JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 55 
yet not cumbrous dress, the dignified, noble bearing of their chief, 
and more than all, the modest demeanor of the young warriors of the 
Iroquois party, won the admiration of all beholders. They brought 
no arms. Each one bore a bat, used to throw or strike the ball, 
tastefully ornamented, being a hickory stick about five feet long, bent 
over at the end, and a thong netting woven into the bow. 
After a day of refreshment, all things were ready for the contest. 
The chief of the Iroquois brought forward and deposited upon the 
ground a large pile of costly belts of wampum, beautifully orna- 
mented moccasins, rich beaver robes, and other articles of great 
value in the eyes of the Indians, as the stake and wager on the part 
of his people. These were carefully matched, article by article, by 
the chief of the Eries—were won by the Iroquois, who bore off their 
prize in triumph. ‘Thus ended the day. 
The Iroquois having now accomplished the object of their visit, 
proposed to take their leave, but the chief of the Eries, addressing 
himself to the leader, said, their young men, though fairly beaten in 
the game of ball, would not be satisfied unless they could have a 
foot race, and proposed to match ten of their number against an 
equal number of the Iroquois party, which was assented to, and the 
Iroquois were again victorious. 
The Kaw-Kaws, who resided at twenty-mile creek (Jordan) being 
present as friends of the Eries and umpires of the games, invited the 
Iroquois to visit them before they returned home, and thither the 
whole company repaired. The chief of the Eries evidently dissatis- 
fied with the result of the several contests already decided, as a last 
and final test of the courage and prowess of his guests, proposed to 
select twelve men to be matched by the same number to be selected 
from the Iroquois party to wrestle, and that the victor should des- 
patch his adversary on the spot by braining him with a tomahawk, 
bearing off his scalp as a trophy. This proposal was not at all agreeable 
to the Iroquois. They, however, agreed to accept the challenge with 
the determination—should they again be victorious—not to execute 
the bloody part of the proposal. The champions were accordingly 
chosen. A Seneca was the first to step into the ring, and threw his 
adversary among the ringing shouts of the multitude. He stepped 
back and declined to execute his victim who lay passive at his feet. 
As quick as thought, the chief of the Eries seized the tomahawk and 
