were a chief of one of the younger nations, the others lamented
+him as a son or a nephew. The mourning nations selected as their
+representative a high chief, usually a distinguished orator, familiar
+with the usages and laws of the League, to conduct these ceremonies. The
+lamentations followed a prescribed routine, each successive topic of
+condolence being indicated by a string of wampum, which, by the
+arrangement of its beads, recalled the words to the memory of the
+officiating chief. In the "Book of Rites" we have these addresses of
+condolence in a twofold form. The Canienga book gives us the form used
+by the elder nations; and the Onondaga supplement adds the form employed
+by the younger brothers. The former is more ancient, and apparently more
+dignified and formal. The speaker addresses the mourners as his children
+(_konyennetaghkwen_, "my offspring,") and recites each commonplace of
+condolence in a curt and perfunctory style. He wipes away their tears
+that they may see clearly; he opens their ears that they may hear
+readily. He removes from their throats the obstruction with which their
+grief is choking them, so that they may ease their burdened minds by
+speaking freely to their friends. And finally, as the loss of their
+lamented chief may have occurred in war--and at all events many of their
+friends have thus perished--he cleans the mats on which they are sitting
+from the figurative bloodstains, so that they may for a time cease to be
+reminded of their losses, and may regain their former cheerfulness.
+
+The condolence of the younger brothers, expressed in the Onondaga book,
+is more expansive and more sympathetic. Though apparently disfigured and
+mutilated by repeated transcriptions, it bears marks of having been
+originally the composition of a superior mind. All such topics of
+consolation as would occur to a speaker ignorant or regardless of a
+future life are skillfully presented, and the whole address is imbued
+with a sentiment of cordial tenderness and affection. Those who have
+been accustomed to regard the Indians as a cold-hearted people will find
+it difficult to reconcile that view of their character with the contrary
+evidence afforded by this genuine expression of their feelings, and,
+indeed, by the whole tenor of the Book.
+
+This address concludes with the emphatic words, "I have finished; now
+point me the man;" or, as the words were paraphrased by the interpreter,
+"Now show me the warrior who is to be the new chief." The candidate for
+senatorial honors, who is to take the place and name of the deceased
+councillor, is then brought forward by his nation. His admission by the
+assembled Council, at this stage of the proceedings, is a matter of
+course; for his nation had taken care to ascertain, before the meeting,
+that the object of their choice would be acceptable to the councillors
+of the other nations. The ceremony of induction consisted in the formal
+bestowal of the new name by which he was henceforth to be known. A chief
+placed himself on each side of the candidate, and, grasping his arms,
+marched him to and fro in the Council house, between the lines of the
+assembled senators. As they walked they proclaimed his new name and
+office, and recited, in a measured chant, the duties to which he was now
+called, the audience responding at every pause with the usual chorus of
+assent.
+
+When this ceremony was finished, and the new councillor had taken his
+proper seat among the nobles of his nation, the wampum belts, which
+comprised the historical records of the federation, were produced, and
+the officiating chief proceeded to explain them, one by one, to the
+assemblage. This was called "reading the archives." In this way a
+knowledge of the events signified by the wampum was fastened, by
+repeated iteration, in the minds of the listeners. Those who doubt
+whether events which occurred four centuries ago can be remembered as
+clearly and minutely as they are now recited, will probably have their
+doubts removed when they consider the necessary operation of this
+custom. The orator's narrative is repeated in the presence of many
+auditors who have often heard it before, and who would be prompt to
+remark and to correct any departure from the well-known history.
+
+This narrative is not recorded in the Book of Rites. At the time when
+that was written, the annals of the confederacy were doubtless supposed
+to be sufficiently preserved by the wampum records. The speeches and
+ceremonies which followed, and which were of equal, if not greater
+importance, had no such evidences to recall them. From this statement,
+however, the "hymn" should be excepted; to each line of it, except the
+last, a wampum string was devoted. With this exception, all was left to
+the memory of the orator. The Homeric poems, the hymns of the Vedas, the
+Kalewala, the Polynesian genealogies, and many other examples, show the
+exactness with which a composition that interests a whole nation may be
+handed down; but it is not surprising that when the chiefs became aware
+of the superior advantages of a written record, they should have had
+recourse to it. We need not doubt that Chief David of Schoharie, or
+whoever else was the scribe appointed to this duty, has faithfully
+preserved the substance, and, for the most part, the very words, of the
+speeches and chants which he had often heard under such impressive
+circumstances.
+
+The hymn, or _karenna_, deserves a special notice. In every important
+council of the Iroquois a song or chant is considered a proper and
+almost essential part of the proceedings. Such official songs are
+mentioned in many reports of treaty councils held with them by the
+French and English authorities. In this greatest of all councils the
+song must, of course, have a distinguished place. It follows immediately
+upon the address of greeting and condolence, and is, in fact, regarded
+as the completion of it, and the introduction to the equally important
+ceremony which is to follow, viz., the repetition of the ancient laws of
+the confederacy. This particular hymn is of great antiquity. Some of the
+chiefs expressed to me the opinion that it was composed by Dekana-widah
+or Hiawatha. Its tenor, however, as well as that of the whole book,
+shows that it belongs to a later period. The ceremonies of the council
+were doubtless prescribed by the founders of the League; but the
+speeches of the Book, and this hymn, all refer to the League as the work
+of a past age. The speakers appeal to the wisdom of their forefathers
+(literally, their grandsires), and lament the degeneracy of the later
+times. They expressly declare that those who established the "great
+peace" were in their graves, and had taken their work with them and
+placed it as a pillow under them. This is the language of men who
+remembered the founders, and to whom the burial of the last of them was
+a comparatively recent event. If the league was formed, as seems
+probable, about the year 1450, the speeches and hymn, in their present
+form, may reasonably be referred to the early part of the next century.
+There is reason to believe that the formation of the confederacy was
+followed by wars with the Hurons and Algonkin tribes, in which, as
+usual, many changes of fortune took place. If the Hurons, as has been
+shown, were expelled from their abode on the northern shore of the St.
+Lawrence, the Mohegans, on the other hand, inflicted some serious blows
+upon the eastern nations of the confederacy. [Footnote: See the Jesuit
+_Relation_ for 1660, p. 6.] The Delawares were not conquered and reduced
+to subjection without a long and sanguinary struggle. In a Condoling
+Council we might expect that the tone of feeling would be lugubrious;
+but the sense of loss and of danger is too marked in all the speeches of
+the Canienga Book to be merely a formal utterance. It does not appear in
+those of the Onondaga Book, which is seemingly of later composition.
+
+The "karenna," or chant of the Condoling Council, may be styled the
+National Hymn of the Iroquois. A comparison between it and other
+national hymns, whose chief characteristics are self-glorification and
+defiance, might afford room for some instructive inferences. This hymn,
+it should be remarked, brief as it is, is regarded by the Indians as a
+collection of songs. Each line, in fact, is, in their view, a song by
+itself, and is brought to mind by its own special wampum string. In
+singing, each line is twice repeated, and is introduced and followed by
+many long-drawn repetitions of the exclamation _aihaigh_ (or rather
+_haihaih_) which is rendered "hail!" and from which the hymn derives its
+designation. In the first line the speaker salutes the "Peace," or the
+league, whose blessings they enjoy. In the next he greets the kindred of
+the deceased chief, who are the special objects of the public sympathy.
+Then he salutes the _oyenkondonh_, a term which has been rendered
+"warriors." This rendering, however, may have a misleading effect. The
+word has nothing to do with war, unless in the sense that every grown
+man in an Indian community is supposed to be a soldier. Except in this
+hymn, the word in question is now disused. An elderly chief assured me
+that he had sung it for years without knowing its precise meaning. Some
+of his fellow-councillors were better informed. The word is apparently
+derived from _ankwe_, man, which in the Onondaga dialect becomes
+_yenkwe_. It comprises all the men (the "manhood" or mankind) of the
+nation--as, in the following verse, the word _wakonnyh_, which is also
+obsolete, signifies the "womanhood," or all the women of the people with
+whom the singer condoles. In the next line he invokes the laws which
+their forefathers established; and he concludes by calling upon his
+hearers to listen to the wisdom of their forefathers, which he is about
+to recite. As a whole, the hymn may be described as an expression of
+reverence for the laws and for the dead, and of sympathy with the
+living. Such is the "national anthem,"--the Marseillaise,--of the
+ferocious Iroquois.
+
+The regard for women which is apparent in this hymn, and in other
+passages of the Book, is deserving of notice. The common notion that
+women among the Indians were treated as inferiors, and made "beasts of
+burden," is unfounded so far as the Iroquois are concerned, and among
+all other tribes of which I have any knowledge. With them, as with
+civilized nations, the work of the community and the cares of the family
+are fairly divided. Among the Iroquois the hunting and fishing, the
+house-building and canoe-making, fell to the men. The women cooked, made
+the dresses, scratched the ground with their light hoes, planted and
+gathered the crops, and took care of the children. The household goods
+belonged to the woman. On her death, her relatives, and not her husband,
+claimed them. The children were also hers; they belonged to her clan,
+and in case of a separation they went with her. She was really the head
+of the household; and in this capacity her right, when she chanced to be
+the oldest matron of a noble family, to select the successor of a
+deceased chief of that family, was recognized by the highest law of the
+confederacy. That this rank and position were greatly prized is shown by
+a remarkable passage in the Jesuit Relations. A Canienga matron,
+becoming a Christian, left her country, with two of her children, to
+enjoy greater freedom in her devotions among the French. The act, writes
+the missionary, so offended her family that, in a public meeting of the
+town, "they degraded her from the rank of the nobility, and took from
+her the title of Oyander, that is, honorable (_considerable_)--a title
+which they esteem highly, and which she had inherited from her
+ancestors, and deserved by her good judgment, her prudence, and her
+excellent conduct; and at the same time they installed another in her
+place." [Footnote: _Relation_ of 1671, p. 6. The word _oyander_ in
+modern pronunciation becomes _oyaner_. It is derived from the root
+_yaner_, noble, and is the feminine form of the word _royaner_, lord, or
+nobleman,--the title applied to the members of the federal council.]
+
+The complete equality of the sexes in social estimation and influence is
+apparent in all the narratives of the early missionaries, who were the
+best possible judges on this point. Casual observers have been misled by
+the absence of those artificial expressions of courtesy which have
+descended to us from the time of chivalry, and which, however gracious
+and pleasing to witness, are, after all, merely signs of condescension
+and protection from the strong to the weak. The Iroquois does not give
+up his seat to a woman, or yield her precedence on leaving a room; but
+he secures her in the possession of her property, he recognizes her
+right to the children she has borne, and he submits to her decision the
+choice of his future rulers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE LAWS OF THE LEAGUE.
+
+
+It is the custom of the officiating orator, while the chant is going on,
+to walk to and fro in the council-house. When the hymn is finished, he
+breaks out into a passionate invocation to their forefathers, and a
+lament over the degeneracy of the times. This, as the French
+missionaries inform us, was a favorite topic of Indian speakers.
+[Footnote: See the _Relation_ of 1659, p. 57: "C'est la plainte
+ordinaire des Capitaines [of the Hurons] que tout se va perdant, a faute
+de garder les formes et coustoumes de leurs ancestres."] Among the
+Iroquois, who could look back to an era of genuine statesmen and heroes,
+the authors of their constitution, this complaint must have had a
+peculiar force and sincerity. After this appeal to the founders of their
+state, there naturally followed an address to the Council and the
+people, reciting "all the rules they decided on, which they thought
+would strengthen the house." By "the house" was meant, of course, the
+house of many hearths, to which they likened their confederacy. The
+"rules" or laws which follow require some explanation, that their full
+value may be understood.
+
+The first law prescribes that when a chief dies his office shall not
+perish with him. This is expressed, in their metaphorical style, by an
+injunction that the "horns," or insignia of office, shall not be buried
+with the deceased chief, but shall be taken off at his death, to be
+transferred to his successor. This rule is laid down in the most urgent
+and impressive terms. "We should perhaps all perish if his office is
+buried with him in his grave." This systematic transmission of official
+rank was, in fact, the vital principle of their government. It was in
+this system that their federal union differed from the frequent and
+transitory confederacies common among the Indian tribes. In general,
+among nearly all the tribes, the rank of a chief was personal. It was
+gained by the character and achievements of the individual, and it died
+with him. Hence their government and policy, so far as they can be said
+to have had any, were always uncertain and fluctuating. No person
+understood the Indian usages better than Zeisberger. His biographer has
+well described the difference which existed in this respect between the
+Iroquois and their neighbors. "The Algonkins," he writes, "knew nothing
+of regular government. They had no system of polity; there was no unity
+of action among them. The affairs even of a single tribe were managed in
+the loosest manner." After briefly, but accurately, delineating the
+Iroquois system of councils, he adds: "Thus they became both a political
+and a military power among the aborigines; the influence of their league
+was felt everywhere, and their conquests extended in every direction."
+[Footnote: De Schweinitz: _Life of Zeisberger_, p. 39.] The principle
+that "the chief dies but the office survives,"--the regular transmission
+of rank, title and authority, by a method partly hereditary and partly
+elective,--was the principle on which the life and strength of the
+Iroquois constitution depended.
+
+Next followed a provision of hardly less importance. The wars among the
+Indian tribes arise almost always from individual murders. The killing
+of a tribesman by the members of another community concerns his whole
+people. If satisfaction is not promptly made, war follows, as a matter
+of course. [Footnote: _Relation, of_ 1636, p. 119. "C'est de la que
+naissent les guerres, et c'est un sujet plus que suffisant de prendre
+les armes contre quelque Village quand il refuse de satisfaire par les
+presents ordonnez, pour celuy qui vous aurait tue quelq'un des
+vostres."--_Brebeuf, on the Hurons_.] The founders of the Iroquois
+commonwealth decreed that wars for this cause should not be allowed to
+rise between any of their cantons. On this point a special charge was
+given to the members of the Great Council. They were enjoined (in the
+figurative language employed throughout the Book) not to allow the
+murder to be discussed in a national assembly, where the exasperation of
+the young men might lead to mischief, but to reserve it for their own
+consideration; and they were required as soon as possible to bury all
+animosities that might arise from it. The figure employed is impressive.
+They were to uproot a huge pine-tree--the well-known emblem of their
+League--disclosing a deep cavity, below which an underground stream
+would be swiftly flowing. Into this current they were to cast the cause
+of trouble, and then, replacing the tree, hide the mischief forever from
+their people.
+
+How strictly in spirit these injunctions were followed, and with what
+good effect, their whole history shows. A notable instance of the
+readiness and ingenuity of their statesmen in finding the means of
+public reconciliation in such cases is given in the Jesuit narrative. On
+the 24th of July, 1657, a great council was held at Onondaga to consider
+three matters, all of special import. First in order was the necessity
+of appeasing a threatened quarrel between two of the leading nations,
+the Senecas and the Caniengas, caused by a misadventure in which a
+Seneca "captain" had been killed by some warriors of the eastern nation.
+Next in importance was the reception of a large party of Frenchmen,
+headed by Father Francis le Mercier, the Superior of the Jesuit
+missionaries in Canada, who had come to form a settlement among the
+Iroquois. And, finally, they had to prepare the plan and the means for
+an expedition against some hostile tribes. Before the meeting of the
+Council the Frenchmen had paid a formal visit to the Seneca delegates,
+whom they found "filling the air with songs of mourning" for their
+slaughtered chief, and had manifested their sympathy by a present, "to
+alleviate the grief" of the mourners. This incident seems to have
+suggested to the assembled councillors a method of effecting--or at
+least of announcing--the desired accommodation, and of paying at the
+same time a happy compliment to their reverend visitors. By common
+consent the affair was referred to the arbitrament of the Father
+Superior, by whom the difference was promptly settled. [Footnote: On
+the: Grand conseil le 24 du mois de Juillet, ou toutes les Nations
+remisent entre les mains d'Achiendase qui est nostre Pere Superieur le
+diffrend Centre les Sonnontoueeronnons et les Agnieronnons, qui fait bien
+et termine.--_Relation of_ 1657, p. 16.] It was not necessary for the
+politic senators to inform their gratified visitors that the performance
+in which they thus took part was merely a formality which ratified, or
+rather proclaimed, a foregone conclusion. The reconciliation which was
+prescribed by their constitution had undoubtedly been arranged by
+previous conferences, after their custom in such matters, before the
+meeting of the Council. [Footnote: For a curious instance of the manner
+in which questions to be apparently decided by a Council were previously
+settled between the parties, see the _Life of Zeisberger_, p. 190:
+"Gietterowane was the speaker on one side, Zeisberger on the other.
+These two consulted together privately,--Zeisberger unfolding the import
+of the strings [of wampum which he had brought as ambassador] and
+Gietterowane committing to memory what he said."] So effective was this
+provision of their constitution that for more than three centuries this
+main cause of Indian wars was rendered innocuous, and the "Great Peace"
+remained undisturbed. This proud averment of their annalists, confirmed
+as it is for more than half the period by the evidence of their white
+neighbors, cannot reasonably be questioned. What nation or confederacy
+of civilized Europe can show an exemption from domestic strife for so
+long a term?
+
+The third rule or ordinance which the founders enacted "to strengthen
+the house" is of a remarkable character. It relates to the mortuary
+usages of the people; and when these are understood, the great
+importance of this law becomes apparent. Among the Indians of the
+Huron-Iroquois family the ordinary mourning for the dead became
+exaggerated into customs of the most extravagant character, exhausting
+the time and strength of the warriors, and devouring their substance.
+The French missionaries have left us an account of these singular usages
+among the Hurons, some of which excited their respect, and others their
+astonishment. "Our savages," they wrote, "are in no way savage as
+regards the duties which nature herself requires us to render to the
+dead. You would say that their efforts, their toils and their commerce
+had no other end than to amass the means of honoring the departed. They
+have nothing too precious for this object. To this they devote their
+robes of skins, their hatchets and wampum, in such profusion that you
+would fancy they made nothing of them; and yet these are the riches of
+their country. Often in midwinter you will see them going almost naked,
+while they have at home, laid up in store, good and handsome robes,
+which they keep in reverence for the dead. This is their point of honor.
+In this, above all, they seek to show themselves magnificent."
+[Footnote: Brebeuf, _Relation of_ 1636, p. 128.]
+
+During the three days that preceded the burial of the dead, or the
+removal of his remains to the scaffold, the wails, groans and
+lamentations of the relatives and neighbors resounded in the cabin where
+he lay. All the stored riches were brought forth and lavished in gifts
+"to comfort the mourners." The mourning did not end with the burial; in
+fact, it may be said to have then only begun. The "great mourning," as
+the missionaries term it, lasted for six days longer, during which the
+mourners lay, face downward, upon their mats, and enveloped in their
+robes, speechless, or replying only by an ejaculation to those who
+addressed them. During this period they had no fire in the house, even
+in winter; they ate their food cold, and left the cabin only at night,
+and as secretly as possible. The "lesser mourning" lasted for a year,
+during which they refrained from oiling their hair, attended public
+festivals rarely, and only (in the case of women) when their mothers
+ordered, and were forbidden to marry again.
+
+This, however, was not all. Once in twelve years was held a great
+ceremony of re-interment,--a solemn "feast of the dead," as it was
+called. Until the day of this feast arrived, funeral rites in honor of
+the departed were repeated from time to time, and feasts were held, at
+which, as the expression was, their names were revived, while presents
+were distributed, as at the time of their death. The great Feast of the
+Dead, however, was the most important of all their ceremonies. The
+bodies of all who had died in the nation during the preceding twelve
+years were then exhumed, or removed from the scaffolds on which they had
+been laid, and the festering corpses or cleansed bones were all interred
+together in a vast pit lined with robes of beaver skins, the most
+precious of all their furs. Wampum, copper implements, earthenware, the
+most valued of their possessions, were cast into the pit, which was then
+solemnly closed with earth. While the ceremony was going on, rich
+presents of all descriptions, the accumulations of the past twelve
+years, were distributed by the relatives of the deceased among the
+people. In this distribution, strange to say, valuable fur robes were
+frequently cut and torn to pieces, so as to be rendered worthless. A
+lavish display and reckless destruction of wealth were deemed honors due
+to the shades of the departed. [Footnote: See the _Relation_ for 1636,
+p. 131. A most vivid and graphic description of these extraordinary
+ceremonies is given in Parkman's admirable work, _The Jesuits in North
+America_, Chapter 7.]
+
+The Attiwandaronks, or Neutrals, who were the nearest neighbors of the
+Iroquois, were still more extravagant in their demonstrations of
+affection for their lost friends. They, too, had their feasts of the
+dead, at regular intervals. In the meantime the bodies were kept in
+their houses as long as possible--"until the stench became intolerable."
+Then, when this proximity could no longer be borne, the remains were
+left for a period to decay on a scaffold in the open air. After a time
+the remaining flesh was removed from the bones, which were arranged on
+the sides of their cabins, in full view of the inmates, until the great
+day of general interment. With these mournful objects before their eyes,
+renewing constantly the sense of their loss, the women of the household
+were excited to frequent outbursts of grief, expressed in wailing
+chants. [Footnote: "Cet object qu'ils ont devant les yeux, leur
+renouvellant continuellement le resentiment de leurs pertes, leur fait
+ordinairement letter des cris, et faire des lamentations tout a fait
+lugubres, le tout en chanson. Mais cela ne se fait que par les
+femmes."--_Relation_ of 1641, p. 73.]
+
+That the Iroquois in ancient times had funeral customs similar to those
+of their sister nations, and not less revolting, cannot be doubted. How
+these shocking and pernicious usages were abolished at one swoop is
+shown by the brief passage in the Book of Rites now under discussion.
+The injunctions are laconic, but full of meaning. When a death occurs,
+the people are told, "this shall be done." A delegation of persons,
+officially appointed for the purpose, shall repair to the dwelling of
+the deceased, bearing in a pouch some strands of mourning wampum. The
+leader, holding these strands, and standing by the hearth, shall
+address, in the name of the whole people, a few words of comfort to the
+mourners. And then "they shall be comforted," and shall go on with their
+usual duties. To this simple ceremony--supplemented, in the case of a
+high chief, by the rites of the "Condoling Council,"--the preposterous
+funeral usages, which pervaded the lives and wasted the wealth of the
+other nations of this stock, were reduced, by the wisdom of the Iroquois
+legislators.
+
+In considering these remarkable laws, it becomes evident that the work
+which Hiawatha and Dekanawidah accomplished was really a Great
+Reformation, not merely political, but also social and religious. They
+desired not only to establish peace among the nations, but also to
+abolish or modify such usages and beliefs as in their opinion were
+injurious to their people. It is deserving of notice that a divinity
+unknown, at least in name, to the Hurons, received special reverence
+among the Iroquois. The chief characters of the Huron pantheon were a
+female deity, Ataensic, a sort of Hecate, whom they sometimes identified
+with the moon, and her grandson, Juskeha, who was sometimes regarded as
+the sun, and as a benevolent spirit, but most commonly in their stories
+appears as a fantastic and capricious goblin, with no moral attributes
+whatever. In the Iroquois mythology these deities are replaced by a
+personage of a much higher character. Taronhiawagon, the Holder of the
+Heavens, was with them the Master of Life. He declared his will to them
+in dreams, and in like manner disclosed future events, particularly such
+as were important to the public welfare. He was, in fact, the national
+god of the Iroquois. It was he who guided their fathers in their early
+wanderings, when they were seeking for a place of abode. He visited them
+from time to time, in person, to protect them from their enemies and to
+instruct them in useful arts.
+
+It is possible that the Iroquois Taronhiawagon may have been originally
+the same as the Huron Juskeha. Some eminent authorities on Indian
+mythology are inclined to this opinion. On the other hand, the earlier
+Jesuit missionaries give no hint of such identity, and the Tuscarora
+historian, Cusick, seems to distinguish between these divine personages.
+But whether we accept this view or seek for any other origin, there
+seems reason to suppose that the more exalted conception of this deity,
+who is certainly, in character and attributes, one of the noblest
+creations of the North American mythologies, dates from the era of the
+confederacy, when he became more especially the chief divinity and
+protector of the Kanonsionni. [Footnote: See for Taronhiawagon the
+Jesuit _Relations_ for 1670, pp. 47, 66, and for 1671, p. 17: also
+Cusick, pp. 20, 22, 24, 34. For Juskeha, see the _Relation_ for 1635, p.
+34; 1636, pp. 101-103; 1640, p. 92. Lafitau in one place makes
+Tharonhiawagon a deified man, and in another the grandson of
+Ataensic.--_Moeurs des Sauvages Ameriquains_, Vol. 1. p. 146 and p.
+244.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+HISTORICAL TRADITIONS.
+
+
+After the declaration of the laws of the League, there follows a passage
+of great historical importance. The speaker recites the names of the
+chiefs who represented the Five Nations in the conference by which the
+work of devising their laws and establishing their government was
+accomplished. The native name of the confederacy is here for the first
+time mentioned. In the guttural and rather irregular orthography of the
+Book it is spelt _Kanonghsyonny_. The Roman Catholic missionaries,
+neglecting the aspirate, which in the Iroquois pronunciation appears and
+disappears as capriciously as in the spoken dialects of the south of
+England, write the word Kanonsionni. It is usually rendered by
+interpreters the "Long House," but this is not precisely its meaning.
+The ordinary word for "long house" is _kanonses_ or _kanonsis_,--the
+termination _es_ or _is_ being the adjective suffix which signifies
+_long_. _Kanonsionni_ is a compound word, formed of _kanonsa_, _house_,
+and _ionni_, extended, or drawn out. The confederacy was compared to a
+dwelling which was extended by additions made to the end, in the manner
+in which their bark-built houses were lengthened,--sometimes to an
+extent exceeding two hundred feet. When the number of families
+inhabiting these long dwellings was increased by marriage or adoption,
+and a new hearth was required, the end-wall,--if this term may be
+applied to the slight frame of poles and bark which closed the
+house,--was removed, an addition of the required size was made to the
+edifice, and the closing wall was restored. Such was the figure by which
+the founders of the confederacy represented their political structure, a
+figure which was in itself a description and an invitation. It declared
+that the united nations were not distinct tribes, associated by a
+temporary league, but one great family, clustered for convenience about
+separate hearths in a common dwelling; and it proclaimed their readiness
+to receive new members into the general household. [Footnote: The people
+of the confederacy were known as _Rotinonsionni_, "They of the Extended
+House." In the Seneca dialect this was altered and abridged to
+Hotinonsonni, the n having the French nasal sound. This word is written
+by Mr. Morgan, "Hodenosaunee."]
+
+The names of the six great chiefs who, as representatives of their
+several nations, formed the confederacy, are in this narrative linked
+together in a manner which declares their political kinship. The first
+rulers or heads of the combined households were the Canienga Dekanawidah
+with his "joint-ruler" and political son, the Oneida Otatsehte (or
+Odadsheghte), whose union with Dekanawidah was the commencement of the
+League. Next follows Otatsehte's uncle (and Dekanawidah's brother), the
+Onondaga Wathadodarho (Atotarho), who is accompanied by his son, the
+Cayuga Akahenyonh. The uncle of the Cayuga representative, the Seneca
+chief Kanadariyu, and his cousin, Shadekaronyes, represent the two
+sections into which the great Seneca nation was divided. The name of
+Hiawatha does not appear in this enumeration. According to the uniform
+tradition of the Five Nations, he was not merely present in the
+convention, but was the leading spirit in its deliberations. But he did
+not officially represent any nation. By birth a high chief of the
+Onondagas, he had been but newly adopted among the Caniengas. Each of
+these nations had entrusted its interests to its own most influential
+chief. But the respect with which Hiawatha was regarded is indicated, as
+has been already remarked, by his place in the list of fifty
+councillors, with whose names the Book concludes. Though so recently
+received among the haughty Caniengas, whose proud and jealous temper is
+often noticed by the missionaries and other early observers, his name is
+placed second in the list of their representatives, immediately
+following that of Tekarihoken, the chief who stood highest in titular
+rank among the nobles of the Kanonsionni, and whose lineage was perhaps
+derived from the leader of their primitive migrations.
+
+The tradition runs that when the political frame of their confederacy
+had been arranged by the members of this convention, and the number of
+senators who should represent each nation in the federal council had
+been determined, the six delegates, with Hiawatha and some other
+advisers, went through all the nations, selecting--doubtless with the
+aid of a national council in each case--the chiefs who were to
+constitute the first council. In designating these,--or rather,
+probably, in the ceremonies of their installation,--it is said that some
+peculiar prerogative was conceded to the Onondagas,--that is, to
+Atotarho and his attendant chiefs. It was probably given as a mark of
+respect, rather than as conferring any real authority; but from this
+circumstance the Onondagas were afterwards known in the council by the
+title of "the nominators." The word is, in the Canienga dialect,
+_Rotisennakehte_,--in Onondaga, _Hotisennakehte_. It means literally,
+"the name-carriers,"--as if, said one of my informants, they bore a
+parcel of names in a bag slung upon the back.
+
+Each of the other nations had also its peculiar name in the Council,
+distinct from the mere local designation by which it was commonly
+called. Thus the Caniengas had for their "Council name" the term
+_Tehadirihoken_. This is the plural form of the name of their leading
+chief, Tekarihoken. Opinions differ much among the Indians as to the
+meaning of this name. Cusick, the Tuscarora historian, defines it "a
+speech divided," and apparently refers it to the division of the
+Iroquois language into dialects. Chief George Johnson, the interpreter,
+rendered it "two statements together," or "two pieces of news together."
+Another native informant thought it meant "one word in two divisions,"
+while a third defined it as meaning "between two words." The root-word
+of the name is the Canienga _orihwa_, or _karihwa_, (properly
+_karihoa_), which is defined "thing, affair, speech, news." [Footnote:
+See Bruyas, _sub voce Gorihoa_. Mr. Morgan (_League of the Iroquois_, p.
+97), who derived his information from the Senecas, says that the name
+"was a term of respect, and signifies 'neutral,' or, as it may be
+rendered, the shield." He adds, "its origin is lost in obscurity."] It
+also apparently means office; thus we have the derivatives _garihont_,
+"to give some charge of duty to some one," and _atrihont_, "to be an
+officer, or captain." The name is in the peculiar dual or rather
+duplicative form which is indicated by the prefix _te_ and the affix
+_ken_ or _ke_. It may possibly, therefore, mean "holding two offices,"
+and would thus be specially applicable to the great Canienga noble, who,
+unlike most of his order, was both a civil ruler and a war-chief. But
+whether he gave his name to his people, or received it from them, is
+uncertain. In other instances the Council name of a nation appears to
+have been applied in the singular number to the leading chief of the
+nation. Thus the head-chief of the Onondagas was often known by the
+title of _Sakosennakehte_, "the Name-carrier." [Footnote: "Il y avait en
+cette bande un Capitaine qui porte'le nom le plus considerable de toute
+sa Nation, Sagochiendagehte."--_Relation_ of 1654, p. 8. Elsewhere, as
+in the _Relation_ for 1657, p. 17, this name is spelt Agochiendaguete.]
+
+The name of the Oneida nation in the Council was _Nihatirontakowa_--or,
+in the Onondaga dialect, _Nihatientakona_--usually rendered the
+"Great-Tree People,"--literally, "those of the great log." It is derived
+from _karonta_, a fallen tree or piece of timber, with the suffix _kowa_
+or _kona_, great, added, and the verb-forming pronoun prefixed. In the
+singular number it becomes _Niharontakowa_, which would be understood to
+mean "He is an Oneida." The name, it is said, was given to the nation
+because when Dekanawidah and Hiawatha first went to meet its chief, they
+crossed the Oneida creek on a bridge composed of an immense tree which
+had fallen or been laid across it, and noted that the Council fire at
+which the treaty was concluded was kindled against another huge log.
+These, however, may be merely explanations invented in later times.
+
+The Cayugas bore in Council the name of _Sotinonnawentona_, meaning "the
+Great-Pipe People." In the singular it is _Sononnawentona_. The root of
+the word is _kanonnawen_, which in composition becomes _kanonnawenta_,
+meaning pipe, or calumet. It is said that the chief who in the first
+Council represented the Cayugas smoked a pipe of unusual size, which
+attracted the notice of the "name-givers."
+
+Finally the Seneca mountaineers, the _Sonnontowanas_, bore the title, in
+the Canienga speech, of _Ronaninhohonti_, "the Door-keepers," or
+literally, "they who are at the doorway." In the singular this becomes
+_Roninhohonti_. In the Onondaga dialect it is _Honinhohonta_. It is a
+verbal form, derived from _Kanhoha_, door, and _ont_, to be. This name
+is undoubtedly coeval with the formation of the League, and was bestowed
+as a title of honor. The Senecas, at the western end of the "extended
+mansion," guarded the entrance against the wild tribes in that quarter,
+whose hostility was most to be dreaded.
+
+The enumeration of the chiefs who formed the confederacy is closed by
+the significant words, "and then, in later times, additions were made to
+the great edifice." This is sufficient evidence that the Canienga "Book
+of Rites" was composed in its present form after the Tuscaroras, and
+possibly after the Nanticokes and Tuteloes, were received into the
+League. The Tuscaroras were admitted in 1714; the two other nations were
+received about the year 1753. [Footnote: The former date is well known;
+for the latter, see _N. Y. Hist. Col._, Vol. 6, p. 311; Stone's _Life of
+Sir William Johnson_, p. 434.]
+
+An outburst of lamentation follows. The speaker has recited the names of
+the heroes and statesmen to whom the united nations were indebted for
+the Great Peace which had so long prevailed among them. He has recalled
+the wise laws which they established; and he is about to chant the
+closing litany, commemorating the fifty chiefs who composed the first
+federal council, and whose names have remained as the official titles of
+their successors. In recalling these memories of departed greatness his
+mind is filled with grief and humiliation at the contrast presented by
+the degeneracy of his own days. It is a common complaint of all
+countries and all times; but the sentiment was always, according to the
+missionaries, especially strong among the Indians, who are a
+conservative race. The orator appeals to the shades of their ancestors,
+in words which, in the baldest of literal versions, are full of
+eloquence and pathos. The "great law" has become old, and has lost its
+force. Its authors have passed away, and have carried it with them into
+their graves. They have placed it as a pillow under their heads. Their
+degenerate successors have inherited their names, but not their mighty
+intellects; and in the flourishing region which they left, naught but a
+desert remains. A trace, and not a slight one, of the mournful sublimity
+which we admire in the Hebrew prophets, with a similar cadence of
+"parallelism" in the style, will be noticed in this forest lament.
+
+The same characteristics mark the chanted litany which closes the
+address. There is not merely parallelism and cadence, but occasionally
+rhyme, in the stanzas which are interspersed among the names, as is seen
+in the oft-repeated chorus which follows the names composing each clan
+or "class":--
+
+    Etho natejonhne,
+  Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe,
+  Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayaterenhkowa. [Footnote: For the translation, see _ante_, p. 33.]
+
+This litany is sung in the usual style of their mourning or religious
+chants, with many long-drawn repetitions of the customary ejaculation
+_haihhaih_,--an exclamation which, like the Greek "ai! ai!" belongs to
+the wailing style appropriate to such a monody. The expressions of the
+chant, like those of a Greek chorus, are abrupt, elliptical, and
+occasionally obscure. It is probable that this chant, like the condoling
+Hymn in the former part of the Book, is of earlier style than the other
+portions of the work, their rhythmical form having preserved the
+original words with greater accuracy. Such explanations of the doubtful
+passages as could be obtained from the chiefs and the interpreters will
+be found in the notes.
