p ^^# Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/mythslegendsofneOOconv_0 Education Department Bulletin Published fortnig^htly by the University of the State of New York Entered as second-class matter June 24, ir,oS, ;it the Post Oftice at Albany, N. Y., under the act of July 16, 1894 No. 437 ALBANY, N. Y. December 15, 1908 New York State Museum John M. Clarke, Director Museum bulletin 125 MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE NEW YORK STATE IROQUOIS BY HARRIET MAXWELL CONVERSE (Ya-ie-wa-fioh) EDITED AND ANxNOTATED BY ARTHUR CASWELL PARKER (Ga-wa-so-wa-neh) PAGE Prefatory note 5 Introduction 7 Biography of H-rrict J^Iaxwell Converse 14 Pt I Iroquois ]\Iyths and Legends. Harriet Maxwell Converse. 31 Pt 2 Myths and Legends. Har- riet Maxwell Con verse^( Re- vised from rough drafts) 93 Pt 3 Miscellaneous papers. Har- riet Maxwell Converse. . . . 128 PAGE Xeh Ho-noh-tci-noh-gah, the Guardians of the Little Waters, a Seneca Medicine Society. A. C. Parker 149 Appendix A. Origin of Good and Evil 184 Appendix B. The Stone Giants. 185 Appendix C. The De-o-ha-ko. . 185 Appendix D. The Legendary Origin of Wampum 187 Index 191 M202r-Je8-3ooo ALBANY UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 1908 ^ q STATE OF NEW YORK ^ ^ BDCJCATION DEPARTMENT Regents of the University With years ui.cn terms expire 191 3 Whitjclaw Reid M.A. LL.D. D.C.L. Chancellor - New York i';i7 St Clair McKelway M.A. LL.D. F/V^ Chancellor Brooklyn 1919 Daniel Beach Ph.D. LL.D. Watkins 1914 Pliny T. Sexton LL.B. LL.D. Palmyra 1912 T. Guilford Smith M.A. C.E.'LL.D. - - - - Buffalo 1918 William Nottingham M.A. Ph.D. LL. D. - - Syracuse 1910 Charles A. Gardiner Ph.D. L.H.D. LL.D. D.C.L. New York 1915 Albert Vander Veer M.D. M.A. Ph.D. LL.D. Albany 191 1 Edward Lauterbach M.A. LL.D. - - - - - New York 1909 Eugene A. Philbin LL.B. LL.D. ----- New York 1916 LuciAN L. Shedden LL.B. LL.D. - - - - Plattsburg Commissioner of Education Andrew S. Draper LL.B. LL.D. Assistant Commissioners • Augustus S. Downing M.A. Pd.D. LL.D. First Assistant Frank Rollins B.A. Ph.D. Second Assistant Thomas K. Finegan M.A. Third Assistant Director of State Library James L Wyer, Jr, M.L.S. Director of Science and State Museum John M. Clarke Ph.D. LL.D. Chiefs of Divisions Administration, Harlan H. Horner B.A. Attendance, James D. Sullivan Educational IvKtension, William- R. Eastman M.A. M.L.S. Examinations, Charles F. Wheelock B.S. LL.D. Inspections, Frank H. Wood M.A. Law, Frank B. Giliu^rt B.A. School Libraries, Charles E. Fitch L.H.D. Statistics, Hiram C. Case Trades Schools, Arthur D. Dean B.S. Visual Instruction, DeLancey M. Ellis New York State Education Department Science Division, June 15, 1908 Hon. A. S. Draper LL. D. Commissioner of Education My dear sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith, for publi- cation as a bulletin of this division, a manuscript entitled Myths and Legends of the New York State Iroquois. The materials for this work were gathered by the late Mrs Harriet Maxwell Converse during many years of intimate association with the Six Nations of Xew^ York, and some years after her death came into the possession of this Department with the promise of publication. The manuscript has been edited by Arthur C. Parker, Archeologist, who has also prepared the introduction, a biograph- ical sketch of the author, as w^ell as some annotations and addi- tions to the general body of the work. Very respectfully John M. Clarke Director State of New York Education Department commissioner's room Approved for publication this 19th day of June 1908 Commissioner of Education i \ n ayl^^ C^^l^yj^^.fJl ^^ /pwu-L/t^^ ^ Education Department Bulletin Published fortnightly by the University of the State of New York Entered as second-class matter June 24, 1908. at the Post Office at Albany, N. Y., under the act of July 16, 1894 No. 437 ALBANY, N. Y. December 15, 1908 New York State Museum John M. Clarke, Director Museum bulletin 125 MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE NEW YORK STATE IROQUOIS BY HARRIET MAXWELL CONVERSE (Ya-ie-wa-noh) EDITED AND ANNOTATED BY ARTHUR CASWELL PARKER l^Ga-wa-so wa-neh) PREFATORY NOTE One may not hope to read a primitive culture from the record of its workmanship alone, although this is often the only avenue remaining by which a lost culture may be approached. The mentality of a primitive people living close to nature mirrors the supreme law of the universe in its simplest and most elemental expressions; it clothes with individuality the manifestation of this law, gives words to its unconscious forces and thoughts to its living agents; it reads, suffused in a wealth of imagery, the spiritual law in the natural world or embellishes some historical event. Such simple and unembarrassed expressions, transmitted not by records of hand but from mouth to mouth through the generations, are priceless to the" student who finds in a progressed O NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM and complicated civilization the obscuration of natural law by the artificial conditions erected on the rebellious logic of human society. The labors of Mrs Harriet Maxwell Converse in recording the legends and nature myths of the New York Iroquois are, for these and other reasons, most worthy of conservation. She was de- voted in her love for her adopted people; she shared their spirit and could record their folk tales with perfect sympathy. Mr Parker, who has edited the manuscripts of Mrs Converse and prepared the introductory portion of this work, has been prompted not only by fidelity to the memory of a friend but by the piety and inspiration of inheritance. John M. Clarke (Ho-san-na-ga-da) INTRODUCTION No people can long exist as an ethnic group without consciously, or otherwise, creating a philosophy of things which becomes the common belief of that body of people — becomes their science andfreligion. The more permanent the people, the more enduring and greater the influence of their system of belief. Viewed in the light of exact science, as we know it, these primitive philosophies become mythologies. A myth may appear to us puerile and with- out any basis in logic, it may appear as a worthless fancy or a child's tale and yet a deeper study of the myth reveals within it the beginning of physics, philosophy and theology. Unfamiliar with the real cause of the phenomenon of mind or matter, the primitive mind, being a reasoning mind seeking to satisfy its curiosity and allay its fears, hypothecates the causes of visible effects in the form of myths. The primitive mind, believing all things the result of some intelligence, personifies and deifies the causes of effects, and thus has arisen the multiplicity of gods and guardian spirits. Once crystallized and diffused, myths become w^orking factors of human action. They become the science and religion of the ethnic group which entertains them. They become the basis of reasoning. A treatise on a cause, they become a cause. They become so ingrained in the minds of their believers that, when in other generations they are rivaled by more rational systems, they are not easily supplanted, for they bear the approval of the religious leaders and the wise men of the generations past. To the great body of people the old myth was a part of common religion ; the new myth which attempted to explain the thunder or the wind's fury was the science of the day and few would have aught to do with it, and here we have a glimpse of the conflict of religion and science. Religion was the conservative element and clung to the sacred beliefs of its fathers; science (so called), which brought the innovation, denied all precedents and struck out afresh to establish new ideas. Years passed by and the religions of the day accepted the new beliefs until the throes of their birth became forgotten in the haze of many years. Then again the critical minds of the time, comparing the experiences of the past and analyzing as best they could, sought to find new explanations that appealed more to their ideas of logic. Then old myths were scoffed at, a new system established, and again the conflict. Nor is it strange that men should be loath to deny that to which they have become 7 8 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM accustomed; there is always a feeling of uncertainty about new systems and they are cautiously experimented with at first. In reviewing the myths of the ancients or of modern primitive men we may sometimes wonder how any large body of rational men could hold as sacred truths such fictions as we may regard unworthy of serious consideration. If such is the case it is because wc have forgotten that the human mind has not always been of the same texture as it is today in the modern man of civilization. The minds of men, we should recall, through the varying grades of culture, from lower savagery to civilization, are characterized by wide differences. They are not uniformly sus- ceptible to the same stimuli, for each culture grade gives to the mind of the man which it characterizes a different viewpoint, different capacities and different associations. It is always well to keep in mind the fact that our present enlightened beliefs, our sciences and our civilization are the product of a long period of evolution under favorable circumstances, and that they are not things that men were always able to grasp. It is well, also, to remember that our ancestors were once barbarians and rude savages, scarcely more inteUigent than the other animals of the forest. All this might be hard to believe were it not that primitive savages still are to be found, and that all the various culture stages can be illustrated by groups of living peoples. There is little doubt that the man of five centuries hence will find plenty to laugh at, if he feels so disposed, when he reads the annals of our times and gets an insight of our customs and beliefs, some of which he may term myths. While he may appreciate our achievements he will cer- tainly deny our claim to enlightenment and choose to bestow it upon himself. There can be no true enlightenment, and the age of fable will not cease to be, until the laws which govern all phenomena are known to men. Until then men must theorize. Myths were originally theories adduced from the best information at hand. Surviving in more enlightened ages they were still held even though inconsistent with the known objective experience of the tijne. Even so they were regarded as sacred truths. A myth must be regarded, therefore, as a primitive theory, as a rude attempt to reach truth, as a tentative hypothesis upon which to fasten one's belief, for one must believe something. Legends and traditions. No people of any intellectual life can exist in social bodies williout l;)uilding up out of their experiences and especially out of their imaginations a vast body of oral fiction. Among peoples, widely separated in point of time and space, the IROni'OlS MYTHS AND I.IX.KNPS 9 same general myths and legends are found. This by no means necessarily implies contact. Rather does it illustrate the fact that illimitable as imagination seems to be in its power to combine and create, in reality it is limited by certain suggesting factors which may be common to all people of a given cultural stage and to all times. We have dwelt upon this feature at some length in a note on the Celestial Bear myth. It is not to be supposed, however, that some myths have not been derived by contact directly or indirectly in times more or less historic. On the other hand it seems quite feasible to believe that certain myths have been transmitted from one stock to another, the elements to be pre- served and the details to be recast in local molds. Some myths are plainly derived from external sources and are easily traced to their originating sources. Others are more difficult to trace. Certain individuals among tribes in the lower culture stages be- come the story-tellers of their people and are the tribal libraries of this oral fiction. Legends differ from myths in that they are wonder stories told for the amusement of those who hear them and are recognized as ingenious creations of imagination. There is, however, a class of legends that relate to localities and w^hich explain some local phenomenon, but these are traditions rather than legends. Traditions differ from legends in that they pretend to be and often are the relations of acttial occurrences. They are the histories of the peasantry and the tribes that have no system of writing. Iroquois folklore The North American Indians possessed a vast oral literature of mythology, legendary lore and tradition. The field of American folklore has scarcely been touched by anthropologists, and even tribes that have been known the longest have received compara- tively little attention. True, much has been recorded, but this much is but a small portion of the total. That this should be the case is not due to the lack of energy on the part of students but to the inaccessibility of the greater part of the material. Much is known of the material culture of the Iroquois and much also of their governmental system and their social laws. That not all is known is conceded, but enough to place them conspicu- ously before historians and ethnographers as the Indians of Indians, as the most splendid of barbaric men. It will be found of interest, therefore, to bring before students for correlation the small portion of their Uterature contained in this volume. 10 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM The mythology of the Iroquois differs in form from that of many other of the American races. Iroquois tales were of strength, of great deeds, of nature and the forces of nature, "standing out in striking contrast to the flimsy conceptions of the Algonquins," as someone has remarked. They are the classics of all the unwritten literature of the American aborigines. The Iroquois were a people who loved to weave language in fine metaphor and delicate allusion and possessed a language singularly adapted for this purpose. They were unconscious poets, and some of their tales seem to have been chanted in blank verse, the rhythm and swing of the meter in their estimation giving an added delight to the story. AVhen the legends are told to white men the delicate word-weave is seldom revealed, and never if the legend is told in English. The translation robs it of much of its intended charm and grace, for the Indian seems to think that the pale in- vader may laugh at his metaphors or deride him for revealing that such fine emotions exist within a stoic's breast. Thus it is that so many legends appear puerile and without pertinency which in the vernacular are strong and full of meaning. Story-telling customs of the Iroquois. Each settlement had its official story-teller whose predecessor had carefully taught him all the legends and traditions of the mysterious past and his listeners who gathered about him never tired of the narrative though re- peated again and again. According to ancient traditions no fable, myth tale, or story of ancient adventures might be told during the months of summer. Such practice was forbidden by "the little