About the year 1800 a new religion was introduced among the Six Nations,
the exponent of which alleged to have received a revelation from the
Great Spirit, with a commission to preach to them the new doctrine in
which he was instructed. This revelation was received in circumstances so
remarkable, and the precepts he sought to inculcate contained in
themselves such evidences of wisdom and beneficence that he was
universally received among them, not only as a wise and good man, but as
one commissioned by the Great Spirit to become their religious teacher.
The new religion, as it has ever since been called, embodied all the
precepts of the ancient faith, recognized the ancient mode of worship
giving it a new sanction of the Great Spirit, and also comprehend such
new doctrines as came in aptly, to lengthen out and enlarge the original
system without impairing it. Charges of imposture and deception were at
first preferred against him, but disbelief of his divine mission
gradually subsided, until at the time of his death the whole
unchristianized portion of the Six Nations had become firm believers in
the new religion, which to the present day has continued to some extent
as a prevailing faith.
This singular person who was destined to obtain such a spiritual sway
over the descendants of the ancient Iroquois was Ga-ne-o-di-yo, or
"Handsomelake." a Seneca sachem of the highest class, he was born at the
Indian village of Ga-no-wau-ges, near Avon, about the year 1735, and died
at Onondaga in 1815, where he happened to be on one of his pastoral
visits. By birth he was a Seneca of the Turtle clan, and a half brother
to the celebrated Corn Planter by a common father. The most part of his
life was spent in idleness and dissipation during which time, although a
sachem and ruler among the Senecas for many years, and through the most
perilous time of their history, he acquired no particular reputation.
Reforming late in life, in his future career he showed himself to be
possessed of superior talents and to be animated by a sincere and ardent
desire for the welfare of his race.
At this period and for about a century preceeding, the prevailing habit
of intemperance among the Iroquois was the fruitful source of their
domestic trouble, this in connection with their political disasters
seemed to threaten the speedy extinction of their race. A temperance
reformation, universal and radical, was the main and ultimate object of
the mission which he assumed, and upon which he chiefly used his
influence and eloquence through the remainder of his life. To secure a
more speedy reception of his admonitions, he clothed them with divine
sanction, to strengthen their moral principles, he enforced anew the
precepts of the ancient faith; and to insure obedience to his teachings,
he held over the wicked the terrors of eternal punishment. Going from
village to village among the several nations of the league, with the
exception of the christainized Oneidas and Tuscaroras, continuing his
visits from year to year, preaching the new doctrine with remarkable
effect. Many abandoned their dissolute habits and became sober and moral
men; discord and contentions gave place to harmony and order, and
vagrancy and sloth to ambition and industry. The origin of this project
has at times been ascribed to Cornplanter as a means to increase his own
influence, but this is not only improbable but is expressly denied. The
motives by which Handsomelake claimed to be actuated were entirely of a
religious and benevolent character, and in pursuance of the injunctions
of his spiritual guides.
At the time of his supernatural visitation, about the year 1800,
Handsomelake resided at the village of Cornplanter, on the Alleghany
river in the State of Pennsylvania. As he explained the case to his
brethren, having lain ill for a long time he had given up all hope of
recovery and resigned himself to die. When in the hourly expectation of
death, three spiritual beings in the form of men, sent by the Great
Spirit, appeared before him, each carried in his hand a shrub bearing
different kinds of berries, which, having been given him to eat, he was
by their miraculous virtue immediately restored to health. They afterward
revealed to him the will of the Great Spirit upon a variety of subjects,
and particularly in relation to the prevailing intemperance,
commissioning him to promulgate these doctrines among the league, causing
him to see realities of the evil-minded, and to behold with his mortal
eyes the punishment inflicted upon the wicked, that he might with more
propriety warn his people of their impending destiny. He was also
permitted to behold the realm and felicities of the Heavenly residence of
the virtuous. With his mind thus prepared, and stored with divine
precepts, and with his zeal enkindled by the dignity of his mission,
Handsomelake at once commenced his labors.
After his death, Sase-ha-wa, (Johnson) of Tonawanda, was appointed his
successor. The first and only person ever "raised up" by the Iroquois,
and invested with the office of a supreme religious instructor--a sincere
believer in the verity of Handsomelake's mission, and an eminently pure
and virtuous man--Sase-ha-wa (Johnson) has devoted himself with zeal and
fidelity to the duties of his office, as a spiritual guide and teacher of
the Iroquois. He was a grand-son of Handsomlake, a nephew of Red Jacket,
and was born at the Indian village of Ga-no-wan-ges, near Avon, about the
year 1774.
