332 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. XVI. No. 410 



quence of the pre-existing better nutrition, and hence readier 

 functional activity, of the left cerebral hemisphere. 



Joseph T. O'Connor, M.B. 



51 West 4"tli Street, New York, Dec. .3. 



Onondaga Folk-Lore. 



Until recently David Cusick's "History of the Six Nations" 

 was the chief treasury of Iroquois legends, though much could be 

 gathered from the writings of early missionaries and travellers. 

 These, however, paid more attention to customs of life. Of late 

 more cave has been given to the collection of stories, and with fair 

 results, but many old tales have been forgotten. Even so prom- 

 inent a legend as that of Hiawatha was unknown to the whites 

 fifty years ago, but it may not be very old among the Indians 

 themselves. As a frequent visitor to the New York Onondaga 

 Reservation, I have occasionally obtained some material of this 

 kind, part of which has been published, and can only regret not 

 doing this earlier. 



The Onoudagas have a strong belief in witches, and take pre- 

 cautions against them. A clear-headed and intelligent Indian told 

 me that he met a spirit one night, and described its appearance. 

 He took a good look at it, not being afraid, for, being a Christian, 

 he was sure no spirit could hurt him. Supposed witches are 

 avoided or placated, but are not now punished, though once they 

 ■were put to death. I have been in an unfathomed cave on the 

 '«ast side of the reservation, where, it is said, a witch was cut to 

 pieces, and thrown iato the rocky cleft, many years ago. 



Pygmies are supposed to live under ground, sometimes appear- 

 ing to men, and their old abode was pointed out to me. They are 

 the Che-kah-ha-wha, or Small People, of the Onondagas; the 

 Tah-ko nen us-yoks, or Stone Throwers, of the Mohawks; and the 

 Ehn-kwa-si-yea, or No Men at All, of the Tuscavoras. 



The tale of the vampire, which caused a change in the mode of 

 burial, was first published by David Cusick. The version given 

 me differs somewhat from this and that of Mrs. Erminnie A. 

 Smith. Leaving out the graphic details for another time, the 

 story may be briefly told. A man and his wife, with their father, 

 one night occapied a deserted cabin. As the fire went down, a 

 skeleton form appeared, killed the old man, and began gnawing 

 his body. This aroused the younger persons, and the skeleton 

 retreated when they stirred up the fire. By stratagem they es- 

 caped one at a time, but were soon pursued. Their friends came 

 to meet them when they heard their cries, and they were rescued. 

 The people assembled, found a skeleton in a bark coffin in the 

 house, resolved to burn it ; and out of the flames came a red fox, 

 which burst through their ranks, and disappeared in the forest. 



The story of 0-kwen-cha, or Red Paint, deals with the marvels 

 ■of magic, in which the boy proved powerful. He saved his grand- 

 mother by overcoming the great wrestler, and brought an uncle 

 to life. By destroying a giant he restored another uncle; and by 

 overcoming a wonderful dog, a third. The fourth uncle was de- 

 livered by a longer and curious trial, and he returned home with 

 them, to find his grandmother grown old. By an odd expedient 

 he restored her young looks, twisting a stick in the loose skin of 

 the back of the neck, until all the wrinkles were drawn out of her 

 face. I found a resemblance, in one part of this tale, to a Cana- 

 dian legend related by Mr. Chamberlain. Red Paint arranged the 

 scattered bones, and then pushed against a tree, crying, •' Look 

 out, look out ! this tree will fall upon you ! " The bones united, 

 jumped up, and ran away. In the Canadian story the boy shoots 

 an arrow in the air, with a similar exclamation and result. 



It is unlucky to shoot at the white sea-gull, the bird of the 

 clouds, or the one that never lights on the ground, for it dives in 

 the au', and the hunter misses his aim. If he does this twelve 

 times, on the thirteenth he will vomit all the blood from his body. 

 This is the bird which destroyed Hiawatha's daughter, and not the 

 -white heron. 