people" (jo-ga-oh), the wood fairies. Should their law be violated some jo-ga-oh flying about in the form of a beetle or bird might discover the offender and report him to the jo-ga-oh chief. Upon this a sign would warn the forgetful Indian. Failing to observe the omen, some evil would befall the culprit. Bees might sting his lips or his tongue would swell and fill his mouth. Snakes might crawl in his bed and choke him while he slept, and so on, until he was pun- ished and forced to desist from forbidden talk. The wood sprites enacted and enforced this law for two purposes : first, that no animal should become oftended by man's boasting of his triumph over beasts, or at the same time learn too much of human cunning and fly forever the haunts of mankind; and second, that no animal, who listening to tales of wonder, adventure or humor, should become so interested as to forget its place in nature, and pondering over the mysteries of man's words, wander dazed IKOQUOIS MYTHS AND I.KGENDS It and aimless through the forest. To Hsten to stories in the summer time made trees and plants as well as animals and men lazy, and therefore scanty crops, lean game 'and shiftless people resulted. To listen to stories made the birds forget to fly to the south lands when winter came, it made the animals neglect to store up winter provisions and grow their warm winter coats of fur. All the world stops work when a good story is told and afterwards in mar- veling forgets its wonted duty. Thus On-gweh'-o-weh-ka', the Iroquois, loyal to old-time custom, reserves his tales of adven- tures, myth and mystery for winter when the year's w^ork is over and all nature slumbers. When the story-teller finds an audience about him or wishes to call one, he announces his intention to recite a folk tale (ga-ga', or in the plural, ga-ga'-sho-o) by exclaiming "Ha-nio'!" and the eager reply is " Heh," which is an ardent request that his " Hanio" take immediate effect, and the relation of a ga-ga' ensues. At intervals during the relation of a story the auditors must exclaim " Hah!" This was the sign that they were listening. If there was no frequent response of " Hah," the story-teller would stop and inquire what fault w^as found with him or his story. It Vv-as not only considered a breach of courtesy for a listener to fall asleep, but also a positive omen of evil to the guilty party. If any one for any reason wished to sleep or to leave the room, he must request the narrator to tie the story, " Si-ga'-hah." Failing to say this, and afterwards desiring to hear the remainder of the tale, the narrator would refuse him, for if he related it at all it must be from the beginning through, unless tied. Thus si-gd'-hah was the magic word by which a legend might be told as a serial. Methods of recording folklore There are several ways in which folk tales may be recorded, as indeed there are several purposes for which they are written. To satisfy strictly scientific requirements, the method employed by the Smithsonian Institution and other progressive ethnological institutions, is undoubtedly the best. The native text is recorded w^ith an exact translation interlined, word beneath word. This method is most satisfactory to the student of languages but from the standpoint of literature it falls short. The resulting English is extremely awkward as it must necessarily be in an attempt to parallel two radically different systems of grammar and word compounding. No idea of the native beauty is preserved in such 12 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM translations, which are often inelegant and difficult to read and understand. To remedy these defects the whole translation must be rewritten in accord with current methods of expression. Another method of preserving a myth is to record it exactly as told, in the broken English of its narrator. The most poetic con- ception is thus sometimes reduced to grotesque caricature, and the value of the record lies not so much in its subject-matter as it does in the estimation which is formed of the narrator's ability of expressing in our tongue the thoughts of his own. The charm- ing Uncle Remus stories are of this character but the result is only a study in brogue or dialect, and fails to convey to our minds the ideas which exist in the mind of the native myth teller. From the standpoint of literature and psychology it is the impression, its form, its spirit that we wish to apprehend. The same medium may produce different results if employed on different substances. The mind of the modern progressive man of today is of a different texture from that of the savage or the peasant, and the same idea produces different emotions and associations in these classes of intellect. Many have employed the method of entirely recasting primitive ideas in their own thought molds, eliminating all the original idioms and picturesque eccentricities of expression and presenting the folk tale in all the verbiage of contemporary literature. The plot and motive of the original relation is warped and modified to fit modern requirements, the original elements are lost and the story becomes simply a modern one built upon the shattered skele- ton of the old. The use of this method has produced a mass of florid, ocherous, recast and garbled folklore, which nevertheless, is presented as genuine. There is yet another method which embraces some of the worthy features previously suggested. It may have its drawbacks to be criticized but it is full of merit notwithstanding. By this method the transcriber attempts to assimilate the ideas of the myth tale as he hears it, seeks to become imbued with the spirit of its char- acters, and, shutting out from his mind all thought of his own culture, and momentarily transforming himself into the culture of the myth teller, records his impressions as he recalls the story. His object is to produce the same emotions in the mind of civilized man which is produced in the primitive mind, which entertains^the myth without destroying the native style or warping the facts of the narrative. If in the vernacular the ideas convey tragic, mysterious, or horrifying impressions, and the style is vigorous. IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS 1 3 metaphorical or poetic, the transcriber employs every consistent art to reproduce the same elements in his own language. There is virtue in this method if honestly followed but it can only be used by one familiar with all the incidents of the culture which produced the tale, by one who is familiar with the language, life and psychol- ogy^ of the myth maker. A myth tale recorded in this way is neither mechanical, dialect or affected in style, but on the other hand, the same living, sentient story, though dressed in the garments of another speech. It is substantially this method which has been employed by Harriet Maxwell Converse in recording the myths and legends contained in this volume, and for this reason her work is eminently worthy of the consideration of students. Her great love for the Indians, her sympathetic nature, her scientific training and her psychic temperament enabled her to get at the heart of the stories her Indian friends told her. With her poetic mind schooled in all the arts of literature she has interpreted the ideas and impressions in a matchless style w^hich enables the reader to feel all that the red man felt when he listened to the ancient stories of his fore- fathers. The editor has endeavored to arrange the various myths and legends systematically and add such notes as will illuminate some of the obscure passages and to