[SCOTT] CONFEDERACY OF THE SIX NATIONS 229 
of your people and others, and I now place the power in your hands 
to add to the rules and regulations whenever necessary and I now charge 
you each of you Lords that you must never seriously disagree among 
yourselves. You are all of equal standing and of equal power, and if 
you seriously disagree the consequences will be most serious and this 
disagreement will cause you to disregard each other, and while vou are 
quarrelling with each other, the White Lion, (The Fire dragon of dis- 
cord) will come and take your rights and privileges away, then your 
grandchildren will suffer and be reduced to poverty and disgrace. 
Then he (De-ka-nah-wi-deh) continued and said, If this should 
ever occur, then some one, whoever can, will climb a Great tree (Skarenh- 
hehsegowah) and ascend to the top and will look around over the land- 
scape, and will see if there is any way or place to escape to from the 
calamity of the threatening poverty and disgrace, so that our children 
may have a home where they may have peace and happiness in their 
day. And if it so occurs that he cannot see any way or place to escape 
the calamity he will then descend the tree. You will then look for a 
great swamp-elm tree (A-ka-rah-ji-ko-wah) and when you have found 
one with great large roots extending outwards and bracing outwards 
from the trunk there you will gather your heads together. 
Then De-ka-nah-wi-deh continued and said, It will be hard, and 
your grandchildren will suffer hardship. And if it should so occur 
that the heads of the people of the Confederacy should roll and wander 
away Westward, whenever such thing will come to pass, other 
Nations shall see your heads rolling and wandering away, and they 
shall say to them, You belong to the Confederacy, you were a proud and 
haughty people once, and then they shall kick the heads with scorn, and 
they will go on their way and before they shall have gone far they shall 
vomit up blood, (meaning that the Confederacy shall still have power 
enough to avenge and will avenge the injury done to its members). 
Then De-ka-nah-wi-deh further said, There shall be another 
serious trouble, that is, whenever a person or persons of other Nations 
shall cut or hack any of these four great roots which grow from the 
Great tree which we have planted and one of the roots of which shoots 
to the North and one to the South and one to the East and one to the 
West. Whenever such thing happens then shall great trouble come 
into the seat of your Lords of the Confederacy. 
Then De-ka-nah-wi-deh said, I shall now therefore charge each 
of you Lords, that your skin must be of the thickness of seven spreads 
of the hands (from end of thumb to the end of great finger) so that no 
matter how sharp a cutting instrument may be used it will not penetrate 
through the thickness of your skin. The meaning of the great thick- 
ness of your skins is patience and forbearance, that no matter what 
