Chapter IV: Part 4

But the peace-home was desolate, and to its doors in the darkness came running two men whose anger toward each other had long been fed with jealousy and hatred. When no Peacemaker was found their rage could no longer be controlled, and they fell upon each other with their hunting clubs and fought till they sank from exhaustion and died before each other's eyes.

The peace-home had been desecrated by the shedding of blood. Henceforth it was a place shunned by all men.

AN UNWELCOME VISITOR

WHEN the frosts were unlocked from the hillsides there came into one of the villages of the red men a mild and quiet old man whom none of them had ever seen before. He stood beside the field where the young men played at their games, and when some of the fathers approached to bid him welcome to their village and wigwams they saw that his body was covered with sores, and they made excuses to turn aside that they might not meet him. When none went to him and called him brother, he turned to the village and walked slowly from door to door of the wigwams. The women saw him and as he approached their doors they covered their children's faces that they might not see his features, and wished in their hearts that he would not enter. When the little man read their thoughts, with saddened eyes and heavy steps he would turn away and seek another habitation, where he would again see that he was not welcome and turn his weary footsteps from the door. When he had visited all the wigwams in the village without finding a welcome in any, he went suddenly to the forest and they saw him no more.

The next day he appeared in another village, where the same weary round of the day before brought him no shelter. For many days thereafter he went from village to village, and, though he spoke to no one, he knew that their hearts were not open to him and that they shuddered at his coming.

Finally there remained but two more villages to visit and he feared that he should find none who would bid him enter their homes that they might minister to his wants. At last, however, as he approached a humble cabin his eyes brightened, for he read in the heart of the woman who saw him coming that she had taken pity on his forlorn condition and that her hospitality would overcome the dread his appearance caused. Said the woman:

"Thou art welcome, my brother, for thou art a stranger."

Then said the strange man: "Peace to my sister's house and happiness to her husband."

Then the woman spread a couch of soft furs at one side of the wigwam and bade the stranger lie down; and when she had done so she asked him how she should minister to his wants. Then the strange man said:

"Listen, my sister: Thou of all thy race hast had in thy heart pity and love for a suffering and friendless creature that have led thee to give him shelter in thy house. Know then, my sister, that thy name shall henceforth be great. Many wonders shall be taught thee, and thy sons will be made chiefs and thy daughters princesses. I am Quarara, and bear messages from the Great Spirit."

Then Quarara described to the woman a plant which she went forth into the forest and procured. She returned to the hut and prepared it as he bade her, and when it was administered to him he recovered from his sickness and the sores left him.

Quarara remained at the woman's wigwam many moons and brought upon himself all manner of fevers, plagues and diseases, and for each one he described the medicine root or herb that would perform its cure. These the woman found in the forest and brought to him, and he made it plain how they should be prepared to do the will of the Great Spirit and defeat the evil spirits and witches that plagued his people.

Then said the strange man, Quarara, to her:

"Thou, Oh! sister, knowest now what the Great Spirit would have thee teach his children freely. Thou hast been patient and kind and thy heart is filled with gentleness. The sons that shall be born to thee shall be called Sagawahs, the healers, and thou and thy family shall be remembered throughout all generations."

Quarara then brought upon himself the fatal disease, for which there is no remedy, and returned to his home with the Great Spirit.

_Bits of Folk-Lore_

BITS OF FOLK-LORE

FIRE was believed to be a giant that was fed on pygmies or small spirits existing only in the wind. The process of fanning the embers into flame with one's breath was only attempted at the greatest hazard, as it was "very bad medicine."

Whoever might be engaged in the practice of any mystery should never be disturbed or interfered with except under penalty of the direst misfortunes and the suspicion of all his tribe. They might wonder in their own hearts, but they must never betray the least curiosity to find out what one of their number might be trying to bring about by his experiments, incantations or mysterious performances. The arrows of a curious hunter never hit the mark, and the corn planted and tilled by a curious woman bore only crooked and withered ears.

The sun was commonly known as "the smiling face of the Great Spirit," and when it disappeared at night it was supposed to have entered the door of a great wigwam which was built in the form of a semi-circle. In the morning it reappeared at the other door of the wigwam. Their ideas about astronomy were extremely vague and were constantly changing. The moon was believed to be a sister of the sun, and in time would be able to give as much light as her brother. The stars were bright and glowing brands of fire tied with thongs and held by spirits created for that purpose by the Great Spirit. One star alone, the North Star, was held by the Great Spirit himself because it was always in the same place. It was called the guide. Other stars and planets were named, but the names have not been preserved.