suggest by other notes the wealth of material which is opened up by the study of Iroquois folklore and American folklore in general. As a loving friend and grateful student of Mrs Converse, the editor has aimed in putting forth this work to rear from her own material a worthy monument, both to the memory of the gifted writer and to the people whom she loved. Arthur C. Parker BIOGRAPHY OF HARRIET MAXWELL CONVERSE To the late Mrs Harriet Maxwell Converse, the State of New York owes a debt of lasting gratitude. The reason is apparent to even the superficial visitor to the Indian collections in the State Museum where in striking prominence are to be seen hundreds of rare and priceless relics of the aborigines of New York, her gift to the State in memory of her father, Hon. Thomas Maxwell of Elmira. Her unselfish work in preserving the record and relics of the first claimants of New York State has resulted in preserving much of immense value for students of culture, histor}^ and ethnography. Her great interest in the Indians and her wonderful influence with them made it possible for her to mingle with them as a trusted and beloved friend. Indeed so greatly did the Indians esteem her that they bestowed upon her every possible honor Avithin the gift of the clan and the council, hailed her as a sister and a mother, called her Ya-ie-wa-noh, She Who Watches Over Us, adopted her as a member of the nation and gave her a seat in their councils. There is a very great difference between merely receiving a compli- mentary name and an actual national adoption. The life story of so remarkable a woman can not fail of perti- nent interest from any viewpoint. Mrs Converse was not a woman who was given to saying much concerning herself and although the writer was associated with her more or less from his childhood, the notes which he has relating to her earlier history are few and fragmentary, but from them and from the records which he has at hand, a brief account of her life's history has been prepared. To get at the ancestral elements wliich contributed to the con- struction of her mind and personality, we must go to the Higlilands of Scotland where in the romantic days of history, " the Maxwells maintained the splendor of their name in the baronial towers of Cacrlaverock." A splendid name was that of Maxwell, and proudly borne by brave Highlanders from days of old. Alexander Maxwell. Back in the early years of the iSth cen- tury, in the Scottish valley of the Nithe was born Alexander Max- well. He married Jane McBratney, she too a Highlander, and of the clan McPherson. The charm of America had reached the ears of Alexander Maxwell and in June 1770 he and his good wife set sail, from the port of Partick, for the new world where adventure and fortune, good or ill, awaited every daring pioneer. Hut summer seas are not always smooth and June 14 Plate I Red Jacket Taken from a steel engraving of the painting by R. W. W'ier IROOUOIS MYTHS AND I.I'.GKNDS 1 5 l.Tcezcs sometimes become j^^ales that lash the waves to fury and bring disaster to unwary barks. This the emigrating couple discovered almost at the outset of their voyage. A violent storm came up as they coursed down the North channel which wrecked the ship and tossed it upon the shores of County Down in Ireland. The unfortunate couple found refuge in a fisherman's cottage on the shore where, about a month later, June 15, 1770, a son was born, whom they named Guy. The Maxwells and their baby son continued in Ireland for months when, in 1772, they em- barked again for America. Upon their arrival they settled in Carlisle, Pa., but soon removed, to Virginia, where they made their home in Martinsburg, Berkley co., and where today are many descendants of the Scots, and prominent among them, descendants of the Maxwells. When young Guy Maxwell was 18 years of age he took up his residence at Tioga Point where he entered into the firm of Colonel Hollenback. His extraordinary acumen is attested by the fact that Governor Mifflin in 1788 appointed him justice of the peace, then an office of greater importance than at the present day. He was less than 19 years of age when he took the appointment which he held for many years. Guy Maxwell occupied many positions of trust during his early years and contemporary histor}^ tells us that he w^as a shrewd business man. He removed from Milton, Pa., in 1794 to the present site of Elmira where he pur- chased a town lot. He dealt extensively with the Indians especially the Senecas, by whom he was greatly esteemed because of his uniform courtesy and strict honesty. In those days it was a com- mon thing to treat Indians with respect but the quality of honesty was oftentimes a rare one when dealing with them. The Senecas appreciated his integrity and sought to express their regard by bestowing upon him the name, Ta-se-wa-3^a-ee, meaning Honest Trader. His love for the red men of the forest was shared by his son, Thomas, who was born in Athens, Pa. Thomas Maxwell. Thomas Maxwell during his early boyhood became a great friend and favorite of the Indians who made Elmira a trading post and often spent days in the forest with them. His skill with the bow and his speed on the trail excited their admira- tion. Finally after some deed of heroism and endurance, they acclaimed that he was a red man at heart, though his skin was white, adopted him in the Wolf Clan, told him to call Red Jacket his father and that his name was henceforth, He-je-no and meant Brave Boy. For years Thomas Maxwell was county clerk of l6 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Tioga and Chemung counties and he also served in Albany as assemblyman for his district and afterward as congressman in Washington. He was a man of exceptional literary ability and contributed widely to the periodical publications of his day. When in 1 812 his country was threatened he enlisted with the American army and fought with all the traditional ardor of a Scottish Ameri- can. During all his public life he never lost interest in the Indians who had been his boyhood friends but frequently mingled with them until the day of his death in 1864. Harriet Maxwell Converse. The second wife of Hon. Thomas Maxwell was Marie Purdy, a lady of culture, education and refine- ment. She was the mother of the seven children of Thomas Maxwell. The youngest was Harriet Maxwell, born in 1836 in Elmira. One of the old family scrapbooks contains a clipping which relates that Harriet left Elmira, at the age of 9, after the death of her mother, went to Milan, O., " where she was duly put to school." It was at this time she first began to write verse for publication. A gentleman w^ho was her playmate in the days before her departure says he has a distinct and vivid recollection of her in a white dress and a broad red sash tied in an immense bow. " I can shut my eyes and see her as she appeared then, one of the most graceful little girls I ever saw." In i86t Harriet Maxwell Clarke, then the young widow of G. B. Clarke, one of the owners of Congress Spring, Saratoga, married Frank Buchanan Converse, of Westfield, Mass., a friend and pla}'- mate of her early childhood. For five years after her marriage she traveled in Europe, Asia and Africa and toured the United States. Her husband, Mr Converse, was an inventor and musician. He had spent his early days in the west where he experienced all the adventures of the early pioneer. He lived with the Indians and became a great favorite with them. His skill as an athlete, and his dexterity with the rifie and bow won their admiration. After the return of Mr and Mrs Converse