A horse--Although the reference to the horse must be considered a
more modern interpolation it may easily date back two centuries,
or possibly even to De Soto's expedition in 1540. Among the plains
tribes the horse quickly became so essential a part of Indian life
that it now enters into their whole social and mythic system.
The bracelets were snakes--The same concept appears also in number 63,
"Ûñtsaiyi'," when the hero visits his father, the Thunder god.
85. The haunted whirlpool (p. 347): This legend was related by an
East Cherokee known to the whites as Knotty Tom. For a description
of the whirlpool rapids known as The Suck, see notes under number 63,
"Ûñtsaiyi', the Gambler."
86. Yahula (p. 347): This fine myth was obtained in the Territory
from Wafford, who had it from his uncle, William Scott, a halfbreed
who settled upon Yahoola creek shortly after the close of the
Revolution. Scott claimed to have heard the bells and the songs,
and of the story itself Wafford said, "I've heard it so often and
so much that I'm inclined to believe it." It has its explanation in
the beliefs connected with the Nûñne'hi (see number 78 and notes),
in whom Wafford had firm faith.
Yahula--This is a rather frequent Cherokee personal name, but seems
to be of Creek origin, having reference to the song used in the
"black drink" or "busk" ceremony of that tribe, and the songs which
the lost trader used to sing may have been those of that ceremony. See
the glossary.
Tinkling of the bells--Among the southern tribes in the old days the
approach of a trader's cavalcade along the trail was always heralded by
the jingling of bells hung about the necks of the horses, somewhat in
the manner of our own winter sleighing parties. Among the plains tribes
the children's ponies are always equipped with collars of sleigh bells.
In his description of a trader's pack-train before the Revolution,
Bartram says (Travels, p. 439): "Every horse has a bell on, which being
stopped, when we start in the morning, with a twist of grass or leaves,
soon shakes out, and they are never stopped again during the day. The
constant ringing and clattering of the bells, smacking of the whips,
whooping and too frequent cursing these miserable quadrupeds, cause
an incessant uproar and confusion inexpressibly disagreeable."
87. The water cannibals (p. 349): This story was obtained from Swimmer
and contains several points of resemblance to other Cherokee myths. The
idea of the spirit changeling is common to European fairy lore.
Tikwali'tsi--This town, called by the whites Tuckalechee, was on
Tuckasegee river, at the present Bryson City, in Swain county, North
Carolina, where traces of the mound can still be seen on the south
side of the river.
Afraid of the witches--See number 120, "The Raven Mocker," and notes.
88. First contact with whites (p. 350): The story of the jug of
whisky left near a spring was heard first from Swimmer; the ulûñsû'ti
story from Wafford; the locomotive story from David Blythe. Each was
afterward confirmed from other sources.
The story of the book and the bow, quoted from the Cherokee Advocate of
October 26, 1844, was not heard on the reservation, but is mentioned by
other authorities. According to an old Cherokee quoted by Buttrick,
"God gave the red man a book and a paper and told him to write,
but he merely made marks on the paper, and as he could not read or
write, the Lord gave him a bow and arrows, and gave the book to the
white man." Boudinot, in "A Star in the West," [548] quoted by the
same author, says: "They have it handed down from their ancestors,
that the book which the white people have was once theirs; that while
they had it they prospered exceedingly; but that the white people
bought it of them and learned many things from it, while the Indians
lost credit, offended the Great Spirit, and suffered exceedingly from
the neighboring nations; that the Great Spirit took pity on them and
directed them to this country," etc. It is simply another version of
the common tale of decadent nations, "We were once as great as you."