+
+The chant and the Book end abruptly with the mournful exclamation, "Now
+we are dejected in mind." The lament which precedes the litany, and
+which is interrupted by it, may be said to close with these words. As
+the council is held, nominally at least, for the purpose of condolence,
+and as it necessarily revives the memory of the departed worthies of
+their republic, it is natural that the ceremonies throughout should be
+of a melancholy cast. They were doubtless so from the beginning, and
+before there was any occasion to deplore the decay of their commonwealth
+or the degeneracy of the age. In fact, when we consider that the
+founders of the League, with remarkable skill and judgment, managed to
+compress into a single day the protracted and wasteful obsequies
+customary among other tribes of the same race, we shall not be surprised
+to find that they sought to make the ceremonies of the day as solemn and
+impressive as possible.
+
+But there are other characteristics of the "Book of Rites," prominent in
+the Canienga section, and still more marked in the Onondaga portion,
+which may well excite our astonishment. They have been already noticed,
+but seem to deserve fuller consideration. It will be observed that, from
+beginning to end, the Book breathes nothing but sentiments of kindness
+and sympathy for the living, and of reverence for the departed,--not
+merely for the chief whom they have come to mourn, but also for the
+great men who have preceded him, and especially for the founders of
+their commonwealth. Combined with these sentiments, and harmonizing with
+them, is an earnest desire for peace, along with a profound respect for
+the laws under which they lived. The work in which these feelings are
+expressed is a genuine composition of the Indians themselves, framed
+long before they were affected by any influences from abroad, and
+repeated among them for centuries, with the entire assent of the
+hearers. It affords unquestionable evidence of the true character both
+of those who composed and of those who received it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE IROQUOIS CHARACTER.
+
+
+The popular opinion of the Indian, and more especially of the Iroquois,
+who, as Mr. Parkman well observes, is an "Indian of the Indians,"
+represents him as a sanguinary, treacherous and vindictive being,
+somewhat cold in his affections, haughty and reserved toward his
+friends, merciless to his enemies, fond of strife, and averse to
+industry and the pursuits of peace. Some magnanimous traits are
+occasionally allowed to him; and poetry and romance have sometimes
+thrown a glamour about his character, which popular opinion, not without
+reason, energetically repudiates and resents. The truth is that the
+circumstances under which the red and white races have encountered in
+North America have been such as necessarily to give rise to a wholly
+false impression in regard to the character of the aborigines. The
+European colonists, superior in civilization and in the arts of war,
+landed on the coast with the deliberate intention of taking possession
+of the country and displacing the natives. The Indians were at once
+thrown on the defensive. From the very beginning they fought, not merely
+for their land, but for their lives; for it was from their land that
+they drew the means of living. All wars between the whites and the
+Indians, whatever the color or pretence on either side, have been on
+both sides wars of extermination. They have been carried on as such wars
+always have been and always will be carried on. On the side of the
+stronger there have been constant encroachments, effected now by menace
+and now by cajolery, but always prefaced by the display and the
+insolence of superior power. On the side of the weaker there have been
+alternations of sullen acquiescence and of fierce and fruitless
+resistance. It is not surprising that under such circumstances the
+character of each party has been presented to the other in the most
+forbidding light.
+
+The Indians must be judged, like every other people, not by the traits
+which they display in the fury of a desperate warfare, but by their
+ordinary demeanor in time of peace, and especially by the character of
+their social and domestic life. On this point the testimony of
+missionaries and of other competent observers who have lived among them
+is uniform. At home the Indians are the most kindly and generous of men.
+Constant good humor, unfailing courtesy, ready sympathy with distress,
+and a truly lavish liberality, mark their intercourse with one another.
+The Jesuit missionaries among the Hurons knew them before intercourse
+with the whites and the use of ardent spirits had embittered and debased
+them. The testimony which they have left on record is very remarkable.
+The missionary Brebeuf, protesting against the ignorant prejudice which
+would place the Indians on a level with the brutes, gives the result of
+his observation in emphatic terms. "In my opinion," he writes, "it is no
+small matter to say of them that they live united in towns, sometimes of
+fifty, sixty, or a hundred dwellings, that is, of three or four hundred
+households; that they cultivate the fields, from which they derive their
+food for the whole year; and that they maintain peace and friendship
+with one another." He doubts "if there is another nation under heaven
+more commendable in this respect" than the Huron "nation of the Bear,"
+among whom he resided. "They have," he declares, "a gentleness and an
+affability almost incredible for barbarians." They keep up "this perfect
+goodwill," as he terms it, "by frequent visits, by the aid which they
+give one another in sickness, and by their festivals and social
+gatherings, whenever they are not occupied by their fields and
+fisheries, or in hunting or trade." "They are," he continues, "less in
+their own cabins than in those of their friends. If any one falls sick,
+and wants something which may benefit him, everybody is eager to furnish
+it. Whenever one of them has something specially good to eat, he invites
+his friends and makes a feast. Indeed, they hardly ever eat alone."
+[Footnote: _Relation_ for 1636, p. 117.]
+
+The Iroquois, who had seemed little better than demons to the
+missionaries while they knew them only as enemies to the French or their
+Huron allies, astonished them, on a nearer acquaintance, by the
+development of similar traits of natural goodness. "You will find in
+them," declares one of these fair-minded and cultivated observers,
+"virtues which might well put to blush the majority of Christians. There
+is no need of hospitals among them, because there are no beggars among
+them, and indeed, none who are poor, so long as any of them are rich.
+Their kindness, humanity and courtesy not merely make them liberal in
+giving, but almost lead them to live as though everything they possess
+were held in common. No one can want food while there is corn anywhere
+in the town." It is true that the missionaries often accuse the Iroquois
+of cruelty and perfidy; but the narrative shows that these qualities
+were only displayed in their wars, and apparently only against enemies
+whose cruelty and perfidy they had experienced.
+
+We can now see that the plan of universal federation and general peace
+which Hiawatha devised had nothing in itself so surprising as to excite
+our incredulity. It was, indeed, entirely in accordance with the genius
+of his people. Its essence was the extension to all nations of the
+methods of social and civil life which prevailed in his own nation. If
+the people of a town of four hundred families could live in constant
+"peace and friendship," why should not all the tribes of men dwell
+together in the same manner? The idea is one which might readily have
+occurred to any man of benevolent feelings and thoughtful temperament.
+The project in itself is not so remarkable as the energy and skill with
+which it was carried into effect. It is deserving of notice, however,
+that according to the Indian tradition, Hiawatha was impelled to action
+mainly by experience of the mischiefs which were caused in his own
+nation through a departure from their ordinary system of social life.
+The missionaries, in describing the general harmony which prevailed
+among the Hurons, admit that it was sometimes disturbed. There were "bad
+spirits" among them, as everywhere else, who could not always be
+controlled. [Footnote: _Relation of 1636_, p. 118: "Ostez quelques
+mauvais esprits, qui se rencontrent quasi partout," etc.] Atotarho,
+among the Onondagas, was one of these bad spirits; and in his case,
+unfortunately, an evil disposition was reinforced by a keen intellect
+and a powerful will. His history for a time offered a rare instance of
+something approaching to despotism, or the Greek "tyranny," exercised in
+an Indian tribe. A fact so strange, and conduct so extraordinary, seemed
+in after-times to require explanation. A legend is preserved among the
+Onondagas, which was apparently devised to account for a prodigy so far
+out of the common order of events. I give it in the words in which it is
+recorded in my journal. [Footnote: This story was related to me in
+March, 1882, by my intelligent friend, Chief John Buck, who was inclined
+to give it credence,--sharing in this, as in other things, the
+sentiments of the best among his people.]
+
+"Another legend, of which I have not before heard, professed to give the
+origin both of the abnormal ferocity and of the preterhuman powers of
+Atotarho. He was already noted as a chief and a warrior, when he had the
+misfortune to kill a peculiar bird, resembling a sea-gull, which is
+reputed to possess poisonous qualities of singular virulence. By his
+contact with the dead bird his mind was affected. He became morose and
+cruel, and at the same time obtained the power of destroying men and
+other creatures at a distance. Three sons of Hiawatha were among his
+victims. He attended the Councils which were held, and made confusion in
+them, and brought all the people into disturbance and terror. His bodily
+appearance was changed at the same time, and his aspect became so
+terrible that the story spread, and was believed, that his head was
+encircled by living snakes."
+
+The only importance of this story is in the evidence it affords that
+conduct so anti-social as that of Atotarho was deemed to be the result
+of a disordered mind. In his case, as in that of the Scottish tyrant and
+murderer, "the insane root that took the reason prisoner," was doubtless
+an unbridled ambition. It is interesting to remark that even his fierce
+temper and determined will were forced to yield at last to the pressure
+of public opinion, which compelled him to range himself on the side of
+peace and union. In the whimsical imagery of the narrative, which some
+of the story-tellers, after their usual fashion, have converted from a
+metaphor to a fact, Hiawatha "combed the snakes out of the head" of his
+great antagonist, and presented him to the Council changed and restored
+to his right mind.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE IROQUOIS POLICY.
+
+
+Few popular notions, it may be affirmed, are so far from the truth as
+that which makes the Iroquois a band of treacherous and ferocious
+ravagers, whose career was marked everywhere by cruelty and devastation.
+The clear and positive evidence of historical facts leads to a widely
+different conclusion. It is not going too far to assert that among all
+uncivilized races the Iroquois have shown themselves to be the most
+faithful of allies, the most placable of enemies, and the most clement
+of conquerors. It will be proper, in justice to them, as well as in the
+interest of political and social science, to present briefly the
+principles and methods which guided them in their intercourse with other
+communities. Their system, as finally developed, comprised four distinct
+forms of connection with other nations, all tending directly to the
+establishment of universal peace.
+
+1. As has been already said, the primary object of the founders of their
+League was the creation of a confederacy which should comprise all the
+nations and tribes of men that were known to them. Experience, however,
+quickly showed that this project, admirable in idea, was impossible of
+execution. Distance, differences of language, and difficulties of
+communication, presented obstacles which could not be overcome. But the
+plan was kept in view as one of the cardinal principles of their policy.
+They were always eager to receive new members into their League. The
+Tuscaroras, the Nanticokes, the Tuteloes, and a band of the Delawares,
+were thus successively admitted, and all of them still retain
+representative in the Council of the Canadian branch of the confederacy.
+
+2. When this complete political union could not be achieved, the
+Iroquois sought to accomplish the same end, as far as possible, by a
+treaty of alliance. Two notable examples will show how earnestly this
+purpose was pursued, and how firmly it was maintained. When the Dutch
+established their trading settlements on the Hudson River, one of their
+first proceedings was to send an embassy to the Five Nations, with
+proposals for a treaty. The overture was promptly accepted. A strict
+alliance was formed, and was ratified in the usual manner by an exchange
+of wampum belts. When the English took the place of the Dutch, the
+treaty was renewed with them, and was confirmed in the same manner. The
+wampum-belts then received by the Confederates are still preserved on
+their Canadian Reservation, and are still brought forth and expounded by
+the older chiefs to the younger generation, in their great Councils.
+History records with what unbroken faith, through many changes, and
+despite many provocations from their allies and many enticements from
+the French rulers and missionaries, this alliance was maintained to the
+last.
+
+If it be suggested that this fidelity was strengthened by motives of
+policy, the same cannot be affirmed of the alliance with the Ojibways,
+which dates from a still earlier period. The annalists of the
+Kanonsionni affirm that their first treaty with this widespread people
+of the northwest was made soon after the formation of their League, and
+that it was strictly maintained on both sides for more than two hundred
+years. The Ojibways then occupied both shores of Lake Superior, and the
+northern part of the peninsula of Michigan. The point at which they came
+chiefly in contact with the adventurous Iroquois voyagers was at the
+great fishing station of St. Mary's Falls, on the strait which unites
+Lake Superior with Lake Huron; and here, it is believed, the first
+alliance was consummated. After more than two centuries had elapsed, the
+broken bands of the defeated Hurons, fleeing from their ravaged homes on
+the Georgian Bay, took refuge among the Ojibways, with whom they, too,
+had always maintained a friendly understanding. Their presence and the
+story of their sufferings naturally awakened the sympathy of their
+hosts. The rapid spread of the Iroquois empire created alarm. A great
+agitation ensued among the far-dispersed bands of the Ojibway name.
+Occasional meetings between hunting-parties of the younger warriors of
+the two peoples,--the Iroquois arrogant in the consciousness of their
+recent conquests, the Ojibways sullen and suspicious,--led to bitter
+words, and sometimes to actual strife. On two occasions several Ojibway
+warriors were slain, under what provocation is uncertain. But the
+reparation demanded by the Ojibway chiefs was promptly conceded by the
+Iroquois Council. The amplest apology was made, and for every slain
+warrior a pack of furs was delivered. The ancient treaty was at the same
+time renewed, with every formality. Nothing could more clearly show the
+anxiety of the Iroquois rulers to maintain their national faith than
+this apology and reparation, so readily made by them, at the time when
+their people were at the height of their power and in the full flush of
+conquest. [Footnote: The Ojibway historian, Copway, in his "_Traditional
+History of the Ojibway Nation_" (p. 84), gives the particulars of this
+event, as preserved by the Ojibways themselves. Even the strong national
+prejudice of the narrator, which has evidently colored his statement,
+leaves the evidence of the magnanimity and prudence of the Iroquois
+elders clearly apparent.] These efforts, however, to preserve the
+ancient amity proved unavailing. Through whose fault it was that the
+final outbreak occurred is a question which the annalists of the two
+parties differ. But the events just recounted, and, indeed, all the
+circumstances, speak strongly in favor of the Iroquois. They had shown
+their anxiety to maintain the peace, and they had nothing to gain by
+war. The bleak northern home of the Ojibways offered no temptation to
+the most greedy conqueror. To the Ojibways, on the other hand, the broad
+expanse of western Canada, now lying deserted, and stretching before
+them its wealth of forests full of deer, its lakes and rivers swarming
+with fish, its lovely glades and fertile plains, where the corn harvests
+of the Hurons and Neutrals had lately glistened, were an allurement
+which they could not resist. They assumed at once the wrongs and the
+territories of their exiled Huron friends, and plunged into the
+long-meditated strife with their ancient allies. The contest was
+desperate and destructive. Many sanguinary battles took place, and great
+numbers of warriors fell on both sides. On the whole the balance
+inclined against the Iroquois. In this war they were a southern people,
+contending against a hardier race from the far north. They fought at a
+distance from their homes, while the Ojibways, migrating in bands,
+pitched their habitations in the disputed region.
+
+Finally, both sides became weary of the strife. Old sentiments of
+fellowship revived. Peace was declared, and a new treaty was made. The
+territory for which they had fought was divided between them. The
+southwestern portion, which had been the home of the Attiwandaronks,
+remained as the hunting-ground of the Iroquois. North and east of this
+section the Ojibways possessed the land. The new treaty, confirmed by
+the exchange of wampum-belts and by a peculiar interlocking of the right
+arms, which has ever since been the special sign of amity between the
+Iroquois and the Ojibways, was understood to make them not merely allies
+but brothers. As the symbol on one of the belts which is still preserved
+indicates, they were to be as relatives who are so nearly akin that they
+eat from the same dish. This treaty, made two centuries ago, has ever
+since been religiously maintained. Its effects are felt to this day.
+Less than forty years ago a band of the Ojibways, the Missisagas, forced
+to relinquish their reserved lands on the River Credit, sought a refuge
+with the Iroquois of the Grand River Reservation. They appealed to this
+treaty, and to the evidence of the wampum-belts. Their appeal was
+effectual. A large tract of valuable land was granted to them by the Six
+Nations. Here, maintaining their distinct tribal organization, they
+still reside, a living evidence of the constancy and liberality with
+which the Iroquois uphold their treaty obligations.
+
+3. When a neighboring people would neither join the confederacy nor
+enter into a treaty of alliance with it, the almost inevitable result
+would be, sooner or later, a deadly war. Among the nomadic or unsettled
+Indian tribes, especially the Algonkins and Sioux, the young men are
+expected to display their bravery by taking scalps; and a race of
+farmers, hunters, and fishermen, like the Iroquois, would be tempting
+victims. Before the confederacy was formed, some of its members,
+particularly the Caniengas and Oneidas, had suffered greatly from wars
+with the wilder tribes about them. The new strength derived from the
+League enabled them to turn the tables upon their adversaries. But they
+made a magnanimous use of their superiority. An enemy who submitted was
+at once spared. When the great Delaware nation, the Lenapes, known as
+the head of the Algonkin stock, yielded to the arms of the Kanonsionni,
+they were allowed to retain their territory and nearly all their
+property. They were simply required to acknowledge themselves the
+subjects of the Iroquois, to pay a moderate tribute in wampum and furs,
+and to refrain thenceforth from taking any part in war. In the
+expressive Indian phrase, they were "made women." This phrase did not
+even imply, according to Iroquois ideas, any serious humiliation; for
+among them, as the French missionaries tell us, women had much
+authority. [Footnote: "Les femmes ayant beaucoup d'autorite parmi ces
+peuples, leur vertu y fait d'autant plus de fruit qu'autre
+part."--_Relation of_ 1657, p. 48.] Their special office in war was that
+of peace-makers. It was deemed to be their right and duty, when in their
+opinion the strife had lasted long enough, to interfere and bring about
+a reconciliation. The knowledge of this fact led the Lenapes, in
+aftertimes, to put forward a whimsical claim to dignity, which was
+accepted by their worthy but credulous historian, Heckewelder. They
+asserted that while their nation was at the height of power, their
+ancestors were persuaded by the insidious wiles of the Iroquois to lay
+aside their arms, for the purpose of assuming the lofty position of
+universal mediators and arbiters among the Indian nations. [Footnote:
+Heckewelder's _History of the Indian Nations_, p. 56.] That this
+preposterous story should have found credence is surprising enough. A
+single fact suffices to disprove it, and to show the terms on which the
+Delawares stood with the great northern confederacy. Golden has
+preserved for us the official record of the Council which was held in
+Philadelphia, in July, 1742, between the provincial authorities and the
+deputies of the Six Nations, headed by their noted orator and statesman,
+the great Onondaga chief, Canasatego. The Delawares, whose claim to
+certain lands was to be decided, attended the conference. The Onondaga
+leader, after reciting the evidence which had been laid before him to
+show that these lands had been sold to the colonists by the Delawares,
+and severely rebuking the latter for their breach of faith in
+repudiating the bargain, continued: "But how came you to take upon you
+to sell land at all? We conquered you. We made women of you. You know
+you are women, and can no more sell land than women. Nor is it fit that
+you should have the power of selling lands, since you would abuse it.
+This very land that you now claim has been consumed by you. You have had
+it in meat and drink and clothes, and now you want it again, like
+children, as you are. But what makes you sell land in the dark? Did you
+ever tell us that you had sold this land? Did we ever receive any part
+of the price, even the value of a pipe-stem from you? You have told us a
+blind story--that you sent a messenger to inform us of the sale; but he
+never came among us, nor have we ever heard anything about it. And for
+all these reasons we charge you to remove instantly. We don't give you
+the liberty to think about it. We assign you two places to go, either to
+Wyoming or Shamokin. You may go to either of those places, and then we
+shall have you more under our eyes, and shall see how you behave. Don't
+deliberate, but remove away; and take this belt of wampum." [Footnote:
+Golden: _History of the Five Nations_, Vol. II, p. 36 (2d Edition).]
+
+This imperious allocution, such as a Cinna or a Cornelius might have
+delivered to a crowd of trembling and sullen Greeks, shows plainly
+enough the relation in which the two communities stood to one another.
+It proves also that the rule under which the conquered Delawares were
+held was anything but oppressive. They seem to have been allowed almost
+entire freedom, except only in making war and in disposing of their
+lands without the consent of the Six Nations. In fact, the Iroquois, in
+dealing with them, anticipated the very regulations which the
+enlightened governments of the United States and England now enforce in
+that benevolent treatment of the Indian tribes for which they justly
+claim high credit. Can they refuse a like credit to their dusky
+predecessors and exemplars, or deny them the praise of being, as has
+been already said, the most clement of conquerors?
+
+4. Finally, when a tribe within what may be called "striking distance"
+of the Confederacy would neither join the League, nor enter into an
+alliance with its members, nor come under their protection, there
+remained nothing but a chronic state of warfare, which destroyed all
+sense of security and comfort. The Iroquois hunter, fisherman, or
+trader, returning home after a brief absence, could never be sure that
+he would not find his dwelling a heap of embers, smoldering over the
+mangled remains of his wife and children. The plainest dictates of
+policy taught the Confederates that the only safe method in dealing with
+such persistent and unappeasable foes was to crush them utterly. Among
+the most dangerous of their enemies were the Hurons and the eastern
+Algonkins, sustained and encouraged by the French colonists. It is from
+them and their historians chiefly that the complaints of Iroquois
+cruelties have descended to us; but the same historians have not omitted
+to inform us that the first acquaintance of the Iroquois with triese
+colonists was through two most wanton and butcherly assaults which
+Champlain and his soldiers, in company with their Indian allies, made
+upon their unoffending neighbors. No milder epithets can justly describe
+these unprovoked invasions, in which the Iroquois bowmen, defending
+their homes, were shot down mercilessly with firearms, by strangers whom
+they had never before seen or perhaps even heard of. This stroke of evil
+policy, which tarnished an illustrious name, left far-reaching
+consequences, affecting the future of half a continent. Its first result
+was the destruction of the Hurons, the special allies and instigators of
+the colonists in their hostilities. The Attiwandaronks, or Neutrals,
+with whom, till this time, the Iroquois had maintained peaceful
+relations, shared the same fate; for they were the friends of the Hurons
+and the French. The Eries perished in a war provoked, as the French
+missionaries in their always trustworthy accounts inform us, by a
+perverse freak of cruelty on their own part.
+
+Yet, in all these destructive wars, the Iroquois never for a moment
+forgot the principles which lay at the foundation of their League, and
+which taught them to "strengthen their house" by converting enemies into
+friends. On the instant that resistance ceased, slaughter ceased with
+it. The warriors who were willing to unite their fortunes with the
+Confederates were at once welcomed among them. Some were adopted into
+the families of those who had lost children or brothers. Others had
+lands allotted to them, on which they were allowed to live by
+themselves, under their own chiefs and their native laws, until in two
+or three generations, by friendly intercourse, frequent intermarriages,
+and community of interests, they became gradually absorbed into the
+society about them. Those who suppose that the Hurons only survive in a
+few Wyandots, and that the Eries, Attiwandaronks, and Andastes have
+utterly perished, are greatly mistaken. It is absolutely certain that of
+the twelve thousand Indians who now, in the United States and Canada,
+preserve the Iroquois name, the greater portion derive their descent, in
+whole or in part, from those conquered nations. [Footnote: "Ces
+victoires lear caasant presque autant de perte qu'a leurs ennemis, elles
+ont tellement depeuple leurs Bourgs, qu'on y compte plus d'Estfangers
+que de naturels du pays. Onnontaghe a sept nations differentes qut s'y
+sont venues establir, et il s'en trouve jusqu'a onze dans Sonnontoiian."
+_Relation of_ 1657, p. 34. "Qui feroit la supputation des francs
+Iroquois, auroit de la peine d'en trouver plus de douze cents (i. e.
+combattans) en toutes les cinq Nations, parce que le plus grand nombre
+n'est compose que d'un ramas de divers peuples qu'ils ont conquestez,
+commes des Hurons, des Tionnontateronnons, autrement Nation du Petun;
+des Attiwendaronk, qu'on appelloit Neutres, quand ils estoient sur pied;
+des Riquehronnons, qui sont ceux de la Nation des Chats; des Ontwaganha,
+ou Nation du Feu; des Trakwaehronnons, et autres, qui, tout estrangers
+qu'ils sont, font sans doute la plus grande et la meilleure parties des
+Iroquois." _Ret. de_ 1660, p. 7. Yet, it was this "conglomeration of
+divers peoples" that, under the discipline of Iroquois institutions and
+the guidance of Iroquois statesmen and commanders, held high the name of
+the Kanonsionni, and made the Confederacy a great power on the continent
+for more than a century after this time; who again and again measured
+arms and intellects with French generals and diplomatists, and came off
+at least with equal fortune; who smote their Abenaki enemies in the far
+east, punished the Illinois marauders in the far west, and thrust back
+the intruding Cherokees into their southern mountains; who were a wall
+of defence to the English colonies, and a strong protection to the many
+broken bands of Indians which from every quarter clustered round the
+shadow of the "great pine tree" of Onondaga.] No other Indian community,
+so far as we know, has ever pursued this policy of incorporation to
+anything near the same extent, or carried it out with anything like the
+same humanity. Even towards the most determined and the most savage of
+their foes, the Kanonsionni, when finally victorious, showed themselves
+ever magnanimous and placable.
+
+The common opinion of the cruelty of the Iroquois has arisen mainly from
+the custom which they occasionally practiced, like some other Indians,
+of burning prisoners at the stake. Out of the multitude of their
+captives, the number subjected to this torture was really very
+small,--probably not nearly as large in proportion as the number of
+criminals and political prisoners who, in some countries of Europe, at
+about the same time, were subjected to the equally cruel torments of the
+rack and the wheel. These criminals and other prisoners were so tortured
+because they were regarded as the enemies of society. The motives which
+actuated the Iroquois were precisely the same. As has been before
+remarked, the mode in which their enemies carried on their warfare with
+them was chiefly by stealthy and sudden inroads. The prowling warrior
+lurked in the woods near the Iroquois village through the day, and at
+night fell with hatchet and club upon his unsuspecting victims. The
+Iroquois lawgivers deemed it essential for the safety of their people
+that the men who were guilty of such murderous attacks should have
+reason to apprehend, if caught, a direful fate.
+
+If the comparatively few instances of these political tortures which
+occurred among the Iroquois are compared with the awful list of similar
+and worse inflictions which stain the annals of the most enlightened
+nations of Europe and Asia, ancient and modern,--the crucifixions, the
+impalements, the dreadful mutilations--lopping of hands and feet,
+tearing out of eyes--the tortures of the rack and wheel, the red-hot
+pincers, the burning crown, the noisome dungeon, the slow starvation,
+the lingering death in the Siberian mines,--it will become evident that
+these barbarians were far inferior to their civilized contemporaries in
+the temper and arts of inhumanity. Even in the very method of punishment
+which they adopted the Indians were outdone in Europe, and that,
+strangely enough, by the two great colonizing and conquering nations,
+heirs of all modern enlightenment, who came to displace them,--the
+English and the Spaniards. The Iroquois never burnt women at the stake.
+To put either men or women to death for a difference of creed had not
+occurred to them. It may justly be affirmed that in the horrors of
+Smithfield and the Campo Santo, the innate barbarism of the Aryan,
+breaking through his thin varnish of civilization, was found, far
+transcending the utmost barbarism of the Indian. [Footnote: The Aryans
+of Europe are undoubtedly superior in humanity, courage and
+independence, to those of Asia. It is possible that the finer qualities
+which distinguish the western branch of this stock may have been derived
+from admixture with an earlier population of Europe, identical in race
+and character with the aborigines of America. See Appendix, Note F.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE IROQUOIS LANGUAGE.
+
+
+As the mental faculties of a people are reflected in their speech, we
+should naturally expect that the language of a race manifesting such
+unusual powers as the Iroquois nations have displayed would be of a
+remarkable character. In this expectation we are not disappointed. The
+languages of the Huron-Iroquois family belong to what has been termed
+the polysynthetic class, and are distinguished, even in that class, by a
+more than ordinary endowment of that variety of forms and fullness of
+expression for which languages of that type are noted. The
+best-qualified judges have been the most struck with this peculiar
+excellence. "The variety of compounds," wrote the accomplished
+missionary, Brebeuf, concerning the Huron tongue, "is very great; it is
+the key to the secret of their language. They have as many genders as
+ourselves, as many numbers as the Greeks." Recurring to the same
+comparison, he remarks of the Huron verb that it has as many tenses and
+numbers as the Greek, with certain discriminations which the latter did
+not possess. [Footnote: _Relation_ of 1636, pp 99,100.] A great living
+authority has added the weight of his name to these opinions of the
+scholarly Jesuit. Professor Max Muller, who took the opportunity
+afforded by the presence of a Mohawk undergraduate at Oxford to study
+his language, writes of it in emphatic terms: "To my mind the structure
+of such a language as the Mohawk is quite sufficient evidence that those
+who worked out such a work of art were powerful reasoners and accurate
+classifiers." [Footnote: In a letter to the author, dated Feb. 14, 1882.
+In a subsequent letter Prof. Muller writes, in regard to the study of
+the aboriginal languages of this continent: "It has long been a puzzle
+to me why this most tempting and promising field of philological
+research has been allowed to lie almost fallow in America,--as if these
+languages could not tell us quite as much of the growth of the human
+mind as Chinese, or Hebrew, or Sanscrit." I have Prof. Max Miller's
+permission to publish these extracts, and gladly do so, in the hope that
+they may serve to stimulate that growing interest which the efforts of
+scholars like Trumbull, Shea, Cuoq, Brinton, and, more recently, Major
+Powell and his able collaborators of the Ethnological Bureau, are at
+length beginning to awaken among us, in the investigation of this
+important and almost unexplored province of linguistic science.]
+
+It is a fact somewhat surprising, as well as unfortunate, that no
+complete grammar of any language of the Huron-Iroquois stock has ever
+been published. Many learned and zealous missionaries, Catholic and
+Protestant, have labored among the tribes of this stock for more than
+two centuries. Portions of the Scriptures, as well as some other works,
+have been translated into several of these languages. Some small books,
+including biographies and hymn-books, have been composed and printed in
+two of them; and the late devoted and indefatigable missionary among the
+Senecas, the Rev. Asher Wright, conducted for several years a
+periodical, the "Mental Elevator" (_Ne Jaguhnigoageswatha_), in their
+language. Several grammars are known to have been composed, but none
+have as yet been printed in a complete form. One reason of this
+unwillingness to publish was, undoubtedly, the sense which the compilers
+felt of the insufficiency of their work; Such is the extraordinary
+complexity of the language, such the multiplicity of its forms and the
+subtlety of its distinctions, that years of study are required to master
+it; and indeed it may be said that the abler the investigator and the
+more careful his study, the more likely he is to be dissatisfied with
+his success. This dissatisfaction was frankly expressed and practically
+exhibited by Mr. Wright himself, certainly one of the best endowed and
+most industrious of these inquirers. After residing for several years
+among the Senecas, forming an alphabet remarkable for its precise
+discrimination of sounds, and even publishing several translations in
+their language, he undertook to give some account of its grammatical
+forms. A little work printed in 1842, with the modest title of "_A
+Spelling-book of the Seneca Language_," comprises the variations of
+nouns, adjectives and pronouns, given with much minuteness. Those of the
+verbs are promised, but the book closes abruptly without them, for the
+reason--as the author afterwards explained to a correspondent--that he
+had not as yet been able to obtain such a complete knowledge of them as
+he desired. This difficulty is further exemplified by a work purporting
+to be a "_Grammar of the Huron Language, by a Missionary of the Village
+of Huron Indians, near Quebec, found amongst the papers of the Mission,
+and translated from the Latin, by the Rev. John Wilkie_." This
+translation is published in the "_Transactions of the Literary and
+Historical Society of Quebec_," for 1831, and fills more than a hundred
+octavo pages. It is a work evidently of great labor, and is devoted
+chiefly to the variations of the verbs; yet its lack of completeness may
+be judged from the single fact that the "transitions," or in other
+words, the combinations of the double pronouns, nominative and
+objective, with the transitive verb, which form such an important
+feature of the language, are hardly noticed; and, it may be added,
+though the conjugations are mentioned, they are not explained. The work,
+indeed, would rather perplex than aid an investigator, and gives no
+proper idea of the character and richness of the language. The same may
+be said of the grammatical notices comprised in the Latin "Proemium" to
+Bruyas' Iroquois dictionary. These notices are apparently modeled to
+some extent on this anonymous grammar of the Huron language,--unless,
+indeed, the latter may have been copied from Bruyas; the rules which
+they give being in several instances couched in the same words.
+
+Some useful grammatical explanations are found in the anonymous Onondaga
+dictionary of the seventeenth century, published by Dr. Shea in his
+"_Library of American Linguistics_." But by far the most valuable
+contribution to our knowledge of the structure of this remarkable group
+of languages is found in the works of a distinguished writer of our own
+day, the Rev. J. A. Cuoq, of Montreal, eminent both as a missionary and
+as a philologist. After twenty years of labor among the Iroquois and
+Algonkin tribes in the Province of Quebec, M. Cuoq was led to appear as
+an author by his desire to defend his charges against the injurious
+effect of a judgment which had been pronounced by a noted authority. M.
+Renan had put forth, among the many theories which distinguish his
+celebrated work on the Semitic languages, one which seemed to M. Cuoq as
+mischievous as it was unfounded. M. Renan held that no races were
+capable of civilization except such as have now attained it; and that
+these comprised only the Aryan, the Semitic, and the Chinese. This
+opinion was enforced by a reference to the languages spoken by the
+members of those races. "To imagine a barbarous race speaking a Semitic
+or an Indo-European language is," he declares, "an impossible
+supposition (_une fiction, conradictoire_), which no person can
+entertain who is familiar with the laws of comparative philology, and
+with the general theory of the human intellect." To one who remembers
+that every nation of the Indo-European race traces its descent from a
+barbarous ancestry, and especially that the Germans in the days of
+Tacitus were in precisely the same social stage as that of the Iroquois
+in the days of Champlain, this opinion of the brilliant French
+philologist and historian will seem erratic and unaccountable. M. Cuoq
+sought to refute it, not merely by argument, but by the logic of facts.
+In two works, published successively in 1864 and 1866, he showed, by
+many and various examples, that the Iroquois and Algonkin languages
+possessed all the excellences which M. Renan admired in the
+Indo-European languages, and surpassed in almost every respect the
+Semitic and Chinese tongues. [Footnote: See _Jugement Errone de M.
+Ernest Renan sur les Langues Sauvages:_ (2d edit.) Dawson Brothers,
+Montreal: 1870; and _Etudes Philologiques sur quelques Langues Sauvages
+de r Amerique. Par N. O., Ancien Missionaire_. Ibid: 1866. Also _Lexique
+de la Langue Iroquoise, avec notes et appendices. Par J. A. Cuoq, Pretre
+de St. Sulpice_. J. Chapleau & Fils, Montreal: 1882. These are all works
+indispensable to the student of Indian languages.] The resemblances of
+these Indian languages to the Greek struck him, as it had struck his
+illustrious predecessor, the martyred Brebeuf, two hundred years before.
+M. Cuoq is also the author of a valuable Iroquois lexicon, with notes
+and appendices, in which he discusses some interesting points in the
+philology of the language. This lexicon is important, also, for
+comparison with that of the Jesuit missionary, Bruyas, as showing how
+little the language has varied in the course of two centuries.
+[Footnote: _Radices Verborum Iroquaeorum. Auctore R. P. Jacopo Bruyas,
+Societatis Jesu_. Published in Shea's "_Library of American
+Linguistics_" For the works in this invaluable Library, American
+scholars owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Shea's enlightened zeal in the
+cause of science and humanity.] The following particulars respecting the
+Iroquois tongues are mainly derived from the works of M. Cuoq, of
+Bruyas, and of Mr. Wright, supplemented by the researches of the author,
+pursued at intervals during several years, among the tribes of Western
+Canada and New York. Only a very brief sketch of the subject can here be
+given. It is not too much to say that a complete grammar of any Iroquois
+language would be at least as extensive as the best Greek or Sanscrit
+grammar. For such a work neither the writer, nor perhaps any other
+person now living, except M. Cuoq himself, would be competent.