to the East they took up their home in Mott Haven, afterward removing to West 46th street, New York city. Mrs Converse's interest in Indians may be described as heredi- tary. It is quite possible, however, that although she might ever have been a loyal friend to them, she might never have known them intimately had it not been for her acquaintance with Gen. Ely S. Parker, himself a Seneca Indian of the Wolf Clan, to which Red Jacket belonged. Oftentim.es when environments are foreign we fail to appreciate the circumstances of others, nor are we able IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS 1 7 to do SO, for it is experience which makes one able to appreciate The white man's metropolis and the Indian's reservation are the opposing extremes of civilization and there is little in the bustling complex city to remind one of the quiet simple reservation. Thus, although Mrs Converse had within her all the elements which were capable of knowing sympathetically, understanding appreciatively and loving steadfastly the Indians whom her father and grand- father had loved, it required an awakening stimulus to arouse her interest in this direction. And once awakened there could be no turning. The moment Mrs Converse met the Iroquois sachem her Hfe and thought took a new direction. The great mind of the Indian had furnished the impulse.^ For years Mrs Converse had written for the best periodicals in America and Great Britain, and her essays and poems were widel}^ copied. Her poems written in the old Scottish for the Edinburgh journals awakened the fires of Highland patriotism and received an abundance of warm praise. Subsequently she was a regular contributor to the Ladies Journal (Edinburgh), the Scottish American and the British Advertiser. She became a regular contributor to several American magazines and her liter- ary career became assured. Her book of poems. Sheaves, passed through several editions and was enthusiasticall}^ received by the most rigid critics. Her friend John G. Whittier, read and reread the volume and then wrote her, " It is a sheaf in which there are no tares." The gifted authoress received also a com- plimentary letter from Tennyson and the volume even inspired Dom Pedro, the Emperor of Brazil, to write a letter of appreciation. The press was universally warm in its praise and even the A'ew York Independent, usually so severe in its criticism of poetical as- pirants, copied several of her poems and said that at least one of the number was worthy of Keats. It was this promising literary career which Mrs Converse re- linquished to devote the remainder of her life to the study and defense of the Indians of New York. General Parker took her to his reservation and to the Tuscarora Reservation where she met his sister, Mrs Caroline Mountpleasant, wife of Chief John Mount- pleasant of the Tuscaroras. In 1881 she visited the Cattaraugus Reservation where she became acquainted with the descendants of Red Jacket. ^Although Ely S. Parker possessed a great store of information relating to his people, the Iroquois, his busy life as an army officer and engineer gave him little time to record in print much of his knowledge. _ He seemed better able to inspire others to study and write. Morgan's League of the Iroquois contains some of his essa^'^s antl indeed Morgan acknowl- edges Parker as his collaborator. If Morgan is the "father of American anthropology" Parker gave him the inspiration. It is not strange, therefore, that he imparted to Mrs Converse the impetus for her researches. i8 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM For many years her knowledge of the Iroquois had been gleaned solely from the manuscripts left by her father and from the League of the Iroquois, the joint work of Lewis H. Morgan and General E. S. Parker. With the insight of Indian character which these works had given her, her actual experiences among the Indians themselves fanned her interest into a passion. She admired their laws and customs, she marveled at their wondrous national vitality, their endurance, and she loved them. iVnd they, finding her a friend, loved her. Mrs Converse's untiring activity in behalf of her red friends won their esteem and confidence. Her labors both at Washinjjton and Mrs Converse at the time of her adoption at Albany, before the federal and state legislative bodies, at once placed her conspicuously before the public as a friend of the Indians and those who planned adverse legislation feared the forces she was able to muster in opposition. The best men in private and in pubHc hfe were her friends and anxious to fight as she directed. Plate 2 <^,sx^i^,e^ c^?i^ IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS IQ The Indians were grateful and thus expressed themselves, but were unable for a time to find a suitable way for expressing it Ijy other means than words. Then they began to shower their aneient heirlooms upon her, articles of- embroidered buckskin, chieftains' belts, ceremonial regalia, strange musical instruments, beadwork and wondrously wrought silver brooches. This was not enough, however. Bearing in mind the record of two generations past, of Honest Trader, her grandfather, and Brave Boy, her father, and with the evidence of her loyalty fresh in their minds, they planned to make her a sister and a clanswoman. This could be done only by a family adoption and naming. The matter impressed Tho-na-so-wah, one of the national Seneca sachems, whose English name was William Jones, who with his wife, Jo-on-do-oh, planned to adopt Mrs Converse as a sister. The adoption ceremony took place on the Cattaraugus Reservation on June 15, 1885; Mrs Con- verse was received into the Snipe Clan and given the name Ga-ya- nes-ha-oh, Bearer of the Law. This was one of the ancient hered- itar}'' names of the Snipe Clan honondiont, faith keepers, and w^as once borne by Ruth Stevens, Red Jacket's stepdaughter. The naming ceremony was elaborate and impressive. All the modern innovations which the Senecas had acquired were added to the ancient usages to increase the interest of the occasion. In accordance with the ancient custom the council was held out of doors in a council square, made by bounding a grassy spot with huge logs and benches, which served as seats for the throng. The council fire crackled within the square and the chiefs and matrons moved about within the space. This square was arranged in the Jones orchard and may be seen even today. Only once again was it used for council purposes. At this ceremony two others were " named " and one " confirmed." Hon. George S. Conover of Geneva, a student of Indian lore, received the name, Hy-we-saus, Seeker of History; Maj. Fred H. Furniss of Waterloo was named To-an-do-ah, Inventor; and Hon. Charles H. Hutchinson, ex- mayor of Utica, who had received an honorary name from an individual Indian, received the confirmation of his honorary title. It is well to note here that the conferring of a name or even a family adoption carries no national rights wdth it. National adoption and honorary naming are honors widely different. Yet those who have received names often believe themselves adopted tribesmen. Naming, does not necessarily imply adoption, nor does famil}^ or clan adoption imply national adoption. Considered 20 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM in the true light, few have ever been adopted into an Indian tribe, although many have claimed to be. There are even grades of names, so that to have an Indian name does not necessarily mean that one bears an ancient Indian title. Persistent name seekers often have