"Continue to listen while I proceed to relate what further they said. Our Creator made the earth. Upon it He placed man, and gave him certain rules of conduct. It pleased Him also to give them many kinds of amusement. He also ordered that the earth should produce all that is good for man. So long as he remains, it will not cease to yield. Upon the surface of the ground berries of various kinds are produced. It is the will of the Great Spirit that when they ripen we should return our thanks to Him, and have a public rejoicing for the continuance of these blessings. He made everything which we live upon, and requires us to be thankful at all times for the continuance of His favors. When our life (corn, &c,), has again appeared, it is the will of the Great Spirit that we assemble for a general thanksgiving. It is His will also that His children be brought and to participate in the feather dance. Your feast must consist of the new production. It is proper at these times, should any present not have their names published, or any changes have been made, to announce them then.

"The festival must last four days. Thus they said. Upon the first day must be performed the feather dance. This ceremony must take place in the early day, and cease at the middle day. In the same manner, upon the second day, is to be performed the Thanksgiving dance. On the third, the Thanksgiving concert. Ah-do-weh is to be introduced. The fourth day is set apart for the peach-stone game. All these ceremonies instituted by our Creator must be commenced at early day, and cease at the middle day. At all these times we are required to return thanks to our Grandfather Heno (Thunder) and his assistants. To them is assigned the duty of watching over the earth and all its produces for our good. The great Feather and Thanksgiving dances are the appropriate ceremonies of Thanksgiving to the Ruler and Maker of all things. The Thanksgiving concert belongs appropriately to our grandfathers. In it we return thanks to them. During the performance of this ceremony we are required also to give them the smoke of tobacco. Again we must at this time return thanks to our mother—the earth—for she is our relative. We must also return thanks to our life and its sister. All these things are required to be done by the light of the sun. It must not be protracted until the sun has hid its face and darkness surrounds all things.

"Continue to listen. We have a change of season. We have a season of cold. This is the hunting season. It is also one in which the people can amuse themselves. Upon the fifth day of the new moon Nis-go-wuk-na (about February 1st), we are required to commence the annual jubilee of thanksgiving to our Creator. At this festival all can give evidence of their devotion to the will of the Great Spirit, by participating in all of its ceremonies.

"Continue to listen. The four Messengers of the Great Spirit have always watched over us, and have ever seen what was transpiring among men. At some times Handsomelake was transported by them to the regions above. He looked down upon the earth and saw an assembly. Out of it came a man. His garments were torn, tattered, and filthy. His whole appearance indicated great misery and poverty. They asked him how this spectacle appeared to him. He replied that it was hard to look upon. They then told him that the man he saw was a drunkard; that he had taken the firewater and it had reduced him to poverty. Again he looked and saw a woman, seated on the ground. She was constantly engaged in gathering up and secreting about her person her worldly effects. They said the woman you see is inhospitable. She is selfish to spare anything, and will never leave her worldly goods. She can never pass from earth to heaven. Tell this to your people. Again he looked, and saw a man carrying in each hand large pieces of meat. He went about the assembly to give each a piece. This man they said is blessed, for he is hospitable and kind. He looked again, and saw streams of blood. They said thus will the earth be if the firewater is not put from among you. Brother will kill brother, and friend kill friend. Again they told him to look towards the east. He obeyed as far as his vision reached. He saw the increasing smoke of numberless distilleries arising and shutting out the light of the sun. It was a horrible spectacle to witness. They told him that here was the place that manufactured the firewater. Again he looked, and saw a costly house, made and furnished by the pale faces. It was a house of confinement where were fetters, ropes and whips. They said those who persisted in the use of firewater would fall into this. Our Creator commands us to put this destructive vice far from us. Again he looked and saw various assemblages. Some of them were unwilling to listen to instruction. They were rioters and took great pride in drinking the strong waters. He observed another group who were half inclined to hear, but the temptations of vice that surrounded them allured them back, and they also revelled in the fumes of the firewater. He saw another assemblage who had met to hear instruction. This they said was pleasing to the Great Spirit. He loves those who will listen and obey. It has grieved Him that His children are now divided by separate interests, and are pursuing so many paths. It pleases Him to see His people live together in harmony and quiet. The firewater creates many dissensions and divisions among us. They said the use of it would cause many to die unnatural deaths. Many will be exposed to cold and freeze. Many will be burned, and others will be drowned while under the influence of the firewater.

"Friends and relations, all these things have often happened. How many of our people have frozen to death, how many have burned to death: how many have been drowned, while under the influence of the strong water. The punishment of those who use the firewater commences while they are yet on the earth. Many are now thrown into houses of confinement by the pale faces. I repeat to you the Ruler of us all requires us to unite and put this evil from among us. Some say the use of the firewater is not wrong, and that it is food. Let those who do not believe it is wrong make this experiment: Let all who use the firewater assemble and organize into a council, and those who do not into another council near them. A great difference will then be discovered. The council of drunkards will end in a riot and tumult, while the other will have harmony and quiet. It is hard to think of the great prevalence of this evil among us. Reform, and put it from among you. Many resolve to use the firewater until near death, when they will repent. If they do this nothing can save them from destruction, for medicine can then have no power. Thus they said.

"All men were made equal by the Great Spirit, but He has given them a variety of gifts. To some a pretty face, to others an ugly one: to some a comely form, to others a deformed figure; some are fortunate in collecting around them worldly goods; but you are all entitled to the same privileges, and therefore must put pride from among you. You are not your own maker, nor the builders of your own fortunes; all things are the gifts of the Great Spirit, and to Him must be returned thanks for their bestowal; He alone must be acknowledged as the giver. It has pleased Him to make differences among men, but it is wrong for one man to exalt himself above another. Love each other, for you are all brothers and sisters of the same great family. The Great Spirit enjoins upon all to observe hospitality and kindness, especially to the needy and helpless, for this is pleasing to Him. If a stranger wanders about your abode, speak to him with kind words; be hospitable toward him; welcome him to your home, and forget not always to mention the Great Spirit. In the morning give thanks to the Great Spirit for the return of day and the light of the sun. At night renew your thanks to Him that His ruling power has preserved you from harm during the day and that night has again come in which you may rest your wearied bodies.

"The four messengers said further to Handsomelake, 'Tell your people, and particularly the keeper of the faith, to be strong-minded and adhere to the true faith. We fear the evil-minded will go among them with tempations. He may introduce the fiddle; he may bring cards and leave them among you; the use of these is a great sin. Let the people be on their guard and the keepers of the faith be watchful and vigilant that none of these evils may find their way among the people. Let the keepers of the faith preserve the law of moral conduct in all its purity. When meetings are to be held for instruction and the people are preparing to go, the evil-minded is then busy. He goes from one to another whispering many temptations, by which to keep them away. He will even follow persons into the door of the council and induce some at that time to bend their steps away; many resist until they have entered, and then leave. This habit once indulged in, obtains fast hold and the evil propensity increases with age. This is a great sin, and should be at once abandoned. Thus they said.'

