CORNELL 
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 OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT 
 FUND GIVEN IN 18?1 BY 
 
 HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE 
 
Cornell University Library 
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 3 1924 028 763 716 
 
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"T^l^e tfoquoi^ T^raiL 
 
 FOOT- PRINTS 
 
 SIX NATIONS, 
 
 Customs, Traditions, and History, 
 
 W, M, BEAUCHAMP, S: T. D., 
 
 IN WHICH ABB INCIjUDED 
 
 r-AVID CUSICK'S SKE'TCHE'S 
 
 Ancient History of the Six Nations. 
 
 Printed by H. C. BEAUCHAMP, 
 RECORDER OFFICE, 
 
 Fayetteville. N. Y 
 
 1 8»3. 
 
A- i+M-l 03 
 
 ^dc-Cj-c^ 
 
 CORNELL^ 
 
 UniVERS!TY-f 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Copyright, 1B91, 
 
 by 
 
 William M. Beauchamp. 
 
 -331 
 
PR EFFACE. 
 
 The four hundredth year of European- American history will 
 be' marked by many publications recalling early days, and among 
 these the present volume may find a proper place. Cusick's 
 history has been largely quoted in recent years, with too much 
 deference to its authority, but has become so scarce that a re- 
 issue seemed desirable. At the same time it seemed well to add 
 a few explanatory notes, out of a vast number collected. The 
 work has been done under some difficulties of arrangement and 
 proof reading, but the important errors have been noted in the 
 list of errata. The author may add that he has "long been en- 
 gaged in antiquarian work relating to the Iroquois and other 
 early inhabitants of New York, and has enjoyed the advantage 
 of long personal acquaintance with the Onondagas. His ex- 
 tended field work, and collation of authorities, has led bim to 
 differ from some conclusions of others. W. M. B. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 David Cusick's Preface, 
 
 
 PASE. 
 
 I 
 
 Foundation of thS 
 
 Great Island, 
 
 
 I 
 
 Real Account of the Settlement of 
 
 North America, 
 
 5 
 
 Origin of the Five 
 
 Nations, 
 
 
 II 
 
 Notes on Cusick's 
 
 Sketches, 
 
 
 39 
 
 General Notes on 
 
 the Iroquois, 
 
 
 104 
 
 Indian Fashions, 
 
 
 
 ri7 
 
 Dreams, 
 
 
 
 118 
 
 Dream Feast, 
 
 
 
 "9 
 
 Houses, 
 
 
 
 123 
 
 Names" 
 
 
 
 125 
 
 Women, 
 
 
 
 126 
 
 Iroquois Stories, 
 
 
 
 127 
 
 Okwencha, 
 
 
 
 132 
 
 Hiawatha, 
 
 
 
 137 
 
 Condolence, - 
 
 
 
 143 
 
 Caches, 
 
 
 
 148 
 
DAVID CUSICK'S 
 
 SKETCHES OF 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SIX NATIONS, 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 FIRST— A TALE OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE 
 
 GREAT ISLAND, 
 
 (NOW NORTH AMERICA,) 
 
 THH TWG INFANTS ©Oi^N. 
 
 AND THE 
 
 CREATION OK THE UNIVERSE. 
 
 SECOND— A- REAL ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY SETTLERS 
 OF NORTH AMERICA, AND THEIR DISSENSIONS. 
 
 THIRD— ORIGIN OF THE KINGDOM OF THE FIVE NA- 
 TIONS, WHICH WAS CALLED 
 
 A LONG HOUSE: 
 THE AVAHS, FIERCE ANIMALS, &c. 
 
 RECORDER PRINT, FAYETTEVILI.E, N. Y. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I have been long waiting in hopes that some of my people, 
 who have received an English educationj would have undertaken 
 the work as to give a sketch of the Ancient History of the Six 
 Nations; but found no one seemed to concur in the matter, after 
 some hesitation I determined to commence the work; but found 
 the history involved with fables; and besides, examining myself, 
 finding so small educated that it was impossible for me to com- 
 pose the work without much difficulty. After various reasons I 
 abandoned the idea; I however, took a resolution to continue 
 the work, which I have taken much pains procuring the ma- 
 terials, and translating it into English language. I have endea- 
 vored to throw some light on the history of the original popula- 
 tion of the country, which I believe never have been recorded. 
 I hope this little work will be acceptable to the public. 
 
 Tuscarora Village, June loth, 1825. David Cusick. 
 
 PART I. 
 A Tale of the Foundation of the Great Island, now North 
 America-,— The two Infants born, and the Creation of the Uni- 
 verse. 
 
 Among the ancients there were two worlds in existence. 
 The lower world was in a great darkness; the possession of the 
 great monster; but the upper world was inhabited by man- 
 kind; and there was a woman conceived and would have the 
 twin born. When her travail drew near, and her situation 
 seemed to produce a great distress on her mind, and she was in- 
 duced by some of her relatives to lay herself on a mattress 
 which was prepared, so as to gain refreshments to her wearied 
 body; but while she was asleep the very place sunk down 
 
2 CUSICK'S- SIX NATIONS. 
 
 towards the dark world. The monsters of the great water were 
 alarmed at her appearance of descending to the lower world; in 
 consequence, all the species of the creatures were immediately 
 collected into where it was expected she would fall. When the 
 monsters were assembled, and they made consultation, one of 
 them was appointed in haste to search the great deep, m order 
 to procure some earth, jf it could be obtained; accordingly the 
 monster descends, which succeeds, and returns vto the place. 
 Another requisition was presented, who would be capable to se- 
 cure the woman from the terrors of the great water, but none 
 was able to comply except a large turtle came forward and made 
 proposal to them to endure her lasting weight, which was ac- 
 cepted. The woman was yet descending from a great distance. 
 The turtle executes upon the spot, and a small quantity of earth 
 was varnished on the back part of the turtle. The woman 
 alights on thj; seat prepared, and she receives a satisfaction. 
 While holding her, the turtle increased every moment, and be- 
 come a considerable island of earth, and apparently covered with 
 small bushes. The woman remained in a state of unUmited 
 darkness, and she was overtaken by her travail to which she was 
 subject. While she was in the limits of distress one of the in- 
 fants was moved by an evil opinion, and he was determined to 
 pass out under the side of Ihe parent's arm, and the other infant 
 in vain endeavored to prevent his design. The woman, was in a 
 painful condition during the time of their disputes, and the in- 
 fants entered the dark world by compulsion, and their parent ex- 
 pired in a few moments. They had the power of sustenance 
 without a nurse, and rem.ained in the dark regions. After a time 
 the turtle increased to a great Island, and the infants were grown 
 up, and one of them postessed with a gentle disposition- and 
 named Enigorio, i. e., the good mind. The other youth possesse'd 
 ai insolence of character, and was named Enigonhahetgea, i. e., 
 the bad mind. The good mind wa^ not contented to remain in 
 a dark situation, and he was anxious to create a great light in 
 the dark world; but the bad mini was desirous that the world 
 
cusick's six nations. 3 
 
 should remain in a natural state. The good mind determined 
 to prosecute his designs, and therefore commences the work of 
 creation. At first he took the parent's head, (the deceased) of 
 which he created an orb, and established it in the center of the 
 firmament, and it became of a very superior nature to bestow 
 light to the new world, (now the sun) and again he took the 
 remnant of the body, and formed another orb, which was inferior 
 to the light, (now the moon.) In the orb a cloud of legs ap- 
 peared to prove it was the body of the good mind, (parent.) 
 The former was to give light to the day, and the latter to the 
 night; and he also created numerous spots of light, (now stars;) 
 these were to regulate the days, nights, seasons, year*, etc. 
 Whenever the light extended to the dark world the monsters 
 were displeased and immediately concealed themselves in the 
 deep places, lest they should be discovered by some human 
 beings. The good mind continued the works of creation, and 
 he formed numerous creeks and rivers on the Great Island, and 
 then created numerous species of animals of the smallest and 
 greatest, to inhabit the forests, and fish of all kinds to inhabit 
 the waters. When he had made the universe he was in doubt 
 respecting some being to possess the Great Island; and he formed 
 two images of the dust of the ground in his own likeness,, male 
 and female, and by Jiis breathing into their nostrils he gave them 
 the living souls, and named them Ea-gwe-howe, • i. e., a real 
 people; and he gave the Great Island, all the animals of game 
 for (heir maintenance; and he appointed thunder to water the 
 earth by frequent rains, agreeable to the nature of the system; 
 after this the Island became fruitMi_and vegetation afforded the 
 animals subsistence. The bs,d mind,, while his brother was 
 making the universe, went throughout the Island and made 
 numerous high mountains and falls of water, and great steeps, and 
 also creates various reptiles which would be injurious to man- 
 kind; but the good mind restored the Island to its former con- 
 dition. The bad mind proceeded further in his motives, and he 
 made two images of clay in the form of mankind; but while he 
 
CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 was giving them existence they became apes; and when he had 
 not the power to create mankind^lie" was envious against his 
 brother; and again he made two of clay. [Ths good mind dis- 
 covered his brother's contrivances, and aided in giving them 
 living_saulSj_^ (It is said these had the most knowledge of good 
 and evil.) The good mind now accomplishes the works of 
 creation, notwithstanding the imaginations of the bad mind were 
 continually evil; and he attempted to enclose all the animals of 
 game in the earth, so as to deprive them from mankind; but the 
 good mind released them from confinement, (the animals were 
 dispersed, and traces of them were made on the rocks . near ' the 
 cave where it was closed.) The good mind experiences that his 
 brother was at variance with the works of creation, and feels not 
 disposed to favor any of his proceedings, but gives admonitions 
 of his future state. Afterwards the good mind requested his 
 brother to accompany him, as he was proposed to inspect the 
 game, etc., but when a short distance from their nominal resi- 
 dence, the bad mind became so unmanly that he could not con- 
 duct his brother any more. The bad mind offered a challenge 
 to his brother and resolved that who gains the victory should 
 govern the universe; and appointed a day to meet the contest. 
 The good mind was willing to submit to the offer, and he enters 
 the reconciliation with his brother; which he falsely mentions' 
 that by whipping with flags would destroy his temporal life; and 
 he earnestly solicits his brother also to notice the instrument of 
 death, which he manifestly relates by the use of deer horns, beat- 
 ing his body he would expire. On the day appointed the en- 
 gagement commenced, which lasted for two days; after pulling 
 up the trees and mountams as the track of a terrible whirlwind, 
 at last the good mind gains the victory by .using the horns, as 
 mentioned the instrument of death, which he succeeded in de- 
 
 * It appears by the fletitipus aocpuuts that the said beings become civilizeii 
 people, and made theip residence in the southern parts of the Island: but after- 
 wards they were destroyed by the barbarous nations, and their tortiflcitious wers 
 ruined unto this day. ">-o.v.ouo ™ei b 
 
CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 5 
 
 ceiving his brother, and he crushed him in the earth; and the 
 last words uttered from the bad mind were, that he would Jjaxe. 
 equal power over the souls of mankind after death; and he sinks 
 down to eternal doom, and became the Evil Spirit." After this 
 tumult the good mind repaired to the battle ground, and then, 
 visited the people and retires from the earth. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 A real account of the settlement of North America and 
 their dissensions. 
 
 In the ancient days the Great Island appeared upon the 
 big waters, the earth brought forth trees^ herbs, vegetables, etcj 
 the creation of the land animals; the Eagwehoewe people were 
 too created, and resided in the north regions, and after a time 
 some of the people become giants and committed outrages upon 
 the inhabitants, etc. After many years a body of Eagwehoewe 
 people encamped on the bank of a majestic stream, and was 
 named Kanawage, now St. Lawrence. After, a long time a 
 number of foreign people sailed from a port unknown; but un- 
 fortunately before reached their destination the winds drove them 
 contrary; at length their ship wrecked somewhere on- the south- 
 ern part of the Great Island, and many of the crews perished; a 
 few active persons were saved; they obtained some implements 
 and each of them was covered with a leather bag, the big hawks 
 carried them on the summit of a mountain and remained there 
 but a short time the hawks seemed to threaten them, and were 
 compelled to leave the mountain. They immediately selected- a 
 place for residence and built a small fortification in order to 
 prbyide against the attacks of furious beasts; if there should be 
 any made. After many years the foreign people became 
 numerous, and extended their settlements; but afterwards they 
 were destroyed by the monsters that overrun the country. About 
 this time th*Eagwehoewe people inhabited on the river Kama- 
 waga or St. Lawrence; but they could not enjoy' tranquility, as 
 they were invaded by the giants called Ronnongwetowanea, who 
 came from the north and inhabited considerably; but their mode 
 
O CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 of attack was slily, and never dared to precipitate themselves 
 upon the enemy without prospect of success; especially they 
 took advantage when the warriors were absent from the towfli. 
 After plundering the people's houses and making captives those 
 who were found, and hastily retreat' to their residence in the 
 north. An instance — a family of princes Uved near the river St. 
 Lawrence, of whom, containing six brothers and a sister and their 
 father, was a noble chieftain, who fell at the contest of the en- 
 emy. One time the brothers went out a day's hunt and leaving 
 their sister alone in the camp; unfortunately while they were 
 gone the giant makes vigorous attacks and the woman soon be- 
 came a prey to the invaders. On the eve the brothers return- 
 ed and were much grieved that their sister was found missing; 
 they immediately made a search, but the night was getting too 
 late, and the darkness prevented them. On the morning the 
 eldest brother determined to pursue the enemy until he could 
 discover something about their sister, and promised to return in 
 seven days if nothing should happen, accordingly the prince set 
 out and pursued the traces of the enemy; after journeyed three 
 days he reached the giant's residence about sundown; at first 
 sight he discovered his sister was gathering some sticks for fuel 
 near the house; but as he approached the sister retired; the prin- 
 cess soon proved by her conduct that she had fell in love with 
 the giant, and that it was impossible to gain her confidence. The 
 prince was now brought to a point of view about the dread of the 
 enemy; but however he was willing to risk the dangers he was 
 about to meet; he remained until about dusk and then entered 
 the house; happily he was received with most favorable terms, 
 and his fears were soon dissipated, th? giant offered his pipe as 
 a tribute of respect, which the prince accepted. After receiving 
 the evening diet they talked a good while without a least ap- 
 pearance of hostility; as the night was getting late the prince 
 was invited to a bed; but the giant was now acting to deceive 
 the prince; he commenced to amuse him part of the night in 
 singing songs; the giant had determined to assassinate the vis- 
 
CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 7 
 
 iter the first opportunity as the prince w,as so fatigued that he 
 was now fast asleep; he killed him on the bed and the body was 
 deposited in a cave near the house where he had stored the car- 
 casses. The giant was much pleased of his conquest over the 
 prince, he advised his wife to watch daily in order to impose on 
 another enemy. The seven days elapsed, as the brother did not 
 return the youngest brother Donhtonha was much excited about 
 his brother and resolved to pursue him; the Donhtonha was the 
 most stoutest and ferocious looking fellow, after arming himself 
 commenced the journey, and also arrived at the place and time 
 as mentioned, and found his sister; but before he had time to re- 
 concile her she returned to the house as she had formerly done, 
 and informed the giant that some person was coming: the 
 Donhtonha entered the house with appearances of hostile dispo- 
 sition, and enquired for his brother; this produced alarm; the 
 giant was promptly to pacify the prince; he replied that he had 
 made peace with the brother, who had gone to visit some people 
 in the neighborhood, and it was expected he would return every 
 moment. Upon this assurance the Donhtonha became some 
 abated; the sister provided some food and he soon enjoyed the 
 domestic felicity; but, alas, the giant was far from being friendly 
 and was only forming a plan to deceive the visiter.. The even- 
 ing was late, the Donhtonha was out of patience waiting for his 
 brother to come home, and renewed his enquiries; the visitor 
 was invited to bed; the giant was in hopes to exterminate the 
 visiter; he rose from his seat and commenced his usual custom 
 in singing. The Donhtonha perceived that some evil design was 
 performing against him and resolved to abandon the bed for 
 awhile; he begged leave for a few moments and went out after 
 various considerations from being imposed; he procured some 
 pieces of wood which produced a faint light in the night and put 
 it above his eyelids and again went to bed; the giant was now 
 deceived; while the visiter was asleep his eyes appeared as 
 though he was awake continually. As soon as day light the vis- 
 iter hurried from the bed, and was about to make a search for 
 
8 cusick's six nations. 
 
 the deceased brother, but the giant protested which soon excited 
 suspicions of the act; after a long debate the Donhtonha attack- 
 ed the giant; a severe conflict ensued, at last the giant wa^ 
 killed; and burnt him in the ruins of his house, but his spirit fleet 
 to heaven and changed into one of the eastern stars. During 
 the engagement his sister was grieved and fled to the wilderness, 
 and lamented for her deceased husband, and she died m despair, 
 and her spirit also became one of the northern stars. After the 
 conquest the search was prosecuted, he discoved the remains of 
 his brother and weeps over it and burnt it to ashes. 
 
 At a time another Ronnongwetowanea attacked a small 
 town located on the bank of the Kanawage, (St. Lawrence.) 
 This occurred in a season when the people were out to hunt, and 
 there was no person in the town except an old chief and an at- 
 tendant named Yatatonwatea; while they were enjoying repose 
 in their houses were suddenly attacked by the Ronnongwe- 
 towanea; but the Yatatonwatea escaped, went out the back 
 door and deserted the aged chief to the fate; however the 
 enemy spared no time, the chase was soon prosecuted which 
 caused the Yatatonatea to retreat as fast as possible; he at- 
 tempted to make resistance in various places, but was compelled 
 to retire at the appearance of the enemy; in vain he endeavored 
 to gain retreat by traversing various creeks and hills; he under- 
 took, a new method of giving little effect upon the progress of the 
 enemy; after running some distance he discovered which- 
 would promptly cherish the imposition, he drove a flock of pig- 
 eons in the way to amuse the (giant) until he could hide himself 
 under the bank of the river, unfortunately the flattenng hope 
 seemed to fail; after remaining there but a short time before he 
 saw the enemy was coming in full speed, and was soon obliged to 
 abandon the position and continue the flight; again he tried to 
 conceal himself among the rocks of the mountains, but in a mean 
 time the enemy advanced at the moment, of which he became 
 dismayed, finding that nothing could resist the impetuosity of the 
 pursuer, but determined not to surrender as long as he was capa- 
 
CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 9 
 
 ble to keep out of the reach; he immediately took the path 
 which leads to the hunting grounds in search of some people 
 fortunately at a short distance met two warriors and he was in- 
 stantly supported and made vigorous resistance; after terrible 
 cDmbat the Ronnongwetowanea was exterminated; during the 
 time the warriors conducted themselves as heroes, which gain- 
 ed the triumph, notwithstanding one of them received a severe 
 wound by the club. The Yatatonwatea with alarm whoop hasten- 
 ed to the encampment and advised the people of the substance 
 and the dangers which the enemy might commit upon the va- 
 cant towns. As soon as the people received the intelligence 
 immediately returned to their settlements, and a convention were 
 held by the chieftains in order to take some measures to defend 
 their country. As the Ronnongwetowanea tribe were not num- 
 erous and deemed it inexpedient to raise a large force and 
 therefore a few hundred warriors were sent to subdue them; after 
 decisive contests the warriors gained the victory; and it was sup- 
 po.ied that tne Ronnongwetowanea tribe has ever since ceased 
 to exist. (This fate happened probably about two thousand 
 five hundred winters before Columbus discovered the Amer-. 
 ci. ) Tne depredations of the enemy which so often exer- 
 cised upon the inhabitants were now terminated; and the country 
 enjoyed without disturbance many winters. About this time a 
 mischievous person named Shotyerronsgwea, while visiting the 
 people at first distinguished himself of a good character and in 
 mean time gained the confidence of the people; by doing this he 
 was fairly concealed from being discovered of his real designs, and 
 in a short time began to injure the people; he assassinated two war- 
 riors secretly, and then violat ed six virgins, etc. And the next 
 he ventured to break the' harmony of theTiation and created dis- 
 sensions among the people. At this the chiefs were so offended 
 that the Shotyeronsgwea was banished from the village; when 
 he received this treatment he deemed proper to desist from go- 
 ing back to any of the towns; he immediately crossed the river 
 St. Lawrence and move toward the mid-day sun, and he came to 
 
ro cusick's six nations. 
 
 a town situated south of the great lake (Ontario) and he was re- 
 ceived with kindness; but his entertainment could not appease 
 his evil designs; though he appeared reconciled, one night while 
 at the dancing house he killed several warriors; this offence he 
 discovered should prove fatal to his person, and was compelled 
 to leave the town and went some other place to do mischief. 
 The Shotyeronagwea was the greatest mischievous person that 
 ever existed on the continent. He was considered an agent 
 from bad spirit. About this time Big Quisquiss (perhaps the 
 Mammoth) invaded the settlements south of Ontario lake; the 
 furious animal push down the houses and made a great disturb- 
 ance; the people was compelled to flee from the terrible monster; 
 the warriors made opposition but failed; at length a certain chief 
 warrior collected the men from several towns — a severe engage- 
 ment took place, at last the monster retired, but the people could 
 not remain long without being disturbed; Big Elk invaded the 
 towns; the animal was furious and destroyed many persons; how- 
 ever the men were soon collected — a severe contest ensued and 
 the monster was killed. 
 
 About this time the northern nations formed a confederacy 
 and seated a great council fire on river St. Lawxeace; the north- 
 __ern nations possessed the bank of the great lakes: the countries 
 in the north were plenty of beavers, but the hunters were often 
 opposed by the big snakes. The people live on the south side 
 of the Big Lakes make bread of roots and obtain a kind of pota- 
 toes and beans found on the rich soil. 
 
 Perhaps about two thousand two hundred years before the 
 Columbus discovered the America, and northern nations ap- 
 pointed a prince, and immediately repaired to the south and 
 visited the great Emperor who resided at the Golden City, a 
 capital of the vast empire. After a time the Emperor built many 
 forts throughout his dominions and almost penetrated the lake 
 Erie; this produced an excitement, the people of the north felt 
 that they would soon be deprived of the country on the south 
 side of the Great Lakes they determined to defend their country 
 
CUSICKS SIX NATIONS. II 
 
 against any infringement of foreign people: long bloody wars en- 
 sued which perhaps lasted about one hundred years; the people 
 of the north were too skillful in the use of bows and arrows and 
 could endure hardships which proved fatal to a foreign people; 
 at last the northern nations gained the conquest and all the 
 towns and forts were totally destroyed and left them in the heap 
 of ruins. 
 
 About this time a great homed serpent' appeared on lake 
 Ontario, the serpent produced diseases and many of the people 
 died, but by the aid of thunder bolts the monster was compelled 
 to retire. A blazing star fell into a fort situated on the St. Law- 
 rence and destroyed the people; this event was considered as a 
 warning of their destruction. After a time a war broke out 
 among the northern nations which continued until they had 
 utterly destroyed each other, the island again become in posses- 
 sion of fierce animals. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 Origin of the Kingdom of the Five Nations, which was called 
 a Long House; the Wars, Fierce Animals, etc. 
 
 By some inducement a body of people was concealed in the 
 mountain at the falls named Kuskehsawkich, (now Oswego.) 
 When the people were released from the mountain they were 
 visited by Tarenyawagon, i. e. the Holder of the Heavens, who 
 had power to change himself into various shapes; he ordered the 
 people to proceed towards the sunrise as he guided them and 
 come to a river and named Yenonanatche, i. e. going round a 
 mountain, (now Mohawk,) and went down the bank of the river 
 and come to where it discharges into a great river running 
 towards the midday sun; and Shaw-nay-taw-ty, i. e beyond the 
 Pineries, (now Hudson,) and went down the bank of the river 
 and touched bank of a great water. The company made en- 
 campment at the place and remained there a few days. The 
 people were yet in one language; some of the people went to the 
 banks of the great water towards the midday sun; but the main 
 company returned as they came, on the bank of the river, under 
 
12 cusick's six nations. 
 
 the direction of the holder of the Heavens. Of this company 
 there was a particular body which called themselves one house\ 
 hold; of these were six families and they entered into a resolution 
 to preserve the chain of alliance which should not be extinguish. 
 ed in any manner. The company advanced so ne distance up 
 the river of Shaw-na-taw-ty, (Hudson) the Holder of the Heavens 
 directs the first family to make their residence near the bank of 
 "the river, and the family was named Te-haw-re-ho-geh, i. e. a 
 speech divided, (now Mohawk) and their language was soon al, 
 tered,^the company then turned and went towards the sunsetting, 
 and fravelled about two days and a half, and come to a creek,* 
 which was named Kaw-na-taw-te-ruh, i. e. Pineries. The second 
 family was directed to' make their residence near the creek, and 
 the family was named Ne-haw-re-tah-go, i. e. Big Tree, now 
 Oneidas, and hkewise their language was altered. The company 
 continued to proceed towards the sunsetting; under the direction 
 of the Holder of the Heavens. The third family was directed to 
 make their residence on a mountain named Onondaga,(now On- 
 ondaga) and the family was named Seuh-now-kah-tah, i. e. car- 
 rying the name, and their language was altered. The company 
 continued their journey towards the sunsetting. The fourth fam- 
 ily was directed to make their residence near a long lake named 
 Go-yo-goh, i. e. a mountain rising from water, (now Cayuga) 
 and the family was named Sho-nea-na-we-to-wah, i. e. a great 
 pipe, their language was altered. The company continued to 
 proceed towards the sunsetting. The fifth family was di- 
 rected to make their residence near a high mountain, or rather 
 nole, situated south of the Canandaigua lake, which was named 
 Jenneatowake and the family was named Te-how-nea-nyo- 
 hent, i. e. Possessing a Door, now Seneca, and their language 
 was altered. The sixth family went with the company that 
 journeyed towards the sunsetting, and touched the bank of a 
 
 * The creek now branches off the Susquehanna River at the head geD(jrally 
 called Col. Allen's lake, ten miles south o( the Oneida Casfle. 
 
cusick's six nations. 13 
 
 great lake, and named Kau-ha-gwa-rah-ka, i. e. A Cap, now Erie, 
 and then went towards between the mid-day and sunsetting, and 
 travelled considerable distance and come to a large river which 
 was named Ouau-we-yo-ka, i. e. a principal stream, now Mis- 
 sissippi; the people discovered a grape vine lying across the river 
 by which a part of the people went over,* but while they were en- 
 gaged, the vine broke, and were divided, they became ene- 
 mies to those who went over the river; in consequence they were 
 obliged to dispense the journey. The Holder of the Heavens 
 instruct them in the art of bows and arrows in the time of game 
 and danger. Associates are dispersed, and each family went to 
 search for residences according to their conveniences of game. 
 The sixth family went towards the sunrise and touched the bank 
 of the great water. The family was directed to make their residence 
 near Cau-ta-noh, i. e. Pine -in water, situated near the mouth of 
 the Nuse river, now in North Carolina, and the family was nam- 
 ed Kau-ta-noh, now Tuscarora and their language was also alter- 
 ed; but the six families did not go so far as to loose the under- 
 standing of each others languageTJ The Holder of the Heavens 
 returns to the five famiUes and forms the mode of confederacy 
 which was named Ggo-nea-seab-neh, i. e. A Long House, to 
 which are ist — Tea-kaw^-reh-ho-geh; 2d — New-haw-teh-tah-gO; 
 3d — Seuh-nau-ka-ta; 4th — Sho-nea-na-we-to-wan; 5th — Te-hoo- 
 nea-nyo-hent. About this time it is supposed an agent froip 
 superior power solemnly visits the families, and he instructs them 
 in various things respecting the infinity, matrimony, moral rules, 
 worship, etc.; and he warns them that an evil spirit was in the 
 world and would induce the people to commit trespasses against 
 the rules he had given them; and he offers them favorable prom- 
 ises of obedience to rules, the souls would enter the place of 
 happiness; but to the disobedient their souls would be sent to 
 a state of misery. And he gives the seeds for corn, beans, 
 
 * By Some this may seem an iDcreJible story. Why more so than cnat the 
 Israelites should cross the Red Sea on dry land. 
 
14 cusick's six nations. 
 
 squashes, potatoes and tobacco, with directions how to cultivate, 
 them; and he gives them the dogs to aid in pursuing the game; 
 and he repeats the administration of the game; and that the 
 great country was given for their people's maintenance. When 
 he ended the interview of consolation he leaves. 
 
 " About one hundred winters since the people left the moun- 
 tain,— the five families were increased, and made some villages 
 in the country. The Holder of the Heavens was absent from 
 the country, which was destitute of the visits of the Governor of 
 the Universe. The reason produced the occasion that they were 
 invaded by the monsters called Ko-nea-rau-neh-neh, i. e., Flying 
 Heads, which devoured several people of the country. The 
 Flying Heads made invasions in the night; but the people were 
 attentive to escape by leaving their huts and concealing them- 
 selves in other huts prepared for that purpose. An instance : — 
 there was an old woman which resided at Onondaga ; she was 
 left alone in the hut at evening, while others deserted. She was 
 setting near the fire parching some acorns when tfte monstrous 
 Head' made its appearance at the door ; while viewing the wom- 
 an it was amazed that' she eat the coals of fire, by which the 
 monsters were put to flight, and ever since the heads disappeared 
 and were- supposed concealed in the earth. After a short time 
 the people were invaded by the monster of the deep ; the Lake 
 Serpent traverses the country, whiclj^terrupted their inter- 
 course. The five families were cQjg^lled to make fortifications 
 throughout their respective townu^rm order to secure themselves 
 from the devouring monster5<!5»The manner of making the fort : 
 at first they set fire against^everal trees as requires to make a 
 fort, and the stone axes are used to rub off the coals, as to burn 
 .quicker ; when the tree burns down they put fires to it about 
 three paces apart and burns it down in half a day ; the logs are col- 
 lected to a place where they set up round according to the bigness 
 of the fort, and the earth is heaped on both sides. A fort generally 
 has two gates; one for passage, and the other to obtain water. 
 The people had implements which they used to make bow and 
 
cusick's six nations. 15 
 
 arrows. The kettle is made of baked clay in which the meat is 
 boiled ; the awl and needles are made of hard bone ; a pipe for 
 smoking, is made of baked clay, or soft stone ; a small turtle shell 
 is used to peel the bark ; a small dry stick is used to make a fire, 
 by boring it against the seasoned wood. 
 
 Perhaps about 1250 years before Columbus discovered the 
 America, about two hundred and fifty winters since the people 
 left the mountain, the five families became numerous and ex- 
 tended their settlements, as the country had been exposed to the 
 invasion of the monsters, that the people could not enjoy but a 
 short space of time without being molested. About this time a 
 powerful tribe of the wilderness, called Ot-ne-yar-heh, i. e. Stonish 
 Giants * overrun the country and the warriors were immediately 
 collected from several towns and a severe combat took place, but 
 the warriors were overpowered and the people fell at the mercy 
 of the invaders, and the people were threatened with destruction, 
 and the country was brought to subjection for many winters. As 
 the people have been reduced so often they could not increase. The 
 Stonish Giants were so ravenous that they devoured the people 
 of almost every town in the country ; but happily the Holder of 
 the Heavens again visits the people and he observes that the peo- 
 ple were in distressed condition on the account of the enemy. 
 With a stratagem he proceeds to banish their invaders, and he 
 changes himself into a giant, and combines the Stonish GiantS) 
 he introduces them to take the lead to destroy the people of the 
 country ; but a day's march they did not reach the fort Onon- 
 daga, where they intended to invade, and he ordered them to lay 
 
 * It appears by the traditions of the Shawnees that the Stonish Giants descmd 
 from a certain family that journeyed on the east side of Mississippi River, went 
 towards the northwest after they were separated, on account of the vine <rolie. The 
 family was left to seek its habitation, and the rules of humanity were forgotten, and 
 afterwards eat raw flesh of the animals. At length they practiced roiling themselves 
 on the sand, by means their bodies were covered with hard skin these people became 
 giants and were dreadful invaders of the country. It is said that Sir William John- 
 son, the Superintendents of the Six Nations, had a picture of the giant. Probably 
 the English have recorded in the Historian respecting North America. 
 
i6 cusick's six nations. 
 
 in a deep hollow * during the night and they would make attack 
 on the following morning. At a dawn of the day, the Holder of 
 the Heavens ascended upon the heights and he overwhelms 
 them by a mass of rocks, and only one escaped to announce 
 the dreadful fate ; and since of the event the Stonish Giants left 
 the country and seeks an asylum in the regions of the north. The 
 families were now preserved from extinction. The Lake Serpent 
 discovers the powerful operations of the Holder of the Heavens, 
 instantly retreats into the deep places of the lakes. After the 
 banishment of the monster of the deep made its appearance in 
 the country ; a snake with the shape of human head opposed the 
 passage between the Onondaga and Go-yo-gouh, now Cayuga, 
 which prevented their intercourse, as the snake had seated near 
 the principal path leads through the settlements of the Five 
 Families. The people were troubled of their condition, and 
 finally they determined to m^ke resistance. They selected the 
 best warriors at Onondaga, and after they were organized and 
 prepared proceeded to the place ; after a severe conflict the snake 
 was killed ; the lake serpent was often seen by the people, but the 
 thunder bolt destroyed the serpent or compelled them to retire 
 into the deep. About this time they were various nations inhab- 
 ited the southern countries, these nations descended from the 
 families that were dispersed after the vine broke on Onauweyo- 
 ka, (Mississippi). The Holder of the Heavens visited the Five 
 FamiHes and instructed them. in the arts of war, and favors them 
 to gain the country beyound their limits, after which he disap- 
 peared. 
 
 Perhaps i,ooo years before Columbus discovered the Amer- 
 ica. — About this time the Five Families become independent 
 nations, and they formed a council fire in each nation, etc. Un- 
 fortunately a war broke out among the Five Nations ; during the 
 unhappy differences the Atotarho was the most hostile chief, re- 
 
 * The hollow it is said not tar from Onondaga. Some says the Giants retreated 
 by way of Mountain Ridge and crossed below the Niagara Falls 
 
eUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 1 7 
 
 sided at the fort Onondaga ; his head and body was ornamented 
 with black snakes ; — his dishes and spoons were made of skulls of 
 •the enemy'; after a while he requested the people to change his 
 dress, the people immediately drove away the snakes — a mass of 
 wampam were collected and the chief was soon dressed in a large 
 belt of wampam ; he become a law giver, and renewed the chain 
 of alliance of the Five Nations and framed their internal govern- 
 ment, which took five years in accomplishing it. [At Onondaga 
 a tree of peace was planted reached the clouds of Heaven ; 
 under the shade of this tree the Senators are invited to set and 
 delilerate, and smoke the pipe of peace as ratification of their 
 proceedings; a great council fire was kindled under the majestic 
 tree, having four branches, one pointed to the south, west, east, 
 north ; the neighboring nations were amazed at the powerful con- 
 federates ; the Onondaga was considered a heart of the country; 
 numerous belts and strings of wampam were left with the famous 
 chief as record of alhance, etc., after he had accomphshed the noble 
 work he was immediately named Atotarho, King of the Five na- 
 tions; and was governed by the Senate, chosen by the people annu- 
 ally; the successor of the kings to follow the woman's line. About 
 this time th« Te-hoo-nea-nyo-hent, or Senecas, was at war with 
 the Squawkeihows, a powerful tribe past the banks of the Gene- 
 see river; after various engagements the Senecas sent an army to 
 scourge the enemy, but were repulsed with, a severe loss; the 
 melancholy intelligence was soon conveyed to Onondaga and in- 
 formed the king of their defeat ; a powerful army of the allies 
 were soon directed against the Squawkihows ; after a long siege 
 the principal fort was surrendered without discretion, and the chief 
 was taken prisoner, put to death, the war terminated, however 
 a remnant of the Squawkeihows were allowed to remain in the 
 country and became vassals to the five nations after the conquest. 
 The government ordered the Senecas to settle the country and 
 to build forts on the Genesee River, as to keep Squawk- 
 haws in subjection, for fearing in time they might create a re- 
 
1 8 cussick's six nations. 
 
 bellion. The Senecas now possessed along the bank of the Great 
 Lake, now Ontario, to the creek called Kenaukarent, now Oak 
 Orchard, the bank of the river Onyakarra, now Niagara, pos- 
 sessed by Twakanhah, (Mississaugers.) 
 
 In the days the king Atotarho. II. about this time the Oyal- 
 quoher, or big bear invaded the territory of the five nations, the 
 hunters were often attacked by these monsters. At the village 
 of Ohiokea, situated west of Oneida creek, a small party went 
 out to hunt and encamped near the lake Skonyatales; one morn- 
 ing while they were in the camp a noise broke out in the lake ; 
 a man was sent immediately to see the tumult ; he saw a great 
 bear on the bank rolhng down stones and logs ; the monster ap- 
 peared to be in a great rage ; a lion came out of the lake and 
 suddenly fell upon the bear, a severe contest ensued, in the mean 
 time the bear was beaten and was compelled to leave the .bank, 
 the next day the men went in search of the bear; they found the 
 bear ; one of the fore legs was so heavy that two men could not 
 lift but a hands high, they procured some of the meat for useful 
 purposes in the time of war. About this time a great musqueto 
 invaded the fort Onondaga ; the musqueto was mischievous to the 
 people, it flew about the fort with a long stinger, and sucked the 
 blood a number of lives ; the warriors made several oppositions 
 to expel the monster, but failed ; the country was invaded until 
 the Holder of the Heavens was pleased to visit the people ; while 
 he was visiting the king at the fort Onondaga, the musqueto made 
 appearance as usual and flew about the fort, the Holder of the 
 Heavens attacked the monster, it flew so rapidly that he could 
 hardly keep in sight of it, but after a few days chase the monster 
 began to fail ; lie chased on the borders of the great lakes to- 
 wards the sunsetting, and round the great country ; at last he 
 overtook the monster and kill it near the salt lake Onondaga 
 and the blood became small musquetoes. 
 