been danced around by a grinning Indian with a rattle, who de- manded $5 in return for a name which no Indian would translate, but which the donor assures the recipient means Great Big Eagle Chief, or some like fiction. The white man or woman who has persisted in his quest for an Indian name is satisfied and ever after boasts himself an adopted Indian. The Indians, however, only laugh and think of the greenback which somebody received and of the ludicrous name that no one will translate. A true Indian name is not easily obtained by a white man or w^oman nor is it often given to those wdio ask for it. It is, however, given those who have shown themselves w^orthy of the honor and w^ho know" how to bear it. Such w^ere the names given b}^ the sachems, chiefs, and war- riors, the faith keepers and women of the Senecas at the Tho-na- so-wah ceremony. Mrs Converse's reception in the Snipe Clan and into the family of William Jones, placed her in a position to secure extensive information regarding the customs and institutions of the Iroquois. The more she studied, the greater her enthusiasm be- came. She contributed generously to all their festivals and attended the various ceremonies on all the reservations in New York and Canada, each time the guest of the chiefs. Her home in New York became the stopping place of Indians visiting that city and the writer has met at her home Indians not only of the Iroquois nations of New York, but Indians from all over North America, from Hudson bay to Yucatan, from Dakota to Arizona and from Maine to British Columbia. Naturally, simple minded Indians in a great city were wont to get into complications. Sometimes they would not hesitate to strike down an inquisitive inhabitant of the Bowery who ventured a disparaging remark. The Bowery inhabitant went to Bellevue and the Indian to the police station. Fortunately for the Indian the next morning found Mrs Converse in court to plead for his release, and while Mrs Converse lived the cases against Indians almost witliout exception were dismissed. Most of the cases are extremely humorous and an examination of the court documents will reveal that when an Indian in New York spoiled a white man's face the white man was usually fined and the Indian discharged, though sometimes with a mild reprimand. IROOUOIS MYTHS AND I.l-IGENDS 21 Mrs Converse not only was the Indians' defender in the courts, but was constantly busy relievini^ unfortunate Indians who had been robbed, swindled or injured. She always managed to find a ticket home for Indians who were destitute and disgusted with the big town. Sometimes they returned with a new pocket- book well lined and clean new outfits. Those who were stricken w4th diseases or injured in accidents found her quick to discover their plight and to furnish relief. Mrs Converse kept track with all the solicitude of a mother of the CHIEF JOHN SANDY One of the Canadian chiefs who welcomed Mrs Converse to the Six Nations Reservation in Ontario 50 or TOO Indians who lived in New York and those who came temporarily, The writer has four or five large scrapbooks full of clippings telling of the humorous, tragic and pathetic experiences of Indians in New York city, most of them from the pen of Mrs Converse herself. Her activities, however, w^ere not confined to the Indians who dwelt in the city. She constantly watched bills before legislative bodies and was always on hand with a good fight when an adverse bill came up. The forces which she marshaled were formidable and the framers of the bills were obliged to capitulate every time. 22. NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Soon after her naming Mrs Converse was initiated into the Pleasant Valley Lodge of the " Guards of the Little Waters," popularly known as the Secret Medicine Society. She also became a member of the Ye-ih-dos, the Society of Mystic Animals, one of the Little Water fraternities. The writer is a member of the first named order and of the lodge which she subsequently joined, Ga-nun'-da-se. With the Indians the term " medicine " means a mystic potence, or to use Hewitt's word, it means orenda. There is no English equivalent of the word which the Indians term " orenda," though it is erroneously and ambiguously interpreted medicine. The " Medicine " Society, therefore, does not necessarily imply an organization devoted to the compounding of drugs or the mixing of nostrums. Mrs Converse was probably the first white woman ever to have become a member of this fraternity and to have actually held the great Ni-ga-ni-ga'-ah in her possession. The love which all the Iroquois nations of New York had for her amounted to a passion. She was their one strong arm in every trial. They could do nothing to express their appreciation, but to plan more to honor her. Her first naming had only been a com- plimentary honor and at the time considered the highest ever given a white woman by the Iroquois. Now they planned to give her a national adoption and to ratify and seal it with the consent of the council and the seal of the nation. In April 1890, the Name Holders of the Snipe Clan held a council and decided to change Mrs Converse's name. Thus on the follow- ing June there was another ceremony. Mr Converse was present with Mrs Converse and was given a clan adoption. He was named Ha-ie-no-nis, Music Maker, in allusion to his ability to wring melody from any musical instrument which he chose to touch. Mr James Kelly of New York city, an American sculptor of note, at this ceremony was named Ga-nius-kwa, Stone Giant, a name consistent with the sculptor's profession. Mrs Converse was received with great ceremony and named Ya-ie-wa-noh. The next spring the Indians planned to advance her still further in the honors of the nation. She had just succeeded in bringing about defeat to a particu- larly objectionable bill. The New York World, April 8, 1891, in an article entitled " Named Ya-ic-wah-noh," describes the action which was taken as follows: " After the bill was killed, when the Seneca council, now in session at Carrollton, Cattaraugus co.. New York, in the Allegany Reservation was called, an application IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS 23 was laid before that body to the effect that ' by love and affection ' it was the desire of the Indians that Mrs Converse should be received into their nation as a legal member of it. Upon this appeal a vote was taken and it was unanimously resolved that she should at once be invited to appear before the council and receive her Indian name. To this summons Mrs Converse immediately responded and on her arrival at CarroUton was met by a delegation of the Indians and escorted to the Council House where she was received by the Marshal of the nation and presented by him to the President and Board of Councilors, An Ostowa-gowa officer who presides over adoption and naming ceremonies The council was in session but immediately adjourned to wel- come her and after a prayer had been offered to the Great Spirit, thanking him for her safe journeying through the dangerous trail of the white man (a railroad accident detained her), she w^as offered a seat by the side of the President and the hour of the adoption ceremony was appointed. 