While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
"Listen further to what the Great Spirit
has been pleased to communicate to us. He
has made us, as a race, separate and
distinct from the pale faces. It is a great
sin to intermarry and intermingle the blood
of the two races. Let none be guilty of this
transgression.
"At one time the four messengers said to Handsomelake,
'Lest the people should disbelieve you and not repent and
forsake their evil ways, we will now disclose to you the house
of torment, the dwelling place of the evil-minded.' Handsomelake
was particular in describing to us all that he witnessed, and
the course which departed spirits were accustomed to take on
leaving the earth. There was a road which led upward; at a
certain point it branched; one branch led straight forward to
the house of the Great Spirit, and the other turned aside to the
house of torment; at the place where the roads separated were
stationed two keepers, one representing the good and the other
the evil spirit; when a person reached the fork, if wicked, by a
motion of the evil keeper, he turned instinctively upon the road
which led to the abode of the evil-minded; but if virtuous and
good, the other keeper directed him upon the straight road; the
latter was not much traveled, while the former was so frequently
trodden that no grass could grow in the pathway. It sometimes
happens that the keepers have great difficulty in deciding which
path the person should take, when the good and bad actions of
the individual were nearly balanced. Those sent to the house of
torment sometimes remain one day, (which is one year with us);
some for a longer period. After they have atoned for their sins
they pass to heaven; but when they have committed either of the
great sins, (witchcraft, murder, or infanticide), they never
pass to heaven, but are tormented forever. Having conducted
Handsomelake to this place, he saw a large dark-colored mansion,
covered with soot, and beside it stood a lesser one. One of the
four then held out his rod, and the top of the house moved up
until they could look down upon all that was within. He saw many
rooms. The first object which met his eyes was a haggard-looking
man, his sunken eyes cast upon the ground, and his form half
consumed by the torments he had undergone. This man was a
drunkard. The evil-minded then appeared and called him by name.
As the man obeyed his call, he dipped from a caldron a quantity
of red- hot liquid and commanded him to drink it, as it was an
article he loved. The man did as he was commanded, and
immediately from his mouth issued a stream of blaze. He cried in
vain for help. The tormentor then requested him to sing and make
himself merry as he had done while on earth, after drinking the
firewater. Let drunkards take warning from
this. Others were then summoned. There came before him two
persons who appeared to be husband and wife. He told them to
exercise the privilege they were so fond of while on earth. They
immediately commenced a quarrel of words. They raged at each
other with such violence that their tongues and eyes ran out so
far they could neither see nor speak. This, said they, is the
punishment of quarrelsome and disputing husbands and wives. Let
such also take warning, and lie together in peace and harmony.
Next he called up a woman who had been a witch. First he plunged
her into a caldron of boiling liquid. In her cries of distress
she begged the evil-minded to give her some cooler place. He
then immersed her into one containing liquid at the point of
freezing. Her cries were then that she was too cold. This woman,
said the four messengers, shall always be tormented in this
manner. He proceeded to mention the punishment which awaits all
those who cruelly ill-treat their wives. The evil-minded next
called up a man who had been accustomed to beat his wife. Having
led him up to a red-hot statue of a woman, he directed him to do
that which he was fond of while upon earth. He obeyed, and
struck the figure. The sparks flew in every direction, and by
the contact his arm was consumed. Such is the punishment, they
said, awaiting those who ill-treat their wives. From this take
seasonable warning. He looked again and saw a woman, whose arms
and hands were nothing but bones. She had sold firewater to the
Indians, and the flesh was eaten from her hands and arms. This,
they said, would be the fate of rum-sellers. Again he looked,
and in one apartment saw and recognized Ho-ne-ya-wus (farmer's
brother), his former friend. He was engaged in removing a heap
of sand, grain by grain, and although he labored continually,
yet the heap was not diminished. This, they said, was the
punishment of those who sold land. Adjacent to the house of
torment was a field of corn filled with weeds. He saw a woman in
the act of cutting them down, but as fast as this was done they
grew up again. This, they said, was the punishment of lazy
women. It would be proper and right, had we time, to tell more
of this place of punishment, but my time is limited and must
pass to other things.
"The Creator made men dependent upon each other. He
made them sociable beings: therefore, when your neighbors visit
you set food before them. If it be your next door neighbor, you
must give him to eat. He will partake and thank you."
