The first given, October, 1520, is out of the question, as the corn would
have been harvested at that time of year.
The second, May, 1491, would have been too early in the season to comply
with the conditions of the wampum record, for the corn would hardly have
made its appearance above the ground as early as the 8th of May.
The third, the last of July, 1478, will not answer the account given, for
the ears of the maize would have been forming at that time and the plant
would have passed its period of tillage.
The fourth date, June 28, 1451, must, therefore, have been the one upon
which the confederation took place, as at that time of the year the corn
in Central New York Is about ready for its final tilling.
Upon the authority of these two chiefs it is not difficult to believe
that this date is historically correct and that the incident related in
the legend was the occasion upon which this wonderful union of republics
was formed. Considered as a government formed by a savage people, the
confederation of the Iroquois certainly was a wonderful union. Had it
not been broken and destroyed by the whites after a series of wars
extending over two centuries and culminating in the great village-burning
expedition of Sullivan in 1779, this confederacy would have made rapid
progress in civilization.
Among the Five Nations alone can be found the Indian of the novelist and
poet. The Iroquois stand out and above all other aboriginal inhabitants
in their intelligence, their oratory, their friendship and their
character. Had they been treated with fairness; had they not been made
the subjects of the most cruel wrongs and deceptions; had they not been
driven to retaliation and finally to relentless slaughter, the pages of
our histories would doubtless have recorded of this people achievements
of which any nation might be proud.
A LEGEND OF THE RIVER, Page 47.--This story was told of the Genesee River
and Falls, and is occasionally heard among the older Senecas at the
present time. It is said that one family of the Senecas were very much
opposed to signing the treaty that surrendered the territory surrounding
the scene of this legend. They claimed to be descendants of Tonadahwa and
her brave rescuer, and believed that the spirits of their dead ancestors
often visited the scene of their adventure and upon this spot plighted
anew their troth. There is little doubt that this story, in the main, is
true, and that a young Indian and a maiden, whom he was trying to rescue
from a warrior of another tribe, were almost miraculously preserved alive
after being carried over the Genesee Falls in a canoe. This legend has
been put forth in various ways, one of which was that the Indians living
near Niagara Falls were accustomed to sacrifice annually to the spirit of
the Falls by sending the fairest maiden of the tribe over the precipice
in a white birch canoe, decked with fruits and flowers. Frequently male
relatives or lovers are said to have accompanied or followed victims who
were set apart for this sacrifice. If this is so it must have been a
practice of some other tribe than those composing the Iroquois, for the
Iroquoian tribes did not practice customs which called for the sacrifice
of human life, unless the sacrifice was self-imposed.
LEGENDS OF THE CORN, Page 51.--Corn, or maize, was the chief food of the
Indians and consequently there were many legends concerning its origin.
The two here given were looked upon as the oldest. The Indians had a firm
belief that it was possible to change one's form, unless the one desiring
the change was unfortunate enough to be under the influence of some evil
spirit that out of malice prevented the transformation. The Indian women
were especially proud of the legend attributing the origin of the maize
to the frightened maiden fleeing from her lover, and it was told to their
daughters very often and with many extravagant embellishments.
THE FIRST WINTER, Page 55.--The Indians were taught never to speak ill of
any of the celestial bodies or of the works of nature. They must never
complain of the glare and heat of the sun, lest they be stricken blind;
nor must they complain of the clouds for fear that they might be shut up
in caves in the mountains where no light could enter. The moon must be
treated with the same respect and consideration, for those who said aught
against her were in imminent danger of death by a fall of rocks from the
sky. The most severe storms of wind, snow, frost or hail must be treated
only with great respect. Those who complained about them were by this act
unarmed and could not resist their attacks and rigors. In fact, they were
taught to "take the bitter with the sweet" without making wry faces. This
training through long generations rendered the race cold and stoical,
apparently indifferent to suffering. They probably suffered the same as
others, but they bore it without a sign. This legend was a very common
one and was frequently told the young in order that the lesson might be
deeply impressed upon them that they should never set themselves up in
opposition to the Great Spirit or complain of the enforcement of his laws.
THE STORY OF ONIATA, Page 63.--Cornplanter held that there were many
traditions among the Indians that in one way or another mentioned persons
who were described as white; and this, too, long before the coming of the
Europeans. One tradition was to the effect that thousands of years ago,
away off to the southwest, there was a tribe of Indians in which were
born several children who were made "like the Great Spirit, with faces
as the sun." They were said to be very proud of the distinction and also
to have been great warriors. They were believed to have wandered to the
south and finally to have been lost in the mountains. After the coming of
the Europeans this tradition was revived, and the ever-ready imagination
of the Indians added a sequel to the disappearance of the "white
Indians." They said the whites had gone across the bitter lake (the
ocean) and founded the nations of the palefaces and were now returning to
conquer and subdue their forefathers. It was Cornplanter's belief that
this was the older continent and that the Indian was nearest the original
creation. He did not believe these traditional white people were as white
as the English. They possessed all the Indian features, he said, but had
light-colored skins and light hair.