24 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM A runner was immediately sent out to notify the people and 300 of them had gathered at the Council House when Mrs Converse was nominated by the Indian matrons to sit with them. Taking her place between two of the * mothers ' at the head of the Council House, the ceremony proceeded, conducted by the head chief of the Snipe Clan of which Mrs Converse had been made a family member in 1884. The resolution of the council was then read in the Seneca language and interpreted to her as follows: Whereas, Harriet Maxwell Converse has through her kindness and tender feeling to our Nation exerted herself to the uttermost in behalf of the protection and welfare of our Nation, and is always ready to stand at the helm of the canoe to avoid the crash of extinc- tion of the Indians; it is Resolved, On account of our appreciation and love thereof, she shall be honorably admitted as a member of the Seneca Nation of New York Indians. Chauncey Abrams, Sachem of the Tonawanda Snipe Clan The new name and title which was given was Ya-ie-wa-noh, meaning She Watches Over Us. This name had once been borne by the wife of the celebrated Chief Cornplantcr. " The next year, 1892, the Onondaga chiefs, the legislative body of the Six Nations, determined to share in the honors which were due Mrs Converse, IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS 25 The plan was inaugurated at the Condolence Council held at the Tonawanda Reservation in September 1891. There Mrs Con- verse had joined in the national condolence for the lost chief of the nation. After the ceremony of official mourning, the Onondaga chiefs nominated and elected Mrs Converse for the office formerly held by the dead chief of the Tonawanda Senecas, but as the cere- monies were conducted entirely in Indian languages, Mrs Converse did not learn of the action until the following spring when she was summoned to the Six Nations Council at Ononda^^a Castle. Daniel La Force, President of Liie Six Xalioni in iSya A personal invitation was sent by Chief Daniel La Forte. At the council she w^as unanimously confirmed a chief of the Six Nations, an honor never before conferred upon a white woman. The certificate which was afterward handed the newly elected chief read as follows: Onondaga Castle, Mar. 25, 1892 This is to certify that Harriet Maxwell Converse has been duely elected & Installed to the Chieftain Ship of the Six Nations of the 26 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM New York Indians on the i8th day of September, in the year 1891, at the Condolence held on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation. And she is therefore recognized as one of their Chiefs — to look after the interest of the Six Nations & also is recognized as Ya-ie- wa-noh. Witness Principal Chiefs Rev. Albert Cusick his Vice President Mr Abram (x) Hill Six Nations mark Thomas Williams Thomas Webster his Baptist (x) Thomas mark President of Six Nations, Daniel La Forte The chief? of the Six Nations of Canada then invited her to honor them with a visit and once again she was received with an ovation. After this culmination of honors her Seneca friend, Do-ne-ha- ga-wah (Gen. Ely S. Parker) wrote: I am extremely delighted to receive your brief note telling how bountifully honors have been showered upon 3^ou by the remnants of the Iroquois, both in New York and Canada. You deserve these honors empty and shadowy though they be and a great deal more, for the service you have rendered them. Accept, please, my hearty congratulations on your triumphal tour among these simple but honest hearted children of our ancient forests. The people you have been visiting have never been understood nor fully comprehended. I say that to study them satisfactorily needs a life time and at the end of life one has hardly begun the study. The study of the race is extremely kaleidoscopic. Your opportunities have been grand and rare. You have improved them well, and today are the best informed woman on Indian lore in America. Mrs Converse continued her studies and wrote many interesting articles about the Indians and Indian lore for the newspapers of the country. The death of General Parker in 1895 was the first great sorrow which Mrs Converse had experienced since the commencement of her active interest in Indians and for a long period she mourned the loss of the friend whose counsel and suggestions had been an inspiration. Starting out to carry on the labors and researches of her father Hon. Thomas Maxwell, she now had as a legacy the work and plans which General Parker left. He had been a stanch friend of his people, an able sachem and a true Seneca. His counsel had been (^^^.jo.'c^-^^ ^-^^..jj^^r ^^ 5^5-^ /i?r^ V .J^ ^.^^^^ ^...^ ^^^'^ -^ /'PvUi./^^C C^ t.C^ OL-^ \ > Mrs H. M. Converse's national adoption and chieftainship ccrlil^cate .1 IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS 2'J sought in all national matters by his people and his advice by the legislators of the white men when Indian law was involved. Mrs Converse therefore must redouble her vigilance and perfect her knowledge of the Indians. The necessity of collecting material to illustrate their culture impressed her and she began to complete her collection. About this time the State Museum was given an appropriation with which to establish an Indian museum. Mrs Converse's interest was awakened and she saw her opportunity to place the State in possession of a magnificent collection of articles illustrating the culture of the Iroquois. The collection w^as given in memory of her father Thomas Maxwell and is known as the Converse-Maxwell memorial. Subsequently her services were sought by the State as a collector for the museum and to her the State Museum is indebted for an interesting portion of the ethno- logical exhibit. It was largely through Mrs Converse's influence that the National Council of the Onondagas passed the wampum belts of the Five Nations into the keeping of the State Museum. To her we owe a matchless collection of ceremonial paraphernalia and more than a hundred specimens of Iroquois silver work w^hich include brooches, buckles, disks, arm bands, bracelets, earrings, beads and crowns or head bands. It was planned that Mrs Con- verse should WTite several museum bulletins relating to her collec- tions, but because of a change in arrangement she was able only to publish one paper, "Iroquois Silver Brooches " [N. Y. State Mus. 54th An. Rep't, v. i]. Secretary Dewey of the Board of Regents, when Mrs Converse's work for the museum had been finished, w^rote: Dear Mrs Converse: I want to thank you on behalf of the State for the great services you have so unselfishly rendered it in building up our new Indian museum. Much that has been accom- pUshed could hardly have been brought about by any other agency. Desirable as it was, no one had the confidence of the Indians and could guide them to wise decisions so w^ell, and you have done them a great service in getting into fireproof quarters the relics of their w^onderful career. I hope our Indian day and the good feeUng shown on both sides was but the beginning of more satis- factory relations between the white and red men of the Empire State. ^" I am 'sure that as long as you have strength you will be'deeply interested in anything that advances the best interests of the Iroquois, and we shall rely on you in all these matters as our adviser. Perhaps we shall baptize you with the name, say " The Woman Who Works for the Indians," thus making you an honorary member 28 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM of the University staff as the Indians so wisely have made you a chief among them. Pray accept my own thanks personally as well as officially for all you have done, with the hope that even more'^will be accom- plished in the future. We all appreciate the value and unselfish- ness of your labors and shall not soon forget you in this depart- ment of the