The springs and the streams they formed were first made for the convenience of the Great Spirit. He desired to leave the Happy Hunting-Grounds and make a journey over the earth and so he sent a large white bird to carry water from the original spring near the Great Spirit's wigwam and plant it in the earth at convenient distances. Sections of country that were without springs had not been visited by the Great Spirit.

Language was looked upon as a sacred gift, and was as much a part of the body as the head or limbs. For this reason an Indian never spoke the language of another nation except in the capacity of interpreter. When a council was held between tribes the orators conducted the debate in their own language, and the words were translated, when necessary, as they fell from the lips of the speakers by those who had been trained for that purpose. It was considered the greatest possible affront to their ancestors and to the Great Spirit for the Iroquois to speak any language other than their own. Deaf mutes among them were pointed out as people who were not satisfied with the language of their fathers and in consequence had lost the power to speak or hear.

Difficulties and contentions were spirits of evil that flew about inciting trouble. When disputes and differences were arranged or settled they would arise again unless buried. When terms of a settlement had been agreed upon it was customary to dig a hole in the ground, around which the disputants would gather, and each party to the dispute would talk his grievances into the excavation, absolutely unburdening himself of all he had to say. When the ceremony was concluded, the excavated earth was returned and firmly stamped and pounded down. In this way, it was believed, the quarrel could be forever buried unless one of the parties to the ceremony deliberately removed the earth and again opened the prison of the bad spirits. From this belief grew the custom of "burying the hatchet" when peace was secured, and of digging it up when war was determined upon.

The Aurora Borealis was believed to be the reflection of the light of the camp-fires in the Happy Hunting-Grounds. When its lights were seen it was supposed that the brothers who had passed into the future were rejoicing over the successful termination of some great hunt or participating in a feast. The size of a fire that could cast such wonderful lights was beyond their comprehension, and often the death-song of the warriors and chiefs would refer to their hope of soon standing beside the fire that was greater than the mountains. It was customary for them to stand in the open air and make long speeches to the spirits during the time the Aurora was to be seen. They would chide the spirits for wastefulness in building so large a fire and call upon them not to burn all the forests of the Great Spirit before their friends on the earth were admitted to the charmed circle and permitted to enjoy the pleasures of a camp-fire of such gigantic proportions.

It was wrong to complain of pain of any kind or to show by any act that pain was experienced. Both pain and suffering were caused by bad spirits, and surely one would not give their enemies the pleasure of knowing that their attempts had in any manner caused discomfort. The Great Spirit was trying with all his power to relieve those who suffered pain, and to complain when your friend was doing his best to aid you would make him think that his efforts were not appreciated. Besides this, after the first shock of a wound, none of the animals betray by their cries the presence of pain. The dog will carry a broken leg for days, wistfully but uncomplainingly. The cat, stricken with club or stone, or caught in some trap from which it gnaws its way to freedom, crawls to some secret place and bears its agony in silence. The wolf or bear, caught in the pitfalls and pierced with scores of stinging arrows, indicate by no outward sign that they suffer. The wounded deer speeds to some thick brake and in pitiful submission waits for death. The eagle, struck by the arrow in mid-air, fights to the last against the fatal summons. There is no moan or sound of pain, and the defiant look never fades from its eyes until the lids close over them never to uncover again. The Indians learned many of their lessons from the animals and were taught to be as brave and uncomplaining as their brothers of the forests.

_The Happy Hunting-Grounds_

THE HAPPY HUNTING-GROUNDS

IT is hardly possible to define the creed of the people comprising the Iroquois, for it was so intermingled with curious superstitions of every kind that it cannot be traced to a continuous doctrine like the religions of other peoples. They had no special teachers of religion, and the privilege of adding as many superstitions as the mind could conceive was possessed by each individual member. Thus their religious belief was encumbered with almost every superstition that could be created in the minds of an ignorant and uncivilized people dwelling in wildernesses filled with numerous wild beasts and given over to the undisputed sway of solitude.