+
+The phonology of the language is at once simple and perplexing.
+According to M. Cuoq, twelve letters suffice to represent it: _a, c, f,
+h, i, k, n, o, r, s, t, w_. Mr. Wright employs for the Seneca seventeen,
+with diacritical marks, which raise the number to twenty-one. The
+English missionaries among the Mohawks found sixteen letters sufficient,
+_a, d, e, g, h, i, j, k, n, o, r, s, t, u, w, y._ There are no labial
+sounds, unless the _f_, which rarely occurs, and appears to be merely an
+aspirated _w_, may be considered one. No definite distinction is
+maintained between the vowel sounds _o_ and _u_, and one of these
+letters may be dispensed with. The distinction between hard and soft (or
+surd and sonant) mutes is not preserved. The sounds of _d_ and _t_, and
+those of _k_ and _g_, are interchangeable. So also are those of _l_ and
+_r_, the former sound being heard more frequently in the Oneida dialect
+and the latter in the Canienga. From the Western dialects,--the
+Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca,--this _l_ or _r_ sound has, in modern
+times, disappeared altogether. The Canienga _konoronkwa_, I esteem him
+(in Oneida usually sounded _konolonkwa_), has become _konoenkwa_ in
+Onondaga,--and in Cayuga and Seneca is contracted to _kononkwa_.
+Aspirates and aspirated gutturals abound, and have been variously
+represented by _h, hh, kh_, and _gh_, and sometimes (in the works of the
+early French missionaries) by the Greek [Greek: chi] and the _spiritus
+asper_. Yet no permanent distinction appears to be maintained among the
+sounds thus represented, and M. Cuoq reduces them all to the simple _h_.
+The French nasal sound abounds. M. Cuoq and the earlier English
+missionaries have expressed it, as in French, simply by the _n_ when
+terminating a syllable. When it does not close a syllable, a diaeresis
+above the n, or else the Spanish _tilde (n)_ indicates the sound. Mr.
+Wright denotes it by a line under the vowel. The later English
+missionaries express it by a diphthong: _ken_ becomes _kea; nonwa_
+becomes _noewa_; _onghwentsya_ is written _oughweatsya_.
+
+A strict analysis would probably reduce the sounds of the Canienga
+language to seven consonants, _h, k, n, r, s, t,_ and _w_, and four
+vowels, _a, e, i_, and _o_, of which three, _a, e, and o_, may receive a
+nasal sound. This nasalizing makes them, in fact, distinct elements; and
+the primary sounds of the language may therefore be reckoned at
+fourteen. [Footnote: A dental _t_, which the French missionaries
+represent sometimes by the Greek _theta_ and sometimes by _th_, and
+which the English have also occasionally expressed by the latter method,
+may possibly furnish an additional element. The Greek _theta_ of the
+former is simply the English _w_.] The absence of labials and the
+frequent aspirated gutturals give to the utterance of the best speakers
+a deep and sonorous character which reminds the hearer of the stately
+Castilian speech.
+
+The "Book of Rites," or, rather, the Canienga portion of it, is written
+in the orthography first employed by the English missionaries. The _d_
+is frequently used, and must be regarded merely as a variant of the _t_
+sound. The _g_ is sometimes, though rarely, employed as a variant of the
+_k_. The digraph _gh_ is common and represents the guttural aspirate,
+which in German is indicated by _ch_ and in Spanish by _j_. The French
+missionaries write it now simply _h_, and consider it merely a harsh
+pronunciation of the aspirate. The _j_ is sounded as in English; it
+usually represents a complex sound, which might be analysed into _ts_ or
+_tsi_; _jathondek_ is properly _tsiatontek_. The _x_, which occasionally
+appears, is to be pronounced _ks_, as in English. _An, en, on_, when not
+followed by a vowel, have a nasal sound, as in French. This sound is
+heard even when those syllables are followed by another _n_. Thus
+_Kanonsionni_ is pronounced as if written _Kanonsionni_ and _yondennase_
+as if written _yondennase_. The vowels have usually the same sound as in
+German and Italian; but in the nasal _en_ the vowel has an obscure
+sound, nearly like that of the short _u_ in _but_. Thus _yondennase_
+sounds almost as if written _yondunnase_, and _kanienke_ is pronounced
+nearly like _kaniunke_.
+
+The nouns in Iroquois are varied, but with accidence differing from the
+Aryan and Semitic variations, some of the distinctions being more
+subtle, and, so to speak, metaphysical. The dual is expressed by
+prefixing the particle _te_, and suffixing _ke_ to the noun; thus, from
+_kanonsa_, house, we have _tekanonsake_, two houses. These syllables, or
+at least the first, are supposed to be derived from _tekeni_, two. The
+plural, when it follows an adjective expressive of number, is indicated
+by the syllable _ni_ prefixed to the noun, and _ke_ suffixed; as, _eso
+nikanonsake_, many houses. In other cases the plural is sometimes
+expressed by one of the words _okon_ (or _hokon_) _okonha_, _son_ and
+_sonha_, following the noun. In general, however, the plural
+significance of nouns is left to be inferred from the context, the verb
+always and the adjective frequently indicating it.
+
+All beings are divided into two classes, which do not correspond either
+with the Aryan genders or with the distinctions of animate and inanimate
+which prevail in the Algonkin tongues. These classes have been styled
+noble and common. To the noble belong male human beings and deities. The
+other class comprises women and all other objects. It seems probable,
+however, that the distinction in the first instance was merely that of
+sex,--that it was, in fact, a true gender. Deities, being regarded as
+male, were included in the masculine gender. There being no neuter form,
+the feminine gender was extended, and made to comprise all other beings.
+These classes, however, are not indicated by any change in the noun, but
+merely by the forms of the pronoun and the verb.
+
+The local relations of nouns are expressed by affixed particles, such as
+_ke_, _ne_, _kon_, _akon_, _akta._ Thus, from _ononta_ mountain, we have
+_onontake_, at (or to) the mountain; from _akehrat_, dish, _akehratne_,
+in (or on) the dish; from _kanonsa_, house, _kanonsakon_, or
+_kanonskon_, in the house, _kanonsokon_, under the house, and
+_kanonsakta_, near the house. These locative particles, it will be seen,
+usually, though not always, draw the accent towards them.
+
+The most peculiar and perplexing variation is that made by what is
+termed the "crement," affixed to many (though not all) nouns. This
+crement in the Canienga takes various forms, _ta, sera, tsera, kwa._
+_Onkwe_, man, becomes _onkweta_; _otkon_, spirit, _otkonsera_; _akawe_,
+oar, _akawetsera_; _ahta_, shoe, _ahhtakwa_. The crement is employed
+when the noun is used with numeral adjectives, when it has adjective or
+other affixes, and generally when it enters into composition with other
+words. Thus _onkwe_, man, combined with the adjective termination _iyo_
+(from the obsolete _wiyo_, good) becomes _onkwetiyo_, good man. _Wenni_,
+day, becomes in the plural _niate_ _niwenniserake_, many days, etc. The
+change, however, is not grammatical merely, but conveys a peculiar shade
+of meaning difficult to define. The noun, according to M. Cuoq, passes
+from a general and determinate to a special and restricted sense.
+_Onkwe_ means man in general; _asen nionkwetake_, three men (in
+particular.) One interpreter rendered _akawetsera_, "the oar itself."
+The affix _sera_ or _tsera_ seems to be employed to form what we should
+term abstract nouns, though to the Iroquois mind they apparently present
+themselves as possessing a restricted or specialized sense. Thus from
+_iotarihen_, it is warm, we have _otarihensera_, heat; from _wakeriat_,
+to be brave, _ateriatitsera_, courage. So _kakweniatsera_, authority;
+_kanaiesera_, pride; _kanakwensera_, anger. Words of this class abound
+in the Iroquois; so little ground is there for the common opinion that
+the language is destitute of abstract nouns. [Footnote: See, on this
+point, the remarks of Dr Brinton to the same effect, in regard to the
+Aztec, Qquichua, and other languages, with interesting illustrations, in
+his _"American Hero Myths"_, p. 25]
+
+The adjective, when employed in an isolated form, follows the
+substantive; as _kanonsa kowa_, large house; _onkwe honwe_ (or _onwe_) a
+real man. But, in general, the substantive and the adjective coalesce in
+one word. _Ase_ signifies new, and added to _kanonsa_ gives us
+_kanonsase_, new house. Karonta, tree, and _kowa_, or _kowanen_, great,
+make together _karontowanen_, great tree. Frequently the affixed
+adjective is never employed as an isolated word. The termination _iyo_
+(or _iio_) expresses good or beautiful, and _aksen_, bad or ugly; thus
+_kanonsiyo_, fine house, _kanonsasken_, ugly house. These compound forms
+frequently make their plural by adding _s_, as _kanonsiyos_,
+_kanonsaksens_.
+
+The pronouns are more numerous than in any European language, and show
+clearer distinctions in meaning. Thus, in the singular, besides the
+ordinary pronouns, I, thou, he and she, the language possesses an
+indeterminate form, which answers very nearly to the French _on_. The
+first person of the dual has two forms, the one including, the other
+excluding, the person addressed, and signifying, therefore,
+respectively, "thou and I," and "he and I." The first person plural has
+the same twofold form. The third persons dual and plural have masculine
+and feminine forms. Thus the language has fifteen personal pronouns, all
+in common use, and all, it may be added, useful in expressing
+distinctions which the English can only indicate by circumlocutions.
+These pronouns are best shown in the form in which they are prefixed to
+a verb. The following are examples of the verb _katkahtos_, I see (root
+_atkahto_) and _kenonwes_, I love (root _nonwe_), as conjugated in the
+present tense:--
+
+  _katkahtos_, I see.
+  _satkahtos_, thou seest.
+  _ratkahtos_, he sees.
+  _watkahtos_, she sees,
+  _iontkahtos_, one sees.
+  _tiatkahtos_, we two see (thou and I.)
+  _iakiatkahtos_, we two see (he and I.)
+  _tsiatkahtos_, ye two see.
+  _hiatkahtos_, they two see (masc.)
+  _kiatkahtos_, they two see (fem.)
+  _tewatkahtos_, we see (ye and I.)
+  _iakwatkahtos_, we see (they and I.)
+  _sewatkahtos_, ye see.
+  _rontkahtos_, they see (masc.)
+  _kontkahtos_, they see (fem.)
+
+  _kenonwes_, I love.
+  _senonwes_, thou lovest.
+  _rononwes_, he loves.
+  _kanonwes_, she loves.
+  _icnonwes_, one loves.
+  _teninonwes_, we two love (thou and I)
+  _iakeninonwes_, we two love (he and I)
+  _seninonwes_, ye two love.
+  _hninonwes_, they two love (masc.)
+  _keninonwes_, they two love (fem.)
+  _tewanonwes_, we love (ye and I.)
+  _iakwanonwes_, we love (they and I.)
+  _sewanonwes_, ye love.
+  _ratinonwes_, they love (masc.)
+  _kontinonwes_, they love (fem.)
+
+It will be observed that in these examples the prefixed pronouns differ
+considerably in some cases. These differences determine (or are
+determined by) the conjugation of the verbs. _Katkahtos_ belongs to the
+first conjugation, and _kenonwes_ to the second. There are three other
+conjugations, each of which shows some peculiarity in the prefixed
+pronouns, though, in the main, a general resemblance runs through them
+all. There are other variations of the pronouns, according to the
+"paradigm," as it is called, to which the verb belongs. Of these
+paradigms there are two, named in the modern Iroquois grammars paradigms
+K and A, from the first or characteristic letter of the first personal
+pronoun. The particular conjugation and paradigm to which any verb
+belongs can only be learned by practice, or from the dictionaries.
+
+The same prefixed pronouns are used, with some slight variations, as
+possessives, when prefixed to a substantive; as, from _sita_, foot, we
+have (in Paradigm A) _akasita_, my foot, _sasita_, thy foot, _raosita_,
+his foot. Thus nouns, like verbs, have the five conjugations and the two
+paradigms.
+
+Iroquois verbs have three moods, indicative, imperative, and
+subjunctive; and they have, in the indicative, seven tenses, the
+present, imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, aorist, future, and paulo-post
+future. These moods and tenses are indicated either by changes of
+termination, or by prefixed particles, or by both conjoined. One
+authority makes six other tenses, but M. Cuoq prefers to include them
+among the special forms of the verb, of which mention will presently be
+made.
+
+To give examples of these tenses, and the rules for their formation,
+would require more space than can be devoted to the subject in the
+present volume. The reader who desires to pursue the study is referred
+to the works of M. Cuoq already mentioned.
+
+The verb takes a passive form by inserting the syllable _at_ between the
+prefixed pronoun and the verb; and a reciprocal sense by inserting
+_atat_. Thus, _kiatatas_, I put in; _katiatatas_, I am put in;
+_katatiatatas_, I put myself in; _konnis_, I make; _katonnis_, I am
+made; _katatonnis_, I make myself. This syllable _at_ is probably
+derived from the word _oyala_, body, which is used in the sense of
+"self," like the corresponding word _hakty_ in the Delaware language.
+
+The "transitions," or the pronominal forms which indicate the passage of
+the action of a transitive verb from the agent to the object, play an
+important part in the Iroquois language. In the Algonkin tongues these
+transitions are indicated partly by prefixed pronouns, and partly by
+terminal inflections. In the Iroquois the subjective and objective
+pronouns are both prefixed, as in French. In that language "_il me
+voit_" corresponds precisely with RAKAthatos, "he-me-sees." Here the
+pronouns, _ra_, of the third person, and _ka_ of the first, are evident
+enough. In other cases the two pronouns have been combined in a form
+which shows no clear trace of either of the simple pronouns; as in
+_helsenonwes_, thou lovest him, and _hianonwes_, he loves thee. These
+combined pronouns are very numerous, and vary, like the simple pronouns,
+in the five conjugations.
+
+The peculiar forms of the verb, analogous to the Semitic conjugations
+are very numerous. Much of the force and richness of the language
+depends on them. M. Caoq enumerates--
+
+1. The diminutive form, which affixes _ha_; as _knekirhaHA_, I drink a
+little; _konkweHA_ (from _onkwe_, man), I am a man, but hardly one
+(_i.e._, I am a little of a man).
+
+2. The augmentative, of which _tsi_ is the affixed sign; as,
+_knekirhaTSI_, I drink much. This is sometimes lengthened to _tsihon_;
+as _wakatonteTSIHON_, I understand perfectly.
+
+3 and 4. The cislocative, expressing motion towards the speaker, and the
+translocative, indicating motion tending from him. The former has _t_,
+the latter _ie_ or _ia_, before the verb, as _tasataweiat_, come in;
+_iasataweiat_, go in.
+
+5. The duplicative, which prefixes _te_, expresses an action which
+affects two or more agents or objects, as in betting, marrying, joining,
+separating. Thus, from _ikiaks_, I cut, we have _tekiaks_, I cut in two,
+where the prefix _te_ corresponds to the Latin bi in "bisect". The same
+form is used in speaking of acts done by those organs of the body, such
+as the eyes and the hands, which nature has made double. Thus
+_tekasenthos_, I weep, is never used except in this form.
+
+6 The reiterative is expressed by the sound of _s_ prefixed to the verb.
+It sometimes replaces the cislocative sign; thus, _tkahtenties_, I come
+from yonder; _skahtenties_, I come again.
+
+7. The motional is a form which by some is considered a special future
+tense. Thus, from _khiatons_, I write, we have _khiatonnes_, I am going
+to write; from _katerios_, I fight, _katerioseres_, I am going to the
+war; from _kesaks_, I seek, _kesakhes_, I am going to seek. These forms
+are irregular, and can only be learned by practice.
+
+8. The causative suffix is _tha_; as from _k'kowanen_, I am great, we
+have _k'kowanaTHA_, I make great, I aggrandize. With _at_ inserted we
+have a simulative or pretentious form, as _katkowanaTHA_, I make myself
+great, I pretend to be great. The same affix is used to give an
+instrumental sense; as from _keriios_, I kill, we have _keriiohTHA_, I
+kill him with such a weapon or instrument.
+
+9. The progressive, which ends in _tie_ (sometimes taking the forms
+_atie_, _hatie_, _tatie_), is much used to give the sense of becoming,
+proceeding, continuing, and the like; as _wakhiatontie_, I go on
+writing; _wakatrorihatie_, I keep on talking; _wakeriwaientatie_, I am
+attending to the business. The addition of an _s_ to this form adds the
+idea of plurality or diversity of acts; thus, _wakhiatonties_, I go on
+writing at different times and places; _wakatrorihaties_, I keep on
+telling the thing, _i. e._, going from house to house.
+
+10. The attributive has various forms, which can only be learned by
+practice or from the dictionaries. It expresses an action done for some
+other person; as, from _wakiote_, I work, we have _kiotense_, I work for
+some one; from _katatis_, I speak, _katatiase_, I speak in favor of some
+one.
+
+11. The habitual ends in _kon_. From _katontats_, I hear, I consent, we
+have _wakatontatskon_, I am docile; from _katatis_, I speak,
+_wakatatiatskon_, I am talkative.
+
+12. The frequentative has many forms, but usually ends in _on_, or
+_ons_. From _khiatons_, I write, we have in this form _khiatonnions_, I
+write many things; from _katkahtos_, I look, _katkahtonnions_, I look on
+all sides.
+
+These are not all the forms of the Iroquois verb; but enough have been
+enumerated to give some idea of the wealth of the language in such
+derivatives, and the power of varied expression which it derives from
+this source.
+
+The Iroquois has many particles which, like those of the Greek and
+French languages, help to give clearness to the style, though their
+precise meaning cannot always be gathered by one not perfectly familiar
+with the language. _Ne_ and _nene_ are frequently used as substitutes
+for the article and the relative pronouns. _Onenh_, now; _kati_, then,
+therefore; _ok_, _nok_, and _neok_, and; _oni_ and _neoni_, also; _toka_
+and _tokat_, if, perhaps; _tsi_, when; _kento_, here; _akwah_, indeed,
+very; _etho_, thus, so; _are_, sometimes, again; _ken_, an interrogative
+particle, like the Latin _ne_--these and some others will be found in
+the Book of Rites, employed in the manner in which they are still used
+by the best speakers.
+
+It must be understood that the foregoing sketch affords only the barest
+outline of the formation of the Iroquois language. As has been before
+remarked, a complete grammar of this speech, as full and minute as the
+best Sanscrit or Greek grammars, would probably equal and perhaps
+surpass those grammars in extent. The unconscious forces of memory and
+of discrimination required to maintain this complicated intellectual
+machine, and to preserve it constantly exact and in good working order,
+must be prodigious. Yet a comparison of Bruyas' work with the language
+of the present day shows that this purpose has been accomplished; and,
+what is still more remarkable, a comparison of the Iroquois with the
+Huron grammar shows that after a separation which must have exceeded
+five hundred years, and has probably covered twice that term, the two
+languages differ less from one another than the French of the twelfth
+century differed from the Italian, or than the Anglo-Saxon of King
+Alfred differed from the contemporary Low German speech. The forms of
+the Huron-Iroquois languages, numerous and complicated as they are,
+appear to be certainly not less persistent, and probably better
+maintained, than those of the written Aryan tongues.
+
+
+
+
+ANCIENT RITES OF THE CONDOLING COUNCIL.
+
+[Originally presented as one page Iroquois, followed by one page English
+translation. This is confusing in electronic texts, so have changed it
+here to be the complete Iroquois text followed by the complete English
+translation.]
+
+
+
+
+OKAYONDONGHSERA YONDENNASE.
+
+OGHENTONH KARIGHWATEGHKWENH:
+
+DEYUGHNYOXKWARAKTA, RATIYATS.
+
+
+1. Onenh weghniserade wakatyerenkowa desawennawenrate ne kenteyurhoton.
+Desahahishonne donwenghratstanyonne ne kentekaghronghwanyon.
+Tesatkaghtoghserontye ronatennossendonghkwe yonkwanikonghtaghkwenne,
+konyennetaghkwen. Ne katykcnh nayoyaneratye ne sanikonra?
+Daghsatkaghthoghseronne ratiyanarenyon onkwaghsotsherashonkenhha; neok
+detkanoron ne shekonh ayuyenkwaroghthake jiratighrotonghkwakwe. Ne
+katykenh nayuyaneratye ne sanikonra desakaghserentonyonne?
+
+2. Niyawehkowa katy nonwa onenh skennenji thisayatirhehon. Onenh nonwa
+oghseronnih denighroghkwayen. Hasekenh thiwakwekonh deyunennyatenyon
+nene konnerhonyon, "Ie henskerighwaghfonte." Kenyutnyonkwaratonnyon,
+neony kenyotdakarahon, neony kenkontifaghsoton. Nedens
+aesayatyenenghdon, konyennedaghkwen, neony kenkaghnekdnyon nedens
+aesayatyenenghdon, konyennethaghkwen, neony kenwaseraketotanese
+kentewaghsatayenha kanonghsakdatye. Niyateweghniserakeh yonkwakaronny;
+onidatkon yaghdekakonghsonde oghsonteraghkowa nedens aesayatyenenghdon,
+konyennethaghkwen.
+
+3. Niyawenhkowa kady nonwa onenh skennenjy thadesarhadiyakonh. Hasekenh
+kanoron jinayawenhon nene aesahhahiyenenhon, nene ayakotyerenhon
+ayakawen, "Issy tyeyadakeron, akwah deyakonakorondon!" Ayakaweron
+oghnonnekenh niyuiterenhhatye, ne konyennedaghkwen.
+
+4. Rotirighwison onkwaghsotshera, ne ronenh,
+"Kenhenyondatsjistayenhaghse. Kendeyughnyonkwarakda
+eghtenyontatitenranyon orighokonha." Kensane yeshotiriwayen
+orighwakwekonh yatenkarighwentaseron, nene akwah denyontatyadoghseronko.
+Neony ne ronenh, "Ethononweh yenyontatenonshine, kanakdakwenniyukeh
+yenyontatideron."
+
+5. Onenh kady iese seweryenghskwe sathaghyonnighshon:
+
+  Karhatyonni.
+  Oghskawaserenhon.
+  Gentiyo.
+  Onenyute.
+  Deserokenh.
+  Deghhodijinharakwenh.
+  Oghrekyonny.
+  Deyuyewenton.
+
+Etho ne niwa ne akotthaghyonnishon.
+
+6. Onenh nene shehhawah deyakodarakeh ranyaghdenghshon:
+
+  Kaneghsadakeh.
+  Onkwehieyede.
+  Waghkerhon.
+  Kahhendohhon.
+  Dhogvvenyoh.
+  Kayyhekwarakeh.
+
+Etho ne niwa ne ranyaghdenshon.
+
+7. Onenh nene jadadeken roskerewake:
+
+  Deyaokenh.
+  Jonondese.
+  Otskwirakeron.
+  Onaweron.
+
+8. Onenh nene onghwa kehaghshonha:
+
+  Karhawenghradongh.
+  Karakenh.
+  Deyuhhero.
+  Deyughsweken.
+  Oxdenkeh.
+
+Etho ne niwa roghskerewake. Eghnikatarakeghne orighwakayongh.
+
+9. Ne kaghyaton jinikawennakeh ne dewadadenonweronh, "ohhendonh
+karighwadeghkwenh" radiyats. Doka enyairon, "Konyennedaghkwen; onenh
+weghniserade yonkwatkennison. Rawenniyo raweghniseronnyh. Ne onwa
+konwende yonkwatkennison nene jiniyuneghrakwah jinisayadawen. Onenh
+oaghwenjakonh niyonsakahhawe jinonweh nadekakaghneronnyonghkwe. Akwah
+kady okaghserakonh thadetyatroghkwanekenh."
+
+10. "Onenh kady yakwenronh, wakwennyonkoghde okaghsery, akwah kady ok
+skennen thadenseghsatkaghthonnyonhheke."
+
+11. "Nok ony kanekhere deyughsihharaonh ne sahondakon. Onenh kady
+watyakwaghsiharako waahkwadeweyendonh tsisaronkatah, kady nayawenh ne
+skennen thensathondeke enhtyewenninekenneh."
+
+12. "Nok ony kanekhere deyughsihharaonh desanyatokenh. Onenh kady hone
+yakwenronh watyakwaghsihharanko, akwah kady ok skennen
+deghsewenninekenne dendewadatenonghweradon."
+
+13. Onenh are oya, konyennethaghkwen. Nene kadon yuneghrakwah
+jinesadawen. Niyadeweghniserakeh sanekherenhonh ratikowanenghskwe.
+Onghwenjakonh niyeskahhaghs; ken-ony rodighskenrakeghdethaghkwe, ken-ony
+sanheghtyensera, ken-ony saderesera. Akwagh kady ok onekwenghdarihengh
+thisennekwakenry.
+
+14. Onenh kady yakwenronh wakwanekwenghdarokewanyon jisanakdade, ogh
+kady nenyawenne seweghniserathagh ne akwah ok skennen then kanakdiyuhake
+ji enghsitskodake denghsatkaghdonnyonheke.
+
+15. Onenh nene Karenna,
+
+     Yondonghs "Aihaigh."
+
+  Kayanerenh dcskenonghweronne;
+  Kheyadawenh deskenonghweronne;
+  Oyenkondonh deskenonghweronne;
+  Wakonnyh deskenonghweronne.
+  Ronkeghsotah rotirighwane,--
+  Ronkeghsota jiyathondek.
+
+16. Enskat ok enjerennokden nakwah oghnaken nyare enyonghdentyonko
+kanonghsakonghshon, enyairon.
+
+17. "A-i Raxhottahyh! Onenh kajatthondek onenh enyontsdaren ne
+yetshiyadare! Ne ji onenh wakarighwakayonne ne sewarighwisahnonghkwe ne
+kayarenghkowah. Ayawenhenstokenghske daondayakotthondeke."
+
+18. "Na-i Raxhottahyh! Ne kenne iesewenh enyakodenghthe nene noghnaken
+enyakaonkodaghkwe."
+
+19. "Na-i Raxhottahyh! Onenh nonwa kathonghnonweh dhatkonkoghdaghkwanyon
+jidenghnonhon nitthatirighwayerathaghkwe."
+
+20. "Na-i Raxbottahyh! Nene ji onenh wakarighwakayonne ne
+sewarighwisahnonghkwe, ne Kayarenghkowa. Yejisewatkonseraghkwanyon
+onghwenjakonshon yejisewayadakeron, sewarighwisahnhonkwe ne
+Kayanerenhkowah. Ne sanekenh ne seweghne aerengh niyenghhenwe
+enyurighwadatye Kayanerenghkowah."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+21. Eghnikonh enyerighwawetharho kenthoh, are enjonderennoden enskat
+enjerenokden, onenh ethone enyakohetsde onenh are enjondentyonko
+kanonghsakonghshon, enyairon wahhy:
+
+22. "A-i Raxhotthahyh! Onenh jatthondek kady nonwa
+jinihhotiyerenh,--orighwakwekonh natehaotiya-doreghtonh, nene roneronh
+ne enyononghsaghniratston. A-i Raxhotthahyh! nene ronenh: 'Onen nonwa
+wetewayennendane; wetewennakeraghdanyon; watidewenna-karondonnyon.'"
+
+23. "Onenh are oya eghdeshotiyadoreghdonh, nene ronenh: 'Kenkisenh
+nenyawenne. Aghsonh thiyenjide-watyenghsaeke, onok enjonkwanckheren.'
+Nene ronenh: 'Kenkine nenyawenne. Aghsonh denyakokwanentonghsaeke, onok
+denjontadenakarondako. Nene doka ok yadayakonakarondatye onghwenjakonh
+niyaonsakahawe, A-i Raxhottahyh,' none ronenh, 'da-edewenhheye onghteh,
+neok yadayakonakarondatye onghwenjakonh niyaonsakahawe.'"
+
+24. "Onenh are oya eghdeshodiyadoreghtonh, nai Raxhottahyh! Nene ronenh
+ne enyononghsaghniratston. Nene ronengh: 'Doka onwa
+kenenyondatyadawenghdate, ne kenkarenyakeghrondonhah ne nayakoghstonde
+ne nayeghnyasakenradake, ne kenh ne iesewenh, kenkine nenyawenne.
+Kendenyethirentyonnite kanhonghdakde dewaghsadayenhah."
+
+25. "Onenh are oya eghdejisewayudoreghdonh, nene isewenh:
+'Yahhonghdehdeyoyanere nene kenwedewayen, onwa enyeken nonkwaderesera;
+kadykenh niyakoghswathah, akwekonh nityakawenonhtonh ne
+kenyoteranentenyonhah. Enyonterenjiok kendonsayedane akwah
+enyakonewarontye, onok enyerighwanendon oghnikawenhonh ne
+kendeyerentyonny; katykenh nenyakorane nenyerighwanendon akare onenh
+enyakodokenghse. Onok na entkaghwadasehhon nakonikonra, onenh are ne eh
+enjonkwakaronny.'"
+
+26. "Onenh are oya eghdeshotiyadoreghdonh, nene ronenh: 'Kenkine
+nenyawenne. Endewaghneghdotako skarenhhesekowah, enwadonghwenjadethare
+eghyendewasenghte tyoghnawatenghjihonh kathonghdeh thienkahhawe; onenh
+denghnon dentidewaghneghdoten, onenh denghnon yaghnonwendonh
+thiyaensayeken nonkwateresera.'"
+
+27. "Onenh are oya eghdeshotiyadoreghdonh, nene roneronh ne
+enyononghsaghniratston. Nene ronenh: 'Onenh wedewaweyennendane;
+wedewennakeraghdanyon. Doka nonkenh onghwajok onok enjonkwanekheren. Ken
+kady ne nenyawenne. Kenhendewaghnatatsherodarho ken kanakaryonniha
+deyunhonghdoyenghdongh yendewanaghsenghde, kennikanaghseshah, ne
+enyehharako ne kaneka akonikonghkahdeh. Enwadon ok jiyudakenrokde
+thadenyedane doghkara nentyewenninekenne enjondatenikonghketsko ne
+enyenikonghkwenghdarake. Onokna enjeyewendane yenjonthahida ne
+kayanerenghkowa.'"
+
+28. "Onenh kady ise jadakweniyu ken Kanonghsyonny, Dekanawidah, ne
+deghniwenniyu ne rohhawah Odadsheghte; onenh nene yeshodonnyh
+Wathadodarho; onenh nene yeshohowah akahenyonh; onare nene yeshodonnyh
+Kanyadariyu; onenh nene yeshonarase Shadekaronyes; onenh nene onghwa
+kehhaghsaonhah yejodenaghstahhere kanaghsdajikowah."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+29. Onenh jatthondek sewarihwisaanonghkwe Kayarenhkowah. Onenh
+wakarighwakayonne. Onenh ne oknejoskawayendon. Yetsisewanenyadanyon ne
+sewariwisaanonghkweh. Yejisewahhawihtonh, yetsisewennitskarahgwanyon;
+agwah neok ne skaendayendon. Etho yetsisewanonwadaryon.
+Sewarihwisaanonghkwe yetsisewahhawitonh. Yetsisewatgonseraghkwanyon
+sewarihwisaanonghkwe, Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+30. Onenh kady jatthondek jadakweniyosaon sewarihwisaanonghkwe:
+
+      DEKARIHAOKESH!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      AYONHWAHTHA!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      SHATEKARIWATE!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+    Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe,
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe.
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+    31. Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      SHARENHAOWANE!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      DEYONNHEHGONH!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      OGHRENREGOWAH!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+    Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe,
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+   32. Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      DEHENNAKARINE!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      AGHSTAWENSERONTHA!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatagweniyosaon,
+
+      SHOSGOHAROWANE!
+    Etho natejonhne,
+    Sewatarihwakhaonghkwe,
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+   33. Ise seniyatagweniyohkwe,
+    Jatathawhak.
+    Senirighwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenghkowah.
+    Ne deseniyenah;
+    Seninonsyonnitonh.
+    Onenh katy jatthontenyonk
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      ODATSEGHTE!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      KANONHGWENYODON!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      DEYOHHAGWENTE!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+    Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe.
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+  34. Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      SHONONSESE!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      DAONAHROKENAGH!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon.
+
+      ATYATONNENHTHA!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+    Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe,
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+  35. Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      DEWATAHONHTENYONK!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      KANIYATAHSHAYONK!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      ONWATSATONHONH!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+    Sewaterihwakhaonghkwe,
+    Sewarihwisaanonghkwe,
+    Kayanerenhkowah.
+
+  36. Eghyesaotonnihsen:
+    Onenh jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      THATOTARHO!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Etho ronarasehsen:
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      ENNESERARENH!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      DEHATKAHTHOS!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Waghontenhnonterontye.
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      ONYATAJIWAK!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+      AWEKENYADE!
+    Jatthontenyonk!
+    Jatakweniyosaon,
+
+    DEHAYADKWARAYEN!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+
+  37. Yeshohawak:
+    Rokwahhokowah.
+    Etho kakeghrondakwe
+    Ne kanikonghrashon,
+
+      RONONGHWIREGHTONH!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+
+  38. Etho yeshotonnyh,
+    Tekadarakehne.
+
+      KAWENENSERONDON!
+
+      HAGHRIRON!
+    Etho nadehhadihne!
+
+  39. Wahhondennonterontye,
+
+      RONYENNYENNIH!
+
+      SHODAKWARASHONH!
+
+      SHAKOKENGHNE!
+    Etho nadejonhne!
+
+  40. Etho niyawenonh,
+    Karihwakayonh.
+    Shihonadewiraratye,
+    Tehhodidarakeh.
+    Rakowanenh,
+
+      RASERHAGHRHONK!
+    Etho wahhoronghyaronnyon:
+    Roghskenrakeghdekowah,
+    Rakowanenh,
+    Tehhotyatakarorenh,
+
+      SKANAWADYH!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+
+  41. Yeshohhawak,
+
+      TEKAHENYONK:
+    Yeshonadadekenah:
+
+      JINONTAWERAON!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+
+  42. KADAKWARASONH!
+
+      SHOYONWESE!
+
+      ATYASERONNE!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  43. Yeshondadekenah,
+
+      TEYORONGHYONKEH!
+
+      TEYODHOREGHKONH!
+
+      WATHYAWENHETHON!
+    Etho natejonhne!
+
+  44. ATONTARAHERHA!
+
+      TESKAHE!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  45. Yeshotonnyh,
+
+      SKANYADARIYO!
+    Yeshonaraseshen,
+
+      SHADEKARONYES!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  46. SATYENAWAT!
+    Yeshonaraseshen,
+
+      SHAKENJOWANE!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  47. KANOKARIH!
+    Yeshonarase,--onwa
+
+      NISHARYENEN!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  48. Onghwa keghaghshonah
+    Yodenaghstahhere
+    Kanaghstajikowah.
+    Yatehhotihohhataghkwen.
+    Etho ronaraseshen,
+    Yadehninhohhanonghne:
+
+      KANONGHKERIDAWYH!
+    Yeshonaraseshen,
+
+      TEYONINHOKARAWENH!
+    Etho natejonhneh!
+
+  49. Onenh watyonkwentendane
+    Kanikonrakeh.