 In the reign the king Atotarho III. About this time the 
 Oneidas had extended their forts down the river Kaunsehwatau 
 
CUSSICK S SIX NATIONS. IQ 
 
 yea, or Susquehanna, a fort situated on the river, there was a cer- 
 tain woman deHvered a male child uncommon size ; when he was 
 twelve years of age he was nearly as large as grown person, and 
 he would beat his playmates which would create disputes, but the 
 mother would correct him, and afterward she prevailed, he prom- 
 ised never to injure his people ; when grown up he became a 
 giant and was a great hunter; the parent was stored with venison 
 continually; he was so strong that when returned from hunting 
 he would have five or six deers and bears strung around on his 
 be'.t. The giant was named Soh-nou-re-wah, i. e. Big Neck, (now 
 SAawaees) which inhabited the banks of the river and brought 
 several suits of dress and the scalps of whom he had killed. 
 The Sah-wau-noo sends messengers to fort Kau-na-sen-wa-tau-yea 
 a~) 10 de.iionstrate the conduct of Soh-nau-ro-wah, but the busi- 
 ness was left upon the relatives Sau-rau-ra-wah, who persuaded 
 him 10 reform his behavior for the future ; he remained only 
 tvv ) wi Iters withDut making disturba'.ice ; he want down the river 
 a.id w.ie.iever he cane to a town he committed the same out- 
 rage.5 upon the inhabitants and plundered the people's clothes, 
 skir.s, etc. Again the Sau-wa-noo sends a deputy and reported 
 Iheir lesentment, but determined to make hostile aggressions if 
 not :aliiiaciion was made on their part. The chief Ne-nau-re- 
 la'i-go sends a belt of wampum, and offered the terms of peace, 
 which wa3 accepted, but the Sau-rauroh-wah was not disposed 
 to favor the treaty ; he left the fort and went down .and located 
 on the bank of Kau-nau-~ieh-wali-tau-yea river, (said Susquehan- 
 na.) and commeaced to build a fort* ; he was frequently visited 
 by his relatives ; and after the fortification was completed he re- 
 solved to continue the war against his enemies; he went from 
 time to lime and attacked the people which inhabited on the 
 river as he had done befoie ; he would lay in ambush near the 
 path, and whenever the people are passing he shoots them ; he 
 
 The fort was situated on tl.e soulli bauk of the Susquehanna river. In 1600 I 
 weiit over the ground my.'^elf and viewed the inouud. 
 
CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 used a plump arrow, which was so violent- that it^would break the 
 body in two parts ; as he became mischievous to the people that 
 the relatives were obliged to form a plan to destroy him, but Sau- 
 rauh-ro-wah was not easily to be quelled, it was supposed that 
 ten warriors were not sufficient to equal his strength. At the 
 fort Kou-naTseh-wa-ta-yea there went three warriors of his na- 
 tives which bring him favorite diet, a mess of huckle berries, etc.; 
 the Sah-nou-ro-wah was pleased of the visit and the food which 
 was given ; but while he was eating it one of the warriors, with a 
 club concealed under his cloak, instantly stepped on the bench 
 where he was sitting, and gave a fatal blow on the monster's -head, 
 he was so distracted that he ran .out of the fort and was intended, 
 to cross the river, he sunk in the mire which was near the bank, 
 the warriors prevailed and killed him on the spot ;. the warriors 
 spoiled his house and obtained a large quantity of skins, etc.; 
 and the fort was ruined ever since. 
 
 Perhaps about 800 years before the IZplunibus discovered the 
 America. About this time' the. Twakanhahors, (now Mississau- 
 gers,) ceded the colonies, lying between the .Kea-nau-hau sent 
 (Oak Orchard,) and the river Onyakarra, (Niagara) to the Five 
 Nations. 
 
 About this time lived the king Atotarho IIII. There WSts a 
 woman and son resided near the fort, which .was situated near a 
 nole, which was named Jenneatowaka, the original seat of the 
 Te-hoo-nea-nyo-hent (Senecas,) the boy one day, while amusing 
 in the bush he caught a small serpent called Kaistowanea, with 
 two heads, and brings it to his apartment ; the serpent was first- 
 placed in a small bark box to tame, which was fed with birds, 
 flesh, etc. After ten winters the serpent became considerable 
 large and rested on the beams within the hut, and the warrior 
 was obliged to hunt deers and bears to feed the monster ; but 
 after awhile the serpent was able to maintain itself on various 
 game ; it left the hut and resided on the top of a nole ; the ser- 
 pent frequently visited the la,ke, and after thirty years it was pro- 
 
CUSICKS SIX NATIONS. 21 
 
 :digious size, which in a short ,time inspired with an evil mind 
 against the people, and in the night the warrior experienced the 
 serpent Was brooding some mischief, and was about to destroy 
 the- people of the fort ; when the warrior was- acquainted of the 
 danger he was dismayed and soon moved to other fort ; at day- 
 light the: serpent descended from the heights with the most tre- 
 mendous noise of the trees, which were trampled down in such a 
 force that the trees were uprooted, and the serpent irhmediately 
 surrounded the gate ; the people were taken improvidentially and 
 brought to confusion ; finding themselves circled by the mon- 
 strous serpent, some of them endeavored to pass out at the gate, 
 and others attempted to climb over the serpent, but were unable; 
 the, people remained in this situation for several days; the war- 
 riors, had made oppositions to dispel the monsterj but werfe fruit- 
 less, and the people were distressed of their confinement, and 
 found no other method than'to rush to pass out at the gate, but 
 the people were devoured, except a young warrior apd sister, 
 which detained, and were only .left exposed to . the monster, and 
 were restrained without hopes of getting released ; at length the 
 warrior received advice from a dream, and he adorned his arms 
 with the hairs of his sister, which he succeeded by shooting at the 
 heart, and the serpent was mortally wounded, which hastened to 
 retire from the fort and retreated to the lake in order to gain re- 
 lief; the serpent dashed on the face of the water furiously in the 
 time of agony; at last it vomited thp substance which it had 
 eaten and then tunk to the deep and expired. The people of 
 the, fort did not receive any assistance from their neighboring 
 forts as the serpent was too powerful to be resisted. After the 
 .fort was demolished the Council fire was removed to other fort 
 . called, Thau-gwe-took, which was situated west of now, Geneva 
 Lake, erected^ bulwarks on Mountain Ridge, west of Genesee 
 River. 
 
 About this time reigned the King Atotarho "tV. At the fort 
 Ke-dau-yer-ka-waU; (now Tonewanta plains,) a paity went out to 
 
2 2 cusick's six nations. 
 
 hunt and were attacked by the Ot-tau-wahs, which created differ- 
 ences between the two nations as they entered on no terms but 
 to commence hostiUties ; the To-hoo-nyo-hent sends a band of 
 warriors to attack some of the hunters as to retahate the ven- 
 geance upon their enemies. The warriors advanced above the 
 lake named Geattahgweah (now Chautauque) and made encamp- 
 ment and agreed to hunt two days, after which to proceed to- 
 wards the enemies' country ; the warriors went in various direc- 
 tions ; a certain warrior passed a small brook, he discovered a 
 strange animal resembhng a dog, but could not discover the head; 
 the creature was a greyish color, and was laying asleep exposed to 
 the rays of the sun ; and also discovered a den, supposed the 
 place of his residence ; the warrior returned to the camp at evening 
 and related the kind of animal, and informed them, as he imag- 
 ined was a very poisonous animal, and he was afraid to approach 
 it again,but one of the jokers laughed at him and he was called a 
 cowardly fellow; the joker determined to go himself and kill the 
 creature without trouble, but wished some of the warriors to be 
 spectators in the time of the engagement; accordingly the war- 
 rior went, accompanied by a number of warriors ; he was di- 
 rected to the spot and discovered the animal. After beating it 
 short time with his club, he seized the animal and tied it with a 
 turn' line ; but while he was lifting it the creature immediately 
 moved to the den. With all his might he held the turn line, but 
 he could not stop it, he was compelled to let go the turn line 
 when the creature went beyond his reach ; the warrior was con- 
 fused at not being able to kill the animal ; he hastened to retire 
 from the spot, but when a few paces he was taken with the pes- 
 tilence which was influenced by the creature, and suddenly died ; 
 another warrior was at sight and directly fled to carry the intel- 
 ligence, but also died at a short distance, and the others returned 
 to the camp; but the pestilence soon prevailed among the war- 
 riors, and many of them died in the same manner ; a few of 
 them escaped by leaving the camp before the plague appeared, 
 
cusick's six nations. 23 
 
 and thus ended the expedition. The Ottauwahs continued their 
 hostilities and attacked the hungers ; the Senecas sent out a small 
 party and fought — drove the enemy off, but their engagements 
 were small and continued many winters. 
 
 In the days of king Ototarho VI, perhaps 650 years before the 
 Columbus discovered the America, at the fort Keadanyeekowa 
 or Tontawanta plains, a small party went out to make incursion 
 upon the enemy that may be found within the boundaries of the 
 kingdom. They penetrated the Ohio river and encamped on 
 the bank ; as they were out of provision, the warriors were 
 anxious to kill a game ; a certain warrior discovered a hollow 
 tree, supposing a bear in the tree, he immediately reported ; the 
 warriors were in hopes to obtain the bear — ^went to the tree ; one 
 of them climbed and put a fire in it in order to drive out the 
 creature ; the warriors made ready to shoot, but w.ere mistaken, 
 there instantly came out a furious Lizard, and quickly graspedV 
 and leaped into the hollow of the tree ani the young ones de- 
 voured it ; a grumbUng noise ensued, the warriors were terrified 
 at the monstrous creature and were soon compelled to retire, ex- 
 cept one staid at the tree while otliers fled; he remained until 
 the party was destroyed and the last warrior was chased ; the war- 
 rior immediately left the tree and ran on the way fortunately 
 met the Holder of the Heavens who advised him to stop and 
 offers the aid of material resistance which was accepted ; the war- 
 rior was instructed to make fire without delay and to get some 
 sticks to use with which to prevent the Lizard's flesh from uniting 
 the body or being efficatious, the protector changed into a lion 
 and laid in wait, in a meanwhile the monster came up, a severe 
 engagement took place, the warrior hastened with a stick and 
 began to hook the Lizard's flesh, when bit off by his defendant 
 and throws it into the -fire, by means the monster was quelled. 
 The warrior thanked for the personal preservation. The pro- 
 tector vanished out of his sight. The warrior returned to the 
 fort and related the occurrence. The war raged ; the Senecas 
 
24 CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 had sent out parties against the Ottauwahs and obtained various 
 successes ; at last the Ottauwahs sued for peace. After a few 
 winters the Senecas gained their mutual intercourse with the Ot- 
 tauwahs and other neighboring nations. About this time reigned 
 the king Ototarho VII, who authorized by the Senate to send an 
 expedition to explore the countries towards the setting sun, he 
 sends a messenger to acquaint the Ottauwahs of his intention, 
 and wished them to form such arrangements and to favor their 
 passage, which was complied agreeable to his request. The king 
 appointed two captains to command the expedition, about fifteen 
 men were selected from the five nations ; after they were equiped 
 and prepared, commenced the journey and arrived at Sandusky; 
 the King of Ottauwahs sent two warriors to accompany the ex- 
 pedition ; on their way held several conferences with the nations 
 and all seemed to favor their passage. They advanced the 
 Mississippi river, a duke of Twa-kan-ah had collected the peo- 
 ple from several towns, came out to meet them the people 
 around them, singing, beating their little drums; af):er danced 
 the ceremony was performed the band of warriors was in- 
 vited into the national house. The band crossed the Mis- 
 sissippi and continued their course towards the sunsetting ; 
 they reached an extensive meadow ; they discovered a 
 curious animal — a winged fish, it flew about the tree; this little 
 active creature moved like a humming bird. They continued 
 tlie journey and come at-the village of the Dog Tail Nation, the 
 band was accommodated, amused with dances, and was con- 
 ducted to the chief's house. They were astonished that the peo- 
 ple had short tails hke apes ; a hole was made through their seats 
 where they put their tails. The band continued their direction 
 and come to another nation and too was kindly received, and 
 their object was favorably accepted by the head men of the na- 
 tion. During their stay, a certain wanior of the band courted a 
 young woman, but the warrior died soon after the marriage. 
 They observed that the people did not eat any meat but drink 
 
CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 25 
 
 the soup. The band continued the journey, but before reaching 
 the Rocky Mountains, were arrested by a giant ; the band was 
 compelled to return ; alter a long journey came back to the seat 
 and informed the king all. the particulars about the journey. 
 After a time the five nations was desirous to preserve the peace 
 and friendship with the western nations ; ambassador was sent to 
 the Lentahkeh nation, who inhabited the country east of Ohio 
 River (now in Kentucky) ; another ambassador was sent who 
 went and lived among the Ottauwahs for several years; he mar- 
 ried a woman and afterward obtained two children ; he was in- 
 vited to join a company going out a winter's hunt. They journ- 
 eyed some distance, and readied their hunting grounds ; but the 
 men were so unlucky that they could kill but a few game; after 
 a few days the people were destitute of provisions ; the leader of 
 the company commanded the overseer to select two fat persons 
 and to kill them without delay, which was soon executed ; , the 
 flesh of these victims was distributed among the people. The 
 leader had commanded the people that if any one had killed a 
 game the meat should be left with the overseer for -disfributionj 
 and that who disobeyed, the offender should be punished in a 
 severest manner. The ambassy killed a bear, the meat was dis- 
 posed to the rules. The leader daily butchered two persons to 
 feed the people, which only increased their distress. The peo- 
 ple were so feeble that they were unable to hunt any more, and 
 many of them began to famish. The ambassy again killed 
 another game and bring it secretly to h.is camp, but it was soon 
 detected and rumored among the people ; at this offense the am - 
 bassy was ordered to appear before their tribunal ; some men 
 were angiy at him and sought to destroy him, but the leader 
 deemed it unjust, it would violate the treaty they had entered 
 with the five nations; but however, to satisfy the people, the 
 leader consented to use other method to destroy him ; he com- 
 manded to strip him and to teize his clothes and the instruments; 
 after which to extinguish their fires, and then to remove their 
 
26 cusick's six nations. 
 
 camp a half day's journey distance; the offender would certainly 
 freeze without remedy; but the ambassy was ingenious, finding 
 that he would be surprised, instantly takes a suit of dress and 
 bow and arrows, and hides them under the hemlock boughs 
 which were spread in the camp. In a meanwhile the opponents 
 entered the camp, the ambassy was stripped without discriminate, 
 as they had determined to destroy him. The wife was compelled 
 to leave him, or else she would share the same fate. 
 
 The company retired; he dressed himself immediately and 
 proceeded and was in hopes to reach a fort situated near the Lake 
 Erie ; but was so fatigued that he could not travel very fast ; 
 about sunset he happened to approach on an age of a dark for- 
 est : he selected a spot where he encamped, but as he had no 
 kind of food to eat and was quite dejected after making exer- 
 tions to make himself comfortable, but failed, the weather being 
 unfavorable, as it was cold and cloudy, however, he was seldom 
 taken by surprise ; having a good understanding about astronom- 
 ical calculations, ascertained that the storm was at hand ; after 
 kindled a fire laid himself down to linger out a miserable exis- 
 tence which he was doomed to suffer. Early in the morning he 
 heard some noise as something was coming, which at once at- 
 tracted his attention ; he was afraid ; as presumed that some 
 of his enemy had overtook him ; fortunately a young man came 
 up and sat down ; the visitor showed a friendly disposition, after 
 a short conversation the ambassy related his distressed condi- 
 tion ; the visitor offered to relieve him as soon as possible, which 
 was received with sanguine expectations; the ambassy was ad- 
 vised that a snow would fall so deep that he would be in want of 
 a pair of snow shoes, the visitor offered the pattern, and showed 
 him how to make the shoes. The ambassy was directed where 
 to find fhe game ; and did as he was bidden. On the night the 
 young man made another visit and advised the ambassy where 
 to catch bears ; after the conversation the visitor disappeared. 
 He succeeded and caught seven bears; after he had prepared' 
 
CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 27 
 
 some meat and the bears' oil, immediately went to the encamp- 
 ment in search of his wife and children, found them almost per- 
 ished; at first gave them each a spoonful of oil and were soon re- 
 lieved ; he directed them to his camp. The ambassy was relieved 
 from distress whilst his enemy was lingering in despair ; he ex- 
 amined the camp and was astonished to find that the people were 
 utterly famished ; the people became so weak and faint that they 
 were not able to make fire ; those who held out had eat the hu- 
 man flesh as long as they could they themselves, and were lying 
 among the dead, the company was now exposed to destruction, 
 as the people had put themselves to disgrace ; the ambassy had 
 refused to invite any of them except his wife's relatives; the dis- 
 asters were so worn out did not reach the camp until next morn- 
 ing. After a few days by his exertions, the men's strength was 
 revived, and were capable to hunt. After they had come back 
 to the town the ambassy was so shamefully abused by the peo- 
 ple, he was compelle i to leave his wife and the country. About 
 this time the Ottauwahs became numerous and powerful nation, 
 occupied an extensive country Ipng between the Lake Erie and 
 the Ohio river, and was supposed their national force amounted 
 to about 4,000 mea. * 
 
 In the reign of King Atotarho VIII, perhaps 400 years before 
 the Columbus discovered America. About this time the Twa- 
 kauhah or Messissaugers began to wage a war against the five 
 nations ; the Senecas on the frontier were most engaged in the 
 warfare. After various skirmishes the enemy was so excited that 
 they determined to destroy the fort Kauhanauka (now in Tusca- 
 rora near Lewiston,) but the commander of the fort was aware of 
 the danger, he sent messengers to the forts in the vicinity, and 
 about eight hundred warriors were collected at fort Kauhanauka. 
 The comnnder had se.it runners to observe the movements of 
 the enemy. The army marched towards the river, and hid tliem 
 selves among the bushes under the mountain ; the enemy came 
 up; a bloody battle ensue 1; the enemy was repulsed and flies 
 
28 cusick's six nations. 
 
 from the foe. The army returned to the fort ; soon after the 
 commander dispatched two runners to the forts on the Genesee 
 river to procure assistance as soon as possible ; the army received 
 reinforcements ; they made bark canoes and carried them to the 
 mouth of the Niagara river; the canoes were, ready, the com- 
 mander sent a chieftain and offered the enemy an intermission 
 or parley, bnt the proposal was not accepted; the army immedi- 
 ately crossed the' river and made vigorous attack: the enemy was 
 routed and fled frdm the bank without making resistance, re- 
 treated j1;gi.\yar<is the head of the lake ; after burning the huts, the 
 army returned to the fort ; but the commotions were not quelled; 
 small parties-of the Senecas often take the canoes and go by 
 water towardsjhe head of Ontario lake, in search of the enemy, 
 but they avoid from attack of superior force; several engage- 
 inents were made on the lake with small parties of the enemy ; 
 after awhile the commander of the fort Kauhanauka, was ardent 
 to attack the main body of the enemy ; he sends runners beyond 
 the Genesee river, and obtained two thousaind warriors ; the army 
 again, crossed the Niagara river and ptoteeded towards the' head 
 of the, lake,, but beforereached the beach met a: strong force of 
 the enemy ; after a desperate contest* the army reti-eated ; the 
 cpmmaHd_er soon perceived that it was impossible to gain the 
 conqest, -sued for peace and offered to restore the prisoners which 
 he, took from them which was concluded. About this time the 
 Stonish Giants were diminished, but very few found in the north 
 regions ; the Giants understood the language of the five nations, 
 but they -were, a most savage tribe, and often attacked the huiv 
 t?rs, l},ut,-that set of hordes were extripated. At the Onondaga 
 two men. went out to hunt beaver, and crossed the river St. Law- 
 rence, a.nd. .w.ent far in the north, and discovered a number of- 
 beaver-. dams, and killed many beavers. One day a man went 
 alpne ,iin search, of the beaver, but unfortunately he was taken 
 prisoner ,by,the Stonish Giant ;. the man was compelled to run a 
 race;.w,ith,,, the giant, a considerable distance ; after midday the 
 
cusick's six nations. 29 
 
 man gained and almost went out of sight, but the giant whooped; 
 by which the man was so affected that he fainted and fell down. 
 The giant took advantage of him and soon passed him ; the man 
 was dismayed and turned his course, and sought to escape and 
 endeavored to hide himself: he climbed a small tree and bent it 
 to another tree, and leaped from tree to tree, until he reached a 
 large basswood stump which had sprouted several branches, and 
 seated himself in the midst of it and watched the pursuer : in a 
 few moments the giant came up and examined the stump for 
 some time ; at length the giant exhibited a curious instrument, 
 which he called a pointer, and possessed a power of the nature ; 
 it directed him where to find game ; the giant could not live 
 without it. The man observed the motion of the hand, and as it 
 was about to point to him, he jumped from the stump and seized 
 it by the fingers, and instantly possessed the valuable instrument; 
 the giant was defeated and immediately entreated for the pointer, 
 and offered to mention the medical roots as a mark of friend- 
 ship, which was accepted ; the pointer was restored to the owner, 
 after which the giant retired ; the man came home and began to 
 doctor, and cured many diseases ; he was skilled in the business 
 and drew hair and worms from the persons whom the witches 
 had blown into their bodies. It was supposed that the Skaun- 
 ratohatihawk, or Nantcokes in the south first founded the witch- 
 craft. Great pains were taken to procure the snakes and roots 
 which the stuff was made of to poison the people. The witches 
 formed into a secret society ; they met in the night and consult 
 on various subject respecting their engagements ; when a person 
 becomes a member of their society, he is forbidden to reveal any 
 of their proceedings. The witches in the night could turn into 
 foxes and wolves, and run very swift, attending with flashes of 
 light. The witches sometimes turned into a turkey or big owl, 
 and can fly very fast, and go from town to town-, and' blow hairs 
 and worms into a person ; if the witches are discovered by some 
 person tliey turn into a stone or rotten Itig ; in this situation they 
 
.30 cusick's six nations. 
 
 are entirely concealed; about fifty persons were indicted for 
 being witches, and were burnt to death near the fort Onondaga, 
 by order of the national committee. About this time a strange 
 thing happened near the village of Kaunehsuntahkeh, situated 
 east of Oneida creek : a man and his wife and another person 
 returned from hunting, but before they reached the village the 
 night was getting late ; they went into a house to stay over the 
 night ; the house where the dead bodies were deposited ; they 
 kindled a fire and went to sleep, but when the fire was out, the 
 room became dark, the man heard something was gnawing : the 
 man kindled the fire, he discovered the person was dead eaten by 
 a ghost ; he was so frightened that he trembled ; he immediately 
 told his wife to quit .the room as soon as possible ; he remained 
 a few moments and also left the house and followed his wife and 
 overtook her, but she became faint and could not run fast ; they 
 saw a light coming and supposed the ghost was chasing ; fortu'. 
 nately they gained the village. The next day the people went 
 and burnt the dead bodies. This important event was soon made 
 known among the five nations, and afterward changed their mode 
 of burying, by setting posture face to the east ; but again they 
 were troubled with the dead bodies, and were compelled to make 
 some alterations in burying. 
 
 In each Nation contain set of generations or tribes, viz : Ot- 
 ter] Bear, Wolf, Beaver, Turtle. Each tribe has two chiefs to 
 settle the disputes, etc. If a man commits murder, the nearest 
 relation of the slain despatches the murderer with a war-club ; 
 the slain and the murderer are put into one grave. Sometimes 
 their relation of the offender present a belt of white wampum, 
 to make the atonement. The adulterous women are punished 
 by shaving their heads, and banished from the town. The thieves 
 are punished by whipping severely. To recover debts, they gen- 
 erally apply to thfe chiefs; the payments are made up by the rel- 
 atives of the debtor. They have a certain time of worship ; the 
 false faces first commence the dances ; they visit the houses to 
 
CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 drive away sickness, etc. Each town or districtr- are allowed to 
 sacrifice a couple of white dogs; the dogs are painted and orna- 
 mented with strings of wampum ; they throw the dogs into the fire 
 and some tobacco, and addresses the Maker. They pretend to 
 furnish him a coat of skin, and a pipe full of tobacco ; after whichi 
 have dances for several days. The private feats are guided by 
 the dreams. The sixth family, Esaurora, or Tuscaroras, was vis- 
 ited by a person, and went to see 'their amusements, but he was 
 abused by some of the ball-players.. He punished the offender 
 by throwing him into a tree ; he suddenly disappeared, but the 
 person came again and released the fellow from the tree. The 
 visitor appeared very old man ; he appeared among the peo- 
 ple for a while ; he taught them many things ; how to respect 
 their deceased friends, and to love their relations, etc., he in- 
 formed the people that the whites beyond the great water had 
 killed their Maker, but he rose again; and he warns them thatthe- 
 whites would in some future day take possession of the Big ■ 
 Island, and it was impossible to prevent it ; the red children 
 would melt away like snow before the heat. The aged became 
 sick, and he told them to get different kinds of roots, to cure the 
 diseases ; and also showed them the manner of mourning, etc. 
 The aged man died among them, and they buried him ; but soon 
 after some person went to the grave and found he had risen, and 
 never heard of him since. 
 
 In the reign the King Atotarho IX, perhaps 350 years before 
 the Columbus discovered the America. About this time the 
 Kanneastokaroneah or Erians sprung from the Senecas, and 
 became numerous and powerful nation, occupying the country 
 lying between the Genesee and Niagara -Rivers. It was sup_ 
 posed that the national sovereignty was confirmed by the Senate 
 of the Five Nations. A Queen, named Yagowanea, resided at 
 the fort Kauhanauka, (said Tuscarora.) She had an influence 
 among the people, and extended her authority over twelve forts 
 of the country. A treaty of peace was concluded between her 
 
32 cusick's six nations. 
 
 and the Twakanhah, (Messissaugers.) After a time dissentions 
 broke out between the Five Nations and the Messissaugers, and 
 soon commenced hostiHties; but the war was regulated under her 
 control. The Queen lived outside the fort in a long house, 
 which was called a Peace House. She entertained the two par- 
 ties who were at war with each other; indeed she was called the 
 mother of the Nations. Each nation sent her a belt of wampum 
 as a mark of respect, but where the Five Nations were engaged 
 in the warfare she admitted two Canandaigua warriors into her 
 house ; and just as they began to smoke the pipe of peace a 
 small party of the Messissaugers too came into the house. She 
 betrayed her visitors — she advise i the Messissaugers to kill the 
 warriors, which was soon executed ; the Messissaugers soon re- 
 tired. The Queen was informed that the two warriors of 
 Canandaigua had 'been over the river and killed a young prince 
 of the Messissaugers: this offense was too great to pass without 
 condemning the murderers; the reason she gave them up. She 
 immediately went and consulted the chieftain of the band, 
 stationed at Kanhaitauneekay, east of Onondaga village, Buffalo 
 reservation, and from thence repaired to fort Kauquatkay, situated 
 on the lake Erie, the residence of the Kaunaquavouhar, a chief 
 commander of the Erian forces. She dispatched two runners to 
 assemble the people at Kauquatkay ; the Queen too sends an 
 ambaispy to form an alliance with the Naywaunaukauraunah, a 
 savage tribe, encamped on the lake Erie, to unite against the 
 Five Nations. During the absence of the Queen from the fort 
 Kauhanauka, a woman went privately and took a canoe and 
 proceeded on the lake Ontario, towards Canandaigua, as fast as 
 possible; she left the canoe at some place and went through the 
 woods, and came late in the evening at Canandaigua, a fortified 
 town, and immediately informed the Governor, Shorihowane, 
 that the Brians were makirjg preparations to destroy the people 
 living on the east side of Genesee river. The woman gave di- 
 rection how to send the spies ; the governor rose in the morn- 
 
CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 33 
 
 ing and sent ouf two fast runners to the fort Kauhanauka, to as- 
 certain the matter ; the two spies came to an old cornfield south 
 of the fort, where they met some boys hunting squirrels; the 
 spies made inquiries and received all necessary information re • 
 specting the Brian's Council at Kauquatkay, and went home as 
 fast as possible. The Governor Sorihowane, obtained the news. 
 The business was so in haste that it was impossible to procure 
 any aid from the allies. He collected the warriors from the 
 neighboring foits, amounting to fifteen hundred besides the 
 women and the old men. The governor separated the people 
 into three divisions ; first the men, between thirty and fifty years 
 of age; second division, the men were frorn twenty to thirty 
 years of age; third division, were women and old men. The 
 Governor had commanded the leaders to be in good courage and 
 use all the means in their power to defeat the enemy. After pa- 
 rading the divisions they marched towards the Genesee River ; 
 the army halted at the fort Kawnesats, situated on a small lake 
 east of Genesee. The governor had sent runners to observe the 
 motions of the enemy. The women and old men were to re- 
 main at fort to cook and provide provisions for the people. The 
 runners came in and announced that the Erians had crossed the 
 Genjesee river ; the divisions immediately proceeded and laid an 
 ambush on both side the path ; the first division was in front to 
 commence the action at the advance of the enemy. With a 
 stratagem a certain warrior was dressed with a bear skin, and was 
 seated on the path a little distance from the front of the division, 
 meanwhile the enemy came up and saw the bear sitting at ease ; 
 the enemy chase it, which brought them in the midst of the 
 division; at once burst a most hideous yell, followed with a rat- 
 tling of war clubs. After a severe contest the first division was 
 compelled to retreat, but the assistance of the second company 
 came up, and the battle was renewed. At last the Erians fled 
 from the field, leaving six hundred warriors slain. The enemy hur- 
 ried to cross the Genesee river ; the Governor dechned to chase 
 
34 cusick's six nations. 
 
 the enemy, but returned to Canandaiirua. About this time the 
 King of the Five Nations had ordered the great war chief Shori 
 bowane, (a Mohawk,) to march directly with an army of five 
 thousand warriors to aid the Governor of Canandaigua agamst 
 the Brians, to attack the fort Kauquatkay^ endeavor to extinguish 
 the council fire of the enemy, which was becoming dangerous to 
 the neighboring nations ; but unfortunately during the siege a 
 shower of arrows was flying from the fort, the great war Chief 
 Shorihowane was killed and his body conveyed back to Genesee 
 and was buried in a solemn manner ; but however, the siege con- 
 tinued for several days. The Queen sued for peace — the army, 
 immediately ceased from hostihties, and left the Brians entire 
 possession of the country. The Skunantoh or Deer was the 
 most useful game of the Five Nations ; the animal can run con - 
 siderable distance in a day. The people have a small dog in aid 
 to overtake, but very seldom stop when pm-sued by the dogs. 
 
 These creatures generally go in the river or lake ; in this situ- 
 ation the dogs are compelled to leave the deer. The wolves are 
 also prevented from catching these animals ; the hunters have 
 never seen a deer lying dead, except in some instances ; if a 
 person find one it was considered a bad sign ; that person some 
 of his relatives will die in the course of a few moons. When the 
 deer get old they throw themselves into the river and die. An- 
 other way has been discovered : if a deer runs oif and barks at 
 the hunter, it was a bad sign ; his wife had committed adultery, 
 in consequence he cannot kill any deer. When a person intends 
 to hunt deer he procures a medicine, and vomits once daily for 
 twelve days, after which he procures some pine or cedar boughs 
 and boils them in a clay kettle, and after removed from the fire, 
 he takes a blanket and covers himself over with it to sweat; the 
 person that uses the medicine does not allow a woman with child 
 or uncleanness to eat any of the venison. The people some- 
 times go out to hunt as the corn begms to grow on the ears ; 
 they make a long brush fence and remove the leaves on both 
 
CUSICK'S SIX KATIONS. 3S 
 
 sides of the fence, the deer will follow the path ; the person can 
 easily kill the game. In the hot days of the summer, they go 
 and watch in the night at the salt licks. Another mode of kill- 
 ing the deer; they take slivers of basswood bark and proceed to 
 the place and obtain a canoe and go into the river or lake in the 
 night, provided with a light of slivers. The deer, elk and buf- 
 falo, were found in the territory of the Five Nations. The moose 
 inhabit the spruce country and the heads of the Mohawk river; 
 this country was never inhabited by any kind of people in the 
 winter season; the snow fell so deep it was supposed that coun- 
 try would always remain a wilderness. 
 
 About this time the Oneidas killed a very poisonous blue ot- 
 ter ; the meat was very carefully preserved; some are used to 
 hunt, and others to poison the arrows when go out to war ; some 
 of the witches obtained the meat to poison the people. In the 
 river and lakes are found various, kinds of fishes. The people 
 had particular time of the moon to make sugar, plant corn, and 
 hunt deer and other animals. The seasons of the year they are 
 directed by the seven stars of the heavens : when warriors travel 
 in a great forest they are guided by a northern^ star ; if the sun 
 or moon is eclipsed they believe that the Bad Spirit darkens it ; 
 the people are assembled, and make a loud noise to scare the 
 Bad Spirit from the orb. They believe that the clouds in the 
 moon were earth and inhabited by people. The six family made 
 resident near the mouth of Neuse river in North Carolina, and 
 bsca'ne three tribes, the Kautanohakau, Kauwetseka, and Tusca- 
 rora, and united into a league and were at war with the Nanti- 
 cokes, and totally on the sea shores. About this time the Long 
 House became numerous and powerful; each nation could mus- 
 te.- as follows:-^the Mowhawks, 5,000 warriors; Oneidas, 3,500 
 warriors; Senecas, 6,000 warriors; Onondagas 4,000 warriors; 
 Cayiigas, 4,500 warriors; total amount, 23,000 warriors. The 
 Mowhawk was considered an oldest brother, and was appointed to 
 keep a watch towards the sunrise, the Senecas were appointed to 
 
36 cusick's six nations. 
 
 keep a watch towards the sunsetting. The Senators met annu- 
 ally, at the fort Onondaga, to promote their national prospenty. 
 
 The Long House were free and independent nations, and have 
 been acknowledged in such treaties made with them by the 
 neighboring natioTis. Every independent nation have a govern - 
 ment of their OA^n ; they have a national committee meet oc- 
 casionally ; theyhaveachief ruler, named *.^«^/5^/^«'?r, a peace- 
 maker, who is invested with authority to administer the govern- 
 ment. Each nation have a right to punish individuals of their 
 own nation for offences, committed within their jurisdiction ; each 
 nation are bound to oppose any hostile invasions of the enemy. 
 
 In the reign Atotarho X, perhaps about 250 years before 
 Columbus discovered America. The Oyalquarkeror, Big Bear, 
 continue invade the country at Onondaga; a party went and en- 
 camped a day's journey distance from the village; they hunted 
 and killed a few deer. One morning a woman left the camp and 
 was going home to pound com and to supply the men with pro- 
 visions : but before she reached half way she was attacked by the 
 monstrous Bear, and was soon devoured, as she did not return. 
 The men were anxiously waiting, and were suspicious about her; 
 a man was sent to see if she was coming; he advanced where 
 she was assaulted, and discovered the place of her remams ; he 
 soon perceived their fate; he immediately reported and the men 
 immediately proceeded to the place ; and while examining her 
 remains the bear made a vigorous attack ; the men met a severe 
 engagement, but in the meantime the monster was killed ; they 
 procured some of the meat for useful purposes. \ 
 
 Atotarho XI, perhaps about 150 years before Columbus dis- 
 covered America. About this time the Toscaroras sends messen- 
 gers and renewed their intercourse with the five nations. The 
 Tuscaroras were yet numerous and had twenty-four large towns, 
 
 * Auhryane^-, i. e. Ijord. No one can hold this ofSoe except a Turtle tribe, he 
 governs the nation, but not allowed toga out to wai, hisduty is to stay home ami 
 preserve pf>ace among his people. 
 
CUSICK.S SIX NATIONS. 37 
 
 and probably could muster six thousand warriors. They pos- 
 sessed the country lying between the sea shores and the moun- 
 tains, which divide the Atlantic states ; but afterwards a contest 
 arose and the southern nations, the Oyatoh, Kwntariroraunuh, 
 Caweda. The war lasted for many years; unfortunately it became so 
 distressed that the Tuscaroras' frontier settlements were reduced 
 considerably, but the Tuscaroras send expresses and received as- 
 sistance from their brethren, the Five Nations, and war was car- 
 ried on for some time ; at last the enemy was compelled to sus- 
 pend their hostility. 
 
 The Bear tribes nominate the Chief Warrior of the nation. 
 The laws of the confederation provides the Onondagas to furnish 
 a King, and the Mowhawks a great war chief of the Five Nations. 
 
 About this time an earthquake was felt throughout the king 
 dora, supposed a large comet fell into some of the lakes ; and 
 other signs were seen in the heavens. The defender ceased 
 from visiting the people in bodily form, but appeared to the' 
 prophet. In a dream he foretells the whites would cross the Big 
 Waters and bring some liquors, and buy up the red people's 
 lands; he advises them not to comply with the wishes of the 
 whites, lest they should ruin themselves and displease their Ma- 
 ker; they would destroy the tree of peace and extinguish the 
 Great Council Fire at Onondaga, which was so long preserved to 
 promote their national sovereignty. 
 