In a general way, however, according to the explanations made by Cornplanter of the belief entertained by him, their religion saw God as a great and loving spirit whose extended arms bore up and encircled the universe. They believed this Great Spirit created all the objects, both animate and inanimate, upon the earth; that he smiled upon his people in sunshine and shower, and frowned upon them in fierce storms and whirlwinds. He peopled the air with millions of embodied spirits, some of which were evil, and unless propitiated caused pain, sickness, trouble and death. Others were good spirits and aided the hunter in his chase, the lover in his suit, and brought male offspring to the mother's arms. Finally, he had prepared for them a "Happy Hunting-Ground," where every one should go after death. There beautiful birds would make resonant the hills and valleys with their enchanting song. The Great Spirit had covered that vast and magnificent country with plains, and forests, and limpid streams, in which and over which would sport the red deer, bears, buffaloes, wild horses and all animals and fishes useful for clothing and food. The good Indian could there reside forever with his wives and papooses, climbing the rugged hills without weariness, sporting in the rivers and lakes that never failed to supply an abundance of fish--always returning from the chase laden with the trophies of his skill. But the bad Indian would return from the chase empty-handed; he would lose his way and wander in the labyrinth of beautiful paths that led him beside fields of growing maize which disappeared when he attempted to pluck the glistening ears. Then his more fortunate brothers would take pity upon him and lead him to his home, and his punishment would be the chagrin he would feel when of necessity he was compelled to partake of his brother's bounty.

In the beginning, the red men dwelt with the Great Spirit in this delightful country, but they were so boisterous and full of play that the Great Spirit could get no rest on account of their noise. Besides this, there were no evil spirits or dangers there, and they could not learn to be brave and courageous unless they were situated where they came in contact with opposition and trouble. So the Great Spirit made a large basket in which he placed the red men, carefully covering them so they could not see the trail by which he took them from his home. He brought them to the earth and left them with the promise that when they had acquired bravery and circumspection they should again be carried to his home and there dwell for "so many moons that all the needles on the greatest pine tree would not tell them all."

The Iroquois held sacred no day on which to perform particular religious exercises, but they had several annual festivals which were observed with regularity for ages, and which are, in a measure, celebrated by the so-called pagans among the Senecas, Onondagas and Tuscaroras at the present time. The first of these was the "Maple Dance," and exemplified their way of thanking the Great Spirit for tempering the wind so that the snows would disappear and the sweet waters would flow from the sides of the maple trees that abounded in the wilderness about their homes. Previous to holding this, and all other festivals, the inhabitants of each village would meet at the council-place for what might be termed to-day "a confession of sins"--for such it really was. When all had assembled, one of the oldest sachems would stand before his brethren with a string of white wampum in his hands and tell wherein he had sinned according to Indian ethics. When he had concluded, the wampum would be passed to another, and so on until all had unburdened themselves. The open declaration of their misdeeds did not relieve them of the consequences of the deeds themselves, but in a measure it tempered the punishment. The moral code may be briefly summed up as follows:

It was a sin to neglect the old in any manner, or to refuse to share
with them the fruits of the chase or the products of the fields,
and it was especially sinful to neglect or disregard aged or infirm
parents.

To speak in derision or slightingly of anyone who might be lame,
blind, idiotic, insane--crippled in any manner or unfortunate in any
degree, or to refuse them aid or shelter.

To refuse to share food or shelter with anyone who might apply for
either, or to fail to care for the sick and for orphan children and
widows.

To break any treaty or agreement made at the council-fire when the
peace-pipe had been smoked, or after the parties making the treaty
had partaken of food together.

To violate the chastity of any woman.

To kill animals for any other purpose than for food and covering, and
for the protection of growing crops and human life.

To tell a falsehood, even though it might be of the most innocent
character.

To show cowardice in meeting any kind of danger or to shrink from
exposure, pain, suffering, sickness or death.

To take human life unless the person killed was a member of a tribe
with which the Iroquois was at war.

There were no punishments prescribed for breaking any of these or other recognized laws, but the person offending by the commission of the greater sins was, by common consent and custom, shunned, scorned, shamed, neglected, pointed at and ostracised from all connection whatever with his tribe and relatives. This generally resulted in the culprit's suicide, which was looked upon as a very brave act, and was full reparation for the wrongs committed.

Soon after the "Maple Dance" had been held came the "Planting Festival," which was conducted as a thank offering to the Great Spirit for unfolding the buds upon the trees, decking the woods and fields with flowers and warming the earth so that it could receive and nourish the seed.