Since this volume was made ready for publication the author found in
a Western newspaper an account of the return from New Mexico of a Mr.
Williamson, who had been spending some months in an out-of-the-way
place in that territory among the Moqui Indians. Mr. Williamson told an
interesting story about a family of that tribe the members of which are
white. He saw these people and asserts there is no doubt as to their
color. He also says they are without doubt pure Indians and that they
have none of the characteristics of the Albinos often seen among the
Negroes. The family is known far and wide among the Indians themselves,
but as their place of residence is some distance from the usual routes
traveled by white men, they are rarely seen by others than the race to
which they belong. The Indians look upon them as something holier than
the rest of the tribe, and hence do not talk about them to outsiders.
The narrator stated that the head man of the family says that there is a
tradition among them that they originally came from the north and settled
among the Moqui people, where they have been so long that they have lost
all knowledge of the northern tribe and were not certain that they now
spoke the language of their progenitors. When any of the Moqui married
into the family, their children were always white. This discovery, if
true and there seems no reason for such a statement unless it be true
is interesting in this connection and may be looked upon by some as a
proof of the claim that about the year A. D. 400 a race of white people
occupied the territory bordering the southern shores of the great lakes,
and that they were driven away by red men who came from still further
north. Of course this is speculation and will probably remain a mystery
as long as the world stands.
THE BUZZARD'S COVERING, Page 77.--This legend regarding the buzzard's
plumage was often told by the Indians to illustrate the failure of some
one of their number to win success in marriage or upon the chase. "We
wear the turkey buzzard's feathers," said one of the Sioux chiefs a few
years ago when making complaint to a Congressional committee. Few of
those who heard him understood the metaphor and the supposition was that
he referred to the plainness of his clothing compared with that of the
politicians who met him. This expression coming from a Sioux chief proves
that at least some of the legends common among the Iroquois centuries ago
can be traced among the tribes of the West at the present time. A white
man to convey the same meaning would say, "We have the worst end of the
bargain," or, "We have only a crooked stick at last."
ORIGIN OF THE VIOLET, Page 81.--The Indian term for the violet is "heads
entangled." This is not one of the legends told by Cornplanter. It was
told the author by a Seneca Indian named Simon Blackchief. Afterwards the
authenticity of the legend was confirmed by inquiries among other members
of the Seneca Nation.
THE TURTLE CLAN, Page 85.--Of the various clans existing among the
Iroquois the Turtle was probably the most respected. The families
belonging to the Turtles were in reality the Freemasons of those days
and to them were accorded the highest honors. At the council-fires the
wisdom of the Turtles was displayed in counselling unity of action. Their
opinions were almost always accepted without discussion.
THE HEALING WATERS, Page 89.--The Indians possessed for many years a
knowledge of the curative properties of the mineral springs of this
country and held the waters in the highest veneration. Their faith in
them was so great that some did not hesitate to declare that the waters
would cure all ills. Another spring that they held in high reverence
was an oil spring situated in Allegany County, New York State, near the
Pennsylvania line. The water of this spring is covered with a thick
substance that was formerly collected by the Indians by conducting the
water into pools and skimming the surface with flat stones or the
branches of trees. The oil thus collected was used to mix with various
substances to form war-paint, but more especially as a healing salve for
various wounds. The Indians knew of its existence for many centuries,
and there were few days in summer when bands of Indians were not in
that vicinity gathering the oil, which they evaporated by exposure to
the sun and then stored in raw-hide or earthen vessels for future use.
Years ago the spring and a plot of ground one mile square was set aside
as a reservation, and it is still held as such. A curious fact in this
connection is that the oil from the spring was vaseline in its crude
state, and the same substance is now extensively secured from petroleum
oil wells in that vicinity.
THE MESSAGE BEARERS, Page 119.--The belief of the Indians that the echoes
they heard among the mountains and forests were spirits who repeated from
one to another the words spoken by the men and women until the words
reached Heaven itself, is almost too beautiful to be destroyed by the
cold facts of science. There is something about their theory that appeals
very strongly to all and makes us wish that we, like the Indians of a
thousand years ago, could believe that our prayers, if spoken boldly,
would be caught from our lips by waiting and listening spirits and
carried to "the tent of the Great Spirit."