 In the reign Atotarho XII, perhaps about 50 )rears before 
 Columbus discovered America, the Tehatirihokea, or Mowhawks 
 was at war with Ranatshaganha, supposed Mohegans, who occu- 
 pied the opposite bank of the river Skaunataty or Hudson. The 
 warfare was maintained by small expeditions ; the Mowhawks 
 would cross the river and attack the enemy ; the canoes were 
 kept in the river continually to cover their retreat ; but after a 
 while the Mohegans expaliated the war : the chief of the Mow- 
 hawks received orders from the King, and invited the two con- 
 federate natio:is, the Onaidas and the Onondagas, to unite against 
 
38 
 
 CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 the comm'on enemy ; the band of the combined forces immedi- 
 ately crossed the river and revenged a part of the country, and 
 the enemy were cempelled to sue for peace. 
 
 In the reiga Atotarho XIII, in the year 1492, Columbus dis- 
 covered the America. The Keatahkiehroneah were fighting with 
 the neighboring tribes and were injurious to the frontier settle- 
 ments. The five nations sends Thoyenogea with an army of five 
 thousand warriors and defeated the Keatahkiehroneah and drove 
 them west of the Ohio River ; and they lay waste the enemies' 
 country, and attacked other tribes, etc. About this time the 
 Erians declared a war against the Five Nations ; a long bloody 
 war ensued ; at last the Erians were driven from the country, and 
 supposed were incorporated with some of the southern nations : 
 after which the kingdom enjoyed without disturbance for many 
 years. 
 
 The Mowhawk was considered the oldest language of the 
 confederacy.- 
 
 Mowhawk. Tiiscarora. 
 
 1. Wus-kot, I. Vntchee, 
 
 2. Tack-ny, 2. Nake-tee, 
 
 3. Au-suh, 3. Au-sh, 
 
 4. Kau-valy, 4. Hun-tock, 
 5- Wisk, 5. Whisk, 
 
 6. Yua-yak, 6. 0-yak, 
 
 7. Gia-tock, 7. Gia-nock, 
 
 8. Sot-tai-gon, , 8. Nake-ruh, 
 
 9. Tew-do, g. Ni-ruh, 
 10. Oya-ly. 10. Wots-huh. 
 
 END 
 
. ON 
 
 ©avid ©u^icl^'^ §)\[e\c\ie^ 
 
 OF 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY 
 
 or THE 
 
 SIX NATIONS, 
 
 BY 
 
 W. M- iBeaUchamp, g. T. IS)., 
 BALDWINSVILLE, N. Y. 
 
 Fellow of American Association for the Advancement 
 of Science, etc. 
 
 X S O 3 , 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS, 41 
 
 NOTBS ON 
 
 -^KBu^icK'^ History [^ 
 
 I have thought it advisable to add copious notes, beginning with 
 Ousick himself: 
 
 .j^AVID CUSICK, who wrote the "Sketches of Ancient 
 l*S/ History of the Six Nations." was the son of Nicholas 
 Cusick, a Tuscarora, who died on the reservation near Lewiston, 
 N. Y., in 1840, being about 82 years old. David died not long 
 after his father. He had a fair education, and was thought a good 
 doctor by both whites and Indians. The family at first lived in 
 Madison county, where the Tuscaroras had villages among the 
 Oneidas, and Nicholas was a subscribing witness to a deed of 
 land from the Oneidas to the State of New York, March 3d, 
 1810. 
 
 Three editions of Cusick's History have appeared. The au- 
 thor's was the first, the preface being dated at Tuscarora Village, 
 June 10, 1825, and the copyright added a little later, January 3, 
 1826. This was printed at Lewiston, without illustrations. The 
 second edition had four wood cuts, and was pubhshed at the 
 same place in 1828. The third was pubhshed at Lockport, N. 
 Y., in 1848, and from this the present is literally printed, cor- 
 rections being reserved for the notes. This also had pictures by 
 the historian. The first and best known of these is "Alotarho, 
 a famous War Chief, resided at Onondaga." He sits on a stool. 
 
42 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 smoking, and the two deputies approach him. The second is 
 "A War Dance," where four Indians dance, the Indian drum 
 being played by another. The third is of two " Stonish Giants," 
 pursuing three retreating Indians. The fourth is " The Flying 
 Head put to flight by a Woman parching Acorns." All these are 
 in the edition of 1841. Atotarho and the Flying Head are given 
 in the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Eihnology, with 
 two others. One is " Returning Thanks to the Great Spirit," in 
 which four Indians dance by two fiies, \^hile another beats the 
 drum ; a False Face and two women complete the group. The 
 other is a " Stone Giant or Cannibal." Four Indians run away 
 from him, and some are slung upon his back. 
 
 David Cusick had a brother James, who became a Baptist 
 minister in 1838, and was a man of note. He has been confused 
 with David by some. He published a collection of Indian 
 hymns, and died in Canada. 
 
 Albert Cusick, grandson of James, was born at Tuscarora, 
 December 25, 1846, his mother being an Onondag^, of the Eel 
 tribe. Belonging to that clan and nation, he went to Onondaga 
 in 1858, becoming a war chief in i860, and a principal chief two 
 years later. In 1864 he was n.ade Tatotaho, or head chief of 
 the Six Nations, holding this cffice until he became a Christian,- 
 ten years later. He has aiced ir.e and others much, and ior 
 many years was lay leader and interpieter for the Onondaga 
 Episcopal Mission, besides being active in temperance woik. In 
 the Chuich of the Good Shepheid, Onondaga Castle, he was 
 made a deacon by Bishop Huntington, October i, 1891. Much 
 interesting and valuable matter in this volume is credited to him. 
 Page I. The tale of the creation is quite old, and is substan- 
 tially that of the Hurons. Among them the woman's name was 
 Atahentsic, and the turtle and beaver helped her. Her sons are 
 Tawiskaron and Joiiskeka, the latter slayint^ his brother. Some 
 regard the survivor as the sun, and Tharonhiawagon, or Areskoui, 
 . the Great Spirit, as his child. The God of war was called Ares- 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 43 
 
 koui, by the Hurons, and Agreskoue by the Mohawks. Father 
 Jogues, however, gives the former name to him among the Mo- 
 hawks, and says that human sacrifices were offered to him in his 
 presence. I see no reason for identifying him with the Holder 
 of the Heavens. Charlevoix notes it as curious that the Greek 
 word Ares, meaning the god of war, should be identical with the 
 root of Iroquois warlike terms. In an Onondaga story Tharon- 
 hiawagon becomes Hiawatha, and dwells on earth for a time. 
 This story, however, seems recent. 
 
 Van der Donck relates that the woman who descended from, 
 heaven, rested on a bar gradually rising above the waters. She 
 brought forth a deer, bear and wolf, and brought them to ma- 
 turity. Cohabiting with these, she bore other creatures until the 
 earth was filled, when she returned to heaven. As men were 
 thus descended from animals, they partially have their characters. 
 
 Canassatego's Story has some relation to that of Hiawatha, and 
 is interesting as preceding 1750. 1 quote it from Charles Miner's 
 History of Wyoming. This Onondaga chief was a warm friend 
 of the Moravians, and this may have colored his story. 
 
 " When our good Manitta raised Akanishionegy out of the 
 great waters, he said to his brethren, ' How fine a country is 
 this ! I will make red men, the best of men, to enjoy it.' Then 
 with five handfuls of red seed, like the eggs of flies, did he strow 
 the fertile fields of Onondaga. Little worms came out of the 
 seeds, and penetrated the earth, when the spirits who had never 
 yet seen the light, entered into and united with them. Manitta 
 watered the earth with his rain, the sun warmed it, the worms 
 with the spirits in them grew, putting foith little aims and legs, 
 and moved the light eaith to cover them. After nine moont; 
 they came forth perfect boys and girls. Manitta covered them 
 with his mantle of warm, purple cloud, and nourished them with 
 milk from his fingers' ends. Nine summers did he nurse them, 
 and nine summers did he instruct them how to live. In the mean- 
 time he had made for their use, trees, plants, and animals of 
 
44 NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 various kinds. Alcanishionegy was covered with woods, and 
 •filled with creatures. Then he assembled his children together, 
 and said, ' Ye are Five Nations, for you sprang each from a 
 different handful of the seed I sowed, but ;^_are alLbrethrea, 
 and I am your father, for I made you all. I have nursed and 
 broughryou up. "Monawks, I have~rnade you bold and valiant ; 
 and see, I give you corn for food. Oneidas, I have made you 
 padent of pain and of hunger; the nuts and fruits- of the trees 
 are yours. Senecas, I have made you industrious and active ; 
 beans do I' give you for nourishment. Cayugas, I have made 
 you strong, friendly and generous ; ground nuts and every root 
 shall refresh you. Onondagas, 1 have made you wise, just and 
 eloquent, squashes and grapes I have given you, and tobacco to 
 smoke in council. The beasts, birds, and fishes have I given to 
 you all in common. As I have loved you and taken care of you 
 all, so. do ye love and take care of one another. Communicate 
 freely to each other the good things I have given you, and learn 
 to imitate each other's virtues. 1 have made you the best peo- 
 ple in the world, and I give you the best country. You will de ■ 
 fend it from the invasions of other nations, from the children of 
 other Manittas, and keep possession of it for yourselves, while 
 the sun and moon give light, and the waters run in the rivers. 
 This you shall do if you observe my words. Spirits, I am about 
 to leave you. The bodies I have given you will in time grow 
 old, and wear out, so that you will be weary of them ; or from 
 various accidents they will become unfit for your habitations, and 
 you will, leave them. I cannot always remain here to give you 
 new ones. I have great affairs to mind in distant place.3, and I 
 cannot attend so long to the nursing of children. I have en- 
 abled you, therefore, among yourselves to produce new bodies, 
 to supply the places of the old ones, that every one of you, when 
 he parts with his old habitation, may in due time find a, new one, 
 and never wander longer than he closes under the earth, de- 
 prived of the light of the sun. Nourish and instruct your chil- 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 45 
 
 dren, as I have nourished and instructed you. Be iust_tixaU.men, 
 and kind_to_strangers that come among you. So shall you be 
 happy and loved by a:ii,"and .t~nLygdLwilLsometim.es.yjsii and. 
 assist-^iouj Saying this, he wrapped himself in a bright doud, 
 and went like a swift arrow to- the sun, where his brethren re- 
 joiced at his return. From the heavens he often looked down at 
 Akamshionegy, and pointing, showed with pleasure to his breth- 
 ren the country he had formed, and the nations he had produced 
 to inhabit it." 
 
 Page 3. Among the Onondagas now the name for the Iro- 
 quois, simply as a race, is Oon-qua-hone-we, '■ Real Men." In- 
 dians were made by the (Great Spirit, Sone-yah-tis-sa-ye/ " the 
 One that made us," and of fed 'clay,"a.nd that is why Indians are 
 red. The white man was formed afterwards, of ocean foam, and 
 is white. Ta-ren-ya-wa gon in Mohawk, Ta-en-yah-wah-ke in 
 Onondaga, the Holder of the Heavens, is a name used in relig- 
 ious ceremonies only when the white dog is burned. At other 
 feasts the term Sone-yah-tis-sa-ye takes its place, and is often 
 used by Christiaji^JndiajLs;' T^ 
 
 rulesjn^alTthings,) is commonly used by the latter, and origin- 
 ated with the~French missionaries. Manitou is not an Iroquois 
 word. 
 
 The subject of religious belief will not be considered largely 
 now, but much of it was vague at an early day. The lesser di- 
 vinities seemed of most importance, and received most attention. 
 Kirkland relates that a Tuscarora chief warned his children 
 against Christianity. He was old, and his dead friends came to 
 see him. Among these his brother told him his time was not yet 
 come. Our religion, said he, has four little gods. In the east 
 was Tyogetoet, rising up, or making its appearance , in the west 
 was Yucataghphki, twilight ; in the north, Jothoel, a little cold ; 
 in the south, Unte. 
 
 Charlevoix gives the usuaj legend of the creation, with some 
 other names and another. Tarenyawagon kicks his wife out of 
 
46 NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 the sky, and she falls on the tertoise. She crawls to the foot of 
 a tree, where she bears twins, and Tawiskaron kills his brother. 
 
 Page 4. Some curious prehistoric American figures of apes, 
 in stone, have been illustrated by Mr. James Terry, but Cusick's 
 idea. is probably modern. 
 
 Page s, in Part II. It seems probable that the Iroquois de- 
 veloped in Canada, as a family, and may have been affected by 
 Eskimo contact, at least. Articles of the Eskimo type are found 
 along Lake Champlain and south of Lake Ontario, but appar- 
 ently earlier than the Iroquois period. The densest Huron-Iro- 
 'quois population certainly had Niagara river as a centre, but 
 whetlicr tlie flimily sjiread out from this, or reached it from the 
 east or west, is yet a problem. My own opinion, founded on ex- 
 tended data, is that the family came from the west, separating at 
 first at the west end of Lake Erie, part entering Canada, and 
 part Ohio. At the east of the lake, or the Niagara river, there 
 was again a meeting and separation. The two streams still pro- 
 ceeded eastward, with an overflow to the south. The Hurons, 
 Neutrals, and Eries remained in their historic seats, the Senecas 
 and Cavugas went further on. At the same time' the advancing 
 stream left the Onondagas in Jefferson county, N. Y., while the 
 Mohawks occupied the lower St. Lawrence. When the Cana- 
 dian war commenced the Mohawks and Onondagas were forced 
 further south, into New York, and soon came in contact with 
 the Cayugas and Senecas. Leaving out minor matters, this is 
 the broad story which archaeology and tradition tell. As they 
 were tillers of the soil, geological conditions affected their move- 
 ments much. 
 
 Page 5. Kanawage or Kanawaga, the River St. Lawrence, is 
 the " Rapid River." There were Iroquois settlements near it, 
 some described in 1535, and some known only by remains. 
 
 Page 5. Some have found a tradition of early European or 
 Phoenician voyages, in the story of the foreign people wrecked 
 on the southern part of the Great Island. 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 47 
 
 Pages. Ronnongwetowane m.eans " Big People," in Onon- 
 daga. 
 
 Page 6. The giant, the princess and her brother go through 
 incidents resembhng European tales. Donhtonha's name sug- 
 gests the Canadian chief, Donaconna, in Cartier's early voyage 
 to the St. Lawrence. Phosphorescent wood is well known. In 
 their early long houses, the Huron-Iroquois had two tiers of 
 berths or seats, framed into the walls, and leaving a wide alley 
 through the centre. The change of the giant and his wife into 
 stars is hardly " a real account." 
 
 Page 8. The young man attending the old chief, and called 
 Yatatonwatea, may be Ya-tah-ta-wah-te, ^- My Nephew" 
 
 Page 9. Shot-yer-rous-kwe means "vI//i-(r.^2>7'(7?«J/<?//." There 
 are many mistakes in proper names, but they are left in the text, 
 using Onondaga words in correction. 
 
 Page 10. The Big Quisquis is the ^^ Big Hog" but as swine 
 came with the whites. Cusick here suggeRts Ihe Mammoth. Some 
 have thought that famous chiefs may have been meant by this 
 and the Big Elk. 
 
 It is tolerably certain that the mastodon, often called the 
 mammoth, was cpnten'iporaneous with man in America, its re- 
 mains having btvyi found in several places associated with human 
 traces. The elephant pipes and- mounds are doubtful proofs, the 
 latter representing some other animal. Traditions of this, crea- 
 ture are of little authority, yet of some interest, for which reason 
 I give the one related in Jefferson's " Notes on Virginia." 
 
 "A delegation of warriors from the Delaware tribe having 
 visited the governor of Virginia during the revolution, on matters 
 of business, the governor asked them some questions relative to 
 their country, and among others, what they knew or had heard 
 of the animal whose bones were found at the Salt-licks, on the 
 Ohio. Their chief speaker immediately put himrelf into an at- 
 ti^yde of oratory, and with a pomp suited to what he conceived 
 the elevation of his subject, informed him, that it was a tradition 
 
^8 NOTES ON cusick's six nations. 
 
 handed down from their fathers, that in ancient times a herd of^ 
 these tremendous animals came to the Big-bone hcks, and began| 
 an universal destruction of the bear, deer, elk, buffalo, and other 
 animals which had been created for the use of the Indians. That 
 the Great Man above, looking down and seeing this, was so en- 
 raged that he seized his lightning, descended on the earth, seated ; 
 himself on a neighboring mountain on a rock, of which his seat 
 and the prints of his feet are still to be seen, and hurled his bolt; 
 among them, till the whole were slaughtered except the big bull,; 
 who, presenting his forehead to the shafts, shook them off as they 
 fell, but missing one at length, it wounded him in the side, where- 
 upon, springing round, he bounded over the Ohio, over the Wa- 
 bash, the llHnois, and finally over the great lakes, where he is 
 living at this day." Both, mammoth and mastodon were herbivo-j 
 rous, but Cusick may have heard this story. 
 
 An allusion to the large animals appears in " The Warrior 
 saved by Pigmies," in Mrs. E. A. Smith's collection. A sick war- 
 rior, left by a salt lick beyond the Allegany, naw three pigmies,: 
 come and He in ambush for the great animals which came out of 
 the ground. They killed two buffalo cows which came up. They 
 fed him, and he told the story on his return home. " From a 
 strong desire to see the 'hck,' a large party searched for it, and 
 found it surrounded with bones of various large animals killed by 
 the pigmies.'' 
 
 Page lo. The northern confederacy may have been the 
 Huron in Canada, or one between the Onondagas and Mohawks 
 in their early seats. There are two other groups on the St. Law- 
 rence which may be included. In 1755, Pouchot mentioned 
 Te-can-an-ou-ar-on-e-si, the south branch of Sandy Creek, as the 
 place where the Iroquois came out of the ground. The vicinity 
 abounds with early earthworks. The old Mohawk tradition 'is 
 ■ that they removed from Montreal late in the sixteenth century. 
 Patient examination of the Mohawk valley shows that they did 
 not enter it until that time. The N. Y. Indians Used several; 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 49 
 
 roots for ^iread and cooking. Among these were groundnuts, 
 Indian turnips, and the man-of-the-earth, or wild potato. The 
 Potato clan of the Senecas had the ground nut for its totem. 
 
 There is a prevalent idea that the Indians cultivated and 
 owned their lands in common. Without giving the full testimony 
 on the other side, it may be sufficient to quote from three early 
 witnesses. Capt. John Smith said of the early Virginia Indians, 
 " Each household knoweth their own lands and gardens, and most 
 live on their own labours." Roger Williams said, "The natives 
 are very exact and punctuall in the bounds of the lands belong- 
 ing to this or that prince or people, (even to a river, brook,) etc. 
 And I have known them make bargaine and sale, among them- 
 selves, for . a .small piece or quantity of ground." Sir William 
 Johnson was even more explicit about the N. Y. Indians. He 
 said " That it is a difficult matter to discover the true owner of 
 any lands amongst^ Indians, is a gross error, which niust arise 
 from the total ignoraape of the matter, or from a cause which 
 does not require explanation. Each nation is perfectly well ac- 
 quainted with their exact ori^tsaL-bounds, the same is again di- 
 vided into due proportions for each tfiti£, and afterwards subdi- 
 vided into shares to each family, with all wfirrJi they are most par- 
 ticularly acquainted; neither do they ever infringe upon one 
 another, or invade their neighbor's hunting grounds." This he 
 wrote in 1764. 
 
 Page 10. Some have thought the Emperor of the Golden 
 City a Mexican monarch, and that the Mound Builders of the 
 Ohio and Mississippi valleys were his subjects. Heckewelder de- 
 scribes a war of the Iroquois and Delawares, or Lenni-Lenape, 
 against the Alligewi, (Alleghany,) usually considered the Mound 
 Builders. 
 
 Page II. The blazing star falling into a fort, may be a remin- 
 iscence of a bomb-shell. The Iroquois conquered the Hurons in 
 Canada in 1649, and made their land a wilderness, completing 
 the work by the destruction of the Tobacco and Neutral nations. 
 
50 NOTES ON CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 Old maps are pathetic with their notes of " nations destDyed." 
 Page II. The Thunders are especially reverenced for de- 
 stroying the serpents, and curious legends of this are ye: told. 
 Mrs. E. A. Smith gives some, and I add one told me at Onon- 
 daga, which Albert Cusick once heard. 
 
 Indian story tellers receive a present of tobacco, and this pre- 
 ceded the tale of the Thunders and Lake Serpent. It if5 one of 
 many, but has been received by me alone. 
 
 In an Indian village lived two squaws, not far apart, yvho were 
 svery good friends. Each had a child, born about the sffime time, 
 and these played together, and shot with their little /bows and 
 arrows. As they grew bigger they wanted stronger b(j)ws, \yhich 
 their uncles made. They became skillful with thes«,.^and then 
 wanted some still stronger, that they might hunt largfer g^me, for^ 
 they were now young men. The women^admired^^ne, a«d sonre 
 would have married him, but he wanted no wife^r His friend told 
 him he had better marry, or something bad J[^ght happen. He 
 said he would do so soon, but fifiyj^ppwouid have a hunt 
 together, on their favorite grou 
 
 - Their mothers roastedUp^l^nd pounded it into meal, which 
 would keep a long tim^^nd was light to carry. The young men 
 filled their sacks witlj^is, and then went to their hunting grounds. 
 They walked all_^y, and camped in the woods. They walked 
 the next day, and camped on the hunting grounds, where they 
 built a lodge. They hunted every day, and one brought home a 
 great deal of game. The other found none, and said but little. 
 This happened several times, and the one who had been so 
 favored and happy, was gloomy all the time. Every morning 
 they went in opposite directions, but one day the lucky hunter 
 thought he would follow his friend, and see what he did. He 
 went a little way as before, and then turned back after him. He 
 was running very fast through the woods, and he followed until 
 they came to a small lake. The first one plunged in and swam 
 to the other side, while his friend ran around. The swimmer 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 51 
 
 reached the shore first, and they ran to a second and larger lake, 
 where they did the same, but the one on land was ahead. The 
 other then turned back, and his friend ran past both lakes, so 
 that he was hid in the bushes when the swimmer came ashore. 
 He caught him at once, and asked what was the matter. At first 
 he could say nothing, but after awhile he came to himself, and 
 said he was to be married. When his friend wanted him he 
 must come to the lake, and bring fresh Indian tobacco with some 
 clean day pipes, and lay these on bark just peeled from the tree. 
 Then he must say to the lake, " I want to see my friend." So 
 he went off another way and married the big serpent in the lake. 
 
 The hunter went back to his cabin, and was very sorry for his 
 friend. He built a fife and sat sadly beside it. Then he heard 
 some one' cdming. ' He turned sitouriA, and a young man stood 
 in the door,ldressed in white, and with white feathers on his head. 
 He said, " You seem in trouble, but you are the bnly one that 
 can help us, so my chief has sent me to invite you to our coun- 
 cil." Then he gave him wampum to show that this was a true 
 message from a chief The hunter said, "Where is the coun. 
 cil ? " The messenger replied, " Why, you came right by our 
 lodge. Follow me and you will find it." 
 
 So he went with him, not very far, till he came to a place 
 where smoke was rising from the ground. There he saw a wig- 
 wam, which they entered. Eight chiefs were sitting on the 
 ground, with white feathers on their heads, the principal chief 
 having the largest plumes of all. The hunter sat down and 
 smoked with them. When the pipe came round to the principal 
 chief, he rose and spoke to the young man : " You have come 
 to help us, and we have waited for you a long time." He said, 
 "How can I help you?" The chief answered, "Your friend 
 has married the big serpent, whom we must kill. He has told 
 you how to call him ; so we will furnish the tobacco and pipes." 
 The chiefs then gave him clean pipes and fresh tobacco, which 
 the hunter took and went to the lake. The chief said, " When 
 
52 . NOTES ON CUSICKis SIX NATIONS. 
 
 your friend comes, you must ask for his wife also. She will want 
 to know if the skies are clear. When she comes you must take 
 her and your friend a little way from the shore. The chiefs will 
 come in the form of a cloud ; on the lake, not in the sky." 
 
 So he took the clean pipes, the tobacco and fresh bark, and 
 went to the water and called foi his friend, saying he was going 
 away, and wished to see him. Out in the lake, the water began 
 to boil, and coming out of it' he saw his friend. He had a spot 
 on his forehead, and looked Hke a serpent, and yet like a man. 
 When he came ashore the hunter talked with him, and asked 
 what he should tell his mother when he got home. 
 
 Then he wanted to see his wife, for his niother might ask what 
 she w.^s like. He said that she might pot wish to come, but he 
 w«uld try. So he went to tjhe shore and lay down,, placing his 
 lips to the water and beginning, bo d;ink. Theji the hunter saw 
 him going down through the water like a snake. Soon the lake 
 boiled again, and he returned, saying his wife would come, but 
 she did not. Then he went back, drinking again, and going 
 down like a serpent. . The lake boiled once more ; not in one 
 spot alone, but all over, like a high sea moved by the wind ; but 
 there was no wind, though the waves rolled up on the shore. 
 Out of the water came his friend's wife, beautiful to behold, and 
 shining as though witii silver scales. Her long hair fell all around 
 her, and seemed like silver and gold. When she came ashore all 
 three sat down on a log, and talked of many things. 
 
 The young hunter watched the lake until he saw something mov- 
 ing on the waters, a great way off, which seemed like a cloud. Then 
 he asked them to go a little farther from the shore, and visit in 
 the shade. They did so, and as they were talking he said he 
 must step aside for a moment. Then he ran off as the chiefs had 
 told him. In a moment it grew dark, and there came terrible 
 thunder and lightning, and rain everywhere. 
 
 All was still at last, and it grew light again ; so the hunter 
 went back again, and found a large and small serpent lying dead. 
 
NdTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 53 
 
 The eight chiefs were there, too, having a great dance, and re- 
 joicing over their enemy. Then they cut up both serpents, and 
 made several bundles of equal size. Each took one, and put it 
 on his back. They thanked the hunter, and told him he should 
 be always lucky. " Ask us for what you want, at any time, and 
 you shall have it." Then they went through the woods in Indian 
 file, and he saw them rising higher and higher, till they went up 
 to the sky. Then there was a great thunder storm. 
 
 The hunter returned to his lodge, and took part of his meat, 
 carrying it a half day's journey. Then he went back for more, 
 and did this with the rest, until he reached home, and told the 
 story to the mother of his friend. She was very sorry, but 
 adopted him, and so the young man had two mothers. 
 
 For their many good offices the Thunders were held in high 
 esteem. 
 
 Page 1 1 . The Onondagas called Oswego Falls Kah-skung-sa-ka, 
 ^Many Falls following. Earlier it was called Gaskonchiague, or 
 Gaskonchiagon, a name also given to Genesee Falls. There is no 
 mountain there, and scarcely a hill. A small earthvvork marks 
 the spot. The Oswego river was little frequented by Indians so 
 low down. ^^^ 
 
 Page II. Tarenjjp,gon assumed various shapes, and is prom- 
 inent in Indian tales, even taking the part of Hiawatha. In two 
 places in Onondaga county, one rocky and the other sandy, his 
 footsteps were to be seen. 
 
 Page II. The return and settlement of the Five Nations 
 seem derived from the order of the chiefs in the condolence. 
 There is no reason to suppose they ever reached the sea in a body, 
 and they seem to have come from different parts. The Mohawks 
 entered New York from Montreal and the lower St. Lawrence, 
 and but one of their towns is known near the Mohawk river, not 
 clearly showing contact with the whites. Even that one isdoubt- 
 ful. In the condolence the nations are reckoned frcm the east, 
 and this became historical. For archaeological facts in this mat- 
 
54 NOTKS ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 ter, and personal guidance, I am indebted to A. G. Richmond, of 
 Canajoharie, and S. L. Frey, of Palatine Bridge, who have faith- 
 fully worked this field. My own personal examination of sites 
 and relics leaves no doubt in my own mind. 
 
 The story of the expulsion of the Mohawks from Canada, ap- 
 peared, in De la Potherie's Histoire de I'Amerique, Paris, 1722. 
 Governor Burnett quoted from this, but Charlevoix had given the 
 story still earlier, as one well known. He did not think the war 
 between the Iroquois and the Hurons and Algonquins of very 
 long standing when Champlain came. The latter Indians were 
 numerous in Canada, and foremost in war and hunting. The 
 Iroquois made a treaty with them, giving part of their harvests, 
 and receiving game. All were satisfied. At last six Algonquins 
 and six Iroquois went on a hunt, and the Iroquois wished to try 
 their skill. The others refused, saying they would kill enough 
 for all, but in three days took nothing. Then the Iroquois went 
 out secretly, and came back loaded. The proud Algonquins 
 killed them all while they slept, and when the murder was dis- 
 covered justice was refused.. The Iroquois vowed revenge, and 
 bound themselves, to perish to a man, or have vengeance. Not 
 yet equal to their foes, they went to a distance and fought with 
 other nations. Then they turned, and waged a relentless war 
 against their first enemies. Governor Colden says they fought 
 first against the Satanas or Shawnees. 
 
 The Five Nations were variously related to others. In 1675, 
 the Sehecas desired to exterminate the Andastes or Susquehan- 
 nas, but " the Susquehannas being reputed by the Maques to be 
 their offspring," this nation desired to biing them back." All the 
 nations west of the Mohawks were then termed Senecas, and 
 those mentioned as Senecas, warring against the Susquehannas, 
 were mainly, Onondagas and Cayugas. 
 
 Page II. Shawnaytawty, or Skaunataty, (variously spelled,) 
 is the same as Schenectady, and was the. old Mohawk name for 
 Albany. In i66i,,at the. time it was sold to. the. Dutch, Schen.^ 
 
NOTES ON CUSICKS SIX NATIONS. 
 
 55 
 
 ectady was called Schonowe, the Great Flat. The three Mo- 
 hawk castles lay far west of this, in Montgomery county. When 
 first visited by the Dutch, there was a castle for each clan, the 
 Bear, Wolf, and Turtle. Two villages only were in existence 
 about A. D. 1600, as the Wolf clan sprang out of the Bear ac- 
 cording to an eirly writer, probably having hved with them. One 
 of the two villages is on the south side of the river ; the other is 
 in Ephrata, in Fulton county. Albert Cusick thought Te-haw- 
 re-ho-geh better rendered as a Heart divided into two Hearts. It 
 is Te-haw-e-ho-ge, in the Onondaga tongue. It may allude to 
 this division and sub-division. 
 
 Page 12. KaAv-na-taw-te-ruh, or Pineries, is the same as Can- 
 astota. Morgan calls this Kan-e-to-ta, Pine Tree standing alone. 
 The Onondagas, however, termed it Can-os-ta, the Frame of a 
 house, from the first frame building there, which they greatly ad- 
 mired. 
 
 Page 12. Ne-haw-re tah-go-wah is Big Tree People. L. H. 
 Morgan said they had this name from attending a treaty at Bos- 
 ton.^ This was in 1723. At another treaty with Massachusetts 
 in if94. Rode, a Mohawk chief, led the envoys of the Five Na- 
 tions, and they entered Albany, two in a rank and singing. 
 
 At this time the Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts 
 promised them a hundred pounds for every scalp or captive. 
 In the Hiawatha story, however, the travelers found some Onei- 
 das sitting under a tree, which they had partially burned off. So 
 he said, "' These shall be called Ne-ah-te-en-tah-go-nah, or Big 
 Tree" In another place a party was lying on and playing around 
 a great stone, and he called them O-ne-o-ta-aug, or People of the 
 Stone. 
 
 Mr. Horafio Hale gives the tree story a Uttle differently, 
 though he thinks it modern. Hiawatha and his companion 
 " crossed the Oneida creek on a bridge composed of an immense 
 tree which had fallen or been laid across it,. and noted that the 
 
5 6 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 council fire, at which the treaty was concluded, was kindled 
 against another huge log." 
 
 The stone, however, is the .prominent emblem of the OneidaS;, 
 and there have been several Oneida Stones. One from Stock- 
 bridge has been placed near the entrance of a cemetery m Utica. 
 I think the oldest stationary stone of this kind is at an early site 
 at Nichol's Pond, in Madison county, thought to be the fort at- 
 tacked by Champlain in 1615. This is a Hmestone bowlder, ' 
 about twelve feet long, in the midst of the village. The town 
 belongs to the Oneida system, rather than the Onondaga. 
 
 In an account of a visit to the Oneidas in 1796, in Vol. 5 of 
 the Mass. Hist. Society Collections, an interview with a pagan 
 Oneida chief is described. " He regarded the Oneida Stone as a 
 proper emblem or representative of the divinity whom he wor- 
 shipped. This stone we saw. It is of a rude, unwrought shape, 
 rather inclining to cyhndrical, and of more than a hundred; 
 pounds weight. It bears no resemblance to any of the stones 
 which are found in that country. From whence it was originally 
 brought, no one can tell. The tradition is that it follows \!at 
 nation in their removals. From it the nation is derived, for Onei- 
 da signifies the upright stone. When it was set up in the crotch 
 of a tree, the people were supposed invincible. It is now placed 
 in an upright position on the earth, at the door of the man's 
 house. A stout man can cany this stone about forty or fifty 
 rods without resting ; and this is the manner in which it may be 
 said (with the help of a httle pries(ciaft) \o follow them on their 
 removals." Some of the remaining Oneidas say that this stone 
 was carried west by those who went to Wisconsin. 
 
 Page 12. The council name of the Onondagas, in their lan- 
 guage, is more exactly. Seuh-no-keh-te, Bearing the Names. In 
 Conrad Weiser's journal, where the name is sometimes appliedio 
 the town, they are called Sa-go-sa-an-a-gech-they, which means 
 bearing names on their shoulders, but as though quite exhausted, 
 or almost dead. A different application of this name will be 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 57 
 
 found in tHe Relation of 1655-6, when Father Chauiiionot at- 
 tended a council at Onondaga, November 7, 1655. " It was told 
 the French in this assembly, first, that Agochiendaguete, who is 
 the great king of all the country, andOnnontio were equally firm 
 and constant in theii decisions." J. R. G. Shea thought this the 
 early title of the Atotarho. Father Chaumonot was adopted 
 afterwards by Sagochiendagnete, the head chief, and in tliis case 
 the council name, of the JDnondaga nation was applied to its 
 greatest man, for it seems the same. The ordinary name of the 
 Onondagas means People vf the Mountain, but another name ap- 
 pears in our Hiawatha story. He found some Onondagas play- 
 ing ball, and said they should be known by this name. Morgan 
 and Hale both speak of a Ball clan among the Onondagas, but 
 intelligent Iroquois, both in Ne* York and Canada, deny its ex- 
 istence. On the Onondaga reservation in New York, however, 
 the Small (shining) Turtle clan often style' themselves the Bdl 
 people. They distinguish themselves from the Turtle clan; some- 
 times saying that they are related, and sometimes that they are 
 not. Most of the clans are inclined to similar divisions. Char- 
 levoix observed that the Iroquois divided the Tortoise family into 
 two branches, the great and little turtle, and Hale notes the same. 
 
 There is a peculiarity in the present pronunciation of Onon- 
 daga by the Indians. Among themselves the broad sound is 
 given to a in the third syllable, as though written dah, but in 
 talking with the whites they as invariably use the long sound, as 
 in day. 
 
 Page 12. The Cayugas have their common narne from their 
 lake, and D. Cusick's name for this is much* like that of the" 
 French missionaries. The meaning is differently rendered. D. 
 Cusick makes it Go-yo-goh, Mountain rising from water. Albert 
 Cusick, Kwe-u-kwe, where they drew their boats ashore; L. H. 
 Morgan, Gwe-u-gweh, At the mucky land. All seem to refer to 
 the higher and firm land beyond the Montezuma marshes: The 
 council name varies in the dialects, the Onondagas terming them. 
 
58 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS^ 
 
 Soh-ne-na-we-too-na, Great Pipe. A pipe was their symbol. 
 
 Page 12. All seem to agree in placing the early traditional 
 location of the Senecas at Fort Hill, in Naples, and south of Can- 
 andaigua lake, but this is somewhat confused with the ancient 
 work on Bare Hill in Middlesex, and east'of the lake. The Sen- 
 ecas may have been the earliest of the Iroquois living south, of/ 
 Lake Ontario, They and the Cayugas were probably kindredj 
 and their early reUcs differ much from those of the three nations 
 further east. Albert Cusick thought that Jen-ne-a-to-wa-ke^ some- 
 times abbreviated to To-na-kab, was a name for the Seuecas, 
 People of many hills. Their council name means. Possessing a 
 door, and is Ho-neen-ho-hone-tah in Onondaga. Morgan gives 
 it as Ho-nan-ne-ho-ont. 
 ,, The name Seneca appears on Dutch maps of 1614 and 1616, 
 and has been thought an Algonquin term for eaters of flesh, or 
 cannibals. The eastern Indians gave the Mohawks a namewith| 
 the same meaning, and none of the Five Nations were averse to 
 human flesh. Instances will be given elsewhere.. In 1643, Roger 
 Williams said that " The Mauguauogs, or men eaters, that live 
 three or four hundred miles west from us, make a delicious, 
 monstrous dish of the heads and brains of their enemies." The 
 Dutph knew the Five Nations only as Mohawks and Senecas. 
 _ Page 13. Kau-ha-gwa-rah-ka is liteTally a Cap, though Erie 
 itself means a Cat; as the missionaries thought from the abund- 
 ance of wild cats there. 
 