+
+
+
+
+ANCIENT RITES OF THE CONDOLING COUNCIL
+
+[English Translation]
+
+THE PRELIMINARY CEREMONY:
+
+CALLED, "AT THE WOOD'S EDGE."
+
+
+1. Now [Footnote: The paragraphs are not numbered in the original text.
+The numbers are prefixed in this work merely for convenience of
+reference.] to-day I have been greatly startled by your voice coming
+through the forest to this opening. You have come with troubled mind
+through all obstacles. You kept seeing the places where they met on whom
+we depended, my offspring. How then can your mind be at ease? You kept
+seeing the footmarks of our forefathers; and all but perceptible is the
+smoke where they used to smoke the pipe together. Can then your mind be
+at ease when you are weeping on your way?
+
+2. Great thanks now, therefore, that you have safely arrived. Now, then,
+let us smoke the pipe together. Because all around are hostile agencies
+which are each thinking, "I will frustrate their purpose." Here thorny
+ways, and here falling trees, and here wild beasts lying in ambush.
+Either by these you might have perished, my offspring, or, here by
+floods you might have been destroyed, my offspring, or by the uplifted
+hatchet in the dark outside the house. Every day these are wasting us;
+or deadly invisible disease might have destroyed you, my offspring.
+
+3. Great thanks now, therefore, that in safety you have come through the
+forest. Because lamentable would have been the consequences had you
+perished by the way, and the startling word had come, "Yonder are lying
+bodies, yea, and of chiefs!" And they would have thought in dismay, what
+had happened, my offspring.
+
+4. Our forefathers made the rule, and said, "Here they are to kindle a
+fire; here, at the edge of the woods, they are to condole with each
+other in few words." But they have referred thither [Footnote: That is,
+to the Council House.] all business to be duly completed, as well as for
+the mutual embrace of condolence. And they said, "Thither shall they be
+led by the hand, and shall be placed on the principal seat."
+
+5. Now, therefore, you who are our friends of the Wolf clan:
+
+    _In John Buck's MS._   _Supposed Meaning._
+  Ka rhe tyon ni.           The broad woods.
+  Ogh ska wa se ron hon.    Grown up to bushes again.
+  Gea di yo.                Beautiful plain.
+  O nen yo deh.             Protruding stone.
+  De se ro ken.             Between two lines.
+  Te ho di jen ha ra kwen.  Two families in a long-house,
+  Ogh re kyon ny.           (Doubtful.) [one at each end.]
+  Te yo we yen don.         Drooping wings.
+
+Such is the extent of the Wolf clan.
+
+6. Now, then, thy children of the two clans of the Tortoise:
+
+  Ka ne sa da keh.          On the hill side.
+  Onkwi i ye de.            A person standing there.
+  Weg'h ke rhon.            (Doubtful.)
+  Kah ken doh hon.          "
+  Tho gwen yoh.             "
+  Kah he kwa ke.            "
+
+Such is the extent of the Tortoise clan.
+
+7. Now these thy brothers of the Bear clan:
+
+  De ya oken.         The Forks.
+  Jo non de seh.      It is a high hill.
+  Ots kwe ra ke ron.  Dry branches fallen to the ground.
+  Ogh na we ron.      The springs.
+
+8. Now these have been added lately:
+
+  Ka rho wengh ra don.  Taken over the woods.
+  Ka ra ken.            White.
+  De yo he ro.          The place of flags (rushes).
+  De yo swe ken.        Outlet of the river.
+  Ox den ke.            To the old place.
+
+Such is the extent of the Bear clan.
+
+These were the clans in ancient times.
+
+9. Thus are written the words of mutual greeting, called "the opening
+ceremony." Then one will say, "My offspring, now this day we are met
+together. God has appointed this day. Now, to-day, we are met together,
+on account of the solemn event which has befallen you. Now into the
+earth he has been conveyed to whom we have been wont to look. Yea,
+therefore, in tears let us smoke together."
+
+10. "Now, then, we say, we wipe away the tears, so that in peace you may
+look about you."
+
+11. "And, further, we suppose there is an obstruction in your ears. Now,
+then, we remove the obstruction carefully from your hearing, so that we
+trust you will easily hear the words spoken."
+
+12. "And also we imagine there is an obstruction in your throat. Now,
+therefore, we say, we remove the obstruction, so that you may speak
+freely in our mutual greetings."
+
+13. "Now again another thing, my offspring. I have spoken of the solemn
+event which has befallen you. Every day you are losing your great men.
+They are being borne into the earth; also the warriors, and also your
+women, and also your grandchildren; so that in the midst of blood you
+are sitting."
+
+14. "Now, therefore, we say, we wash off the bloodmarks from your seat,
+so that it may be for a time that happily the place will be clean where
+you are seated and looking around you."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+15. Now the Hymn,
+
+          CALLED "HAIL."
+
+  I come again to greet and thank the League;
+  I come again to greet and thank the kindred;
+  I come again to greet and thank the warriors;
+  I come again to greet and thank the women.
+  My forefathers,--what they established,--
+  My forefathers,--hearken to them!
+
+16. The last verse is sung yet again, while he walks to and fro in the
+house, and says:
+
+17. "Hail, my grandsires! Now hearken while your grandchildren cry
+mournfully to you,--because the Great League which you established has
+grown old. We hope that they may hear."
+
+18. "Hail, my grandsires! You have said that sad will be the fate of
+those who come in the latter times."
+
+19. "Oh, my grandsires! Even now I may have failed to perform this
+ceremony in the order in which they were wont to perform it." "Oh, my
+grandsires! Even now that has become old which you established,--the
+Great League. You have it as a pillow under your heads in the ground
+where you are lying,--this Great League which you established; although
+you said that far away in the future the Great League would endure."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+So much is to be said here, and the Hymn is to be sung again, and then
+he is to go on and walk about in the house again, saying as follows:
+
+"Hail, my grandsires! Now hear, therefore, what they did--all the rules
+they decided on, which they thought would strengthen the House. Hail, my
+grandsires! this they said: 'Now we have finished; we have performed the
+rites; we have put on the horns.'
+
+"Now again another thing they considered, and this they said: 'Perhaps
+this will happen. Scarcely shall we have arrived at home when a loss
+will occur again.' They said, 'This, then, shall be done. As soon as he
+is dead, even then the horns shall be taken off. For if invested with
+horns he should be borne into the grave,' oh, my grandsires, they said,
+'we should perhaps all perish if invested with horns he is conveyed to
+the grave.'
+
+"Then again another thing they determined, oh my grandsires! 'This,'
+they said, 'will strengthen the House.' They said, if any one should be
+murdered and [the body] be hidden away among fallen trees by reason of
+the neck being white, then you have said, this shall be done. We will
+place it by the wall in the shade."
+
+25. "Now again you considered and you said: 'It is perhaps not well that
+we leave this here, lest it should be seen by our grandchildren; for
+they are troublesome, prying into every crevice. People will be startled
+at their returning in consternation, and will ask what has happened that
+this (corpse) is lying here; because they will keep on asking until they
+find it out. And they will at once be disturbed in mind, and that again
+will cause us trouble.'"
+
+26. "Now again they decided, and said: 'This shall be done. We will pull
+up a pine tree--a lofty tree--and will make a hole through the
+earth-crust, and will drop this thing into a swift current which will
+carry it out of sight, and then never will our grandchildren see it
+again.'"
+
+27. "Now again another thing they decided, and thought, this will
+strengthen the House. They said: 'Now we have finished; we have
+performed the rites. Perhaps presently it will happen that a loss will
+occur amongst us. Then this shall be done. We will suspend a pouch upon
+a pole, and will place in it some mourning wampum--some short
+strings--to be taken to the place where the loss was suffered. The
+bearer will enter, and will stand by the hearth, and will speak a few
+words to comfort those who will be mourning; and then they will be
+comforted, and will conform to the great law.'"
+
+28. "Now, then, thou wert the principal of this Confederacy,
+Dekanawidah, with the joint principal, his son, Odadsheghte; and then
+again _his_ uncle, Wathadodarho; and also again _his_ son, Akahenyonh;
+and again _his_ uncle, Kanyadariyu; and then again _his_ cousin,
+Shadekaronyes; and then in later times additions were made to the great
+edifice."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+29. Now listen, ye who established the Great League. Now it has become
+old. Now there is nothing but wilderness. Ye are in your graves who
+established it. Ye have taken it with you, and have placed it under you,
+and there is nothing left but a desert. There ye have taken your
+intellects with you. What ye established ye have taken with you. Ye have
+placed under your heads what ye established--the Great League.
+
+30. Now, then, hearken, ye who were rulers and founders: [Footnote: The
+names in this version are in the orthography of John Buck's MS.]
+
+      TEHKARIHHOKEN!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      HAYENWATHA!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      SHADEKARIHWADE!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  31. Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      SHARENHHOWANE!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHYONHEGHKWEN!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      OWENHEGHKOHNA!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  32. Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHHENNAGHKARIHNE!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      AGHSTAWENSERONTTHA!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      SHAGHSKOHAROWANE!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  33. Ye two were principals,
+    Father and son,
+    Ye two completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+    Ye two aided each other,
+    Ye two founded the House.
+    Now, therefore, hearken!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      ODATSEGHDEH!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      KAHNONKWENYAH!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHYOHHAKWENDEH!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  34. Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      SHONONGHSESEH!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      THONAEGHKENAH!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      HAHTYADONNENTHA!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  35. Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHWAHTAHONTENYONK!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+      KAHNYADAGHSHAYEN!
+
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      HONWATSHADONNEH!
+    That was the roll of you,
+    You who were joined in the work,
+    You who completed the work,
+    The Great League.
+
+  36. These were his uncles:
+    Now hearken!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+      WATHADOTARHO:
+    Continue to listen!
+    These were the cousins:
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      ONEHSEAGHHEN!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHHATKAHDONS!
+    Continue to listen!
+    These were as brothers thenceforth:
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      SKANIADAJIWAK:
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      AWEAKENYAT!
+    Continue to listen!
+    Thou who wert ruler,
+
+      TEHAYATKWAYEN!
+    That was the roll of you!
+
+  37. Then his son:
+    He is the great Wolf.
+    There were combined
+    The many minds!
+
+      HONONWIREHDONH!
+    That was the roll of you.
+
+  38. These were his uncles,
+    Of the two clans:
+
+      KAWENENSEAGHTONH!
+
+      HAHHIHHONH!
+    That was the roll of them!
+
+  39. These were as brothers thenceforth:
+
+      HOHYUNHNYENNIH!
+
+      SHOTEHGWASEH!
+
+      SHAHKOHKENNEH!
+    This was the roll of you.
+
+  40. This befell
+    In ancient times.
+    They had their children,
+    Those the two clans.
+    He the high chief,
+
+      SAHHAHWIH!
+    This put away the clouds:
+    He was a war chief;
+    He was a high chief--
+    Acting in either office:
+
+      SKAHNAHWAHTIH!
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  41. Then his son,
+
+      TAHKAHENHYUNH!
+    With his brother,
+
+      JIHNONTAHWEHHEH.
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  42. KAHTAHGWAHJIH!
+
+      SHONYUNHWESH!
+
+      HAHTYAHSENHNEH!
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  43. Then they who are brothers:
+
+      TEHYUHENHYUNHKOH!
+
+      TEHYUHTOHWEHGWIH!
+
+      TYAWENHHEHTHONH!
+    This was the roll of you.
+
+  44. HAHTONHTAHHEHHAH!
+      TESHKAHHEA!
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  45. Then his uncle,
+
+      SKAHNYAHTEIHYUH!
+    With his cousin,
+
+      SHAHTEHKAHENHYESH.
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  46. SAHTYEHNAHWAHT!
+    With his cousin,
+      SHAKENHJOHNAH!
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  47. KAHNOHKAIH!
+    With his cousin,--then
+
+       NISHAHYEHNENHHAH
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  48. Then, in later times,
+    They made additions
+    To the great mansion.
+    These were at the doorway,
+    They who were cousins,
+    These two guarded the doorway:
+
+       KANONHKEHIHTAWIH!
+    With his cousin,
+
+       TYUHNINHOHKAWENH
+    This was the roll of you!
+
+  49. Now we are dejected
+    In our minds.
+
+
+
+
+  THE BOOK OF THE YOUNGER NATIONS.
+
+  (ONONDAGA DIALECT.)
+
+
+  [Originally presented as one page Onandaga, followed by one page
+  English translation. This is confusing in electronic texts, so have
+  changed it here to be the complete Onandaga text followed by the
+  complete English translation.]
+
+  [*** Original used ' ' for syllable breaks and '  ' (two spaces) for word
+  breaks. Changed to '-' for syllable breaks and a single space for word
+  breaks.]
+
+
+  1. a. Yo o-nen o-nen wen-ni-sr-te o-nen wa-ge-ho-gar-a-nyat
+  ne-tha-non-ni-sr-son-tar-yen na-ya-ne o-shon-tar-gon-go-nar
+  nen-tis-no-war-yen na-ye-ti-na gar-weear-har-tye ne swih-ar-gen-ahr
+  ne-tho-se hen-ga-ho-gar-a-nyat nen-tha-o-ta-gen-he-tak
+  ne-tho-har-ten-gar-ton-ji-yar-hon-on nar-ye-en-gwa-wen-ne-kentar
+  ne-ten-gon-nen-tar-hen na-a-yen-tar.
+
+  1. b. Tar onon na-on-gen shis-gis-war-tha-en-ton-tye na
+  on-gwr-non-sen-shen-tar-qua nar-te-har-yar-ar-qui-nar
+  nan-gar-wen-ne-srh-ha-yo-ton-har-ye nen-gar-nen-ar-ta
+  ho-ti-sgen-ar-ga-tar nen-o-ne gar-nen-ar-ti kon-hon-wi-sats nen-o-ni
+  tar-ga-non-tye na on-quar-sat-har nen-o hon-tar-gen-hi-se-non-tye nen-o
+  wen-gr-ge go-yar-da-nen-tar-hon nen-tho nr-ta-war ta-har-yar-ar-qui-nar
+  nen-gar-wen-ne-sar han-yo-ton-hr-tye tar o-nen-ti
+  tya-quar-wen-ne-gen-har nen-a-shen ne-yar-quar-tar-ta-gen.
+
+  1. c. O-nen-ti-a-wen-hen nar-ya-he-yr-genh thar-ne-ho-ti-e-quar-te
+  nen-on-quar-noh-shen-ta-qua nen-o on-qua-jas-harn-ta-qua
+  nar-ye-gen-na-ho-nen nar-ye-na te-was-hen nen-ne-gon-hi-war na-tho
+  na-ho-te-yen-nen-tar-e tar-day-was-shen nen-ne-yo-e-wa
+  na-ar-wen-ha-yo-dar-ge nen-on-quar-twen-non-ty o-nen en-hen-wa-yar-shon
+  nen-nat-ho-on-ne-yar-quar-ya-ar nen-a-shen ne-yar-quar-tar-te-ken.
+
+  1. d. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-ta-yar-quar-wen-ni-ken-ar
+  nar-ya-hi-yar-gen na-ar-quar-ton sis-jih-wa-tha-en-ton-tye o-yar-na
+  son-quar-yo-ten-se-nar tar-nr-ye-ti-na hon-sar-ho-har-we-ti-har-tye
+  nen-qr-nen-hr-te ho-ti-sken-ar-ga-tar nen-o-ne gar-nen-har-te
+  gon-thon-we-sas on-sar-ho-na-tar-que-har-tye nar-ya-har-tes-gar-no-wen
+  na o-nen na-en-gar-ya-tye-nen-har nen-war-thon-wi-sas ar-ques-sis-jit
+  nar-te-yo-nen-ha-ase en-war-nten-har-wat-tha nen-on-quar-ta-shar o-nen
+  o-yar-nen-eh-te-ge-non-tyes on-quar-te-shar nr-ya-o-ne
+  sar-o-har-we-ti-har-tye o-nen o-yar nens-o-ni-ta-gen-hi-se-non-tyes
+  o-wen-gar-ge ga-yr-tr-nen-tak-hon ne-tho nr-te-war
+  on-sar-ho-har-we-ti-har-tye.
+
+  I. e. O-nen ty-a on-yar ta-ya-quar-wen-ne-ken-har nen-a-sen
+  ne-yar-quar-tar-te-gen o-nen-ty ton-tar-wen-ten-eh nen-o-nen
+  thon-tar-yar-tyar-ton-tye nen-wa-gon-yon-wenjar-nan-har tar-o-nen
+  ha-o-yar nen-ta-yo-quar-wen-ne-ken-e-har-tye. O-nen-te-ar-wen-han o-nen
+  war-quar-de-yen-non-nyar-hen na-shar-non-wa nr-o-tas-are-quar-hen-ten
+  o-nen wa-tya-quar-ha-tar-wen-ya-hon nen-ar-o-ar-shon-ar
+  nen-tar-yon-quar-ty ne-tho hon-ne-yar-quar-ya-ar nen-ar-shen
+  ne-yar-quar-ta-te-kenh.
+
+  2. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-tar-yar-quar-wen-ne-ken-har
+  nen-o-son-tar-gon-go-nar nen-ti-sno-war-gen. O-nen-ti
+  ton-sar-gon-en-nya-eh-tha ar-guas hi-yar-ga-tha te-jo-ge-grar O-nen-ti
+  sar-gon-ar-gwar-nen-tak-ten sken-nen-gink-ty then-skar-ar-tayk. O-nen
+  en-gar-ar-qui-ken-nha ne-tho tens-shar-ar-tyen. O-nen
+  yo-nen-tyon-ha-tye. Ar-ghwas ten-yo-ten-har-en-ton-nyon-ne. Ne-tho
+  tens-gar-ar-tye a-ghwas sken-non-jis ten-yo-yar-neh ne onen
+  en-gr-ar-gwen-har o-ty-nen-yar-wen-har hen-jo-har-ten-har
+  sar-ne-gon-are. Ne-tho han-ne-yar-gwar-ya-ar nen-ar-sen
+  ne-yar-quar-tr-ta-gen.
+
+  3. O-nen-ti-ch-o-yar nen-ton-ta-yar-quar-wen-ne-ken-har. O-nen-nen-ti
+  war-tyar-war-see-har-an-qua te-shar-hon-tar-gar-en-tar
+  nen-they-yon-tar-ge-har-te nen-te-sar-nar-ton-ken hon-ne-ty
+  ar-war-na-gen-tar wen-jar-wa-gar ha-e nar-ya-har ten-skar-har-we-tar-han
+  nen-o-ge-gwr-en-yone nen-tye-sar-nar-ton-ken o-ty-nen-yar-wen-har
+  nen-en-jo-har-ten-ar sar-ne-gon-are ne-tho hon-ne-yar-war-ya-ar
+  nen-a-sen ne-yar-quar-tar-te-kenh.
+
+  4. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-tar-yr-quar-wen-ne-ken-tye hon-nen
+  ton-sar-war-kon-ha-jar-ha-jan nen-they-gar-kon-ha-shon-ton-har-tye
+  hon-nen-ti nen-sar-kon-ge-ter-yen-has hon-nen-oni
+  nen-ton-sar-gon-nen-ha-tieh o-nen o-tieh-nen-yar-wen-har
+  nen-en-jo-har-tyen-har sar-ne-gon-are ne-tho hon-ne-yar-quar-yar-ar
+  nen-a-sen ne-yar-qwr-tar-te-kenh.
+
+  5. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-tar-yar-qwar-wen-ne-ken-har
+  nar-ya-ti-ar-wen-han nen-tar-ehe-tar-nen-jar-tar-ti-war-ten
+  nen-ton-gar-ke-sen nen-na-hon-yar-na on-har-wen-ne-gen-tar nar-ya-na
+  sar-hon-ta-je-wants as-kar-we ar-san-nen-sen-wen-hat ne-tho o-ni
+  nis-nen-yar-wen-hon-sken-are-gen-tar hor-go-war-nen-nen-hon-yar-na
+  an-har-wen-ne-gen-tar are-we ar-sen-nen-sun-sar-wen-hat ne-tho
+  on-ne-yar-quar-ya-ar nen-ar-sen ne-yr-qwar-tr-ta-kenh.
+
+  6. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-tar-yar-quar-wen-ne-ken-hr
+  nar-ye-ti-na-ar-wen-han nen-an-har-ya-tye-nen-har nen-na-hon-yar-na
+  nr-ya-ti-nar nen-ne-yo-sar-tar ken-yar-tar nen-ji-gar-han
+  nen-ta-hon-gren-tar wi-nar-na-ge-ne-yo-snon-wa
+  nen-o-yar-en-sar-tyar-tar-nyar-ten a-ren ne-tho one-yar-qwar-yaar
+  nen-ar-sen ne-yr-quar-tar-te-kenh.
+
+  7. O-nen-ti-eh-o-yar nen-ton-tr-yar-quar-wen-ne-ken-har
+  nr-ya-ti-ar-wen-han sar-gon-nr-tar-eh-ya-tars nen-gr-nr-gar-yon-ne-ta-ar
+  nen-jar-ne-qr-nar-sis-ah nen ne-tho war-ar-guar-sins-tar
+  na-tho-ti-an-sar-wa nen-thon-gr-gey-san e-his-an-skas-gen-nen one-ha-yat
+  nen-war-o-yan-quar-a-ton-on-tye nen-yar-gar-ker ta-gr-nr-squaw-ya-an-ne
+  ne-tho on-ne-yar-quar-ya-ar nen-ar-sen ne-yar-quar-ta-te-kenh.
+
+  7. b. Tar-o-nen sar-gon-yan-nen-tar-ah tar-o-nen-ti ton-tar-ken-yar-tas.
+
+
+
+
+  THE BOOK OF THE YOUNGER NATIONS.
+
+  (TRANSLATION.)
+
+
+  I. a. Now--now this day--now I come to your door where you are mourning
+  in great darkness, prostrate with grief. For this reason we have come
+  here to mourn with you. I will enter your door, and come before the
+  ashes, and mourn with you there; and I will speak these words to comfort
+  you.
+
+  I. b. Now our uncle has passed away, he who used to work for all, that
+  they might see the brighter days to come,--for the whole body of
+  warriors and also for the whole body of women, and also the children
+  that were running around, and also for the little ones creeping on the
+  ground, and also those that are tied to the cradle-boards; for all these
+  he used to work that they might see the bright days to come. This we
+  say, we three brothers.
+
+  I. c. Now the ancient lawgivers have declared--our uncles that are gone,
+  and also our elder brothers--they have said, it is worth twenty--it was
+  valued at twenty--and this was the price of the one who is dead. And we
+  put our words on it (_i.e._ the wampum), and they recall his
+  name--the one that is dead. This we say and do, we three brothers.
+
+  I. d. Now there is another thing we say, we younger brothers. He who has
+  worked for us has gone afar off; and he also will in time take with him
+  all these--the whole body of warriors and also the whole body of
+  women--they will go with him. Rut it is still harder when the woman
+  shall die, because with her the line is lost. And also the grandchildren
+  and the little ones who are running aruund--these he will take away; and
+  also those that are creeping on the ground, and also those that are on
+  the cradle-boards; all these he will takeaway with him.
+
+  1. e. Now then another thing we will say, we three brothers. Now you
+  must feel for us; for we came here of our own good-will--came to your
+  door that we might say this. And we will say that we will try to do you
+  good. When the grave has been made, we will make it still better. We
+  will adorn it, and cover it with moss. We will do this, we three
+  brothers.
+
+  2. Now another thing we will say, we younger brothers. You are mourning
+  in the deep darkness. I will make the sky clear for you, so that you
+  will not see a cloud. And also I will give the sun to shine upon you, so
+  that you can look upon it peacefully when it goes down: You shall see it
+  when it is going. Yea! the sun shall seem to be hanging just over you,
+  and you shall look upon it peacefully as it goes down. Now I have hope
+  that you will yet see the pleasant days. This we say and do, we three
+  brothers.
+
+  3. Now then another thing we say, we younger brothers. Now we will open
+  your ears, and also your throat, for there is something that has been
+  choking you and we will also give you the water that shall wash down all
+  the troubles in your throat. We shall hope that after this your mind
+  will recover its cheerfulness. This we say and do, we three brothers.
+
+  4. Now then there is another thing we say, we younger brothers. We will
+  now remake the fire, and cause it to burn again. And now you can go out
+  before the people, and go on with your duties and your labors for the
+  people. This we say and do, we three brothers.
+
+  5. Now also another thing we say, we younger brothers. You must
+  converse with your nephews; and if they say what is good, you must
+  listen to it. Do not cast it aside. And also if the warriors should say
+  anything that is good, do not reject it. This we say, we three brothers.
+
+  6. Now then another thing we say, we younger brothers. If any one
+  should fall--it may be a principal chief will fall and descend into the
+  grave--then the horns shall be left on the grave, and as soon as
+  possible another shall be put in his place. This we say, we three
+  brothers.
+
+  7. Now another thing we say, we younger brothers. We will gird the belt
+  on you, with the pouch, and the next death will receive the pouch,
+  whenever you shall know that there is death among us, when the fire is
+  made and the smoke is rising. This we say and do, we three brothers.
+
+  7. b. Now I have finished. Now show me the man! [Footnote: _i. e._,
+  "Point out to me the man whom I am to proclaim as chief, in place of the
+  deceased."]
+
+
+
+
+  NOTES ON THE CANIENGA BOOK
+
+
+  The meaning of the general title, _Okayondonghsera Yondennase_, has
+  been already explained (Introduction, p. 48). In the sub-title, the word
+  _oghentonh_ is properly an adverb, meaning firstly, or
+  foremost. This title might be literally rendered. "First the ceremony,
+  'At-the-wood's-edge' they call it."
+
+  1. The chiefs, in their journey to the place of meeting, are supposed to
+  have passed the sites of many deserted towns, in which councils had
+  formerly been held. Owing to the frequent removals of their villages,
+  such deserted sites were common in the Iroquois country. The speaker who
+  welcomes the arriving guests supposes that the view of these places had
+  awakened in their minds mournful recollections.
+
+  _Desawennawenrate_, "thy voice coming over." This word is explained
+  in the Glossary. It is in the singular number. According to the Indian
+  custom, the speaker regards himself as representing the whole party for
+  whom he speaks, and he addresses the leader of the other party as the
+  representative and embodiment of all who come with him. Throughout the
+  speeches "I" and "thou" are used in the well understood sense of "we"
+  and "ye." In like manner, tribes and nations are, as it were,
+  personified. A chief, speaking for the Onondagas, will say, "I (that is,
+  my nation) am angry; thou (the Delaware people) hast done wrong." This
+  style of bold personification is common in the scriptures. Moses warns
+  the Israelites: "Thou art a stiff-necked people." "Oh my people!"
+  exclaims Isaiah; "they which lead thee cause thee to err."
+
+  2. _Denighroghkwayen_, "let us two smoke." This word is in the dual
+  number, the two parties, the hosts and the guests, being each regarded
+  as one individual.
+
+  The difficulties and dangers which in the early days of the confederacy
+  beset the traveler in threading his way through the forest, from one
+  Indian nation to another, are vividly described in this section. The
+  words are still employed by their speakers as an established form,
+  though they have ceased to have any pertinence to their present
+  circumstances.
+
+  3. _Alnuah deyakonakarondon_, "yea, of chiefs,"--literally, "yea,
+  having horns." The custom of wearing horns as part of the head-dress of
+  a chief has been long disused among the Iroquois; but the idiom remains
+  in the language, and the horns, in common parlance, indicate the chief,
+  as the coronet suggests the nobleman in England. Among the western
+  Indians, as is well known, the usage still survives. "No one," says
+  Catlin, "wears the head-dress surmounted with horns except the
+  dignitaries who are very high in authority, and whose exceeding valor,
+  worth, and power are admitted by all." These insignia of rank are, he
+  adds, only worn on special and rare occasions, as in meeting embassies,
+  or at warlike parades or other public festivals, or sometimes when a
+  chief sees fit to lead a war-party to battle. [Footnote: _Letters and
+  Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American
+  Indians._ By George Catlin; p. 172.] The origin of the custom is
+  readily understood. The sight, frequent enough in former days, of an
+  antlered stag leading a herd of deer would be quite sufficient to
+  suggest to the quick apprehension of the Indian this emblem of authority
+  and pre-eminence.
+
+  5. _Sathaghyortnighson_, "thou who art of the Wolf clan."  The clan
+  is addressed in the singular number, as one person. It is deserving of
+  notice that the titles of clan-ship used in the language of ceremony are
+  not derived from the ordinary names of the animals which give the clans
+  their designations. _Okwatho_ is wolf, but a man of the Wolf clan
+  is called _Tahionni_,--or, as written in the text,
+  _Taghyonni_. In ordinary speech, however, the expression
+  _rokwaho_, "he is a Wolf," might be used.
+
+  The English renderings of the names in the list of towns are those which
+  the interpreters finally decided upon. In several instances they doubted
+  about the meaning, and in some cases they could not suggest an
+  explanation. Either the words are obsolete, or they have come down in
+  such a corrupt form that their original elements and purport cannot be
+  determined. As regards the sites of the towns, see the Appendix, Note E.
+
+  6. _Deyako-larakeh ranyaghdenghshon_,--"the two clans of the
+  Tortoise." Respecting the two sub-gentes into which the Tortoise clan
+  was divided, see _ante_, p. 53. _Anowara_ is the word for
+  tortoise, but _raniahten_ (or, in the orthography of the text,
+  _ranyaghdengh_) signifies, "he is of the Tortoise clan."
+
+  7. _Jadadeken roskerewake_, "thy brother of the Bear clan."
+  _Okwari_ is bear, but _roskerewake_ signifies "he is of the
+  Bear clan." _Rokwari_, "he is a Bear," might, however, be used with
+  the same meaning.
+
+  8. _Onghwa kehaghshonha_, "now recently." It is possible that
+  _onghwa_ is here written by mistake for _orighwa_. The word
+  _orighwakayongh_, which immediately follows, signifies "in ancient
+  times," and the corresponding word _orighwake-haghshonha_ would be
+  "in younger times." The period in which these additions were made,
+  though styled recent, was probably long past when the "Book of Rites"
+  was committed to writing; otherwise many towns which are known to have
+  existed at the latter date would have been added to the list. In fact,
+  the words with which the catalogue of towns closes--"these were the
+  clans in ancient times,"--seem to refer these later additions, along
+  with the rest, back to a primitive era of the confederacy.
+
+  9. _Rawenniyo raweghniseronnyh_, "God has appointed this day," or,
+  literally, "God makes this day." In these words are probably found the
+  only trace of any modification of the Book of Rites caused by the
+  influence of the white visitors and teachers of the modern Iroquois. As
+  the very fact that the book was written in the alphabet introduced by
+  the missionaries makes us certain that the person who reduced it to
+  writing had been under missionary instruction, it might be deemed
+  surprising that more evidences of this influence are not apparent. It is
+  probable, however, that the conservative feeling of the Council would
+  have rejected any serious alterations in their ancient forms. It seems
+  not unlikely that David of Schoharie--or whoever was the penman on this
+  occasion--may have submitted his work to his missionary teacher, and
+  that in deference to his suggestion a single interpolation of a
+  religious cast, to which no particular objection could be made, was
+  allowed to pass.
+
+  The word _Rawenniyo_, as is well known, is the term for God which
+  was adopted by the Catholic missionaries. It is, indeed, of
+  Huron-Iroquois origin, and may doubtless have been occasionally employed
+  from the earliest times as an epithet proper for a great divinity. Its
+  origin and precise meaning are explained in the Appendix, Note B. The
+  Catholic missionaries appropriated it as the special name of the Deity,
+  and its use in later times is probably to be regarded as an evidence of
+  Christian influence. That the sentence in which it occurs in the text is
+  probably an interpolation, is shown by the fact that the words which
+  precede this sentence are repeated, with a slight change, immediately
+  after it. Having interjected this pious expression, the writer seems to
+  have thought it necessary to resume the thread of the discourse by going
+  back to the phrase which had preceded it. It will be observed that the
+  religious sentiment proper to the Book of Rites appears to us confined
+  to expressions of reverence for the great departed, the founders of the
+  commonwealth. This circumstance, however should not be regarded as
+  indicating that the people were devoid of devotional feeling of another
+  kind. Their frequent "thanksgiving festivals" afford sufficient evidence
+  of the strength of this sentiment; but they apparently considered its
+  display out of place in their political acts.
+
+  15. _Nene karcnna_, "the song," or "hymn." The purport of this
+  composition is explained in the Introduction (_ante_,
+  p. 62). Before the Book of Rites came into my possession I had often
+  heard the hymn repeated, or sung, by different individuals, in slightly
+  varying forms. The Onondaga version, given me on the Syracuse
+  Reservation, contains a line, "_Negwiyage teskenonhenhne_" which is
+  not found in the Canienga MS. It is rendered "I come to greet the
+  children." The affection of the Indians for their children, which is
+  exhibited in various passages of the Book, is most apparent in the
+  Onondaga portion.
+
+  _Kayanerenh_. This word is variously rendered,--"the peace," "the
+  law," and "the league," (see _ante_, p. 33). Here it evidently
+  stands for _Kayancrenhkowa_, "the Great Peace," which is the name
+  usually given by the Kanonsionni to their league, or federal
+  constitution.
+
+  _Deskenonghweronne_, or in the modern French orthography,
+  _teskenonhweronne_, "we come to greet and thank," is a good example
+  of the comprehensive force of the Iroquois tongue. Its root is
+  _nonhwe_, or _nanwe_, which is found in _kenonhws_, I
+  love, like, am pleased with--the initial syllable _ke_ being the
+  first personal pronoun. In the frequentative form this becomes
+  _kenonhweron_, which has the meaning of "I salute and thank," i.e.,
+  I manifest by repeated acts my liking or gratification. The _s_
+  prefixed to this word is the sign of the reiterative form:
+  _skenonhweron_, "_again_ I greet and thank."  The terminal
+  syllable _ne_ and the prefixed _te_ are respectively the signs
+  of the motional and the cislocative forms,--"I _come hither_ again
+  to greet and thank." A word of six syllables, easily pronounced (and in
+  the Onondaga dialect reduced to five) expresses fully and forcibly the
+  meaning for which eight not very euphonious English words are
+  required. The notion that the existence of these comprehensive words in
+  an Indian language, or any other, is an evidence of deficiency in
+  analytic power, is a fallacy which was long ago exposed by the clear and
+  penetrative reasoning of Duponceau, the true father of American
+  philology. [Footnote: See the admirable Preface to his translation of
+  Zeisberger's Delaware Grammar, p. 94.] As he has well explained,
+  analysis must precede synthesis. In fact, the power of what may be
+  termed analytic synthesis,--the mental power which first resolves words
+  or things into their elements, and then puts them together in new
+  forms,--is a creative or co-ordinating force, indicative of a higher
+  natural capacity than the act of mere analysis. The genius which framed
+  the word _teskenonhweronne_ is the same that, working with other
+  elements, produced the steam-engine and the telephone.
+
+  _Ronkeghsota jivathondek_. Two translations of this verse were
+  given by different interpreters. One made it an address to the people:
+  "My forefathers--hearken to them!" i.e., listen to the words of our
+  forefathers, which I am about to repeat. The other considered the verse
+  an invocation to the ancestors themselves. "My forefathers! hearken ye!"
+  The words will bear either rendering, and either will be consonant with
+  the speeches which follow.
+
+  The lines of this hymn have been thus cast into the metre of
+  Longfellow's "Hiawatha:"--
+
+   "To the great Peace bring we greeting!
+    To the dead chiefs kindred, greeting!
+    To the warriors round him, greeting!
