The Confederation of the Iroquois, Page 23.—When the Europeans discovered North America they found that portion of the continent lying east of a line about as far west as the city of Cleveland, Ohio, and from the great lakes on the north to the Chesapeake Bay on the south, practically under the control of a confederacy of tribes, to which the French in after years applied the term Iroquois, and which the English called the Five Nations. This confederacy was composed of the Senecas, Mohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas and Cayugas. In the year 1712 the Tuscaroras, a tribe previously located in North Carolina, were defeated in a war with their white neighbors, and about one thousand eight hundred of them fled to what is now New York State, then the actual dwelling-place of most of the Iroquois, and were adopted into the confederacy. The new tribe did not possess the energy and courage of their associates, and for several years after their coming the men wore the tobacco pouches of the women, thus acknowledging upon all occasions that they were inferior to the other five nations comprising the union which had become their protectors. After the coming of the Tuscaroras the confederacy was known as the Six Nations of Indians—a designation which is often used at the present time in law in matters pertaining to the Indians of New York State.
The date of the formation of this confederacy has never been settled with any degree of certainty, and all attempts have ended in mere conjecture and speculation. The most authentic tradition heretofore published places the date about the year 1589, but there is no positive proof that this date is accurate. The legend of its ? 198 ? formation here published is not only based upon what was considered reliable authority by Cornplanter, but has also the sanction of that other noted Seneca chief, Governor Blacksnake (the Nephew), who was contemporaneous with Cornplanter, and who was probably born about the year 1736 and died in 1859, at the supposed age of one hundred and twenty-three years. These chiefs both claimed to have seen a string of wampum in their early years that placed the formation of the confederacy at a time when there occurred a total eclipse of the sun—"a darkening of the Great Spirit\'s smiling face"—that took place when the corn was receiving its last tillage, long before events that could be reliably ascribed to the year 1540.
At this point it will be well to say that the Indians possessed strings of wampum which actually recorded historical events. They were made upon the skins of some animal and were formed of small pieces of bone, variously shaped and colored, small stones, and a variety of small shells, quills and sometimes the teeth or claws of animals. These were strung upon the tanned skin by piercing holes through them and tying them securely with sinews. Certain ones in the tribe were selected as keepers of the wampum and it was their duty to store all necessary facts in their memory and associate with them the successive lines and arrangement of the stones, shells, quills, etc., so that they could be readily called to mind. At general councils these records were brought before the people and solemnly expounded. As these people possessed remarkable memories, the meaning of the wampum string was accurately carried down from generation to generation.
The place of holding the council that formed the confederacy has also been the subject of some dispute, but it is pretty certain that it was near the northern end of either Seneca or Cayuga Lake, and that it took place in that year previous to 1540 in which occurred ? 199 ? an eclipse of the sun in the month when the corn receives its last tilling.
Professor Lewis Swift, of the Warner Observatory, Rochester, kindly furnished the following table of dates:
Annular Eclipse October 11, 1520
Annular Eclipse May 8, 1491
Total Eclipse July 29, 1478
Total Eclipse June 28, 1451
Annular Eclipse April 26, 1427
The first given, October, 1520, is out of the question, as the corn would have been harvested at that time of year.
The second, May, 1491, would have been too early in the season to comply with the conditions of the wampum record, for the corn would hardly have made its appearance above the ground as early as the 8th of May.
The third, the last of July, 1478, will not answer the account given, for the ears of the maize would have been forming at that time and the plant would have passed its period of tillage.
The fourth date, June 28, 1451, must, therefore, have been the one upon which the confederation took place, as at that time of the year the corn in Central New York Is about ready for its final tilling.
Upon the authority of these two chiefs it is not difficult to believe that this date is historically correct and that the incident related in the legend was the occasion upon which this wonderful union of republics was formed. Considered as a government formed by a savage people, the confederation of the Iroquois certainly was a wonderful union. Had it not been broken and destroyed by the whites after a series of wars extending over two centuries and culminating in the great village-burning expedition of Sullivan in ? 200 ? 1779, this confederacy would have made rapid progress in civilization.
Among the Five Nations alone can be found the Indian of the novelist and poet. The Iroquois stand out and above all other aboriginal inhabitants in their intelligence, their oratory, their friendship and their character. Had they been treated with fairness; had they not been made the subjects of the most cruel wrongs and deceptions; had they not been driven to retaliation and finally to relentless slaughter, the pages of our histories would doubtless have recorded of this people achievements of which any nation might be proud.
A Legend of the River, Page 47.—This story was told of the Genesee River and Falls, and is occasionally heard among the older Senecas at the present time. It is said that one family of the Senecas were very much opposed to signing the treaty that surrendered the territory surrounding the scene of this legend. They claimed to be descendants of Tonadahwa and her brave rescuer, and believed that the spirits of their dead ancestors often visited the scene of their adventure and upon this spot plighted anew their troth. There is little doubt that this story, in the main, is true, and that a young Indian and a maiden, whom he was trying to rescue from a warrior of another tribe, were almost miraculously preserved alive after being carried over the Genesee Falls in a canoe. This legend has been put forth in various ways, one of which was that the Indians living near Niagara Falls were accustomed to sacrifice annually to the spirit of the Falls by sending the fairest maiden of the tribe over the precipice in a white birch canoe, decked with fruits and flowers. Frequently male relatives or lovers are said to have accompanied or followed victims who were set apart for this sacrifice. If this is so it must have been a practice of some other tribe ? 201 ? than those composing the Iroquois, for the Iroquoian tribes did not practice customs which called for the sacrifice of human life, unless the sacrifice was self-imposed.