When the seed had been planted, and upon the appearance of the first shoots of corn, the "Hope Festival" was held. At this time, as the red men circled around the glowing fires, they called upon the Great Spirit to protect the seeds that he had given life and asked him to bring them to maturity. They sprinkled leaves of tobacco upon the fires and repeated slow, monotonous chants or prayers that had been used by them for unknown generations. They asked the Great Spirit to give attention to their words arising to him in the smoke and not to let his ears become closed that he might not hear. They said:

Thy children thank thee for the life thou hast given the dead seeds.
Give us a good season that our crops may be plentiful. Continue to
listen for the smoke still rises. Preserve our old men among us and
protect the young. Help us to celebrate this festival as did our
fathers.

The "Green Corn Festival" was held when the season had so far advanced that the corn was ready to be used as roasting ears. The old women decided when this time had come, and none might partake of the corn until the festival had proceeded to the proper stage. This was a time of returning to the Great Spirit their thanks for his goodness, and the festivities lasted several days. They were wild and uncouth, of course, but the participants had faith that these ceremonies were pleasing to the Great Spirit. The revelry was conducted in a prescribed form that probably did not change for centuries. In the midst of one of the dances peculiar to the "Green Corn Festival" the oldest sachem of the tribe gave utterance to a prayer of thanksgiving, which has been translated as follows:

Great Spirit in the Happy Hunting-Grounds, listen to our words. We
have assembled to perform a sacred duty as thou hast commanded and
which has been performed by our fathers since thou taught them to
observe this festival. We salute thee with our thanks that thou hast
caused our supporters to yield abundant harvest.

Great Spirit, our words continue to flow towards thee. Preserve
us from all danger. Preserve our aged men. Preserve our mothers.
Preserve our warriors. Preserve our children. Preserve our old men
that they may remember all that thou hast told them. Preserve our
young men and give them strength to celebrate with pleasure thy
sacred festival.

Great Spirit, the council of thy people here assembled, the men and
women with many winters on their heads, the strong warriors, the
women and children, unite their voices in thanksgiving to thee.

The "Harvest Festival" was held a few weeks afterwards and was similar in character, though not considered of so much importance as the "Green Corn Festival."

Some time during the winter was held the "White Dog Dance." This, however, was not of so ancient an origin as the other festivals and was probably a superstition promulgated by some of the great "medicine men" within the last two hundred and fifty years. Evil spirits that might have been driven into the houses of the Indians by the cold, were induced by various ceremonies to enter the body of a white dog or gray fox that was led from house to house for that purpose. Then, with due ceremony, the animal was killed and the bad spirits cremated with the body--the jaws having been tied together so that the spirits could not escape through its mouth, into which they had entered.

The Indians had numerous other ceremonial dances and any number of social dances--more than any other race of people, for they had few other amusements--but those enumerated above were the only strictly religious festivals. These were in every sense reverential, devotional and inspired by faith. The red men believed that if they observed them according to ancient customs and usages it would please the Great Spirit and that he would eventually take them all to the Happy Hunting-Grounds. While they clearly believed in an immortal life and in the resurrection of the body, they had no belief whatever in the infliction of future punishment, other than that experienced by the hunter whose arrows could not procure the game he coveted and trailed in the land where game abounded forever.

Had these people, possessing (as they most certainly did) a religion combining so many of the elements of the Christian religion, been discovered by any one of the enlightened nations of the present day instead of by the intolerant and greedy bigots of four hundred years ago, their history would not have been written with so many sad scenes for illustrations.

About the year 1800 a new religion was revealed to the members of the Iroquois then residing in New York State, and as it is what is now known as the Pagan belief, it may be well to describe it briefly. At that time there was living on Cornplanter Island, in the State of Pennsylvania, a half-brother of Cornplanter and Blacksnake by a common father--Abeel, the white trader. His name was Handsome Lake (Ga-ne-o-di-yo), and he was born near the site of the village of Avon, N. Y., in 1735, and died in 1815 at Onondaga when on a pastoral visit to that nation. His life had been spent mainly in dissipation, and in his old age he fell ill and was not expected to live from day to day. One night he sent his daughter to summon his renowned brothers to his bedside, as he was convinced that his end was drawing near. His brothers reached the house shortly after daylight and found Handsome Lake at some distance from the hut, apparently dead. They carried him in and had commenced to make preparations for the funeral, when suddenly he revived, sat upright and commenced to talk very strangely. He recovered rapidly and at his urgent request a council of his people was summoned to meet at Cornplanter, and to this assembly he revealed all that had befallen him.