+    To the mourning women, greeting!
+    These our grandsires' words repeating,
+    Graciously, O grandsires, hear us!"
+
+16. _Enyonghdentyonko kanonghsakonghshen_,-"he will walk to and fro in
+the house." In councils and formal receptions it is customary for the
+orator to walk slowly to and fro during the intervals of his speech.
+Sometimes, before beginning his address, he makes a circuit of the
+assembly with a meditative aspect, as if collecting his thoughts. All
+public acts of the Indians are marked with some sign of deliberation.
+
+21. _Eghnikonh enyerighwawetharho kenthoh_,--"thus they will close the
+ceremony here." The address to the forefathers, which is mainly an
+outburst of lamentation over the degeneracy of the times, is here
+concluded. It would seem, from what follows, that at this point the
+candidate for senatorial honors is presented to the council, and is
+formally received among them, with the usual ceremonies, which were too
+well known to need description. The hymn is then sung again, and the
+orator proceeds to recite the ancient laws which the founders of their
+confederacy established.
+
+22. _Watidewennakarondonnyon_, "we have put on the horns;" in other
+words, "we have invested the new chief with the ensigns of office,"--or,
+more briefly, "we have installed him." The latter is the meaning as at
+present understood; but it is probable that, in earlier days, the
+panoply of horns was really placed on the head of the newly inducted
+councillor.
+
+23. _Aghsonh denvakokwanentonghsacke_, etc., "as soon as he is dead"
+(or, according to another rendering, "when he is just dying") the horns
+shall be taken off. The purport and object of this law are set forth in
+the Introduction, p.67.
+
+24. _Ne nayakoghstonde ne nayeghnyasakenradake,_ "by reason of the neck
+being white." The law prescribed in this section to govern the
+proceedings of the Council in the case of homicide has been explained in
+the Introduction, p. 68. The words now quoted, however, introduce a
+perplexity which cannot be satisfactorily cleared up. The aged chief,
+John S. Johnson, when asked their meaning, was only able to say that
+neither he nor his fellow councillors fully understood it. They repeated
+in council the words as they were written in the book, but in this case,
+as in some others, they were not sure of the precise significance or
+purpose of what they said. Some of them thought that their ancestors,
+the founders, had foreseen the coming of the white people, and wished to
+advise their successors against quarreling with their future neighbors.
+If this injunction was really implied in the words, we must suppose that
+they were an interpolation of the Christian chief, David of Schoharie,
+or possibly of his friend Brant. They do not, however, seem to be, by
+any means, well adapted to convey this meaning. The probability is that
+they are a modern corruption of some earlier phrase, whose meaning had
+become obsolete. They are repeated by the chiefs in council, as some
+antiquated words in the authorized version of the scriptures are read in
+our own churches, with no clear comprehension--perhaps with a total
+misconception--of their original sense.
+
+27. _Enjonkwanekheren_, "we shall lose some one," or, more literally, we
+shall fail to know some person. This law, which is fully explained in
+the Introduction, p. 70, will be found aptly exemplified in the Onondaga
+portion of the text, where the speeches of the "younger brothers" are
+evidently framed in strict compliance with the injunctions here given.
+
+28. _Jadakweniyu_. This word, usually rendered "ruler," appears to mean
+"principal person," or perhaps originally a "very powerful person." It
+is a compound word, formed apparently from _oyata_, body or person,
+_kakwennion_, to be able, and the adjective termination _iyu_ or _iyo_,
+in its original sense of "great." (See Appendix, Note B.) M. Cuoq, in
+his Iroquois Lexicon, defines the verb _kiatakwenniyo_ as meaning "to be
+the important personage, the first, the principal, the president." It
+corresponds very nearly to the Latin _princeps_, and, as applied in the
+following litany to the fifty great hereditary chiefs of the Iroquois,
+might fairly enough be rendered "prince."
+
+_Kanonghsyonny_, in modern orthography, _Kanonsionni_. For the origin
+and meaning of this word, and an explanation of the following section,
+see the Introduction, p. 75.
+
+_Yejodenaghstahhere kanaghsdajikowah_, lit., "they added frame-poles to
+the great framework." Each of these compounds comprises the word
+_kanaghsta_, which is spelt by Bruyas, _gannasta_, and defined by him,
+"poles for making a cabin,--the inner one, which is bent to form the
+frame of a cabin." The reference in these words is to the Tuscaroras,
+Tuteloes, Nanticokes, and other tribes, who were admitted into the
+confederacy after its first formation. From a manuscript book, written
+in the Onondaga dialect, which I found at "Onondaga Castle," in
+September, 1880, I copied a list of the fifty councillors, which closed
+with the words, "_shotinastasonta kanastajikona
+Ontaskaeken_"--literally, "they added a frame-pole to the great
+framework, the Tuscarora nation."
+
+29. _Onenh jathondek, sewarihwisaanonghkwe Kayanerenghkowa,_--"now
+listen, ye who completed the work, the Great League." This section,
+though written continuously as prose, was probably always sung, like the
+list of chiefs which follows. It is, in fact, the commencement of a
+great historical chant, similar in character to the 78th Psalm, or to
+some passages of the Prophets, which in style it greatly resembles. In
+singing this portion, as also in the following litany to the chiefs, the
+long-drawn exclamation of _hai_, or _haihhaih_, is frequently
+introduced. In the MS. book referred to in the last note, the list of
+councillors was preceded by a paragraph, written like prose, but with
+many of these interjections interspersed through it. The interpreter,
+Albert Cusick, an intelligent and educated man, assured me that this was
+a song, and at my request he chanted a few staves of it, after the
+native fashion. The following are the words of this hymn, arranged as
+they are sung. It will be seen that it is a sort of cento or
+compilation, in the Onondaga dialect, of passages from various portions
+of the Canienga Book of Rites, and chiefly from the section (29) now
+under consideration:--
+
+    _ Haihhaih!_              Woe! Woe!
+  _Jiyathonick!_            Hearken ye!
+  _Xivonkliti!_             We are diminished!
+     _ Haihhaih!_             Woe! Woe!
+  _Tejoskawayenton._        The cleared land has become a thicket.
+    _ Haihhaih! _             Woe! Woe!
+  _Skakentahenyon._         The clear places are deserted.
+    _ Hai!_                   Woe!
+  _Shatyherarta--_          They are in their graves--
+  _Hotyiwisahongwe--_       They who established it--
+    _ Hai!_                   Woe!
+  _Kayaneengoha._           The great League.
+  _Netikenen honen_         Yet they declared
+  _Nene kenyoiwatatye--_    It should endure--
+  _Kayaneengowane._         The great League.
+    _ Hai!_                   Woe!
+  _Wakaiwakayonnheha._      Their work has grown old.
+    _ Hai!_                   Woe!
+  _Netho watyongwententhe._ Thus we are become miserable.
+
+The closing word is the same as the Canienga _watyonkwentendane_, which
+is found in the closing section of the Canienga book. The lines of the
+Onondaga hymn which immediately precede this concluding word will be
+found in Section 20 of that book, a section which is probably meant to
+be chanted. It will be noticed that the lines of this hymn fall
+naturally into a sort of parallelism, like that of the Hebrew chants.
+
+30. _Dekarihaokenh_, or _Tehkarihhoken_. In John Buck's MS. the list of
+chiefs is preceded by the words "_Nene Tehadirihoken_," meaning the
+Caniengas, or, literally, "the Tekarihokens." For an explanation of this
+idiom and name, see _ante_, p. 77.
+
+_Ayonhwahtha_, or _Hayeirwatha_. This name, which, as Hiawatha, is now
+familiar to us as a household word, is rendered "He who seeks the wampum
+belt." Chief George Johnson thought it was derived from _oyonwa_,
+wampum-belt, and _ratiehwatha_, to look for something, or, rather, to
+seem to seek something which we know where to find. M. Cuoq refe/s the
+latter part of the word to the verb _katha_, to make. [Footnote: Lexique
+de la Langue Iroquois, p. 161] The termination _atha_ is, in this sense,
+of frequent occurrence in Iroquois compounds. The name would then mean
+"He who makes the wampum-belt," and would account for the story which
+ascribes to Hiawatha the invention of wampum. The Senecas, in whose
+language the word _oyonwa_ has ceased to exist, have corrupted the name
+to _Hayowentha_, which they render "he who combs." This form of the name
+has also produced its legend, which is referred to elsewhere (p. 87).
+Hiawatha "combed the snakes out of Atotarho's head," when he brought
+that redoubted chief into the confederacy.
+
+_Shatekariwalf_, "two equal statements," or "two things equal." This
+name is derived-from _sate_ or _shate_, equal, and _kariwa_, or
+_karihwa_, for which see the Glossary.
+
+_Etho natejonhne_, "this was your number," or, this was the extent of
+your class. These words, or the similar form, _etho natehadinhne_, "this
+was their number," indicate apparently that the roll of chiefs belonging
+to a particular class or clan is completed. They are followed by three
+other words which have been already explained (_ante_, pages 33 and 80),
+_sewater-ihwakhaonghkwe, sewarihwisaanonghkwe, kayanerenhkowa_. In the
+written litany these three words are omitted toward the close,--probably
+to save the penman the labor of transcription; but in the actual
+ceremony it is understood that they are chanted wherever the formula
+_etho natejonhne_, or _etho natchadinhne_, occurs. In the modern
+Canienga speech this verb is thus conjugated in the plural,--_etho_
+being contracted to _eh_:--
+
+  _ehnatetionhne_,  we were that number;
+  _ehnatejionhne_,  ye were that number;
+  _ehnatehadinhne_, they were that number.
+
+The three Canienga councillors of the first class all belong to the
+Tortoise clan.
+
+31. _Sharenhowane_; in Onondaga, _Showenhona_. This name was translated
+by the interpreters, "he is the loftiest tree." It seems properly to
+mean "he is a great tree-top," from _karenha_, or _garenha_, which
+Bruyas renders _cime d'arbre_, and _kowane_, great.
+
+_Deyonnhehgonh_, or _Teyonhehkwen_, "double life," from _onnhe_, life.
+My friend, Chief George Johnson, who bears this titular appellation,
+tells me that it is properly the name of a certain shrub, which has a
+great tenacity of life.
+
+_Ohrenregowah_; in Onondaga, _Owenhegona_. The interpreters differed
+much in opinion as to the meaning of this name. Some said "wide
+branches;" another, "a high hill." The root-word, _ohrenre_, is
+obsolete, and its meaning is apparently lost.
+
+The three chiefs of the second class or division of the Caniengas belong
+to the Wolf clan.
+
+32. _Dehennakarine_; in Onondaga, _Tehennakaihne_; "going with two
+horns." The root is _onakara_, horn; the termination _ine_, or _ihne_,
+gives the sense of going; _de_ or _te_ is the duplicative prefix.
+
+_Aghstawenserontha_ (Onon. _Hastawensenwa_), "he puts on the rattles."
+Mr. Bearfoot writes, "_Ohstawensera_ seems to have been a general name
+for anything denuded of flesh, but is now confined to the rattles of the
+rattlesnake."
+
+_Shosgoharowane_ (Onon. _Shosgohaehna_), "he is a great wood-drift."
+"_Yohskoharo_, writes Mr. Bearfoot, means an obstruction by driftwood in
+creeks or small rivers."
+
+The councillors of the third Canienga class are of the Bear clan.
+
+33. _Ise seniyatagweniyohkwe_, "ye two were the principals."
+_Atagweniyo_, or _adakweniyu_ (see _ante_, note to Sec. 28) here becomes
+a verb in the imperfect tense and the dual number. The reference is
+either to Dekanawidah and Odatsehte, the chiefs of the Caniengas and
+Oneidas, who worked together in founding the confederacy, or, rather,
+perhaps, to their two nations, each regarded as an individual, and, in a
+manner, personified.
+
+_Jatatawhak_, or, more properly _jatatahwak_, means, literally, "son of
+each other." It is from the root-word _kaha-wak_ (or _gahawak_), which
+is defined by Bruyas, _avoir pour enfant_, and is in the reciprocal
+form. Here, however, it is understood to mean "father and son," in
+reference to the political relationship between the Canienga and Oneida
+nations.
+
+_Odatsehte_ (Onon., Tatshehte), "bearing a quiver,"--or the pouch in
+which the arrows are carried. According to the tradition, when
+Dekanawidah's brother and ambassador formally adopted _Odatsehte_ as the
+political son of the Canienga chief, he took the quiver off his own
+shoulder, and hung it upon that of the Oneida chieftain.
+
+_Kanonhgwenyodon_, "setting up ears of corn in a row." From
+_ononhkwenha_, an ear of corn.
+
+_Deyohhagwente_ (Onon., _Tyohagwente_), "open voice" (?) This is another
+obsolete, or semi-obsolete word, about which the interpreters differ
+widely in opinion. "Hollow tube," "windpipe," "opening in the woods,"
+"open voice," were the various renderings suggested. The latter would be
+derived from _ohakwa_ or _ohagwa_, voice, and the termination _wente_ or
+_gwente_, which gives the sense of "open."
+
+The three chiefs of the first Oneida class belong to the Wolf clan.
+
+34. _Shononhsese_ (Onon., Shononses), "his long house." or, "he has a
+long house." From _kanonsa_, house, with the adjective termination _es_,
+long.
+
+_Daonahrokenagh_ (Onon., Tonaohgena), "two branches." This is another
+doubtful word. In modern Canienga, "two branches" would be _Tonenroken_.
+
+_Atyatonentha_ (Onon., Hatyatonnentha), "he lowers himself," or,
+literally, "he slides himself down," from _oyata_, body, self, and
+_tonnenta_, to slide.
+
+The councillors of the second Oneida class are of the Tortoise clan.
+
+35. _Dewatahonhtenyonk_ (Onon., _Tehatahonhtenyonk_), "two hanging
+ears," from _ohonta_, ear.
+
+_Kaniyatahshayonk_ (Onon., _Kanenyatakshayen_). This name was rendered
+"easy throat," as if derived from _oniata_, throat; but the Oneida form
+of the word seems to point to a derivation from _onenya_ (or _onenhia_),
+stone. This word must be regarded as another obsolete compound.
+
+_Onwatsatonhonk_ (Onon., _Onwasjatenwi_), "he is buried."
+
+The three chiefs of the third Oneida class are of the Bear clan.
+
+36. _Eghyesaotonnihsen_, lit., "this was his uncle,"--or, as the words
+would be understood by the hearers, "the next are his uncles." The
+Onondaga nation, being the brother of the Canienga, was, of course, the
+uncle of the Oneida. In John Buck's MS. the Onondagas are introduced
+with more ceremony, in the following lines:
+
+  _Etho yeshodonnih_;   These are the uncles;
+  _Rodihsennakeghde_,   They, the name-bearers--
+  _Tehhotiyena_,        They took hold here;
+  _Rodihnonsyonnihton_. They made the League.
+
+That is, they helped, or joined, in making the League.
+
+_Thatotarho, Wathatotarho_ (Onon., _Thatotarho_). _Thatotarho_ is the
+passive voice and cislocative form of _otarho_, which is defined "to
+grasp," or "catch" (_accrocher_) but in the passive signifies
+"entangled." This great chief, whose name is better known as Atotarho
+(without the cislocative prefix), is of the Bear clan.
+
+_Etho ronaraschsen_, "these were cousins," or rather, "the next were
+cousins." This cousinhood, like all the relationships throughout the
+book, is political, and indicates some close relationship in public
+affairs. The announcement applies to the following chiefs, Enneserarenh
+and Dehatkahthos, who were the special aids and counselors of Atotarho.
+
+_Enneserarenh_ (Onon. _Hanesehen_). One Onondata chief said that he knew
+no meaning for this word. Another thought it might mean "the best soil
+uppermost." It is apparently from some obsolete root.
+
+_Dehatkahthos_ (Onon. _Tchatkahtons_), "he is two-sighted," or, "he
+looks both ways." Another rendering made it "on the watch." This and the
+preceding chief belong now to the Beaver clan. In one of the Onondaga
+lists which I received, these two, with their principal, Atotarho,
+formed a "class" by themselves, and were doubtless originally of the
+same clan.
+
+_Waghontenhnonterontye_, "they were as brothers thenceforth;" or, more
+fully rendered, "the next continued to be brothers." This declaration
+refers to the three next following chiefs, who were connected by some
+special political tie. The first who bore the name were, probably, like
+the two preceding chiefs, leading partisans and favorites of the first
+Atotarho.
+
+_Onyatajiwak_, or _Skanyadajiwak_ (Onon., _Oyatajiwak_). One authority
+makes this "a fowl's crop;" another, "the throat alone," from _oniata_,
+throat, and _jiwak_, alone; another defined it, "bitter throat." Mr.
+Morgan renders it "bitter body,"--his informant probably seeing in it
+the word _oyata_, body. This chief belongs now to the Snipe clan.
+
+_Awekenyade_. "the end of its journey,"--from awe, going, and
+_akonhiate_(Can.) "at the end." This chief is of the Ball tribe, both in
+Canada, and at Onondaga Castle. In the list furnished to Mr. Morgan by
+the Senecas, he is of the Tortoise clan.
+
+_Dehadkwarayen_ (Onon., _Tchatkwayen_). This word is obsolete. One
+interpreter guessed it to mean "on his body;" another made it "red
+wings." He is of the Tortoise clan.
+
+In the Book of Rites the first six chiefs of the Onondagas make but one
+class, as is shown by the fact that their names are followed by the
+formula, _etho natejonhne_, "this was the number of you." It may be
+presumed that they were originally of one clan,--probably that of the
+Bear, to which their leader, Atotarho, belonged.
+
+37. _Yeshohawak_, _rakwahhokowah_, "then his next son, he the great
+Wolf." The chief who follows, _Ronenghwireghtonh_, was evidently a
+personage of great importance,--probably the leading chief of the Wolf
+class. He forms a "clan" by himself,--the only instance of the kind in
+the list. The expression, "there (or, in him) were combined the minds,"
+indicates--as Mr. Bearfoot suggests--his superior intellect. It may also
+refer to the fact that he was the hereditary keeper of the wampum
+records. The title was borne in Canada by the late chief George Buck,
+but the duties of record-keeper were usually performed by his more
+eminent brother, John (_Skanawati_).
+
+_Rononghwireghtonh_ (Onon., _Honanwiehti_), "he is sunk out of sight."
+This chief, who, as has been stated, alone constitutes the second
+Onondaga class, is of the Wolf clan.
+
+38. _Etho yeshotonnyh tekadarakehne_, "then his uncles of the two
+clans." The five chiefs who follow probably bore some peculiar political
+relation to Rononghwireghton. The first two in modern times are of the
+Deer clan; the last three are of the Eel clan. It is probable that they
+all belonged originally, with him, to one clan, that of the Wolf, and
+consequently to one class, which was afterwards divided into three.
+_Kawenenseronton_ (Onon., _Kawenensenton_). A word of doubtful meaning;
+one interpreter thought it meant "her voice suspended." _Haghriron_
+(Onon., _Hahihon_), "spilled," or "scattered."
+
+39. _Wahhondennonterontye_. This word has already occurred, with a
+different orthography, and is explained in the Note to Section 36.
+_Ronyennyennih_ (Onon., _Honyennyenni_). No satisfactory explanation
+could be obtained of this word. Chief John Buck did not know its
+meaning. _Shodakwarashonh_ (Onon., _Shotegwashen_), "he is bruised."
+_Shakokenghne_ (Onon. _Shahkohkenneh_), "he saw them." As stated above,
+the three chiefs in this class are of the Eel clan.
+
+40. _Shihonadewiraralye_, "they had children," or, rather, "they
+continued to get children." Mr. Bearfoot writes in regard to this word:
+"Yodewirare, a fowl hatching, referring to the time when they were
+forming the league, when they were said to be hatching, or producing,
+the children mentioned--i.e., the other tribes who were taken into the
+confederacy." _Tehhodidarakeh_, "these the two clans." Taken in
+connection with the preceding lines of the chant, it seems probable that
+this expression refers to the introduction of other clans into the
+Council besides the original three, the Bear, Wolf and Tortoise, which
+existed when the confederacy was formed. _Raserhaghrhonh_ (Onon.,
+_Sherhakwi_), "wearing a hatchet in his belt," from _asera_, hatchet.
+This chief is of the Tortoise clan. _Etho wahhoronghyaronnyon_, "this
+put away the clouds." These "clouds," it is said, were the clouds of
+war, which were dispelled by the great chief whose name is thus
+introduced, _Skanawadyh_, or as now spelt, _Skanawati_. He had the
+peculiar distinction of holding two offices, which were rarely combined.
+He was both a high chief, or "Lord of the Council," and a "Great
+Warrior." In former times the members of the Great Council seldom
+assumed executive duties. They were rarely sent out as ambassadors or as
+leaders of war-parties. These duties were usually entrusted to the
+ablest chiefs of the second rank, who were known as "Great Warriors,"
+_rohskenrakehte-kowa_. Skanawati was an exception to this rule. It would
+seem that the chief who first bore this title had special aptitudes,
+which have come down in his family. A striking instance, given in the
+"_Relations_" of the Jesuit missionaries among the Hurons, has been
+admirably reproduced by Mr. Parkman in the twenty-third chapter of his
+"Jesuits in North America," and cannot be better told than in his words.
+In the year 1648, during the desperate war between the Kanonsionni and
+the Hurons, the Onondagas determined to respond to the pacific overtures
+which they had received from their northern foes.
+
+"They chose for their envoy," continues the historian, "Scandawati, a
+man of renown, sixty years of age, joining with him two colleagues.
+[Footnote: _Scandawali_ is the Huron--and probably the original
+Onondaga--pronunciation of the name.] The old Onondaga entered on his
+mission with a troubled mind. His anxiety was not so much for his life
+as for his honor and dignity; for, while the Oneidas and the Cayugas
+were acting in concurrence with the Onondagas, the Senecas had refused
+any part in the embassy, and still breathed nothing but war. Would they,
+or still more, the Mohawks, so far forget the consideration due to one
+whose name had been great in the Councils of the League, as to assault
+the Hurons while he was among them in the character of an ambassador of
+his nation, whereby his honor would be compromised and his life
+endangered? 'I am not a dead dog,' he said, 'to be despised and
+forgotten. I am worthy that all men should turn their eyes on me while I
+am among enemies, and do nothing that may involve me in danger.' Soon
+there came dire tidings. The prophetic heart of the old chief had not
+deceived him. The Senecas and Mohawks, disregarding negotiations in
+which they had no part, and resolved to bring them to an end, were
+invading the country in force. It might be thought that the Hurons would
+take their revenge on the Onondaga envoys, now hostages among them; but
+they did not do so, for the character of an ambassador was, for the most
+part, held in respect. One morning, however, Scandawati had disappeared.
+They were full of excitement; for they thought that he had escaped to
+the enemy. They ranged the woods in search of him, and at length found
+him in a thicket near the town. He lay dead, on a bed of spruce boughs
+which he had made, his throat deeply gashed with a knife. He had died by
+his own hand, a victim of mortified pride. 'See,' writes Father
+Ragueneau, 'how much our Indians stand on the point of honor!'"
+
+It is worthy of note that the same aptitude for affairs and the same
+keen sense of honor which distinguished this highspirited chief survives
+in the member of his family who, on the Canadian Reservation, now bears
+the same title,--Chief John Buck,--whom his white neighbors all admit to
+be both a capable ruler and an able and trustworthy negotiator.
+
+In Canada _Skanawati_ is of the Tortoise clan. At Onondaga, where the
+original family has probably died out, the title now belongs to the Ball
+clan.
+
+41. _Yeshohawak_, "then his next son,"--or rather, perhaps, "then, next,
+his son." The Cayuga nation was politically the son of the Onondaga
+nation. _Tekahenyonk_ (Onon., _Hakaenyonk_), "he looks both ways," or,
+"he examines warily." In section 28 (_ante_ p. 126) this name is spelt
+_Akahenyonh_. The prefixed _te_ is the duplicative particle, and gives
+the meaning of "spying on both sides." This and the following chief
+belong, in Canada, to the Deer clan, and constitute the first Cayuga
+class. _Jinontaweraon_ (Onon., _Jinontaweyon_), "coming on its knees."
+
+42. _Katakwarasonh_ (Onon., _Ketagwajik_), "it was bruised." This name,
+it will be seen, is very similar to that of an Onondaga chief,--_ante_,
+Note to Section 39. The chief now named and the one who follows are of
+the Bear clan. _Shoyonwese_ (Onon., _Soyonwes_), "he has a long
+wampumbelt." The root-word of this name is _oyonwa_, wampum-belt, the
+same that appears in _Hayonwatha_. _Atyaseronne_ (Onon., _Halyasenne_),
+"he puts one on another," or "he piles on." This chief is of the
+Tortoise clan, and completes, with the two preceding councillors, the
+second Cayuga class.
+
+43. _Yeshonadadekenah_, "then they who are brothers." The three chiefs
+who follow are all of the Wolf clan, and make the third class of the
+Cayuga councillors. _Teyoronghyonkeh_ (Onon., _Thowenyongo_), "it
+touches the sky." _Teyodhoreghkonh_ (Onon., _Tyotowegwi_), "doubly
+cold." _Wathyawenhehetken_ (Onon., _Thaowethon_), "mossy place."
+
+44. The two following chiefs are of the Snipe clan, and constitute the
+fourth and last Cayuga class. _Atontaraheha_ (Onon., _Hatontaheha_)
+"crowding himself in." _Teskahe_ (Onon., _Heskahe_) "resting on it."
+
+45. _Yeshotonnih_, "and then his uncle." The Seneca nation, being the
+brother of the Onondaga, is, of course, the uncle of the Cayuga nation.
+_Skanyadariyo_ (Onon., _Kanyataiyo_), "beautiful lake;" originally,
+perhaps, "great lake." (See Appendix, Note B.) This name is spelt in
+Section 28 (_ante_, p. 128) _Kanyadariyu_. The prefixed _s_ is the sign
+of the reiterative form, and when joined to proper names is regarded as
+a token of nobility,--like the French _de_, or the German _von_.
+[Footnote: See J. A. Cuoq: _Jugement Errone_, etc., p. 57. "Le
+reiteratif est comme un signe de noblesse dans les noms propres."]
+_Kanyadariyo_, was one of the two leading chiefs of the Senecas at the
+formation of the confederacy. The title belongs to the Wolf clan.
+_Yeshonaraseshen_, lit., "they were cousins." In the present instance,
+and according to the Indian idiom, we must read "Skanyadariyo, with his
+cousin, Shadekaronyes." _Shadekaronyes_ (Onon., _Shatekaenyes_), "skies
+of equal length." This chief (whose successor now belongs to the Snipe
+clan) was in ancient times the head of the second great division of the
+Senecas. These two potentates were made a "class" in the Council by
+themselves, and were thus required to deliberate together and come to an
+agreement on any question that was brought up, before expressing an
+opinion in the council. This ingenious device for preventing differences
+between the two sections of the Seneca nation is one of the many
+evidences of statesmanship exhibited in the formation of the League.
+
+46. _Satyenawat_, "withheld." This chief, in the Canadian list, is of
+the Snipe clan; in Mr. Morgan's Seneca list, he is of the Bear clan. His
+comrade in the class, Shakenjowane, is, in both lists, of the Hawk clan.
+_Shakenjowane_ (Onon., _Shakenjona_), "large forehead."
+
+There has apparently been some derangement here in the order of the
+classes. In Mr. Morgan's list, and also in one furnished to me at
+Onondaga Castle, the two chiefs just named belong to different classes.
+The variance of the lists may be thus shown:--
+
+  _The Book of Rites_. _The Seneca and Onondaga Lists_.
+
+       Second Seneca Class.
+
+  _Satyenawat_ _Kanokarih_
+  _Shakenjowane_ _Shakenjowane_.
+
+       Third Seneca Class.
+
+  _Kanokarih_ _Satyenawat_
+  _Nisharyenen_ _Nisharyenen_.
+
+Satyenawat and Kanokarih have changed places. As the Book of Rites is
+the earlier authority, it is probable that the change was made among the
+New York Senecas after a part of their nation had removed to Canada.
+
+  47. _Kanokarih_ (Onon., _Kanokaehe_), "threatened."
+      _Nisharyenen_ (Onon., _Onishayenenha_), "the day fell down."
+
+One of the interpreters rendered the latter name, "the handle drops."
+The meaning of the word must be considered doubtful. The first of these
+chiefs is of the Tortoise clan, and the second is, in Canada, of the
+Bear clan. In Mr. Morgan's list he is of the Snipe clan. The disruption
+of the Seneca nation, and the introduction of new clans, have thrown
+this part of the list into confusion.
+
+48. _Onghwakeghaghshonah_, etc. The verses which follow are repeated
+here from the passage of the Book which precedes the chanted litany.
+(See _ante_, Section 28.) Their repetition is intended to introduce the
+names of the two chiefs who composed the fourth and last class of the
+Seneca councillors. _Yatehhotinhohhataghkwen_, "they were at the
+doorway," or, according to another version, "they made the doorway." The
+chiefs are represented as keeping the doorway of the "extended mansion,"
+which imaged the confederacy. _Kanonghkeridawyh_, (Onon.,
+_Kanonkeitawi_,) "entangled hair given." This chief, in Canada, is of
+the Bear clan; in New York, according to Morgan's list, he is of the
+Snipe clan. _Teyoninhokarawenh_, (Onon., _Teyoninhokawenh_,) "open
+door." In both lists he is of the Wolf clan.
+
+Mr. Morgan (in his "League of the Iroquois," page 68,) states that to
+the last-named chief, or "sachem," the duty of watching the door was
+assigned, and that "they gave him a sub-sachem, or assistant, to enable
+him to execute this trust." In fact, however, every high chief, or
+_royaner_ (lord), had an assistant, or war chief (_roskenrakehte-kowa_,
+great warrior), to execute his instructions. The Book of Rites shows
+clearly that the two chiefs to whom the duty of "guarding the doorway"
+was assigned were both nobles of the first rank. Their office also
+appears not to have been warlike. From the words of the Book it would
+seem that when new tribes were received into the confederacy, these two
+councillors had the formal office of "opening the doorway" to the
+new-comers--that is (as we may suppose), of receiving and introducing
+their chiefs into the federal council.
+
+In another sense the whole Seneca nation was deemed, and was styled in
+council, the Doorkeeper (_Ronhohonti_, pl., _Roninhohonti_) of the
+confederacy. The duty of guarding the common country against the
+invasions of the hostile tribes of the west was specially committed to
+them. Their leaders, or public representatives, in this duty would
+naturally be the two great chiefs of the nation, Kanyateriyo and
+Shadekaronyes. The rules of the League, however, seem to have forbidden
+the actual assumption by the councillors of any executive or warlike
+command. At least, if they undertook such duties, it must be as private
+men, and not in their capacity of nobles--just as an English peer might
+serve as an officer in the army or as an ambassador. The only exceptions
+recognized by the Iroquois constitution seem to have been in the cases
+of Tekarihoken and Skanawati, who were at once nobles and war-chiefs.
+(See _ante_, pages 78 and 159.) The two great Seneca chiefs would
+therefore find it necessary to make over their military functions to
+their assistants or war-chiefs. This may explain the statement made by
+Morgan ("League of the Iroquois," p. 74) that there were two special
+"war-chiefships" created among the Senecas, to which these commands were
+assigned.
+
+49. _Onenh watyonkwentendane kanikonrakeh_. The condoling chant
+concludes abruptly with the doleful exclamation, "Now we are dejected in
+spirit." _Enkitenlane_, "I am becoming poor," or "wretched," is
+apparently a derivative of _kitenre_, to pity, and might be rendered, "I
+am in a pitiable state." "We are miserable in mind," would probably be a
+literal version of this closing ejaculation. Whether it is a lament for
+the past glories of the confederacy, or for the chief who is mourned, is
+a question which those who sing the words at the present day would
+probably have a difficulty in answering. It is likely, however, that the
+latter cause of grief was in the minds of those who first composed the
+chant.
+
+It is an interesting fact, as showing the antiquity of the names of the
+chiefs in the foregoing list, that at least a fourth of them are of
+doubtful etymology. That their meaning was well understood when they
+were borne by the founders of the League cannot be questioned. The
+changes of language or the uncertainties of oral transmission, in the
+lapse of four centuries, have made this large proportion of them either
+obsolete or so corrupt as to be no longer intelligible. Of all the names
+it may probably be affirmed with truth that the Indians who hear them
+recited think of their primitive meaning as little as we ourselves think
+of the meaning of the family names or the English titles of nobility
+which we hear or read. To the Iroquois of the present day the hereditary
+titles of their councillors are--to use their own expression--"just
+names," and nothing more. It must not be supposed, however, that the
+language itself has altered in the same degree. Proper names, as is well
+known, when they become mere appellatives, discharged of significance,
+are much more likely to vary than the words of ordinary speech.
+
+
+
+
+NOTES ON THE ONONDAGA BOOK
+
+
+1 _a. Yo onen onen wen ni sr te,_ "oh now--now this day." It will be
+noticed that this address of the "younger brothers" commences in nearly
+the same words which begin the speeches of the Canienga book. This
+similarity of language exists in other parts of the two books, though
+disguised by the difference of dialect, and also by the very irregular
+and corrupt spelling of the Onondaga book. To give some idea of this
+irregularity, and of the manner in which the words of this book are to
+be pronounced, several of these words are subjoined, with the
+pronunciation of the interpreter, represented in the orthography of the
+Canienga book:
+
+  _Words as written._         _As pronounced by La Fort._
+
+  wen ni sr te                     wennisaate
+  ho gar a nyat                    hogaenyat
+  son tar yen                      sontahien
+  na ya ne                         nayeneh
+  o shon ta gon gonar              osontagongona
+  gar weear har tye                gawehehatie
+  on gwr non sen shen tar qua      ongwanonsenshentakwa
+  ga nen ar ta (or, ga nen ar ti)  ganenhate
+  kon hon wi sats                  konthonwitsas
+  o wen gr ge                      ohwengage
+  nar ya he yr genh                nayehiyaken.
+
+The letter _r,_ it will be seen, is not a consonant. In fact, it is
+never heard as such in the modern Onondaga dialect. As used by La Fort,
+its office is either to give to the preceding vowel _a_ the sound which
+it has in _father,_ or by itself to represent that sound. The _a,_ when
+not followed by _r,_ is usually sounded like _a_ in _fate_, but
+sometimes keeps the sound of _a_ in _far._ The _e_ usually represents
+the English _e_ in _be,_ or, when followed by _n,_ the _e_ in _pen._ The
+_i_ and _y_ are commonly sounded as in the word _city._ The _g_ is
+always hard, and is interchangeable with _k._ The _t_ and _d_ are also
+interchangeable.
+
+While the syllables in the original are written separately, the words
+are not always distinguished; and it is doubtful if, in printing, they
+have in all cases been properly divided. The translation of the
+interpreter, though tolerably exact, was not always literal; and in the
+brief time at our command the precise meaning of some of the words was
+not ascertained. No attempt, therefore, has been made to form a glossary
+of this portion of the text.
+
+In the original the addresses of the "younger brothers" are divided into
+sections, which are numbered from one to seven, and each of which, in
+the ceremony, is called to mind by its special wampum-string, which is
+produced when the section is recited. As the first of these sections is
+of much greater length than the others, it has been divided in this
+work, for the purpose of ready reference, into sub-sections, which are
+numbered 1_a_, 1_b_, and so on.