"Speak evil of no one; if you can say no good of a person, then be silent; let all be mindful of this, for these are the words of our Creator. Let all strive to cultivate friendship with those who surround them. This is pleasing to the Great Spirit.

"Counselors, warriors, women and children—I shall now rest. I thank you all for you kind and patient attention. I thank the Great Spirit that He has spared the lives of so many of us to witness this day. I request you all to come up again to-morrow at early day. Let us all hope that until we meet again the Creator and Ruler of us all may be kind to us and preserve our lives, na-ho."

The council on the following day was opened with a few short speeches by some of the chiefs or keepers of the faith, returning thanks for the privileges of the occasion, as usual at councils; after which Johnson, resuming his discourse, spoke as follows:

"Friends and relatives, uncover now you heads. Continue to listen to my rehearsal of the saying communicated to Handsomelake by the four messengers of the Great Spirit. We have met again around the council fire. We have followed the ancient custom and greeted each other. This is right and highly pleasing to our Maker. He now looks down upon this assemblage; He sees us all; He is informed of the cause of our gathering, and it is pleasing to Him. Life is uncertain; while we live let us love each other; let us sympathize always with the suffering and needy; let us also always rejoice with those who are glad. This is now the third day, and my time for speaking to you is drawing to a close. It will be a long time before we meet again; many moons and seasons will have passed before the sacred council-brand be again uncovered; be watchful, therefore, and remember faithfully what you may now hear.

"In discoursing yesterday upon the duties of the keepers of the faith, I omitted some important things. The Great Spirit created this office; He designed that its duties should never end. There are some who are selected and set apart by our Maker to perform the duties of this office; it is therefore their duty to be faithful, and to be always watching. These duties they must ever perform during their lives. The faithful when they leave this earth will have a pleasant path to travel. The same office exists in heaven, the home of our Creator. They will take the same place when they arrive there. There are dreadful penalties awiting those keepers of the faith who resign their office without a cause. Thus they said.

"It was the original intention of our Maker that all our feasts of thanksgiving should be seasoned with the flesh of wild animals, but we are surrounded by the pale faces, and in a short time the woods will all be removed: then there will be no game for the Indians to use in their feasts. The four messengers said in consequence of this that we might use the flesh of domestic animals. This will not be wrong. The pale faces are pressing upon every side. You must therefore live as they do. How far you can do so without sin I will now tell you. You may grow cattle and for yourselves a comfortable dwelling house. This is not sin, and it is all you can safely adopt of the customs of the pale faces. You cannot live as they do. Thus they said.

"Continue to listen. It has pleased our Creator to set apart as our life the three Sisters. For this special favor let us ever be thankful. When we have gathered in our harvest let the people assemble and hold a general thanksgiving for so great a good. In this way you will show your obedience to the will and pleasure of your Creator. Thus they said.

"Many of you are ignorant of the spirit of medicine. It watches over us constantly, and assists the needy whenever necessity requires. The Great Spirit designed that some man should possess the gift and skill in medicine, but He is pained to see a medicine man making exorbitant charges for attending the sick. Our Creator made for us tobacco. This plant must always be used in administering medicine. When a sick person recovers his health he must return his thanks to the Great Spirit by means of tobacco, for it is by His goodness that he is made well. He blesses the medicine, and the medicine man must receive as a reward whatever the gratitude of the restored may tender. This is right and proper. There are many that are unfortunate and cannot pay for attendance. It is sufficient for such to return thanks to the medicine man upon recovery. The remembrance that he has saved the life of a relative will be a sufficient reward.

"Listen further to what the Great Spirit has been pleased to communicate to us. He has made us, as a race, separate and distinct from the pale faces. It is a great sin to intermarry and intermingle the blood of the two races. Let none be guilty of this transgression.

"At one time the four messengers said to Handsomelake, 'Lest the people should disbelieve you and not repent and forsake their evil ways, we will now disclose to you the house of torment, the dwelling place of the evil-minded.' Handsomelake was particular in describing to us all that he witnessed, and the course which departed spirits were accustomed to take on leaving the earth. There was a road which led upward; at a certain point it branched; one branch led straight forward to the house of the Great Spirit, and the other turned aside to the house of torment; at the place where the roads separated were stationed two keepers, one representing the good and the other the evil spirit; when a person reached the fork, if wicked, by a motion of the evil keeper, he turned instinctively upon the road which led to the abode of the evil-minded; but if virtuous and good, the other keeper directed him upon the straight road; the latter was not much traveled, while the former was so frequently trodden that no grass could grow in the pathway. It sometimes happens that the keepers have great difficulty in deciding which path the person should take, when the good and bad actions of the individual were nearly balanced. Those sent to the house of torment sometimes remain one day, (which is one year with us); some for a longer period. After they have atoned for their sins they pass to heaven; but when they have committed either of the great sins, (witchcraft, murder, or infantcide), they never pass to heaven, but are tormented forever. Having conducted Handsomelake to this place, he saw a large dark-colored mansion, covered with soot, and beside it stood a lesser one. One of the four then held out his rod, and the top of the house moved up until they could look down upon all that was within. He saw many rooms. The first object which met his eyes was a haggard-looking man, his sunken eyes cast upon the ground, and his form half consumed by the torments he had undergone. This man was a drunkard. The evil-minded then appeared and called him by name. As the man obeyed his call, he dipped from a caldron a quantity of red- hot liquid and commanded him to drink it, as it was an article he loved. The man did as he was commanded, and immediately from his mouth issued a stream of blaze. He cried in vain for help. The tormentor then requested him to sing and make himself merry as he had done while on earth, after drinking the firewater. Let drunkards take warning from this. Others were then summoned. There came before him two persons who appeared to be husband and wife. He told them to exercise the privilege they were so fond of while on earth. They immediately commenced a quarrel of words. They raged at each other with such violence that their tongues and eyes ran out so far they could neither see nor speak. This, said they, is the punishment of quarrelsome and disputing husbands and wives. Let such also take warning, and lie together in peace and harmony. Next he called up a woman who had been a witch. First he plunged her into a caldron of boiling liquid. In her cries of distress she begged the evil-minded to give her some cooler place. He then immersed her into one containing liquid at the point of freezing. Her cries were then that she was too cold. This woman, said the four messengers, shall always be tormented in this manner. He proceeded to mention the punishment which awaits all those who cruelly ill-treat their wives. The evil-minded next called up a man who had been accustomed to beat his wife. Having led him up to a red- hot statue of a woman, he directed him to do that which he was fond of while upon earth. He obeyed, and struck the figure. The sparks flew in every direction, and by the contact his arm was consumed. Such is the punishment, they said, awaiting those who ill-treat their wives. From this take seasonable warning. He looked again and saw a woman, whose arms and hands were nothing but bones. She had sold firewater to the Indians, and the flesh was eaten from her hands and arms. This, they said, would be the fate of rum-sellers. Again he looked, and in one apartment saw and recognized Ho-ne-ya-wus (farmer's brother), his former friend. He was engaged in removing a heap of sand, grain by grain, and although he labored continually, yet the heap was not diminished. This, they said, was the punishment of those who sold land. Adjacent to the house of torment was a field of corn filled with weeds. He saw a woman in the act of cutting them down, but as fast as this was done they grew up again. This, they said, was the punishment of lazy women. It would be proper and right, had we time, to tell more of this place of punishment, but my time is limited and must pass to other things.