It was customary for them to frequent rivers with high wooded banks, or
to seek ravines with precipitous sides where reverberations could be
heard for miles, until they would die away in the distance. Here they
would stand for hours, shouting and listening as the echoing shouts
leaped from shore to shore, or from hill to mountain and from mountain
to valley--on and on into silence; always firmly believing that the
words were called from one to another of the faithful spirits until
they reached the ears of their loved ones and finally the Great Spirit
himself. This custom was practiced among the Senecas less than one
hundred years ago, and there are now living men who have been present on
occasions when nearly the whole tribe participated in an event of this
character. This belief was doubtless the origin of the "death shout" that
Indian warriors are said to make when mortally wounded upon the battle
field. The cry is sent forth by the dying warrior to let the friends whom
he would meet in heaven know that he has started on the long journey.
THE HUNTER, Page 129.--This legend is one of the many relating the origin
of the "medicine compound." When the rejoicing over the return to life of
Kanistagia had ceased, the bear and fox took him aside and imparted the
secret of the mysterious compound which had mended his wounded head when
once the scalp had been restored. There has always been a great deal of
mystery, and something of superstition, concerning, "Indian medicines,"
and quack nostrums have been eagerly sought by people of these later
years simply because they were labeled with Indian names and ascribed to
Indian origin. The fact is the Indians were poor doctors. They knew the
virtue of catnip, peppermint, pennyroyal, and a few simple herbs of like
nature. They knew that lobelia would act as an emetic and throw poisons
from the stomach. They found that a salve made from the inner bark of
the slippery elm and elder would heal wounds. While they had an infinite
variety of so-called "medicines," their cures were generally effected
through faith and good constitutions, aided by a liberal use of cold
water. They lived out of doors during the greater part of their lives,
and to this, more than to their knowledge of cures, may be ascribed their
longevity.
The secret of their "great medicine" was imparted to but few, and the
formula here given was told the author by one of the older Jimmersons, a
resident of the Seneca Reservation: Each year before the coming of the
frosts a meeting of the chiefs was held in one of the largest wigwams.
Those entitled to attend could not enter the wigwam before dark. Each one
brought with him several of the rarest herbs, roots, branches of trees or
fruits of which he had knowledge, and often hundreds of miles had been
traversed in the search for some particularly scarce product. These,
with a few simple, fragrant herbs and a certain proportion of dry corn
and beans, were pounded into a pulpy mass. Each one present assumed the
character of some bird or animal, and they often masqueraded to carry out
the role. No words passed between them, but a continual din was kept up
as each one sounded the cries of the bird or animal he represented. One
would bark like a fox, another caw like a crow, a third would growl like
a bear, the fourth, fifth and sixth chatter like squirrels, raccoons or
ground-hogs. Another would scream like a hawk, while others would imitate
the wild turkey, geese, ducks, etc. They worked rapidly, for they must
complete their task before the break of day. If one closed his eyes in
sleep, it was a sure sign that the plague would come upon the tribe. At
daylight the compound was divided, carefully bestowed in panther skin
pouches, and carried away for future use.
The manner of administering it was as curious as its manufacture. Water
was dipped from a running stream in a wooden vessel. Care was taken to
dip with the current--never against it. When the water in the vessel
had become absolutely quiet, three small portions of the powder were
carefully dropped on its surface in the form of a triangle. If the powder
spread over the surface of the water, as dust often will, the patient
hastily gulped down the dose and got well. If the powder sank to the
bottom without spreading over the surface, the medicine man quickly
departed with his potion and no further effort was made to save the
patient's life.
HIAWATHA, Page 137.--This version of Hiawatha follows as closely as it
is possible to translate into English the legend as told by Governor
Blacksnake (The Nephew). This aged Seneca chief was contemporaneous
with Cornplanter, and died December 26, 1859, at the age of 117 or 120
years. He was a very intelligent man, possessing all the nobler traits
of his race and very few, if any, of the baser ones. He possessed the
confidence and esteem of Washington, and to the day of his death wore
upon a thong around his neck a silver medal given him by Washington. He
also constantly carried a little leathern pouch containing a pass written
and signed by Washington's own hand.
It is believed that many will be pleased to read in prose the beautiful
story that Longfellow has immortalized in verse, and into which he wove
many other curious legends to make the story complete. The form of
the tradition here given is believed to be the purest one extant. Its
narrator repeated it frequently to assemblages of the Senecas up to a few
months prior to his death, and as here given follows the story precisely
as it came from Blacksnake's own lips.
This legendary account of the formation of the confederacy of the
Iroquois differs materially from the historical account as given by
Cornplanter. The story of Hiawatha was believed by Cornplanter as
implicitly as any Christian believes the Bible. But he said this happened
so many years ago, when everything was spiritual and supernatural, that
the Five Nations in time came to look upon it as something that was not
binding upon them. By degrees they drifted away and were estranged,
and the council-fire combined and lighted by Hiawatha at that time was
permitted to go out--that is, each tribe held its separate council.