"Again they said, 'You must not steal.' Should you want for
anything necessary, you have only to tell your wants and they
will be supplied. This is right. Let none ever steal anything.
Children are often tempted to take things home which do not
belong to them. Let parents instruct their children in this
rule.
"Many of our people live to a very old age. Your
Creator says that your deportment toward them must be that of
reverence and affection. They have seen and felt much of the
miseries and pains of earth. Be always kind to them when old and
helpless. Wash their hands and face and nurse them with care.
This is the will of the Great Spirit.
"It has been the custom among us to mourn for the dead
one year. This custom is wrong. As it causes the death of many
children, it must be abandoned. Ten days mourn for the dead, and
not longer. When one dies, it is right and proper to make an
address over the body, telling how much you loved the deceased.
Great respect for the dead must be observed among us.
"At another time the four messengers said to
Handsomelake that they would show him the destroyer of Villages
(Washington), of whom you have so often heard. Upon the road
leading to heaven he could see a light, far away in the
distance, moving to and fro. Its brightness far exceeded the
brilliancy of the noonday sun. They told him the journey was as
follows: First they came to a cold spring, which was a resting
place; from this point they proceeded into pleasant fairy
grounds, which spread away in every direction: soon they reached
heaven; the light was dazzling: berries of every description
grew in vast abundance: the size and quality were such that a
single berry was more than sufficient to appease the appetite: a
sweet fragrance perfumed the air; fruits of every kind met the
eye. The inmates of this celestial abode spent their time in
amusement and repose. No evil could enter there. None in heaven
ever transgress again: families are reunited and dwell together
in harmony: they possessed a bodily form, the senses and the
remembrance of earthly life; but no white man ever enters
heaven. Thus they said. He looked and saw an enclosure upon a
plain, just without the entrance of heaven. Within it was a
fort. Here he saw the 'destroyer of villages,' walking to and
fro within the enclosure. His countenance indicated a great and
good man. They said to Handsomelake, 'The man you see is the
only pale face that ever left the earth; he was kind to you when
on the settlement of the great difficulty between the Americans
and the Great Crown (Great Britain), you were abandoned to the
mercy of your enemies. The Crown told the great American that as
for his allies, the Indians, he might kill them if he liked. The
great American judged that this would be cruel and unjust; he
believed they were made by the Great Spirit, and were entitled
to the enjoyments of life; he was kind to you and extended over
you his protection: for this reason he has been allowed to leave
the earth. But he is never permitted to go into the presence of
the Great Spirit. Although alone, he is perfectly happy. All
faithful Indians pass by him as they go to heaven. They see him
and recognize him, but pass on in silence. No words ever pass
his lips.
"Friends and relatives, it was by the influence of this
great man that we were spared as a people, and yet live. Had he
not granted as his protection, where would we have been?
Perished all perished.
"The four messengers further said to Handsomelake that
they were fearful that unless the people repent and obey his
commands, the forbearance and patience of the Creator would be
exhausted; that He would grow angry with them and cause their
increase to cease.
"Our Creator, made light and darkness; He made the sun
to heat and shine over the world; He made the moon, also, to
shine by night and to cool the world, if the sun make it too hot
by day. The keeper of the clouds, by direction of the Great
Spirit, will then cease to act. The keeper of the springs and
running brooks will cease to rule them for the good of man. The
sun will cease to fulfill its office. Total darkness will then
cover the earth. A great smoke will rise and spread over the
face of the earth. Then will come out of it all monsters and
poisonous animals created by the evil-minded, and they, with the
wicked upon the earth, will perish together.
"But before this dreadful time shall come, the Great
Spirit will take home to Himself all the good and faithful. They
will lay themselves down to sleep, and from this sleep of death
they will arise and go home to their Creator. Thus they said.
"I have done. I close thus, that you may remember and understand
the fate which awaits the earth, the unfaithful and the
unbelieving. Our Creator looks down upon us. The four Beings
from above see us. They witness with pleasure this assemblage,
and rejoice at the object for which it is gathered. It is now
forty-eight years since we first began to listen to the renewed
will of our Creator. I have been unable, during the time
allotted to me, to rehearse all the savings of Ga-ne-o-di-yo (Handsomelake);
I regret very much that you cannot hear them all.