The Great Mosquito was an immense creature, and did much 

 liarm. One story relates that the Onondagas and Cayugas de- 

 stroyed him, but with much loss to themselves. Clark ascribes 

 the victory to Hiawatha, but the usual hero is the Holder of the 

 JHeavens. On the Tuscarora Reservation, near Lewiston, the stone 



is shown on which he rested, and the tracks of pursuer and pur- 

 sued were preserved near Syracuse, N.Y., until quite recently. 

 The bird-like prints of the monster's feet were described to me, 

 and the place of his death yet retains its early name. All the 

 stories agree in making the small mosquitoes originate in the de- 

 caying body. 



The Onondagas raise the old tobacco (N. rustiea), and it is used 

 for sacred purposes, though not restricted to them. When medi- 

 cinal plants are sought, a little tobacco is strewn around the first 

 one found, and it is left for good luck. A little bag of tobacco is 

 attached to the wooden false face, when this is left long unused, 

 and this still remains on the one I have. Tobacco was always 

 burned with the white dog. 



The False Faces form a society, somewhat like medicine-men, 

 and are supposed to have magic powers. The old masks are of 

 wood, and these are like those described one hundred and fifty 

 years ago. Green Pond, a little west of Jamesville, is one of the 

 reputed early resorts of the False Faces, their magic powers open- 

 ing the rocky walls. They still have feasts of their own, and 

 assist at others. 



I have been often asked whether the curious silver brooches 

 have any significance as emblems or charms. None at present, 

 certainly. Originally made by white men, their manufacture at 

 last passed into Indian hands, and they were used simply as orna- 

 ments. All my crosses had been worn by Pagans. I have many 

 forms of these brooches, but they are becoming rare. They are 

 circular, square, lyre-shaped, diamond -shaped, stars, single or dou- 

 ble armed crosses. Masonic emblems, combinations of hearts and 

 crowns, etc. Some persons have attached much mystery to these 

 double-armed crosses, as though they were antique and rare. I 

 have had a number from Onondaga Indians, who recently used 

 them Among many siU^er ornaments and brooches, I have had 

 and seen but one brass brooch. 



There are some wampum stories, and much that is curious in 

 its use. The Iroquois had no true wampum until the Dutch came, 

 but may have used colored sticks or quills. An Onondaga tale 

 makes Hiawatha's wampum of eagle-quills, and ascribes the in- 

 vention to him. He alone could call down the wampum bird. 



Some of the old feasts and games are yet retained. Both Seneca 

 and Onondaga snow-snakes are made, and much used ; a boy often 

 holding several in his hand, and throwing them one after another. 

 The boys also use the javelin a great deal ; and another favorite 

 game with children is mumble-the-peg. Their name for violets 

 signifies "heads entangled," the flowers being interlocked and 

 pulled apart. Lacrosse has almost disappeared, base-ball taking 

 its place. Among implements and ornaments I still find early 

 forms ; but they are fast being displaced, and some which I used 

 to see cannot now be found at all. W. N. Beauchamp. 



BaldiflnsviUe, N.Y., Deo. 3. 



Osteological Notes. 



CoNSPicuotrs by its prominence, occupying the lateral regions 

 of the mammalian cranium, and connecting these with the face 

 by an osseous bridge, is the series of bones known as the jugal or 

 zygomatic arch. As this arch presents many modifications in the 

 various orders, for the full understanding of its morphology it 

 will be neoe?sary to trace out its correlations not only with the 

 neighboring structures, but also with the habits and environment 

 of the animal. Composed often of three bones, — the malar or 

 jugal in the centre, flanked on either side by the zygomatic pro- 

 cess of the squamosal and by the malar process of the maxilla, — 

 the arch maj' be reduced to two, the process of the squamosal and 

 the jugal, or the process of the squamosal and the post-orbital 

 process of the frontal. The number of bones present depends 

 upon the advanced or receding position occupied by the orbit, also 

 upon the position held by the articulation of the mandible in rela- 

 tion to the orbital cavity, whether this be above, below, or on a 

 level with it. Although the arch in certain cases is very imper- 

 fect, it can never be said to be entirely absent. The strength of 

 the jugal arch, the most important factor in its existence, depends 

 upon its ling of direction, whether this be straight or curve I, and 

 upon the amount and manner of this curvature; upon the number, 