After the second reunion of the tribes (see note and legend "The
Confederation of the Iroquois") the council was again established at
Onondaga, and the great council-fire was relighted on the spot hallowed
by the presence of their wisest leader. It is also interesting to note
that the councils of the Iroquois were held at Onondaga until January
18, 1777. In the War of the Revolution the Mohawks, Onondagas, Senecas
and Cayugas favored the English. The Mohawks went to Canada and never
returned, save as foes, till after peace was declared, and the other
tribes named lent the English much assistance. The Oneidas and Tuscaroras
remained neutral, but really aided the Colonists. On the 19th of January,
1777, a delegation of Oneida Indians visited Fort Stanwix (now Rome),
and told the commanding officer that the council-fire of the Iroquois at
Onondaga had the previous day been extinguished for all time. What was
probably the oldest confederacy in the world died in the very infancy of
American Independence.
THE PEACEMAKER, Page 149.--The location of this "City of Refuge" will,
of course, never be known, and all that can be said about it must be
simply speculation. It seems reasonable to suppose that it was located
in a somewhat central position; where it would be most convenient to all
the tribes. From the fact that Genetaska and her lover went southward to
a river and took a canoe to complete their wedding trip, it is believed
that Kienuka was situated in one of the three valleys in the central
part of the State of New York, drained respectively by the Tioughnioga,
the Chenango or the Unadilla rivers. The eloping couple are said to have
been the progenitors of a very intelligent tribe on Chesapeake Bay,
and probably reached their home by way of the Susquehanna River. Elias
Johnson, a Tuscarora Indian, gives a somewhat different version of this
legend, and says that Kienuka was located four miles eastward of the
inlet of the Niagara gorge at Lewiston. Although Mr. Johnson is possessed
of much information as to the early legends of his people, it is probable
that he has erred in the location of the peace-home. The location he
points out would have been manifestly unfair to the Mohawks and Oneidas,
and, indeed, it would have been very difficult of access to all the
tribes, for even the Senecas (the westernmost tribe) would have had to
make a journey of nearly a hundred miles to have gotten within the sacred
walls.
Wherever it was, Kienuka was a veritable "City of Refuge." Its queen was
chosen as indicated in the legend and her word became law. There was
absolutely no appeal from it. With three or four retainers, who must be
old women, she was supported by all the tribes, and great quantities of
food were stored at the retreat for the relief of those who came there in
distress. This must be ready at all times for those who might be in want.
Disputes were not tolerated in the presence of the Peacemaker and would
have been punished by death if reported to the council. Every one who
reached the charmed circle was safe from molestation until the Peacemaker
had delivered her sentence. If for some offence the refugee should be
adjudged guilty of a crime punishable by death, he must be taken far from
the peace-home before the sentence could be executed, for the shedding
of blood within its pale was strictly forbidden. For this reason, when
deserted by Genetaska, whose vows were forgotten in the love she bore
the young Oneida, Kienuka became the scene of bloodshed, and it was
afterwards shunned, accursed and desolated.
Six hundred years elapsed after the occurrence of this romantic incident
before the office of Queen Peacemaker was again filled. The shock the
Indians felt over the betrayal of such a high trust as that imposed
in Genetaska led them to practically abolish the venerated custom. In
1878 they bestowed the honor upon Caroline Parker, a sister of General
Eli S. Parker, a former member of General Grant's staff. She was a
resident of the Tuscarora Reservation, and afterwards became the wife
of John Mountpleasant. She is possessed of a comfortable home and a
fortune of moderate size. She is a woman of education and refinement,
and is in all respects an ideal Peacemaker. Her home is ever open to the
poor, distressed and needy; her heart is moved by pity at every sign of
suffering; her sound judgment and fine sensibilities render her a most
valuable friend and counsellor.
AN UNWELCOME VISITOR, Page 155.--This legend was as common among the
Indians as are the parables of the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan
among Christians. It was told to the young very impressively and often,
that they might learn by its teachings never to refuse welcome and
shelter to a stranger, no matter what his condition, even though he be
covered with the awful pustules of smallpox, with which the visitor in
the legend is supposed to have been suffering. If they should refuse
shelter, they might be, unawares, turning "good medicine" from the
door. This is also one of the legends explaining the origin of the
knowledge possessed by the Indians of the curative properties of plants
and roots. Unfortunately the name of the benefactress of their race
who figures in the legend has been lost, but in all tribes and clans
there have been noted Sagawahs who were supposed to be her descendants.
As no one could enter the Happy Hunting-Grounds except through the
gate of death, the Great Spirit's messenger, who had gone through much
suffering for the welfare of the red men, brought upon himself the "fatal
disease"--consumption--for which the Indians had no remedy.
* * * * *