 Page 13. In Onondaga the Mississippi is Kah-nah-we-yo-ka, 
 with Cusick's meaning. 
 
 Page 13. Tke Tuscaroras are the Shirt-wearing people. The 
 Onondagas call them Tus-ki-e-a, and they term themselves 
 Skau-ro-ra, Rearing a ihirt. In council they are sometitraesj 
 called Tu-hah-te-chn-yah-wah-kou, Those who hold or embrace 
 the great tree. They occupy a place in the confederacy now 
 much like that of our territories, not being considered part of the 
 Long House in the highest sense. Daniel La Fort said to me, 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 59 
 
 '' It is the same as though I built a wood-shed on the back of 
 my hou?e, which seems to be part of it, and yet is not." 
 
 Page 13. The name of the confederacy is here misspelled, 
 being intended for Goo-nea-seah neh, a Long House, equivalent 
 to the Onondaga Ko-no-si-o-ni. 
 
 Page 14. The word squash is from the Indian Askutasquash. 
 In 1.656, Van der Donck wrote that the New York Indians " say 
 that their corn and beans were received from the southern In- 
 dians, who received their seed from a people who resided still 
 further south. * * Our Indians say that they did eat 
 roots and the bark of trees instead of bread, before the intro- 
 duction of Indian corn, or maize. * * Before the arrival 
 of the Netherlanders, the Indians raised beans of various kinds 
 and colors, but generally too coarse to be eaten green, or to be 
 pickled, except the blue sort, which are abundant." Beans are 
 now used in Indian corn bread. Roger Williams said of the New 
 England Indian.";, "The crow brought them at first an Indian 
 grain of corne in one eare, and an Indian or French beane in 
 another, from the great God, Kauiantouwit's field in the south- 
 west, from whence they hold came all their corne and beanes." 
 
 Loskiel says of Indian corn, " That cultivated by the Iroquois 
 is a variety different from that planted by the Delawares on the 
 river Muskingum. The former ripens sooner than the latter, 
 which probably would never npen in a colder climate. * * 
 The Delawares and Iroquois dress their corn in twelve different 
 ways. * * They have four different sorts of pumpkins." 
 The Onondagas still raise their own variety of soft white corn. 
 
 There are many traditions that all Indians originally ate the 
 bark of trees, and the name of the Adirondacks directly refers 
 to this. Jn Onondaga the word Ha-te-en-tox means Tree-eaters. 
 The Iroquois cultivated a kind ol sunflower, making an oil from 
 the !;eeds, and Charlevoix says tliey had the common and water 
 melon before the whites came. Although they made maple 
 molasses, he says "It is certain they were ignorant of the art of 
 
6o' NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 making a' sugar from it, which we have since learnt them. 
 
 Page 14. The legenas of the Flying Heads seem all Tusca- 
 rora, though i:he scene of this story is at Onondaga, where they 
 are' called' Ro-riea-rau-yeh-ne. Mrs. Smith published other tales ,; 
 of these. 
 
 Page i4:'';Xlii^.aes^^^ of fort tuilding is good, but there/ 
 
 were often more '^ates." Occasionally earthworks and stockades 
 may have been made, as here related, but it is quite probable that 
 the earthwort was often used ^inn^ly as a support . for the cross 
 palisades, as logs were in the following account by Van der Donck: 
 " First,' the^ laj'along on the ground large logs of wood, and fre- 
 quently' smaller logs upon the lower logs, which serve for a foun- 
 dation of tlie work. Then they place strong oaken palisades in 
 the ground on both sides of the foundation, the upper ends of 
 which cross each other, and a,re., joined together. In the upper 
 crossing of the palisades they theii place the bodies of trees, 
 which makes the works strong and firm." 
 
 Some forts in the eastern part of New York were made on 
 steep hills, and with but one entrance. Heavy timbers were set 
 in the groundj with oak palisades on both sides, set crosswise to 
 each other. Other timbers are joined between these cross-trees, 
 and an observation tree was left in the middle of the fort. 
 
 Iiistead of this suppcjrting Wall, a row of pickets was Eome- 
 times set in the ground, supported by cross trees which merely 
 rested on the ground. In the fort of 1615, described by Cham- i 
 plain as a quadruple palisade of unusual character, there seem tOii 
 have been two interlacing sets of cross pahsades, without post- \ 
 holes. Some earthworks, are of the historic period, and some 
 stockades jL^e of early date. They were often made after? a 
 town, iiaxi been settled for some time, which is shown by pottery 
 w^iich I ,haye /buiid in" banks, and in the bottoms of post-holes. 
 Purely Iroquois stockades were usually angular, at least among 
 the western nations. Plain' traces of some still remain. 
 
 Page 14. The Indians yet make bows and arrows with ve^ 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 6 1 
 
 simple tools, and probably always did. Arrows are straightened 
 by the hand, and commonly have an expanded and blunt head. 
 In Iroquois forts the flint arrow heads are mostly of a long tri- 
 angular form, and the later flat copper arrows have the same out- 
 line. The grooved bowlders, in use from A. D. 1600 to 1630, 
 are supposed to have been employed in straightening and round- 
 ing arrows and other wooden implements. Several grooves may 
 appear in the same stone, and they are very uniform in width 
 and depth. Cusick takes no notice of the snow snake here. 
 There are two patterns of this, the Seneca being much more 
 angular than the Onondaga. At present the head is loaded with 
 lead, and the whole appearance is very snaky when the long and 
 slender stick is thrown across the snow. 
 
 Page 15. Earthenware is almost a characteristic of Iroquois 
 sites, and some of the Mohawk and Onondaga vessels, from A. D. 
 1600 to 1640, are of a peculiar type, having raised human faces 
 or forms on the angles. These have not been found elsewhere, 
 though the first idea has. One feature of these raised figures, 
 the limbs, I have known as a rarity in Canada. The Iroquois 
 preferred bone or horn to stone, and had no flint scrapers or 
 drills. 
 
 Page 15. The Stonish Giants suggest wandering parties of 
 mail-clad Europeans. The name given is Oneida ; in Onondaga 
 it is Oot-neyah-hah. The present Onondagas say that a Stone 
 Giant lived near Cardiff, N. Y., who was once like other men, 
 but he ate much, became a cannibal, and increased in size. His 
 skin turned into hard scales. Every day he came, caught and 
 devoured an Onondaga, and the people were dismayed. At last 
 they made a road through the marsh, with a covered pit-fall, and 
 induced the giant to run along the path. He was destroyed and 
 they were left in peace. When the " Cardiff Giant" was exhumed, 
 the Indians were much excited, believing it was this stony man. 
 
 Page 16. Serpents appear in many legends, but in one two 
 great mosquitoes obstruct communication between Onondaga 
 
62 NOTES ON CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 and Cayuga, but are finally destroyed by the Indians. ' 
 Page i6. In the Onondaga story of Hiawatha,. told to J. V.,^ 
 H. Clark, Atotarho does not appear at all. In the one rejated| 
 to Horatio Hale, he is a conspicuous figure. About A. D. 1700, 
 •Atotarho seems to have been sometimes known as Aqueendero.l 
 D. Cusick never mentions Hiawatha, and the stories of him may 
 be local and modern. In his " Frontenac," A. B. Street notes 
 that the bird which killed Hiawatha's daughter was called Sah- ' 
 daJi-ga-ah in Seneca, and Hah-googhs in Onondaga. He adds 
 that it " was supposed by the Iroquois to have been sent by' 
 Hawenneyo to tell Hahyohwonthah that his mission being ac- 
 complished, he must return to the happy hunting grounds." This 
 bird of the clouds is the large winter gull, called Hah-kooks by 
 the OnOndagas, and supposed by them never to light. It is un- 
 lucky to shoot at it. Clark thought it the white heron, and Hale 
 mentions it merely as a strange bird, which one of Atotarho's 
 warriors shot. 
 
 '•'^age 17. Strictly speaking the Iroquois had little or no 
 wampum until the Dutch came. On early town sites, in their 
 tecritory, shell beads are either very rare, or entirely lacking, 
 Ahile on the later they are abundant. L. H. Morgan said they-^ 
 used fresh water shell beads, of a spiral form, until they had ma- 
 rine shells from the Dutch, but none have been found. Loskiel 
 states that short colored sticks were used until the whites came, 
 which is probable. Sticks were occasionally employed much later..; 
 bTf Wliham Johnson wrote to Arthur Lee, in 1771, "As to the 
 information which you observe I formerly transmitted to the Gov. 
 of New York, concerning the belt and fifteen bloody sticks sent 
 by the Mississages, the like is very common, and the Indians 
 used sticks as well to express the alliance of castles, as the num- 
 ber of individuals in a party. These sticks are generally about 
 6 inches in length, and very slender, and painted red if the sub«, 
 ject is war, but without any peculiarity as to shape. Their belts' 
 aie mostly black wampum, painted red when they denote war^ 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 63 
 
 they describe castles sometimes upon them as square figures of 
 white wampum, and in alliances human figures holding a chain 
 of friendship ; each figure represents a nation. ,An axe is also 
 sometimes described, which is always an emblem of war." 
 
 Among the Onondagas the official title of the " Holder of the 
 Wampum," is Hotch-u-sta-no-na. White wampum had a better 
 meaning than the black, but was of less value. Both kinds are 
 used in all councils and feasts, but all is of modern manufacture. 
 There are proper strings for each part of a ceremony, for every 
 person addressed, and for the call of a council. It was long a 
 legal tender in the colony of New York, and had a fixed value in 
 cases of manslaughter. Loskiel says, " For the murder of a man 
 one hundred yards of wampum, and for that of a woman two 
 hundred yards must be paid by the murderer." Later writers 
 make this much less, but it is curious that the woman's Ufe is 
 double that of the man's in value. 
 
 Loskiel says, " Before the Europeans came to North America 
 the Indians used to make their strings of wampum chiefly of 
 small pieces of wood of equal size, stained with black or white. 
 Few were made of muscles, which was esteemed very valuable 
 and difficult to make ; for, not having proper tools, they spent 
 much time in finishing them, and yet their work had a clumsy ap- 
 pearance. But the Europeans soon contmued to make strings of 
 wampum, both neat and elegant, and in abundance. These they 
 bartered with the Indians for other goods, and found this traffic 
 very advantageous. The Indians immediately gave up the use 
 of the old wooden substitute for wampum, and procured those 
 made of muscles, which, though fallen in price, were always con- 
 sidered valuable." It will thus be seen that shell wampum was 
 simply a new material adapted to an old custom. In T714 the 
 Five Nations gave some sticks instead of wampum, but replaced 
 them with belts the following year. 
 
 The invention of wampum is often arcribed to Hiawatha. In 
 two stories he gathers white shells from a lake, and goes to the 
 
64 • NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 Mohawk castle adorned with these! The story told me is a vari- 
 ant of this. He builds a fire near the Mohawk town, which was 
 reported to the chief, who sent young men out to see whether it 
 was friend or foe. They crept near, and looked through the 
 bushes. Sitting by the fire they saw an old man stringing short 
 eagle quills. He did not look' up, and they went back and made; 
 their report. They were sent to invite the old man to a council, 
 but he neither looked up nor answered, stringing the quills as 
 before. They repeated the chief's words, and when they spoke 
 The third time he raised his head, and held up a string of 
 quills, saying, "When your chief wants me at a council, he must 
 send me a string like this.'' The quills were those of the wam- 
 pum bird, which soars very high and is rarely seen, but which 
 Hiawatha could call down. The Mohawk chief had none of 
 these, and sent a string of partridge quills instead. Hiawatha 
 came, and first of all showed Ihem how to make and use wam- 
 pum, and then proposed the league. D. Cusick does not men- 
 tion wampum before the confederacy. The existing belts, now 
 or recently at Onondaga, seem to be all very recent. It does not 
 Beem probable that a single belt was left when the Onondaga 
 ^owns were pillaged in 1779. I have carefully examined all the 
 Onondaga belts at various times, and all are of white men's beads, 
 -and often strings and threads. Some have buckskin thongs. 
 General Carrington, in 1891, secured the Covenant Belt with the 
 United States, and another of interest, for the government. The 
 Covenant Belt had men holding hands, but the chevron appears 
 on some of the wider belts. The widest is forty-nine beads, an 
 unusual width ; and one contains over 12,000 shell beads. 
 
 Page 17. According to Pyrtaeus, " The alliance having been 
 first proposed by a Mohawk chief, the Mohawks rank in the family 
 as the eldest brother, the Oneidas as the eldest son ; the Senecas 
 who were the last at that consented to the alliance, were called 
 the youngest son; but the Tuscarora's, who joined the confed- 
 eracy probably a hundred years afterwards, assumed that name, 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 65 
 
 and the Senecas ranked in precedence before them, as being the 
 next youngest ^on, or as we would say, the youngest son but one." 
 In 1643, the Jesuits said there were two sorts of Iroquois. 
 Those nearest the Hurons were the Santoueronons, the other 
 Agneronons. They were sometimes called Superior and In- 
 ferior Iroquois. The Dutch recognized only Mohawks and Sen- 
 ecas. In the Relation of 1641, it is said that by the napie of 
 Iroquois the French intended six nations, enemies of the Hurons, 
 Algonquins, Montagna,is, etc. Perhaps the Eries were intended 
 by the sixth nation. In 1648 they were distinguished as the Five 
 Nations. The Hurons called them Hotinnonchiendi. 
 
 The relative rank and privileges of the nations have been 
 differently described. In the relation of 1645-6, . it is said, 
 " Oneida is a tribe, the greater number ot whom were destroyed 
 in war by the. Upper Algonquins. To recover itself, it was there- 
 fore'constrained to call in the Mohawks. Whence it comes that 
 the Mohawks call the OneiCas '.' their idaiighter^.'' 
 ' At a council in 1755, Hendrick said " I will therefore acquaint 
 you with the method which has alwa)^ been observed by our fore- 
 fathers on these occasions. The Mohawks, the Onondagas, and 
 the Senecas being the Elder Brothers of the confederacy, the 
 speaker at all public times was chosen out of one or other of 
 these nations, nor was any preference given to either of the 
 three." The Onondaga Kaghswughtioni, or Red Head, was ac- 
 cordingly chosen. Oneida speakers sometimes appear, but may 
 have been borrowed, as occasionally happened. 
 
 Charlevoix says that " The name of Iroquois 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." Mr. Horatio Hale properly objects 
 that they had this name when Champlain came, and it appears 
 on maps as Irocoisia, a little later. He would derive it from 
 gardkwa, a pipe, or the indeterminate verb ierokwa, to smoke. 
 
66 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 He suggests also the woid okwari, a bear. The first conjecttire 
 seems best. 
 
 Page 17. Not long since Thomas Webster, Onondaga keeper^ 
 of wampum, appeared before a committee of the legislature, and 
 said that this wampum "means nothing to white, man, all to In- 
 dian." If the former were told, he could not understand it, but 
 I have had many strings explained to me, and know the use of 
 those I have in caUing councils and raising chiefs. Webster gave 
 the tradition : " There is a tree set in the ground, and it touches 
 the heavens. Under that tree sits this wampum. It sits on a 
 log. Coals of fire (council fire) is unquenclrable, and the Six 
 Nations are at the council fire held by the tribe. To-do-daho, 
 a member of the Bear clan, is the great chief here. He has a 
 descendant in our tribe to-day. His name is Fiank Logan. One 
 of the uses of wampum is for a symbol in the election of officers. 
 The wampum bearer keeps the treaties of the nation." Frank 
 Logan is an Eel, the descendant of a Cherokee. 
 
 Page 17. The election of the Senators, or principal chiefs 
 annually, is a singular statement of Cusick's. After the number 
 of chiefs attending the first meeting the number of what might 
 be called hereditary principal chiefs is usually stated to be fifty, 
 perpetuating the names of the founders. That other names were 
 added to these as the power of the nations grew, or dropped 
 -when numbers diminished, is certain. These alone [remained 
 through every change. The original number in attendance de- 
 pended on distance, or interest in the proposed league. 
 
 The Tuscarora principal chiefs sat in the Grand Council much 
 as territorial delegates sit in the United States Congress. Every 
 nation had its council house, and in 1743 Bartram gave a plan 
 and description of the one at Onondaga. It was eighty feet long 
 by seventeen wide, having a central passage of six feet between 
 the seats. Morgan describes this as though it were a common 
 house. 
 
 In one Hiawatha story he tells the assembly, " If you bring 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 67 
 
 an enemy into the Long House, you will throw his head to the 
 western gate, and they will burn his hair in the fire.'' So the last 
 but one of the Seneca chiefs is called " They burned their hair." 
 Lists of the fifty principal chiefs of the Five Nations have been 
 published by Mr. L. H. Morgan in his " League of the Iroquois," 
 and Mr. H. Hale in the " Iroquois Book of Rites." The former 
 is from Seneca sources, and the latter embraces both tlie Mo- 
 hawk and Onondaga dialects, as written by native Iroquois. I 
 carefully went through the list with Albert Cusick, and tooli them 
 down in the Onondaga tongue, as given below. He supplied 
 some meanings, and differed from Messrs. Morgan and Hale in a 
 very few. The Mchawk sachems were nine, and of these Te-ki^ 
 e-ho-ken stands first as the founder of the league. The mean- 
 ing is "Two voices," but Morgan makes it " Neutral, or the 
 Shield." This name Cusick apphes to the nation. 
 
 Hi-e-wat-ha, made famous by Longfellow, comes next. The 
 two writers mentioned differ in its sigijification, the one render- 
 ing it "He who combs," and the other " He who seeks the wam- 
 pum belt." Albert Cusick differed from both, making it "One 
 who looks for his mind, which he has lost, but knows where to 
 find it." This suggests the persistence of purpose which Mr. Hale 
 ascribes to him. 
 
 Shat-e-ki-e-wat-he is "Two stories in one;" i. e., the same 
 story from two persons. This is essentially the same as Mr. 
 Hale's " Two equal statements." 
 
 Sah-e-ho-na, " He is a tree with large branches." 
 
 Te-yon-ha-kwen, " That which we live on." 
 
 0-weh-he-go-na, " Large flower." 
 
 Te-hah-nah-gai-eh-ne, "Two horns lying down." 
 
 Ha-stah-wen-sent-hah, "Holding the rattles." 
 
 Sau-te-gai-e-wat-ha, "Plenty of large limbs on a tree." 
 
 The Oneida principal chiefs come next, and some of these may 
 be seen in early treaties. 
 
 Tat-sheh-te, or O-tat-sheh-te, " Bearing a quiver." 
 
6S NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 Ga-no-gwen-u-ton, " Setting up ears of corn in a row. 
 Ty-o-Ba-gwen-te, " Open voice.'' 
 
 Sho-non-ses, " His long house." 
 
 To-na oh-ge-na, " Two branches of water." 
 
 Hat-ya-ton-nent-ha, " He swallows his own body from the foot." 
 
 Te-ha-tah-on-ten-yonk, '' Two hanging ears." 
 
 Ha-nea-tok-hae-yea, " Throat lying down." 
 
 Ho-way-ha-tah-koo, "They disinter him." 
 
 The Onondaga principal chiefs follow : 
 
 Tah-too-ta-hoo, "Entangled." Formerly of the Bear clan, 
 BOW of the Eel. 
 
 Hd-ne-sa-ha. The only meaning assigned to this is "The best 
 soil uppermost," and this doubtfully. 
 
 Te-hat-ka-tons, " Looking all'«ver." 
 
 0-ya-ta-je-wak, "Bitter in the thrbat." 
 
 Ah-we-ke-yat, "End of the water. "j i- 
 
 Te-hah-yut-kwa-ye, "Red on the wing.'' 
 
 Ho-no-we-eh-to, " He has disappeared." 
 
 Ga-wen-ne-sen-ton, " Her voice scattered." 
 
 Ha-he-ho, "Spilling now and then." 
 
 Ho-neo-nea-ne, " Something was made for him and laid dov^; 
 before him." 
 
 Sah-de-gwa-se, " He is bruised." 
 
 Sah-ko-ke-he, "He may see them." 
 
 Hoo-sah-ha-ho, " Wearing a weapon in his belt." 
 
 Ska-nah-wah-ti, "Over the water." 
 
 Te-ka-ha-hoonk, " He looks both ways." 
 
 The Cayuga chiefs are next : 
 
 Ta-ge-non-tah-we-yu, "Coming on its knees."; 
 
 Ka-ta-kwa-je, " It was bruised." 
 
 So-yone-wes, " He has a long wampum belt." 
 
 Ta-ta-as-yon-e, " He puts one on another." 
 
 To-wen-yon-go, " It touches the sky.'.' 
 
 Jote-to-wa-ko, " Cold on both sides." 
 
NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. 69 
 
 Ta-hah-wet-ho, " Mossy place." 
 
 Too-tah-he-ho, " Crowding himself in." 
 
 De-kah-he, "Resting on it." 
 
 Last come the Seneca chiefs : 
 
 Kan-ya-tai-yo, " Beautiful lake." 
 
 Sat-te-kaa-yes, "Skies of equal length." — 
 
 Sa-tea-na-wat, " He holds on to it." 
 
 Sa-ken-jo-nah, " Large forehead." '^ 
 
 Ga-noon-gai-e, " Threatened." ^ 
 
 Nis-hi-nea-nent-hah, " The day fell down." ^ 
 
 Kah-none-ye-eh-tah-we, "They burned their hair." 
 
 Ta-ho-ne-ho-gah-wen, " He open door." 
 
 These vary considerably from both Morgan and Hale's lists, in 
 pronunciation, but I carefully took them down in Onondaga, with 
 both these at hand. To use an Onondaga expression, each of 
 th^se has a war chief who stands behind him. 
 
 Chiefs who had their office simply from their good and benev- 
 olent deeds, were pine trees rooted in the sky. They could not be 
 removed, and had seats m the Grand Council. A council fire was 
 extinguished at the death of a chief, and business could not be 
 resumed until after the condolement. A case of this kind at On- 
 ondaga, at the commencement of the Revolution, perplexed Mr. 
 Stone, in writing his life of Brant. The ceremony of condolence 
 varied much, but had some fixed features. 
 
 Page 17. It seems a principal among the Huron-Iroquois that 
 the child should be of the mother's clan and nation. This now 
 stands in the way of a division of land. If an Onondaga mar- 
 ries an Oneida woman, as many have done, the children are 
 Oneidas, and have no claim on Onondaga lands. 
 
 Page 17. The Squawkihows (this being Cusick's spelling,) are 
 supposed to have been the Indians living at Squakie Hill, among 
 the Senecas, and were, perhaps a remnant of the Eries, who were 
 overthrown in 1654. Some are still found on Seneca reservations. 
 
 Page 18. After the Hurons were overthrown in 1649, and the 
 
70 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 Neutrals and Eiies a little later, the way was open to the Mes- 
 slssaagers farther west. After a time these began to appear in 
 history. The name of Twakanha is. applied to all western In- 
 dians by the Onondaga's. The Iroquois attacked the Neutrals 
 in 1650, and again' in 165J. They left their towns, and thous- 
 ands perished. The Erie war began'in 1654. Twelve hundred 
 Iroquois warrior went in canoes on Lake Erie, which would placei 
 the Eries well to the west. They fell back and collected in one 
 tow.i, Uiing poisoned arrows with fatal effect. The Iroquois at 
 first repulsed, used their canoes first a? shields, then as scaling 
 ladders. The carnage was dreadful, and the Eries ceased to ex- 
 ist as a nation. The Neutrals called themselves Akouanke. The 
 Hurons termed the'm Attiwandaronk, " A people with a speech 
 a little different." Tneir principal village j were in Canada, but 
 they had three in New York, from Buffalo northward. 
 
 When Brebeuf and Chaumonot visited the Neutrals in 1640, 
 the Niagara was called Onguiaahra, and a village had the same 
 name. The fathers said, " There is every reason for believing 
 that not long since the Hurons, Iroquois and Neuter nation 
 formed one people." 
 
 Marshall thought the Kah Kwahs were Neutrals.. On Coro- 
 nelli's map, 1688, a village was located near Buffalo, called "Ka- 
 kouagoga," a destroyed nation. Marshall thought the Eries far- 
 ther to the southwest. Father L'AUemant, 1641, wrote from the 
 Huron mission of Sainte .Marie. He speaks of the Neutrals. 
 
 > " From their first village, which is about forty leagues southerly ; 
 from Sainte Marie, it is four days' travel, in a southeasterly di- 
 rection, to where the celebrated river of the Neuter Nation emp- 
 ties into Lake Ontario. On the west, and not on the eastern 
 side of said river, are the principal villages of that nation. There 
 are three or four on the eastern side, extending from east to 
 west towards the Eries or Cat Nation. This river is that by which , 
 
 -jjur great lake of the Hurons is discharged, after having emptied 
 
NOTES 0>f CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 7 1 
 
 into Lake Erie, or Lake of the Cat Nation, and it takes the name 
 of On-gui-aah-ia until it empties into Ontario or St. Louis Lake."' 
 
 Page 18. In Oncndaga the Great Bear is 0-yeah-kwa-ha, or 
 Kah-yah-kwah-ha. 
 
 Page 18. Ohiokea is "Plenty of fruit." Skonyatates- lake 
 may be the one of this name on the west side of Onondaga 
 county, but is more probably one of the small lakes of Madieon' 
 county, called Scaniadoris, or Long lake, in an early treaty. Ii 
 is probable that the Tuscarora town Sganatees, mentioned by 
 Zeisberger, was here. The Iroquois do not hesitate to bring the 
 lion into their stories. It aJDpears in that of Okwencha, or Red 
 Paint, and elsewhere. 
 
 Page 18. The story of the Great Mosquito, Kah-ye-yah-ta- 
 ne-go-na, " The big troublesome fellow that likes to bite often," 
 varies much. Sometimes there are two of these, but most agree 
 in the chase and its results. Until recently his tracks, and those 
 of the Holder of the Heavens, were to be seen near Brighton, 
 just south of Syracuse, being often renewed by the Indians. 
 Those of the mosquito were bird-like, twenty inches long, and 
 extended twenty rods. He was killed at Centerville, northeast 
 of Syracuse, still called Kah-yah-tak-ne-t'ke-tah-keh, '• Where the 
 mosquito lies." The Tuscaroras point out a curious stone on 
 their reservation, where the Holder of the Heavens lay down to 
 rest and smoke, during the pursuits. It has a depression where 
 he reclined, and a hollow made by his arm in rising, and a hole 
 burned where he emptied his pipe. 
 
 One Onondaga story told of two of these monsters, dwelling 
 on the Seneca river above Cross lake, and another placed them 
 at Montezuma, where the combined forces of the Onondagas and 
 Cayugas destroyed them. 
 
 Page 18. Travelers often yet inquire whether the waters of 
 Onondaga lake are salt. When Vanderkamp made his journey 
 through Oneida lake and river, in 1792, he said, "Everywhere 
 are salt springs, and but a few miles from Oneyda lake, in Onon- 
 
72 NOTES ON CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 daga, is a copious salt lake, encircled with salt springs." So short 
 had been the sojourn of the Onondagas in the vicinity, that they 
 thought a bad spirit inhabited the springs at the time Le Moyne 
 visited them, August i6, 1654. 
 
 Page 19. In Onondaga Big Neck's name is So-neah-too-nah, 
 and this is applied to Oxford, called by Morgan^ So-de-ah-lo-wa- 
 nake, or " Thick-necked Giant." There was an earthwork there, 
 and the other, mentioned by Cusick, on the south bank of the 
 Susquehanna, would be that at Sidney Plains. A line is evidently 
 left out. After " Soh-nou-re-wah, i. e., Big Neck,'' it probably 
 should read that he committed depredations on the Shawnees. 
 Shawnee means south. Some of them were adopted by the 
 Iroquois, but these were held in low esteem. ^ It is even now a 
 great reproach to say to a man " you are nothing but a Sewanee." 
 Other nations were not despised, and the present Atotarho, at 
 Onondaga, is of Cherokee descent. The Shawnees desired to 
 settle near Chautauqua lake in 1725, but did not do so. They 
 once lived in Georgia and Florida. Van der Donck said, (1625) 
 "With the Minquas we include the Senecas, the Maquas, and 
 other inland tribes. The Savanoos are the southern nations." 
 After destroying the Andastes the Iroquois attacked the Miami 
 Shawnees, and dispersed them. Mitchell's map, of 1755, says 
 that, in 1672, the Iroquois subdued, and incorporated with them- 
 selves, "the antient CHAOUANONS, the native proprietors 
 of those countries arid the River OHIO. * * Those about 
 Philadelphia, who were called Sauwanoos, we now called Shaw- 
 anoes or Shawnoes." Nicholas Perrot Hved among the Indians 
 for thirty years subsequent to 1665. He said that the Iroquois 
 lived at Montreal, but fled to Lake Erie, where dwelt (he Cha-' 
 ouanons. These fought against them, and drove them to the 
 shores of Lake Ontario. Afterwards the Iroquois drove them 
 to Carolina, but still remained in New York. Colden and others 
 tell much the same story. They are sometimes called Satanas. 
 
 The Oneidas made their settlements on the Susquehanna ia 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 73 
 
 the eighteenth century. The name here given, which more cor- 
 rectly IS Kah-nah-seh-na-sah-wa-de-u-yea, means " Sandy place." 
 In Onondaga it is Kah-na-se-u, " Nice sand." 
 
 The earthwork at Oxford was in the village, and near the river. 
 On one side the bank is naturally precipitous, and a semi -circular 
 wall and trench extended from this, enclosing about three-fourths 
 of an acre. The gates were at each end of the wall. Nothing 
 was found but coarse pottery, and it was probably not long occu- 
 pied. I have examined an earthwork in Oswego county as bar- 
 ren of implements. This was of the Iroquois type. The mound 
 two miles below Greene seemed the work of another people. The 
 fort at Sidney Plains had also a bank and ditch, and enclosed 
 about three acres. i 
 
 Page 19. No message had official recognition unless accom- 
 panied by a belt or string of wampum. An Oneida chief, Abram 
 Hill, explained to me his strings of council wampum. After 
 speaking of the white man's use of credentials, he said that wam- 
 pum had the same character. If he sent a man without it, but 
 with an official message, no attfention would be paid to it ; if he 
 bore wampum his words would be heard. " Indian's wampum 
 same as white man's letter." 
 
 Page 20. In the Onondaga story the serpent is called Kus- 
 hise-too-wan, " Big Snake," and had but one head. The tale is 
 much the same, but differs slightly towards the close. The war- 
 riors were in despair, but all laughed when a boy offered to kill 
 him. First he made a bow of basswood, and an arrow of red 
 willow. Then he dipped the arrow in a young woman's cata- 
 menia, and went to the serpent, examinirig it carefully. Then 
 he said, " I think his heart is just there," and shot, but the ar- 
 row only clung to the scales. Then it seemed alive, and began 
 to twist and turn into the skin until it reached the heart. In 
 great agony thfe serpent rolled down the steep hill-side into the 
 lake, vomiting men dead and alive, and at last died in the water. 
 
 The scene of this legend is not at the earlier supposed site, at 
 
74 NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 the head of Canandaigua Lake, but at Bare Hill, some miles 
 down on the eastern shore. The summit of this is about i,ooo 
 feet above the lake, and was bare of trees when the whites set- 
 tled near it. There was an enclosure of stones, with a ditch, on 
 the summit, but the stones are now mostly scattered. No ac- 
 count has been given of relics, or other signs of occupation, nor 
 has a plan ever been published. 
 
 Page 21. This should be Atotarho V. Ke-ti-yen-goo-wah is 
 Big Swamp, (of tamarack,) near Tonawanda. In history the 
 Ottawas do not appear until the Huron war. After that, and the 
 destruction of the Neutrals, they came in contact with the Five 
 Nations. Their history is somewhat curious, especially as le- 
 gards the name. The French at first called them Cheveitx rel- 
 evez, and sometimes Nez Perces. They lay southwest of the 
 Hurons, and. the Iroquois warred against them after tSe fall of 
 that nation. " Some of these tribes pierce the nose, from which 
 they hang beads." In 1632, Sagard called them Andatahouats, 
 whence we have the name of Ottawas. They tattooed them- 
 selves, generally going naked, and wore the hair erect in front. 
 
 In the Relation of 1666-7, it is said that "The Outaouacs, 
 pretend that the great river belongs to them, and that no nation 
 can navigate it without their consent; this is the reason why all 
 those who go to trade with the French, although of veiy differ- 
 ent nations,' bear the name of Outaouacs, undei the auspices of 
 whom they make the voyage. The ancient abode of the Outa- 
 ouacs was a district of Lake Huron, from whence the fear of 
 the Iroquois has driven them, and to which all their desires tend, 
 as to their native country." At that time they were assailed by ' 
 the Iroquois on one side, and the Sioux on the other. 
 
 The Relation of 1668-9 speaks of the same thing. "As we 
 have given the name of Outaouacs to all the savages of these 
 countries, although of diflerent nations, becaufe the first who 
 have appeared among the French have been Outaouacs, so is it 
 also with the name of the Illinois." 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 75 
 
 La Hontan, in speaking of the island Manitoutin, says, " In 
 former times it was possessed by the Outaowas, called Otouta- 
 gans, who were dislodged by the progress of the Iroquois that 
 has ruined so many nations." They were prominent in 1673, 
 when Frontenac thought a proposed treaty between them and the 
 Five Nations so important as to need special prevention. This 
 led to the building of Fort Frontenac, at Kingston in Canada. 
 Two years before De Courcelles had effected a peace between the 
 Iroquois and Ottawas. It was said then that the Iroquois were 
 so inclined for war, as to fight, not only against their neighbors, 
 but nations 600 leagues away. 
 
 In 1686 the Iroquois again tried to make friends with them, 
 saying that the French had no exclusive right to trade with the 
 Ottawas, and other nations who wore pipes in their noses. Fron- 
 tenac, Ijowever, increased their enmity. In 1695 the Ottawas 
 were invited, by an express from him, to come and roast an Iro- 
 quois, and drink his broth. He died before he could be burned, 
 but they ate part ot him. In 17 18 they had a fort opposite De- 
 troit, and were industrious, having many habits like the Hurons. 
 Some lived farther north. 
 
 Page 22. The name of Chautauqua was early applied to the 
 lake and thfe termination of the connecting portage on Lake Erie. 
 In De Celoron's expedition it prominently appears in this way. 
 On the EngHsh boundary map of 1768, it is placed on Lake Erie, 
 as Jadahque. The Frdnch spelling is Chadakoin, with variations. 
 Several meanings have been assigned to it, but the true one 
 seems to be " When the fish was taken out," in allusion to a 
 strange kind caught there. It is called Tjadakoin, on D'Auville's 
 map of 1755. 
 
 Page 23. The story of the Lizard is not very clearly expressed, 
 but suggests Hercules and the hydra. It may refer to a place in 
 Erie county, N. Y., Lancaster being called Ga-squen-da-geh, 
 " Place of the lizard." 
 
 Page 24. The western expedition seems much like a story 
 
76 NOTES ON CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 popular among the Iroquois, but which is seldom told twice alike- 
 The narrator is supposed to be a traveler, telling what he has 
 seen. The more varied and strange it is, the more it is enjoyed. 
 
 Page 24. The Dog Tail Nation is hardly stranger than stories 
 told by white men a hundred years ago. In 1763, the Great 
 Council at Onondaga sent a string of wampum to the Delaware^ 
 on the Susquehanna, advising them not to take sides with the 
 French: "This string of wampum comes to let you know that 
 the French that were killed is come alive again, and that there "is 
 seven of our posts taken, and all the people killed by the French 
 and a number of wild Indians that have tails like beavers, and live 
 a great way from hence, they can't say how far." This may re- 
 fer to some peculiarity of dress, like the tails in some of Catlin's 
 pictures. 
 
 Travelers fee strange things. In the hfe of David Zeisberger, 
 page 361, it is said, "They steered up the Beaver, and beyond 
 the rapids came to the first town since leaving the fort. It was 
 inliabited-^strange to say — by a community of women, all single, 
 and all pledged never to marry.." 
 
 Page 25. Lentahkeh should probably be Ken-tah-keh, the On- 
 ondaga name for Kentucky, meaning a swampy country. 
 -^ Page 25. The Iroquois were hardly habitual cannibals, and yet 
 had the credit of beirg such. They certainly had no dislike I0 
 human flesh, provided it was tender. In their first \<arlike en- 
 counter with the Dutch, portions of the slain were sent round to 
 their villages. Father Jogues gave an account of a human sac- 
 rifice to Aireskoi, which he witnessed among the Mohawks. The 
 victim was a woman, and she was eaten. 
 
 Heckwelder quotes from Pyrlaeus a statement made by a chief: 
 " The Five Nations formerly did eat human flesh : they at one 
 time ate up a whole body of the French King's soldiers ; they say 
 Eto niocht ochqvari, which is, Human flesh tastes like bear's 
 meat. They also said that the hands are not good eating ; they 
 are yon^arat, bitter." The Iroquois were '.'known to eat hurcan 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 77 
 
 flesh, and to kill men for the purpose of devouring them, and 
 therefore were not considered by the Lenape a pure race, or as 
 rational beings, but a mixture of the human and brutal kinds." 
 This is exaggeration. 
 