At the condolence and religious councils of the Iroquois, which are still
held at intervals of a few years, among the scattered descendants of the
long house, it has long been customary to set apart portions of two or
three days to listen to a discourse from Johnson upon the new religion.
On these occasions he explains minutely the circumstance attending the
supernatural visitation of Handsomelake, and delivers the instructions,
word for word, which he had been accustomed to give during his own
ministration. Handsomelake professed to repeat the messages which were
given to him from time to time by the celestial visitants, with whom he
alleged to be in frequent communication, and whom he addressed as his
spiritual guardian, thus enforcing his precepts as the direct command of
the Great Spirit.
At their councils and religious, festivals, it was customary for the
chiefs and keepers of the faith to express their confidence in the new
religion, and to exhort others to strengthen their beliefs. The late
Abraham La Fort, an educated Onondaga Sachem, thus expressed himself upon
this subject at a condolence council of the league, held at Tonawanda as
late as October, 1847.
"Let us observe the operations of nature. The year is divided into
seasons, and every season has its fruits. The birds of the air, though
clothed in the same dress of feathers, are divided into many classes, and
one class is never seen to associate or intermingle with any but its own
kind. So with the beasts of the field and woods. Each and every class and
specie have their own separate rules by which they seem to be governed,
and by which their actions are regulated. These distinctions, classes and
colors the Great Spirit has seen fit to make. But the rule does not stop
here. It is universal. It embraces man also. The human race was created
and divided into different classes, which were placed separate from each
other--having different customs, manners, laws and religions. To the
Indians it seems that no more religion had originally been than was to be
found in the operations of nature, which taught him that there was a
Supreme Being, all powerful and all wise; and on this account, as well as
on account of his great goodness, they learned to love and reverence Him.
But these later times, when the restless and ambitious spirit of the
whiteskinned race had crossed the boundary line and made inroads upon the
manners, customs and primitive religion of the Indian, the Great Spirit
determined to and through His servant, Handsomelake, did reveal his will
to the Indians. The substance of that will was no more than to confirm
their ancient belief that they were entitled to a different religion--a
religion adapted to their customs, manners and ways of thinking."
As the discourses delivered by Johnson from time to time contains a very
full exposition of their ancient beliefs and mode of worship, together
with the recent views introduced by Handsomelake, mingled up in one
collection, presenting probably a better idea of their ethical and
religious system than could be conveyed in any other manner, it is given
entire, and will explain itself as delivered, thus:
"The Mohawks, the Onondagas, the Senecas, and our children, the Oneidas,
Cayugas and Tuscaroras, have assembled here to-day to listen to the
repetition of the will of the Great Spirit, as communicated to us from
heaven through His servant, Handsomelake.
"Chiefs, warriors, women and children, we give you a cordial welcome. The
sun has advanced far in its path, and I am warned that my time to
instruct you is limited to the meridian sun. I must hasten to perform my
duty. Turn you minds to the Great Spirit, and listen with strict
attention. Think seriously upon what I am about to speak. Reflect upon it
well, that it may benefit you and your children. I thank the Great Spirit
that He has spared the lives of so many of you to be present on this
occasion. I return thanks to Him that my life is yet spared. The Great
Spirit looked down from Heaven upon the suffering and the wanderings of
the red children. He saw that they had greatly decreased and degenerated.
He saw the ravages of the firewater among them. He therefore raised up
for them a sacred inspiration, who, having lived and traveled among them
for sixteen years, was called from his labors to enjoy eternal felicity
with the Great Spirit In Heaven. Be patient while I speak. I cannot at
all times arrange and prepare my thoughts with precision. But I will
relate what my memory bears.