"The Creator made men dependent upon each other. He made them sociable beings: therefore, when your neighbors visit you set food before them. If it be your next door neighbor, you must give him to eat. He will partake and thank you."

"Again they said, 'You must not steal.' Should you want for anything necessary, you have only to tell your wants and they will be supplied. This is right. Let none ever steal anything. Children are often tempted to take things home which do not belong to them. Let parents instruct their children in this rule.

"Many of our people live to a very old age. Your Creator says that your deportment toward them must be that of reverence and affection. They have seen and felt much of the miseries and pains of earth. Be always kind to them when old and helpless. Wash their hands and face and nurse them with care. This is the will of the Great Spirit.

"It has been the custom among us to mourn for the dead one year. This custom is wrong. As it causes the death of many children, it must be abandoned. Ten days mourn for the dead, and not longer. When one dies, it is right and proper to make an address over the body, telling how much you loved the deceased. Great respect for the dead must be observed among us.

"At another time the four messengers said to Handsomelake that they would show him the destroyer of Villages (Washington), of whom you have so often heard. Upon the road leading to heaven he could see a light, far away in the distance, moving to and fro. Its brightness far exceeded the brilliancy of the noonday sun. They told him the journey was as follows: First they came to a cold spring, which was a resting place; from this point they proceeded into pleasant fairy grounds, which spread away in every direction: soon they reached heaven; the light was dazzling: berries of every description grew in vast abundance: the size and quality were such that a single berry was more than sufficient to appease the appetite: a sweet fragrance perfumed the air; fruits of every kind met the eye. The inmates of this celestial abode spent their time in amusement and repose. No evil could enter there. None in heaven ever transgress again: families are reunited and dwell together in harmony: they possessed a bodily form, the senses and the remembrance of earthly life; but no white man ever enters heaven. Thus they said. He looked and saw an inclosure upon a plain, just without the entrance of heaven. Within it was a fort. Here he saw the 'destroyer of villages,' walking to and fro within the inclosure. His countenance indicated a great and good man. They said to Handsomelake, 'The man you see is the only pale face that ever left the earth; he was kind to you when on the settlement of the great difficulty between the Americans and the Great Crown (Great Britain), you were abandoned to the mercy of your enemies. The Crown told the great American that as for his allies, the Indians, he might kill them if he liked. The great American judged that this would be cruel and unjust; he believed they were made by the Great Spirit, and were entitled to the enjoyments of life; he was kind to you and extended over you his protection: for this reason he has been allowed to leave the earth. But he is never permitted to go into the presence of the Great Spirit. Although alone, he is perfectly happy. All faithful Indians pass by him as they go to heaven. They see him and recognize him, but pass on in silence. No words ever pass his lips.

"Frieads and relatives, it was by the influence of this great man that we were spared as a people, and yet live. Had he not granted as his protection, where would we have been? Perished—all perished.

"The four messengers further said to Handsomelake that they were fearful that unless the people repent and obey his consmands, the forbearance and patience of the Creator would be exhausted; that He would grow angry with them and cause their increase to cease.

"Our Creator, made light and darkness; He made the sun to heat and shine over the world; He made the moon, also, to shine by night and to cool the world, if the sun make it too hot by day. The keeper of the clouds, by direction of the Great Spirit, will then cease to act. The keeper of the springs and running brooks will cease to rule them for the good of man. The sun will cease to fulfil its office. Total darkness will then cover the earth. A great smoke will rise and spread over the face of the earth. Then will come out of it all monsters and poisonous animals created by the evil-minded, and they, with the wicked upon the earth, will perish together.

"But before this dreadful time shall come, the Great Spirit will take home to Himself all the good and faithful. They will lay themselves down to sleep, and from this sleep of death they will arise and go home to their Creator. Thus they said.

"I have done. I close thus, that you may remember and understand the fate which awaits the earth, the unfaithful and the unbelieving. Our Creator looks down upon us. The four Beings from above see us. They witness with pleasure this assemblage, and rejoice at the object for which it is gathered. It is now forty-eight years since we first began to listen to the renewed will of our Creator. I have been unable, during the time alloted to me, to rehearse all the savings of Ga-ne-o-di-yo (Handsomelake); I regret very much that you cannot hear them all.

"Counselors, warriors, women and children, I have done. I thank you all for your attendance, and for your kind and patient attention. May the Great Spirit, who rules all things, watch over and protect you from every harm and danger while you travel the journey of life. May the Great Spirit bless all, and bestow upon you life health, peace and prosperity: and may you in turn appreciate His great goodness. This is all."



Sketches of an Iroquois Council, or Condolence.

In giving the description of the condolence, I have chosen the following writings of Mr. G. S. Riley, of Rochester, to-wit:

A grand council of the confederate Iroquois was held Octobcr 1, 1845, at the Indian councilhouse, on the Tonawanda reservation, in the county of Genesee. Its proceedings occupied three days. It embraced representatives from all the six nations—the Mohawk, the Onondaga, the Seneca, the Oneida, the Cayuga, and the Tuscarora. It is the only one of the kind which has been held for a number of years, and is probably the last which will ever be assembled with a full representation of the confederate nations.

The Indians from abroad arrived at the council-grounds, or the immediate vicinity, two days previous, and one of the most interesting spectacles of the occasion was the entry of the different nations upon the domain and hospitality of the Senecas, on whose grounds the council was to be held. The representation of the Mohawks, coming as they did from Canada, was necessarily small. The Onondagas, with acting Todotahhoh, of the confederacy, and his two counselors, made an exceedingly creditable appearance. Nor was the array of the Tuscaroras, in point of numbers, at least, deficient in attractive and improving features.

We called upon and were presented to Black Smith, the most influential and authoritative of the Seneca sachems. He is about sixty years old, is somewhat portly, is easy enough in his manners, and is well disposed, and even kindly towards all who convinced him that they have no sinister designs in coming among his people.

Jemmy Johnson is the great high priest of the confederacy. Though now sixty-nine years old, he is yet an erect, fine-looking and energetic Indian, and is hospitable and intelligent. He is in possession of the medal presented by Washington to Red Jacket in 1792, which, among other things of interest, he showed us.

It would be imcompatible with the present purpose to describe all the interesting men who were assembled, among whom were Captain Frost, Messrs. Le Fort, Hill, John Jacket, Dr. Wilson and others. We spent much of the time during the week in conversation with the chiefs and most intelligent Indians of the different nations, and gleaned from them much information of the highest interest, in relation to the organization, government, laws, religion and customs of the people and characteristics of the great men of the old and once powerful confederacy. It is a singular fact, that the peculiar government and national characteristics of the Iroquois is a most interesting field of research and inquiry, which has never been very thoroughly, if at all, investigated, although the historic events which marked the proud career of the confederacy have been perseveringly sought and treasured up in the writings of Stone, Schoolcraft, Hosmer, Yates and others.