"Counselors, warriors, women and children, I have done.
I thank you all for your attendance, and for your kind and
patient attention. May the Great Spirit, who rules all things,
watch over and protect you from every harm and danger while you
travel the journey of life. May the Great Spirit bless all, and
bestow upon you life health, peace and prosperity: and may you
in turn appreciate His great goodness. This is all."
Sketches of an Iroquois Council, or Condolence.
In giving the description of the condolence, I have
chosen the following writings of Mr. G. S. Riley, of Rochester,
to-wit:
A grand council of the confederate Iroquois was held
October 1, 1845, at the Indian council house, on the Tonawanda
reservation, in the county of Genesee. Its proceedings occupied
three days. It embraced representatives from all the six nations
the Mohawk, the Onondaga, the Seneca, the Oneida, the Cayuga,
and the Tuscarora. It is the only one of the kind which has been
held for a number of years, and is probably the last which will
ever be assembled with a full representation of the confederate
nations.
The Indians from abroad arrived at the council-grounds,
or the immediate vicinity, two days previous, and one of the
most interesting spectacles of the occasion was the entry of the
different nations upon the domain and hospitality of the Senecas,
on whose grounds the council was to be held. The representation
of the Mohawks, coming as they did from Canada, was necessarily
small. The Onondagas, with acting Todotahhoh, of the
confederacy, and his two counselors, made an exceedingly
creditable appearance. Nor was the array of the Tuscaroras, in
point of numbers, at least, deficient in attractive and
improving features.
We called upon and were presented to Black Smith, the
most influential and authoritative of the Seneca sachems. He is
about sixty years old, is somewhat portly, is easy enough in his
manners, and is well disposed, and even kindly towards all who
convinced him that they have no sinister designs in coming among
his people.
Jemmy Johnson is the great high priest of the
confederacy. Though now sixty-nine years old, he is yet an
erect, fine-looking and energetic Indian, and is hospitable and
intelligent. He is in possession of the medal presented by
Washington to Red Jacket in 1792, which, among other things of
interest, he showed us.
It would be incompatible with the present purpose to
describe all the interesting men who were assembled, among whom
were Captain Frost, Messrs. Le Fort, Hill, John Jacket, Dr.
Wilson and others. We spent much of the time during the week in
conversation with the chiefs and most intelligent Indians of the
different nations, and gleaned from them much information of the
highest interest, in relation to the organization, government,
laws, religion and customs of the people and characteristics of
the great men of the old and once powerful confederacy. It is a
singular fact, that the peculiar government and national
characteristics of the Iroquois is a most interesting field of
research and inquiry, which has never been very thoroughly, if
at all, investigated, although the historic events which marked
the proud career of the confederacy have been perseveringly
sought and treasured up in the writings of Stone, Schoolcraft,
Hosmer, Yates and others.
Many of the Indians speak English readily, but with the aid and
interpretations of Mr. Ely S. Parker, a young Seneca of no
ordinary degree of attainment in both scholarship and general
intelligence, and who, with Le Fort, the Onondaga, is well
versed in old Iroquois matters, we had no difficulty in
conversing with any and all we chose to.
About midday on Wednesday, October 1, the council
commenced. The ceremonies with which it was opened and conducted
were certainly unique almost indescribable; and as its
proceedings were in the Seneca tongue, they were in a great
measure unintelligible, and in fact, profoundly mysterious to
the pale faces. One of the chief objects for which the council
had been convoked, was to fill two vacancies in the Sachems of
the Senecas, which had been made by the death of the former
incumbents; and preceding the installation of the candidates for
the succession there was a general and dolorous lament for the
deceased Sachems, the utterance of which, together with the
repetition of the laws of the confederacy, the installation of
the new Sachems, the impeachment and disposition of three
unfaithful Sachems, the elevation of others in their stead, and
the performance of the various ceremonies attendant upon these
proceedings, consumed the principal part of the afternoon.