89. The Iroquois wars (p. 351): The Iroquois league--The Iroquois
league consisted originally of a confederacy of five kindred tribes,
the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca, in what is now the
state of New York; to these were added the cognate Tuscarora after
their expulsion from Carolina about 1715. The name Iroquois, by
which they were known to the French, is supposed to be a derivative
from some Indian term. To the English they were known as the Five,
afterward the Six Nations. They called themselves by a name commonly
spelt Hodenosaunee, and interpreted "People of the Long House." Of
this symbolic long house the Mohawk guarded the eastern door, while
the Seneca protected the western. Their remarkable governmental
and clan system is still well preserved, each tribe, except the
Mohawk and Oneida, having eight clans, arranged in two groups or
phratries. The Mohawk and Oneida are said to have now but three clans
apiece, probably because of their losses by withdrawals to the French
missions. The Seneca clans, which are nearly the same for the other
tribes, are the Wolf, Bear, Turtle, Beaver, Deer, Snipe, Heron,
and Hawk. The confederacy is supposed to have been formed about
the middle of the sixteenth century, and by 1680 the Iroquois had
conquered and destroyed or incorporated all the surrounding tribes,
and had asserted a paramount claim over the whole territory from the
Cherokee border to Hudson bay and from southern New England to the
Mississippi. According to a careful estimate in 1677 the Five Nations
then numbered 2,150 warriors, or about 10,750 persons. The Tuscarora
in Carolina were estimated a few years later at 1,200 warriors,
or 5,000 persons, but this is probably an exaggeration. The league
afterward lost heavily by wars with the French, and still more by
withdrawals of Christianized Indians to the French Catholic mission
colonies at Caughnawaga, Saint Regis, and elsewhere, the Mohawk being
the chief sufferers. The Revolution brought about another separation,
when about two-fifths of those remaining, including nearly all of the
Mohawk and Cayuga, removed in a body to Canada. A mixed band of Seneca
and Cayuga, known as the "Seneca of Sandusky," had previously settled
in Ohio, whence they removed in 1831 to Indian Territory. Between
1820 and 1826 the greater portion of the Oneida removed from New
York to lands in Wisconsin purchased from the Menomini. In spite,
however, of wars and removals the Iroquois have held their own
with a tenacity and a virility which mark their whole history,
and both in this country and in Canada they are fairly prosperous
and are increasing in population, being apparently more numerous
to-day than at any former period. Those in New York and Pennsylvania,
except the Saint Regis, and on the Grand River reservation in Canada,
constituting together about one-half of the whole number, still keep
up the forms and ceremonies of the ancient league.
According to a special bulletin of the census of 1890 the total number
of Indians then belonging to the tribes originally constituting the Six
Nations was 15,833, of whom 8,483 were living in Canada and 7,350 in
the United States, excluding from the latter count 37 resident members
of other tribes. Those in the United States were on six reservations
in the State of New York, one in Pennsylvania, one in Wisconsin,
and one in the Indian Territory, and were classed as follows:
Mohawk (including Indians of Saint Regis and Caughnawaga):
in New York 1,162
Oneida:
in New York, 212;
at Green Bay agency, Wisconsin, 1,716 1,928
Onondaga:
in New York, 470;
on Cornplanter reservation, Pennsylvania, 11 481
Cayuga: in New York 183
Seneca:
in New York, 2,680;
on Cornplanter reservation, Pennsylvania, 87 2,767
Tuscarora: in New York 408
Iroquois mixed bloods, separately enumerated, on
reservations in New York 87
Iroquois outside reservations in New York, Connecticut,
and Massachusetts 79
Mixed Seneca and Cayuga at Quapaw agency, Indian
Territory 255
-----
7,350
Those in Canada were at the same time officially reported thus:
Mohawk:
at Caughnawaga, 1,722;
at Saint Regis, 1,190;
on Grand River reservation, 1,344;
at Bay of Quinte, 1,056 5,312
Oneida:
on Thames river, 715;
on Grand River reservation, 244 959
Onondaga: on Grand River reservation 325
Cayuga: on Grand River reservation 865
Seneca: on Grand River reservation 183
Tuscarora: on Grand River reservation 327
Iroquois of Lake of Two Mountains 375
Iroquois of Gibson 137
-----
8,483
A few Algonkin are included among the Iroquois of Caughnawaga and Saint
Regis, the Iroquois of these two settlements having been originally
Catholic emigrants from the Mohawk villages in New York, with a few
Oneida and Onondaga. When the boundary line between New York and Canada
was run it cut the Saint Regis reservation in two. The report of the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1900 shows 7,700 Iroquois living
on the reservations in New York, Wisconsin, and Indian Territory, an
increase within these limits of 527 in nine years. Assuming the same
rate of increase in Pennsylvania and on the Canada side, the whole
number of Iroquois to-day would be approximately 17,000. For detailed
information see Colden, History of the Five Nations; Schoolcraft,
Notes on the Iroquois; Morgan, League of the Hodenosaunee or Iroquois;
Parkman's works; reports of the commissioners of Indian affairs for
both the United States and Canada, and the excellent report on "The
Six Nations of New York," by Donaldson and Carrington, contained in
an extra bulletin of the Eleventh Census of the United States.