Many of the Indians speak English readily, but with the aid and interpretations of Mr. Ely S. Parker, a young Seneca of no ordinary degree of attainment in both scholarship and general inteligence, and who, with Le Fort, the Onondaga, is well versed in old Iroquois matters, we had no difficulty in conversing with any and all we chose to.

About midday on Wednesday, October 1, the council commenced. The ceremonies with which it was opened and conducted were certainly unique— almost indescribable; and as its proceedings were in the Seneca tongue, they were in a great measure unintelligible, and in fact, profoundly mysterious to the pale faces. One of the chief objects for which the council had been convoked, was to fill two vacancies in the Sachems of the Senecas, which had been made by the death of the former incumbents; and preceding the installation of the candidates for the succession there was a general and dolorous lament for the deceased Sachems, the utterance of which, together with the repetition of the laws of the confederacy, the installation of the new Sachems, the impeachment and disposition of three unfaithful Sachems, the elevation of others in their stead, and the performance of the various ceremonies attendant upon these proceedings, consumed the principal part of the afternoon.

At the setting of the sun a bountiful repast, consisting of an innumerable number of rather formidable looking chunks of boiled fresh beef, and abundance of bread and succotash, was brought into the council house. The manner of saying grace on this occasion was indeed peculiar. A kettle being brought, hot and smoking from the fire, and placed in the center of the council house, there proceeded from a single person, in a high shrill key, a prolonged and monotonous sound, resembling that of the syllable wah or yah. This was immediately followed by a responsive but protracted tone, the syllable whe or swe, and this concluded grace. It was impossible not to be somewhat mirthfully affected at the first hearing of grace said in this novel manner. It is, however, pleasurable to reflect that the Indians recognize the duty of rendering thanks to the Divine Being in some formal way for the bounties and enjoyments which He bestows; and, were an Indian to attend a public feast among his pace faced brethren, he would be affected perhaps to a greater degree of marvel at witnessing a total neglect of this ceremony than we were at his singular way of performing it.

After supper commenced the dances. All day Tuesday and on Wednesday, up to the time that the places of the deceased Sachems had been filled, everything like undue joyfulness had been restrained. This was required by the respect customarily due to the distinguished dead. But now the bereaved Sachems being again filled, all were to give utterance of gladness and joy. A short speech by Capt. Frost, introductory to the enjoyments of the evening, was received with acclamatory approbation, and soon eighty or ninety of these sons and daughters of the forest—the old men and the young, the maidens and the matrons—were engaged in the dance. It was indeed a rare sight.

Only two varieties of dancing were introduced the first evening, the trotting dance and the fish dance. The figures of either are exceedingly simple, and but slightly different from each other. In the first named, the dancers all move round a circle in a single file, keeping time in a sort of trotting step to an Indian song of yo-ho-ha, or yo-ho-ha-ha-ho, as sung by the leader, or occasionally by all conjoined. In the other, there is the same movement in single file round a circle, but every two persons, a man and a woman, or two men, face each other, the one moving forward, the other backward, and all keeping step to the music of the singers, who are now, however, aided by a a couple of tortoise or turtle shell rattlers, or an aboriginal drum. At regular intervals there is a sort of cadence in the music, during which a change of position by all the couples takes place, the one who had been moving backward taking the place of the one moving forward, when all again move onward, one-half of the whole, of course, being obliged to follow on by dancing backwards.

One peculiarity in Indian dancing would probably strongly commend itself to that class among pale faced beau and belles denominated bashful; though, perhaps, it would not suit others as well. The men, or a number of them, usually begin the dance alone, and the women, or each of them, selecting the one with whom she would like to dance, presents herself at his side as he approaches and is immediately received into the circle. Consequently, the young Indian beau knows nothing of the tact required to handsomely invite and gallantly lead a lady to the dance; and the young Indian maiden, unannoyed by obnoxious offers, at her own convenience, gracefully presents her personage to the one she designs to favor, and thus quietly engages herself in the dance. And moreover, while an Indian beau is not necessarily obliged to exhibit any gallantry as towards a belle till she has herself manifested her own good pleasure in the matter; so, therefore, the belle cannot indulge herself in vascilant flirtations with any considerable number of beaux without being at once detected.

On Thursday the religious ceremonies commenced, and the council from the time it assembled, which was about 11 o'clock A. M., till 3 or 4 o'clock P. M., gave the most serious attention to the preaching of Jimmy Johnson, the great high priest, and the second in the succession under the new revelation. Though there are some evangelical believers among the Indians, the greater portion of them cherish the religion of their fathers. This, as they say, has been somewhat changed by the new revelation, which the Great Spirit made to one of their prophets about forty-seven years ago, and which, as they also believe, was approved by Washington.

The profound regard and eneration which the Indians have ever retained towards the name and memory of Washington is most interesting evidence of his universally appreciated worth, and the fact that the red men regard him not merely as one of the best, but as the very best man that ever has existed, or that will ever exist, is beautifully illustrated in a singular credence which they maintain even to this day, namely, that Washington, is the only white man who has ever entered heaven and is the only one who will enter there till the end of the world.

Among the Senecas public religious exercises takes place but once a year. At these times Jimmy Johnson preaches hour after hour for three days, and then rests from any public charge of ecclesiastical offices the remaining three hundred and sixty-two days of the year. On this, an unusual occasion, he restricted himself to a few hours in each of the last two days of the council. We were told by young Parker, who took notes of his preaching, that his subject matter on Thursday abounded in good teachings, enforced by appropriate and happy illustrations and striking imagery. After he had finished the council took a short respite. Soon, however, a company of warriors, ready and eager to engage in the celebrated corn dance, made their appearance. They were differently attired. While some were completely enveloped in a closely-fitting and gaudy-colored garb, others, though perhaps without intending it, had made wonderfully close approaches to an imitation of the costume said to have been so fashionable in many parts of the State of Georgia during the last hot summer, and which is also said to have consisted simply of a shirt collar and a pair of spurs. But, in truth, these warriors, with shoulders and limbs in a state of nudity, with faces bestreaked with paints, with jingling trinkets dangling to their knees, and with feathered war caps waving above them, presented a truly picturesque and romantic appearance. When the center of the council house had been cleared and the musicians with the shell rattlers had taken their places, the dance commenced, and for an hour and a half—perhaps two hours—it proceeded with surprising spirit and energy. Almost every posture of which the human frame is susceptible, without absolutely making the feet uppermost and the head for once to assume the place of the feet, was exhibited. Some of the attitudes of the dancers were really imposing, and the dance as a whole, could be got up and conducted only by Indians. The women, in the performance of the corn dance are quite by themselves, keeping time to the beat of the shells and gliding along sideways, without scarcely lifting their feet from the floor.