His revelations soon became the religion of the Iroquois and may be considered their creed at the present time. Handsome Lake journeyed from tribe to tribe and taught the new faith till his death, fifteen years after. He was regarded as a second Hiawatha and had wonderful influence. After his death other teachers took his place and continued to expound the new faith as nearly as possible in the exact words of him to whom it was believed to have been first revealed. Unlike modern theologians, they made no attempt to put their views and ideas ahead of the original revelation, for they commenced each new section of the long and tedious recital with the words, "Thus said Handsome Lake," and they followed him as closely as possible, both in words and gestures. They did not add to or take away--they simply repeated. The last great follower of Handsome Lake was his grandson (Sase-ha-wa), known to the whites as Jimmy Johnson, who died about 1830. About the middle of August, 1894, a grand council of the chiefs was held at Onondaga, and on that occasion these traditions were revived, several days being spent in the work.

Stripped of long explanations as to how the message was told and the details of the various provisions and requirements, the creed of Handsome Lake was as follows:

As he lay in his cabin looking out of the window at the stars, momentarily expecting death, three beautiful men came to his couch and gave him some berries to eat, which threw him into a deep sleep. When he awoke he was told by one of the men that he might live if he would throughout the remainder of his life be a teacher of his people and speak to them the words that the Great Spirit put into his mouth. He promised to do this and immediately became strong. Then the men conducted him to the outer air, where he was found by his brothers, and, after showing him many wonderful things concerning the Happy Hunting-Grounds, again threw him into a sleep and disappeared. When he taught he closed his eyes and spoke only the words put into his mouth by the Great Spirit; therefore, whatever he told them was inspired. The doctrines expounded by him did not displace any of the old ceremonies so dear to the heart of the Iroquois. In fact, he urged the observance of all the religious dances, saying they were pleasing to the Creator. His first efforts were directed toward the eradication of intemperance, and here entered the first threat of future punishment in the creed of the Iroquois. A drunkard was promised boiling hot liquor, which he must drink in great quantities. When he had drunk until he could hold no more, streams of fire would issue from his mouth and he would be commanded to sing as he had done on earth after drinking the fire-water. Husbands and wives who had been quarrelsome on earth were to be compelled to rage at each other till their eyes and tongues ran out so far they could neither see nor speak. A wife-beater would be repeatedly led before a red-hot statue which he would be told to strike as he struck his wife upon earth, and when the blow fell, molten sparks would fly from the image and burn his arm to the bone. Lazy people were compelled to till cornfields in a burning sun, and as fast as the weeds were struck down they would again spring up with renewed luxuriance. Those who sold the lands of their people to the whites were assigned to the task of removing a never-diminishing pile of sand, one grain at a time, over a vast distance.

These are but samples of the terrible punishments to be dealt out to evil-doers of all kinds.

At the same time he taught that rewards would be freely bestowed to those who kept the laws laid down by the Great Spirit, and into these laws as revealed by Handsome Lake, with many fanciful and poetical imaginings that pleased the simple people to whom he taught, he wove the Ten Commandments. He taught morality, temperance, patience, forbearance, charity, forgiveness, and all the cardinal virtues.

Handsome Lake implicitly believed that the vision he described was a direct visitation from the Creator, and he also believed that in his teachings he was simply giving voice to the wishes of that Creator. There is little doubt that he exerted a decided influence for good, as did also his followers for many years after his death; but when sects and denominations commenced to tumble over each other in their zeal to "Christianize the Iroquois," and hair-splitting questions of theology were put forward to confuse and confound the teachings of the prophet of their own blood, the Indians began to doubt all that had been told them in the past and their ears were stopped to all that might be preached to them in the future. It may be truthfully stated that few Indians have at present any well-grounded religious belief, yet if they were not fearful that it would cause them to be subjected to further legal restrictions they would be well pleased to return once more to the free enjoyment of the teachings of Handsome Lake, their greatest prophet.