"It was in the month of June when Handsomelake was yet sick. He had been
ill for years. He was accustomed to tell us that he had resigned himself
to the will of the Great Spirit. 'I nightly returned my thanks to the
Great Spirit,' said he, 'as my eyes were gladdened at evening by the
sight of the stars of heaven. I viewed the ornamental heaven at evening
through the opening in the roof of my lodge, with grateful feelings to my
Creator. I had no assurance that I should at the next evening contemplate
His works. For this reason my acknowledgment to Him was more fervent and
sincere. When night was gone, and the sun again shed its light upon the
earth, I saw and acknowledged in the return of day His continued goodness
to me and to all mankind. At length, I began to have an inward conviction
that my end was near. I resolved once more to exchange friendly words
with my people, and I sent my daughter to summon my brothers Cornplanter
and Blacksnake. She hastened to do his bidding, but before she returned
he had fallen into insensibility and apparent death. Blacksnake, upon
returning to the lodge, hastened to his brother's couch and discovered
that portions of his body were yet warm. This happened at early day
before the morning dew had dried. When the sun had advanced half way to
the meridian his heart began to beat, and he opened his eyes. Blacksnake
asked him if he was in his right mind, but he answered not. At meridian
he again opened his eyes, and the same question was repeated. He then
answered and said, 'A man spoke from without and some one might come
forth. I looked and saw some men standing without. I rose, and as I
attempted to step over the threshold of my door I stumbled, and should
have fallen had they not caught me. They were three holy men who looked
alike and were dressed alike. The paint they wore seemed but a day old.
Each held in his hand a shrub bearing different kinds of fruits. One
of them addressing me said, 'We have come to comfort and relieve you;
take of these berries and eat; they will restore you to health: we have
been witnesses of your lengthy illness; we have seen with what
resignation you have given yourself up to the Great Spirit: we have heard
your daily return of thanks; He has heard them all; His ear has ever been
open to hear; you was thankful for the return of night, when you could
contemplate the beauties of heaven; you was accustomed to look upon the
moon as it coursed in its mighty paths; when there were no hopes to you
that you would again behold these things, you willingly resigned
yourself, to the mind of the Great Spirit; this is right; since, the
Great Spirit made the earth and put man upon it, we have been His
constant servants to guard and protect His works; there are four of us;
some other time you will be permitted to see the other; the Great Spirit
is pleased to know your patient resignation to His will; as a reward for
yonr devotion He has cured your sickness; tell your people to assemble
to-morrow, and at morn go in and speak to them.' After they had
further revealed their intentions concerning him they departed.
"At the time appointed Handsomelake appeared at the council and thus
addressed the people upon the revelations which had been made to him:
"'I have a message to deliver to you. The servant of the Great Spirit has
told me that I should yet live upon the earth to become an instructor to
my people. Since the creation of man the Great Spirit has often raised up
men to teach his children what they should do to please him; but they
have been unfaithful to their trust. I hope I shall profit by their
example. Your Creator has seen that you have transgressed greatly against
His laws. He made men pure and good. He did not intend that he should
sin. You create a great sin in taking the firewater. The Great Spirit
says you must abandon this enticing habit. Your ancestors have brought
great misery upon you. They first took the firewater of the white man,
and entailed upon you its consequences. None of them have gone to heaven.
The firewater does not belong to you. It was made by the white man beyond
the great waters. For the white man it is a medicine; but they, too, have
violated the will of their Maker. The Great Spirit says drunkenness is a
great crime, and He forbids you to indulge in this evil habit. His
command is to the old and young. The abandonment of its use will relieve
much of your sufferings, and greatly increase the comforts and happiness
of your children. The Great Spirit is grieved that so much crime and
wickedness should defile the earth. There are many evils which He never
intended should exist among His red children. The Great Spirit has for
many wise reasons withheld from man the number of his days, but He has
not left him without a guide, for He has pointed out to him the path in
which he may safely tread the journey of life.
"'When the Great Spirit made man He also made woman. He instituted
marriage, and enjoined upon them to love each other and be faithful. It
is pleasing to Him to see men and women obey His will. Your Creator
abhors a deceiver and a hypocrite. By obeying His commands you will die
an easy and happy death. When the Great Spirit instituted marriage He
ordained to bless those who were faithful with children. Some women are
unfaithful and others become so by misfortune. Such have great
opportunities to do much good. There are many orphans and poor children
whom they can adopt as their own. If you tie up the clothes of an orphan
child the Great Spirit will notice it and reward you for it. Should an
orphan ever cross your path be kind to him and treat him with tenderness,
for this is right. Parents must constantly teach their children morality
and reverence for their Creator. Parents must also guard their children
against improper marriages. They, having much experience, should select a
suitable match for their child. When the parents of both parties have
agreed, then bring the young pair together and let them know what good
their parents have designed for them. If in time they so far disagree
that they cannot possibly live contented and happy with each other they
may separate in mutual good feeling, and in this it is no wrong.
"'When a child is born to a husband and wife they must give great thanks
to the Great Spirit, for it is His gift and an evidence of His kindness.