Seneca town, South Carolina--The statement given by Schoolcraft (Notes
on Iroquois, 161), on the authority of Calhoun, that the Seneca once
lived at Seneca town, in South Carolina, has probably no foundation
in fact, the story having evidently arisen from a supposed similarity
of name. The Cherokee call it I`sû'nigû', and do not connect it in any
way with A-Se'nika or Ani'-Se'nika, their name for the northern tribe.
The Cherokee war--The Iroquois story of the war between themselves and
the Cherokee is from Schoolcraft, Notes on Iroquois, pages 252 and 256.
Five days' journey--This statement is on Morgan's authority, but
the distance was certainly greater, unless we are to understand only
the distance that separated their extreme accustomed hunting ranges,
not that between the permanent settlements of the two peoples.
The Tennessee river boundary--The statement from Morgan (League
of the Iroquois, p. 337) in regard to the truce line established at
Tennessee river seems to find confirmation in incidental references in
early documents. Boundaries beyond which war parties might not go, or
neutral grounds where hereditary enemies met in peace, were a regular
institution in ancient Indian society, the most notable instance being
perhaps the famous pipestone quarry in Minnesota. Notwithstanding
the claim of the Iroquois, backed by Sir William Johnson, to all the
country north of the Tennessee river, it is very plain from history
and the treaties that the Cherokee asserted a more or less valid
claim as far north as the Ohio. Their actual settlements, however,
were all south of the main Tennessee.
The Buffalo dance--The origin ascribed to the Buffalo dance of the
Iroquois (Morgan, League of the Iroquois, p. 287) is in agreement
with the common Indian idea, according to which dances named from
animals are performed in imitation of the peculiar actions and cries
of these animals, or in obedience to supposed commands from the ruling
spirit animals.
The peace embassy--The story of the proposed intertribal alliance,
with the statements as to Cherokee captives among the Seneca,
are from Schoolcraft (Notes on Iroquois, pp. 158, 252, 257). The
records of the conference at Johnson Hall in 1768 are published
in the New York Colonial Documents. The account of the Iroquois
peace embassy to Echota was given to Wafford by two eyewitnesses,
one of whom was his mother's cousin, Sequoya. As the old man said,
"Sequoya told me all about it." As stated in the narrative, Wafford
himself had also seen the belts brought out and explained in a great
intertribal council at Tahlequah. By common tribal custom ambassadors
of peace were secure from molestation, whatever might be the result
of the negotiations, although, as among more civilized nations, this
rule was sometimes violated. According to tradition, the ancient
peace pipe of the Cherokee, and probably of other eastern tribes,
was of white stone, white being the universal peace color. The red
stone pipe of the Sioux was also used in peace ceremonials, from the
peculiar sacredness attached to it among the western tribes.
The accuracy of Wafford's statement from memory in 1891 is strikingly
confirmed by a contemporary account of the great intertribal council
at Tahlequah in 1843, by the artist, Stanley, who was present and
painted a number of portraits on that occasion. The council was
convened by John Ross in June and remained in session four weeks,
some ten thousand Indians being in attendance, representing seventeen
tribes. "During the whole session the utmost good feeling and harmony
prevailed. The business was brought to a close at sundown, after which
the various tribes joined in dancing, which was usually kept up to
a late hour." The wampum belt was explained, according to Stanley's
account, by Major George Lowrey (Agi`li, "Rising"), second chief of the
Nation, who thus recited the tradition of its coming from the Seneca
[i. e. Iroquois]. The talk abounds in Indian reference and symbolism:
"You will now hear a talk from our forefathers. You must not think
hard if we make a few mistakes in describing our wampum. If we do,
we will try and rectify them.
