Moo.NEY] THK IROQUOIS WAKS 355 



chief and his family were at work in their corMfield, and his danofhter 

 had just gone up to the house for some reason when the Iroquois 

 entered and asked for something to eat. Seeing that he was a 

 stranger, she set out food for him according to the old custom of hos- 

 pitality. While he was eating her father, the chief, came in to see 

 what was delaj-ing her. and was surprised to find there one of the 

 hereditary enemies of his tribe. By this t'lnm the word had gone out 

 that an Iroquois was in the chief's house, and the men of the town 

 had left their work and seized their guns to kill him, but the chief 

 heard them coming and standing in the doorway kept them off, say- 

 ing: ''This man has come here on a peace mission, and before you kill 

 him you must first kill me." They finally listened to him, and allowed 

 the messenger to go out and bring his companions to the chief's house, 

 where thej- were all taken care of. 



When thej' were well rested after their long journey the chief of 

 Ta'likwa himself went with them to Itsa'ti, the capital, where lived the 

 gi'eat chief Agansta'ta, who was now the civil ruler of the Nation. 

 The chiefs of the varioas towns were summoned and a council was 

 held, at which the speaker for the Iroquois delegation delivered his 

 message and produced the wampum belts and pipes, which they 

 brought as proofs of their mission and had carried all the way in packs 

 upon their backs. 



He said that for three years his people had been wanting to make 

 peace. There was a spring of dark, cloudy water in their countrj^ and 

 thej' had covered it over for one j^ear and then looked, but the water 

 was still cloudy. Again they had covered it over, l)ut when the}'' 

 looked at the end of another year it was still dark and troubled. For 

 another year they had covered the spring, and this time when they 

 looked the water was clear and sparkling. Then they knew the time 

 had come, and they left home with their wampum belts to make peace 

 with their enemies. 



The friendly message was accepted by the Cherokee, and the l)elts 

 and other symbolic peace tokens were delivered over to their keeping. 

 Other belts in turn were probably given to the Iroquois, and after the 

 usual round of feasting and dancing the messengers returned to their 

 people in the north and the long war was at an end. 



For nearly a centui'v these symbolic records of the peace with the 

 Iroquois were preserved by the Cherokee, and were carried witii them 

 to the western territory when the tribe was finally driven from its old 

 home in 1838. They were then in the keeping of John Ross, principal 

 chief at the time of the removal, and were solemnly produced at a 

 great intertribal council held near Tahlequah, in the Indian Territory, 

 in June, 1843, when they were interpr(>t(>d Iiy the Cherokee speaker, 

 Gatuu'wa'li, " Hard-mush," who had seen them (lcli\-eicd to tiie chiefs of 

 his tribe at old Itsa'ti seventy years before. Wafi'ord was present on 

 this occasion and describes it. 