_Sacred Stone of the Oneidas_

_The Sacred Stone of the Oneida Indians_

THE SACRED STONE OF THE ONEIDAS

IN Forest Hill Cemetery, at Utica, New York, a short distance from the entrance, may be seen what is probably the most interesting historical relic of the Iroquois--the Sacred Stone of the Oneida Indians. The legend connected with this monument is as strange and poetic as any of those given in the preceding pages, and quite naturally should have a place in this volume. The story was obtained from the Indians by the late William Tracy before their removal to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and as told by him and by contemporary writers is as follows:

Two brothers and their families left the Onondagas and erected their wigwams on the north shore of the Oneida River, at the outlet of the lake bearing that name. They kept the celebrations commanded by the Great Spirit and he was pleased with their obedience. One morning there appeared at their resting place an oblong stone, unlike any of the rocks in the vicinity, and the Indians were told that from it their name should be taken, and that it would for all time be the altar around which their councils and their festive and religious ceremonies should take place, as it would follow them wherever they should go. So they took the name of "The People of the Upright Stone," and kept their home beside this altar many years. But finally they became so numerous that there was not room for them here, and they builded their chief village upon the south side of the lake, where a creek bearing the same name discharges its waters. True to the promise, and unassisted by human hands, the sacred stone followed and located once more in the midst of them.

Here the Oneidas flourished till the confederation of the Iroquois was formed, and they became second in the order of precedence in the confederacy. After many years it was determined by the chief men of the nation to remove their council-fire to the summit of one of a chain of hills about twenty miles distant--a commanding point before which is spread a broad view of the fertile Stockbridge valley. And when the council of the nation had selected this new home for its people, the sacred stone once more followed in the train of its children. It rested in a grove of butternut trees, from beneath whose branches the eye could look out upon a landscape not equaled elsewhere in their national domain. Here it remained to see the Iroquois increase in power and importance until the name struck terror to their foes from the Hudson to the Father of Waters. Around this unhewn altar, within its leafy temple was gathered all the wisdom of the nation when measures affecting its welfare were to be considered. Their eloquence, as effective and beautiful as ever fell from Greek or Roman lips, was poured forth upon the ears of the sons and daughters of the forest. Logan, the white man's friend, was there trained to utter words that burned, and there Sconondoa, the last orator of his race, the warrior chief and lowly Christian convert, with matchless power swayed the hearts of his countrymen; there the sacred rites were celebrated at the return of each harvest moon and each new year, when every son and daughter of the stone came up like the Jewish tribes of old to join in the national festivities.

This was the resting place of the stone when the first news came that the paleface had come from beyond the bitter waters. It remained to see him penetrate the forest and come among its children a stranger; to see him welcomed by the red men to a home, and then to see its red children shrink and wither away until the white man's sons plowed the fields beneath whose forest coverings slept many generations.

At length the council-fire of the Oneidas was extinguished; its people were scattered, and there was no new resting place for them to which this palladium might betake itself and again become their altar. It was a stranger in the ancient home of its children, an exile upon its own soil.

* * * * *

It was known to several of the trustees of the Forest Hill Cemetery Association that when the Oneidas removed to Green Bay and broke up their tribal relations they were very loath to leave their altar unprotected, and when the association was formed in the spring of 1849, correspondence was had with some of the head men of the nation, and consultations were held with the few remaining in the vicinity of their old home. They were most desirous that the stone should be protected, and were happy in the prospect of its removal to some place where it would remain secure from the contingencies and dangers to which it might be exposed in a private holding, liable to constant change of owners. With the consent of the owner of the farm upon which it was located, the huge boulder was carefully loaded upon a wagon drawn by four horses, and in the autumn of 1849, accompanied by a delegation of Oneida Indians and two of the trustees of the cemetery association, it was conveyed with considerable difficulty to its present site. It is said by some who remember the occasion, that before the Indians departed from the cemetery, they assembled around the stone and betrayed in their leave-taking pitiful manifestations of grief, several of them kneeling beside the boulder and kissing it.

Here this mass of white granite, which is unlike any of the stones or rocks to be found south of the northern dip of the Adirondacks, or the granite hills of Vermont and New Hampshire, remained on a grassy mound a half century. Its weight is estimated to be about four thousand pounds. In the spring of 1902 the cemetery authorities caused it to be placed upon a base of Westerly marble, upon one side of which is fixed a bronze tablet bearing this inscription:

SACRED STONE OF THE
ONEIDA INDIANS

------

THIS STONE WAS THE NATIONAL
ALTAR OF THE ONEIDA INDIANS,
AROUND WHICH THEY GATHERED
FROM YEAR TO YEAR TO CELEBRATE
SOLEMN RELIGIOUS RITES AND
TO WORSHIP THE GREAT SPIRIT.
THEY WERE KNOWN AS THE TRIBE
OF THE UPRIGHT STONE. THIS
VALUABLE HISTORICAL RELIC WAS
BROUGHT HERE FROM STOCKBRIDGE,
MADISON COUNTY, N. Y., IN 1849.

