50 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 190 



meeting, sent invitations to the council, to as many persons of each 

 village as he wished. These invitations were taken by messengers, 

 usually young men who had volunteered. Sometimes an old man was 

 the messenger in order that the summons be more efficacious; the 

 Indians did not always trust the young people. The summons was 

 a request, not a command. These messengers told the chief of the 

 village or, in his absence, the next in authority, the day on which 

 the council was to be held ( JR 10 : 253-255) . 



When each man arrived at the meeting, he took a seat near those of 

 his village or nation, so that he could consult with them ( JR 10 : 255) . 

 For example, in one such council consisting of three nations and the 

 Jesuits, the Bear Nation sat along one side of the house, the Jesuits 

 in the middle of the same side, and the two other nations, each with four 

 very populous villages, on the other side ( JR 15 : 39) . If someone was 

 absent, the matter was discussed to a.scertain if the meeting should be- 

 gin. If they decided to hold the council, it was opened, but not always 

 by the leaders : difficulty in speaking, unwillingness, or even dignity 

 might dispose these men against talking first. First, greetings were 

 said, thanks for the trouble taken in coming, and thanksgivings for a 

 safe arrival, that everyone arrived without accident, that no one had 

 been surprised by enemies, had fallen into a stream or river, or had 

 been injured ( JR 10 : 255) . Also as a part of the introduction, a cake 

 of tobacco in a dish might be distributed to the more prominent mem- 

 bers present. The Indians never spoke of business nor came to any 

 conclusion without having a pipe in their mouths ; they said the smoke 

 went to their brains and gave them enlightenment on their difficulties 

 ( JR 10 : 219 ; 15 : 27) . Then, the matter to be discussed was brought 

 up (JR 10: 255-257). 



As all affairs of importance were conducted by means of presents, 

 and because wampum was valuable and all-powerful, it might be 

 given in a council meeting. In one instance, when giving a collar of 

 1,200 beads of wampum, the Jesuits said it was to smooth the difficulties 

 of the road to Paradise, employing the customary phrase when pres- 

 ents were made in connection with some difficult enterprise ( JR 10 : 

 29). 



After the subject of the meeting had been presented, each nation or 

 village consulted among themselves to decide what they would reply. 

 Then, they gave their answer. The manner of speaking in councils 

 differed from ordinary speech and had a different name {acwen- 

 tonch) : in it, the voice was raised and quavered. A speaker spoke 

 slowly, decidedly, and distinctly, and often repeated the same reason 

 several times. Before he gave advice, he summarized the proposition 

 and all the other considerations brought forward. Some words were 

 used only in these speeches, and metaphors, various circumlocutions, 



