420 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
carpet for him to sit. You clean the carpet for him to sit and 
nothing evil can fall on the carpet. They have furnished two 
prominent women and having a broom so that it would be clean. 
This was in the lifetime of To-do-da-ho, and the Five Nations fur- 
nish him a stick, laying close by where he sits—represents as a 
limited power given to him by the Five Nations. If he sees some- 
thing evil coming he would take the stick and throw away, and if 
the stick not strong enough then he would notify the Five Nations 
to come help him; that the animal and wild peoples come prepared 
for war. The To-do-da-ho would speak to the animal and ask: 
What is thy business coming here without our knowledge? 
Fig. 252 One heart of the Five Nations—that if any hurt of 
any animal would pierce that heart, then they would all feel it—all 
the Five Nations. This was in Hi-a-wat-ha’s belt. That they are 
a united people. This is the original Hi-a-wat-ha belt—a record of 
the first agreement to make the league. 
Fig. 244 Between Bastable building and the corner of Genesee 
and Warren streets, Syracuse, was held the last council which com- 
pleted the league. Both A-a-wat-ha and To-do-da-ho were there. 
300 years (ago). 
Represents an everlasting tree—always keep growing, reaching 
to heaven that all nations may see it; and under they set a general 
fire to burn forever—the council place of the Five Nations—and 
that the council fire is to be kept at the Onondagas, and the Onon- 
dagas are the expounders of the law. 
After they had ratified—it was understood—we look far away and 
we see a darkness, and in the darkness an unknown and strange 
face, and they could not understand what it was—and it came to 
be interpreted that we would be forced to adopt an unknown law— 
but it was coming before that generation passed away, and finally 
their heads would roll and roll away, and after a time they would 
recover their bodies, and then they would embrace the law that 
was once lost to them, and the tree would grow forever. After 
they will restore the original law their confederation will be more 
permanent than the first one, and their original law will remain 
forever. They say that one of the women said: “ You can use all 
the water of the ocean to wash away the Indian blood, and when 
you have done there is just as much water left in the ocean as 
before you began—so the law—you can take from it parts of the 
Indian law, and put another in its place, but it will come again 
and last forever.” ; 
This was the last belt that was made at that ratifying time. When 
the belt was ready it was said by one of the orators to that council, 
“This is the last belt which we make confirming the laws which 
we have just adopted,” and he encouraged the people of the Five 
Nations to instruct them with the meaning of the wampum to serve 
