THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FIVE NATIONS 1 5 



by the Huron people because of his handsome face and his good 

 mind. He was always honest and always told what he believed 

 was right. Nevertheless he was a peculiar man and his people did 

 not understand him. 



Many things conspired to drive him away for the Crooked 

 Tongues had no love for such a man. Their hearts were bitter 

 against a man who loved not war better than all things. 



After a journey by canoe across the lake he came into the hunt- 

 ing territory of the Flint Nation. He journeyed on to the lower 

 fall of the river of the FHnt Nation and made a camp a short way 

 from the fall on the flat land above it. He sat beneath a tall tree 

 and smoked his pipe in quiet meditation. 



A man of the Flints passed by and seeing the fire and the 

 stranger approached him cautiously to discover what weapon he 

 bore, if any. Carefully the man of the Flint reconnoitered but 

 saw no weapon, but only the stranger quietly smoking. Returning 

 to the town a short distance away the presence of the odd stranger 

 was reported. Then the chiefs and their men went out and assem- 

 bled about the man who smoked. One of the head men was dele- 

 gated to question the stranger and so he asked " From whence 

 came you?" 



" I am from Ka-ka-na-yenh," the stranger replied. \J 



" I am of the Wyandots, whom you call the Crooked Tongues 

 because our speech is slightly dififerent," answered the stranger, '^, 

 ' My mother is a v^r^in woman." 



" Then," said the speaker, " By what name are you known ? " 



" I am Dekanawidah, so named because my virgin mother 

 dreamed that it should be so and no one else shall ever be named 

 by this name." 



" What brought you here to us," asked the speaker. 



So then Dekanawidah answered, " The Great Creator from 

 whom we all are descended sent me to establish the Great Peace 

 among you. No longer shall you kill one another and nations shall 

 cease warring upon each other. Such things are entirely evil and 

 he. your Maker, forbids it. Peace and comfort are better than war 

 and misery for a nation's welfare." 



Then answered the speaker of the Flints, "All that you say is 

 surely true and we are not able to contradict it. We must have 

 proof, however, before we submit ourselves to you whereby we 

 may know that you indeed possess rightful power to establish the 

 Great Peace." 