Let parents instruct their children in their duty to the Great Spirit, to
their parents and to their fellowmen. Children should obey their parents
and guardians, and submit to them in all things. Disobedient children
occasion great pain and misery. They wound their parents' feelings and
often drive them to desperation, cause them great distress and final
admission into the place of evil spirit. The marriage obligations should
generate good to all who have assumed them. Let the married be faithful
to each other, that when they die it may be in peace. Children should
never permit their parents to suffer in their old age. Be kind to them,
and support them. The Great Spirit requires all children to love, revere
and obey their parents. To do this is highly pleasing to Him. The
happiness of parents is greatly increased by the affection and the
attention of their children. To abandon a wife or children is a great
wrong, and produces many evils. It is wrong for a father or mother-in-law
to vex a son or daughter-in-law, but they should use them as if they were
their own children. It often happens that parents hold angry disputes
over their infant child. This is also a great sin. The infant hears and
comprehends the angry words of its parents. It feels bad and lonely. It
can see for itself no happiness in prospect. It concludes to return to
its Maker. It wants a happy home, and dies. The parents then weep
because their child has left them. You must put this evil practice from
among you if you would live happy.
"'The Great Spirit when He made the earth never intended that it should be
made merchandise, but His will is that all His creatures should enjoy it
equally. Your chiefs have violated and betrayed their trust by selling
lands. Nothing is now left of our once large pobsessions save a few small
reservations. Chiefs and aged men, you, as men, have no lands to sell.
You occupy and possess tract in trust for your children. You should hold
that trust sacred, lest your children are driven from their homes by your
unsafe conduct. Whoever sells land offends the Great Spirit, and must
expect a great punishment after death.'"
Johnson here suspended the naration of the discourse of Handsomelake's,
and thus addressed the council:
"Chiefs, keepers of the faith, warriors, women and children--You all know
that our religion teaches that the early day is dedicated to the Great
Spirit, and that the late day is granted to the spirits of the dead. It
is now meridian, and I must close. Preserve in your minds that which has
been said. Accept my thanks for your kind and patient attention. It is
meet that I should also return my thanks to the Great Spirit that he has
assisted me thus far in my feeble frame to instruct you. We ask you all
to come up again to-morrow at early day, to hear what further may be
said. I have done."
The next morning, after the council had been opened in the usual manner,
Johnson thus continued.
"Relatives, uncover now your heads and listen. The day has thus far
advanced, and again gathered around the council-fire I see around me the
several nations of the long house. This gives me great joy. I see also
seated around me my counselors (keepers of the faith), who have been
regularly appointed, as is the custom of our religion. Greetings have
been exchanged with each other. Thanks have been returned to
Handsomelake. Thanks also have been returned to our Creator by the
council now assembled. At this moment the Great Spirit is looking upon
this assembly. He hears our words, knows our thoughts, and is always
pleased to see us gathered together of good. The sun is now high, and
soon it will reach the middle heavens. I must therefore make haste.
Listen attentively, and consider well what you shall hear. I return
thanks to our Creator, that He has spared your lives through the dangers
of the darkness. I salute and return my thanks to the four Celestial
Beings who have communicated what I am about to say to you. I return
thanks to my grandfather (Handsomelake), from whom you first heard what I
am about to speak. We all feel his loss. We miss him at our councils. I
now occupy his place before you, but I am conscious that I have not the
power which he possessed.
"Counselors, warriors, mother sand children--Listen to good instruction.
Consider it well. Lay it up in your hearts, and forget it not. Our
Creator when He made us designed that we should live by hunting. It
sometimes happens that a man goes out for to hunt, leaving his wife with
his friends. After a long absence he returns and finds that his wife has
taken another husband. The Great Spirit says this is a great sin, and
must be put from among us.
"The four messengers further said that it was wrong for a mother to
punish a child with a rod. It is not right to punish much, and our
Creator never intended that children should be punished with a whip or be
used with much violence. In punishing a refractory child water only is
necessary, and it is sufficient. Plunge them under. This is not wrong.
Whenever a child promises to do better the punishment must cease. It is
wrong to continue it after promises of amendment are made. Thus they
said.
"It is right and proper always to look upon the dead. Let your face be
brought near to theirs, and address them. Let the dead know that their
absence is regretted by their friends, and that they grieve for their
death. Let the dead know, too, how their surviving friends intend to
live. Let them know whether they will so conduct themselves that they
will meet them again in the future world. The dead will hear and
remember. Thus they said.
"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.