Legends of the Corn, Page 51.—Corn, or maize, was the chief food of the Indians and consequently there were many legends concerning its origin. The two here given were looked upon as the oldest. The Indians had a firm belief that it was possible to change one\'s form, unless the one desiring the change was unfortunate enough to be under the influence of some evil spirit that out of malice prevented the transformation. The Indian women were especially proud of the legend attributing the origin of the maize to the frightened maiden fleeing from her lover, and it was told to their daughters very often and with many extravagant embellishments.
The First Winter, Page 55.—The Indians were taught never to speak ill of any of the celestial bodies or of the works of nature. They must never complain of the glare and heat of the sun, lest they be stricken blind; nor must they complain of the clouds for fear that they might be shut up in caves in the mountains where no light could enter. The moon must be treated with the same respect and consideration, for those who said aught against her were in imminent danger of death by a fall of rocks from the sky. The most severe storms of wind, snow, frost or hail must be treated only with great respect. Those who complained about them were by this act unarmed and could not resist their attacks and rigors. In fact, they were taught to "take the bitter with the sweet" without making wry faces. This training through long generations rendered the race cold and stoical, apparently indifferent to suffering. They probably suffered the same as others, but they bore it ? 202 ? without a sign. This legend was a very common one and was frequently told the young in order that the lesson might be deeply impressed upon them that they should never set themselves up in opposition to the Great Spirit or complain of the enforcement of his laws.
The Story of Oniata, Page 63.—Cornplanter held that there were many traditions among the Indians that in one way or another mentioned persons who were described as white; and this, too, long before the coming of the Europeans. One tradition was to the effect that thousands of years ago, away off to the southwest, there was a tribe of Indians in which were born several children who were made "like the Great Spirit, with faces as the sun." They were said to be very proud of the distinction and also to have been great warriors. They were believed to have wandered to the south and finally to have been lost in the mountains. After the coming of the Europeans this tradition was revived, and the ever-ready imagination of the Indians added a sequel to the disappearance of the "white Indians." They said the whites had gone across the bitter lake (the ocean) and founded the nations of the palefaces and were now returning to conquer and subdue their forefathers. It was Cornplanter\'s belief that this was the older continent and that the Indian was nearest the original creation. He did not believe these traditional white people were as white as the English. They possessed all the Indian features, he said, but had light-colored skins and light hair.
Since this volume was made ready for publication the author found in a Western newspaper an account of the return from New Mexico of a Mr. Williamson, who had been spending some months in an out-of-the-way place in that territory among the Moqui Indians. Mr. Williamson told an interesting story about a family of that tribe the members of which are white. He saw these people and asserts there is no doubt as to their color. He also says they are without doubt pure Indians and that they have none of the characteristics of the Albinos often seen among the Negroes. The family is known far and wide among the Indians themselves, but as their place of residence is some distance from the usual routes traveled by white men, they are rarely seen by others than the race to which they belong. The Indians look upon them as something holier than the rest of the tribe, and hence do not talk about them to outsiders. The narrator stated that the head man of the family says that there is a tradition among them that they originally came from the north and settled among the Moqui people, where they have been so long that they have lost all knowledge of the northern tribe and were not certain that they now spoke the language of their progenitors. When any of the Moqui married into the family, their children were always white. This discovery, if true and there seems no reason for such a statement unless it be true is interesting in this connection and may be looked upon by some as a proof of the claim that about the year A. D. 400 a race of white people occupied the territory bordering the southern shores of the great lakes, and that they were driven away by red men who came from still further north. Of course this is speculation and will probably remain a mystery as long as the world stands.
The Buzzard\'s Covering, Page 77.—This legend regarding the buzzard\'s plumage was often told by the Indians to illustrate the failure of some one of their number to win success in marriage or upon the chase. "We wear the turkey buzzard\'s feathers," said one of the Sioux chiefs a few years ago when making complaint to a Congressional committee. Few of those who heard him understood the metaphor and the supposition was that he referred to the plainness of his clothing compared with that of the politicians who met him. This expression coming from a Sioux chief proves that at least some of the legends common among the Iroquois centuries ago can be traced among the tribes of the West at the present time. A white man to convey the same meaning would say, "We have the worst end of the bargain," or, "We have only a crooked stick at last."
Origin of the Violet, Page 81.—The Indian term for the violet is "heads entangled." This is not one of the legends told by Cornplanter. It was told the author by a Seneca Indian named Simon Blackchief. Afterwards the authenticity of the legend was confirmed by inquiries among other members of the Seneca Nation.
The Turtle Clan, Page 85.—Of the various clans existing among the Iroquois the Turtle was probably the most respected. The families belonging to the Turtles were in reality the Freemasons of those days and to them were accorded the highest honors. At the council-fires the wisdom of the Turtles was displayed in counselling unity of action. Their opinions were alm............