58 RURAL NEW YORK 



The geographic situation of this Indian confed- 

 eracy was peculiarly strategic. It lay at the headwa- 

 ters of great rivers that flow to all points of the com- 

 pass. It is the setting for an empire and New York 

 seeks to live up to that standard of outlook, as is 

 indicated by its popular synonym " The Empire 

 State." In view of the limited means of travel, the 

 situation of the Iroquois gave them a distinct ad- 

 vantage in conflict with the neighboring tribes, all 

 of which tended to strengthen their confederacy and 

 to build up a high state of social and industrial de- 

 velopment. They probably acquired many useful 

 ideas and customs from the tribes with which they 

 had contact. 



In form of government, in the structure of their 

 houses and villages, and in their agricultural prac- 

 tices, the Iroquois had reached a high state of devel- 

 opment. They were composed originally of five 

 tribes — the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Caj'-ugas, 

 and the Senecas, situated in regions of which their 

 names are still indicative. Later, the Tuscaroras of 

 North Carolina were conquered and adopted into the 

 Confederacy, and occupied the region adjacent to the 

 Niagara Eiver, The tribal councils of sachems and 

 chiefs were assembled in inter-tribal conference at the 

 council house or castle in the Onondaga Valley. 

 They were bound together by recognized principles 

 of cooperation and the rudiments of democratic gov- 

 ernment in which female suffrage was recognized. 

 It is said that the early colonial assemblies in New 

 York that led ultimately to the Articles of Confedera- 



