Tooker] 



ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE HURON 17 



THE IROQUOIS LEAGUE** 



The Huron were on friendly terms with all Iroquoian-speaking 

 groups except the Iroquois ( JR 8 : 115). The Iroquois, also enemies 

 of the Algonquin, Montagnais, and French, were a confederacy of 

 six {JR21:2iy'>orfLV& (JK IT: 77; 21: 201; 33: 65, Yl) nations. 



Seventy leagues south-southeast of Huronia ( JR 33 : 65) and a day's 

 journey from the last Neutral villages on the east side of the Onguia- 

 ahra [Niagara] River, in an area also called by that name ( JR 21 : 

 209-211) (for a mention of Niagara Falls see JR 33: 63), lived the 

 nearest and most-feared Iroquois nation, the Seneca [Sonontrerrhon- 

 ons (JR 8: 69), Senontouerhonons (JR 17: 111), Sonontwehronons 

 (JR 21: 209), Santweronons (JR 24: 271), Sonontwaeronons (JR 

 28 : 275) , Sonnontoueronnons ( JR 33 : 65) , its chief town being Sonon- 

 toen ( JR 8 : 117) , Sonontouan ( JR 14 : 39) , Sonnontouan ( JR 29 : 253 ; 

 33:95)]. 



The antagonism between the Huron and Seneca continued for 

 the period that the Jesuits lived in Huronia. In the spring of 1634 

 before the Jesuits arrived, the Huron suffered great losses and defeat 

 at the hands of the Seneca (JR 8: 69, 115). Representatives of the 

 Huron went to Sonontoen [chief town of the Seneca] to confirm the 

 peace, a treaty in which the other four nations of the Iroquois league 

 also wished to participate (JR 8: 117). The Seneca were equal or 

 slightly greater in number than the Huron ^° and although for a 

 time the Huron had the upper hand, this nation of Iroquois finally 

 gained superiority in both number and strength ( JR 7 : 225 ; 24 : 271) . 



a confederacy of several tribes and as only one or two of these tribes are mentioned 

 by the Jesuits, it is possible that this is the name of a Huron tribe. 



The history and culture of the Neutrals, Eries, Susquehannas, and their possibly 

 allied tribes is not well known. The Europeans did not have much contact with them 

 and, after the defeat of the Huron, when they threatened to form an alliance (Fenton 

 1940 d : 188), the Iroquois systematically conquered them. The Iroquois first attacked the 

 Neutrals, defeating them in 1651 ; then, the Erie, subjugating them in a series of attacks 

 beginning in 1654 and lasting for 2 more years ; and finally, the Susquehanna, defeating 

 them in 1675. (Hewitt, 1910 d : 657-658, says that the Scahentoarrhonons were de- 

 stroyed by the Iroquois in 1652.) The geographic position of the Susquehanna, which 

 permitted them to trade with the Europeans on the Delaware Bay, probably allowed them 

 to hold off the Iroquois for a longer time than could the other Iroquoians, for they obtained 

 firearms from the Swedes and Dutch (Fenton 1940 d : 237). 



1' The Jesuits accurately portray, as this section indicates, the Iroquois League 

 as composed of five tribes extending across much of the present upstate New York : from 

 west to east, these tribes were the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk. The 

 Iroquois characterization of their league as a longhouse indicates the roles of the several 

 tribes in its organization. The Mohawk kept the eastern door of the league and were 

 important in dealing with the Dutch, and later the English, at Albany. The Seneca, 

 keepers of the western door, were important in quelling the aspirations of groups to the 

 west who wished to establish their own empires. The Onondaga, between the Mohawk 

 and Oneida on the east and the Seneca and Cayuga on the west, served as lawmakers and 

 arbitrators. The two tribes between these three, the Oneida sandwiched between the 

 Mohawk and Onondaga and the Cayuga between the Seneca and Onondaga, had lesser 

 importance in the League. 



" The statement that the Iroquois League was a confederacy of six tribes is probably 

 an error. 



so The Jesuits probably exaggerated the number of Seneca. 