+
+1 _b_. _Nenthaotagenhetak_, "by the ashes," or "near the hearth." The
+root-word is here _agenhe_, the Onondaga form of the Canienga word
+_akenra_, ashes, which is comprised in the compound form,
+_jiudakenrokde_, in Section 27 of the Canienga book. It will be seen
+that the spokesman of the younger nations is here complying strictly
+with the law laid down in that section. He "stands by the hearth and
+speaks a few words to comfort those who are mourning."
+
+1 _c_. "_It was valued at twenty._" The interpreters explained that by
+"twenty" was understood the whole of their wampum, which constituted all
+their treasure. A human life was worth the whole of this, and they
+freely gave it, merely to recall the memory of the chief who was gone.
+Among the Hurons, when a man had been killed, and his kindred were
+willing to renounce their claim to vengeance on receiving due
+satisfaction, the number of presents of wampum and other valuables which
+were to be given was rigidly prescribed by their customary law.
+[Footnote: _Relation_ of 1648, p. 80.] From this custom would easily
+follow the usage of making similar gifts, in token of sympathy, to all
+persons who were mourning the loss of a near relative,
+
+1 _d_. "_Because with her the line is lost._" The same sentiment
+prevailed among the Hurons. "For a Huron killed by a Huron," writes
+Father Ragueneau in the letter just quoted, "thirty gifts are commonly
+deemed a sufficient satisfaction. For a woman forty are required,
+because, as they say, the women are less able to defend themselves; and,
+moreover, they being the source whence the land is peopled, their lives
+should be deemed of more value to the commonwealth, and their weakness
+should have a stronger support in public justice." Such was the
+reasoning of these heathen barbarians. Enlightened Christendom has
+hardly yet advanced to the mark of these opinions.
+
+I _e. "Where the grave has been made,"_ &c. The recital of Father
+Ragueneau also illustrates this passage. "Then followed," he writes,
+"nine other presents, for the purpose, as it were, of erecting a
+sepulchre for the deceased. Four of them were for the four pillars which
+should support this sepulchre, and four others for the four cross-pieces
+on which the bier of the dead was to rest. The ninth was to serve as his
+pillow."
+
+2. "I will make the sky clear to you." In this paragraph the speaker
+reminds the mourners, in the style of bold imagery which the Iroquois
+orators affected, that continued grief for the dead would not be
+consonant with the course of nature. Though all might seem dark to them
+now, the sky would be as clear, and the sun would shine as brightly for
+them, as if their friend had not died. Their loss had been inevitable,
+and equally sure would be the return of the "pleasant days." This
+reminder, which may seem to us needless, was evidently designed as a
+reproof, at once gentle and forcible, of those customs of excessive and
+protracted mourning which were anciently common among the Huron-Iroquois
+tribes.
+
+3. _"You must converse with your nephews,"_ &c. The "nephews" are, of
+course, the chiefs of the younger nations, who are here the condolers.
+The mourners are urged to seek for comfort in the sympathy of their
+friends, and not to reject the consolations offered by their visitors
+and by their own people.
+
+4. _"And now you can go out before the people, and go on with your
+duties,"_ &c. This, it will be seen, corresponds with the injunctions of
+the Canienga book. (See Section 27, _ante,_ p. 127): "And then they will
+be comforted, and will conform to the great law."
+
+6. _"Then the horns shall be left on the grave,"_ &c. The same figure is
+here used as in the Canienga book, Section 23 (_ante,_ p. 125). It is
+evident that the importance of keeping up the succession of their
+councillors was constantly impressed on the minds of the Iroquois people
+by the founders of their League.
+
+7. _"And the next death will receive the pouch."_ The "mourning wampum,"
+in modern days, is left, or supposed to be left, with the kindred of the
+late chief until another death shall occur among the members of the
+Council, when it is to be passed on to the family of the deceased. This
+economy is made necessary by the fact that only one store of such wampum
+now exists, as the article is no longer made. It is probable that in
+ancient times the wampum was left permanently with the family of the
+deceased, as a memorial of the departed chief.
+
+_"Where the fire is made and the smoke is rising," i.e.,_ when you
+receive notice that a Condoling Council is to be held in a certain
+place. The kindled fire and the rising smoke were the well-understood
+images which represented the convocation of their councils. In the
+Onondaga book before referred to (_ante,_ p. 152) a few pages were
+occupied by what might be styled a pagan sermon, composed of
+exhortations addressed to the chiefs, urging them to do their duty to
+the community. The following is the commencement of this curious
+composition, which may serve to illustrate both the words now under
+consideration and the character of the people. The orthography is much
+better than that of La Fort's book, the vowels generally having the
+Italian sound, and the spelling being tolerably uniform. The translation
+was made by Albert Cusick, and is for the most part closely literal: The
+discourse commences with a "text," after the fashion which the pagan
+exhorter had probably learned from the missionaries:--
+
+Naye ne iwaton ne gayanencher:
+
+Onen wahagwatatjistagenhas ne Thatontarho. Onen wagayengwaeten, naye ne
+watkaenya, esta netho tina enyontkawaonk. Ne enagenyon nwatkaonwenjage
+shanonwe nwakayengwaeten netho titentyetongenta shanonwe
+nwakayengwaeten, ne tokat gishens enyagoiwayentaha ne oyatonwetti.
+
+Netho hiya nigawennonten ne ongwanencher ne Ayakt Niyongyonwenjage ne
+Tyongwehonwe.
+
+Ottinawahoten ne oyengwaetakwit? Nayehiya, ne agwegeh
+enhonatiwagwaisyonk ne hatigowanes,--tenhontatnonongwak gagweki,--oni
+enshagotino-ongwak ne honityogwa, engenk ne hotisgenrhergeta, oni ne
+genthonwisash, oni ne hongwagsata, oni ne ashonsthateyetigaher ne
+ongwagsata; netho niyoh tehatinya agweke sne sgennon enyonnontonnyonhet,
+ne hegentyogwagwegi. Naye ne hatigowanens neye gagwegi honatiiwayenni
+sha oni nenyotik honityogwa shanya yagonigonheten. Ne tokat gishen naye
+enyagotiwatentyeti, negaewane akwashen ne honiyatwa shanityawenih.
+
+
+_Translation._
+
+"The law says this:
+
+"Now the council-fire was lighted by Atotarho. Now the smoke rises and
+ascends to the sky, that everybody may see it. The tribes of the
+different nations where the smoke appeared shall come directly where the
+smoke arises, if, perhaps, they have any business for the council to
+consider.
+
+"These are the words of our law,--of the Six Nations of Indians.
+
+"What is the purpose of the smoke? It is this--that the chiefs must all
+be honest; that they must all love one another; and that they must have
+regard for their people,--including the women, and also our children,
+and also those children whom we have not yet seen; so much they must
+care for, that all may be in peace, even the whole nation. It is the
+duty of the chiefs to do this, and they have the power to govern their
+people. If there is anything to be done for the good of the people, it
+is their duty to do it."
+
+7 _b. "Now I have finished! Now show him to me!"_ With this laconic
+exclamation, which calls upon the nation of the late chief to bring
+forward his successor, the formal portion of the ceremony--the
+condolence which precedes the installation--is abruptly closed.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE A.
+
+THE NAMES OF THE IROQUOIS NATIONS.
+
+
+The meaning of the term _Kanonsionni,_ and of the other names by which
+the several nations were known in their Council, are fully explained in
+the Introduction. But some account should be given of the names, often
+inappropriate and generally much corrupted, by which they were known to
+their white neighbors. The origin and proper meaning of the word
+_Iroquois_ are doubtful. All that can be said with certainty is that the
+explanation given by Charlevoix cannot possibly be correct. "The name of
+Iroquois," he says, "is purely French, and has been formed from the term
+_hiro,_ 'I have spoken,' a word by which these Indians close all their
+speeches, and _koue,_ which, when long drawn out, is a cry of sorrow,
+and when briefly uttered, is an exclamation of joy." [Footnote: _History
+of New France,_ Vol. i, p. 270.] It might be enough to say of this
+derivation that no other nation or tribe of which we have any knowledge
+has ever borne a name composed in this whimsical fashion. But what is
+decisive is the fact that Champlain had learned the name from his Indian
+allies before he or any other Frenchman, so far as is known, had ever
+seen an Iroquois. It is probable that the origin of the word is to be
+sought in the Huron language; yet, as this is similar to the Iroquois
+tongue, an attempt may be made to find a solution in the latter.
+According to Bruyas, the word _garokwa_ meant a pipe, and also a piece
+of tobacco,--and, in its verbal form, to smoke. This word is found,
+somewhat disguised by aspirates, in the Book of
+Rites--_denighroghkwayen,_--"let us two smoke together." (_Ante._ p.
+114, Section 2). In the indeterminate form the verb becomes _ierokwa,_
+which is certainly very near to "Iroquois." It might be rendered "they
+who smoke," or "they who use tobacco," or, briefly, "the Tobacco
+People." This name, the Tobacco Nation (_Nation du Petun_) was given by
+the French, and probably also by the Algonkins, to one of the Huron
+tribes, the Tionontates, noted for the excellent tobacco which they
+raised and sold. The Iroquois were equally well known for their
+cultivation of this plant, of which they had a choice variety.
+[Footnote: "The Senecas still cultivate tobacco. Its name signifies
+'_the only tobacco,'_ because they consider this variety superior to all
+others."--Morgan: _League of the Iroquois,_ p. 375.] It is possible that
+their northern neighbors may have given to them also a name derived from
+this industry. Another not improbable supposition might connect the name
+with that of a leading sept among them, the Bear clan. This clan, at
+least among the Caniengas, seems to have been better known than any
+other to their neighbors. The Algonkins knew that nation as the Maquas,
+or Bears. In the Canienga speech, bear is _ohkwari_; in Onondaga, the
+word becomes _ohkwai_, and in Cayuga, _iakwai_,--which also is not far
+from _Iroquois_. These conjectures--for they are nothing more--may both
+be wrong; but they will perhaps serve to show the direction in which the
+explanation of this perplexing word is to be sought.
+
+The name of _Mingo_ or _Mengwe,_ by which the Iroquois were known to the
+Delawares and the other southern Algonkins, is said to be a contraction
+of the Lenape word _Mahongwi_, meaning the "People of the Springs."
+[Footnote: E. G. Squier: _"Traditions of the Algonquins,"_ in Beach's
+Indian Miscellany, p. 28.] The Iroquois possessed the headwaters of the
+rivers which flowed through the country of the Delawares, and this
+explanation of the name may therefore be accepted as a probable one.
+
+The first of the Iroquois nations, the "oldest brother" of the
+confederacy, has been singularly unfortunate in the designations by
+which it has become generally known. The people have a fine, sonorous
+name of their own, said to be derived from that of one of their ancient
+towns. This name is _Kanienke_, "at the Flint." _Kansen_, in their
+language, signifies flint, and the final syllable is the same locative
+particle which we find in _Onontake,_ "at the mountain." In
+pronunciation and spelling, this, like other Indian words, is much
+varied, both by the natives themselves and by their white neighbors,
+becoming _Kanieke, Kanyenke, Canyangeh,_ and _Canienga._ The latter
+form, which accords with the sister names of Onondaga and Cayuga, has
+been adopted in the present volume.
+
+The Huron frequently drops the initial _k,_ or changes it to _y._ The
+Canienga people are styled in that speech _Yanyenge,_ a word which is
+evidently the origin of the name of _Agnier,_ by which this nation is
+known to the French.
+
+The Dutch learned from the Mohicans (whose name, signifying Wolves, is
+supposed to be derived from that of their leading clan) to call the
+Kanienke by the corresponding name of _Maqua_ (or _Makwa_), the Algonkin
+word for Bear. But as the Iroquois, and especially the Caniengas, became
+more and more a terror to the surrounding nations, the feelings of
+aversion and dread thus awakened found vent in an opprobrious epithet,
+which the southern and eastern Algonkins applied to their obnoxious
+neighbors. They were styled by these enemies _Mowak,_ or _Mowawak_ a
+word which has been corrupted to _Mohawk._ It is the third person
+plural, in the sixth "transition," of the Algonkin word _mowa_, which
+means "to eat," but which is only used of food that has had life.
+Literally it means "they eat them;" but the force of the verb and of the
+pronominal inflection suffices to give to the word, when used as an
+appellative, the meaning of "those who eat men," or, in other words,
+"the Cannibals." That the English, with whom the Caniengas were always
+fast friends, should have adopted this uncouth and spiteful nickname is
+somewhat surprising. It is time that science and history should combine
+to banish it, and to resume the correct designation. [Footnote: William
+Penn and his colonists, who probably understood the meaning of the word
+_Mohawk_ forbore to employ it. In the early records of the colony
+(published by the Pennsylvania Historical Society) the nation is
+described in treaties, laws, and other public acts, by its proper
+designation, a little distorted in the spelling,--_Canyingoes,
+Ganyingoes, Cayinkers, etc._]
+
+The name _Oneida_, which in French became _Onneyoutk_ or _Onneyote_, is
+a corruption of a compound word, formed of _onenhia_, or _onenya_,
+stone, and _kaniote_, to be upright or elevated. _Onenniote_ is rendered
+"the projecting stone." It is applied to a large boulder of syennite,
+which thrusts its broad shoulder above the earth at the summit of an
+eminence near which, in early times, the Oneidas had planted their chief
+settlement.
+
+As has been already stated, _Onondaga_ is a softened pronunciation of
+_Onontake_, "at the mountain,"--or, perhaps, more exactly, "at the
+hill." It is probable that this name was unknown when the confederacy
+was formed, as it is not comprised in the list of towns given in the
+Book of Rites. It may be supposed to have been first applied to this
+nation after their chief town was removed to the site which it occupied
+in the year 1654, when the first white visitors of whom we have any
+certain account, the Jesuit Father Le Moyne and his party, came among
+them,--and also in 1677, when the English explorer, Greenhalgh, passed
+through their country. This site was about seven miles east of their
+present Reservation. I visited it in September, 1880, in company with my
+friend, General John S. Clark, who has been singularly successful in
+identifying the positions of the ancient Iroquois towns. The locality is
+thus described in my journal: "The site is, for an Indian town,
+peculiarly striking and attractive. It stretches about three miles in
+length, with a width of half a mile, along the broad back and gently
+sloping sides of a great hill, which swells, like a vast oblong cushion,
+between two hollows made by branches of a small stream, known as
+Limehouse creek. These streams and many springs on the hillside yielded
+abundance of water, while the encircling ridges on every side afforded
+both firewood and game. In the neighborhood were rich valleys, where--as
+well as on the hill itself--the people raised their crops of corn,
+beans, pumpkins, and tobacco. There are signs of a large population." In
+the fields of stubble which occupied the site of this ancient capital,
+the position of the houses could still be traced by the dark patches of
+soil; and a search of an hour or two rewarded us with several
+wampum-beads, flint chips, and a copper coin of the last century. The
+owner of the land, an intelligent farmer, affirmed that "wagon-loads" of
+Indian wares,--pottery, hatchets, stone implements, and the like--had
+been carried off by curiosity seekers.
+
+The name of the _Cayugas_ (in French _Goyogouin_) is variously
+pronounced by the Iroquois themselves. I wrote it as I heard it, at
+different times, from members of the various tribes. _Koyukwen, Koiukwe,
+Kwaiukwen, Kayukwe._ A Cayuga chief made it _Kayukwa,_ which is very
+near the usual English pronunciation of the word. Of its purport no
+satisfactory account could be obtained. One interpreter rendered it "the
+fruit country," another "the place where canoes are drawn out." Cusick,
+the historian, translates it "a mountain rising from the water." Mr.
+Morgan was told that it meant "the mucky land." We can only infer that
+the interpreters were seeking, by vague resemblances, to recover a lost
+meaning.
+
+The _Senecas_, who were called by the French _Tsonontouan_ or
+_Sonnontouan_, bore among the Iroquois various names, but all apparently
+derived from the words which appear in that appellation,--_ononta_,
+hill, and _kowa_ or _kowane,_ great. The Caniengas called them
+_Tsonontowane_; the Oneidas abridged the word to _Tsontowana_; the
+Cayugas corrupted it to _Onondewa_; and the Onondagas contracted it yet
+farther, to _Nontona_. The Senecas called themselves variously
+_Sonontowa, Onontewa,_ and _Nondewa._ _Sonontowane_ is probably the most
+correct form.
+
+The word _Seneca_ is supposed to be of Algonkin origin, and like
+_Mohawk_, to have been given as an expression of dislike, or rather of
+hostility. _Sinako_, in the Delaware tongue, means properly "Stone
+Snakes;" but in this conjunction it is understood, according to the
+interpretation furnished to Mr. Squier, to signify "Mountain Snakes."
+[Footnote: _"Traditions of the Algonquins,"_ in Beach's _Indian
+Miscellany,_ p. 33.] The Delawares, it appears, were accustomed to term
+all their enemies "snakes." In this case they simply translated the
+native name of the Iroquois tribe (the "Mountain People"), and added
+this uncomplimentary epithet. As the name, unlike the word Mohawk, is
+readily pronounced by the people to whom it was given, and as they seem
+to have in some measure accepted it, there is not the same reason for
+objecting to its use as exists in the case of the latter word,--more
+especially as there is no absolute certainty that it is not really an
+Iroquois word. It bears, in its present form, a close resemblance to the
+honorable "Council name" of the Onondagas,--_Sennakehte,_ "the
+title-givers;" a fact which may perhaps have made the western nation
+more willing to adopt it.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE B.
+
+MEANING OF OHIO, ONTARIO, ONONTIO, RAWENNIIO.
+
+
+The words _Ohio, Ontario_ and _Onontio_ (or _Yonnondio_)--which should
+properly be pronounced as if written _Oheeyo, Ontareeyo,_ and
+_Ononteeyo_--are commonly rendered "Beautiful River," "Beautiful Lake,"
+"Beautiful Mountain." This, doubtless, is the meaning which each of the
+words conveys to an Iroquois of the present day, unless he belongs to
+the Tuscarora tribe. But there can be no doubt that the termination _io_
+(otherwise written _iyo, iio, eeyo_, etc.) had originally the sense, not
+of "beautiful," but of "great." It is derived from the word _wiyo_ (or
+_wiio_) which signifies in the Seneca dialect _good,_ but in the
+Tuscarora, _great_. It is certain that the Tuscaroras have preserved the
+primitive meaning of the word, which the Hurons and the proper Iroquois
+have lost. When the French missionaries first studied the languages of
+these nations, traces of the original usage were apparent. Bruyas, in
+the "Proemium" to his _Radices Verborum Iroquaorum_, (p. 14), expressly
+states that _jo (io)_ in composition with verbs, "signifies magnitude."
+He gives as an example, _garihaioston_, "to make much of anything," from
+_garihea_, thing, and _io_, "great, important." The Jesuit missionaries,
+in their _Relation_ for 1641, (p. 22) render _Onontio_ "great mountain,"
+and say that both Hurons and Iroquois gave this title to the Governor of
+that day as a translation of his name, Montmagny.
+
+_Ontario_ is derived from the Huron _yontare_, or _ontare_, lake
+(Iroquois, _oniatare_), with this termination. It was not by any means
+the most beautiful of the lakes which they knew; but in the early times,
+when the Hurons dwelt on the north and east of it and the Iroquois on
+the south, it was to both of them emphatically "the great lake."
+
+_Ohio,_ in like manner, is derived, as M. Cuoq in the valuable notes to
+his Lexicon (p. 159) informs us, from the obsolete _ohia,_ river, now
+only used in the compound form _ohionha_. _Ohia_, coalescing with this
+ancient affix, would become _ohiio,_ or _ohiyo,_ with the signification
+of "great river," or, as the historian Cusick renders it, "principal
+stream."
+
+M. Cuoq. in his _"Etudes Philologiques"_ (p. 14) has well explained the
+interesting word _Rawenniio,_ used in various dialectical forms by both
+Hurons and Iroquois, as the name of the deity. It signifies, as he
+informs us, "he is master," or, used as a noun, "he who is master."
+This, of course, is the modern acceptation; but we can gather from the
+ancient Huron grammar, translated by Mr. Wilkie, (_ante_, p. 101) that
+the word had once, as might be supposed, a larger meaning. The phrase,
+"it is the great master," in that grammar (p. 108) is rendered
+_ondaieaat eOarontio or eOauendio_. The Huron _nd_ becomes in Iroquois
+_nn_. _EOauendio_ is undoubtedly a form of the same word which appears
+in the Iroquois _Rawenniio_. We thus learn that the latter word meant
+originally not merely "the master," but "the great master." Its root is
+probably to be found in the Iroquois _kawen_, or _gawen_ (Bruyas, p.
+64), which signifies "to belong to any one," and yields, in combination
+with _oyata_, person, the derivatives _gaiatawen_, to have for subject,
+and _gaiatawenston_, to subject any one.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE C.
+
+THE ERA OF THE CONFEDERACY.
+
+
+Mr. Morgan, in his work on "Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the
+Human Family" (p. 151), fixes the date of the formation of the Iroquois
+league at about the middle of the fifteenth ^ century. He says: "As near
+as can now be ascertained, the league had been established about one
+hundred and fifty years when Champlain, in 1609, first encountered the
+Mohawks within their own territories, on the west coast of Lake George.
+This would place the epoch of its formation about A. D. 1459." Mr.
+Morgan, as he informed me, deduced this conclusion from the testimony of
+the most intelligent Indians whom he had consulted on the subject. His
+informants belonged chiefly to the Seneca and Tuscarora nations. Their
+statements are entirely confirmed by those of the Onondaga
+record-keepers, both on the Syracuse Reservation and in Canada. When the
+chiefs at Onondaga Castle, who, in October, 1875, met to explain to me
+their wampum records, were asked how long it had been since their league
+was made, they replied (as I find the answer recorded in my notes) that
+"it was their belief that the confederacy was formed about six
+generations before the white people came to these parts." Hudson
+ascended the river to which he gave his name in September, 1609. A boat
+from his ship advanced beyond Albany, and consequently into the
+territories of the League. "Frequent intercourse," says Bancroft, in his
+account of this exploration, "was held with the astonished natives of
+the Algonquin race; and the strangers were welcomed by a deputation from
+the Mohawks." If we allow twenty-five years to a generation, the era of
+the confederacy is carried back to a period a hundred and fifty years
+before the date of Hudson's discovery,--or to the year 1459. This
+statement of the Onondaga chiefs harmonizes, therefore, closely with
+that which Mr. Morgan had heard among the other nations.
+
+I afterwards (in 1882) put the same question to my friend, Chief John
+Buck, the keeper of the wampum-records of the Canadian Iroquois. He
+thought it was then "about four hundred years" since the League was
+formed. He was confident that it was before any white people had been
+heard of by his nation. This opinion accords sufficiently with the more
+definite statement of the New York Onondagas to be deemed a confirmation
+of that statement.
+
+There are two authorities whose opinions differ widely, in opposite
+directions, from the information thus obtained by Mr. Morgan and myself.
+David Cusick, in his _"Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations,"_
+supposes that the League was formed "perhaps 1000 years before Columbus
+discovered America." His reasons for this supposition, however, do not
+bear examination. He makes Atotarho the hereditary title of a monarch,
+like Pharaoh or Caesar, and states that thirteen potentates bearing that
+title had "reigned" between the formation of the confederacy and the
+discovery of America by Columbus. The duration of each of these reigns
+he computes, absurdly enough, at exactly fifty years, which, however,
+would give altogether a term of only six hundred and fifty years. He
+supposes the discovery of America to have taken place during the reign
+of the thirteenth Atotarho; and he adds that the conquest and dispersion
+of the Eries occurred "about this time." The latter event, as we know,
+took place in 1656. It is evident that Cusick's chronology is totally at
+fault. As an Iroquois chief was never succeeded by his son, but often by
+his brother, it is by no means improbable that thirteen persons may have
+held successively the title of Atotarho in the term of nearly two
+centuries, between the years 1459 and 1656.
+
+On the other hand, Heckewelder, in his well-known work on the "History,
+Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations." cites a passage from a
+manuscript book of his predecessor, the Rev. C. Pyrlaeus, formerly
+missionary among the Mohawks, from which a comparatively recent date
+would be inferred for the confederation. The inference, however, is
+probably due to a mistake of Heckewelder himself. The passage, as it
+stands in his volume, [Footnote: P. 56 of the revised edition of 1875,
+published by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.] is as follows:--
+
+"The Rev. C. Pyrlaeus, in his manuscript book, p. 234, says: 'The
+alliance or confederacy of the Five Nations was established, as near as
+can be conjectured, one age (or the length of a man's life) before the
+white people (the Dutch) came into the country. Thannawage was the name
+of the aged Indian, a Mohawk, who first proposed such an alliance.'"
+
+The words which Heckewelder has here included between parentheses arc
+apparently explanations which he himself added to the original statement
+of Pyrlaeus. The first of these glosses, by which an "age" is explained
+to be the length of a man's life, is doubtless correct; but the second,
+which identifies the "white people" of Pyrlaeus with the Dutch, is
+probably wrong. The white people who first "came into the country" of
+the Huron-Iroquois nations were the French, under Cartier. It was in the
+summer of 1535 that the bold Breton navigator, with three vessels
+commissioned to establish a colony in Canada, entered the St. Lawrence,
+and ascended the great river as far as the sites of Quebec and Montreal.
+He spent the subsequent winter at Quebec. The presence of this
+expedition, with its soldiers and sailors of strange complexion and
+armed with terrible weapons, must have been known to all the tribes
+dwelling along the river, and would naturally make an epoch in their
+chronology. Assuming the year 1535 as the time when the white people
+first "came into the country," and taking "the length of a man's life"
+at seventy-five years (or three generations) we should arrive at the
+year 1460 as the date of the formation of the Iroquois League.
+[Footnote: There is an evident difference between the expression used by
+my Onondaga informants and that which is quoted by Heckewelder from
+Pyrlaeus. The latter speaks of the time before the white people "came
+into the country;" the Onondagas referred to the time before they "came
+to these parts." The passage cited from Bancroft seems to indicate that
+the white men of Hudson's crew presented no novel or startling aspect to
+the Mohawks. The French had been "in the country" before them.]
+
+The brief period allowed by Heckewelder's version is on many accounts
+inadmissible. If, when the Dutch first came among the Iroquois, the
+confederacy had existed for only about eighty years, there must have
+been many persons then living who had personally known some of its
+founders. It is quite inconceivable that the cloud of mythological
+legends which has gathered around the names of these founders--of which
+Clark, in his "Onondaga," gives only the smaller portion--should have
+arisen in so short a term. Nor is it probable that in so brief a period
+as has elapsed since the date suggested by Heckewelder, a fourth part of
+the names of the fifty chiefs who formed the first council would have
+become unintelligible, or at least doubtful in meaning. Schoolcraft, who
+was inclined to defer to Heckewelder's authority on this point, did so
+with evident doubt and perplexity. "We cannot," he says, "without
+rejecting many positive traditions of the Iroquois themselves, refuse to
+concede a much earlier period to the first attempts of these interesting
+tribes to form a general political association." [Footnote: "_Notes on
+the Iroquois_ p. 75,"]
+
+In view of all the facts there seems no reason for withholding credence
+from the clear and positive statement of the Iroquois chroniclers, who
+place the commencement of their confederate government at about the
+middle of the fifteenth century.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE D.
+
+THE HIAWATHA MYTHS.
+
+
+While many of the narratives of preternatural events recounted by Clark,
+Schoolcraft and others, in which the name of Hiawatha occurs, are merely
+adaptations of older myths relating to primitive Iroquois or Algonkin
+deities, there are a few which are actual traditions, though much
+confused and distorted, of incidents that really occurred. Among these
+is the story told by Clark, of the marvelous bird by which Hiawatha's
+only daughter was destroyed. Longfellow has avoided all reference to
+this preposterous tale; but to Mr. Clark, if we may judge from the
+fullness and solemnity with which he has recorded it, it appeared very
+impressive. [Footnote: _"Onondaga"_ Vol. I, p. 25.] According to his
+narrative, when the great convention assembled at the summons of
+Hiawatha, to form the league of the Five Nations, he came to it in
+company with his darling and only daughter, a girl of twelve. Suddenly a
+loud rushing sound was heard. A dark spot appeared in the sky. Hiawatha
+warned his daughter to be prepared for the coming doom from the Great
+Spirit, and she meekly bowed in resignation. The dark spot, rapidly
+descending, became an immense bird, which, with long and pointed beak
+and wide-extended wings, swept down upon the beautiful girl, and crushed
+her to atoms. Many other incidents are added, and we are told, what we
+might well believe, that the hero's grief for the loss so suddenly and
+frightfully inflicted upon him was intense and long protracted.
+
+That a story related with so much particularity should be utterly
+without foundation did not appear probable. It seemed not unlikely that
+a daughter of Hiawatha might have been killed at some public meeting,
+either accidentally or purposely, and possibly by an Indian belonging to
+one of the bird clans, the Snipe, the Heron, or the Crane. But further
+inquiry showed that even this conjecture involved more of what may be
+styled mythology than the simple facts called for. The Onondaga chiefs
+on the Canadian Reserve, when asked if they had heard anything about a
+strange bird causing the death of Hiawatha's daughter, replied at once
+that the event was well known. As they related it, the occurrence became
+natural and intelligible. It formed, indeed, a not unimportant link in
+the chain of events which led to the establishment of the confederacy.
+The catastrophe, for such it truly was, took place not at the great
+assembly which met for the formation of the league, but at one of the
+Onondaga councils which were convened prior to that meeting, and before
+Hiawatha had fled to the Caniengas. The council was held in an open
+plain, encircled by a forest, near which temporary lodges had been
+erected for the Councillors and their attendants. Hiawatha was present,
+accompanied by his daughter, the last surviving member of his family.
+She was married, but still lived with her father, after the custom of
+the people; for the wife did not join her husband in his own home until
+she had borne him a child. The discussions had lasted through the day,
+and at nightfall the people retired to their lodges. Hiawatha's daughter
+had been out, probably with other women, into the adjacent woods, to
+gather their light fuel of dry sticks for cooking. She was great with
+child, and moved slowly, with her faggot, across the sward. An evil eye
+was upon her. Suddenly the loud voice of Atotarho was heard, shouting
+that a strange bird was in the air, and bidding one of his best archers
+shoot it. The archer shot, and the bird fell. A sudden rush took place
+from all quarters toward it, and in the rush Hiawatha's daughter was
+thrown down and trampled to death. No one could prove that Atotarho had
+planned this terrible blow at his great adversary, but no one doubted
+it. Hiawatha's grief was profound; but it was then, according to the
+tradition of the Canadian Onondagas,--when the last tie of kindred which
+bound him to his own people was broken,--that the idea occurred to him
+of seeking aid among the eastern nations. [Footnote: This account of the
+events which immediately preceded Hiawatha's flight differs somewhat
+from the narrative which I received from the New York Onondagas, as
+recorded in the Introduction (p. 22). The difference, however, is not
+important; and possibly, if it had occurred to me to inquire of these
+latter informants about the incident of the bird, I might have heard
+from them particulars which would have brought the two versions of the
+story still nearer to accord. The notable fact is that the reports of a
+tradition preserved for four hundred years, in two divisions of a broken
+tribe, which have been widely separated for more than a century, should
+agree so closely in all important particulars. Such concurrence of
+different chroniclers in the main narrative of an event, with some
+diversity in the details, is usually regarded as the best evidence of
+the truth of the history.]
+
+Clark's informants also told him much about a snow-white canoe in which
+Hiawatha--or, rather, Ta-oun-ya-wa-tha--made his first appearance to
+human eyes. In this canoe the demigod was seen on Lake Ontario,
+approaching the shore at Oswego. In it he ascended the river and its
+various branches, removing all obstructions, and destroying all enemies,
+natural and preternatural. And when his work was completed by the
+establishment of the League, the hero, in his human form of Hiawatha,
+seated himself in this canoe, and ascended in it to heaven, amid "the
+sweetest melody of celestial music."
+
+The nucleus and probable origin of this singular story is perhaps to be
+found in the simple fact that Hiawatha, after his flight from the
+Onondagas, made his appearance among the Caniengas a solitary voyager,
+in a canoe, in which he had floated down the Mohawk river. The canoes of
+the Caniengas were usually made of elm-bark, the birch not being common
+in their country. If Hiawatha, as is not unlikely, had found or
+constructed a small canoe of birch-bark on the upper waters of the
+stream, and used it for his voyage to the Canienga town, it might
+naturally attract some attention. The great celebrity and high position
+which he soon attained, and the important work which he accomplished,
+would cause the people who adopted him as a chief to look back upon all
+the circumstances of his first arrival among them with special interest.
+That the canoe was preserved till his death, and that he was buried in
+it, amid funeral wails and mournful songs from a vast multitude, such as
+had never before lamented a chief of the Kanonsioani, may be deemed
+probable enough; and in these or some similar events we may look for the
+origin of this beautiful myth, which reappears, with such striking
+effect, in the closing scene of Longfellow's poem.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE E.
+
+THE IROQUOIS TOWNS.
+
+
+The list of towns comprised in the text contains twenty-three names. Of
+this number only eight or nine resemble names which have been in use
+since the Five Nations were known to the whites; and even of this small
+number it is not certain that all, or indeed any, were in these more
+recent times applied to their original localities. My friend, General
+John S. Clark, of Auburn, N. Y., who has made a special study of the
+positions of the Indian tribes and villages, and whose notes on this
+subject illustrate the excellent work of Dr. Hawley on the early history
+of the Cayuga nation, [Footnote: _Early Chapters of Cayuga History:_ By
+Charles Hawley, D.D., President of the Cayuga Historical Society.] has
+favored me, in a recent letter, with the following brief but valuable
+summary of what is known in regard to the Iroquois towns:--
+
+"When the Mohawks were first known, they occupied three principal towns
+on the south side of the Mohawk river, between Ganajoharie and Schoharie
+creeks. The most eastern was that of the "Turtles" (or Tortoise clan),
+and was usually designated as such, and by the Dutch as the Lower or
+First Castle. The Middle or Second Castle was commonly termed the
+village of the "Bears;" while the Third or Upper Castle was generally
+called Teonnondoge or Tionnontogen, a name apparently having reference
+to the 'two mountains' near which the original town stood. After these
+towns were destroyed by the French, in 1666, their people removed to the
+north side of the river,--those of the lower town retreating a few miles
+up the stream to the rapids; and then for a hundred years this was
+generally known Caughnawaga (_Kahnawake_) "At the Rapids." The Middle or
+Second Castle was called Gandagaro in 1670, Kanagiro in 1744, etc. The
+third appears to have retained its old name in all positions."
+
+"When the Oneidas were first known they occupied a position on the
+headwaters of the Oneida inlet, and afterward gradually drew northward
+toward the lake. Their great town was usually called by the name of the
+tribe, as Onneiot, Onoyut, etc. One site, occupied about 1700, was
+called and known generally as Kanowaroghare, said to signify 'a head on
+a pole.'"
+
+"The Onondagas, first known in 1615, occupied several sites, from a
+point south of the east end of Oneida lake, where they were when first
+known, to the Onondaga valley; but in all cases the chief town, when
+named, was called Onondaga, from the name of the tribe. Their great
+village in the Onondaga valley, according to Zeisberger, was known in
+1750 as Tagochsanagecht, but this was a form derived from the name of
+the Onondagas as used in council. In all ages this chief town, wherever
+located, had other minor towns within from two to five miles, but they
+are rarely named. The great town was also divided into districts, one
+for each clan, each of which must have been known by the clan name, but
+this is seldom referred to. This rule held good also in all the large
+towns. A 'Bear village' was not occupied exclusively by members of the
+Bear clan; but these predominated and exercised authority."