At the setting of the sun a bountiful repast,
consisting of an innumerable number of rather formidable looking
chunks of boiled fresh beef, and abundance of bread and
succotash, was brought into the council house. The manner of
saying grace on this occasion was indeed peculiar. A kettle
being brought, hot and smoking from the fire, and placed in the
center of the council house, there proceeded from a single
person, in a high shrill key, a prolonged and monotonous sound,
resembling that of the syllable wah or yah . This was
immediately followed by a responsive but protracted tone, the
syllable whe or swe , and this concluded grace. It was
impossible not to be somewhat mirthfully affected at the first
hearing of grace said in this novel manner. It is, however,
pleasurable to reflect that the Indians recognize the duty of
rendering thanks to the Divine Being in some formal way for the
bounties and enjoyments which He bestows; and, were an Indian to
attend a public feast among his pace faced brethren, he would be
affected perhaps to a greater degree of marvel at witnessing a
total neglect of this ceremony than we were at his singular way
of performing it.
After supper commenced the dances. All day Tuesday and on
Wednesday, up to the time that the places of the deceased
Sachems had been filled, everything like undue joyfulness had
been restrained. This was required by the respect customarily
due to the distinguished dead. But now the bereaved Sachems
being again filled, all were to give utterance of gladness and
joy. A short speech by Capt. Frost, introductory to the
enjoyments of the evening, was received with acclamatory
approbation, and soon eighty or ninety of these sons and
daughters of the forest the old men and the young, the maidens
and the matrons were engaged in the dance. It was indeed a rare
sight.
Only two varieties of dancing were introduced the first
evening, the trotting dance and the fish dance. The figures of
either are exceedingly simple, and but slightly different from
each other. In the first named, the dancers all move round a
circle in a single file, keeping time in a sort of trotting step
to an Indian song of yo-ho-ha, or yo-ho-ha-ha-ho, as sung by the
leader, or occasionally by all conjoined. In the other, there is
the same movement in single file round a circle, but every two
persons, a man and a woman, or two men, face each other, the one
moving forward, the other backward, and all keeping step to the
music of the singers, who are now, however, aided by a couple of
tortoise or turtle shell rattlers, or an aboriginal drum. At
regular intervals there is a sort of cadence in the music,
during which a change of position by all the couples takes
place, the one who had been moving backward taking the place of
the one moving forward, when all again move onward, one-half of
the whole, of course, being obliged to follow on by dancing
backwards.
One peculiarity in Indian dancing would probably
strongly commend itself to that class among pale faced beau and
belles denominated bashful; though, perhaps, it would not suit
others as well. The men, or a number of them, usually begin the
dance alone, and the women, or each of them, selecting the one
with whom she would like to dance, presents herself at his side
as he approaches and is immediately received into the circle.
Consequently, the young Indian beau knows nothing of the tact
required to handsomely invite and gallantly lead a lady to the
dance; and the young Indian maiden, unannoyed by obnoxious
offers, at her own convenience, gracefully presents her
personage to the one she designs to favor, and thus quietly
engages herself in the dance. And moreover, while an Indian beau
is not necessarily obliged to exhibit any gallantry as towards a
belle till she has herself manifested her own good pleasure in
the matter; so, therefore, the belle cannot indulge herself in
vascilant flirtations with any considerable number of beaux
without being at once detected.
On Thursday the religious ceremonies commenced, and the
council from the time it assembled, which was about 11 o'clock
A. M., till 3 or 4 o'clock P. M., gave the most serious
attention to the preaching of Jimmy Johnson, the great high
priest, and the second in the succession under the new
revelation. Though there are some evangelical believers among
the Indians, the greater portion of them cherish the religion of
their fathers. This, as they say, has been somewhat changed by
the new revelation, which the Great Spirit made to one of their
prophets about forty-seven years ago, and which, as they also
believe, was approved by Washington.
The profound regard and eneration which the Indians
have ever retained towards the name and memory of Washington is
most interesting evidence of his universally appreciated worth,
and the fact that the red men regard him not merely as one of
the best, but as the very best man that ever has existed, or
that will ever exist, is beautifully illustrated in a singular
credence which they maintain even to this day, namely, that
Washington, is the only white man who has ever entered heaven
and is the only one who will enter there till the end of the
world.