It would probably be well if the Indian everywhere could be inclined to refrain at least from the more grotesque and boisterous peculiarities of the dance. The influence of these cannot be productive of any good, and it is questionable whether it will be possible, so long as they are retained, to assimilate them to any greater degree of civilization, or to more refined methods of living and enjoyment than they now possess. The same may be said of certain characteristics of the still more Vandalic war dance. This, however, was not introduced at the council.

A part of the proceedings of Friday, the last day of the council, bore resemblance to those of the preceding day. Jimmy Johnson resumed his preaching, at the close of which the corn dance was again performed, though with far more spirit and enthusiasm than at the first. Double the numbers that then appeared, all hardy and sinewy men, attired in original and fantastic style, among whom was one of the chiefs of the confederacy, together with forty or fifty women of the different nations, now engaged, and for more than two hours persevered in the performance of the various complicated and fatigueing movement of this dance. The appearance of the dusty throng, with its increased numbers, and of course proportionably increased resources for the production of shrill whoops and noisy stamping, and for the exhibition of striking attitudes and rampant motions, was altogether strange, wonderful and seemingly superhuman.

After the dance had ceased, another kind of sport—a well contested foot race—claimed attention. In the evening, after another supper in the council house, the more social dances—the troting, the fish, and one in which the women alone participated—were resumed. The fish dance seemed to be the favorite, and being invited to join in by one of the chiefs, we at once accepted the invitation, and followed in mirthful chase of pleasure with a hundred forest children. Occasionally the dances are characterized with ebulitions of merriment and flashes of real fun, but generally a singular sobriety and decorum are observed. Frequently, when gazing at a throng of sixty or perhaps one hundred dancers, we have been scarcely able to decide which was the most remarkable, the staid and imperturable gravity of the old men and women, or the complete absence of levity and frolicsomeness in the young.

The social dances of the evening, with occasional speeches from the sachems and chiefs, were the final and concluding ceremonies of this singular but interesting affair. Saturday morning witnessed the separation of the various nations and the departure of each to their respective homes.

The writer would liked to have said a word or two or relation to the present condition and prospects of the Indians, but the original design in regard to both the topics and brevity of this writing having been already greatly transcended, it must be deferred. The once powerful confederacy of the Six Nations, occupying in its palmy days the greater portion of New York State, now number only a little over 3,000. Even this remnant will soon be gone. In view of this, as well as of the known fact that the Indian race is everywhere gradually diminishing in numbers, the writer cannot close without invoking for this unfortunate people renewed kindliness, sympathy and benevolent attention. It is true, that with some few exceptions, they possess habits and characteristics which render them difficult to approach; but still, they are only what the creator of us all has made them. And let it be remembered, it must be a large measure of kindliness and benevolence that will repay the injustice and wrongs that have been inflicted upon them.



ATOTARHO.

Atotarho, who by tradition was an Onondaga, is the great embodiment of the Iroquois courage, wisdom and heroism, and he is invested with allegoric traits which exalt him to a kind of superhuman character. Unequalled in war and arts his fame spread abroad, and exalted the Onondaga nation in the highest scale. He was placed at the head of the confederacy, and his name was used after his death as an examplar of glory and honor. While like that of Caesar, it became perpetuated as the official title of the presiding Sachem of the confederacy. He was a man of energy and renown. And such was the estimation in which he was held in his life time, and the popular veneration for his character after death, that, as above denoted, his name became the distinctive title for the office, and is not yet extinct, although the tribes have no longer war to prosecute or foreign embassadors to reply to.

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IROQUOIS LAWS OF DESCENT.

At the establishment of the confederacy, fifty sachems were founded and a name assigned to each, by which they are still known, and these names are kept as hereditary from the beginning to the present time. There were also fifty sub-sachems, or war chiefs—that is, to every sachem was given a war chief, to stand behind him to do his biddings. These sachemships were, and are still confined to the five nations; the Tuscaroras were admitted into the confederacy without enlarging the framework of the league, by allowing them their own sachems and sub-sachems, or war chiefs, as they inherited from their original nation of North Carolina.

But how, it may be asked, is a government so purely popular and so simple and essentially advisory in its character, to be reconciled with the laws of hereditary descent, fixed by the establishment of heraldic devices and bringing its proportion of weak and incompetent minds into office, and with the actual power it exercised and the fame it acquired. To answer this question, and to show how the aristocratic and democratic principles were made to harmonize in the Iroquois government, it will be necessary to go back and examine the laws of descent among the tribes, together with the curious and intricate principles of the clans or tribal bond.

Nothing is more fully under the cognizance of observers of the manners and customs of the Indians, than the fact of the entire nation or tribe being separated into distinct clans, each of them distinguished by the name and device of some quadruped, bird, or other object in the animal kingdom. This device is called by the Tuscaroras Or-reak-sa (clan). The Iroquois have turned it to account by assuming it as the very basis of their political and tribal bond.

A government wholly verbal must be conceded to have required this proximity and nearness of access. The original five nations of the Iroquois were, theoretically, separated into eight clans or original families of kindreds, who are distinguished respectively by the clans of the wolf, bear, turtle, deer, beaver, falcon, crane and the plover. I find that there is a little difference in the clans of the Tuscaroras, which are the bear, wolf, turtle, beaver, deer, eel and snipe. It is contrary to the usage of the Indians that near kindred should intermarry, and the ancient rule interdicts all intermarriage between persons of the same clan. They must marry into a clan which is different from their own. A Bear or Wolf male cannot marry a Bear or Wolf female. By this custom the purity of blood is preserved, while the ties of relationship between the clans themselves is strengthened or enlarged.

The line of descent is limited exclusively in the female's children. Owing to this arrangement, a chieftain's son cannot succeed him in office, but in case of his death, the right of descent being in his mother, he would be succeeded, not by one of his male children, but by his brother; or failing in this then by the son of his sister, or by some direct, however remote, descendent of a maternal line.

It will be noticed that the children are not of the same clan as their father, but are the same as their mother. Thus, he might be succeeded by his own grandson, by the son marrying in his father's clan, and not by his daughter. It is in this way that the chieftainship is continually kept in a family dynasties in the female line.

While the law of descent is fully recognized, the free will of the female to choose a husband from any of the clans, excluding only her own, is made to govern and determine the distribution of political power, and to fix the political character of the tribe. Another peculiarity may be here stated. In choosing a candidate to fill a vacancy of the chieftainship, made either by death or misconduct, the power is lodged in the older women of the clan to choose the candidate, and then to be submitted for the recognition of the chiefs and sachems in council, for the whole nation. If approved, a day is appointed for the recognition also of the Six Nations, and he is formally installed into office. Incapacity is always, however, without exception, recognized as a valid objection to the approval of the council.



LEGENDARY.

On long winter evening the Indian hunters gatherd around their fireside, to listen to the historical traditions, legends of war and hunting, and fairy tales which had been handed down through their fathers and father's fathers, with scarcely any variation for centuries, kindling the enthusiasm of the warrior and inspiring the little child some day to realize similar dreams, and hand his name down to posterity as the author of similar exploits.

