400 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



which is explanatory, and includes the full rendering of Haii, not 

 given by Hale. The words are divided into syllables and arbitrarily 

 into verses, and the chiefs are numbered in order. The arrange- 

 ment of the songs is different from his, and the spelling often 

 varies, but the material differences are not great. 



About the same time the La Fort manuscript was placed in the 

 writer's hands for examination and copying. One date on this was 

 June 2, 1875, but a heading reads: Six Nation Condolence this 

 Paper Onondaga Castle, N. Y. 1885. There were slight differ- 

 ences between this and Mr Hale's copy, chiefly in the vowels, but 

 with occasional omissions of words or letters. None of these were 

 important. With the aid of Rev. Albert Cusick the whole was re- 

 vised with improved orthography v A list of chiefs was appended 

 to this copy, but- not the song in which they are included, and there 

 are a few other notes. One Onondaga story is that the principal 

 songs were once thought to be lost, but luckily an old woman was 

 found who remembered them well. Better care was taken of them 

 afterward. 



Variations in the songs 



In a long ceremony like the condolence, it may be expected that 

 the speaker or singer may sometimes change the order or words, 

 and this happens here. March 15, 1894, Mr H. E. Krehbiel of 

 New York, lectured before the Woman's University Club of that 

 city on Hiawatha and the Rites of the Condoling Council of the 

 Iroquois, and this led to some correspondence with the writer. Mr 

 Krehbiel said : 



I have the song of greeting and the Litany, and also other por- 

 tions which I wrote out from the singing of John Buck. Mr Hale, 

 to whom I sent the music, seemed much disturbed by my informa- 

 tion that our chant was extremely fragmentary compared with this 

 book. I did not take the whole of the Litany, because it seemed 

 to be repetition, but as far as I took it it was in consonance with the 

 text as printed on my program. 



Mr Hale is supported by many copies, and carelessness on the 

 singer's part will account for discrepancies, and by comparison with 

 the version given here it will be seen that the Haii may be used 

 indefinitely and at the pleasure of the singer. First will be given 

 the song called " Flail " as sung by John Buck, and no one will 