"My Brothers, you will now hear what our forefathers said to us.
"In the first place, the Senecas, a great many years ago, devised a
plan for us to become friends. When the plan was first laid, the Seneca
rose up and said, I fear the Cherokee, because the tomahawk is stuck
in several parts of his head. The Seneca afterwards remarked, that he
saw the tomahawk still sticking in all parts of the Cherokee's head,
and heard him whooping and hallooing say [sic] that he was too strong
to die. The Seneca further said, Our warriors in old times used to go
to war; when they did go, they always went to fight the Cherokees;
sometimes one or two would return home--sometimes none. He further
said, The Great Spirit must love the Cherokees, and we must be in
the wrong, going to war with them. The Seneca then said, Suppose we
make friends with the Cherokee, and wash his wounds and cause them
to heal up, that he may grow larger than he was before. The Seneca,
after thus speaking, sat down. The Wyandot then rose and said, You
have done right, and let it be. I am your youngest brother, and you
our oldest. This word was told to the Shawnees; They replied, We are
glad, let it be; you are our elder brothers. The Senecas then said,
they would go about and pray to the Great Spirit for four years to
assist them in making peace, and that they would set aside a vessel
of water and cover it, and at the end of every year they would take
the cover off, and examine the water, which they did; every time
they opened it they found it was changed; at the end of four years
they uncovered the vessel and found that the water had changed to a
colour that suited them. The Seneca then said, The Great Spirit has
had mercy upon us, and the thing has taken place just as we wished it.
"The Shawnee then said, We will make straight paths; but let us make
peace among our neighbouring tribes first, before we make this path
to those afar off.
"The Seneca then said, Before we make peace, we must give our
neighboring tribes some fire; for it will not do to make peace without
it,--they might be traveling about, and run against each other, and
probably cause them to hurt each other. These three tribes said,
before making peace, that this fire which was to be given to them
should be kindled in order that a big light may be raised, so they
may see each other at a long distance; this is to last so long as the
earth stands; They said further, that this law of peace shall last
from generation to generation--so long as there shall be a red man
living on this earth: They also said, that the fire shall continue
among us and shall never be extinguished as long as one remains. The
Seneca further said to the Shawnees, I have put a belt around you,
and have tied up the talk in a bundle, and placed it on your backs;
we will now make a path on which we will pass to the Sioux. The Seneca
said further, You shall continue your path until it shall reach the
lodge of the Osage. When the talk was brought to the Sioux, they
replied, we feel thankful to you and will take your talk; we can see
a light through the path you have made for us.
"When the Shawnees brought the talk to the Osages, they replied,
By to-morrow, by the middle of the day, we shall have finished our
business. The Osage said further, The Great Spirit has been kind
to me. He has brought something to me, I being fatigued hunting
for it. When the Shawnees returned to the lodge of the Osages, they
were informed that they were to be killed, and they immediately made
their escape.
"When the Shawnees returned to their homes whence they came, they
said they had been near being killed.
"The Seneca then said to the Shawnees, that the Osages must be
mistaken. The Shawnees went again to see the Osages--they told them
their business. The Osages remarked, The Great Spirit has been good
to us,--to-morrow by the middle of the day he will give us something
without fatigue. When the Shawnees arrived at the lodge, an old
man of the Osages told them that they had better make their escape;
that if they did not, by the middle of the following day, they were
all to be destroyed, and directed them to the nearest point of the
woods. The Shawnees made their escape about midday. They discovered
the Osages following them, and threw away their packs, reserving
the bag their talk was in, and arrived at their camp safe. When the
Shawnees arrived home, they said they had come near being killed,
and the Osages refused to receive their talk. The Seneca then said,
If the Osages will not take our talk, let them remain as they are;
and when the rising generation shall become as one, the Osages shall
be like some herb standing alone. The Seneca further said, The Osages
shall be like a lone cherry-tree, standing in the prairies, where the
birds of all kinds shall light upon it at pleasure. The reason this
talk was made about the Osages was, that they prided themselves upon
their warriors and manhood, and did not wish to make peace.