They have superstitious fears of relating fables in summer: not until after snow comes will they relate of snakes, lest they should creep into their beds, or of evil genii, lest they in some way be revenged.

It is very difficult for a stranger to rightly understand the morals of their stories, though it is said by those who know them best, that to them the story was always an illustration of some moral or principle.

To strangers they offer all the rites of hospitality, but do not open their hearts. If you ask them they will tell you a story, but it will not be such a story as they tell when alone. They will fear your ridicule and suppress their humor and pathos: so thoroughly have they learned to distrust pale faces, that when they know that he who is present is a friend, they will still shrink from admitting him within the secret portals of their heart.

And when you have learned all that language can convey, there are still a thousand images, suggestions and associations recurring to the Indian, which can strike no chord in your heart. The myriad voices of nature are dumb to you, but to them they are full of life and power.

NO. 1.—THE HUNTER AND MEDICINE LEGEND.

There once lived a man who was a great hunter. His generosity was the theme of praise in all the country, for he not only supplied his own family with food, but distributed game among his friends and neighbors, and even called the birds and animals of the forest to partake of his abundance. For this reason he received the appellation of "Protector of Birds and Animals."

He lived a hunter's life till war broke out between his own and some distant nation, and then he took the war path. He was as brave a warrior as he was a skillful hunter, and slew a great multitude of the enemy, till all were lying dead around him, except one, who was a mighty man of valor, and in an unguarded moment the hunter received a blow from his tomahawk on the head, which felled him to the earth; his enemy then took his scalp and fled.

Some of his own party saw what befell him, and supposing him dead left him on the field of battle; but a fox who had wandered this way immediately recognized his benefactor. Sorrowful indeed, was he to find him thus slain, and began to revolve in his mind some means of restoring him to life. "Perhaps," said he, "some of my friends may know of a medicine by which his wounds may be healed, and he may live again." So saying, he ran into the forest and uttered the "death lament," which was the signal for all the animals to congregate. From far and near they came, till hundreds and thousands of every kind had assembled around the body of the hunter, eagerly inquiring what had happened. The fox explained he had accidentally came that way and found their friend stretched lifeless upon the earth. The animals drew near and examined him more closely, to be sure that life was extinct; they rolled him over and over on the ground and were satisfied that he was dead, there was not a single sign of life.

Then they held a grand council of which the bear was the speaker. When all were ready to listen, he asked if any one present was acquainted with any medicine which would restore the dead man to life. With great alacrity each one examined his medicine box, but finds nothing adapted to this purpose. Being defeated in their noble object of restoring their friend, all join in a mournful howl—a requiem for the dead. This attracted a singing bird, the oriole, who came quietly to learn the cause of the assembling of the great concourse and their profound lamentation. The bear made known the calamity which had befallen them, and as the birds would feel themselves equally afflicted, he requested the oriole to fly away and invite all the feathered tribes to come to the council and see if their united wisdom cannot devise a remedy that will restore their friend to life.

Soon were assembled all the birds of the air, even the great eagle of the Iroquois, which was seldom induced to appear upon the earth, hastens to pay her respects to the remains of the renowned and benevolent hunter. All being satisfied that he was really dead, the united council of birds and animals, which remained convened, decided that his scalp must be recovered, saying that any bird or animal who pleased might volunteer to go on this mission. The fox was the first to offer his services and departed full of hope that his zeal would be crowned with success. But after many days he returned, saying he could find no trace of man's footsteps, not a chick or child belonged to any settlement The great love which they bore their friend prompted several others to go upon the same mission, and to the animals belonged the first right as they had first found him; but at length the birds were anxious to show their devotion and the pigeon hawk begged leave to make the first flight, as he was more swift of wing than any other and could visit the whole world in the shortest space of time. They had scarcely missed him when he returned: he said he had been over the entire earth and found it not. They did not consider his voyage satisfactory, as he had flown so swiftly that it was impossible for him to see anything distinctly by the way.

Next the white heron proposed that he be sent, because of being so slow of wing he could see every object as he passed. On his aerial voyage he discovered a plain covered with the vines of the wild bean, laden with the delicious fruit; it was too great a temptation for him to resist, and he descended to enjoy a feast. So gluttonously did he partake that he could not rise again from the earth, and the council after many days of anxious waiting, called for a substitute. Here the crow came forward and acknowledged his fitness for such, an office, as he was also slow of wing and was accustomed to hover settlements and discern them afar off, he would not be suspected of any particular design should he linger near the one that contained the scalp.

The warrior who possessed the coveted treasure knew the birds and animals were holding council on the field of battle to devise means to recover it, but when the crow drew near he was not alarmed. The smoke of the wigwams indicated a settlement and as the crow sailed lazily through the air at a great height above the roofs of the cabins, he espied the scalp which he knew must be the one he sought, stretched out to dry.

After various unsuccessful strategems, he was able to seize it, and flew away to exhibit his trophy to the council.

Now, they attempted to fit it to his head, but, being dry, it was impossible; so search was made to find something with which to moisten it, but in vain. Then slowly moved forward the great eagle, and bids them listen to his words.

"My wings are never furled; night and day, for years and hundreds of years, the dews of heaven have been collected upon my back, as I sat in my nest above the clouds. Perhaps these waters may have a virtue no earthly fountain can possess, we will see."

Then she plucked a feather from her wing and dipped it in the dewey elixir, which was then applied to the shriveled scalp, and lo! it became pliable and fresh as if just removed. Now it would fit, but there must be a healing power to cause the flesh to unite, and again to awaken life.

All were anxious to do something in the great work, therefore all went forth to bring rare leaves, flowers, barks, the flesh of animals and the brain of birds, to form a healing mixture. When they returned it was prepared, and having been moisted with the dew, was applied to the scalp, and instantly adhered to it and became firm. This caused the hunter to sit up; he looked around in astonishment upon his numerous friends, unable to divine the meaning of so strange an assemblage.

Then they bade him stand upon his feet and told him how he was found dead upon the plain and how great was the lamentation of all those who had so long experienced his kindness, and the efforts they had made to restore him to life. They then gave him the compound which had been the means of restoring him to life, saying, "it was the gift of the Great Spirit to man. He alone had directed them in the affairs of the council, had brought the eagle to furnish the heavenly moisture, and gave them wisdom in making the preparation, that they might furnish to man a medicine which should be effectual for every wound."

When they had finished the animals departed to their forest haunts, the eagle soared again to his eyrie, and the birds of the air flew away to their nests in the tall trees, all happy and rejoicing that they had accomplished this great good.

The hunter returned to his home and spread abroad the news of the miracle and the knowledge of the wonderful medicine, which is used to this day among the Iroquois by those who are the favorites of the Great Spirit.

NO. 2.