University activities. Yours very truly Melvil Dewey After Mrs Converse had finished her work for the State Museum she placed a number of interesting and valuable series of relics in the American Museum of Natural History of New York city, and in the Peabody Museum of American Archeology and Ethnology of Cambridge, Mass. Mrs Converse's philanthropic w^ork consumed almost her entire time, although she found moments w^hich she utilized for the preparation of newspaper and magazine articles. Most of the immense volume of data which she had collected rested in rough fragmentary notes illegible to any one but herself. The time which might have been devoted to getting them in form was consumed by her practical work for the Indians. To the writer was left Mrs Converse's library of Indian subjects and most of her manuscripts. He has been able to rescue from her notes more than a dozen myth tales, intended for incorporation in her " Myths and Mystics," and also several other manuscripts relating to Indian matters. These are included in this volume among the miscellaneous papers, but the greater part of her data can never be used. In October 1903 Mrs Converse was prostrated by the death of her husband. As a man of fine literary tastes, a deep student of human nature, he had been her invaluable aid for many years. His sudden death was a shock from which Mrs Converse never re- covered. It seemed impossible for her to banish the sorrow from her mind. Hex Indian friends in New York city used every means within their power to comfort her. They brought presents of strange relics to revive once again her interest in her collections, they gathered at her home and sought to entertain her with stories of old, they brought their native deHcacies to her home and prepared them for her table, but all in vain. Interest was but momentary and the memory of her bereavement w^ould settle again like a clutching shroud that could not be shaken off. The Indians never ceased, however, to minister to her. Her grief had also robbed her of her genius and she could no longer use her pen with her 1 11^ ajryr T ff ^ m ^^^fcSSr^' ■■! ';' I f- ' '"f i/ Prominent Catta Jackcl Ki-nnc.l volume Cnnvers IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LKGENDS 29 customary fluency. Her jcjurnalistic work became neglected and she was unable to finish her work on myths and mystics of the Iroquois, which now forms the basis of this volume. On the evening of November i8th she was invited to take dinner with Chief Tahamont of the Abenakis, his family and friends at the chief's residence on West 26th street. The Indians waited anxiously for her appearance and finally fearing that something serious had detained her dispatched one of their number, a young Mohawk, to her home. Upon his arrival at the house he entered, there being no response to his rapping, and found her unconscious where she had fallen. She was yet breathing but expired before a physician arrived. Upon her desk was an almost illegible note which she had left for the writer of this sketch just before she fell. She wrote that she felt death upon her and left directions as to certain matters. The day of her death was the first on which the writer had been absent from, her home for several weeks. The Indians of New York were immediately notified and 50 came from all parts of the State to attend the funeral. Some were engaged in their farm w^ork when the telegram was handed them and in order to reach New York in time some came just as they were, rather than miss the only train which would bring them to the funeral. Her faithful friends to the last were the " pagans " who allowed neither ceremony nor convention to prevent them from carrying out the honors due the noble dead. After their ancient way they addressed her as she lay in state and poured out their grief to the spirit which they believed*hovered over the body. The Indian m.atrons who were present placed about her neck the sacred beads and the men placed a pair of moccasins at her feet. Charms and death journey requisites were also placed at her side. The chieftain emblem, a string of purple wampum which had lain above her was Hfted and outspread again in the form of " the horns " of a chief's office. The wampum was then handed to Joseph Keppler, a New York publisher who for several years had studied with Mrs Converse and to whom the Senecas had given a national adoption. His clan name is Gy-ant-wa-ka, the name once held by the celebrated Cornplanter. Mr Keppler accepted the wampum and his election as the successor of Mrs Converse afterward was confirmed by the Indians on the reservations. After the funeral ceremony (November 22) which was held in the Merritt Chapel on 8th avenue, Rev. Dr Sill of St Chrysostom's Chapel,^ of which Mrs Converse was a member, officiating, her body w^as shipped to Elmira for interment. 30 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM The writer was placed in charge of her estate by the heirs and an examination of her accounts showed that her fortunes had dwindled almost to nothing. Her life had been spent in giving and in doing for others. Her charity extended not only to the unfortunate red race, but to the distressed of every race and class. She never neglected an opportunity to do good and oftentimes placed herself in embarrassing positions in her zeal to better the condition of the unfortunate. Mrs Converse Avas a woman of remarkable personality and her nature was entirely unselfish. Her friends have not ceased to mourn her loss for the influence of her fine personality has imbued them far too deeply to be soon forgotten. Plate 5 Part of the Harriet Maxwell Converse collection of silver brooches now in the State Museum Pari 1 IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS ' BY HARRIET MAXWELL CONVERSE PREFACE In these legends, which I have gathered from time to time during the 22 3^ears of my adoption among the Seneca Indians, I have endeavored to adhere to the poetical metaphor of these people. Of the 40^ which will be included in the volume, save four or five, none of them have been published; and it has been my privilege to listen to these stories during the winter season, w^hich is the only time when an Indian will relate his m3^stery tales. They have descended to me first through my grandfather, then my father, finally to be corroborated and recited to me by the Indi- ans themselves. Harriet Maxwell Converse In Mrs Converse's text the English method of spelling Indian names has been used' In his footnotes, however, the editor has used the phonetic system generally adopted by students of American languages. CREATION-' Hah-gweh-di-yu, Spirit of Good. Hah-gweh-da-et-gah, Spirit of Evil. Ata-en-sic,^ the Sky Woman. Hah-nu-nah,^ the Turtle The floating island By Iroquois mythology, the earth was the thought of the Indian Ruler of a great island which floats in space. In all the Iroquois myths, the natural and the supernatural are so closely blended that they seem of one realm. Yet in the story of the creation. iThe manuscript as found among Mrs Converse's papers embraced but 22 legends. From her rough notes the editor has added 14 other myths and folk tales besides a number of mis- cellaneous papers. ^ See Appendix A, p. 185. 3 Ata'-en'-sic. This is the Huron name for the first mother, and not that of the (confeder- ated) Iroquois. The Senecas usually give this character no name other than Ea-gen'-tci, literally old woman or ancient bodied. This name is not a personal one, however. Mrs Converse has therefore substituted the Huronian personal name for the Iroquoian common name.