"The Seneca further said, we have succeeded in making peace with all
the Northern and neighbouring tribes. The Seneca then said to the
Shawnees, You must now turn your course to the South: you must take
your path to the Cherokees, and even make it into their houses. When
the Shawnees started at night they took up their camp and sat up all
night, praying to the Great Spirit to enable them to arrive in peace
and safety among the Cherokees. The Shawnees still kept their course,
until they reached a place called Tah-le-quah, where they arrived
in safety, as they wished, and there met the chiefs and warriors
of the Cherokees. When they arrived near Tah-le-quah, they went to
a house and sent two men to the head chiefs. The chief's daughter
was the only person in the house. As soon as she saw them, she went
out and met them, and shook them by the hand and asked them into the
house to sit down. The men were all in the field at work--the girl's
father was with them. She ran and told him that there were two men
in the house, and that they were enemies. The chief immediately ran
to the house and shook them by the hand, and stood at the door. The
Cherokees all assembled around the house, and said, Let us kill them,
for they are enemies. Some of the men said, No, the chief's daughter
has taken them by the hand; so also has our chief. The men then
became better satisfied. The chief asked the two men if they were
alone. They answered, No; that there were some more with them. He
told them to go after them and bring them to his house. When these two
men returned with the rest of their people, the chief asked them what
their business was. They then opened this valuable bundle, and told
him that it contained a talk for peace. The chief told them, I cannot
do business alone; all the chiefs are assembled at a place called
Cho-qua-ta [for E-cho-ta], where I will attend to your business in
general council. When the messengers of peace arrived at Cho-qua-ta,
they were kindly received by the chiefs, who told them they would
gladly receive their talk of peace. The messengers of peace then
said to the Cherokees, We will make a path for you to travel in,
and the rising generation may do the same,--we also will keep it
swept clean and white, so that the rising generation may travel in
peace. The Shawnee further said, We will keep the doors of our houses
open, so that when the rising generation come among us they shall be
welcome. He further said, This talk is intended for all the different
tribes of our red brothers, and is to last to the end of time. He
further said, I have made a fire out of the dry elm--this fire is
for all the different tribes to see by. I have put one chunk toward
the rising sun, one toward the north, and one toward the south. This
fire is not to be extinguished so long as time lasts. I shall stick
up a stick close by this fire, in order that it may frequently be
stirred, and raise a light for the rising generation to see by;
if any one should turn in the dark, you must catch him by the hand,
and lead him to the light, so that he can see that he was wrong.
"I have made you a fire-light, I have stripped some white hickory
bark and set it up against the tree, in order that when you wish to
remove this fire, you can take it and put it on the bark; when you
kindle this fire it will be seen rising up toward the heavens. I
will see it and know it; I am your oldest brother. The messenger
of peace further said, I have prepared white benches for you, and
leaned the white pipe against them, and when you eat you shall have
but one dish and one spoon. We have done everything that was good,
but our warriors still hold their tomahawks in their hands, as if
they wished to fight each other. We will now take their tomahawks
from them and bury them; we must bury them deep under the earth where
there is water; and there must be winds, which we wish to blow them
so far that our warriors may never see them again.
"The messenger further said, Where there is blood spilt I will wipe
it up clean--wherever bones have been scattered, I have taken them
and buried them, and covered them with white hickory bark and a
white cloth--there must be no more blood spilt; our warriors must
not recollect it any more. Our warriors said that the Cherokees were
working for the rising generation by themselves; we must take hold
and help them.