 Page 27. Corrected from 4,000 years. Cusick gives a liberal 
 time to each Atotarho. The reigns of three, including this one, 
 cover a space of only 250 years, and the twelve preceding the 
 coming of Columbus are allowed i,ooo years. Three Atotarhos 
 have each a century's reign. 
 
 Page 27. The fort Kauhanauka, is called Kienuka by School- 
 craft, and located on the rocky heights of the Tuscarora reser- 
 . vation, but it presents but slight traces of artificial defence. The 
 meaning is modern, " Where the cannon point down." 
 
 Page 28. This story of a Stone Giant is related at Onondaga, 
 but the place was at Green Lake, a curious and deep pond, with 
 precipices on three sides, two hundred feet high, and a reputed 
 resoit of the Fake Faces. In this the giant does not catch the 
 man, but his pointer is taken from him, and again restored. 
 
 Page 29. The belief in witches is still very strong among the 
 Onondagas, and is well described here. I have been in a cave, 
 on the reservation, where it is said their bod'es were thrown after 
 being cut in pieces. Several popular witch stories have been told 
 me. In one a man goes to a witch meeting to be initiated. All 
 drink a small portion of serpent's blood, and assume various 
 forms. They acquire the power of causing deadly sickness by a 
 look, and a favorite difguise for the neophyte is that of an owl. 
 
 In this and other matterr, the Nanticokes had an evil name. 
 On Capt. John Smith's map, of 1608, they are on the east shore' 
 of Chesapeake Bay, and eastward of the Susquehanna. They 
 became tributary to the Five Nations in 1680, and removed to 
 New York about seventy years later. 
 
 Loskiel says, " The Nanticokes instructed the Delawares and 
 Iroquois in prepaiing- a pecuHar kind of poison, which is capable 
 of infecting whole townships and tribes, with disea-res as perni- 
 
7^ NOTES ON cusick's six nations. 
 
 crous as the plague. The Nanticokes, who were the wretched in- 
 ventors of this art, have utterly destroyed their own nation by it.". 
 It is proper to say that the Onondagas charged the Frencl^j 
 before this, with introducing poisoning arts among them. 
 
 Loskiel says, also, "The Nanticokes have this singular cus- 
 tom, that about three, four or more months after the funeral, they 
 open the grave, take out the bones, ckan and dry them, wrap 
 them up in new hnen, and inter them again." Heckwelder speak's 
 of this, "These Nanticokes had the singular custom of removing 
 the bones of their deceased friends from the burial place to a 
 place of deposit in the country they dwelt in. In earlier times 
 they were known to go from Wyoming and Chemenk (Chemung) 
 to fetch the bones of the dead from the eastern shore of Mary- 
 land, even when the bodies were in a putrid state, so that they had 
 to take off the flesh and scrape the bones clean, before they could 
 carry them along. I well remember having seen them between 
 the years 1750 and 1760, loaded with such bones, which, being 
 fresh, caused a disagreeable stench as they passed through the 
 towa of Bethlehem." They called the Delawares, Grandfathers^ 
 Their own name was Nentego; the Delawares called thein Unecht- 
 go, and the Iroquois the Sganiateratieh-rohne, all meaning Tide 
 
 Water People. 
 
 Page 30. Kau-neh-sun-tah-keh is really the name of St. Anne'S; 
 in Canada, but there may have been an eariier Oneida village | 
 this name. It suggests Canaseraga, which is farther west. . Names 
 were often carried by emigrants to new places, or clung to a vil- 
 lage through all its successive removals, but it was very common 
 for a village to have several names, especially in different dialects. 
 
 . Page 30. The story of the vampyre appears in Mrs. E. A. 
 Smith's Iroquois Myths, as "TheDead Hunter," and I have pub- 
 lished an Onondaga variant, which I had from Albert Cusick, as 
 " The Terrible Skeleton." There are other stories of vampyres, 
 but this is the best known. It may be premised that the Ononi 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 79 
 
 dagas always speak of their whole territory, ancient or modem, 
 as their reservation. 
 
 In old times the Onondagas lived on a great reservation, and 
 sometimes went to hunt in the North Woods. In one party of 
 hunters was an oW man, his daughter and her husband, and their 
 little boy. They went one day and camped, and another day and 
 camped, and then separated. The old man, his daughter and her - 
 husband, went one way, but the little boy went with his uncle, 
 which was fortunate in the end. Late in the day tbe three found 
 an empty .cabin in a clearing. There was an /Indian bedstead on 
 each side, and as no one seemed t6 live there they prepared to 
 stay the night. They gathered fuel, stripping long pieces from 
 the shag-baik hickory, built a fine fire, spread their deer skins on 
 the bedsteads, and then went to sleep ; the old man on one side, 
 and the man and his wife on the other. When the fire was low, 
 and the cabin grew dark, the young people suddenly woke, hear- 
 ing a sound'hke a dog gnawing a bone. As they stirred the noise 
 ceased, but was followed by a sound like rattling bones, overhead. 
 They rose, put on more fuel, and were going back to bed when 
 they saw something flowing from the other couch. . The old man 
 was dea4j his clothes were loin open, his ribs broken and gnawed. 
 They covered him up, and lay down again. -The fire went down, 
 and soon there canle the Eame sound. This time thcy saw a ter- 
 rible skeleton feeding on the dead man. It disappeared when 
 they moved, and they formed a plan of escape. They made a 
 greater fire, and the wife said, " Husband, I am so thirsty ; I 
 must go to the sprirg and drink." So she went out quietly, but 
 when a Httle way off she ran with all her might towards her own 
 country. When the man thoiight the had a good start, he made 
 a very big file, lo last a long time, and then he said, "What has 
 become of my wife ? I am afraid she is drbwned in the spring ! 
 il must go and see." So he went out, and soon ran with all his 
 might until he overtook his wife. He caught her by the arm, 
 and they ran on together. 
 
8o NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 When the fire once more went down the skeleton came again, 
 starting in chase when he found they were gone. Soon they 
 heard him howling terribly behind them, and they ran faster still. 
 That night there was an Onondaga feast, and it now drew near 
 day. They heard the drum sounding tum-tum, tum-tum, and 
 they ran harder, shouting with all their might, but the skeleton 
 did the same. They heard the drum again, tum-tum, tum-tum / 
 it was nearer, and they shouted again. Their friends heard, and 
 came with all their arms. The skeleton, turned and fled. The 
 fugitives fell down, fainting, and did not regain their seLises for 
 four hours. Then they told tBeir story. 
 
 A council was held, and the warriors went to the dreadful spot. 
 In the hut were a few traces of the old man, and in the loft was 
 a bark coffin, in which was the skeleton of a man left unburied 
 by his friends. They determined to burn all ; fuel was gathered, 
 on every side and fire appUed. Then the warriors stood around, 
 with raised axes and bended bows, ready to destroy the terrible 
 skeleton if it came against them. The cabin fell in. and out of 
 the flames sprang a fox, with red and fiery eyes, burst through 
 the ranks and vanished in the woods. The dreadful skeleton 
 was never heard of more. 
 
 Page 30. It is often thought that the Indians had a fixed mode 
 of burial, which was not the case. As Cusick states, the Iro- 
 quois changed burial customs from time to time, as other In- 
 dians did. In this instance the house where the dead bodies 
 were kept seems to point to a time when these were kept for a 
 periodical burial in the great bone-pits or ossuaries. This was a 
 custom among the Hurons, and probably in Western New York, 
 but not among the eastern Iroquois. Except in JeflTerson county 
 bone pits hardly occur as far east as Onondaga. It will he no- 
 ticed also that Cusick here speaks of a sitting posture, _/fer^ to the 
 east, a posture often mentioned by early writers, and familiar to 
 archaeologists, but opposed to common opinions, many suppos- 
 ing that all the Indians were buried facing the west. Ahhougliil 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 8 1 
 
 the knees afe usually "drawn up, the burial might often be called 
 horizontal in other respects. Sometimes graves afford no relics 
 of any kind. Until recently the Onondagas and Tuscaroras, at 
 least, maintained clan burial in rows, so that a husband and wife 
 were not buried together. 
 
 In Morell's Poem of New England, 1625, an Indian burial is . 
 described :— 
 
 " Their dead wrapt up in mats, to the grave they giige 
 " Upright to th' knees with goods whilst they did live, 
 " Which they best lov'd; their^ejes turned to the east 
 . " To which af t^r much time to be releast 
 " They all must march, where all shall all things have 
 '-* That Heart can' wish, or thfey themselves can crave." 
 
 Graves were often palisaded, and this everywhere. I^oskiel says, 
 " At the head of the corpse, which, always lies toward? the east, 
 a tallpost is erected, pointing out who is Isurxed there. If the 
 deceased was a chief of a tribe, or pationi, the post is only neatly 
 carved, but not painted. But if he was, a captain, it is painted 
 red, arid "his head and glorious deeds are portrayed upon it. * * 
 * * The burial place of a physicianis hung with small tortoise 
 shells, or a calabash, which he uses in his practice.'' These posts- 
 are often described, aiid the village of Painted Post has its name 
 from one of note. 
 
 Megapolensis said that the Mohawks " place their dead up- 
 right in holes, and do not lay them down, and then they throw 
 some trees' and wood oji the grave, or enclose it with palisades." 
 
 Stoneheajps occur, as rnonuments, in many places. A chief 
 is supposed to have been killed at Dansville,^ N. Y., and Hosmer 
 Lays, " Wh'en the whites first settled here, the spot where he fell 
 was marked by a large hole, dug in the; shape of a man prostrate, 
 with his arms extended. An Indian trail led by the place, and 
 the passing red men weie accustomed to clear away the dry leaves 
 and brush blown in by the winds. ' The chief was interred in an 
 old burial place near the present site of the Lutheran church in 
 the, village of Dansville. * * * * His monument consisted 
 
82 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 of a large pile of small stones, gathered from time to time by the 
 natives from a hill a mile distant.'' 
 
 I have known instances, in Onondaga county, of Indians keep- 
 ing supposed historic marks clean, but stone heaps were not 
 always memorials of the dead. 
 
 In going from Cayuga to Onondaga in 1666, an Indian cast a 
 stick upon two round stones, which were surrounded with sym- 
 bols of superstition. He said, " Koue! askennon eskatongot! " 
 This means, " Hold ! this is to pay my passage, in order that I 
 may proceed in safety." Many stone heaps in New England had 
 a superstitious use, but not all. In Penhallow's Indian Wars, it 
 is related that at a treaty of peace in 1802, the Indians presented 
 to Governor Dudley "a belt of wampum, and invited him to the 
 two pillars of stone, which at a former treaty were erected, and 
 called by the significent name of the Two Brothers ; unto which 
 both parties went, and added a great number of stones." 
 
 At a funeral of a man, which Kirkland attended at Kanade- 
 saga, in 1764, about 150 Seneca women and girls were present, 
 but no men besides himself and the grave-digger. At Onondaga 
 now, ten days after the funeral, women invite others to a dead 
 feast. Instead of wampum a kernel of corn accompanies the 
 invitation. One man is invited as speech-maker. The women 
 bring pails of provisions, and these are passed around, so that 
 each has something from all the rest. Part out of all is also 
 put in the big kettle, and one dish of this is set on the table for 
 the dead. All partake of this. In Canada it is more like a seance. 
 Page 30. Cusick is the only authority for the Otter clan, 
 though clans were not always permanent. Sir William Johnson 
 mentions the Snake, which was probably the Eel clan of the On- 
 ondagas. A. Cusick tells me that the Onondagas alone havfe 
 this, he and the present Atotarho belonging (o it. The Eels' 
 among the Tuscaroras are Onondagas. Among the Senecas the 
 Potato and some other clans have disappeared. The Mohawks 
 and the Oneidas have but the three principal, and probably 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 83 
 
 original clans of the Bear, Turtle and Wolf. Among the Mo- 
 hawks, Megapolensis mentioned these three, and added of the 
 Bear and Wolf clans. "The last are a progeny of these, and 
 their castle is called Thenondiogo." He may have meant that 
 two of these at first lived in one village, and it is worthy of note 
 that there are but two known Mohawk villages which have any 
 claim to be prehistoric. He adds that "Every one of these 
 tribes carries the beast after which it is called, (as the arms in its 
 banner) when it goes against its enemies, and this is done as well 
 for the terror of its enemies, as for a sign of its own bravery." 
 
 There was no plan in the division of clans, forming a bond of 
 union between the nations, as has been often said, though a na- 
 tional bond there was to some extent, where the clans were com- 
 mon to all. Marriages in the same clans were formerly, but are 
 not now forbidden. 
 
 At a conference with Gov. Bellomont, in 1700, sixteen sachems 
 waited on him, "alleging all business of moment was to be trans- 
 acted by the Three Ensigns that the Five Nations consisted of, 
 to-wit.: the Bear, the Wolf, and the Turtle; and therefore one 
 from each of these tribes or ensigns in each nation was to be 
 present." 
 
 The clans varied, anl still vary in the ditferent natio;i3, with a 
 tendency to subdivide. It is probable that the Onondagas, Cay- 
 ugas and Senecas added to the original clans by adoption. In 
 an account of the Seneca clans at an early day, 1666, they were 
 in two divisions. The first was Guey-niotitesheshgue, meaning 
 four tribes. In this the Turtle, Atiniathin, was first, because the 
 Master of life placed the earth on a tortoise. The Wolf was 
 second, ar;d beirg brother to the Turtle, Ihey consulted together. 
 This clan was called Enantha}onni, or Cahenhisenhoror. The 
 Bear was Atiniorguin, and the Beaver was his brother. The 
 names of the clans are not those of their totems. The second 
 division was called Ouiche-niotitesheshgue, or five tribes. In it 
 were the Deer, Canendeshe ; the Potato, Sohoneschioronon ; the 
 
84 NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 Great Plover, Otinanchahe; the Little Plover, Asco, or Nicohes; 
 the Eagle, Canonchahonronon. The name of the last means 
 two cabins united, because their cabin of several fires was within 
 the earth, and divided by a partition. Knowing no one else they 
 int'ermarried. In councils these divisions took opposite sides of 
 the fire. Loskiel writes " The Iroquois say that the Indians 
 formerly lived underground, but hearing accidentally of a fine 
 country above, they left their subterranean habitations, and took 
 possession of the surface." 
 
 In 1763, the Seneca clans were the Turtle, Bear, Beaver, Eel, 
 Lark; Plover, Falcon, Partridge, Potato, and Deer. By some mis- 
 take the Wolf is left, out. 
 
 Charlfevoix says that the Huron family was divided into the 
 Bear, 'Wblf^ ahd' Turtle clans, but ' that writers were confused 
 because each village was also represented by an animal. 
 
 Page ^b. ' The Iroquois were quite averse to punishing mur- 
 der with death, thoiigh it was sometimes done. They much pre- 
 ferred expiatory presents. In early days both sexes were conti- 
 nent, in marked contrast to other riations. 'As an act of hospi- 
 tality, however, tehiporiry" wives were' provided for distinguished 
 visitors. 
 
 Pags 31. The False Faces 'are yet a prominent body, and it 
 is easy either \b join or leave them. They form a secret society' 
 on each rfeservation, and wear masks when taking part in any 
 ceremony. These were formerly of wood, carved and painted. 
 Mine is of this kind, and now has attached to it a small bag of 
 tobacco lest the spirit in it should become dissatisfied and make 
 trouble. The False Faces visit the sick when required, and open 
 the white dog feast. Soon after they have a feast of their own. 
 A story of the False F'aces is conniect'ed with Green Pond, west 
 of Jamesville. In Clark's Onondaga this is erironeously called 
 Kaiyahkoo, a name belonging to Green Lake liear Kirkvitle*^' 
 The former was called Tue-yah-das-so, or ''Hemlock Limbs in 
 • the water." This was the reputed ancient resort of the False 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 85 
 
 Faces for their greatest mysteries. An Onondaga one night heard 
 many voices there, and crept quietly to the edge of the high rocks, 
 which on thiee sides bound the pond. Looking down from the 
 brink of the precipice, he saw the False Faces coming up from 
 the water, heavily loafled with fish. They were merrily shouting, 
 " Hoh ! hoh-o-o-oh ! " as they came. But their old leader called 
 out, "Some one is coming! look out!" So they entered the 
 rocky wall in single file. The hunter heard their voices in the 
 rocks far under him, until their songs died away, and all was 
 quiet again. 
 
 Page 31. In its essential feature of sacrifice the White Dog 
 Feast seems quite modern, but in point of time it corresponds 
 with the old Dream Feast, taking its ;place, and retaining some 
 of its features. "The latter was qalled Ononhouaroia, by the Hu- 
 rons, and we have a graphic account of its celebration at Onon- 
 daga in 1656. The Jesuits called it a turning j)f the head, but 
 it is more properly the asking, or^Beggin^ r^e^ast._ jGrajnting its 
 identity, it is now c"aIIeT Hoo-no-why-yah-ha, in Onondaga, for 
 men. Making known and obtaining wishes, are leading features. 
 A woman wants something, and a man speaks for her. " You 
 hear! She begs." (With a rumbling like a bull.) "Guess what 
 it is." She has told him her dream, or desire. Sone o.ie says, 
 perhaps in joke, " May be she'll like this." "Neah ; " i. e.. No. 
 One house guesses for the other, and they have some fun out of 
 this. At last the right thing is mentioned, and the response is 
 "Neah-wen-ha." or "Thank you." Both houses, (the long and 
 short,) fake part in this. The day of burning is called Koon- 
 wah-yah-tun-war, i. e., "They are burning dog." Several days 
 aie allowed 1o the feast, which 1 as been often defcribed. 
 
 The while dcg is ro lorger buired at Onondaga, though a few 
 years ago two Were sacrificed. Confession of sins on wampum, 
 and the cleansing of hearths have been prominent features. Al- 
 lusions to the idea of clothing the Creator occur in the journals 
 of Sullivan's campa'gn in 1779, though thecacrifice alor.e ifmen- 
 
86 NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 tioi)«d, and not the annual winter feast. In Canada, one name' 
 Is" Re-robing the Creator." During SuUiV-an's campaign, Lieut.- 
 Col. Dearborn wrote, "At several towns tjiat our army has de- 
 stroyed, we found dogs hanging up on poles about twelve or fif- 
 teen feet high, which we are told, is done" by way of sacrifice. 
 When they are unfortunate in war they sacrifice two dogs in the 
 manner aboye^jnentioned, to appease their imagitaary God. One 
 of these dog's skins they suppose is converted into a jacket, and 
 another into a tobacco poudi for their god." In the Genesee 
 country, Major Foggo wrote, " Two dogs were found suspended 
 from a pole, which signified that evil spirit was to be pacified by 
 their skini=, which would serve to make him a tobacco pouch and 
 waistcoat." The feast differed much in the different towns. 
 
 When fully carried out the feast is fourteen days. long. Three 
 days are devoted to religious services, includingj confession of 
 sins on wampum.j Three days of gambling follow, the clans 
 b'eing divided for this. On the last day of this two- False Faces 
 go to- the several houses, and poke in the ashes, but do not now 
 put out the fire. In the evening there are cereiuonies at the 
 council house. One party is there, and the other at another 
 house not far off. Speeches are made- in each, and they remain 
 apart ihree days. They guess, as in the old dream feast. On 
 the seventh and eighth, the False Faces come in a body. The 
 white dog (formerly two, and noneiiow) was burned on the ninth 
 morning, beihg first strangled and painted. There is a dance 
 for tfie children on the tenth day, when the children are named, 
 and persons adopted. The dance for the Four Persons, Ki-yae- 
 ne-ung-qua-ta-ka, comes on the eleventh (fay. On the twelfth 
 day are dances for the Holder of the Heavens. The daiice for 
 the Thunders comes on the thirteenth day ; the men and women 
 taking opposite sides in gamblii5g the next morning. If the men 
 beat, there will be a good season ; the ears of corn will be long, 
 not short like women. 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 87 
 
 From seven to ten days later the False Faces search the houses, 
 receive gifts, and have dances at the council house. 
 
 Among the Onondagas the Maple dance has ceased, as they 
 make no more sugar. It is called Heh-teis-ha-stone-tas, "Put- 
 ting in syrup.' 
 
 The Planting dance is Ne-ya-yent-wha-hunkt, or "Planting 
 time." 
 
 .The strawberry Fe^st is Hoon-tah-yus, adding the name .of the 
 ben-)', "Putting in strawberries." The idea is that the feasfputs 
 in, or piocures more berries. 
 
 The Green Bean Dance is Ta-yun-tah-ta-t'kwe-t'ak-hunkt, 
 "Bieaking the belUes," i. e., the protruding beans in the pods, 
 
 Tunt-kwa-hank cha ne-kah-neh-host-ha, is "Dance of the 
 green corn." 
 
 T'unt-kwa3iank cha ne-unt-hent-tee:-ah-hunk, is "Dance for 
 the harvest;" all is finished. 
 
 When used in any feast, Ken-yent-hali is "gambUng." 
 
 Page '3 1. The tobacco used by the Onondagas is not the com- 
 mon species, but another, Nicotiana rusiica,, with yellow flowers. 
 This is always used in religious ceremonies, or for any kind of 
 charm. When )oung men go out to dig ginsciig they often stiew 
 a little of this over the first plant they find, and leave it for good 
 luck. This is probably the kind which the Petun, or Tobacco 
 Nation of Canada, raised to sell. 
 
 Loskiel fays, "The species in comanon use with the Dela- 
 waves and Iroquois is so strong that they never smoke it alone, 
 but smoke it with the dried leaves of the sumac," or other plants. 
 In a gale on Oneida lake, Tekanadie, the adopted brother of the 
 K.ev. Samuel Kirkland, solemnly threw out two bunches of to- 
 bacco, having never known that amount to fail of quieting a storm. 
 When this did not succeed he allowed the missionary to pray. 
 This species is called Oyenkwa honwe, " Real Tobacco." 
 
 The Iroquois commonly made clay pipes, and often of large 
 size. The Susqueh annas had pipes three feet long, with carved 
 
88 NOTES ON CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 bowls heavy enough to brain a man. Sir William Johnson, Feb- 
 ruary 23, 1756, gave the Six Nations the largest pipe in America, 
 to be hung up in the Onondaga council house, in fuU^sight of all. 
 This was to be smoked when they were perplexed. 
 
 Roger Williams said, '' Sometimes they make such great pipes, 
 both of -wood and stone, thai; they are two feet long, with inen 
 and beasts carved, so big or niassie, that a man may be hurt mor- 
 tally by one of them, but these commonly«came from the Mau- 
 quawogs, (Mohawks,) or 'the men-eaters, three or four hundred 
 miles from us. They have an excellent art to cast our pewter 
 and brasse into very neate and artificial pipes." I have drawn 
 some of both metals, but they are rare now, like most articles of 
 metal. Figures on early pipes commonly face the smoker, but 
 from the same grave, of the historic period, I have seen one of 
 this kind, and another with the face at right angles with the bowl. 
 • Page 31. Dreams were of so much importance among the 
 Iroquois, that the great annual feast, now known as that of the 
 White Dog, was anciently termed the Dream Feast by th«r French. 
 They found the dream the great obstacle in their life among the 
 Hurons and Iroquois, and have recorded many ludicrous and 
 alarming stories of the effects of dreams. They observed, how- 
 ever, that though the Iroquois seemed to worship the dream, this ' 
 was a mistake. ___Jt was one of the inferior deities, Agatkonchoria, 
 who spoke to them tFrough dreams. ' 
 
 Page 31. The story of the siclc medicine man was told a lit- , 
 tie differently by Mrs. E. A. Smith. An Onondaga friend of mine 
 taught her daughter the use of herbs in a very good way. She 
 went with her to the woods, found a plant, showed its features, 
 and explained its uses, and then went home. A week later they 
 went again, but this time the daughter found the plant, and told 
 how it should be used. Of many plants the Indians know very 
 little, even of common kinds. 
 
 Page 32. The story of the queen who lived in the peace 
 house, has been enlarged by some, and connected with the Neu- 
 
NOTES ON CUISCK's SIX NATIONS. 89 
 
 trals, who were timply styled such as taking no part in the war 
 Ijetween the Hurons and Five Nations. Although their enemies 
 the Hurons were closely 'related to the Mohawks, and their lan- 
 guage was nearly the same. Strictly the latter was the only Ca- 
 nadian Iroquois nation, unless the Oneidas dwelt near them on 
 the St. Lawrence. The Eries were near of kin to their neigh- 
 bors, the Senecas. 
 
 This difference occasionally appears in their history. The 
 League was first established to prevent hostilities, and these 
 were imminent between the Mohawks and Senecas in 1656. The 
 former had killed a Seneca chief, but the French averted the war* 
 At this time the Mohawks asked an asylum for their women and 
 children of the Dutch, in case the Senecas attacked them. The 
 Susquehannas, who wore heads of bears and wolves as orna- 
 ments, were claimed as kindred by the Mohawks, but the Cayugas 
 and Senecas wished to destroy them. 
 
 When the three upper nations sent an embassy to Quebec in 
 1665, the ambassadors wished hostilities against the Mohawks sus- 
 pended, as they had no notice of their coming, "with assurance 
 that if they do not concur in the same treaty of peace, when he 
 will have spoken to them, then those Upper Nations will abandon 
 them.'' 
 
 Page 32. The Onondaga village, three miles from Buffalo, of 
 which Big Sky was chief about 1800, was near the place called 
 Kari-hai-ta-neek-ge, " Place of many streams ; " in Onondaga, 
 T'ke-hune-wah-ta-noon-ke. 
 
 Page 33. Fort Kawnesats is Conesus, where there is an earth- 
 work. 
 
 Page 33. The account of the Erie war resembles, and yet 
 differs from Blacksnake's story. Cusick mentions two wars, 
 Blacksnake only one. He said that the Kah Kwahs had their 
 principal residence at Eighteen Mile creek, south of Buffalo. 
 This is called by the Senecas, Gah-gwah-geh, "Residence of the 
 Kah Kwahs. Marshall thought these the Neutrals, and School- 
 
go NOTES ON CUS'.CK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 craft called them Eries. Tht general evidence see.ns in favor of 
 the latter, as Cusick's certainly is. The Senecas were then living 
 east of the Genesee river, as they were when first known to the 
 whites. 
 
 The Kah Kwahs challenged them to play ball and other games, 
 but the young Senecas were victorious in all. The Kah Kwahs 
 became very much excited, and proposed a wrestling match, the 
 vanquished to lose his head. Their champion paid the penalty, 
 and the nations parted. Soon after two Seneca hunters, west of 
 the Genesee, saw the Kah Kwahs marching upon their towns; 
 and gave the alarm. They we e met on the way, and the next 
 day the battle took place. The young men, with peeled bark to 
 tie the prisoners, were placed out of sight, in the rear, while the 
 old warriors fought with varying fortunes. At last they were 
 driven back, and the young Senecas turned the scale. The Kah- 
 kwahs were driven down the Ohio. 
 
 The facts connected with the downfall of the Erie? are quite 
 different. August 9, 1654, news came to Onondaga^ of " the 
 massacre of three Iroquois warriors by the nation of the Cat, 
 (Eries,) which took place about a day's journey from the latter. 
 This amounts to a declaration of war.'' The next day Le Moyne 
 had four messages, the Mohawks not being present, " for those 
 Iroquois nations, a tomahawk to each, for their new war with the 
 nation of the Cat." A twelfth message replaced "the lost head 
 of the Senecas, (alluding to the capture of their chief by the 
 Eries.) " Some of the Eries would have spared this chief, fore- 
 seeing what would happen, but a woman, on whom his fate de- 
 pended, was deaf to all arguments. An Oneida chief " thanked 
 Onnontio for having generously encouraged them to combat 
 against their new enemies of the nation of the Cat." There are 
 many points of interest in this short war, which entirely crushed 
 the Eries the following year. The first chie f baptised at O non- 
 daga was one of the bravest leaders. An Erie boy was burned 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. gi 
 
 ^ Qt!.9J!d*ga, in November, 1655, and Catharine, the Iroquois 
 Saint, was of Erie birth. 
 
 P^'gs 34- The Indians hunted the deer, which were abundant 
 aid easily taken: Beavers were Httle valued before the whites 
 came, but soon rose in importance. Something like human rea- 
 son was ascribed to them, as well as laws and rulers, through 
 which lazy members were exiled. Their hard bones were sup- 
 posed to injure the teeth of dogs, but others said that dogs were 
 kept from them lest they should vex the beavers' spirits, and so 
 aifect the trapping. When the hmiter killed a bear , its spirit was 
 propit iated In 1624, Father Le Caron wrote of the Canadian 
 'Indians, that '' They have an insane superstition against pro- 
 fanin g certain bone s, of elk, b eaver, and other beasts, or letting 
 their_dogs.gaa\v them. They preserve themj;ajefWlyjj3r_throw 
 thein into a riyer^_The/ pretend that the souls of these animals 
 come to see how their bodies are treated, and go and tell the 
 Uving beasts and those that are dead ; so that if they are ill treated 
 the beasts of the same kind will no longer allow themselves to 
 be taken, either in this world or the next." 
 
 Neutral hunting customs were much like those of the Five Na 
 tions, but when game was enclosed .they " have this maxim for 
 all kinds of animals, whether they need them or not, that they 
 must kill all they find, for feaj, as they say, that if they do not 
 take them the beasts would go and tell the others how they- had- 
 been hunted, and that then, in the time of want, they would not 
 find any more.'' 
 
 Elks were animals of good omen, but the bear was not always. 
 Early traditions told of a giant elk, beside which all others were 
 as ants in size. He had a court of elks faithfully serving him, 
 and may have been the one mentioned by Cusick. Whether 
 buffaloes were ever found in New York is still an open question, 
 but the Iroquois claimed hunting grounds as far west as IlUnois. 
 
 In their limited hunting and trapping some of the Onondagas 
 still use their medicine. One will not break a muskrat's head, 
 
92 , NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 this having a bad effect on trapping. John Obadiah used to boil 
 green osiers for an emetic, vomiting for several days ; then the 
 deer became so tame that he could almost catch them. A woman 
 must not touch his gun. His early name was O-skon-tah, Bark, 
 but at a Green Corn Dance this was changed to Neah-sa-kwa-ta, 
 Crane. 
 
 Page 35- Few traces of Indian occupation are found in the 
 W&K York wilderness, or about the Sources of the Mohawk. On 
 old maps this tract appears as " Coughsarage, or Dismal Wilder- 
 ness ; " sometimes as " Tyscharondia, where the Iroquois hunted 
 Beaver." By Lake Piseco and some streams, are camps; and 
 there is a small Indian fort on an island in Smith's lake. 
 
 Page 35. Except in the Erie war I remember no use of pois- 
 oned arrows in New York. 
 
 Page 35. In early days the rivers and lakes swarmed with fish, 
 but they were mainly taken with the s-pear. Perhapi the Iroquois 
 used hooks belore the coming of the whites, yet but few have 
 been found, and these are of bone or horn, suggesting a knowl- 
 edge of the white man's Jiook, alter which mo^t of them are 
 formed. The use of the spear naturally caused villages and 
 camps to be located at or near rifts and shallow parts of rivers. 
 At such places, too, stone-weirs were made, between the walls of 
 which the fish were driven, and one very large one Etill lemains 
 in the Seneca river. The Hurons made hurdles, which brought 
 the fish into their nets, and the Oneidashad annual fisWng feasts 
 in the spring. When all were asseinbled a row of stakes was 
 placed across the stream, and woven with branches. 'J'hen the 
 fish were driven down the creek, and another row of stakes was 
 placed behind them. When this was done the spearing com- 
 menced; and the division of fish and the feast. followed. 
 
 Spearing also took place at night, one Indian guiding the canoe, 
 another feeding the' fire, which was placed on a piece of bark 
 covered with earth; a third wielded the spear. One of the 
 Jesuits was told that fishermen, with a single hook, sometimes 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 93 
 
 took a thousand eels in Onondaga lake in one night. Charlevoix 
 said that between Quebec and Three Rivers "a prodigious quan- 
 tity of large eels are caught in the river, which eels come down 
 from Lake Ontario, where they are bred in the marshes on the 
 north side of the lake." When the French colony was passing 
 up Oswego river in 1656, they took, near Oswego Falls, " thirty- 
 four salmon, spearing them with their swords, and striking them 
 with their oars. They were so numerous that we could strike 
 them without difficulty." 
 
 AH the Iroquois used nets, and flat sinkers are found at most 
 fishing places, though the same flat stones were undoubtedly also 
 used as quoits. In some parts a native hemp furnished twine 
 and ropes, as among the Mohawks. The inner bark of the bass- 
 wood also seived for thread, and this may have been what Char- 
 levoix called thread made from whitewood. Nets were often 
 long, and drawn like a seine. Charlevoix mentions a curious 
 Huron custom. " They also fish with the bosom net, and pre- 
 pare themselves for it by a ceremony singular enough. Before 
 they use this net they marry it to two girls who are virgins, and 
 during the marriage feast, place it between the two brides ; they 
 afterwards exhort it to catch plenty of fish, and believe they do 
 a great deal to obtain this favor, by making presents to the .sham 
 fathers-in-law." 
 
 P^g^ 35- Albert Cusick gave me the following Onondaga 
 names of months. He had them from John Jacobs, an Old On- 
 ondaga, whose Indian name is Ke-nent-too-te, " Hemlock stick- 
 ing up." The White Dog Feast, in January or February, is the 
 beginning of the religious year, and on our New Year's day the 
 Onondagas go from house to house, wishing one another " New 
 Yah," and "receiving cakes, but in another way the year begins in 
 the fall, when they formerly went out to hunt. In this arrange- 
 ment October is Chuthowaah, little cold ; November, Chuthowa- 
 gonab, large cold'; December, Tisah, little long day, (i. e., not 
 very long ;) January, Tisgonah, longer day ; February, Kanatoha, 
 
94 NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 winter leaves fall, (i. e., those which have clung to the trees ;) 
 March, Kanatogonah, winter leaves fall and fill up the large holes. 
 That is, the high March winds blow all the leaves into the hol- 
 lows in the woods. April, Esutah, warm and good days, but not 
 planting time; May, Oyeayegonah, leaves in full size and Straw- 
 berries ripe ; June, Seskahah, sun goes for long days ; July, Ses- 
 kagonah, sun goes for longer days. This means the longest day, 
 but the limits of the last three months are not defined exactly as 
 with us. August, Kentenah, deer sheds its hair ; Sep'tember, 
 Kentenahgonah, deer in its natural fur. An intercalary month 
 if used when necessary. Gonah means something greater. 
 / At the same time I had a list of the present days of the week. 
 Sunday, Ahwentahtokente, holy day ; Monday, Ahwentahtentah- 
 ee, holy day over^ Tuesday, Tekenwahtontah, second one, {i. e., 
 after Sunday ;) Wednesday, Tawentoken, between the days, or the 
 middle of the week; Thursday, Kahyeayewahtontah,>2<!r/%M^/ 
 Friday, Wicks. wahtontah, yf/Z/J one; Saturday, Entucktah, near 
 the (holy) day. Five is wish with some, and wicks with others. 
 A Quaker family taught among the Onondagas about seventy 
 )eais ago, and the numerical names iiiay thus have taken form. 
 '< ZeiiLerger enumeiated the Delaware months, which, being 
 further south, are quite different, but Dr. C. C. Abbott finds them 
 appiopiiate. ]arma.\y, A.mx\, ground squirrel month ; February, 
 Schgalle, frog month ; March, Chawme gischuch, shad month. 
 He does not give the next three months, but in Loskiel, April is 
 planting time ; May, time for hoeing corn ; ']\vat.,deer become red ; 
 July, hilling corn ; August, corn in milk ; September, autumn ; 
 October, harvest; November, hunting ; December, bucks cast 
 their hctns. Zeitberger gives part of these. July, Nipeni, j-;/;«- 
 mer ; August, Winaminge, harvest; December, Lowanni gis- 
 chuch, north month. 
 
 The months are lunar. In Wassenaer's account of New Nether- 
 lands, 1621-1632, he says of some of the Iftdians, "The names 
 of their months are these : Cuerano, the first with them, February ; 
 
NOTES ON CUISCK's SIX' NATIONS. 
 
 9S 
 
 2. Weer-hemska : 3. Heemskan: 4. Oneratacka: 5. Oneratack, 
 then men begin to soa' and to plant ; 6. Hagarert: 7. lakouva- 
 ratta : 8. Hatter honagat : 9. Genhendasta .; then the grain and 
 everything is ripe: 10. Digojenjattha, thsn is the seed housed. 
 Of January and December they take no note, being of no use to 
 them." Part of these seem Iroquois names. 
 
 P*gs 35- The Pleiades were called the Dancers, and Cusick 
 may allude to these. Most Indians gave the Great Bear the 
 same name that we do, and called the north star, the star with- 
 out motion. In eclipses they used to imagine there was war in 
 heaven, and shot arrows in the air to help tlie sun or moon, but 
 the Hurons thought the moon was ill, during an eclipse, and 
 made loud noises, with many ceremonies and prayers. Dogs 
 were stoned and beaten, because thei; howlings were acceptable 
 to the moon. 
 