An Indian hunter went forth to hunt, and as he wandered through the forest he heard a strain of beautiful music far off among the trees. He listened, but could not tell whence it came; he knew it could not be by any human voice, or from any instrument he had ever heard. As it came near it ceased. The next evening he went forth again, but he heard no music, and again, but in van.

Then came the Great Spirit to him in a dream and told him to fast, wash himself till he was purified, then he might go forth and would hear again the music. So he purified himself and went again among the dark trees of the forest, and soon his ear caught the sweet strains, as he drew near they became more beautiful; he listened till he learned them and could make the same sweet sound, then he knew that it was a plant with a tall green stem and long tapering leaves. He took his knife and cut the stalk, but ere he had scarcely finished, it healed and was the same as before; he cut it again, and again it healed. Then he knew it would heal diseases, he took it home, dried it by the fire, pulverized it, and applied a few particles of it to a dangerous wound; no sooner had it touched the wound than it was healed. Thus the Great Spirit taught the Indian the nature of medicinal plants, and directed him where they were to be found, when and how used.

MEDICINE LEGENDS.

The two above are the legends concerning the principal medicines used among the Iroquois. The ancient manner of administering them, was to take a small wooden goblet and go to a running stream, dipping toward the way which the stream ran, fill the goblet and return, place it near the fire with some tobacco near it; a prayer is offered while tobacco is thrown upon the fire, that the words may ascend upon the smoke.

The medicine is placed on a piece of skin near the goblet, being very finely pulverized, is taken up with a wooden spoon and dusted upon the water in three spots, in the form of a triangle, thus—

* * *

The medicine man then looks at it critically, if it spreads over the surface of the water and whirls about, it is a sign that the invalid will be healed; if it sinks directly in the places where it was put, there is no hope, the sick person must die and the whole is thrown away.

Once in six months there is a great feast made, at the hunting season in fall and spring. On the night of the feast as soon as it is dark, all who are present assemble in one room, where no light or fire is allowed to burn, and placing the medicine near the covered embers, the tobacco by its side, they commence singing, which proclaims that the crows are coming to their feast, and also many other birds and various animals, the brains of whose species form part of their medicine. At the end of the song some one imitates the caw of a crow, the songs of the birds, the howls of the wolf, etc., as if the animals were present.

Three times in the course of the night they offer a prayer, while throwing tobacco on the smothered flames, asking that the people may be protected from all harm, and if they receive wounds that the medicine may be effectual in healing them.

At the commencement of the ceremonies the doors are locked, and no one is allowed to enter or leave the house while they continue; neither is any one allowed to sleep, as that would spoil the medicine. The feast begins just before the dawn of day. The master of ceremonies first takes a deer's head, bites off a piece, imitates the cry of a crow and passes the head of the animal to another, who does the same, till all have tasted and imitated the peculiar note of some bird or animal.

As soon as it begins to be light the presiding officer takes a duck's bill, and dipping it full of the medicine, gives it to each one present, who puts it in a bit of skin and wraps it in several coverings, keeps it carefully until the next semi-annual feast. The skin of a panther is preferred for the first envelope if it can be obtained.

Those who take part in the ceremonies are medicine men. Chiefs are allowed to be present; also, any who have been cured of any disease by the medicine.

Without the building the young people gather for merriment, and the fragments of the feast are given to them when it is finished.

When the medicine described in the second legend is used, the tune is sung which was heard at its discovery, both at the ceremonies of the feast and the time of administering it.

They seem to think the ceremonies effectual in making the medicinal qualities of the compound imperishable. Each medicine man has a large quantity which he keeps in a bag, and in order not to exhaust the whole, now and then, adds pulverized corn roots, squash vines, etc., and whenever it is administered several persons assemble and sing. Both kinds are considered especially useful in healing wounds received in war.

In reading the first legend there will be seen very humorous allusions to the habits of the pigeon, heron and crow, and there is a curious invention inspiring faith in the means used in healing. I have seen many who affirmed that they had tested the wonderful powers of each.

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CIVILIZATION.

Whatever may be the theories on the subject of Indian civilization, I think it must be evident that the present position of the Tuscarora nation on their reservation, is extremely favorable for the attainment of that object. They can no longer live by the chase. It is not now with them as it was with the Indians on the Delaware, when William Penn said, "their pleasures feed them—hunting, fishing and fowling." Surrounded by the white settlements, placed in the vicinity of cities and towns, they are obliged to apply to agriculture and other modes of labor, for the means of subsistence. They are now building good houses, planting orchards of various kinds of fruit, raising stock, etc.; they have horses and carriages. Artificial wants—the very pillars of civilization—are increasing upon them. These require exertion, call into action their mental faculties, force them to provide for coming exigencies, gradually tames down their wild nature, and prepares them for that subdued, but improved state, in which alone is to be found the highest point of cultivation, as well as the highest enjoyment intended for man in this probationary world.

If this experiment fails, we may, with melancholy, certainly look forward to a period when this futile branch of the human family shall be swept into oblivion, when the fine sounding names of the lofty mountains, the noble rivers, the splendid cataracts, the great inland seas and the silvery lakes will be the sole memorials of a race, that, only two or three centuries ago, covered the face of this vast continent.

On the other hand, if this experiment should succeed, it will open a door of hope for the preservation, or if we may use the term, physical salvation of this apparently doomed race. It may encourage the philanthrophist to stretch forth his hand for the protection of the yet remaining tribes beyond the Mississippi; and the child may already be born, who will live to behold that vast wilderness thickly dotted over with Indian communities, with towns, villages, farms and manufacturing hamlets. They may live to see the hoe and the spade take the place of the bow and the tomahawk; the lion and the lamb feeding together; the sword beaten into a plowshare, and the spear into a pruning hook.



DOMESTIC.

In the first place, to women, in every well regulated society, should be committed the management of the families and the business connected with the household concerns, and they should be qualified to exercise a salutary influence within their appropriate sphere.

Secondly, as mothers they are responsible for the nursing and rearing of their children and for the proper sustenance of them in early life. They are also responsible for the habits of their children, including cleanliness and general propriety of behavior.

A sensible, judicious mother can greatly control her children in these matters; she can make them modest or impertinent, ingenuous or deceitful, fearful or intrepid. The germ of all these traits of character exist in childhood, and a mother can repress or strengthen them.

Thirdly, a mother is responsible for the principles her children may entertain in early life, and it is for her to say whether they shall be imbued with sentiments of honesty, industry and morality, or with those of a contrary character—fraud, idleness and dishonesty.

She is, to a very considerable extent responsible for the temper and disposition of her children. Constitutionally he may be irritable or revengeful, but she may correct or repress these passions and in their places instil better feelings.

Lastly, and above all, she is responsible for the religious education of her children. The beginning of wisdom is a reverence for our creator, and obedience to his requirings; and this is within the power of every good mother to inculcate and cherish in the hearts of her children; at the same time it is the most important duty she owes them, and their usefulness and character throughout life may depend upon her correct and faithful discharge of it.

