20 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



in the true light, few have ever been adopted into an Indian tribe, 

 although many have claimed to be. There are even grades of names, 

 so that to have an Indian name does not necessarily mean that one 

 bears an ancient Indian title. Persistent name seekers often have 

 been danced around by a grinning Indian with a rattle, who de- 

 manded $5 in return for a name which no Indian would translate, 

 but which the donor assures the recipient means Great Big Eagle 

 Chief, or some like fiction. The white man or woman who has 

 persisted in his quest for an Indian name is satisfied and ever after 

 boasts himself an adopted Indian. The Indians, however, only 

 laugh and think of the greenback which somebody received and of 

 the ludicrous name that no one will translate. A true Indian name 

 is not easily obtained by a white man or woman nor is it often 

 given to those who ask for it. It is, however, given those who have 

 shown themselves worthy of the honor and who know how to bear 

 it. Such were the names given by the sachems, chiefs, and war- 

 riors, the faith keepers and women of the Senecas at the Tho-na- 

 so-wah ceremony. 



Mrs Converse's reception in the Snipe Clan and into the family 

 of William Jones, placed her in a position to secure extensive 

 information regarding the customs and institutions of the 

 Iroquois. The more she studied, the greater her enthusiasm be- 

 came. She contributed generously to all their festivals and 

 attended the various ceremonies on all the reservations in New 

 York and Canada, each time the guest of the chiefs. Her home 

 in New York became the stopping place of Indians visiting that 

 city and the writer has met at her home Indians not only of the 

 Iroquois nations of New York, but Indians from all over North 

 America, from Hudson bay to Yucatan, from Dakota to Arizona 

 and from Maine to British Columbia. 



Naturally, simple minded Indians in a great city were wont to 

 get into complications. Sometimes they would not hesitate to 

 strike down an inquisitive inhabitant of the Bowery who ventured 

 a disparaging remark. The Bowery inhabitant went to Bellevue 

 and the Indian to the police station. Fortunately for the Indian 

 the next morning found Mrs Converse in court to plead for his 

 release, and while Mrs Converse lived the cases against Indians 

 almost without exception were dismissed. Most of the cases are 

 extremely humorous and an examination of the court documents 

 will reveal that when an Indian in New York spoiled a white man's 

 face the white man was usually fined and the Indian discharged, 

 though sometimes with a mild reprimand. 