 Page 35. Cusick gives an extravagant estimate of the Iro- 
 quois strength. Morgan thought they were most numerous in 
 1650, and called their numbers then about 25,000. Those who 
 are famihar with the traces of their forts and villages will consider 
 this quite high enough, and in 1677, Greenhalgh, who visited 
 most of their towns, allowed them 2,150 warriors, which would 
 not give a population of over 10,000. Continual wars de- 
 stroyed their warriors rapidly, but these were partially replaced 
 by the adoption of captives. 
 
 With all their bravery they only maintained their own ground 
 until the Dutch came, but then gunpowder gave them a great ad- 
 vantage which they freely used. It is described in the Journal of 
 New Netherland, I6^.I-46, in relating what had happened at an 
 early day. The Albany people " perceiving that the Mohawks 
 were craving for guns, which some of them had already received 
 from the English, paying for each as many as twenty beavers, and 
 for a pound of powder as many as ten to twelve guilders, came 
 down in greater numbers than usual where guns were plenty, pur- 
 chasing them at a fair price, realizing in this way consldfrable 
 
96 NOTES ON. CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 profit. * * » • The Mohawks in a short time were seen 
 with firelocks ; powder and lead in proportion. Four hundred 
 armed men knew how to make use of their advantage, especially 
 against their enemies dwelUng along the River of Canada, against 
 whom they now achieved many profitable forays, wh^re before 
 they had but little advantage ; this caused them also to be re- 
 spected by the surrounding nations even as far as the sea coast, 
 who must generally pay them tribute, whereas, on the contrary, 
 they were formerly obliged to contribiite to these." 
 
 They became excellent marksmen, and had this advantage, 
 that gui)s were refused to other Indians. This gave them an 
 easy supremacy. In writing of names and national, emblems, in 
 1771, Sir William Johnson ,§aid, the "Mohawks have a steel, 
 called Cannia, thence Canniungaes" was their proper name. 
 Another writer, in 1736, said their device was a flint and steel.; 
 They may have obtained this from Cartier, at Montreal^ in 1535. 
 
 Page 35. In 1654 the Mohawks were very indignant because 
 the French went to Onondaga, by way of Lake Ontario, alleging 
 that they should have passed through the eastern door, which 
 they guarded. All were jealous of national etiquette, and both 
 French and English were accustomed to salute ambassadors with 
 a discharge of five cannon, one for each of the Five Nations. 
 There was a gopd deal of mutual. jealousy. When the French; 
 colony was on its way to Onondaga, in 1656, the Hurons in their 
 company were bound and gagged, by a party of Mohawks, and 
 the Onondagas ill treated. '■ The fear of provoking a war with 
 the Onondagas * _ 1* * obliged them to render proper ex- 
 cuses." The Mcrfiawks and Oneidas were near of kin, and the 
 same year the Onondaga chiefs came to the French to warn them 
 not to trust the Oneidas, for they were "fraudulent in actions,, 
 and deceitful in words." This was the year in which the Mo- 
 hawks and Seneeas were nearly at war, the Cayugas syrapathiz,, 
 ing with the latter. . , , . 
 
 Page 3&. Meetings of the Grand Council at Ononcjagawere 
 
NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. 97 
 
 often of much interest, but were not Qg en fo r business until cer- 
 tain ceremonies had been performed. Most important of these 
 was the covering of the graves of the dead. Presents wiped 
 away all tears, restored speech, and dried up any blood that 
 might have fallen on the council mat. . Other things were added 
 later. Thorns were taken out of the path, clouds removed from 
 the sky, the covenant chain brightened. Under Sir WilHam 
 Johnson new features appeared. One of these, apparently a 
 western custom, was that of sweeping the hearth with the wing of 
 a bird, generally white. Loskiel says, " Formerly they used to 
 give sanctipn to their treaties by delivering a wing of some large 
 bird ; and this Custom still prevails among the more western 
 nations in transacting business with the Delawares." It was first 
 mentioned in New York in 1753. Sometimes a fan was used 
 after this. In 1765 another ceremony was added, which came 
 from the Delawares. The bones of the dead were symbolically 
 collected and placed under a great pine tree, that they might 
 never appear again. With these were other customary cere- 
 monies. 
 
 It is curious how luany conflicting things had the reputation of 
 custom. Iri 1654 Le Moyne met the Grand Council early in the 
 day. The next year the French attended at various hours. In' 
 1756 it was recorded that Iroquois councils are always held at 
 night. When Kirkland visited Onondaga in 1764, they said that 
 an important message could only be received in the hght of day, 
 and the council met at 10 o'clock in the morning. 
 
 Ambassadors did not enter a town at once, and many instances^ 
 could be given of their reception at some distance. That, of 
 Kirkland at Kanad^esaga, near Geneva, in 1764, best illustrates 
 Hiawatha's reception by the Mohawks. The missionary says, 
 "According to Indian custom, we halted at the skirts of the town, 
 sat down upon a log to rest, and lighted our pipes. Presently a 
 runner was despatched from the town, and came in full speed to 
 us, and asked us whence we came, and where we were going, and 
 
98 NOTES ON CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 what was our desire. One of our convoy answered, ' We are 
 only bound to this place, and wish to be conducted to the house 
 of the chief sachem.' He then told us to follow him, and we 
 soon entered the chief sachem's house, and were cordially 
 received." 
 
 That changes should occur is not remarkable,, but too great 
 stress has been laid on tradition and continuous custon x^ For 
 any good reasoa^a change was made, and the words oCSit-Wil- 
 liam Johnson, in 1771, seem true of those whom he knew so well. 
 '' The' Indians near the white settlements, relying solely on oral 
 traditions for the support of their ancient usages, have lost great 
 part of them, and have blended some with customs among our- 
 selves." Similar changes had occurred, he said, farther off, 
 especially where the Jesuits had been. It is easy to show that 
 he, himself, added a great deal to Iroquois ceremonies. 
 
 Page 36. The Agouhanna of Cartier's Canadian voyages, 
 being the lord and king of the country, seems equivalent to this 
 title of Aukoyaner, with the same meaning. The latter is Mo- 
 hawk. In Onondaga it js Ah-go-yan-he, but the office is found 
 in all the clans, not in the Turtle alone. 
 
 Page 36. Stone pestles abound in Onondaga county and else- 
 'where, but generally belonged to an earlier people. The Onon- 
 dagas themselves still use wooden mortars, about two feet high, 
 and a wooden pestle, four feet long, the handle being in the mid- 
 dle. A small amount of parched and pounded corn will last a 
 great while. The Onondaga?, however, raise a soft white corn, 
 which they esteem highly, and which they think can be prepared 
 only by pounding. For bread it is mixed with beans. They are 
 very ingenious in wcod-woik of all kinds, and weave baskets 
 
 which will hold water. 
 
 f 
 
 Page 36. Capt. John Smith may have meant the Tuscaroras 
 by the Kuscarawaokes, a southern tribe. His account of the 
 Massawomekes is clearly that of a people related to the Iroquois,. 
 Dut there are good reasons for placing them even south gf the 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 99 
 
 Eries. It is true that either the Senecas or Eries could have 
 gone down the Allegany, and reached the Potomac by a short 
 portage. Of the two the latter were most likely to do this, and 
 the Eries themselves included more than one nation. Still there 
 are Iroquoian traces near the upper waters of the Potomac, that 
 may belong to the Mass.iwomekes. 
 
 Smith's account of this people is of interest, and may well be 
 given. In July, 1608, he ascended Chesapeake Bay, revisiting 
 several places. '' Soon after that, when crossing the bay, we en- 
 countered seven or eight canoes full of Massawomeks. Seeing 
 that they were preparing to attack us, we left off rowing, and 
 made way with our sail to encounter them : not that I particu- 
 larly wished to do so, if I could avoid it, for there were but four 
 of us, besides myself, who could stand; for, two days after we 
 left Kecoughtoa, the rest were sick almost to death, until they 
 got seasoned to the country. Hiding them under our tarpaul- 
 ing, we put iheir hats upon sticks by the barge's side, and betwixt 
 two hats, a man with two guns, and I fancy the Indians did take 
 those hats to be men, for they fled with all possible speed to the 
 shore, and there stayed, staring at the saiUng of our barge, till we 
 anchored right against them. It was long ere we could draw 
 them to come unto us, but at last they sent two of their number, 
 unarmed, in a canoe, and the rest followed, to help them, if they 
 needed it. I gave to each of these two a belt, and they were so 
 delighted that they soon brought their fellows on board, who pre-, 
 sented me with venison, bears' flesh, fish, bows, arrows, clubs, 
 targets and bears' skins. We could not understand a word they 
 spoke,but by signs, they signified unto us that they had been at 
 war with the Tockwoghes, which they confirmed by showing us 
 their wounds, which were quite recent. They went away at 
 nightfall, leaving us under the impression that they would come 
 again on the moriow morning ; but after that we never saw them." 
 
 The targets were -'made of small sticks, interwoven with 
 strings ot their hemp and silk grass," arrow-proof, and such as 
 
loo NOTES ON CUSICK-'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 were used by the Iroquois at that time. Similar to this was the 
 " arrow-proof armor woven of cotton thread and wood," worn by 
 the Moliawk chiefs killed by Champlain the next year, on Lake 
 Champlain. 
 
 Possession of these articles gave Smith great reputation among 
 the Tockwoghes, for they thought them trophies from their 
 dreaded enemie% and he was well received. " We saw among 
 these people many knives, hatchets, and pieces of brass, which 
 they said they had from the Sasquesahanocks, a mighty people, 
 and mortal enemies to the MassaWomeks. I asked them to pre-., 
 vail on some of these- Indians to pay me a visit, and in about 
 three or four days' time sixty of these giant like people came, 
 bringing with them presents of venison, tobacco pipes three feet 
 in length, baskets, targets, and bows and arrows." 
 
 Elsewhere he speaks of the neat bark canoes of the Massa- 
 womekes. The Susquehannocks, called Andastes by the Iro- 
 quois, wore heads of wolves and bears as ornaments, and had 
 immense pipes. They had " 600 able 'and mighty men, all pal- 
 isaded in their towns to defend them from the Massawomekes, 
 their mortal enemies." These were of Iroquoian stock, and were 
 claimed as near kindred by the Mohawks. An earthwork near 
 Waverly, N. Y., has been considered their stronghold, but mo-st 
 of them lived farther south. It has b^een thought by some that 
 the Massawomekes were New York Iroquois, as they certainly 
 belonged to that family. Language, canoes, and targets, are 
 among the proofs. 
 
 In " The Founders of Maryland," by the Rev. E. D. Neill, 
 there is- published Fleet's journal of 1632. He sailed up the 
 Potomac as far as possible, and his brother went farther north. 
 It has been thought that he visited the Eiies and Senecas, and 
 that these were the Massawomekes. The time seems too short 
 for him to have done this. He was seven days in going to the 
 Massomacks, from near Washington, and five in returning. He 
 may have reached, southern villages of the Eries, and he reported 
 
NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. 101 
 
 them as having towns palisaded "with great trees, and with scaf- 
 folds upon the walls." He said they had four kings or chiefs, 
 thus indicating four nations. On linguistic grounds Mr. Gat- 
 schet thought one of these the Senecas, while the other three 
 might have been Eries, then in alliance with them. 
 
 The stories which were told Smith tend to identify these formi- 
 dable savages with the Eries. He said,- " Beyond the mountains, 
 from whence is the head of the river Patawomeke (Potomac) the 
 Salvages report, inhabit their most mortal enemies, the Massa- 
 womekes, upon a greaf salt- water, which, by. all likelihood, is 
 either some part of Canada, some great lake, or some inlet of 
 some sea that falleth into the South Sea. These Massawomekes 
 are a great nation, and very populous." The Indians of Virginia 
 feared them greatly. On the map published with the 1629 edi- 
 tion of Smith's travels, they are placed on the south shore of a 
 supposed sheet of water,. about seventy-five miles northwesterly 
 of the headwaters of the Potomac. Mr. Albert S. Gatschet 
 reasonably interprets their name as meaning " those on a great, 
 water.'' 
 
 ■Fleet met also a "few Hereckenes, who are cannibals." These 
 sold their beaver in Canada, and had iron axes, which th(^ 
 bought of Kirk, in Quebec. They were much farther eastward 
 than the two he mentioned, and were probably some of the east- 
 ern Iroquois. It is proper to remember that early in the seven- 
 teenth century the Senecas were hardly classed as Iroquois,< 
 Champlain's map and description, in 1632, "distinguished them, 
 the latter saying " The Yroquoisand the Antouhonorans make war 
 together against all the other iiations, except the Neutral nation,. 
 Carantouanis is a nation to the south of the Antbuhonoronsj" 
 and was another name for the Andastes, or Susquehannas. 
 
 At a later day the Five Nations often saw the Tuscaroras in 
 their southern expeditions. Governor Keith wrote to the Gov- 
 ernor of New York, that the Five Nations "were actually ia 
 these parts, assistiiig the Tuscaroras,". in 1.7 13 and 1713. 
 
I02 NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 They lived on the Neuse and Tar rivers in North Carolina, 
 and rose against the colonist in 1711, but were totally defeated 
 the next year. In 17 14 they were received as the sixth nation of 
 the Iroquois confederacy, but in a subordinate way. Other na- 
 tions were afterwards admitted, but never had any name or stand- 
 ing in the League. Some Tuscaroras came north in 1766, but a 
 few remained near the Roanoke river as late as 1803. They 
 were assigned homes among the Oneidas, where they had several 
 villages, and gradually transferred some of these to the Susque- 
 hanna river. Their language differs- so much from "that of the 
 Five Nations, although radically the same, that an interpreter is 
 employed. I have heard an Onondaga interpret the speech of 
 his Tuscarora father. David Cusick uses few Tuccarora names. 
 In the Oneida territory Cana£eraga was the Tuscarora castle, and, 
 a creek flowing into Oneida lake was called Tuscarora creek. 
 
 In 1714 the Five Nations notified the Enghsh that the 'I'u ca- 
 roras had come to them. "They were of us, and went out f om 
 us long ago, and-are now returned, and promise to live peaceably 
 among us." 
 
 Page 37. The Oyatoh were the Cherokees, called by the Sen- 
 ecas, Oyadagaono, '-People who dwell in caves."' The Onon- 
 dagas call them now, T'kwen-tah-e-u-ha-ne, " People of a beau- 
 tiful red color." This seems equivalent to the Kwentarirorau- 
 nuh, of Cusick. The Kawedas were the Cowetas, in Georgia. 
 A large part of the Onondaga Eels were once taken h'y the Cher- 
 okees. Their friends recaptured most of them, and the Chero- 
 kee prisoners were adopted by the Eels. It thus happens that 
 the present Atotarho, being an Eel, is of Cherokee blood. 
 
 On Mitchell's map, 1755, the " Tjonontatecagas, Dwellers in 
 caves,'' appear in the southern Apalachian mountain ranges. 
 Albert Cusick interpreted this for me as burning or smoking 
 mountains, and thought it might refer to the smoke from the 
 mountain caves. This name may be compared with the Tionon- 
 
NOTES ON CUSIGK's.SIX NATIONS. 103 
 
 taties, or Tobacco Nation of Canada, who also lived on hills near 
 the Nottawasaga river, where they raised tobacco. 
 
 Page 37. While the Atotarho was always an Onondaga, it has 
 been denied that the Mohawks furnished the great war chief 
 Morgan claims that there were two such hereditary chiefs, who 
 were always Seneaas. On the other hand it is certain that the 
 Seneca chiefs were not as prominent as leaders as several in 
 other nations, and that others sought or held the office. 
 
 Page 37. The great earthquake in Canada occurred in 1663, 
 and excited great fear. When Charlevoix ascended the St. Law- 
 rence in 1.720, he spoke of the rapid current of the Saguenay at 
 its mouth, and of the effect of this at Checoutimi, 25 French 
 leagues up that river, " This rapidity has besides come to the 
 pitch in which we now see it, only since the earthquake in 1663. 
 This earthquake overturned a mountain, and threw it into the 
 river, which confined its channel, forming a penmsula called 
 Checoutimi, beyond which is a rapid stream impassable even to 
 canoes." 
 
 Page 37. The tree of peace was of^en alluded to in early 
 councils, and yet mainly in connection with treaties with the 
 French and English. Similarly the Great Peace, sometimes ap- 
 plied to the League, has the same wide application. 
 
 Page 37. The war with the Mohegans was mainly carried on 
 by the Mohawks, when the Dutch ascended the River Hudson. 
 The Mohegans occupied its banks, and the Mohawk villages 
 were no nearer than Schoharie creek. The Dutch at first took 
 sides with the Mohegans and were defeated, but afterwards were 
 friends of their opponents. The Mohegans made their last in- 
 vasion in August, 1669, unsuccessfully attacking a Mohawk town. 
 The Oneidas and Onondagas joined the Mohawks and invaded 
 the Mohegan country in return, wi-th even smaller results, but it 
 led to peace. The Mohegans were called Loups, or Wolves, 
 this being the meaning of their name. They were of Algonquin 
 stock,. and kindred to the Delawares. 
 
104 NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 Page 38. The Erie war has been described, but it lasted 
 only a year, when the nation disappeared from history. Accord- 
 ing to one Story they fled down the Allegany river, pursued by 
 the Senecas, who found them encamped on an island in far 
 superior numbers. The Senecas landed on the lower side of a 
 narrow peninsula, carried their canoes across ^d launched them 
 again in the stream above. Thus their force seemed to contin- 
 ually increase, and in the morning the Eries had forever dis- 
 appeared. The Jesuits said that the Iroquois destroyed z,ooo 
 Erie warriors in their own intrenchments. 
 
 ©eneral iNjotc^. 
 
 When Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence in 1535, there were 
 scattered bands of the Huron-Iroquois almost to its tnouth. 
 One fishing party which he met, had nets of native hemp, like 
 those of the New York Indians, a clear evidence of their early 
 use. Although the river was called after Hccheloga, the princi- 
 pal Iroquois town at Montreal, the land of Canada properly 
 began but little below Quebec. The sudden contraction of the 
 stream there gave it its Algonquin name of Quebeio, or Quebec, 
 meaning a strait, or narrowing. In the Abenaquis' dialect it is 
 Quelibec, " shut up," from a peculiarity in their approach to it. 
 At that time the Iroquois and Algonquins were friends, the tra- 
 ditional rupture having not yet taken place. This may be the 
 reason why the names of the Indians whom Cartier first carried 
 to France, belonged to both these families, and this also may ac- 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 "OS 
 
 count for the fact, mentioned by Charlevoix, that Cartier's, Sag- 
 hard's, and La Hontan's vocabularies were unreliable. He said, 
 " These three authors took at random a few words, some from 
 the Hurons, and others from the Algonquin tongues, which they 
 very ill remembered, and which often signified something very 
 different from what they imagined." 
 
 Charlevoix credits the prevalent tradition, that the Iroquois 
 lived on the St. Lawrence, going to New York after the breach 
 with the Algonquins. He said, " I don't pretend to vouch for 
 this historical piece, though I have it from pretty good hands." 
 
 He gives, also, a tradition of Hochelaga. According to this 
 the Onnont-charonnons, or Iroquet nation, lived there, and were 
 at war with the Algonquins, who drew them into an ambush, not 
 a man escaping. From this blow they never recovered, but 
 Charlevoix adds, "It is pretended that the Hurons were they 
 who drove them from their ancient residence, and who have even 
 in part destroyed them.'" Others give some particulars of the 
 destruction of the town. Tliese may have been incidents of the 
 war, but Charlevoix evidently discredited them, saying, " The 
 sole point of their history which has come down clothed with any 
 degree of probability, is the origin of the war, which Mons. Cham- 
 plain found kindled between the Iroquois on one side, and the 
 Hurons and Algonquins on the other." 
 
 As Governor Burnett quoted this account from De la Potherie, 
 Colden may have done the same. Potherie was in Canada for 
 several years previous to 1700, and published his book in 1722. 
 Both French writers may have had the tale from Nicholas Per- 
 rot, who lived among the Indians from 1665 to 1696, and who 
 said the Iroquois Uved at Montreal and Three Rivers until they 
 fled from the Algonquins. After fighting against the Shawnees 
 on Lake Erie, they settled on the south side of Lake Ontario. 
 
 The Huron war, in which the Algonquins shared, caused the 
 depopulation of a large region, all outlying villages being aban- 
 doned. Those who went with Champlain against the Mohawks 
 
Io6 NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 in 1609, told him that Vermont mostly belonged to that nation, 
 and that the islands in Lake Champlain were inhabited before 
 the war. Not a cabin was then to be seen between the St. Law- 
 rence and the Mohawk valley. A few years pasted, aid the 
 Iroquois 'laid waste the most populous districts. For a time 
 Canada had hardly any Indian population left east of Lake Hu- 
 ron. Pennsylvania suffered in a similar way. The tenible slorj- 
 is well known, for the Five Nations were the most relentless foes 
 the others ever had. 
 
 On the authority of a lecent Ojibway historian, it has been 
 claimed that the Mohawks made a treaty with the Ojibways at 
 the Sault Ste. Marie, centuries before this, but George Copway, 
 also a chief, places it afte'r the Huron overthrow, wheie it prop" 
 erly belongs. Even in his account the battles are greatly ex" 
 aggerated. He calls those engaged in these treaties and' skir- 
 mishes, Mohawks, but they were mottly of the other nations.'' 
 The once arrogant:.. I^.urons came humbly to the Ojibways, or 
 Chippewas, and they afforded them refuge after their defea\ 
 Skirmishes and treaties followed between these and the Iroquois, 
 ending in a lasting treaty, the result being that the Ojibways 
 gained a foothold in the vacant .Huron territory. Those called 
 Mississaugas settled on the north side of Lake Ontario, and even 
 had villages in New .Yor^. -On Mitchell's map of 1755, ^^ey aie 
 placed near Seneca lake, with the note, "removed hereabouts." 
 ^-Tlie facts are all against an early, lather than a lecent treaty 
 iDetween the Iroquois and Ojibways. No credence can b^ given 
 to extended Indian estimates of time, and there is no reason to 
 think the Iroquois ever met tjie western Indians until the Hurons 
 were conquered, The Fries, Neutrals, Hurons and Ottawas lay 
 directly in the way. This great barrier removed, the war and 
 hunting parties of the Iroquois went westwaid as they pleased, 
 and then for the first time reached the vicinity of Lake Superior, 
 less than 250 years ago. 
 \ It is curious to observe the effect of the great Canadian war 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. I07 
 
 upon the situation of villages. Allusion has been made to the 
 withdrawal and concentration of Huron towns. In New York 
 the war affected the homes of the Cayugas and Senecas very lit- 
 tle, 'rhe Eries were their kindred and friends, and the Neutrals, 
 maintaining peace, were a wall between them and the Hurons, 
 but their slight knowledge of canoes would have made them of 
 httle account had the/ been hostile. Two of the Five Nations 
 thus passed through the war in absolute security. Those to the 
 eaU had to be more on their guard. Nothing but the -wilderness 
 lay between them and their fees, and therefoie they placed their 
 towns, ior a time, in secluded situations. I have good reasons 
 for supposing the town attacked by Champlain, in 1615, to have 
 been that "of the Oneidas. It certainly was, if the one usuUll)^' 
 identified with it. In any case it was far from any navigable 
 water, high up among the hills. The Onondaga town of the 
 same period, was ako far up a long valley, in a strong position, 
 but one which" v as changed, after Champlaiil's invasion, for 
 another still farther south, and with a better outlook. As the 
 war went on successfully, and they lost fear, the Onondaga towns^ 
 were pushed northward, down the valley, towards the' jape^ 
 country, until the principal village was at Indian Hill, when the 
 French first visited them in 1654. Thence tliey went to a place 
 just east of the reservoir near Jamesville, where their foit and 
 town vi ere burned in 1696; removing next to the east side of 
 Onor-daga Valley, and gradually crcssirg to the west. When 
 Conrad Weiser was there in 1750, he lodged as u^ual, '"in a 
 hcuse which now stood by itself, the rest of the Onondargerg 
 having moved ever the cieek, seme a mile, two miles, three miles 
 off."- Sir WiUiam Johnson biiilt them a foit on the west side, in 
 1756, half a mile south of the village of Onondaga Valley. Its 
 s.tone graded way jet remains, with the cross ditch. The In 
 dian cuttcm was to rr.ove the villages when wcod failed, so that 
 this occuii^d frequently, and tie number cf sites is ro index of 
 population. 
 
r 
 
 I08 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 ,. Similar changes the Mohawks made. About A. D. 1600, they 
 had but two villages; one of these being ten. miles north of the 
 Mohawk ; the other four miles south of that river. As they 
 gained confidence and strength they drew nearer the stream, and 
 at last built their towns on its banks. ' It is interesting to go from 
 one early town to another, and see how their fears abated, as the 
 war went on, and their villages increased. As with the others, 
 a large proportion of the captives were adopted, and made Iro- 
 
 ^quois perforce. 
 
 ^ The eastern Iroquois had not the noted Feast of the Dead, 
 §6 graphically described among the Hurons. There are ossuaries 
 
 "In Jefferson county, N. Y., but in no great numbers. Else- 
 where in New York, they are scarcely foUnd east of the Cayuga 
 
 . territory, and but sparingly there, while they increase in number 
 in the western part of the State. If early writers ever ascribe 
 this practice to the Iroquois, it must be understoqd of the Cayu- 
 gas and Senecas, 'but it could scarcely have been a recent cus- 
 tom among them-. It is usual to speak of the meeting after the 
 Mohegan attack upon the Mohawks, in 1669, as a Dead Feast,, 
 but it was reajly a condolence, somewhat different from recent • 
 ones. It had as little to . do with burial as the present Dead 
 Feast, which is a gathering of women. John Buck, wampum 
 keeper of the Six Nations in Canada, describes one of another 
 kind, which reads like a modern seance. His relation is curious 
 and graphic, and was sent to Hon. George S. Conover, of Gen- 
 eva, N. Y. The letter was his messenger, and a string of wam- 
 pum gave it official sanction. 
 
 "I am John Buck's messenger. Therefore listen. John Buck 
 says in olden times. of my forefathers' was able to recall their de- 
 parted relatives to see them ^ain, the living ones will make one 
 accord whatever the number they may be will get a feast at a 
 certain house for the dead ones, and when the living ones will 
 assemble at the appointed place each of them will take a sliver 
 off the bark door where it turns, this at their different one's 
 
NOTES ON CUSrCK's SIX NATIONS. log 
 
 houses, and enter noiselessly in the house where the feast is spread 
 out for the dead, and they will now all set down next to the wall 
 of the house on the ground all round the house, and the feast is 
 spread out in the centre of the house, and one is appointed as a 
 speaker to address the Great Creator at intervals he would throw 
 an Indian Tobacco on the fire, he will ask the Creator to send 
 their dead relatives, for they are desirous to see thein again, and 
 when he ends it, his speaking, he will sit down again, and they 
 will let the fire go down till the hght ceases, so that in the house 
 becomes dark and no one is allowed to sgeak or to make any 
 noise, and in a little while they will have people coming outside, 
 and they will enter the house and will set themselves around the 
 spread feast, and the assembled living ones will wait till the dead 
 ones are about done eating, then the 'living ones will kindle the 
 slivers of bark which they have brought with them, and the dead 
 are now seen through this light. Here is the string of wampum. 
 " So dear friend according what I have learned by of your let- 
 ter which you sent and I have received, therefore I have wrote 
 to you now of the above. I am your friend. 
 
 Chief John Buck. 
 Fire keeper of Six Nations of Indians, Canada." 
 It was a prevalent idea that the dead liked the good food of 
 this world, and this was often placed on graves. If .it disap- 
 peared, — and the dogs took care of that, — it was supposed to te 
 eaten by the dead. Among the Onondagas both species of Di- 
 eentra, (squirrel corn) are known as Hah ska-nah-ho-ne-hah, 
 " Ghost corn," or food for ghosts. The HuronS thought the soul 
 lingered near the body until the Feast of the Dead, and some- 
 thing of this belief may remain among the Iroquois still. In 
 general they held to a place far westward, the way to which was 
 beset with difficulties, and where there were separate abodes for 
 the good and bad. Atahenstic rules the evil place, and Jouskeka 
 the happy home. Some of their stories are much hke those of 
 the Greeks and Romans. 
 
no NOTES ON, CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 Spirits might do them harm, especially those of the captives 
 whom they had burned. When Greenhalgh visited the Senecas, 
 in 1677, he saw a frequent custom after tortures. Speakmg of 
 the captives, he wrote,, "This day was burnt two women and a 
 man, and a child killed with a stone. Att night we heard a great 
 noise as if ye houses had ail fallen, butt itt was onely ye Inhab- 
 itants driving away ye ghosts of ye murthered." Burning of 
 women was rather a marked feature among the Iroquois, though 
 they otherwise treated their female captives fairly well. 
 
 In some respects the Huron and Iroquois customs at death 
 were much alike. Death was expected, and where it was certain^ 
 preparations were made for it, the burial clothes being sometimes 
 put on before death. When Garacontie died at Onondaga, in 
 1676, he invited the sachems and chiefs to his death banquet, at 
 which he made his parting address. This was a frequent thing. 
 Among the Hurons interment was usually made on the third day, 
 and often in a scaffold tomb. This kept in view the final inter-, 
 ment at the great feast of the dead. I know of no such custom 
 at Onondaga., The Hurons buried at once those who had been 
 drowned, or slain in battle. They also thought that under cer- 
 ta,in circumstances children could be born a second time. The 
 great mourning lasted ten days, with many signs of grief ; the 
 lesser continued for a year. 
 
 The great Feast of the Dead, among the Hurons, came every 
 ten or twelve years, but was known as the Feast of the Kettle, 
 good living being a feature of the occasion. To hasten the feast, 
 they spoke of stirring up the fire under the kettle ; and when the 
 kettle was said to be overturned, it meant that there would be no 
 feast. When the time was appointed, each family bore its own 
 dead from the place of burial, and when the graves were opened 
 all the bodies were left awhile on the ground, to be seen by the 
 friends. Then they were covered with new beaver robes, and 
 carried to the houses, where each family had a feast for its own 
 dead. The bones were called Atisken, "the souls," each man 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. . Ill 
 
 having two souls. • One left the body at death, but remained near 
 uitil the great feast; then it either became a turtle-dove, or went 
 to the village of souls. The other was attached to the body, 
 / never leaving it unless it revived as a new born child. This is 
 why the bones of the dead were called "the souls." 
 
 Before leaving the town for the great feast in the princip£(i vil- 
 ' lage, all the bodies were carried to the largest cabin, and a feast 
 was held there. At the close of this all imitated the cry of the 
 spirits, which is ka-e-e, ha-e, and this was repeated all the way to 
 the principal village, the journey being by short stages of about 
 three miles a day. In 1636, Father Brebeuf said that the dead 
 of eight or nine villages were taken to Os-sos-sa-ne, and he was 
 lodged " in a cabin where there were at least a hundred skeletons 
 hung up to the poles, some of which smelled stronger than musk."' 
 For several days games and distributions of gifts occupied th,e 
 time, but at last the procession was formed, the men leading, and 
 the women following. The grave was about ten feet deep, and 
 thirty across, with a scaffold around it, having poles on which to 
 hang the bundles of bones. Part of these were lowered into the 
 pit about sundown, being arranged by men at the bottom. But 
 few of the gifts were placed in the grave, and these were not 
 all serviceable. The mourners feasted there that night, that the 
 work might be completed next morning, but an accident about 
 daybreak hastened this, and caused a terrible sight. This is" the 
 origin of the ossuaries, of which there are about 150 known in 
 Canada, mostly recent. In New ■ York they are comparatively 
 rare. 
 
 Some touching features will be found in early accounts of Iro- 
 quois deaths and funerals, but these also changed greatly, until 
 burial became somewhat hasty, and with but little show of feel- 
 ing. A New York Indian cemetery of the present day has noth- 
 ing to indicate love for the dead, and funerals are of the simplest 
 character. 
 
 In the relation of 1670, is a curious and pathetic incident. 
 
112 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 Father Fr^min had baptized a young Seneca woman in 1669, who 
 afterwards died. He tried to comfort the mother, who said, 
 "Thou dost not understand. She was a mistress here, and had 
 at her command more than twenty slaves, who are still with me. 
 She never knew what it was to go to the forests to bring wood, 
 or to the river to draw water. She knew nothing about house- 
 keeping." So her mother was troubled as to her state in Para- 
 dise, where none of her family had gone. She wanted a sick 
 slave instructed and baptized, that she might go there and take 
 care of her daughter. This shows how rich some Iroquois were, 
 and that they did hold slaves, though Golden said they did not. 
 
 Albert. Cusick suggested to me that the girl might be one of 
 the hidden persons. The old pbople tell of those called Ta-neh- 
 u-weh-too. Hidden in the husks, like an ear of corn. They were 
 said to be covered in the husk, if kept from the sight of all, and 
 were thus pure from birth, being at once hidden by the mother. 
 If a boy and girl were thus preserved, they might marry each 
 other at a suitable age. 
 
 The Iroquois .of two hundred years ago saw much more than 
 his descendant of to-day. ^The forests were full of spirits, good 
 and' bad, and these he was careful to propitiate. Tobacco was 
 the customary offering, and is supposed to bring good fortune 
 still. The lower animals were related to him, and these must be 
 pleased, even if he slew and fed upon them. Of the higher di- 
 vinities the accounts are as confused as among' early nations of 
 the old world, but each man' suited himself, as long as he kept 
 the prescribed feasts. He had his own guardian spirit, and this 
 seemed more important than the Holder of the Heavens. ' 
 
 The belief in fairies is not very conspicuous, but everywhere 
 prevails, and these had their favorite places of resort. Those of 
 the Onondagas live in a ravine just west of the village of Onon- 
 daga Valley, and are called Che-kah-a-hen-wah, or " Little peo- 
 ple.''^ The TuEcaroras term them. Ehn-kwa-si-yea, " No men at 
 all;" meaning something besides men. The Mohawks call 
 
NOTES ON .CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. H3 
 
 them Ya'.-.-konenus-yokF, "Stone throwers," and to this an old 
 stqry may re'ate, of an incident on Lake Champlain. It is con- 
 tained in the Relation of i668. Fathers Fremin, Pierron, and 
 Bruyas were on their way to the Mohawks in July, 1667. When 
 a little north of Ticonderoga, they said, " We halted, without 
 knowing why until we observed our savages gathering from the 
 shore pieces of flint, nearly all cut in shape. We did not give 
 this any thought at the time, but afterwards learned the mystery, 
 since our Iroquois told us that they never failed to stop at this 
 place to pay homage to a nation of invisible men, who dwelt here 
 under the water, and are occupied in preparing flints, all but ready 
 for use for the passers-by, provided that they in turn meet their 
 obligations by making them an offering of tobacco ; if they give 
 much, there comes in return a great abundance of these flints. 
 These watermen go in the canoe, like the Iroquois, and when the 
 leader comes to throw himself into the water to enter his palace, 
 he makes such a noise that it fills with terror those who have no 
 knowledge of this great genius and his diminutive men." The 
 missionaries accounted naturally for the supply, for " when the 
 wind comes from across the lake, it casts upon the shore quan- 
 ties of flint ready to strike fire." 
 
 This seems to have some relation to the story told by Golden 
 in speaking of the drowning of Corlaer, whose name the Indians 
 gave to Lake Champlain. It may be noted that Split Rock 
 marked the northern boundary of the Mohawks, and was called 
 by them'Regiohne, after Rogeo, one of their chiefs who was 
 drowned there. " There is a rock in this lake, on which the 
 waves dash and fly up to a great height, when the wind blows 
 hard ; the Indians believe that an old Indian lives under the rock, 
 who has the power of the winds ; and therefore, all that pass it 
 in their voyages over, they always throw a pipe, or some other 
 small present to the old Indian, or pray for a favorable wind. 
 The English that pass sometimes laugh at this, but they are sure 
 to be told of Corker's death,"- who wantonly ridiculed it. 
 
114 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX RATIONS. 
 
 While this rock was called after the Mohawk chief, some late 
 writers have interpreted Rotsiichni, another name of the lake, as 
 "the coward spirit." This interpretation may have come from 
 the legend 
 
 The Onondaga fairies did not often appear, but quietly helped 
 the people in Robin Goodfellow fashion. In the ravine is an 
 exposed and precipitous bank of bowlder clay, which they have 
 worn smooth in sliding down. They hked the bounce when they 
 went over a projecting stone. 
 
 Cartier was the first white man who came in contact with any 
 of the Huron Iroquois family, and his voyage up the St. Law- 
 rence was full of interest. The grotesque demons brought out 
 to terrify him, were not very different from the False Faces which 
 John Bartram saw at Onondaga a century and a half ago, and 
 which appear there now. The ceremonious rrieeting aud wel- 
 come at a distance from the walls of Hochelaga, are often found 
 in history, and yet imitated in the condolence ceremonies. 
 The bark receptacles for their provisions were found by the 
 French, more' than a century later, among the Mohawks ; and 
 still later, seme of unusual size were mistaken by them for towers, 
 as they advanced to assault a Seneca town. Other points of re- 
 Eemblarce appear. While his description of the triple stockade 
 is much like that of N. Y. Iroquois forts, heaps of stones have 
 teen fourd within the lines of these, gathered for ammunition. 
 