+
+"The Cayugas in 1656 occupied three villages,--Onnontare, on a hill near
+the Canandaigua river,--Thiohero, near the foot of Cayuga lake ('By the
+Marsh,' or, 'Where the Rushes are'),--and a third, which generally took
+the name of the tribe, Cayuga, but was occasionally divided into three
+districts, like the other large towns."
+
+"The Senecas, when visited by the Jesuits, occupied two great towns, and
+several minor villages. The eastern of the two towns, near Victor, was
+called Gandougarae. The western, on Honcoye creek, nearly always, in all
+localities, took the name of the stream, which signifies 'bending.' It
+is said that when the League was first formed, it was agreed that the
+two great Seneca towns should be called by the names of two principal
+sachems; but I am unable to find that this was carried out in practice.
+In La Hontan's narrative of the De Nonville expedition, the great
+western town was separated into two parts, Thegaronhies and
+Danoncaritowi, which were the names of two important chiefs; while De
+Nonville's and other accounts describe it as Totiakton, 'at the bend.'
+This discrepancy, however, is found in all cases where the several towns
+are mentioned, as it was quite common to speak of them by the name of
+the principal chief. Thus, Cayuga in 1750 was called Tagayu, from
+Togahayu, the well-known chief sachem; Onondaga was called Canasatago's
+town, etc."
+
+The frequent changes in the positions and names of Indian towns, thus
+well explained and exemplified, will account; for the fact that so few
+of the ancient names in the list which the tenacious memories of the
+record-keepers retained have come down in actual use to modern times.
+The well-known landmark of the Oneida stone seems to have preserved the
+name of the town,--_Onenyute,_ "the projecting rock,"--from which the
+nation derived its usual designation. _Deserokenh_, or, as the Jesuit
+missionaries wrote it, _Techiroguen_, was situated near the outlet of
+the Oneida lake, at the point where the great northern trail crossed
+this outlet. A village of some importance is likely to have been always
+found at or near that locality. The same may be said of _Deyuhhero,_ or
+_Tiohero,_ where the main trail which united all the cantons crossed the
+river outlet of Lake Cayuga.
+
+In other cases, though the identity of names is clear, that of the
+localities is more doubtful. The _Kaneghsadakeh_ of the list, the
+"Hill-side town," may be the _Kanasadaga_ of the Senecas; but, as
+General Clark remarks, the name might have been applied to any town on
+the side of a mountain. In like manner _Deyughsweken_ (or
+_Deyohsweken_), which is said to mean "flowing out," may have been the
+town from which the Oswego river took its name, or a town at the mouth
+of any other river; and _Deyaokenh,_ "the Forks," may have been Tioga,
+or any other village at the junction of two streams. _Fonondese_ ("it is
+a high hill") is perhaps the same name as Onontare, which in
+Charlevoix's map appears as Onnontatacet; [Footnote: See _"Early
+Chapters of Cayuga History,"_ p. 48.] but the name may well have been a
+common one. A few other apparent coincidences might be pointed out; but
+of most of the towns in the list we can only say that no trace remains
+in name or known locality, and that in some cases even the meaning of
+the names has ceased to be remembered. General Clark sums up his
+conclusions on this point in the following words: "They appear to belong
+to a remote--I may say a very remote--age, and not to be referred to any
+particular known localities; and this, as it appears to me, is more to
+the credit of the manuscript as an archaic work."
+
+
+
+
+NOTE F.
+
+THE PRE-ARYAN RACE IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.
+
+
+[The following is the concluding portion of an essay on "Indian
+Migrations, as evidenced by Language," which was read at the Montreal
+meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in
+August, 1882, and published in the "American Antiquarian" for January
+and April, 1883. As the views set forth in this extract have a bearing
+on the subjects discussed in the present work, the author takes the
+opportunity of reproducing them here for the consideration of its
+readers.]
+
+It will be noticed that the evidence of language, and to some extent
+that of tradition, leads to the conclusion that the course of migration
+of the Indian tribes has been from the Atlantic coast westward and
+southward. The Huron-Iroquois tribes had their pristine seat on the
+lower St. Lawrence. The traditions of the Algonkins seem to point to
+Hudson's Bay and the coast of Labrador. The Dakota stock had its oldest
+branch east of the Alleghenies, and possibly (if the Catawba nation
+shall be proved to be of that stock), on the Carolina coast.
+Philologists are well aware that there is nothing in the language of the
+American Indians to favor the conjecture (for it is nothing else) which
+derives the race from eastern Asia. But in western Europe one community
+is known to exist, speaking a language which in its general structure
+manifests a near likeness to the Indian tongues. Alone of all the races
+of the old continent the Basques or Euskarians of northern Spain and
+southwestern France have a speech of that highly complex and
+polysynthetic character which distinguishes the American languages.
+There is not, indeed, any such positive similarity, in words or grammar,
+as would prove a direct affiliation. The likeness is merely in the
+general cast and mould of speech; but this likeness is so marked as to
+have awakened much attention. If the scholars who have noticed it had
+been aware of the facts now adduced with regard to the course of
+migration on this continent, they would probably have been led to the
+conclusion that this similarity in the type of speech was an evidence of
+the unity of race. There seems reason to believe that Europe--at least
+in its southern and western portions--was occupied in early times by a
+race having many of the characteristics, physical and mental, of the
+American aborigines. The evidences which lead to this conclusion are
+well set forth in Dr. Dawson's recent work on "Fossil Man." Of this
+early European people, by some called the Iberian race, who were
+ultimately overwhelmed by the Aryan emigrants from central Asia, the
+Basques are the only survivors that have retained their original
+language; but all the nations of southern Europe, commencing with the
+Greeks, show in their physical and mental traits a large intermixture of
+this aboriginal race. As we advance westward, the evidence of this
+infusion becomes stronger, until in the Celts of France and of the
+British Islands it gives the predominant cast to the character of the
+people. [Footnote: "The Basque may then be the sole surviving relic and
+witness of an aboriginal western European population, dispossessed by
+the intrusive Indo-European tribes. It stands entirely alone, no kindred
+having yet been found for it in any part of the world. It is of an
+exaggeratedly agglutinative type, incorporating into its verb a variety
+of relations which are almost everywhere else expressed by an
+independent word."--"The Basque forms a suitable stepping-stone from
+which to enter the peculiar linguistic domain of the New World, since
+there is no other dialect of the Old World which so much resembles in
+structure the American languages."--Professor Whitney, in _"The Life and
+Growth of Language"_ p. 258.]
+
+If the early population of Europe were really similar to that of
+America, then we may infer that it was composed of many tribes,
+scattered in loose bands over the country, and speaking languages widely
+and sometimes radically different, but all of a polysynthetic structure.
+They were a bold, proud, adventurous people, good hunters and good
+sailors. In the latter respect they were wholly unlike the primitive
+Aryans, who, as was natural in a pastoral people of inland origin, have
+always had in the east a terror of the ocean, and in Europe were, within
+historic times, the clumsiest and least venturous of navigators. If
+communities resembling the Iroquois and the Caribs once inhabited the
+British islands and the western coasts of the adjacent continent, we may
+be sure that their fleets of large canoes, such as have been exhumed
+from the peat-deposits and ancient river-beds of Ireland, Scotland, and
+France, swarmed along all the shores and estuaries of that region.
+Accident or adventure may easily have carried some of them across the
+Atlantic, not merely once, but in many successive emigrations from
+different parts of western Europe. The distance is less than that which
+the canoes of the Polynesians were accustomed to traverse. The
+derivation of the American population from this source presents no
+serious improbability whatever. [Footnote: The distance from Ireland to
+Newfoundland is only sixteen hundred miles. The distance from the
+Sandwich Islands to Tahiti (whence the natives of the former group
+affirm that their ancestors came) is twenty-two hundred miles. The
+distance from the former islands to the Marquesas group, the nearest
+inhabited land, is seventeen hundred miles. The canoes of the Sandwich
+Islands (as we are assured by Ellis, in his _"Polynesian Researches"_)
+"seldom exceed fifty feet in length." In the river-beds of France,
+ancient canoes have been found, exceeding forty feet in length. One was
+more than forty-five feet long, and nearly four feet deep. See the
+particulars in Figuier's _"Primitive Man,"_ Appleton's edit., p. 177.
+See also Prof. D. Wilson's _"Prehistoric Man,"_ 2d edit., p. 102, for a
+full discussion of this question, with instances of long canoe voyages.]
+
+On the theory which seems thus rendered probable, that the early
+Europeans were of the same race as the Indians of America, we are able
+to account for certain characteristics of the modern nations of Europe,
+which would otherwise present to the student of anthropology a
+perplexing problem. The Aryans of Asia, ancient and modern, as we know
+them in the Hindoos, the Persians, and the Armenians, with the evidence
+afforded by their history, their literature and their present condition,
+have always been utterly devoid of the sentiment of political rights.
+The love of freedom is a feeling of which they seem incapable. To humble
+themselves before some superior power--deity, king, or brahmin--seems to
+be with them a natural and overpowering inclination. Next to this
+feeling is the love of contemplation and of abstract reasoning. A dreamy
+life of worship and thought is the highest felicity of the Asiatic
+Aryan. On the other hand, if the ancient Europeans were what the Basques
+and the American Indians are now, they were a people imbued with the
+strongest possible sense of personal independence, and, resulting from
+that, a passion for political freedom. They were also a shrewd,
+practical, observant people, with little taste for abstract reasoning.
+
+It is easy to see that from a mingling of two races of such opposite
+dispositions, a people of mixed character would be formed, very similar
+to that which has existed in Europe since the advent of the Aryan
+emigrants. In eastern Europe, among the Greeks and Sclavonians, where
+the Iberian element would be weakest, the Aryan characteristics of
+reverence and contemplation would be most apparent. As we advance
+westward, among the Latin and Teutonic populations, the sense of
+political rights, the taste for adventure, and the observing, practical
+tendency, would be more and more manifest; until at length, among the
+western Celts, as among the American Indians, the love of freedom would
+become exalted to an almost morbid distrust of all governing authority.
+
+If this theory is correct, the nations of modern Europe have derived
+those traits of character and those institutions which have given them
+their present headship of power and civilization among the peoples of
+the globe, not from their Aryan forefathers, but mainly from this other
+portion of their ancestry, belonging to the earlier population which the
+Aryans overcame and absorbed. That this primitive population was
+tolerably numerous is evident from the fact that the Aryans,
+particularly of the Latin, Teutonic, and Celtic nations lost in
+absorbing it many vocal elements and many grammatical inflections of
+their speech. They gained, at the same time, the self-respect, the love
+of liberty, and the capacity for selfgovernment, which were unknown to
+them in their Asiatic home. Knowing that these characteristics have
+always marked the American race, we need not be surprised when modern
+researches demonstrate the fact that many of our Indian communities have
+had political systems embodying some of the most valuable principles of
+popular government. We shall no longer feel inclined to question the
+truth of the conclusion which has been announced by Carli, Draper, and
+other philosophic investigators, who affirm that the Spaniards, in their
+conquest of Mexico, Yucatan, and Peru, destroyed a better form of
+society than that which they established in its place. The intellectual
+but servile Aryans will cease to attract the undue admiration which they
+have received for qualities not their own; and we shall look with a new
+interest on the remnant of the Indian race, as possibly representing
+this nobler type of man, whose inextinguishable love of freedom has
+evoked the idea of political rights, and has created those institutions
+of regulated self-government by which genuine civilization and progress
+are assured to the world.
+
+
+
+
+CANIENGA GLOSSARY.
+
+
+The following Glossary comprises all the words of the Canienga text. The
+meanings of these words are given as they were, received from the
+interpreters. For most of them these definitions are confirmed by the
+dictionaries of Bruyas and Cuoq. Some of the words, which are either
+archaic forms or peculiar to the Council ceremonies, are not found in
+those dictionaries; and in a few instances the precise purport of these
+words must be considered doubtful. In some cases, also, the force of a
+grammatical inflection or of an affix may not have been correctly
+ascertained; but it is believed that the vocabulary will be found, in
+general, sufficiently accurate to be of service to the student who may
+desire to acquire some knowledge of the Canienga speech.
+
+When the words of John Buck's copy differ in orthography from those of
+the Johnson MS., the former are added in brackets. Words cited from the
+dictionary of Bruyas are distinguished by the letter B; those from the
+lexicon of M. Cuoq by C.
+
+
+A.
+
+Aerengh [orenh], far. _Heren, ahiren_, B., far; _heren, aheren_, C., far
+away.
+
+Aesahhahiyenenhon [ahesahhahiyenennyonhon], if thou hadst fallen (or
+perished) by the way. _Aha, oha, ohaha_, road, path; _gaiennenon_, B.,
+to fall.
+
+Aesayatyenenghdon [ahesayatyenendon], thou mightest have been destroyed.
+_Gaiennenon_, B., to fall; _gaien_nenton_, to cause to fall.
+_Aesaiatienenton_ is in the perf. subj. passive.
+
+Aghsonh, scarcely, hardly, while.
+
+Ai (excl.), hail! oh!
+
+Aihaigh (excl.), hail! ah! oh! More commonly pronounced _haihai_.
+
+Akare, until.
+
+Akayongh [akcayon], ancient. _Akaion_, C., old, ancient, antique.
+
+Akonikonghkahdeh, they are suffering. _Onikonhra_, mind, and _oga'te_,
+B., raw., _i. e._, having a sore mind.
+
+Akotthaghyonnighshon, one who belongs to the Wolf clan. See
+_Sathaghyonnighshon_.
+
+Akwah, indeed, truly, very, yea.
+
+Akwekon, all.
+
+Are, again, sometimes.
+
+Ayakawen, one would have said. _En_, B, to say (perf. subj.).
+
+Ayakaweron, one would have thought. _Eron_, B., to think, to wish.
+
+Ayakotyerenhon, one would be startled, surprised. From _katyeren_, to
+wonder, be startled.
+
+Ayawenhenstokenghske [ayawenhensthokenske], may it be true. _Enon,
+iawennon_, B.,--_iawens_, C., to happen; _togenske_, B., _tokenske_, C.,
+it is true. "May it happen to be true!"
+
+Ayuyeukwaroghthake [ayoyenkwarodake], there might have been tobacco
+smoke (apparent)., _Oienkwa_, C., tobacco; _garst_, B., to smoke (ppf.
+subj.).
+
+
+D.
+
+Da-edewenhheye [dahedewenheyeh], we may all die. _Genheion, genheie_,
+B., to die (subj. mood).
+
+Daghsatkaghthoghseronne [dasatkahthoseronne], thou mightest keep seeing.
+See _Tesatkaghthoghserontyc_. _Tasatkahthoseronne_ (as the word would be
+spelt in modern orthography) appears to be the aorist subjunctive of
+_atkahthos_, to see, in the cislocative and frequentative forms.
+
+Daondayakottondeke, that they may hear. _Athonde_, to hear.
+
+Deghniwenniyu, joint ruler; lit., they two are masters. See _Rawenniyo_.
+
+Deghsewenninekenne, thou mayest speak. See _Entyewenninekenneh_.
+
+Dendewatenonghweradon, in our mutual greetings. See _Dewadadononweronh_.
+
+Denghsatkaghdonnyonheke [densatkatonhnyonsekeh], thou wilt be looking
+about thee. _Atkahthos_, to see.
+
+Denighroghkwayen [dehnihrohkwayen], let us two smoke. _Garoksa_, B.,
+_une pipe, touche de petun_. It is conjectured that the name Iroquois,
+_i. e._, "Tobacco-people," may have been derived from this word. See
+Appendix, Note A.
+
+Dentidewaghneghdoten, we will replace the pine-tree. _Ohnehta_, pine.
+_Oten_, as a suffix (according to M. Cuoq), "serves to express the
+condition, the manner, the kind, the nature of a thing."
+
+Denyakokwatonghsaeke [tenyakokwennhendonghsaeke], he will be dying.
+_Desakkeatouch_, Onon. Dict., I am dying; _kanoneenton_, B., sick.
+
+Denyontadenakarondako, they shall take off his horns. _Onakara_, horn.
+
+Desahahishonne, thou art coming troubled.
+
+Desakaghsereutonyonne, thou comest weeping. _Gagasera_, B., tear.
+
+Desanyatokenh, in thy throat. _Oniata,_ C., throat, neck.
+
+Desawennawenrate, thy voice coming over. From _owenna,_ C., _gauenda_ or
+_gauenna,_ B., voice, speech, word, and _auenron,_ B., to pass over. The
+cislocative prefix _de (te)_ gives the sense of "hither."
+
+Deskenonghweronne [deskenonweronne], I come again to greet and thank.
+_Kannonhueron,_ B., to salute any one; _kannonhueronton,_ to salute or
+thank by, or for, anything. See _ante,_ page 149, for an analysis of
+this word.
+
+Detkanoron [detkanorons], all but, almost. From _kanoron,_ costly,
+important, difficult.
+
+Dewadadenonweronh [dewadatenonweron], mutual greeting. _Kannonhueron,_
+B., to salute any one.
+
+Dewaghsadayenhah, in the shade. _Asatagon,_ B., in secret; _asatakon,_
+C., in the dark.
+
+Deyakodarakeh, the two clans. _Ohtara,_ C., tribe, band. (Dual or
+duplicative form.)
+
+Deyakonakarondon, wearing horns, _i.e.,_ being chiefs. _Onnagara,_ B.,
+horn; _kannagaront,_ having horns; _gannagaronni,_ B., _etre
+considerable._
+
+Deyughnyonkwarakda [deyohnyonkwaraktah], at the wood's edge; near the
+thicket. _Onnionguar,_ B., thorn-bush, bramble; _akta,_ C., beside, near
+to. The word applies to the line of bushes usually found on the border
+between the forest and a clearing. With the cislocative prefix _de_ it
+means "on this side of the thicket."
+
+Deyughsihharaonh [deyohsiharaonh], there is a stoppage. _Gasiharon,_ B.,
+to stop up, to close.
+
+Deyunennyatenyon, hostile agencies, opposing; forces. _Gannenniani,_ B.,
+to surprise or defeat a band; _gannennaton, ib.,_ to seek to destroy.
+
+Deyunhonghdoyenghdonh [deyonhonghdoyendonh], mourning wampum. This word
+appears to be composed of three of Bruyas' radices, viz., _gaionni,_
+wampum belt (_collier de porcelaine_),--_gannonton,_ to throw wampum for
+the dead,--and _gaienton,_ to strike, whence _skaienton,_ to return the
+like, to strike back, and _gaientatonton,_ to give satisfaction for any
+one wounded or killed; and the meaning will be "wampum given as a
+satisfaction or consolation for a death."
+
+Dhatkonkoghdaghkwanyon. [thatkonkohdakwanyon], in going through.
+_Ongoon,_ B., to penetrate, to pass through; _atongotahkon,_ B., the
+place through which one passes.
+
+Doghkara [dohkara], only a few. _Tohkara,_ C., only occasionally, a few,
+a small number of.
+
+Doka, if, perhaps, either, or. _Toka,_ C., or, if; I don't know.
+
+Donghwenghratstanyonne [donwenratstanyonne], coming over. _Asenron,_ B.,
+to pass over.
+
+
+E.
+
+Eghdejisewayadoreghdonh [eghdetsisewayadorehdonh], this ye considered,
+ye deliberated about this. _Kaiatefreton,_ B., to examine, to think, to
+deliberate about anything.
+
+Eghdeshotiyadoreghton, they again considered. (See the preceding word.)
+
+Eghnikatarakeghne [eghnikadarakene], such were the clans. _Ehni--,_ C.,
+for _ethoni,_ there are, so, it is thus that; _ohtara,_ clan, band.
+
+Eghnikouh, thus, in this way.
+
+Eghnonweh, thither, yonder.
+
+Eghtenyontatitenranyon, they will condole with one another, or, there
+will be mutual condolence. _Gentenron,_ B., _kitenre,_ C., to pity any
+one. _Atatitenron,_ B., to deplore one's misery.
+
+Eghyendewasenghte, we will let it fall. _Asenon,_ B., to fall;
+_asenhton, ib.,_ to cause to fall.
+
+Eghyesaotonnihsen, this was his uncle. See _yeshodonnyk._
+
+Endewaghneghdotako, we will pull up a pine tree. From _onehta,_ pine,
+and _gataksan, gatako,_ to draw out, B., _sub voce At._
+
+Enghsitskodake, thou wilt be resting, thou wilt remain. _Gentskote,_ B.,
+to be in any place.
+
+Entyewenninekenneh, the words which will be said. From _Kawenna,_ word
+(q. v.) and _en,_ B., to say.
+
+Enjerennokden (or enyerennokden), they will finish the song; or, the
+hymn will be finished. _Karenna,_ song, hymn; _okte,_ B., the end; to
+finish.
+
+Enjeyewendane [enjewendane], they will be comforted. _Ganeienthon,_ B,
+to be calm. (This word should probably be written _enjeyeweyendane._)
+
+Enjondatenikonghketsko, they will comfort, lit., will raise the mind.
+_Onikonhra,_ mind, spirit, temper, and _gagetskuan,_ B., to raise up.
+
+Enjondentyonko. See _Enyonghdentionko._
+
+Enjonkwakaronny, it will cause us trouble. _Gagaronnion,_ B., to do harm
+to any one, to cause him some loss.
+
+Enjonkwanekheren, we shall suffer a loss. _Wakenekheren,_ C., not to
+know, not to recognize (_i.e._, we shall cease to see some one).
+
+Enskat, one, once.
+
+Entkaghwadasehhon, will be vexed, excited. _Gahuatase,_ B., to twist,
+turn round.
+
+Enwadon, it will be allowed. _Watons,_ fut. _enwaton,_ C., to be
+possible, feasible, allowed.
+
+Enwadonghwenjadethare, will make a hole through the ground. See
+_Onwentsia._
+
+Enyairon, they will say, one will say. From _en,_ B., fut. _egiron,_ to
+say.
+
+Enyakaonkodaghkwe [enyakaonkohdakwe], they shall have passed. _Ongoon,_
+B., to penetrate, pass through; _ongotanni,_ to cause to penetrate, etc.
+
+Enyakodenghte, they (or one) will be miserable. _Genthenteon,_ B., to be
+deserving of pity.
+
+Enyakodokenghse [enyakodokenseh], they (or one) will discover.
+_Gatogenon, gatogens,_ B., to know.
+
+Enyakohetsde [enyakohetste], he (or one) will go on. _Kohetstha,_ C., to
+pass beyond.
+
+Enyakonewarontye, they (or one) will be surprised. _Gannesaron,_ B., to
+surprise.
+
+Enyeharako, they will carry it. _Gaha,_ B., to carry off.
+
+Enyeken, they will see. _Gagen,_ B., to see.
+
+Enyenikonghkwendarake, they will be mourning. _Onikonhra._ (q. v.) and
+_gagsentaron,_ stretched on the ground (_i.e.,_ the mind dejected).
+
+Enyerennokden. See _Enjerennokden._
+
+Enyerighwanendon [enyerihwanondon], they will ask (or, will wonder).
+From _karihwa_ (q. v.) and _gannendon,_ B., to wonder, or _annonton,_ to
+seek. _Garihwanonton,_ B., to ask the news.
+
+Enyerighwawetharho, the business will be closed. _Karihwa_ (q. v.) and
+_otarhon,_ B., to grasp; _kotarhos,_ C., to grasp, to stop by grasping.
+
+Enyonderennoden, they will sing it thus. _Karenna,_ q. v. and--_oten,_
+C., which "serves to express the condition, manner, kind, or nature of a
+thing."
+
+Enyonghdentyonko, he will walk to and fro. _Atention,_ B., to go away.
+
+Enyononghsaniratston, it will strengthen the house. _Kanonsa,_ house,
+and _ganniraton,_ B., to strengthen.
+
+Enyontsdaren, they will weep. _Katstaha,_ C., to weep, to shed tears.
+
+Enyontyerenjiok, they will be startled. From _katyeren,_ to wonder, to
+be surprised.
+
+Enyurighwadatye [enyorihwadatye], it will continue: the affair will go
+on. From _kariwa_ (q. v.) as a verb, in the progressive form and future
+tense.
+
+Etho, thus, so.
+
+Ethone, then.
+
+Ethononweh, thither.
+
+
+H.
+
+Hasekenh, because. _Aseken,_ C., for, because.
+
+Henskerighwatoate [enskerighwatonte], I will frustrate their purposes.
+From _karihwa_ (q. v.) and _atoneton,_ B., to cause to lose, to mislead.
+
+Henyondatsjistayenhaghse [henyondatstsistayenhase], they will hold a
+council, lit., they will make a council fire. From _katsista,_ fire;
+_gatsistaien,_ B., to hold council, to light the council fire.
+
+Hone, also. See _Ony._
+
+
+I.
+
+Ie [iih], I.
+
+Iese [ise], thou, ye.
+
+Iesewengh, ye have said. _En,_ B., to say.
+
+Issy [hissih], yonder, there, _Isi,_ C., there.
+
+
+J.
+
+Jadadeken, thy brother (or brothers). _Tsiatatekenha,_ C., ye two are
+brothers.
+
+Jadakweniyosaon (or jatagweniyosaon), thou wert the ruler, or, ye were
+the rulers. See _Jadakweniyu._
+
+Jadakweniyu, thou art the ruler, or, ye are the rulers. See note to sec.
+28, _ante,_ p. 152.
+
+Jatatawhak, father and son, lit., son of each other. _Gahawak,_ B., to
+have for child (reciprocal form).
+
+Jathondek (or jatthontek), listen! hearken thou. Imperative sing. of
+_kathontats,_ C, _athantaton,_ B., to hear.
+
+Jatthontenyonk, keep listening! continue to hear! The frequentative form
+of _jatthontek._
+
+Ji [tsi], that, that which, wherein. See _Jini._
+
+Jidenghnonhon [jidennon], as, like as. _Tennon,_ C., and also, but.
+
+Jinayawenhon, the consequences, the results, lit. what would happen.
+_Enon,_ B.,--_iawens,_ C, to happen.
+
+Jinesadawen [tsinesadawen]. See _Jinisadawen._
+
+Jini [_tsini_], that which, such, so, so much.
+
+Jinihotiyerenh, what they did. From _Jini_ (q. v.) and
+--_kierha,--wakieren,_ C., to act, do, say. This verb is always preceded
+by some particle, such as _kenni_ (see how), _tsini_ (that which) and
+the like.
+
+Jinikawennakeh, these the words. See _Jini_ and _kawenna._
+
+Jinisayadawen [tsinesayadawenh], that which has befallen you. _Enon,_
+B., to happen; _gaiatasenon,_ to happen to some one.
+
+Jiniyuneghrakwah [tsiniyohnerakwa], this solemn event. _Gonneragoon,_
+B., to wonder; _jonneragsat,_ that is wonderful. See _yuneghrakwah._
+
+Jinonweh [tsinonweh], thither, whereto.
+
+Jiratighrotonghkwakwe [tsiradirohtonhkwakwe], where they used to smoke.
+_Garst,_ B., to smoke; _otonkwa,_ C., flame. "Where they lighted their
+pipes."
+
+Jisanakdade [tsisanakdate], from thy seat. See _Kanakta._
+
+Jiyudakenrokde [tsiodakenrokde], by the fireplace, near the ashes.
+_Akenra_, ashes; _okte_, end, edge.
+
+Jiyathondek, listen! hearken! Imperative dual of _kathontats_, I hear.
+See _Jathondek_.
+
+Jodenaghstahhere, they made additions to a house; they added a frame.
+_Gannasta_, B., poles for making a house; _onasta_, C., a framework;
+_kaheren_, B. to be upon.
+
+Joskawayendon, there is again wilderness, waste ground. _Gaienthon_, B.,
+to have fields.
+
+
+K.
+
+Kadon, I say, I speak. _Igatonk_ (_sub voce En_), B., I say; _katon_,
+C., to say.
+
+Kady [kadi], therefore, then. _Kati_, C., then, consequently.
+
+Kadykenh, because. See _Katykenh_.
+
+Kaghnekonyon, floods. From _ohneka_, water, in the frequentative form.
+_Gannegonnion_, B., there is much water.
+
+Kaghyaton, it is written. _Kiatons_, C., to write. M. Cuoq says: "the
+perfect participle takes an _h: kahiaton_, written, it is written."
+_Gaiatare_, B., to paint.
+
+Kajatthondek, listen! See _Jathondek_.
+
+Kakeghrondakwe, they were collected; were assembled. _Gageron_, B., to
+be together, or, to put things or persons somewhere.
+
+Kanaghsdajikowah [kanastatsikowah], great framework, great building.
+From _kanasta_, frame, and _kowa_, great.
+
+Kanakaryonniha, on a pole. _Gannagare_, B., pole, long stick.
+
+Kanakdakwenniyukeh, on the principal seat. From _kanakta_ (q. v.) and
+_atakwenniio,_ C, principal.
+
+Kanakdiyuhake, the place (or seat) may be good. From _kanakta,_ place,
+seat, and--_iyu,_ good (subjunctive mood).
+
+Kanakta, mat,--hence couch, bed, seat, place.
+
+Kaneka, where, somewhere.
+
+Kanekhere, I believe, I suppose; surely, certainly. Probably from _eron,
+igere,_ B., to think, or suppose.
+
+Kanhonghdakdeh [kanonhdakdeh], by the wall, or side of the house.
+_Onnhonta,_ wall of house, of a cabin; _akte,_ beside, athwart.
+
+Kanikonrashon, the minds, a plural form of _Onikonhra_ (q.v.)
+
+Kanikonrakeh, in mind. See _Onikonhra._
+
+Kanonghsakdatye [kanonsakdatye], outside the house. _Kanonsakta,_ near
+the house; from _Kanonsa,_ house, and _akta,_ near, beside. The
+progressive affix _tye_ gives the meaning of "passing near the house."
+
+Kanonghsakonshon [kanonsakonshon], in the house.
+
+Kanonsa, house.
+
+Kanoron, important, valuable, serious, difficult, painful, afflicting.
+
+Karenna, song, hymn, chant.
+
+Karighwakayonh, in ancient times. From _Karihwa_ (q. v.), and _akaion_,
+old. See _Orighwakayongh._
+
+Karighwatchkwenh [karihwahtehkonh], this word, which the interpreters
+rendered simply ceremony, probably means "the fire-kindling act," from
+_Karihwa_ (q. v.), and _atchken,_ or _atekha_ (_ategen, ateza,_ B.), to
+burn.
+
+Karihwa or karighwa (_garihsa,_ B., _kariwa, oriwa,_ C.), thing, affair,
+business, action, news, word. This word, in its root-form of _rihwa_
+(_riwa_) or _rihow_ enters largely into compounds having reference to
+business, law, office, news, belief, and the like.
+
+Karonta, tree, log, trunk, post.
+
+Kathonghnonweh [kathonnonweh], I fail, I lose my way. _Atonon_, B., to
+lose one's self, to go astray.
+
+Kathonghdeh, away, out of sight. _Atonhton_, B. (sub voce _atonon_), to
+cause to lose, to mislead.
+
+Katykenh [kadikenh], how then? _Kati_, C., then (done); _ken_,
+interrogative particle.
+
+Kawenna (_gauenda, gattenna_, B.; _owenna_, C.), word, voice, language,
+speech.
+
+Kayanerenh, peace, goodness, justice, law, league. _Wakianere,
+ioianere_, C., to be good, right, proper (_i.e._, noble); _roianer_, he
+is a chief. _Kaianerensera_, law, government, rule, decree, ordinance.
+See _ante_, p. 33.
+
+Kayanerenghkowa, great peace, great law, the great league. _Kayanerenh_
+(q. v.) and _kowa_, great.
+
+Kehaghshonha, kehhasaonhah, recent, lately.
+
+Ken (for kento) here.
+
+Kendenyethirentyonnite, here we will place them. See _Kenderentyonnih_.
+
+Kenderentyonnih, this is lying here. Probably from _Garenton_, B., to
+hang down, and _ionni_, to be extended or laid out.
+
+Kendonsayedane (?) returning here, (qu., pausing here). _Gasaien_, B.,
+to be slow; _gasaiatanne_, to make slow.
+
+Kenenyohdatyadawenghdate, one shall be murdered here. _Aaenthon_, B., to
+kill; _Katawenthos_, C, to kill many people, to massacre.
+
+Kenhendewaghnatatsherodarho, we will attach a pouch. _Gannata_, B.,
+little bag; _otarhon_, to grasp.
+
+Kenkaghnekonyon, here floods. See _kaghnekonyon_.
+
+Kenkarenyakehrondonhah, being hidden here among logs. _Gagarennion_, B.,
+to remove away; _Karonta_, tree, log.
+
+Kenkine [kenki], thus, in this way.
+
+Kenkisenh [kenhkense], thus, in this way.
+
+Kenkontifaghsoton, here things lying in ambush.
+
+Kenne, thus.
+
+Kennikanaghsesha, small strings of wampum. _Kenni--ha_, C., small,
+_kanahses_, (?) a string of wampum.
+
+Kensane, but, however.
+
+Kentekaghronghwanyon [kondekahronwanyon], here obstacles. _Garonhon_,
+B., to place (or to be) athwart.
+
+Kentewaghsatayenha, here in the dark. _Asatagon_, C., in the darkness;
+_asatagon_, B., in secret.
+
+Kenteyurhoton, here to this opening (or cleared space in a forest).
+_Karha_, forest.
+
+Kenthoh (_kento_, C.), here.
+
+Kenwaseraketotanese, here the uplifted hatchet, From _ken_, here,
+_wasera (asera, osera)_, hatchet, and _gagetut_, B., to be shown, to
+appear above.
+
+Kenwedewayen, we place it here. From _ken_, here, and _gaien_, B., to
+put in any place.
+
+Kenyoteranentenyonhah, there is a crevice here. From _ken_, here, and
+_ateronnonte_, B., having space, or showing light between two things not
+well joined.
+
+Kenyutnyonkwaratonnyon, here many thorns. From _ken_, here, and
+_onniongar_, B., thorns, brambles. The word is in the frequentative
+form.
+
+Konnerhonyon [konneronyon], they keep thinking. _Eron_, B., to think, to
+will. (Frequentative form.)
+
+Konyennetaghkwen [konyennedaghkwen], my child, my offspring. From
+_ennet_, B., to hold an infant in one's bosom. "_Gonyennetakan_, says
+the Canienga to the Oneida," B. _Konyennetakkwen_ is properly a verb of
+the third conjugation, in the imperfect tense, and the 1:2 transition:
+"I nursed thee as a child." Here it is used idiomatically as a noun.
+
+Kowa, kowane, great.
+
+
+N.
+
+Nadehhadihne, it was their number. See _Natejonhne_.
+
+Nadekakaghneronnyonghkwe [nedekakanneronnyonkwe], it was commonly looked
+at. _Kagannere_, B., to see (frequentative form, imperfect tense).
+
+Nai (exclam.), hail! oh! ah! (It is the exclamation _ai_ or _hai_, with
+the particle _ne_ prefixed.)
+
+Nakonikonra, their mind. See _Onikonhra_.
+
+Nakwah, (?) indeed. See _Akwah_.
+
+Natehotiyadoreghtonh, they decided on. _Kajatoreton_, B., to examine,
+think, deliberate about anything.
+
+Natejonhne, it was your number; this was the size of your class.