Many times during the first twenty-five or thirty years after the sacred stone was deposited upon Forest Hill it was visited by members of its tribe; and even now at occasional intervals the cemetery employees see the figure of an Indian passing along the graveled paths to pause beside this sole remaining monument of a broken race.

It is pleasing to know that this granite boulder will here forever remain, a memorial to a people celebrated for their savage virtues, and who were once by no means obscure actors in some of the stirring passages of our country's history; a people who were happy in their homes and who loved these fertile hills and valleys as we love them, but of whose ownership and sovereignty, whose teeming life and undisputed sway, there remains only this mute, unembellished monument.

Truthfully it may be said: "He-o-weh-go-gek"--once a home, now a memory.

_Notes to the Legends_

NOTES TO THE LEGENDS

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 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 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 1779, this confederacy would have made rapid progress in civilization.

Among the Five Nations alone can be found the Indian of the novelist and poet. The Iroquois stand out and above all other aboriginal inhabitants in their intelligence, their oratory, their friendship and their character. Had they been treated with fairness; had they not been made the subjects of the most cruel wrongs and deceptions; had they not been driven to retaliation and finally to relentless slaughter, the pages of our histories would doubtless have recorded of this people achievements of which any nation might be proud.

A LEGEND OF THE RIVER, Page 47.--This story was told of the Genesee River and Falls, and is occasionally heard among the older Senecas at the present time. It is said that one family of the Senecas were very much opposed to signing the treaty that surrendered the territory surrounding the scene of this legend. They claimed to be descendants of Tonadahwa and her brave rescuer, and believed that the spirits of their dead ancestors often visited the scene of their adventure and upon this spot plighted anew their troth. There is little doubt that this story, in the main, is true, and that a young Indian and a maiden, whom he was trying to rescue from a warrior of another tribe, were almost miraculously preserved alive after being carried over the Genesee Falls in a canoe. This legend has been put forth in various ways, one of which was that the Indians living near Niagara Falls were accustomed to sacrifice annually to the spirit of the Falls by sending the fairest maiden of the tribe over the precipice in a white birch canoe, decked with fruits and flowers. Frequently male relatives or lovers are said to have accompanied or followed victims who were set apart for this sacrifice. If this is so it must have been a practice of some other tribe than those composing the Iroquois, for the Iroquoian tribes did not practice customs which called for the sacrifice of human life, unless the sacrifice was self-imposed.

LEGENDS OF THE CORN, Page 51.--Corn, or maize, was the chief food of the Indians and consequently there were many legends concerning its origin. The two here given were looked upon as the oldest. The Indians had a firm belief that it was possible to change one's form, unless the one desiring the change was unfortunate enough to be under the influence of some evil spirit that out of malice prevented the transformation. The Indian women were especially proud of the legend attributing the origin of the maize to the frightened maiden fleeing from her lover, and it was told to their daughters very often and with many extravagant embellishments.

THE FIRST WINTER, Page 55.--The Indians were taught never to speak ill of any of the celestial bodies or of the works of nature. They must never complain of the glare and heat of the sun, lest they be stricken blind; nor must they complain of the clouds for fear that they might be shut up in caves in the mountains where no light could enter. The moon must be treated with the same respect and consideration, for those who said aught against her were in imminent danger of death by a fall of rocks from the sky. The most severe storms of wind, snow, frost or hail must be treated only with great respect. Those who complained about them were by this act unarmed and could not resist their attacks and rigors. In fact, they were taught to "take the bitter with the sweet" without making wry faces. This training through long generations rendered the race cold and stoical, apparently indifferent to suffering. They probably suffered the same as others, but they bore it without a sign. This legend was a very common one and was frequently told the young in order that the lesson might be deeply impressed upon them that they should never set themselves up in opposition to the Great Spirit or complain of the enforcement of his laws.

THE STORY OF ONIATA, Page 63.--Cornplanter held that there were many traditions among the Indians that in one way or another mentioned persons who were described as white; and this, too, long before the coming of the Europeans. One tradition was to the effect that thousands of years ago, away off to the southwest, there was a tribe of Indians in which were born several children who were made "like the Great Spirit, with faces as the sun." They were said to be very proud of the distinction and also to have been great warriors. They were believed to have wandered to the south and finally to have been lost in the mountains. After the coming of the Europeans this tradition was revived, and the ever-ready imagination of the Indians added a sequel to the disappearance of the "white Indians." They said the whites had gone across the bitter lake (the ocean) and founded the nations of the palefaces and were now returning to conquer and subdue their forefathers. It was Cornplanter's belief that this was the older continent and that the Indian was nearest the original creation. He did not believe these traditional white people were as white as the English. They possessed all the Indian features, he said, but had light-colored skins and light hair.