 His description of their beads, generally supposed to Jiave 
 been of shell, has puzzled many. They ir.ay have been of other 
 material, but his account is quoted. "The thir.g most precious 
 that they have in all the world they call Esurgny; which is white 
 and which they take in the said river in Cornibots. in the man- 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. II5 
 
 ner following. When any one hath deserved death, or that they 
 take any of their enemies in warres, first. they kill him, then with 
 certain knives they give great slashes and strokes upon their but- 
 .tocks, flankes, thighes and shoulders; then they cast the same 
 bodie so mangled downe to the bottome of the river, in a place 
 where the said Esurgny is, and there leave it ten or twelve ho'ures. 
 then they take it up againe, and in the cuts find the said esurgny 
 or cornibots. Of them they make beads, and use them even 
 as we doe gold and silver, accounting it the preciousest thing in 
 the world. They have this vertue in them, they will stop or 
 stanch bleeding at the nose, for we proved it.'' 
 
 The story seems absurd, for bodies of any kind would have 
 served as well as those of men. Charlevoix said that no shells 
 were there, in his time, capable of stopping bleeding. Sir J. W. 
 Dawson supposed they were "some of our species of Melania 
 or Paludina." Both these are vegetable feeding water snails, 
 however, and of course would not be taken in this way; neither 
 would they need to be, for both live close to the shore ; the for- 
 mer aboundmg on stones, and the latter in mud. Neither of 
 them are white, but the former would make fair beads. Mr. 
 Dawson also adds that "That the wampum of the Iroquois, and 
 ako of the Hcchelagans, was made of freshwater univalves, 
 probably the Melania. They ako ground into perforated discs 
 for beads, the pearly shells of fresh water Unios." I never yet 
 have found a perforated Melania, ( Gcniobasis,) and never have 
 . known of one. Mr. Dawson informs me that there are none 
 at Montreal. In New York I have found but one disk Unio 
 bead, though they occur in the West. Mr. Dawson gives a fig- 
 ■ure of a smaller one from Montreal, the only one he obtained 
 
Il6 NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 there. Mr. S. L. Frev, of Palatine Bridge, N. Y., has a similar 
 one from the earliest Mohawk village. These three are sufficient 
 to prove their manufacture, but in a very sparing way. For rea-^ 
 sons Uke these I think the Esurgny of other material. 
 
 I simply hazard the conjecture that they might have been the 
 eyestones of the common fresh water crayfish. The puzzhng 
 word "cornibots," suggesting horns, might have been a provincial 
 name by which Cartier knew these small crustaceans, but we can 
 only surmise this. Coarser shell beads the Canadian Indians 
 seem to have had at an early day, to a limited extent, and in the 
 Iroquois territory they were known, but were very rare. Stone 
 and clay beads sometimes occur. 
 
Iroquoi^ I^ote^. 
 
 INDIAN FASHIONS. 
 
 WE know that there are savage fashions, but forget that 
 these have changes. The woven armor which the Mo- 
 hawk chiefs wore, when Champlain first met them, 'naturally dis- 
 appeared as firearms came into use. Bows and arrows partially 
 gave way to guns, and wheie these were retained, copper and 
 iron arrow-heads took the place of flint, horn, and bone. Brass 
 kettles were found better than earthenware, and blankets were 
 more showy and convenient than bear-skins. These and other 
 things were in the direction of utility, but there were many 
 changes in ornaments. Venetian and other glass and porcelain 
 beads became common, and rings, bracelets and medals of brass, 
 copper and bronze were largely used.- Gorgets of shell, and 
 pendants and ornaments of red slate and Catlinite came into 
 fashion. These were long in use, but the metallic ornaments 
 changed early in the eighteenth century and silver was almost 
 universally used for nearly two hundred years not having been 
 yet entirely laid asic'e. Th^se were at first sold by the traders, 
 the Indians esteeming the English article more than the French, 
 but the Indians themselves learned the art, and made what they 
 wanted out of silver coin. These ornaments went all over the 
 country, and the New York .patterns have been found in Canada 
 Wirconsin, Illinois, Ohio and Georgia. My own small collection 
 
H8 NOTES ON CUSICKS SIX NATIONS. 
 
 comprises single and double crorses, stars, lyres, hearts, rings, 
 circular' disks. Masonic emblems, etc., with rings, ear-rings and 
 bracelets. They have now become scarce, and will soon dis- 
 appear. 
 
 Loskiel said that the Iroquois of his day set the fashion in 
 matters of dress, having means and leisure for this, as well as 
 high rank. So to speak, they were the Parisians of the red men, 
 and their holiday dresses were often very costly. Now, the 
 women, while preferring the tasteful and convenient shawl for 
 home use, have quite an aptitude for white fashions. The men 
 adopted them long ago, retaining something for state occasions. 
 
 DREAMS. 
 
 In the Relation of 1656, Father de Carheil gave soine in- 
 stances of the influence of dreams among the Cayugas, and the 
 excesses to which they led, sometimes involving the loss of life. 
 He said, "I have earnestly combated their superstitioiis, espe- 
 cially the divine authority they attribute to dreams, which may 
 be said to be the foundation of all their errors, as it "is the soul 
 of their religion. I have nevertheless recognized twa things in 
 my efforts to combat it. First that it is not properly the dream 
 that they worship as the master of their life, but a certain one of 
 the genii, they call Agatkonchoria, who, they believe, speak to 
 them in sleep, and command them to obey implicitly their dreams. 
 The principal one of these spirits is Taronhiaouagon. * * * 
 * * They also sometimes give the name of master of their life 
 to the object of their dream, as for example, to the skin of a 
 bear, or to similar things which they have seen in their sleep ; 
 and because they regard them as charms." The second thing 
 was that they thought the soul left the body during sleep, and 
 went off to see the things of which it dreamed. 
 
 In one instance ten men plunged successively through a hole 
 in the ice on the river, and all came out at another hole but the 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 1 19 
 
 last, who was drowned. In another- a maiden was about to be 
 sacrificed to fulfill a dream, when the dreamer said, " I am con- 
 tent; my dream is satisfied." 
 
 When Dablon and Chaumonot were on their way to Onon- 
 daga in 1655, they were much alarmed by the first effects of an 
 Indian's dreams. To cure him " they all pretended to be as 
 mad as himself, and to fight with the animals living in the water. 
 They also prepared to sweat themselves, so as to get him to do 
 like them. As he cried and sung aloud during the process of 
 sweating, imitating the cry of the animals with which he was 
 fighting, so they also began to cry and sing aloud the cries of 
 those animals which they pretended to be fighting, every one 
 striking the poor fellow in the cadence of their song. Imagine' 
 what a chorus of twenty voices, imitating ducks, teal, and frogs, 
 and what a sight to see so many men pretending to be mad in 
 order to cure a luadman. They succeeded well." 
 
 THE DREAM FEAST. 
 
 The Dream Feast intensified all the follies of the ordmary 
 dream, for the whole nation had a part. The war feast had taken 
 place in January, 1656, at Onondaga, and the following month 
 Father Dablon described the Honnonouaroria, which the chiefs 
 shortened at that time, out of regard to the safety of the French. 
 
 "It began with the 22d of February, and lasted three days. 
 Immediately on the proclamation of the Feast by the old men of 
 the village, to whom this duty is intrusted, the whole population, 
 men, women and children, rush from -their cabins through the 
 streets in the wildest confusion, but by no means after the man- 
 ner of an Eurcj-ean masquerade. The larger part are nearly 
 naked, and seem infensible lo cold which is almost intolerable 
 to the warmly clad. Certain ones carry with them a plentiful 
 supply of water, and it may be something more hurtful to throw 
 upon thoEe who come in their way. Others seize fire-brandf. 
 
120 NOTES ON .CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 live coals with ashes, which th^y fling about without regard to 
 consequences. ^ Others still occupy themselves in breaking pots, 
 plates, and the small household utensils they happened to en- 
 counter. A number are armed with swords, spears, knives, 
 hatchets, clubs, acting as if they would hurl these at the first 
 comer ; and this is kept up until some one is able to interpret 
 and execute the dream. 
 
 " It sometimes happens, however, that the skill of each and 
 all fails him in divining their meaning, since instead of propos- 
 ing the matter plainly, they rather hide it in enigma, chanting a 
 jumble of doubtful words, or gesticulate in silence as in panto- 
 mime. Therefore they do not always find an CEdipus to solve 
 the riddle. At the same time they obstinately persist in their de- 
 mand that the dream shall be made known, and if the diviner is 
 too slow, or unwilling to risk an interpretation, or makes the least 
 mistake, they threaten to burn and destroy. , Nor are these 
 empty threats, as we found to our cost. One of these mad fel- 
 lows, sKpping into our cabin, boisterously demanded that we 
 should tell his dream, and that at all hazards he must be satisfied. 
 Now though we declared in the outset that we were not there to 
 obey thdse dreams, he kept up his noise and gabble long after 
 we had left the spot, and retired to a lodge in the open field to 
 avoid the tumult. At last one of those with whom we lodged, 
 wearied with his outcry, went to see what would satisfy him. The 
 furious creature answered : • I kill a Frenchman ; that is my 
 dream, and it must be done at any sacrifice.'' Our host then threw 
 him a French dress, as though the clothes of the dead man, at the 
 same time assuming a like fury, saying that he would avenge the 
 Frenchman's death, and that his loss would be that of the whole 
 village, which he would lay in ashes, beginning with liis own 
 cabin. On this he drove out parents, friends, servants,the whole 
 crowd assembled to see the end of this hubbub. Left alone in' 
 his house, he bolted the door and set fire everywhere to the in- 
 terior. At the instant the spectators looked to see the cabin in 
 
NOTES ON CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS. 121 
 
 flames, Father Chaumonot, on an errand of mercy, arrived, and 
 seeing the smoke coming from the bark house, exclaimed, ' This 
 must not be,' — burst open the door, threw himself into the smoke 
 and flames, subdued the fire, and quietly drew out our host from 
 his peril, contrary to the expectation of the whole people, who 
 had thought the demon of dreamb irresistible. The man, how- 
 ever, continued to show his fury. He ran through the streets 
 and cabins, shouting at the top of his voice that everything should 
 be set on fire to avenge the death of the Frenchman. They 
 then oifered him a dog as a victim to his anger and to the god 
 of his passion. 'It is not enough,' said he, 'to efface the dis- 
 grace and infamy of trying to slay a Frenchman lodged in my 
 house.' They then made him a second offering like the first, 
 when he at once became quiet, and went off as if nothing had 
 happened. 
 
 " It is -to be remarked, in passing, that as in their wars they 
 make more of the spoil taken from the prisoner than they do of 
 his life, so when one dreams that he must kill any one, he is 
 often content with the clothes of the one to be slain, in place of 
 his person. Thus it was that the Frenchman's dress was given 
 to the dreamer, with which he was entirely appeased. ' But to 
 pass to other instances. The brother of our host had also -a 
 part in the performance quite as prominent as any of the others. 
 He arrayed himself to personate a Satyr, covering himself • from 
 head to foot with husks of Indian corn. He dressed up two 
 women as veritable Furies, with their hair parted, their faces 
 blackened with charcoal, each covered with the skin of a woli 
 and aimed wiih a light and a h.eavy stick. The Satyr and his 
 companions thus equipped, came about our cabin, singing and 
 howling with all their might. He ascended the roof, followed 
 by the shrews and there played a thousand antics, shouting and 
 screaming as if everything was going to destruction. This done, 
 he came down and walked soberly through the village, preceded 
 
122 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 by these women, who cleared the way with their sticks, breaking 
 whatever lay in their way without distinction. * * » * 
 Hardly had our Satyr disappeared, with his companions, when a 
 woman threw herself into our cabin, armed with an arquebuse, 
 which she had obtained with her dream." She sang, i;houted, 
 screamed, declaring that she was goirg to war against the Cat 
 nation; that she would, fight and bring back prisoners, calling 
 down a thousand imprecations and maledictions if the thing did 
 not come out as she had dreamed. 
 
 "A warrior followed this Amazon, armed with a long bow, 
 arrows and spear in hand. He danced, he sang, he tlireatened, 
 then all at once rushed at a woman who was just coming into 
 the cabin to see the comedy, and contented himself with seizing 
 her by the hair and placing the spear at her throat, careful lest 
 he should inflict any wound, and then retired to give place to a 
 prophet, who had dreamed that it was in his power to discover 
 secrets. He was most ridiculously dressed, holding in his hand 
 a sort of rod, which served him to point out the spot where the 
 thing was concealed. Tt was yet needful that he, should have an 
 assistant, who carried a vase filled with I know not what kind of 
 liquor, of which he would take a mouthful, and sputter or blow it 
 out on the head, the face, the hands, .and on the rod of the di- 
 viner, who after- this never failed to discover the matter in ques- 
 tion. 
 
 " Next came a woman with a mat, which she held in her hand, 
 and moved about as if she were catching fish. This was to in- 
 dicate that they had to give her some fish because of her dream. 
 Another woman simply hoed up the ground with a mattock, which 
 meant that some one should give her a piece of land that she 
 thought was justly hers. She was satisfied, however, with the 
 possession of five holes in which to plant Indian corn. 
 
 "One of the principal men of the village presented himself in 
 a miserable plight. He was all covered with ashes ; and because 
 no one had told his dream, which demanded two human heaits, 
 
NOTES ON CUISCK's SIX NATIONS. 1 23 
 
 he succeeded in prolonging the feast for a day and a night, and 
 during that time did not cease the repetition of his madness. He 
 came to our cabin, where there were a number of fires, and seat- 
 ing himself before the first, threw into the air the ashes and coals. 
 He repeated this at the second and third fireplace ; but when he 
 came to our. fire he refrained from' this act out of respect to us. 
 
 " Some came fully armed, and as if actually engaged in combat, 
 they went through the positions, the war cry, the skirmish, as 
 when two armies meet each other. Others marched in bands, 
 danced, and put on all the contortions of body, like those with 
 evil possessions. But we would never get through with the tale 
 if we chose to rehearse all that was done through the three days 
 and nights in which this folly lasted, with one constant uproar, 
 in which one could not so much as think of a moment's repose." 
 
 I have quoted this early account because the Dream Feast is 
 a very quiet affair now, though fifty years ago it had some wild 
 features. When the burning of the white dog was added we 
 cannot say, but the other nations seem to have received it from 
 the Senecas during the eighteenth century, nor is there any no- 
 tice of it among them until the latter half of that period. 
 
 HOUSES. 
 
 In the account of the early Onondaga Dream Feast, several 
 fires are mentioned in one cabin, for sometimes these were of 
 considerable length, and had several fires for divisions of the 
 family or their lodgers. In this case one person was called their 
 host, having his parents and servants in his house. The chiefs 
 had these large houses, because their doors were open to all, but 
 the common people required less room, as is easily proved. Mr. 
 L. H. Morgan described the council house of 1743, as though it 
 had been an ordinary dwelling, at a time when Bartram said that 
 many of the Onondaga houses contained two families. At that 
 time the Seneca and Onondaga council houses were about eighty 
 
124 NOTES ON CUSICKS SIX NATIONS. 
 
 feet long, with broad seats on either side; To test the average 
 capacity of Iroquois houses one may simply divide Greenhalgh's 
 report of their warriors by the number of cabins. It is fatal to 
 the communal theory. This was in 1677, sufficiently early to 
 fairly represent aboriginal life. The, Mohawks were then esti- 
 mated at ninety-six houses and 300 fighting men, or aboilt three 
 men to a house, who sometimes might be a father and sons. The 
 Oneidas had 100 houses and 200 fighting men, or two to a house. 
 The Onondagas had 164 cabins and 350 warriors; the Cayugas 
 100 houses and 300 men; and the Senecas 324 houses and 1,000 
 men. One Seneca town had the largest houses he saw, from 
 fifty to sixty feet long, and with twelve to thirteen fires. It had 
 r2o houses, but on comparison can hardly be assigned more than 
 ifOo wairiors. It is probable that some of the fires were for 
 captives and slaves. The statement made by s sorrowful Seneca 
 mother shows how large a number of these might be found in a 
 household. 
 
 Still the general form of the Iroquois house was long, and 
 generally with the doors at the ends. These were^^hung at the 
 top, and easily turned aside ; the covering for the chimney hole 
 being arranged in the same way for protection against rain. The 
 seats or bedsteads were on either side, one above the other, and 
 the cross beams afforded convenient receptacles for many articles. 
 In the council house the wampum and other presents were hung 
 on these. The great houses of the Huron chiefs were much 
 more spacious, and in these captives were sometimes tortured, 
 while the conquerors reclined at ease on their seats, enjoying the 
 terrible sight. 
 
 Charlevoix says that in Jong houses each fire served for a space 
 of thirty feet, which is too much, but he implies that there was 
 commonly but one family in a house. In the double and triple 
 stockades, "the piles ^of which they were composed are inter- 
 woven with branches of trees, without any void space between." 
 One remark respecting their houses, suggests a picture of the 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. I25' 
 
 Pacific coast : " Formerly the Iroquois built their cabins in a bet- 
 ter manner than the other nations, and even than themselves do 
 at this day ; these were adorned with figures in relievo, but of 
 very coarse workmanship ; and as almost all their towns have 
 been since burned in different expeditions, they have not taken 
 the trouble to rebuild them with their former magnificence." Of 
 course these carvings, if of value, could be carried to a new town 
 when tTie old was abandoned. They are still quite skillful in 
 carving their domestic utensils. The totem of the owner was 
 formerly placed on each house, and visitors from other nations 
 thus knew where they would be received as of the family. 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 Among the Hurons those captives who were to be burned 
 were used with great consideration until the time of torture came, 
 but I find nothing like this among the Iroquois, and the treat- 
 ment of slaves by the latter was often extremely brutal. The 
 Mohawks had a practice of placing prisoners on a low platform, 
 to amuEC the people and suffer from them, where all could see. 
 If adopted, the tenderest care was bestowed upon them, andithey 
 took the place of the dead in everyway, assuming even the name. 
 In fact the dead was supposed figuratively to revive when a per- 
 son took his name, and the one who bore it was to live worthy 
 of it. 
 
 Names of persons are usually more poetic than those of places, 
 but are sufficiently odd even then, as may be seen in the list of 
 principal chiefs, and some of my own friends have those that are 
 quite curious. Fortunately they were never unalterable, and are 
 frequently changed even now, anew chief assuming the titular 
 i.iame. Besides, there are names which are the property of cer- 
 tain clans, and which are used by no others. Names are con- 
 ferred or changed at the greater feasts, and that is the usual time 
 for adoption, Charlevoix has some remarks on this subject, 
 saying, "The chief of each family bears its name, and in all pub- 
 
126 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 lie deeds he is known by no other. The same thing happens 
 with regard to the chief of a nation, as well as of every village; 
 but besides this name, which is only a sort of representative ap- 
 pellation, they have another, which distinguishes them more par- 
 ticularly,- and which is properly a mark of dignity; thus, one is 
 called the most noble, another the most ancient, and so forih. 
 Lastly, they have^a third which is pergonal; but I should be apt' 
 to beheve that this custom prevails only amongst those nations 
 where the office of chief is hereditary. " 
 
 WOMEN. 
 
 It is often said that the women were really the governing power 
 among the Iroquois, but I find little to support this historically. 
 Theoretically it seems true, and it is certain they had much in- 
 fluence, but the theory has outrun the facts. Charlevoix may 
 again be quoted : "The women have the chief authority amongst 
 all the nations of the Huron language ; if we except the Iroquois 
 canton of Onneyouth, (Oneida,) in which it is in both sexes al- 
 ternately. But if this be their lawful constitution, their practice 
 is seldom agreeable to it. In fact the men never tell the women 
 anything they would have to be kept Eeciet; and rarely anything 
 of consequence is communicated to them, though all is done in 
 their name, and the chiefs are no more than their lieutenants." 
 He relates an instance as "a convincing pi oof that the real 
 authority of the women is. very little." In some other thirgs he 
 thought their aspent was but a matter of form, and he was prob- 
 ably right, but admits that they decided the fate of the national 
 captives. 
 
 The line of descent being on the woman's side, her children 
 were all of her clan or ration, and this is the piesent rule. 
 Women still have a voice in the choice of chiefs, and in some 
 treaties tHfe two goverrefses append their signatures. At feasts 
 they take part in 'the preparations, as among uf, but never make 
 
NOTES ON CUISCk's SIX NATIONS. 127 
 
 speeches. Even at the Dead Feast, where the guests are women, 
 a man is chosen as the speaker. A woman is also an important 
 agent of the False Faces, and they seem credited with more 
 fondness for witchcraft than the men. Quite a study might be 
 made of feminine industries among them, in which they display 
 much ingenuity. One day I saw a woman gathering corn, with 
 her basket on her back. She walked between two rows, gather- 
 ing with each band, and throwing the corn over her shoulder into 
 the basket. 
 
 IROQUOIS STORIES. 
 
 Mrs. Erminnie A. Smith made a good collection of Iroquois 
 stories for the Bureau of Ethnology, .in whose second report most 
 of them were pubhshed. Part of these may be mentioned in 
 .connection with others, without farther credit. 
 
 He-no, the Thunder, figures in some, and always beneficently. 
 In some Onondaga feasts there js a dance for the Thunders, and 
 if tobacco is offered them in a dry time, rain may be expected, 
 though this often fails. 
 
 One story of the Thunders and the lake serpents has been 
 given ; in another a hunter is caught up in -the clouds, where his 
 eyes are anointed, and he sees the big serpent in the depths 
 below. He points it out to the Thunders, who try to kill it, but 
 fail ; and on this the man draws his bow and slays it, when the 
 storm ceases. 
 
 In another tale an old man helps a hunter, but the Thunders 
 tell him that his benefactor is an evil being whom they must kilL 
 He is enticed away from home, after making sure that the sky is 
 clear, but while he is carrying an immense bear to his cave the 
 Thunders appear. He becomes a great porcupine, and endeavors 
 to escape, but is slain. 
 
 Mr. L. H. Morgan related another story; found, among the 
 Senecas. Rather than marry a hated suitor a Seneca girl turned 
 
128 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 her canoe over Niagara Falls, where the Thunder dwells. He 
 caught her as she fell, and placed her in his cave, where she 
 stayed a long. time. From him she learned of a great serpent 
 lying under her village, which caused sickness and death; and 
 on her return the village, was removed, but the serpent followed 
 until slain by tl^e Thunder. His body was thrown into the river 
 and catching on the rocks,. formed the Horse- shoe Falls. 
 
 One beautiful idea relates to the corn, beans and squashes, all 
 indigenous plants, which are called three sisters, as well as their 
 hfe, or supporters. The thought is a happy one, for they grow 
 together, and were always important in Indian life. From the 
 red men the colonists learned'to planf all three together, the 
 corn supporting the climbing bean, while the squash wandered 
 among the hills. They are remembered in religious feasts. 
 
 Some make the West Wind destroy the Stone Giants, instead 
 of the Holder of the Heavens; and in this case they are pre-, 
 cipitated into a deep ravine. -Their wives rarely appear in stories, 
 but one ran away from her cruel husband, and stayed with a 
 hunter's family making herself very useful. When her husband 
 came to take h?r away, she caught and held him down, until he 
 was killed by her host. Soon after she went home again. , 
 
 A story of the Gieat Head has some features found in Ok- 
 wencha,. but the monster is all head, with shaggy hair. Ten 
 orphan boys lived with their uncle, but one after another dis- 
 appeared when they went hunting until the youngest alone was 
 left, and his uncle kept him at home. One day they found a 
 man almost dead, deep in the ground, but revived him by rub- 
 bing and feeding him with bear's oil. He told them many strange 
 things. . One night ne heard his brotJier, Great Head, howling 
 in a hurricane, and the next day went to see him. To do so he 
 became a mole, and watched him through the grass,, but Great 
 Head turned his eyes, and said, "I see you. " So the man shot 
 at him, and the blunt arrow became large as it flew, and drove 
 the monster away. Then it became small as it retijirned to the 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 1 29 
 
 man, and he ran for the house. As he went Great Head came 
 riding on the storm. Several time& was he driven back with the 
 arrow, but at last reached the house, where they fed him on 
 blocks of maple wood. He told them that the nine brothers had 
 been turned to dry bones by a witch. So the youngest brother 
 went with him, and the old witch was killed and burned. They 
 placed the dry bones in rows, sorting them as well as they could, 
 and then Great Head went off and came back in a storm. As 
 he returned, the young man said to the bones, "All arise!" and 
 all came to life again. In Okwencha, the boy pushes against a 
 tree, and cries, "Look out! look out!" and in a Canadian Al- 
 gonquin story he shoots an arrow in the air, with the same cry 
 and results. 
 
 Hiawatha came to a lake which he wished to cross, when a 
 great flock of ducks alighted in it, drinking the water and soak- 
 ing it up. When it was dry he gathered the shells in its bed for 
 wampum. The Onolidagas point to a dried up pond among the 
 TuUy lakes, as the spot,' but Mr. Hale's story would place it 
 mlich farther east. 
 
 Hiawatha could call down the wampum bird, and when he first 
 visited the Mohawks, in the story told me, he used its quills. 
 This will appear under the heading of Hiawatha. A man once 
 saw a wampum bird in the woods, and told the head chief, who 
 offered his daughter to any one who would kill it. Every time it 
 was hit it threw off wampum, and still had as much as before. 
 At last a small boy from another tribe wished to try, and was op- 
 posed, but the chief allowed him to shoot, and the bird fell. He 
 divided the wampum between his own tribe and that of his bride, 
 and it became theoffering of peace and for injuries 
 
 A boy once found a beautiful snake, and fed it, but everything 
 he put in the water with it became ahve. He got more snakes 
 and hung them up, and as their oil dropped in the water it 
 became still livelier. By anointing his eyes with this water he 
 saw hidden things, and by pointing his finger at people he be- 
 
:i3o proTES ON cusick's six nations. 
 
 witched them. Many other curious properties it had, whicTi ap- 
 pear in the various witch stories. 
 
 Two of these were told me by Rev. Albert Cusick. In the 
 first a young man thought his brother was bewitched, and wanted 
 to find out by whom it was done. So he went to an^old woman, 
 and told her he wished to become a witch. She said he mig;ht, 
 but if he did he must point his finger at , his sister when he re- 
 turned from their meeting, and she would soon die. He arranged 
 a plan with his sister, and went with the old woman that night. 
 As they went through the bushes he ..broke, off a twig now and 
 then. All at once the old woman sprang into a tree, and became 
 a great panthei-v snarHng and spittipg at him. He was terribly 
 frightened, but did not run, and when, she came down, and said, 
 "Were you riot scared?" he answered,, " O no, ; not at all. I 
 would like to belike that myself.". When they came to the place 
 of rheeting they" found a great many witpjhes, young and old, who 
 had a fire ; and over the fire was a small vessel., of the size of a 
 fe'a-cup. Over this was a bunch , of snakes,- and their blood 
 slowly dropped into the cup. Of this all drank a little from time 
 to time, and the young man pretended to drink, too._ Then they 
 took different shapes, and asked him what he would like to be. 
 He thought a screech owl, and imitated its cry. They gave him 
 an. owl's head, which -he put on when the meeting broke up. 
 Away he flew to his brother's house, through the air, and the peo- 
 ple were much alarmed when they heard a screech owl on the 
 roof. But he came in. quietly and pointed his finger at a dog, 
 which sickened and (lied. His sister pretended to be sick, and 
 air the witches came 'to say- how sorry they were. Next night the 
 warriots went with the young man-,- and when they got to the 
 spot a man was making a speech. He said it was good, to kill 
 people, and the Great Spirit would- reward them for ,it,' for it 
 skved them much sorrow and pain ; but .before he had ,fiflished 
 the warriors rushed in, and killed them all. • • • 
 
 In the other, a boy lived with his grandmother, who went into 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 131 
 
 the loft every night, but would never let him go. One day, when 
 she was away, he climbed up and found a bark box near a hole 
 in the roof. In this was an owl's head, which he thought would 
 be nice to wear, and put it on. Immediately he flew out of the 
 hole, and towards a house where there was a sick person. He 
 caught hold of bushes and sunflowers, to stop himself, but it was 
 of no use, for all came up by the roots. Then he flew into the 
 house and fell down among the ashes. The people were fright- 
 ened at an owl's coming in, but, behold, it was only a little boy 
 with" an owl's head, and another witch was found out. 
 
 Some stories are quite wide-spread, even among Indians. In 
 one a bOy was to marry one of two beautiful maidens, who one 
 day came to see him, and then returned home. When it was 
 time for hiih to go and seek his fortune, his uncle gave him a 
 charmed suit, and directions for his journey. These he did not 
 fbllow, and fell into trouble, for a man took his handsome clothes 
 kn'd went in his place, marrying the elder sister. The younger 
 would have nothing to do with him, nor would the' charmed suit 
 obey his wishes. At last the younger maiden found the boy 
 asleep in the corn-fiejd, sick and greatly changed. She pitied 
 him, took his part and saw' all made right again, the impostor 
 being punished. • ' - . 
 
 This appears in Mrs. Smith's Iroquois stories, but its leading 
 features are much like a Dakota tale, related by the Rev. J. O. 
 Dorsey; Both are somewhat suggestive of the Old World. 
 
 Modern influences have been at work, and " Boots," the 
 youngest son or slighted boy, frequently appears. "The Lad 
 and the Chestnuts" has a suggestion of European tales. Two 
 brothers lived together, and one seemed well fed and never 
 ' Hungry, so his brother watched him. From under a trap-door he 
 took a kettle, and at his word it grew larger over the fire, so that 
 he had a fine feast. : Then he made it small and put it away. 
 WTien he' 'Was gorte the next morning, the younger brother got it 
 out, and found half a chestnut in it. He made the kettle large. 
 
132 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 but could not stop its growth, and had to go outside the house, 
 until his brother came home and made it small again. But 
 the chestnut was gone, and he pined away. So the younger 
 man statted for the distant magic chestnut tree, which grew 
 beyond, a great river, and was guarded by a white heron. With 
 the help of a mole and a magic canoe, which expanded and con- 
 tracted at need, he got the chestnuts, escaped safely, and they 
 were happy ever after. 
 
 It sounds like some of our nursery tales, and yet has features 
 in common with some Indian tales in the- West. Such a diffu- 
 sion of native .tales was to be expected, when the Iroquois car- 
 ried on such distant wars, and adopted so many Captives. At the 
 time of the Huron war a French missionary wrote,' " the fear of 
 the Iroquois is everywhere;" and yet they had- then gone but a 
 few hundred miles from home. At a later day they reached 
 South CaroUna and the Mississippi. The Cherokees and Ca- 
 tawbas sent their ambassadors to Onondaga, and the Iroquois 
 gathered the.' tales and customs, as well as the fpoils of many 
 nations. 
 
 0-KWEN-CHA, OR RED PAINT. 
 
 I had this story from Albert Cusick, orSa<go-na-qua-der, " He 
 that makes every one angry ; " and he, in turn, had it from Bill 
 ■ Lije, or Soo-noo-weh, ^.'A valuable house." 
 
 A long time ago a little boy, named O-kwen-cha, or Red Paint, 
 lived in an old kanosa-honwe, or real bark house, and this had 
 no windows, and but one doorway. The door was made of old 
 skins, and the chimney was so large that the cabin seemed to have 
 no roof. The bark-roof was moss-grown, and even a small 
 maple grew upon it. There was no floor, and on one side meat 
 was hung ; on the other were implements, ornaments and cloth- 
 ing, long disused. The grandmother did all the work and killed 
 all the game. They always had enough, but whenever she went 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. . ' I33 
 
 out she tolH him not to touch the ga-na-cho-we, or Indian drum, 
 which hung upon the wall. 
 
 Okwencha was very small, and was clothed in furs. His face 
 was painted with streaks of red, and he had war and hunting im- 
 plements made by his uncles long ago. But he could not go out, 
 and bO shot at things in the cabin. There were four beds, too, 
 which had not been used for many moons. He wondered what 
 those beds were for, and why he must not touch the drum. One 
 day he took the drum down, and said, "This is the way I think 
 my uncles did." Then he began to drum and to chant his war- 
 song, " Ha-wa-sa-say Ha-wa-sa-say ! " His uncles came from 
 under the beds, and danced with him, and when they danced 
 the dancing was heard throughout the world. 
 
 The grandmother was at the world's end, but she heard all as" 
 plainly as if at home, and she ran there at once, and her foot- 
 steps were heard throughout the world. So when all heard the 
 drum, the dancing, and the running of Cho-noo-kwa-a-nah, or 
 " Uncombed Coarse Hair," they said, " He, ha ! So Cho-noo- 
 kwa-a-nah is in trouble again. We will soon see what magician 
 will try to kill her or her children." 
 
 Okwencha heard her running, and put the drum away, and his 
 uncles vanished. He put more wood on the fire, and soon she 
 came in with the sweat on her face, and breathless from haste. 
 " Oh, my grandchild ! " she said, " What have you done ? You 
 have killed me ! " And she said this again. He said he had 
 been making her old moccasins dance, and it was real fun. But 
 she asked whose were the footmarks in the dust? He did not 
 answer, but placed the old moccasins in a row, and took hsi 
 bow and arrows. He beat on bis bow-string, and sung his war- 
 song, and the moccasins danced till the cabin was full of dust. 
 "Oh! " said his grandmother, "Okwencha is quite a witch! " 
 
 She went off the next day, and all happened as before, but on 
 the third day she went but a little way, and he had the drum in 
 his hands when f he came in. Then came a very tall man, so tall 
 
134 . ^fOTES ON cusick's six nations. 
 
 that he had to crawl into the cabin, and told the grandmother she 
 must come to his place, and they must wrestle for their heads. If 
 either was thrown three times the loser's head should.be cut off. 
 The man was Sus-ten-ha-nah, or " He Large Stone," from the 
 flat stone on which he lived, and he was a cannibal and a great 
 wrestler. 
 
 So Coarse Hair prepared for her three days' journey to the 
 stone. She told her grandson to stay in the house, and hope 
 thatrshe might be success/ul. But when she got to the stone 
 Sustenhanah was very hungry, and seized her at once, but as he 
 was about to throw her on the stone a voice was heard, " Here ! 
 here! that is not the way to wrestle! Here! here! give me the 
 chance, grandmother ! '' Sustenhanah said, " Ho, ho ! plenty of 
 game to-day ! " when Okwencha came up through the stone. 
 
 The . giant said, " Ho, ho ! so you want to wrestle, do you ? 
 What do you amount to?" and he tore his body in two, and 
 threw him aside. Then he seized Coarse Hair again, but up 
 came Okwencha, saying, "Give me the chance, grandmother ! " 
 So she let him try again. He threw the giant three times, and 
 he knelt down so that Okwencha might cut off his head. It flew 
 high up in the air, and they wondered when it went so high, but 
 the body remained kneeling till the head came back and stuck 
 on again. It was cut off a second and a third time, but the third 
 time they drew the body to one side. When the head came 
 down it struck on the stone, and broke it into a thousand pieces, 
 which were scattered all over the world : and that is why we have 
 stones everywhere. The head was likewise broken and scattered, 
 the brains becoming snails, and that is why we have snails every- 
 where. Gesenweh, or snails, is also the Onondaga name of 
 brains. 
 
 Okwencha sent his grandmother home, while he went to find 
 his uncles. First he gathered all the bones he could find, of 
 those whom Sustenhanah had killed, and put them in a row. 
 Then he pushed on a big hickory tree, and called out, " Euch ! 
 
NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. I35 
 
 Euch!" or -'Take care! take care! This tree will fall over 
 you ! You had better get out of the way ! " The tree fell, the 
 bones came to life, and all began to run away. But the right 
 bones had not always come together, and "he made them change, 
 so that men looked like men, and bears and deer as they should. 
 The people wanted him to be their chief, but he sent them all 
 home, his first uncle among the rest. 
 
 He went on farther. On the third day he heard an Indian 
 drum, but could not tell where it was. In the night he woke up, 
 datncing, and far from his camp-fire, going towards the drum. 
 He said, "He, he ! the old fellow is quite a witch." The second 
 night this happened again, and the third day he came to a crowd 
 of men.' A giant was beating a drum, while he sat by a kettle 
 of boiling soup. The hungry people danced around, and every 
 little while he seized and ate one, while Red Paint stood by. He 
 struck at the man, who was named Kah-nah-chu-wah-ne, or " He 
 Big Kettle." He hit him on the forehead, but he took no notice. 
 The third time he looked up and scratched his forehead, and said, 
 '' It seems to me the mosquitoes -bite." When they fought 
 Okwenfcha cut off his head with his bone scalping knife, and 
 threw it in" the soup. The hungry people would have eaten of 
 the soup, and wanted him for their chief, but he would allow 
 neither. He sent them away, and then broke the big kettle and 
 drum. He also cut up and burned the giant's body, and then 
 gathered all the bones and placed them in a row near a great 
 pine tree, pushing on this and crying out as before. The people 
 came to life, but he had again to exchange sOme heads and limbs. 
 One of his uncles was there, too, but he sent them all home, 
 going westward alone, as before. 
 
 In three days he heard the distant barking of a dog, and on 
 the third day afterwards he met a man whose flesh was eaten 
 from his feet to his thighs. A dog was running after him, biting 
 off his flesh. Red Paint said, " I wish my dogs, Okwae, the 
 Bear, and Kuhahsenteatah; the Lion, were here." He whistled, 
 
136 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 and they came and killed the dog, and then were sent home.' 
 Red Paint healed the man, who was his third uncle, and sent 
 him to his grandmother. 
 