+_Teionihes_, C., large, wide; "_ken ok nateionhes_, not larger than
+that."
+
+Nayakoghstonde [nayakostonde], by reason of, the pretext being.
+_Gastonton_, B., to make a pretext of anything.
+
+Nayawenh, it may be. _Enon, yawenon_, B.,--_iawens_, C., to happen. See
+_Nenyawenne_.
+
+Nayeghnyasakenradake,(?) having a white neck. _Onniasa_, B., neck;
+_gagenrat_, B., white.
+
+Ne, the, this, that, who, which (rel.). A demonstrative and relative
+particle, variously used, but always giving a certain emphasis to the
+word which it precedes.
+
+Nedens, either, or.
+
+Nekenne (or _ne kenh ne_), thus.
+
+Nene, the, this, that, these, those, etc. (an emphatic reduplication of
+_ne_).
+
+Nenyakoranne, they will keep on, persist, go so far as. _Garaon,
+garannne_, B., to find any one; _keras, kerane_, C., to approach any
+one, to come to him.
+
+Nenyawenne, it may be; it will happen; it shall be done. Future of
+_Nayawenh_, q. v.
+
+Nenyerighwanendon, they will inquire. See _Enyerighwanendon_.
+
+Neok, nok, and, also. (Contracted from _ne_ and _ok_.)
+
+Neony [neoni], also. See _Ne_ and _Oni_.
+
+Niateweghniserakeh, every day. From _niate_, each, every, and
+_wehnisera_, (or _wennisera_) day, with the locative participle _ke_.
+
+Nitthatirighwayerathaghwe [nithariwayerathakwe], they used to do the
+work. From _karihwa_, business, and _gaieren_, B., to do. (Imperfect
+tense.)
+
+Nityakwenontonh, they search, inquire, pry into. _Annonton, gannenton_,
+B., to seek, search, interrogate.
+
+Niutercnhhatye (?) it was startling. From _katyeren_, to wonder, to be
+startled.
+
+Niwa, extent, size, number.
+
+Niyakoghswathah, they are mischievous, troublesome. _Gasaton_, B., _etre
+mechant_.
+
+Niyawehkowa [niawenhkowa], great thanks. _Niawen_, C., thanks; _kowa_,
+great.
+
+Niyawennonh, it happened. See _Nayawenh_.
+
+Niyenhhenwe [niyenhhenwe], in the future.--_nenwe_ relates to the
+future, C.
+
+Niyieskahhaghs, being borne. _Gaha_, B., to carry away.
+
+Niyonsakahhawe, he is carried. _Gahawi_, B., to bring.
+
+Noghnaken, hereafter, afterwards, in later times. See _Oghnaken_.
+
+Nonkenh, it may be. _Enon_, B., to happen.
+
+Nonkwaderesera, our grandchildren. See _Saderesera_.
+
+Nonwa, now.
+
+Nyare, while, previously. _Niare_, C., beforehand.
+
+
+O.
+
+Oghentonh, in the first place, foremost, firstly. _Gahenton_, B., to go
+first; _ohenton_, C, before, foremost, formerly.
+
+Oghnaken [onaken], afterwards. _Ohnaken_, C., behind, backwards,
+afterwards.
+
+Oghniyawenhonh, what has happened. From _ohni_, C., what? and _iawens_,
+to happen.
+
+Oghnonekenh, dismayed (?) _Kannonhiannion_, B., to fear, to be alarmed.
+
+Oghseronnih [onhseronni]; together. _Oseronni_, C., together.
+
+Oghsonteraghkowa [aghsonderahkowah], disease, pestilence.
+
+Ohhendonh; see _Oghentonh_.
+
+Ok, and, also, indeed.
+
+Okaghserakonh [okaserakonh], an tears. _Gagasera_, B., tears.
+
+Okaghsery [okaseri], tears. _Okaseri_, C., tear, from _Okahra_, eye, and
+_keri_, liquid.
+
+Onakara, horn.
+
+Onekwenghdarihenh, in crimson (_i. e._, in blood). _Onigentara,_ B.,
+red; onnigensa, blood.
+
+Onenh [onen]. Now; at last; finally.
+
+Onghteh [onhteh], perhaps, probably.
+
+Onghwa, now, at present. _Onwa_, C., now. (Same as _Nonwa_.)
+
+Onghwajok, presently.
+
+Onghwenjakonh [onwenjakon], into the earth. See _Onwentsia._
+
+Onidatkon, deadly.
+
+Onikonhra, mind, character, disposition, thought, opinion, sentiment.
+_Gandigonra_, B., _esprit, pensee_.
+
+Onkwaghsotshera [onkwasotsera], our forefathers. The root is _sot_,
+meaning grandparent. _Rak'sotha_, C., my grandfather; _ak'sotha_, my
+grandmother; _onkwa_, our; _sera_, the "crement," generalizing the word.
+
+Onkwaghsotsherashonhkenha, our deceased forefathers. See
+_Onkwaghsotshera, Shon (son)_ is the plural suffix; _kenha_, deceased,
+"the late" (the French _feu_).
+
+Onok, and, and then. See _Ony, Ok_ and _Neok_.
+
+Onokna, and then.
+
+Onwa, now. See _Onghwa_.
+
+Onwentsia, earth, land, field, ground.
+
+Ony [oni], also. See _Neony_.
+
+Orighokonha, few words. From _karihwa_ (q. v.), and _okonha_, an affix
+indicating a restricted plural.
+
+Orighwakayongh [oriwakayon], in ancient times. See _Karihwa_ and
+_Akayongh_.
+
+Orighwakwekonh [oriwakwekon], all business, all matters, all the rules.
+See _Karihwa_ and _Akwekon_.
+
+Owenna. See _Kawenna_.
+
+Oya [oyah], another, another thing.
+
+Oyata (or oyada), body, person, some one, self. _Oiata_, C., body,
+person; _gaiata_, B., living thing.
+
+Oyenkondonh, men, warriors (obsolete).
+
+
+R.
+
+Radiyats. See _Ratiyats_.
+
+Rakowanenh, he is chief (lit. he is a great one). From _kowanen_, to be
+great; root, _kowa_, great.
+
+Ranyaghdenghshon [ranyadenhshon], he is of the Tortoise clan.
+_Keniahten, C., to be of the Tortoise band.
+
+Ratikowanenghskwe, they were great. 3d person, plural, imperfect of
+_kowanen,_ to be great. See _Rakowanenh._
+
+Ratiyanarenyon [radiyanaronnyon], their many footmarks, or traces.
+_Gaianna,_ B., _oiana,_ C, track, trace (frequentative form).
+_Gaiannaronyon,_ B., there are many tracks.
+
+Ratiyats, they call it. 3d person, plural, of _Gaiason,_ B., to name, to
+call.
+
+Raweghniseronnyh [rawenniseronni], he appoints (lit. makes) the day.
+From _weghnisera,_ day, and _konnis,_ C., to make.
+
+Rawenniyo [rawenniyoh], God (lit. he is a master). _Keweniio,_ C., to be
+master. See Appendix, note B.
+
+Raxhottahyh, my forefathers. _Rak sotha,_ C., my grandfather.
+
+Roghskenrakeghdekowah, he is a war-chief. _Oskera,_ C., war;
+_roskenrakehte,_ warrior; _kowa,_ great.
+
+Rodighskenrakeghdethaghkwe [rodiskenrakedetahkwe], they were warriors.
+3d pers. pl. imperfect of _roskenrakehte,_ he is a warrior.
+
+Rokhawah, his son. _Gahaak,_ B., to have for child; _nihaak,_ my child.
+
+Rokwahhokowah, he is the great wolf. _Okwaho,_ wolf; _kowa,_ great.
+
+Ronarasehsen, they are cousins. See _Yeshonarase._
+
+Ronatennossendonghkwe [rondennoshentonhkwe], they used to meet (lit., to
+fraternize). 3d pers. pl. imperfect of _atennossen,_ to be brother and
+sister.
+
+Ronenh, they said. _En,_ B. to say (used only in the preterite).
+
+Roneronh, they thought. _Eron,_ B., to think.
+
+Ronkeghsotah, my forefathers. See _Onkwaghsotshera_ and _Raxhottahyh._
+
+Roskerewake, he is of the Bear clan. _Akskerewake_, C., to be of the
+band of the Bear.
+
+Rotirighwison, they made the rule, they decided. See _Karihwa_.
+_Gariheison_; B., to finish a matter, to conclude.
+
+
+S.
+
+Saderesera, thy grandchildren. _Atere_, grandchild; _sera_, the crement,
+generalizing the word. See _Onkwaghsotshera_.
+
+Sahondakon, in thy ears. _Ahonta_, B., ear.
+
+Sanekenh, although, yet, nevertheless.
+
+Sanekherenhonh, thou art losing.
+
+Sanheghtyensera, thy women, thy womankind. _Gannhetien_, B., woman;
+_sera_, the generalizing affix. See _Saderesera_.
+
+Sanikonra, thy mind. See _Onikonhra_.
+
+Sathaghyonnishon, thou art of the Wolf clan. _Tahionni_, one of the Wolf
+clan.
+
+Senirighwisaanonghkwe, ye two were the founders. See
+_Sewarighwisaanonghkwe_.
+
+Seniyatagweniyohkwe, ye two were the principals. See _Jadakweniyu_; the
+affix _kwe_ indicates the past tense.
+
+Sewarighwisaanonghkwe [sewarihwisahanonkwe], ye established, ye were the
+founders. From _karihwa_, q. v., and _gason_, B., to finish, to
+consummate. _Garihwisaani_, B., to accomplish a work, to complete a
+business.
+
+Sewatarighwakhaonghkwe, ye were combined in the work, ye joined heartily
+in the business. From _karihwa_, (q. v.) and _gagaon_, B., to find good;
+_gariheagaon_, B., to like the affair.
+
+Seweghne [sewenghne], ye said. _En_, B., to say.
+
+Seweghniserathagh, for a time, lit, for a day. See _Weghniserade._
+
+Seweryenghskwe, ye who were comrades. (?) Probably from _Oeri,_ C.,
+friend, comrade,--here a verb in the imperfect tense.
+
+Shehaweh [shehawa], thy child, or children. See _Rohhawah._
+
+Shekonh, yet, still. _Sekon,_ C., still, moreover.
+
+Shihonadewiraratye, they with their children (lit., they kept on
+producing young ones). From _yodewirare,_ a fowl hatching.
+
+Skaendayendon, again a waste place. _Oyente,_ B., woods; _gaienthon,_ to
+have fields. (Reiterative form).
+
+Skarenhesekowah, a lofty tree; lit., a great tree-top. From _garenha,_
+B., tree-top, _ese_ (suffix) long, high, and _kowa,_ great.
+
+Skennen, well, easily, peacefully, pleasantly.
+
+Skennenji, quite well, very peacefully, safely. From _skennen_ and
+_tsi,_ C. an augmentative affix.
+
+
+T.
+
+Tehhodidarakeh, the two clans. See _Tekadarakehne._
+
+Tehotyatakarorenh, acting in two capacities (lit., a person divided).
+From _oiata,_ person, and _tioren,_ B., to split.
+
+Tekadarakehne, there were two clans, or, of the two clans. From _otara_
+or _katara,_ clan or totem (in the reduplicate form and past tense).
+
+Tesatkaghthoghserontye [tesatkahthohserontye], thou sawest in coming.
+_Katkathos,_ C., to see, look. The cislocative, frequentative, and
+progressive forms are all combined in this expressive word--"you kept
+seeing as you came."
+
+Thadenyedane (?), he will stand. _Gataon,_ B., to raise himself upright.
+
+Thadenseghsatkaghthonnyonheke [thadensehsatkatonnyonheke], thou mayest
+look about thee. _Katkathos,_ C., to look (frequentative form,
+subjunctive mood).
+
+Thadetyatroghkwanekenh, let us two smoke together, From _garoksa,_ B.,
+_kahrokwa,_ C, a pipe. Bruyas gives the derivative form
+_tsatrokoannegen,_ but does not explain it; it evidently means, "let us
+(pl.) smoke together."
+
+Thensadondeke, thou wilt hear. _Athonte, athontaton,_ B., _kathontats,_
+C., to hear, obey, consent.
+
+Thienkahhawe, will carry. _Gahawi,_ B., to bring.
+
+Thisayatatirhehon [thisayadadirhehon], thou arrivest.
+
+Thisennekwakenry, thou art sitting in blood. _Gannegse,_ B., blood, and
+_gagenrion,_ to roll, to wallow.
+
+Thiwakwekonh [ohtihwakwekonh], all around.
+
+Thiyaensayeken, they will see it again. _Gagen,_ B., to see.
+
+Thiyenjidewatyenghsaeke [thienjidewatyenseke], we shall have reached
+home; lit., we shall have taken a seat. _Atient, atien,_ B., to sit
+down.
+
+Tsini; see _Jini._
+
+Tsisaronkatah, thy hearing. _Arongen,_ B., to hear, to listen;
+_arongaton,_ B., to hear by anything.
+
+Tyewenninekenne, he will speak some words. See _Entyewenninekenneh._
+
+Tyeyadakeron, bodies are lying. _Oyata,_ body; _gageron,_ B., to be in
+any place.
+
+Tyoghnawatenghjihonh [dyonawaghdehtsihonh], a swift current. _Ohnawa,_
+C., current, swift stream of water; _gannasteton,_ B., swift river;
+_tsihon,_ an augmentative suffix,--"exceedingly swift."
+
+
+W.
+
+Waahkwadewayendonh, taking care, carefully. _Ateseyenton,_ B., to take
+care, to do well.
+
+Waghontenhnonterontye, or Wahhondennonterontye, they were as brothers
+thenceforth. _Atennonteron_, to be brothers. The word is in the aorist
+indicative, 3d pers. pl., progressive form (indicated by the termination
+_tye_).
+
+Wahhoronghyaronnon, he put away the clouds. From _aronhia_, sky, heaven,
+cloud.
+
+Wakarighwakayone [wakarihwakayonne], it has become old. See
+_Karighwakayonh_.
+
+Wakatyerenkowa, I was greatly surprised. From _katyeren_, to wonder, or
+be startled, and _kowa_, greatly.
+
+Wakonnyh [wakonnikih], woman, womankind. (Obsolete.)
+
+Wakwenekwenghdarokwanyon, we have washed off the bloodstains.
+_Garagsentara_, B., blood, and _garagsan_, to take away, or
+_garagsegan_, to efface.
+
+Wakwennyonkoghde, I have stopped for you (as tears). Probably from
+_ganniong_, B., the nose; _kannionkon_, to bleed from the nose, _i.e._,
+flowing from the nose.
+
+Watidewennakarondonyon, we have put the horns on him (_i.e._, made him a
+chief). _Onnagara_, B., horn; _gannagaronni_, B., _etre considerable_.
+
+Watyakwasiharako, we have removed the obstruction, we have unstopped.
+_Gasiharongsan_, B., to unstop (_desboucher_).
+
+Watyonkwentendane, we have become wretched, or poor. _GenOenteon_, B.,
+to be worthy of compassion.
+
+Wedeweyennendane (see under Wete--).
+
+Wedewennakeraghdanyon (see under Wete--).
+
+Weghniserade [wenniserade], to-day. _Enniscra_, B., day; _nonwa
+wenniserate_, C., to-day.
+
+Wetewayennendane, we have finished. _Gaweyennentaon_, B., to rest, to
+cease from working.
+
+Wetewennakeraghdanyon [wedewennakeratanyon], we have made the signs, we
+have gone through the ceremonies. _Ganneraton_, B., "_se servir de
+regle_."
+
+
+Y.
+
+Yadayakonakarondatye, he may be going with horns. From _onakara_, horn
+(progressive form, subjunctive mood).
+
+Yadehninhohhanonghne, they two guarded the door, they two were the
+doorkeepers. _Gannhoha_, B., door; _gannonna_, to guard.
+
+Yaghdekakoghsonde [yaghdegagonhsonde], invisible, (lit., without face);
+from _yahte_, not, and _kakonhsa_ (_okonsa_) face.
+
+Yaghnonwenh, never. _Iah-nonwenton_, C., never. From _Iah_ (_yah_) not,
+and _nonwa_ or _onwa_, now.
+
+Yakwenronh, we say. _En_, B., to say.
+
+Yatehhotinhohhataghkwen, they were together at the doorway (_i. e._,
+they were the doorkeepers). _Gannhoha_, B., door; _atakon_, B. (_sub
+voce At_), "_ce dans quoi il y a_."
+
+Yatenkarighwentaseron, to finish the business. From _karihwa_ (q. v.)
+and _awentas_, to finish.
+
+Yejisewahhawitonh, ye have taken it with you. _Gahal_, B., to bring;
+_gahalton_, to take away.
+
+Yejisewatkonseraghkwanyon, ye have it as a pillow. _Esakonseraka_, B.,
+thou wilt use as a pillow.
+
+Yejisewayadkeron [yetsisewayatakeron], ye are laid together. _Gageron_,
+B., to be together, to place together.
+
+Yejodenaghstahhere, they added a frame. See _Jodennaghstahhere._
+
+Yendewanaghsende, we will drop (or let fall) into it. _Asenon_ (?), B.,
+to fall; _asenhton,_ to cause to fall.
+
+Yenjontahidah, they will follow. _Gatazori, gatazi,_ B., to run.
+
+Yenyontatenoutshine, they are to be led by the hand. Probably from
+_gannonna,_ B., to keep, and _atsi,_ comrade.
+
+Yenyontatideron, they shall be placed. _Genteron,_ B., to put any
+animate thing in any place.
+
+Yeshodonnyh, or Yeshotonnyh, his uncle (properly, "his father's younger
+brother"); also, as pl., his uncles. _'Atonni,_ C., a relative on the
+father's side. The prefix _yes,_ in which the signs of the translocative
+and reiterative forms are combined, gives the sense of "the next younger
+(uncle) but one."
+
+Yeshohawah, or Yeshohawak, his next younger child but one. See
+_Rohhawah,_ and _Yeshodonnyh._
+
+Yeshonadadekenah, or Yeshondadekenah, they are brothers. _Rontatekenha,_
+C., they are brothers together. This word is made up of the prefix _ye,_
+the sign of the translocative form; _s,_ of the reiterative form (see
+_Yeshodonnyh_); _ron_ or _rona,_ the plural pronoun (they); _tate,_ the
+sign of the reciprocal form; _ken,_ younger brother; and _ha,_ an
+affectionate diminutive affix, generally added to words expressing
+relationship.
+
+Yeshonarase, his second cousin (lit., they are cousins). _Arase,_
+cousin. See _Yeshodonnyh._
+
+Yeshonaraseshen, he was their cousin. See _Yeshonarase._
+
+Yeshotiriwayen, they have again referred the business. From _karihwa,_
+q. v.
+
+Yetsisewanenyadanyon, ye are in your graves. Perhaps from _onenya_,
+stone,--ye are under the stones.
+
+Yetsisewanonwadaryon, ye have taken your intellects (lit., brains) with
+you. _Ononwara_, C., brain, head.
+
+Yetsisewennitskagwanion, ye have placed it under you. _Ennitskare_, B.,
+to be seated on anything.
+
+Yondonghs, it is called; they call it. _Katon_, C., to say.
+
+Yonkwakaronny, they are wasting, or injuring, us. _Gagaronnion_, B., to
+do harm to any one; to cause him some loss.
+
+Yonkwanikonghtaghkwenne [yonkwennikondakwenne], we depended on them.
+
+Yontkwatkennison, we are assembled. _Atkennison_, B., to be assembled.
+
+Yotdakarahon [yotdarahon], things falling on one. _Ga'raon_, B., to
+fall upon.
+
+Yoyanere, it is good, it is well. From the root _yaner_, noble. See
+_Kayancrenh_.
+
+Yuneghrakwah, solemn event. See _Jiniyuneghrakwah_.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+(_Names of authors are printed in small capitals; of races and tribes in
+italic._)
+
+  Adoption of conquered Enemies
+
+  _Agnier,_ French for Canienga
+
+  Akahenyonk, Cayuga chief, Tekahenyonk in chant
+
+  _Algonkin_ stock
+
+  _Algonkins,_ a nomadic people,
+    their war with the Alligewi,
+    friendly to the Hurons,
+    western (Ojibways),
+    the Lenapes,
+
+  Allegheny mountains
+
+  Allegheny river
+
+  Alliances of Iroquois
+
+  _Alligewi,_ or Moundbuilders
+
+  _Andastes,_ or _Conestogas,_
+    among the Iroquois
+
+  _Aryans,_ their character,
+    in Europe and Asia
+
+  Ataensic, a Huron divinity
+
+  Atotarho, Onondaga chief,
+    meaning of name,
+    his opposition to Hiawatha,
+    joins the League,
+    myths relating to,
+    political kinship,
+    legend of poisonous bird,
+    story of Hiawatha's daughter,
+    his name in the chant,
+    his aids in council,
+    succession of Atotarhos,
+
+  _Attiwandaronks,_ or _Neutrals,_
+    their country,
+    their history,
+    among the Hurons,
+    their mortuary customs,
+    cause of their overthrow,
+
+
+  Ball clan,
+
+  _Basques,_ their language,
+    their character
+
+  Bear clan
+
+  Bearfoot, Rev. Isaac
+
+  Beaver clan
+
+  Book of Rites,
+    its contents,
+    its origin,
+    its name,
+    addresses of condolence,
+    Canienga text,
+    translation,
+    Onandaga book,
+    translation,
+    notes on Canienga book,
+    notes on Onondaga book
+
+  Brant, Joseph
+
+  BREBEUF, on the Huron character
+
+  BRINTOS, D. G.
+
+  BRUYAS, his Iroquois dictionary
+
+  Buck, George, Onondaga chief
+
+  Buck, Chief John
+
+
+  Canandaigua, Lake
+
+  Canasatego, Onondaga chief,
+    rebukes the Delawares
+
+  _Canienga,_ meaning of
+
+  _Caniengas,_ or _Mokawks,_
+    their country,
+    their language,
+    the oldest Iroquois nation,
+    war with Mohegans,
+    their ancient chiefs
+
+  _Caniengas_, remove to Canada
+    their clans
+    their name in council
+    their councillors
+    their towns
+
+  Canoe voyages
+
+  Cartier, J.
+
+  CATLIN, G.
+
+  _Cayuga_, meaning not known
+
+  Cayuga Lake
+
+  _Cayugas_, their country
+    their origin
+    assailed by Atotarho
+    join the League
+    remove to Canada
+    their clans
+    a "younger nation"
+    their name in council
+    their councillors
+    their towns
+
+  Champlain in the Huron country
+    assails the Iroquois
+
+  Champlain, Lake
+
+  _Ckerokees_
+    their language
+    reject the League
+
+  _Chicasas_
+
+  Chief, office of
+    installation of
+    succession of
+    war-chief
+
+  Chief matron, her function
+
+  _Chippeways_, See _Ojibways_,
+
+  _Choctaws_
+
+  Clans, Iroquois
+    origin of
+    number of
+    See _Ball, Bear, Beaver, Deer, Eel, Hawk, Heron,
+           Snake, Snipe, Tortoise, Wolf_,
+
+  CLARK, J. S.
+
+  CLARKE, P. D.
+
+  CLARKE, J. V. H.
+
+  Classes in Council
+
+  Colden, C.
+
+  Condoling council
+    proceedings in
+
+  Condoling song
+    explanation of
+    text of
+    versified
+
+  _Conestogas_, See _Andastes_,
+
+  Confederacy, See _Iroquois_ and _League_,
+
+  Conquered tribes, treatment of
+
+  Convention of Founders
+
+  Council of League
+    its formation
+    number of members
+    unanimity required
+    classes in
+    induction of members
+    held at Onondaga in 1657
+    composing quarrels
+    held in Philadelphia in 1742
+
+  Council Fire
+
+  Councillors
+    number of
+    how selected
+    name of
+    list of
+    clans and classes of
+
+  COPWAY, G.
+
+  _Credit River Indians_
+
+  Cruelties of Indians
+    of civilized nations
+
+  CUOQ, J. A.
+    his philological works
+    his Iroquois dictionary
+
+  Cusick, Albert
+
+  CUSICK, D.
+
+
+  DAWSON, J. W.
+
+  David of Schoharie
+
+  Deer clan
+
+  Dekanawidah, Canienga chief
+    his origin
+    joins Hiawatha
+    has no successor
+    his claims as founder
+
+  _Delawares_, or _Lenapes_
+    their clans
+    their subjection
+    a band received into the League
+
+  DE SCHWEINITZ, E.
+
+  _Doorkeepers_ (_Senecas_)
+
+
+  Eel clan
+
+  Elder nations
+
+  ELLIS, "Polynesian Researches"
+
+  Era of Iroquois confederacy
+
+  Erie, Lake
+
+  _Eries_, a Huron-Iroquois nation
+    their origin
+    their overthrow
+    among the Iroquois
+
+  _Euskarians_, or _Basques_
+
+
+  Feast of the Dead
+
+  Female suffrage
+
+  Fidelity to allies
+
+  FIGUIER, L.
+
+  _Five Nations_, See _Iroquois_
+
+  Founders of League
+
+  Funeral usages
+
+
+  Genesee river
+
+  Georgian bay
+
+  Grand River Reserve
+
+  _Great-Tree People_ (_Oneidas_)
+
+  _Great-Pipe People_ (_Cayugas_)
+
+  Greenhalgh at Onondaga
+
+
+  Hawk clan
+
+  HAWLEY, C.
+
+  Hayonwatha, See _Hiawatha_
+
+  HECKEWELDER, J.
+
+  Heron clan
+
+  Hiawatha, his history
+    meaning of name
+    orthography of name
+    his projected league
+    his flight to the Caniengas
+    reception by Dekanawidah
+    made a Canienga chief
+    myths relating to his reforms
+    his motives
+    his name in the chant
+    his daughter
+    his white canoe
+
+  Hill, Abram, Oneida chief
+
+  Historical chant
+
+  Historical traditions
+    framers of the League
+    Hiawatha's daughter
+
+  Hochelaga
+
+  Horns, as insignia
+    origin of custom
+
+  Horse clan
+
+  Hudson, voyage of
+
+  Hudson river
+
+  _Huron-Iroquois nations_
+    their original country
+    war with the Alligewi
+    their dispersion
+
+  _Hurons_, or _Wyandots_
+    their history
+    among the Iroquois
+    their mortuary customs
+    their deities
+    their character
+    their flight to the Ojibways
+    cause of their overthrow
+    their language
+
+  Hymn, national, See _Condoling Song_
+
+
+  _Iberians_
+
+  Indian character misconception of
+
+  Indian social system
+
+  Indians and whites
+
+  Installation of chiefs
+
+  Iroquois, their country
+    when first known to whites
+     [Footnote: The date as printed is an error.
+                "Sixteenth century" should be "seventeenth."]
+    their migrations
+    conquer the Eries
+    expel the Hurons
+    conquer the Attiwandaronks
+    their League
+    formation of League
+    date of the confederacy
+    name of League
+    League broken up
+
+  Iroquois, in Canada,
+    their towns, See _Towns, Iroquois,_
+    their clans, See _Clans, Iroquois,_
+    their classes, See _Classes in Council,_
+    their national hymn, See _Condoling Song,_
+    their women,
+    their chiefs, succession of,
+    their chief divinity,
+    their character,
+    their love of peace,
+    their foreign policy,
+    object of their League,
+    their alliances,
+    causes of their wars,
+    treatment of subject tribes,
+    adoption of enemies,
+    their language, See _Language, Iroquois,_
+    meaning of "Iroquois,"
+
+
+  Jesuit missionaries,
+
+  Jesuit "Relations,"
+
+  Johnson, Chief George,
+
+  Johnson, Chief J. Smoke,
+    his office,
+    preserves the Book of Rites,
+
+  Johnson, Sir William,
+
+  Jones, Chief Philip,
+
+  Juskeha, Huron divinity,
+
+
+  _Kanienke,_ See _Canienga,_
+
+  _Kanonsionni,_
+    meaning of,
+    spelt Kanonghsyonny,
+
+  Kanyadanyo, Seneca chief,
+    Skanyadariyo in chant,
+
+  Karenna, See _Condoling Song,_
+
+  Kayanerenh, meaning of,
+
+
+  LAFITAU,
+
+  La Fort, Daniel,
+
+  Lamentations,
+
+  Language, Iroquois,
+    its origin and dialects,
+    description of,
+    Brebeuf and Max Mtiller on,
+    works on
+    phonology,
+    grammar,
+    abstract nouns,
+    verbal forms,
+    permanence of,
+    analysis and synthesis,
+
+  Laws of the League,
+    as to succession of chiefs,
+    as to intertribal homicide,
+    as to mortuary usages,
+    a "Great Reformation,"
+
+  LAWSON, J.,
+
+  League, See _Iroquois_ and _Laws,_
+
+  Leagues common among Indians,
+
+  Le Mercier at Onondaga,
+
+  Le Moyne at Onondaga,
+
+  _Lenapes,_ See _Delawarts,_
+
+  LONGFELLOW, H. V.,
+
+  Long-house,
+
+
+  Manabozho, Ojibway divinity,
+
+  _Maqua,_ meaning of,
+
+  Matron, Chief, See _Chief Matron,_
+
+  MAX MUeLLER, F.,
+
+  _Mengwe,_ See _Mingo,_
+
+  Migrations, Iroquois,
+    Indian,
+
+  _Mingo,_ meaning of,
+
+  Missionaries, English,
+    Jesuit, See _Jesuit Missionaries,_
+
+  _Mississagas,_
+    received by Iroquois,
+
+  Mississippi river,
+
+  _Mohawk,_ meaning of,
+
+  Mohawk river,
+
+  _Mohawks,_ See _Caniengas,_
+
+  _Mohegans_, or _Mohicans,_
+    war with the Iroquois,
+    protected by Iroquois,
+
+  Montreal,
+
+  Morgan, L.H.
+
+  Mortuary customs,
+
+  _Moundbuilders_, See _Alligewi,_
+    acquainted with wampum,
+
+  Mourning Council, See _Condoling Council,_
+
+  Mourning customs, See _Funeral usages,_
+
+
+  _Name-carriers_ (_Onondagas_),
+
+  _Nanticokes_, admitted into the League,
+
+  _Neutral Nation,_ See _Attewandaronks_,
+
+  _Nihatirontakowa_, See _Oneidas, name in council,_
+
+  Notes on the Canienga Book,
+
+  Notes on the Onondaga Book,
+
+
+  Odatshehte, Oneida chief,
+
+  Ohio, meaning of,
+
+  Ohio River,
+
+  _Ojibways_,
+    allies of Iroquois,
+    war with,
+    treaty with,
+
+  _Oneida_, meaning of,
+    _Oneidas_,
+    their country
+    their origin
+    war with Mohegans
+    join the League
+    their clans
+    a "younger nation"
+    their name in Council
+    their Councillors
+    their towns,
+
+  _Onondaga_,
+    meaning of,
+    Onondaga castle,
+
+  _Onondogas_,
+    their country,
+    their origin,
+    ruled by Atotarho,
+    join the League,
+    a part remove to Canada,
+    Reservation near Syracuse, N.Y.
+    their Book of Rites,
+    orthography of Book,
+
+  _Onondagas_,
+    their language,
+    their clans, _et seq._
+    an "elder nation,"
+    their name in Council
+    their councillors
+    site of their former capital
+    their towns,
+
+  Oswego river,
+
+  Oyander, title of
+
+
+  PARKMAN, F.
+
+  Peace, preservation of;
+    how restored
+    love of
+
+  Pennsylvania Historical Society,
+
+  Personification,
+
+  Pictures, Indian,
+
+  Political kinship,
+
+  POWELL, J. W.
+
+  Pre-Aryans in Europe and America,
+
+  Preliminary ceremony, the,
+    Proper names, obsolete,
+
+  Protection of weak tribes by Iroquois,
+    _Tuteloes_,
+    _Delawares_,
+    _Nanticokes_,
+    _Mohegans_,
+    _Mississagas_,
+
+  PYRLAEUS, C.,
+
+
+  Quebec,
+
+
+  Rawenniyo, name of deity,
+    meaning of,
+
+  Record-keepers,
+
+  Relations, See _Jesuit Relations,_
+
+  Religious sentiment,
+
+  RENAN, E.,
+
+  Roanoke River,
+
+  _Ronaninhohonti_, Door-keepers,
+    See _Senecas, name in council,_
+
+  _Rotisennakehte_, name-carriers, See _Onondagas, name in
+  council,_
+
+  Royaner, title of,
+
+
+  Sachem, an Algonkin word,
+
+  Sakayengwaraton, See _Johnson, J. S._
+
+  _Saponies_, or _Saponas_
+
+  Scandawati, See _Skanawati_,
+
+  SCHOOLCRAFT, H. R.
+
+  _Seneca_, meaning of
+
+  Seneca, Lake
+
+  _Senecas_,
+    their country
+    their origin
+    assailed by Atotarho
+    their ancient chiefs
+    join the League
+    remain in New York
+    their clans
+    an "elder nation"
+    their name in council
+    their language
+    their councillors
+    their duty as door-keepers
+    their towns
+
+  Sermon, a pagan
+
+  Shadekaronyes, Seneca chief
+
+  Six Nations, See _Iroquois_,
+
+  Six Nations' Reserve, See _Grand River_,
+
+  Skanawati, Onondaga chief
+    Scandawati's suicide
+
+  Skeneateles Lake
+
+  SMITH, Mrs. E. A.
+
+  Smoking in council
+
+  Snake clan
+
+  _Sonontowane_, meaning of
+
+  _Sonontowans_, See _Senecas_,
+
+  _Sotinonnawentona_
+    See _Cayugas_, name in council,
+
+  Spanish clan
+
+  Speaker of council
+
+  SQUIER, E. G.
+
+  Stadacone
+
+  STONE, W. L.
+
+
+  _Talligewi_, See _Alligewi_,
+
+  Taronhiawagon, Iroquois divinity
+
+  Ta-oun-ya-wat-ha
+
+  _Tehadirihoken_
+    See _Caniengas_, name in council,
+
+  Tekarihoken, Canienga chief
+    meaning of
+
+  _Tionontates_, or _Tobacco Nation_
+
+  Tobacco, Indian
+
+  _Tobacco Nation_, See _Tionontates_,
+
+  Tortoise clan
+    divided
+
+  Towns, Iroquois
+    list of, in Book of Rites
+    deserted sites
+
+  Treaty of Iroquois with the Dutch
+
+  Treaty of Iroquois with the English
+
+  Treaty of Iroquois with the Ojibways
+
+  TROMBULL, J. H.
+
+  Turkey clan
+
+  _Tuscaroras_,
+    their origin
+    their migrations
+    join the Iroquois
+    their clans
+    a "younger nation"
+
+  _Tuteloes_
+    received by Iroquois
+
+
+  Wampum
+    known to Moundbuilders
+    mourning
+
+  Wampum-keepers
+
+  Wampum-records, reading of
+
+  Wampum-strings
+
+  War-chief
+
+  Wars of self-defence
+
+  Wars of extermination
+
+  WHITNEY, W. D.
+
+  WILKIE, J.
+
+  WILSON, D.
+
+  Wolf clan
+
+  Women,
+    condition of
+    as peacemakers
+    regard for
+
+  _Wyandots_, See _Hurons_,
+
+
+  Yondennase, See _Condoling Council_,
+
+  Younger nations
+
+
+  Zeisberger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Iroquois Book of Rites, by Horatio Hale
+
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