Since this volume was made ready for publication the author found in a Western newspaper an account of the return from New Mexico of a Mr. Williamson, who had been spending some months in an out-of-the-way place in that territory among the Moqui Indians. Mr. Williamson told an interesting story about a family of that tribe the members of which are white. He saw these people and asserts there is no doubt as to their color. He also says they are without doubt pure Indians and that they have none of the characteristics of the Albinos often seen among the Negroes. The family is known far and wide among the Indians themselves, but as their place of residence is some distance from the usual routes traveled by white men, they are rarely seen by others than the race to which they belong. The Indians look upon them as something holier than the rest of the tribe, and hence do not talk about them to outsiders. The narrator stated that the head man of the family says that there is a tradition among them that they originally came from the north and settled among the Moqui people, where they have been so long that they have lost all knowledge of the northern tribe and were not certain that they now spoke the language of their progenitors. When any of the Moqui married into the family, their children were always white. This discovery, if true and there seems no reason for such a statement unless it be true is interesting in this connection and may be looked upon by some as a proof of the claim that about the year A. D. 400 a race of white people occupied the territory bordering the southern shores of the great lakes, and that they were driven away by red men who came from still further north. Of course this is speculation and will probably remain a mystery as long as the world stands.

THE BUZZARD'S COVERING, Page 77.--This legend regarding the buzzard's plumage was often told by the Indians to illustrate the failure of some one of their number to win success in marriage or upon the chase. "We wear the turkey buzzard's feathers," said one of the Sioux chiefs a few years ago when making complaint to a Congressional committee. Few of those who heard him understood the metaphor and the supposition was that he referred to the plainness of his clothing compared with that of the politicians who met him. This expression coming from a Sioux chief proves that at least some of the legends common among the Iroquois centuries ago can be traced among the tribes of the West at the present time. A white man to convey the same meaning would say, "We have the worst end of the bargain," or, "We have only a crooked stick at last."

ORIGIN OF THE VIOLET, Page 81.--The Indian term for the violet is "heads entangled." This is not one of the legends told by Cornplanter. It was told the author by a Seneca Indian named Simon Blackchief. Afterwards the authenticity of the legend was confirmed by inquiries among other members of the Seneca Nation.

THE TURTLE CLAN, Page 85.--Of the various clans existing among the Iroquois the Turtle was probably the most respected. The families belonging to the Turtles were in reality the Freemasons of those days and to them were accorded the highest honors. At the council-fires the wisdom of the Turtles was displayed in counselling unity of action. Their opinions were almost always accepted without discussion.

THE HEALING WATERS, Page 89.--The Indians possessed for many years a knowledge of the curative properties of the mineral springs of this country and held the waters in the highest veneration. Their faith in them was so great that some did not hesitate to declare that the waters would cure all ills. Another spring that they held in high reverence was an oil spring situated in Allegany County, New York State, near the Pennsylvania line. The water of this spring is covered with a thick substance that was formerly collected by the Indians by conducting the water into pools and skimming the surface with flat stones or the branches of trees. The oil thus collected was used to mix with various substances to form war-paint, but more especially as a healing salve for various wounds. The Indians knew of its existence for many centuries, and there were few days in summer when bands of Indians were not in that vicinity gathering the oil, which they evaporated by exposure to the sun and then stored in raw-hide or earthen vessels for future use. Years ago the spring and a plot of ground one mile square was set aside as a reservation, and it is still held as such. A curious fact in this connection is that the oil from the spring was vaseline in its crude state, and the same substance is now extensively secured from petroleum oil wells in that vicinity.

THE MESSAGE BEARERS, Page 119.--The belief of the Indians that the echoes they heard among the mountains and forests were spirits who repeated from one to another the words spoken by the men and women until the words reached Heaven itself, is almost too beautiful to be destroyed by the cold facts of science. There is something about their theory that appeals very strongly to all and makes us wish that we, like the Indians of a thousand years ago, could believe that our prayers, if spoken boldly, would be caught from our lips by waiting and listening spirits and carried to "the tent of the Great Spirit."