"The messengers then said that you Cherokees are placed now under
the centre of the sun; this talk I leave with you for the different
tribes, and when you talk it, our voice shall be loud enough to be
heard over this island. This is all I have to say." [549]
Wampum--The celebrated wampum was a species of bead cut from the shell
of the clam, conch, or other shell-bearing mollusk of the coast or the
larger streams. The common name is derived from an Algonquian word
signifying white, and was properly applied only to one variety, the
generic term varying with the tribe. The beads were rather cylindrical
than globular, and were of two colors, white and purple or dark. They
were rated at definite values. The wampum was manufactured by the
coast tribes, being traded by them to those of the interior, and
was largely used everywhere east of the Mississippi for necklaces,
collars, belts, and other purposes of personal adornment, as well
as in connection with the noted wampum belts, by means of which the
memory of treaties and tribal traditions was handed down. These belts
were woven with various designs in wampum, either pictographic or
symbolic, the meaning of which was preserved and explained on public
occasions by an officer appointed to that duty. In ancient times no
treaty or covenant was considered binding, and no tribal embassy was
recognized as official, without the delivery of a wampum belt as a
guaranty and memorial. The colonial documents are full of references
to this custom. Up to the end of the last century the Cherokee still
tendered such belts in their treaties with the Government, and one
was delivered in the same manner so late as the treaty of Prairie des
Chiens in 1825. The Iroquois still preserve several ancient belts,
of which a good idea is afforded by the illustration and accompanying
description (figure 2, page 354). On account of the high estimation
in which these shell beads were held they were frequently used in the
East as a standard of exchange, as eagle feathers were in the West,
and among the Cherokee the same word, atela, is used alike for bead
and for money. On the Pacific coast, shells were more generally
shaped into pendants and gorgets. For a good eye-witness account
of the manufacture and use of wampum and gorgets of shell among the
South Atlantic tribes, see Lawson, History of Carolina, 315-316.
90. Hiadeoni, the Seneca (p. 356): Of this story Schoolcraft says:
"The following incident in the verbal annals of Iroquois hardihood
and heroism was related to me by the intelligent Seneca, Tetoyoah,
William Jones of Cattaraugus, along with other reminiscences of the
ancient Cherokee wars." Hewitt thinks the proper Seneca form of the
name may be Haia'di'oñni, signifying "His body lies supine."
92. Escape of the Seneca boys (p. 359): The manuscript notes from
which this and several following traditions are arranged are in the
archives of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and were obtained in
1886-87 among the Seneca Indians of New York by Mr Jeremiah Curtin,
since noted as the author of several standard collections of Indian
and European myths and the translator of the works of the Polish
novelist, Sienkiewicz.
Gowe'!--This is along drawn halloo without significance except as a
signal to arrest attention. It strikingly resembles the Australian
"bush cry" Coowee'! used for the same purpose.
93. The Unseen Helpers (p. 359): The meaning of the Seneca name can
not be given.
Animal Protectors--The leading incident of this tale is closely
paralleled by a Kiowa story, told by the old men as an actual
occurrence of some fifty years ago, concerning a warrior who, having
been desperately wounded in an engagement with Mexican troops in
southern Texas, was abandoned to die by his retreating comrades. At
night, while lying upon the ground awaiting death, and unable to move,
he heard a long howl in the distance, which was repeated nearer and
nearer, until at last he heard the patter of feet in the sand, and
a wolf came up and licked the festering wounds of the warrior with
such soothing effect that he fell asleep. This was repeated several
times until the man was able to sit up, when the wolf left him,
after telling him--not in the vision of a dream, but as a companion
face to face--that he must keep up his courage, and that he would
get back in safety to his tribe. Soon afterward the wounded warrior
was found by a party of Comanche, who restored him to his people. At
the next Sun dance he made public thanksgiving for his rescue (see
the author's Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians, in Seventeenth
Annual Report Bureau of American Ethnology, part 1, 1901). The story
is not impossible. A wolf may easily have licked the wounded man's
sores, as a dog might do, and through the relief thus afforded, if
not by sympathy of companionship, have enabled him to hold out until
rescued by friends. The rest is easy to the imagination of an Indian,
who believes that there is no essential difference between himself
and other animals.