If these be the appropriate duties and obligations of a mother, will it not be vain to expect that the Indian warrior will be qualified for that station, or that they will be in a condition to give a proper education to their children, or train them up in habits or principles that will render them intelligent and good citizens, whilst they themselves are left in ignorance, and while, instead of devoting their time and attention to his discharge of these high moral duties, they are held in a state of servile degradation and compelled to perform all the menial drudgeries of life?

Women are created by Providence equal to men in everything except mere physical strength. Generally, they have much more discretion, and certainly are far more virtuous. They were designed to exercise a conservative influence in society and should be placed in a position which would enable them to fulfill this-most important office; for history confirms the deeply interesting fact, that no people ever yet were elevated to the rank of civilization, while their females were held in a servile condition, and we are also admonished by experience, that no community can be virtuous and happy, which is not chastened by the controlling example of female delicacy and refinement.

These views are submitted to the consideration of the Tuscaroras, in the hope that they will receive their serious attention, and lead to the adoption of an improved and proper division of the employments, both of the men and women of the nation; especially to the extension of more care towards the suitable education of their females, and the consequent elevation of the Tuscarora women to their appropriate station and dignity, as the wives and rational companions of intelligent and educated husbands.

In my communications, I have not felt it my duty to call your attention to any particular forms or observances in relation to your religious obligations. I believe that God is a spirit, and true worship to Him can only be performed in spirit and in truth. I also believe that however diversified the human family may be in regard to the circumstances in which they may be placed, all stand equally before their creator, as objects of His care and personal regard; in His great mercy He visits us with remorse and sadness, when we have wilfully done what we know to be wrong, and which, if persisted in, might lead us to destruction; and it is He who fills our hearts with peace and consolation when we do that which we believe to be right. His goodness is not limited to any people or place nor, is that adoration which is due to Him confined within temples built with human hands, or restricted to any particular form; He is everywhere present and in every place; the incense of a pious, devoted heart, may acceptably be offered to Him in the rude homes of the red man.

The plants of the earth are not more directly under the influences of the natural light and warmth by which they are nourished, than is the immortal soul or spirit of man under the immediate care and sustaining support of the divine presence, which is always near and round about us; for it is in Him we live, and move, and have our existence.

Deeply impressed with the certainty of these truths, and fully believing He will never fail to lead in the paths of safety and peace, those who sincerely look to Him for instruction and faithfully follow His counsel, I recommend you, with myself, carefully to attend to His manifestations of light and truth upon our minds, which will never deceive nor mslead, but, if obeyed, wisely conduct us through the dangers of this life, and finally will prepare us for a happy admission into the realms of eternal rest.



Osteological Remains.

"In the town of Cambria, six miles west of Lockport, a Mr. Hammon, who was employed with his boy in hoeing corn, in 1824, observed some bones of a child, exhumed. No farther thought was bestowed upon the subject for a time, for the plain of the Ridge was supposed to have been the site of an Indian village, and this was supposed to be the remains of some child who had been recently buried there. Eli Bruce, hearing of the circumstance, proposed to Mr. H. that they should repair to the spot, with suitable instruments, and endeavor to find some relics. The soil was a light loam, which would be dry and preserve bones for centuries without decay. A search enabled them to come to a pit but a slight distance from the surface. The top of the pit was covered with small slabs of the Medina sandstone, and was twenty-four feet square, four and a half feet deep, planes agreeing with the four cardinal points. It was filled with human bones of both sexes and ages. They dug down at one extremity and found the same layers to extend to the bottom, which was the dry loam, and from their calculations, they deduced that at least four thousand souls had perished in one great massacre. In one skull two flint arrow-heads were found, and many had the appearance of having been fractured and cleft open by a sudden blow. They were piled in regular layers, but with no regard to size or sex. Pieces of pottery were picked up in the pit, and had also been plowed up in the field adjacent. Traces of a log council house were plainly discernable. For, in an oblong square, the soil was poor, as if it had been cultivated, till the whites broke it up, and where the logs of the house had decayed, was a strip of rich mould. A maple tree, over the pit, being cut down, two hundred and fifty concentric circles were counted, making the mound to be A. D. 1574. It has been supposed by the villagers that the bones were deposited there before the discovery of America, but the finding of some metal tools with a French stamp, placed the date within our period. One hundred and fifty persons a day visited this spot the first season, and carried off portions of the bones. They are now nearly all gone and the pit plowed over. Will any antiquarian inform us, if possible, why these bones were placed here? To what tribe do they belong? When did such a massacre occur?"

The above is taken from the writings of Mr. Schoolscraft. On account of the questions above, I propose to give a tradition, (which the Tuscaroras have preserved,) to give the antiquarians and critics a question to solve. Was the great massacre above made in the circumstance of the tradition below, to wit: There was a settlement or Indian nation where appeared several white men under the cloak of missionaries, (the reason I use the term cloak is by the way it terminated), and preached to them the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the great love evinced by the Father in sending his only son to suffer and die on the cross to redeem the red children of nature, as well as the pale faces, from their degradation, shame and woe, to that of endless felicity beyond the shores of time. And that they wished to erect a house of worship in their midst, in which they might do their oblation to the Great Spirit, and that if they embraced the gospel they would have annuities from the government, to all of which the simple people of the forest made their assent. They immediately went to work, dug for the cellar, and erected the building on abutments of wood, and alleged that they would finish the cellar afterwards. When the chapel was finished the Indians began to worship in it. Now the time of the annuity arrived. The Indians were told to all congregate and into the church, men, women and children, and all those who refused to enter, should be omitted in the distribution of the annuity. Consequently the building was entered by them and filled jammed full. But there were two suspecting Indians who kept a proper distance away, ambushed, to see the result. After it was thought all had entered, there was a company of soldiers with guns and burning faggots, surrounded the building and set it on fire on all sides, after they had fastened the door. In this condition they all perished within the flames. I will not make any attempt to give a sketch or in any way write in words the horrors and heart-rendings cries and moans of the dying children of nature in the flames, through a disguise of sheep's clothing, but will leave it to the conjecture of the reader.

After the flames had subsided, these two Indians repaired to the doomed spot, and found a heap of bones hob-nob, and they observed that some of the skulls and bones of the different parts of the body were fractured and broke open, supposed to have been done by, the falling timbers of the burning house. It is said, "in one skull, two flint arrow-heads were found." How easy for the artifice of the white men that accomplished the massacre in the manner they did, to have sunk these two flint arrows into one of those skulls, to leave the conjecture in after times to have been done by an Indian war.

Mr. C. P. Turner, with an honorable age of 72 years, in 1878. told me that he visited the deposit of these bones, the next day after they were uncovered, saw the skull with the two flint arrows in it, and saw the great deposit of bones in this mound, and also said the pile was in hap- hazard, and not "in regular layers," as stated above. He also saw bones which indicated being those of a child about 20 inches in height.

The Tuscaroras who preserve this tradition are located in the vicinity in which this mound of bones were found. All historians are very cautious to leave out or omit from the pages of their history, any circumstance in the nature of the above tradition.

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