Among the Seneca public religious exercises takes place
but once a year. At these times Jimmy Johnson preaches hour
after hour for three days, and then rests from any public charge
of ecclesiastical offices the remaining three hundred and
sixty-two days of the year. On this, an unusual occasion, he
restricted himself to a few hours in each of the last two days
of the council. We were told by young Parker, who took notes of
his preaching, that his subject matter on Thursday abounded in
good teachings, enforced by appropriate and happy illustrations
and striking imagery. After he had finished the council took a
short respite. Soon, however, a company of warriors, ready and
eager to engage in the celebrated corn dance, made their
appearance. They were differently attired. While some were
completely enveloped in a closely-fitting and gaudy-colored
garb, others, though perhaps without intending it, had made
wonderfully close approaches to an imitation of the costume said
to have been so fashionable in many parts of the State of
Georgia during the last hot summer, and which is also said to
have consisted simply of a shirt collar and a pair of spurs.
But, in truth, these warriors, with shoulders and limbs in a
state of nudity, with faces be streaked with paints, with
jingling trinkets dangling to their knees, and with feathered
war caps waving above them, presented a truly picturesque and
romantic appearance. When the center of the council house had
been cleared and the musicians with the shell rattlers had taken
their places, the dance commenced, and for an hour and a half
perhaps two hours it proceeded with surprising spirit and
energy. Almost every posture of which the human frame is
susceptible, without absolutely making the feet uppermost and
the head for once to assume the place of the feet, was
exhibited. Some of the attitudes of the dancers were really
imposing, and the dance as a whole, could be got up and
conducted only by Indians. The women, in the performance of the
corn dance are quite by themselves, keeping time to the beat of
the shells and gliding along sideways, without scarcely lifting
their feet from the floor.
It would probably be well if the Indian everywhere
could be inclined to refrain at least from the more grotesque
and boisterous peculiarities of the dance. The influence of
these cannot be productive of any good, and it is questionable
whether it will be possible, so long as they are retained, to
assimilate them to any greater degree of civilization, or to
more refined methods of living and enjoyment than they now
possess. The same may be said of certain characteristics of the
still more Vandalic war dance. This, however, was not introduced
at the council.
A part of the proceedings of Friday, the last day of
the council, bore resemblance to those of the preceding day.
Jimmy Johnson resumed his preaching, at the close of which the
corn dance was again performed, though with far more spirit and
enthusiasm than at the first. Double the numbers that then
appeared, all hardy and sinewy men, attired in original and
fantastic style, among whom was one of the chiefs of the
confederacy, together with forty or fifty women of the different
nations, now engaged, and for more than two hours persevered in
the performance of the various complicated and fatiguing
movement of this dance. The appearance of the dusty throng, with
its increased numbers, and of course proportionally increased
resources for the production of shrill whoops and noisy
stamping, and for the exhibition of striking attitudes and
rampant motions, was altogether strange, wonderful and seemingly
superhuman.
After the dance had ceased, another kind of sport a
well contested foot race claimed attention. In the evening,
after another supper in the council house, the more social
dances the trotting, the fish, and one in which the women alone
participated were resumed. The fish dance seemed to be the
favorite, and being invited to join in by one of the
chiefs, we at once accepted the invitation, and followed in
mirthful chase of pleasure with a hundred forest children.
Occasionally the dances are characterized with ebullitions of
merriment and flashes of real fun, but generally a singular
sobriety and decorum are observed. Frequently, when gazing at a
throng of sixty or perhaps one hundred dancers, we have been
scarcely able to decide which was the most remarkable, the staid
and imperturbable gravity of the old men and women, or the
complete absence of levity and frolicsomeness in the young.
The social dances of the evening, with occasional
speeches from the sachems and chiefs, were the final and
concluding ceremonies of this singular but interesting affair.
Saturday morning witnessed the separation of the various nations
and the departure of each to their respective homes.
The writer would liked to have said a word or two or
relation to the present condition and prospects of the Indians,
but the original design in regard to both the topics and brevity
of this writing having been already greatly transcended, it must
be deferred. The once powerful confederacy of the Six Nations,
occupying in its palmy days the greater portion of New York
State, now number only a little over 3,000. Even this remnant
will soon be gone. In view of this, as well as of the known fact
that the Indian race is everywhere gradually diminishing in
numbers, the writer cannot close without invoking for this
unfortunate people renewed kindliness, sympathy and benevolent
attention. It is true, that with some few exceptions, they
possess habits and characteristics which render them difficult
to approach; but still, they are only what the creator of us all
has made them. And let it be remembered, it must be a large
measure of kindliness and benevolence that will repay the
injustice and wrongs that have been inflicted upon them.
This site
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Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations and History of the Tuscarora Indians