 He went on for three days more, when he came to a village, 
 and lived awhile with a poor woman and her boy. They became 
 good hunters, and the woman was glad. One night there was to 
 be a great feast at the council house, when, they would make 
 warhpum. Soup was poured through a dead man's skin, and 
 became wampnm. as it passed through. They had had this skin 
 a long time, and it was that of Okwencha's uncle, which he 
 wanted so much. 
 
 He went to the feast, late in the evening, and found. a great 
 crowd. ■ Then he said, " I wish Tah-hun-tike-skwa, the bat, were 
 here; and Che-ten-ha, the mouse, and Tah-hoon-to-whe, the 
 night-hawk ;" and al! cam6. He told the bat to amuse the peo- 
 ple by flying about, while the mou^e climbed the pole and gnawed 
 off the cords supporting his uncle's skin. The night-hawk was 
 to go to and fro and report to him. The people had great sport 
 with the bat, and the mouse gnawed the cords almost off, which 
 the night-ha-wk reported, and then flew away with" the bat. 
 
 The people were tired, and while a chief was speakmg Red 
 Paint took th6 skin away. As he did this he thought, "I wish 
 all the people were asleep ; " and they slept. He then cut off 
 the chiefs head and took it away, and hid the skin. Then the 
 people awoke, and found both were gone, so that there was a 
 great uproar. They searched for Okwencha, crying out furiously, 
 a;nd he pretended to lead' the chase in the darkness, until they 
 all gave up. 
 
 Then he went back to the council house, and threw the chief's 
 head among them, saying he had slain the man who killed their 
 chief. They kicked it around, while he went away, but at last a 
 man saw their mistake, and. they chased Okwencha again. They 
 were top . late, and he carried off his uncle's, skin, which he 
 
NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 137 
 
 breathed into and restored to life. So they went pleasantly 
 homeward together. 
 
 The old woman had fastened the door, and they could not get 
 in, for the animals used tocome and fool her, pretending to be 
 her grandson. She became a very old woman, and they found 
 her bending over the fire, the dust and ashes on her back an inch 
 deep. Red Paint said, " I will make a young woman out of my, 
 grandmother yet." He took a little stick, and stuck it in the 
 loose skin, back of her head, and as he twisted it all the wrinkles 
 became smooth, and she seemed a handsome young woman. 
 Then she saw him, and was so glad that she felt young all over. 
 
 He said, "Now we will fix up the old house;" and as he 
 wanted it, so it became. Then his other three uncles came, 
 loaded with bear's meat, and all were happy. 
 
 This story is given more fully in the Journal of American Folk 
 Lore, for 1889, where I noted the occurrence of assisting animals, 
 and the triple arrangement, as in European tales. 
 
 HI-A-WAT-HA. 
 
 It is rather odd that what is now the most famous of Iroquois 
 names was almost unknown but little over half a century ago. 
 Mr. J. V. H. Clark had the Onondaga version from two chiefs of 
 that nation, in 1845, ^.nd published it in the New York Commer- 
 cial Advertiser, soon after. Schoolcraft used these notes without 
 credit, before they were included in Clark's History, and after- 
 wards took the name for his western Indian legends, where it had 
 no proper place. About the same time, Alfred B. Street ob- 
 tained a few original notes from other Iroquois sources, which he 
 used in his metrical romance of " Frontenac,'' in 1849, along with 
 some from Schoolcraft. Longfellow followed the latter, and made 
 an Ojibway out of an Iroquois chief 
 
 Like 'similar Iroquois names the final syllables are pronounced 
 wat-Aa, by the Indians, and by the Onondagas it is. commonly 
 
13^ NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS.' 
 
 called Hi-ewat-ha. Its meaning presents some difficulties. Mr. 
 Horatio Hale, the eminent philologist, interprets it, " He who 
 seeks or makes the wampum belt." This would hiring the name 
 down to the seventeenth century, if the ordinary wampum belt is 
 meant, for, until then the Iroquois had none of the small beads' 
 used in making these. On the other hand, several stories con- 
 nect Hiawatha with the first Iroquois use of wampum, which 
 strengthens this interpretation. As he probably lived in the 
 seventeenth century, or the latter part of the sixteenth, this might 
 harmonize very well. 
 
 Mr. L. H. Morgan translated Ha-yo-went-ha, ■' He who combs," 
 understanding an. allusion in this to his combing the snakes out 
 of Atotarho's head. Pere Cuoq suggested " The river-maker." 
 Daniel La Fort, the Onondaga chief, could give no meaning, 
 though his father had interpreted it. "The very wise man." My 
 Onondaga friend, Albert Cusick, told me that- the nanie meant 
 " One who has lost his mind, and ^eeks it, knowing where to find 
 it." This meaning is suggestive of the story related by Mr. Hale. 
 The reader may choose between these, but the last definition 
 seems to me the best. 
 
 According to Pyrlaeus, the confederacy was firft proposed by 
 Thannawage, an old Mohawk chief, and formed " one age, or the 
 length of a man's life, before the white people came into the 
 country," which seems too early. His other statement, that the 
 alhance was made about one hundred yeais before the Tusca- 
 roras came into New York, (1714) may be as much too late. At 
 the end of the last century the Onon'dagas told Ephiaim Web- 
 ster that it was about two generations, or one man's life, before 
 the whites came to trade with them. This would make it about 
 1586. According to Schoolcraft, some of the Senecas thought 'it 
 occurred four years before Hudson arcended the river. This 
 would carry it forward to r6os. On the whole, as a general date 
 for Hiawatha's life, the year 1600 will do. " 
 
 Mr. J. V. H. Clark first pubhshed the story, afterwards in- 
 
NOTES ON CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS. 1 39 
 
 eluded in his history of Onondaga, and often quoted by others. 
 Part of it is hke Canassatego's story of the confederacy, part of 
 it included Iroquois stories, but much bears the impress of mis- 
 sionary teaching and recent events. It differs widely from the 
 Canadian tradition, yet seems much alike everywhere in New 
 York, and this would tend to prove a somewhat recent origin for 
 all its forms, still further confirmed by Cusick's silence on the 
 subject. There is also clearly a mingling of different persons of 
 different natures, which easily came about, for the modern Iro- 
 quois at least, thought their deities visited them in human form. 
 
 Clark's tale of Hiawatha may be brifiey sketched, and in this 
 the Holder of the Heavtos-iiardly seems to be the Great Spirit, 
 but a lower deity, " f/ho presides over fisheries and streams." In 
 fact Clark says, " he had been deputed by the Great and Good 
 Spirit Na-wah-ne-u,.to visit the streams and clear the channels," 
 e'.c.,-for the. good of men, an evident reference to the mission 
 of Chritt. .He appeared on the blue waves of Lake Ontario, 
 (the beautiful lake,) in his white canoe, and was welcomed by 
 two hunters at Oswego, " Where the small water flows into the 
 large."' The lake had rnatiy names. 
 
 The Onopdagas accompanied hini to the land of monsters and 
 enchantments, following the river. A great serpent, lying across 
 the stream, was destroyed by his magic paddle, and the white 
 canoe gliced on over waters n.ever traversed before. A second 
 was slain, the fish were set free,; and the river became safe for all. 
 They were attracted to Onondaga lake, which then had no out- 
 let; but the wondrous paddle made a small and increasing chan- 
 nel, so that the lake was lowered to its present level, and the salt 
 springs were laid bare. As late as 1654 the Indians, who then 
 used no salt, thought that these were hurtful springs. 
 
 It is probable that this part of the story is recent, the serpents 
 being.the cbstiucting riffs in the river, cut through and made 
 •passable by. the Oswego canal. The outlet of Onondaga lake 
 was straightened and, deepened by the State in 1822, and the 
 
I40 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX. NATIONS. 
 
 lake lowered. The magic paddle was the ditcher's spade, and 
 the white canoe may have been a white canal boat, propelled by 
 a new power, and passing the fulls without a portage. 
 
 . Peacefully rose the smoke from the chestnut grove, where the 
 enchantress Oh-cau-nee guarded the precious fruit, but her power 
 was broken, and the trees by the river became free to all comers. 
 The voyagers passed Cross lake through which the river flows, 
 and the skeletons of men showed that they were near the haunts 
 of the Great Mosquitoes, which stood on either bank, destroy- 
 ing all who sought to pass. After a severe contest one was killed 
 there, but the other fled to a vast distance, closely pursued by 
 the great deliverer. At last he was slain, as elsewhere related, 
 and the small mosquitoes were produced by his decaying body, 
 which also discolored the water of the swamps. 
 
 The ancient name of Seneca river is Thi-o-he-ro, " The river 
 of rushes," and when the wide spread Montezuma marshes were 
 reached, two great eagles were slain, which allowed none of the 
 vidld fowl there to escape. In this story this terminates the west- 
 ward journey of Hiawatha, but with others he goes still farther. 
 Thenceforward he was known by this name, while dwelling as a 
 wise man on the shores of Cross lake. This title is here said to 
 have been given on account of the wise advice imparted to the 
 multitudes who sought his home. The northern invasion oc- 
 casioned his calling the great council, which soon gathered on the 
 east shore of Onondaga lake, but at which he did not at once 
 appear. 
 
 Ge-nen-ta-ha was the name used by the French, as that of 
 Onondaga lake; the English called, a small village there Ka-ne- 
 en-da ; but the present name is Oh-nen-ta-ha. Morgan defines 
 this as " Material for council fire." The Onondagas now com- 
 monly call it Kotch-a-ka-too, "Lake surrounded by salt springs." 
 The French fort of 1656 was on the east shore also, and this may- 
 have caused the beUef that here the first council was hejd. All 
 along that shore there are scattered traces of early and recent 
 
NOTES ON CUSICk'S SIX NATIONS- 141 
 
 occupation, while on the western bank the hamlets and lodges 
 are not Iroquois, but of an earlier peiiod. On some accounts it 
 seems improbable that the council could have been held there. 
 
 At last the wise man launched -his white canoe, placed his 
 daughter in it, and, went to the meeting with gloomy forebodings. 
 As they landed, the great white bird fell from heaven, killing his 
 daughter and itself. Overcome with grief, he lay as one dead for 
 three days, when he was aroused, brought into the council, 
 which formed the League, and then, seated in his white, canoe, 
 rose to heaven in the sight of all. 
 
 I have omitted many details in this sketch, but think those 
 who study the full narrative will be impressed with the thought 
 that this is partially an Indian version of the mission and work • 
 of Christ, his dwelling upon the earth as man, his death, resur- 
 rection and ascension. Mingled with this are many other things. 
 
 It will be observed that there is no reference to Atptarhohere, 
 while Cusick makes him the true founder of the Leagjie. In the 
 account given to Street, a great trmmvirate accomplished the 
 work. Hali-yoh-wont-hah (Hiawatha) and To-gan-a-we-tah (De- 
 kanawidah) disappear, but Atotarho remains. All are super- 
 natural, but Toganawetah was so beautiful that the Great Spirit 
 might have envied him. He appeared suddenly, no one knew 
 whence, and vanished as mysteriously. His prophecy may be 
 noted in Street's account, where it is given as in the exact words 
 by a Cayuga chief: " When the White throats shall come, then, if 
 ye are divided, you will pull down the Long House, cut down the 
 Tree of Peace, and put out the Council Fire." With this may 
 be compared the expression, " by reason of the neck being 
 white," in Mr. Hale's " Iroquois Book of Rites." Some of the 
 chiefs did not understand the meaning of this, while others 
 thought it an allusion to the Europeans, who were on the con- 
 tinent before Hiawatha lived. The disappearance of the two 
 leaders is a poetical rendering of their having, no successors m 
 the Grand Council.' 
 
r42 NOTES ON cusick's six nations. 
 
 Mr. Horatio Hale has receiv^ the Hiawatha story in a form 
 which has much to commend it, and which brings it down to 
 plain history. Giving it its proper date, and allowing for somd^ 
 embellishilients, it is likely to be accepted. In the main this ap- 
 pears m "A Lawgiver of the Stone Age," and in his valuable " Iro-. 
 quois Book of Rites." Portions of this are found among the 
 New York Indians, but for the most part it is a Canadian story, 
 and may have taken form after the separation of the Iroquois at 
 the close of the Revolution. Mr. Hale, in the Canadian story, 
 and Mr. Morgan in -the Seneca, both make Toganawetah an On- 
 ondaga adopted by the Mohawks. According to the latter he 
 chooses Hiawatha as his speaker, on account of an impediment in 
 \his own speech, and he becomes a Mohawk, too. 
 
 The nations were at war when Hiawatha formed his plan of 
 universal peace. The cruel and unscrupulous Atotarho thrice 
 defeated the deliberations at-Onondaga, so greatly was he feared, 
 and Hiawatha, himself an Onondaga, turned to the Mohawks for 
 aid. He arrayed himself in white wampum., and went to De- 
 kanawidah, who approved his plans. The Oneidas wanted time 
 to consider, but at last gave their support. When the Cayugas 
 also assented, Atotarho yielded, and advised inviting the Senecas, 
 who were the last of all to join. The council was called, the 
 Iroquois League formed, and Atotarho was placed at the head 
 on the motion of Hiawatha, singular as this may seem. 
 
 This is a general sketch, and some incidents, not elsewhere 
 mentioned, may be included here. Among the pathetic features 
 of either story is the death of Hiawatha's daughter, but whereas 
 she is a girl of a dozen years in Clark's version, in Mr. Hale's she- 
 is a married woman, who is fatally injured in the rush th3,t fol- 
 lows the shooting of a strange bird by one of Atotarho's men, at 
 one of the earlier councils. The traditional journey is probably 
 introduced as a sketch of the country. The Oneidas and Onon- 
 dagas at first lived so far south, that from the Mohawk river to 
 Cayuga lake the forest trails were commonly used, as they were 
 
NOTES ON CUISCK's SIX NATIONS. 1^3 
 
 in later tiiues. In a story the picturesque effect was better when 
 the lakes and rivers were followed. So the party named some 
 places in passing through Oneida lake. "This is Se-u-kah, where 
 the waters divide and meet again," said Hiawatha, as they came 
 to the islands, and the name remains still. Going up Seneca 
 river, he found Indians spearing eels at the Montezuma marshes, 
 who came out of the rushes, bringnig fish for their refreshment, 
 and he said, " These are Teu-ha kah, the people of the rushes, 
 or Eels." The drawing out of the canoes at Cayuga lake, and 
 the naming of it from this, is another incident of the. traditional 
 journey. 
 
 THE CONDOLENCE. 
 
 Mr. Hale's ," Iroquois Book of Rites," is based on some man- 
 uscript copies of certain speeches made at. the raising' of chiefs. 
 These preferve the names of the prinfcipal chiefs of the confed- 
 eracy, which have, varied very Utile since its foundation, though 
 they differ in the several dialects to a moderate extent. In early 
 days the condolence and the raising of chiefs did not always go 
 together, and many instances might be. cited; nor was the 
 ceremony of raising chiefs always the same. The aid of the 
 French or Enghsh was often invoked, and Sir WiUiam Johnson's 
 influence was often clearly seen. He had a Kst Of a large num- 
 ber of chiefs whom he had installed in office, for his presence 
 and aid were always deemed an honor. Even in these instances, 
 however, he gratified his forest friends by following their customs 
 ~in the main. 
 
 The most notable condolence recorded by Sir William, was 
 that of Kaghswughtioni, or Red Head, at Ononaaga,_in June, 
 1756. That all the addresses did not follow a fixed form is 
 evident, because, at the "Camp at Oneida, 15th June, 1750, A. 
 M., Sir William and the Sachems of every Nation prepared the 
 several'speeches of Condolence to be made at Onondaga upon 
 
144 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 the death of" the chief, " and chose the proper Belts for the 
 Ceremony." On the i8th of June, two Cayugas met him "at 
 the place where formerly the Onondagas lived, about five miles 
 from their present habitation." Three Cayugas met him when 
 a mile from Onondaga Castle, "and a halt was made of two 
 hours, to settle the formalities of the condolence, agreeable to 
 the ancient custom of the 6 Nations. Then Sir William marched 
 on at the head of the sachems singing the condoling song which 
 contains' the names,' laws and customs of their renowned an- 
 cestors, and praying- to God that their deceased brother might 
 be blessed with happiness in his other state." This part was 
 performed by one Mohawk and -two Oneida principal chiefs. 
 " When they came within sight of the castle, the head sachems 
 and warriors met Sir William, where he was stopped, they having 
 placed themselves in a half moon across the road, sjtting in pro- 
 found silence; there a halt was made about an hour, during 
 which time the aforesaid sachems sung the condohng song." 
 Then all rose up, and shook haiids, welcoming him and his com- 
 pany. 
 
 " Then Sir William marched on at the head of the warriors, 
 the sachems falling into the rear, and continued singing their con- 
 doling song. On entering the castle Sir Wm. was saluted by all 
 the Indians firing their guns, which was returned by all the whites 
 and Indians who attended Sir William. The sachems proceeded 
 to a green bower, adjoining to the deceased sachem's house, pre- 
 pared on purpose, and after they were seated they sent for Sir 
 William. When he came they addressed themselves to him, 
 wiped away their tears, cleaned the throats, and opened the heart 
 according to their customs. Thus ended his introduction. 
 
 " 19 June. The full council of all the Nations met, with Sir 
 WiUiam at their head, to perform the grand solemnity of Con- 
 dolence for the death of Caghswautioony, chief sachem of On- 
 ondaga. Old Abraham, the head sachem of the Mohawks, per- 
 formed this in the following manner." This office belonged to 
 
NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. 1 45 
 
 the Younger Brothers, but sometimes a speaker .was borrowed, as 
 is the case now. 
 
 A large belt covered the grave, another comforted the rela^ 
 lives, a third was given to the council to brighten the EngHsh 
 covenant chain, two belts, dispelled the clouds of day and night. 
 In all eleven belts and three strings of wampum were given, an 
 enemy's scalp " to replace the deceased, and with a glass of rum 
 round to w ash down all sorrow and grief, the whole ceremony of 
 condolence ended."' A note is made in the proceedings of their 
 " nightly consultations, that being the time the warriors of the 6 
 Nations hold their councils," as though the warriors and sachems 
 held councils at different hours. 
 
 A modern condolence differs much from this, and a recent one 
 may be described, held on the Tuscarora reservation. The 
 Elder Brothers assembled toward the east, before noon, and sent 
 a runner to the Tuscaroras, with a notched stick showing their 
 numbers. Then they formed in line, with bowed heads, and 
 marched towards the council house, an Onondaga chanting a 
 mournful song. Midway they met the Younger Brothers com- 
 ing from the west, reaching a fire by the roadside at the same 
 moment. The Elder Brothers ranged themselves on the west 
 side of this, the Younger Brothers on the east. . Lamentations 
 followed, and then a speech was made for the Tuscaroras, which 
 was replied to by the Onondagas. Then a chief slowly walked 
 up and down between the lines, chanting a lament. 
 
 A little later the Younger Brothers led the way to the council 
 house, seating themselves at the south end, while the Elder 
 Brothers were at. the north. The mourning chant followed, con- 
 taining the names of the principal chiefs. Then a curtain was 
 drawn across the centei of the room, the parties remaining as 
 before. The Elder Brothers began a chant, the Onondagas 
 chanting firtt, in a circle and with bowed heads. On a cane laid 
 across their seats were several strings of wampum. The curtain 
 was then removed, and chants and speeches followed from the 
 
146 NOTES ON CUSICK'S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 Onondagar, whose chief took the wampum to the Younger 
 Brothers, one bunch at a time, thus dehvering the law to them, 
 The. curtain was hung again, and the -Younger Brothers chanted, 
 after which the curtain was finally taken away. An Onondaga 
 chief then described the laws, and th,e Tuscaroras returned the 
 wampum, string by string, spying, ''You said this to me; I will 
 do right."' Then La Fort said, " Now we are ready; show me 
 the men." Two Tuscaroras were presented, and he announced 
 their chief names. A charge was given, concluding with, " That 
 is all I can say to you, and I think it is enough." This ended 
 the .condolence, and a feast followed. Until the new chief is 
 raised, the horns of his predecessor are said to rest on his grave, 
 i,nd of old no business could be done. When the place was 
 
 ■^ idled, all went on as before. 
 
 , Something hke the condoling song was often used in councils. 
 When Conrad Weiser conferred with the Grand Council at On- 
 ondaga, July 30, 1743, "First, the Onondagoes rehearsed the 
 beginning of the Union of 'the five Nations, Praised their Grand- 
 fathers' Wisdom in establishing the Union or Alhance, by which 
 they became a formidable Body ; that tkey (now living) were but 
 Fools to .their wise Fathers, Yet protected and accompanied by 
 
 .^their Fathers' Spirit.'^ 
 
 Again, . " Aquoyiota repeated all that was said in a singing way, 
 walking up and down in the House, added more in praise of their 
 wise Fathers: and of the happy union, repeated all the names of 
 those Ancient Chiefs that established it; they no Doubt, said he, 
 
 -are now God's and dwell in heaven. ; then Proclamation was made 
 that the Council was now Opened." 
 
 In this council the Onondaga, speaker called the Mohawks and 
 Senecas our Brothers, the Oneidasour Son, and theCayugas and 
 Tuscaroras our. Younger Son*. "After all was over, according 
 to the Ancient Custorii of that Fire, a Song of Friendship and 
 Joy -was sung by the Chiefs, after this the Council Fire on their 
 side was put out." 
 
NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. I47 
 
 When Weiser reached the Tuscarora town of Canaseraga, 
 September 8, 1750, the Onondagas sent to tell him that Canas- 
 satego had died the night before, and there could be no council. 
 " It is to be known that the Six Nations dont't meet in council 
 when they are in mourning, till some of their friends or neigh- 
 bors wipe off their tears- and comfort their hearts; it is a certain 
 ceremony, and if they appear in council without this ceremony 
 being performed, the dead person was of no credit or esteem, 
 and it is a ceitain affront to the deceased's friends, if he has any." 
 In this case the chief was distinguished, and an hour later another 
 runner announced that a council had been summoned, contrary 
 to ancient custom, on account of the long distance Weiser had 
 come, and their high regard for hira. They held a condolence 
 on the 12th, an Oneida chief speaking in the name of Weiser, 
 and of the Cayugas, Senecas and Tuscaioras, the sons of the 
 Onondagas. He "mourned a great man dead among them, 
 (accoiding to custom the dead man's name must not be men-^ 
 tioned) he wiped off their tears, cleared their throats, and cleansed 
 the place where the dead had sat, of any evil distemper which 
 might affect others." 
 
 The following year, Weiser bewailed the death of Canassatego 
 and oihers, employmg the same Oneida chief. "After most of 
 the Indians met, Canachquies&on stood up, and begg'd me to 
 walk up and down the floor, and to sing lamentation songs in 
 very melancholy time ; which he contmued till all were met, and 
 some time after ; in the song mention was made of the person or 
 persons for which he mourned, and their virtues praised." Several 
 graves weie covered by giving belts.. 
 
 Condolerxes, on the other hand, were used by the Iroquois for 
 French or EngUsh losses. At Albany, in 1702, the chiefs of the 
 Five Nations " sang a Eorrowfiil song which they had made upon 
 the deathofhis late Majesty. * * * * Since it has pleased 
 God to take King William to himself into Heaven, we do now 
 bury the remembrance of it. Condoling his death, and as a 
 
148 , NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 token thereof do give 10 beavers." Thirteen years later they 
 condoled the death of Queen Anne, in a similar way. 
 
 Chiefs, however, were raised at almost any council, and often 
 by chiefs of the same nation. At a general council at Mount 
 Johnson, in 1755, "The chief sachem of Oneida then rose up 
 and addressing himself to the Mohawks, Onondagas and Sen e- 
 cas, and said : Fathers and Elder Brothers. We acquaint you 
 that one of our sachems, called Connochquisie, is dead ; we raise 
 up this boy (presenting one) in his room, and give him the same 
 name." He repeated this to Col. Johnson, with a string of wam- 
 pum, who confirmed the appointment. Later, in the same coun- 
 cil, the Oneidas and Tuscaroras presented two -young men, 
 " worthy to be made sachems, and desired they might be ac- 
 cepted as such, and that the Colonel would distinguish them with 
 the usual clothing as sachems. He complied with their request." 
 
 Gn February i6th, 1756, he assisted the Oneidas and Tusca- 
 roras in condoling the Canajoharie Mohawks, on the death of the 
 great Hendrick, or Tiyanoga, and other chiefs.- On the 27th a 
 successor was presented for Tarrachioris, but they had not yet 
 chosen Hendrick's successor. The other nations seem to have 
 had nothing to do with this and earlier raisings, but this simple 
 ceremony was afterwards combined with the condolence for 
 convenience. 
 
 CACHES. 
 
 Besides graves and ossuaries, there are found deposits and pits 
 of other kinds. Very often the plow turns up a quantity of flint 
 implements, which in New York are usually of one size and form. 
 They would serve for knives, but are generally legarded as un- 
 finished implements, buried together for future use. Once I have 
 known of a cache of marine bivalve shells, roughly chipped to 
 less than an inch in diameter, and intended for disk beads. It 
 is not now, however, my intention to describe antique articles, 
 
NOTES ON CUSICk's SIX NATIONS. 149 
 
 but another, class of pits requires more attention. Many fine ex- 
 amples stiTl remain, and I looked over a small piece of woodland 
 in Montgomery county, which is completely filled with contig- 
 uous pits, teveral feet deep and in diameter. I have met with 
 them ekewhere, but not in as fine condition. These were the 
 corn pits of the Iroquois, but the practice was a general one. 
 
 The French term cache, or a hiding place, has become general 
 for this mode of concealment, which is frequent among traders 
 and trappers. Father Hennepin described this, in his travels in 
 1680. -'We took up the green sod, and laid it by, and digged a 
 hole in the earth, where we put our goods, and'covered them with 
 pieces of timber and earth, and then put in again the green turf ; 
 so that It was impossible to suspect that any hole had been 
 digged under it, for we flung the earth into the river." These 
 were often forgotten, or the owners never returned, and if they 
 were made under the roots of some largje tree, they may seem of 
 high antiquity. Grain caches have always occurred in or about 
 old forts, and are often open. Sometimes they are yet full of 
 carbonized corn, but 1 have observed that the germ is destroyed. 
 
 In the early " New England Prospect," it is said, "Their corn 
 being ripe, they gather it, and drying it hard in the sunne, con- 
 veigh it to their bames, which be great holes digged in the 
 ground in forme of a brasse pot, seeled with rinds of trees, where- 
 in they put their come, covering it from the inquisitive search of 
 their gurmandizing husbands, who would eat up both their 
 allowed portion, and reserved seede if they knew where to find it." 
 The Iroquois women do not seem to have had this trouble, but 
 openly used both the bark garner and the cache, making the lat- 
 ter in the same way. 
 
 In the Esopus war, of 1663, the Dutch found "last year's 
 maize, which they still had in pits in great abundance in their 
 corn-fields and around their fort." At this time they cut down 
 about 250 acres of corn, "and burnt above a hundred pits full 
 of coin and beans." When the Or.cndaga fort was burned, in 
 
150 NOTES ON CUSICK's SIX NATIONS. 
 
 1696, the caches of corn were so hastily made that they were 
 easily discovered by the French. De Nonville also ,found a vast 
 amount of corn in the Seneca caches, in 1687, besides all the rest. 
 This burial of grain and implements has caused an erroneous 
 antiquity to be imputed to some things, and the addition of fresh 
 earth to the floors of lodges is the fomidation of another frequent 
 mistake. Fireplaces would naturally be hollowed out in houses ; 
 in an enemy's country At became a warlike precaution. In the 
 account of 1666, this is ment/oned as a common Iroquois prac- 
 tice : " When night falls they make a hole in the earth, where 
 they kindle a fire with bark to cook their meat, if they have any, 
 and that during three or four days." 
 
 Mr. Morgan fell into some errors regarding cooking and eat- 
 ing, in his zeal for a theory. We have accounts offcasts at 
 almost all hours, and of every kind, but as a rule, even now, 
 the men eat first. Foi- the public feasts general offerings 
 are made, and when the Planting Feast occurs, at a set time men ' 
 and boys start out with bows and guns, to shoot all they can. 
 This foims a kind of "pot luck," relished only by them. Every 
 year, however, now sees' innovations on ancient usages, and soon 
 all customs of the famous Long House will have pasted away. 
 
 END 
 
INDKX: 
 
 Adoption of Captives, .... 95 
 Agent from Heaven, ... 13, 16 
 
 Agreskoue, .43, 76 
 
 Algonquins, 105 
 
 Ambassador misused, 25 
 
 Andastes, 54, 72, loi 
 
 Apes, 4, 46 
 
 Atotarho, . . . 16, 37, 62, 66, 103 
 141, 142 
 
 Beavers, 10, 28, 42, 91 
 
 Big Elk, 10, 91 
 
 Big Neck, 19, 72 
 
 Bird of the Clouds, 62, 141, 142 
 
 Blazing Star 11, 49 
 
 Blue Lizard, 23, 75 
 
 Bone&of Animals, 91 
 
 Burial Customs, 30, 78, 8b, 108 
 
 Caches, : . . 148, 149 
 
 Canassatego, 43. 147 
 
 Cannibalism, ...... 25, 58, 76 
 
 dartier's Voyage, 104 
 
 Cayugas,i2, 57 ; Chiefs,... 68 
 
 Ceremonies, 97 
 
 Charmed Suit, 131 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chautauqua, 22, 75 
 
 Cherokees, 37, lo? 
 
 Chronology, 77 138 
 
 Chiefs, 36, 67, 98; war, 37, 103 
 pine tree, 69 ; raising of, 148 
 
 Clans, 17, 3°, S7>69, 82 
 
 Condolence,. . .53, 69, 143, 147 
 Confederacy formed, 13, 17, 44 
 64, 141, 142. 
 
 Corn, 13, 59, 149 
 
 Council House, 66 
 
 Councils,. . 36, 69, 96, 146 
 
 Creation • i. 43 
 
 Cusick, Albert, 42, 67 
 
 " David, 4' 
 
 " James, 41 
 
 " Nicholas, 41 
 
 Dead Feasts, 82, 108, no 
 
 Deer, 34) 9^ 
 
 Deities, 45 
 
 Dog Tail Nation, 24. 7^ 
 
 Donhtonha, 7i 47 
 
 DreamF, 85, 118 
 
 Dream Feast, 85, 119 
 
INDEX TO NOTES ON CUSICK S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 Earthquake', 35, 103 
 
 Earthworks, ig, 73 
 
 Eclipses, 35, 95 
 
 Elder and Younger Broth- 
 ers, 35, 65, 145, 146, 147 
 
 Election of Senators, ... 17, 66 
 Eries,.. .31, 38, 70, 89, 90, 104 
 
 Esurgny, 114 
 
 Errrata, 154 
 
 Etiquette, ' 35, 96 
 
 Evil Spirit, .5, 35 
 
 Fairies, 48, 112, 1 14 
 
 Ealling Woman, J, 43, 45 
 
 False Faces ., 30, 84, 86 
 
 Fashions, 117 
 
 Feasts, 87, 150 
 
 Fireplaces, 123, 150 
 
 Fishing, 35, 92 
 
 ■Flying Heads, 14, 60 
 
 Food, 10, 13, 14, 48, 59 
 
 " for Dead, 109 
 
 Foreign People, 5, 46 
 
 Forts, 5,' 14, 17, 19, 21, 23, 27 
 
 31, 60, lOI. 
 
 Giants, 5, 6, 8, 19, 25, 47, 134 
 
 135- 
 
 Golden City, 10, 49 
 
 Grape Vine, 13 
 
 Great Head, 128 
 
 Great Island, 2, 16 
 
 " Spirit, 45, 48 
 
 Guns, ' 95 
 
 Hendrick, 65, 148 
 
 Hiawatha. .62, 63, 67, 129, 137 
 
 Hidden Persons, 112 
 
 Houses, 47, 49, 1 23 
 
 Hochelaga, 105, 114 
 
 Hunting, 34, 91 
 
 Hurons, ..49, 93, 105, 106, no 
 
 Iroquois Name,. . . .3, 45, 65 
 
 Power, 35, 95 
 
 '• Increase, 95 
 
 " Jealousies, 96 
 
 " (Stories), 127 
 
 Kahanauka,...27, 31, 33, 77 
 
 Kah Kwahs 70, 89 
 
 Kanawaga, 5, 43 
 
 Kanhaitauneekay, 32, 89 
 
 Kawnesats ^^, 89 
 
 Kentucky, .' 25, 76 
 
 Land, 49 
 
 Lad and Chestnuts, 131 
 
 Lion, 18, 71, 135 
 
 Long House,... 13, 32, 36, 59 
 
 Mammoth Bear,. . . 18, 36, 71 
 
 Massawomekes, 99 
 
 Medicine Man, 31, 88 
 
 Mississaugas, 18, 20, 24, 27, 32 
 
 70,- 106. 
 
 Mohawks, 12, 37, 38, 54, 55 
 
 58, 95, 108. 
 
 Mohawk Chiefs, 67 
 
 Mohegans, 35. loj, 108 
 
 Monsters, 2, 5 
 
INDEX TO NOTES ON 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Months, * .... 34. 93 
 
 Moon, 3; 35 
 
 Mosquito, 18, 71, 140 
 
 Names, 1 25 
 
 Names of Chiefs, 67 
 
 Nanticokes, 29, 77 
 
 Nets 92, 93 
 
 Niagara, 18, 7P 
 
 Northern Confederacy, .10, 48 
 
 OjIBWAYS, 106 
 
 Okwencha, 132 
 
 Oneidas, 12, 19, 55, 65 
 
 Oneida Chiefs, 67 
 
 " Stone, 56 
 
 Onondagas, 12, 56, 107 
 
 Onondaga Chiefs, 68 
 
 Oneida Lake, 143 
 
 Origin of Iroquois, 11, 46, 48 
 53, 64, 72, 84, 89, 105. 
 
 Ossuaries 80, 108, 1 1 1 
 
 Oswego Falls, ...11, 53 
 
 Ottawas, . . .22, 24, 25,27, 74 
 
 Peace House, 32 
 
 Pipes, 17,51,87,100 
 
 Poison, 29, 77 
 
 Poisonous Animal, 22 
 
 Pounding Corn, . '. . .36, 50 98 
 Punishments, . .30, 36, 63, 85). 
 
 Queen Yagowanea, ....31, 88 
 Quisquiss, or Mammoth, 10, 47 
 
 Salt Lake, 18,71, 140 
 
 ClfSICK S SIX NATIONS. 
 
 153 
 
 PAaz 
 
 Scalps 55 
 
 Schenectady ^ ii 37, 54 
 
 Senecas, 12, 17, 20, 24. 58, 101 
 
 Chiefs, 69 
 
 Serpents, .. .10, 11, 14, 16, 20 
 5°- 73- 
 
 Shawnees, 15, 19, 72 
 
 Shotyerrouskwe, 9, 47 
 
 Situation of Towns, 107 
 
 Spints, .110, 113 
 
 Souls, no, 118 
 
 Souls, Cry of, n i 
 
 Squawkihows, 17, 69 
 
 Stone Giants, .. 15, 28, 61, 77 
 
 Stone Heaps, . . . . ^ 81 
 
 Sugar, 35, 59 
 
 Susquehanna River, .... 19, 75 
 '• Indians, 54, 72, 100 
 
 Tarknyawagon, II, 16, 18, 23 
 
 37: 42, 43, 4S> S3- 
 
 Targets, 99 
 
 Three Sisters, 128 
 
 Thunders, 50, 127 
 
 Tobacco 31, 51, 87 
 
 Torture, no 
 
 Tree Eaters, 59 
 
 " of Peace.. 17, 37, 66, 103 
 
 Turtle, 2, 42 
 
 Tuscaroras, 13, 35, 58, 71, 98 
 
 Two Minds, 2, 42 
 
 Utensils, 15, 61, 113 
 
 Vampyre, 30, 78, 108 
 
rS4 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES ON CUSICK S SIX NATfONS. 
 
 Wampum. 17, 62, 66, 73, 85, 
 115. 129, 136. 
 
 Week Days, 94 
 
 Whites 3S, 141 
 
 White Dog,.,.. 31, 85 
 
 Wilderness, . ^ 35, 92 
 
 Winged Fish, 24 
 
 Witches 29, 77, 130 
 
 Women, .'. 126 
 
 Yatatonwatea 8, 47 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 i 1 J 
 
 1 * 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 »l 
 
 
 
 
 
ERRATA 
 
 Page 53, line 22, read Tarenyawagon. 
 
 Page ss, line 20, read 1694. 
 
 Page 57, line 7, read Sagochiendaguete. 
 
 Page 57, line 11, read one for our. 
 
 Page 58, line 31, read Tu-hah-te-ehn-yah-wah-kou. 
 
 Page 63, line 23, read contrived. 
 
 Page 64, line 29, read Pyrlaeus. 
 
 Page 68, line 8, read Ho-was-ha-tah-koo. 
 
 Page 68, line 13, read Te-hat-kah-tons. 
 
 Page 68, place," The Cayuga chiefs are next," before Te-ka-ha- 
 
 hoonk. 
 Page 68, line 32, read Ha-ta^yon-e. 
 Page 69, line 3, read Des-kah-he. 
 Page 69, line 25, read principle. 
 Page 71, line 32, read Vanderkemp. 
 Page 82, line 12, read Manitoulin. 
 Page 85, line 14, read Ononhouaroria. 
 Page 104, line 16, read Hochelaga.