The War Woman--The women described as having power to decide the
fate of captives, mentioned also in the next story (number 94), are
evidently the female dignitaries among the ancient Cherokee known to
early writers as "War Women" or "Pretty Women." Owing to the decay of
Cherokee tradition and custom it is now impossible to gather anything
positive on the subject from Indian informants, but from documentary
references it is apparent that there existed among the Cherokee a
custom analogous to that found among the Iroquois and probably other
Eastern tribes, by which the decision of important questions relating
to peace and war was left to a vote of the women. Among the Iroquois
this privilege was exercised by a council of matrons, the mothers of
the tribes. It may have been the same among the Cherokee, with the
"Pretty Woman" to voice the decision of the council, or the final
rendering may have been according to the will of the "Pretty Woman"
herself. The institution served in a measure to mitigate the evils of
war and had its origin in the clan system. Under this system a captive
enemy was still an enemy until he had been adopted into the tribe,
which could only be done through adoption into a clan and family. As
clan descent was reckoned through the women it rested with them to
decide the question of adoption. If they were favorable all was well,
and the captive became at once a member of a family and clan and of
the tribe at large. Otherwise, as a public enemy, only death remained
to him, unless he was ransomed by friends. The proper Cherokee title
of this female arbiter of life and death is unknown. The clan of
the Ani'-Gilâ'hi, or "Long-hairs," is sometimes spoken of as the
Pretty-woman clan, and the office may have been hereditary in that
clan. The Seneca stories imply that there were two of these female
officers, but from Haywood's account there would seem to have been
but one. An upper tributary of Savannah river in Georgia bears the
name War-woman creek.
Timberlake says in 1765 (Memoirs, p. 70): "These chiefs or headmen
likewise compose the assemblies of the nation, into which the war
women are admitted, many of the Indian women being as famous in war
as powerful in the council."
At the Hopewell treaty conference in 1785 the principal chief of
Echota, after an opening speech, said: "I have no more to say,
but one of our beloved women has, who has borne and raised up
warriors." After delivering a string of wampum to emphasize the
importance of the occasion, "the war woman of Chota then addressed
the commissioners." Having expressed her pleasure at the peace,
she continued: "I have a pipe and a little tobacco to give to the
commissioners to smoke in friendship. I look on you and the red people
as my children. Your having determined on peace is most pleasing to
me, for I have seen much trouble during the late war. I am old, but
I hope yet to bear children, who will grow up and people our nation,
as we are now to be under the protection of Congress and shall have
no more disturbance. The talk I have given is from the young warriors
I have raised in my town, as well as myself. They rejoice that we
have peace, and we hope the chain of friendship will never more be
broken." Two strings of wampum, a pipe, and some tobacco accompanied
her words (American State Papers; Indian Affairs, I, p. 41, 1832).
Haywood says in 1823: "The Cherokees had the law or custom of assigning
to a certain woman the office of declaring what punishment should
be inflicted on great offenders; whether, for instance, burning or
other death, or whether they should be pardoned. This woman they
called the pretty woman. Mrs Ward exercised this office when Mrs
Bean, about the year 1776, was taken from the white settlements on
the upper parts of Holston. Being bound and about to be burned on one
of the mounds, the pretty woman interfered and pronounced her pardon"
(Nat. and Aborig. Hist. Tenn., p. 278). See also historical note 20,
"Peace Towns and Towns of Refuge."
Between two lines of people--This custom, known to colonial writers as
"running the gauntlet," was very common among the eastern tribes,
and was intended not so much to punish the captive as to test
his courage and endurance, with a view to adoption if he proved
worthy. It was practiced only upon warriors, never upon women or
children, and although the blows were severe they were not intended
to be fatal. The prisoner was usually unbound and made to run along
a cleared space in the center of the village toward a certain goal,
and was safe for the time being if he succeeded in reaching it.
94. Hatcinoñdoñ's escape from the Cherokee (p. 362): The Seneca name
is not translatable.
Canebrake--The tall cane reed (Arundinaria), called i'hya by the
Cherokee, is common along the southern streams, as such names as Cany
fork, Cut-cane creek, and Young-cane creek testify. It was greatly
valued among the Indians for fishing rods, blowguns, and baskets,
as well as for fodder for stock. The best canebrakes were famous far
and wide, and were resorted to from long distances in the gathering
season. Most of the cane now used by the East Cherokee for blowguns and
baskets is procured by long journeys on foot to the streams of upper
South Carolina, or to points on the French Broad above Knoxville,
Tennessee.