COUNCILS AND CEREMONIES OF ADOPTION OF NEW YORK. INDIANS 405 



This was of a personal nature, like that of Colden's as described 

 by him, which was of a more modern type. He said : 



It is customary among them to make a Compliment of Naturali- 

 zation into the Five Nations ; and considering how highly they value 

 themselves above all others, this must be no small Compliment. This 

 is not done by any general Act of the Nation, but every single Per- 

 son has a Right to it, by a Kind of Adoption. The first time I was 

 among the Mohawks, I had this Compliment from one of their old 

 Sachems, which he did, by giving me his own Name, Cayenderongue. 

 He had been a notable Warrior ; and he told me, that now I had a 

 Right to assume to myself all the Acts of Valour he had performed, 

 and that now my Name would echo from Hill to Hill all over the 

 Five Nations. As for my Part, I thought no more of it at that 

 Time, than as an Artifice to draw a Belly full of strong Liquor from 

 me, for himself and his Companions ; but when about ten or twelve 

 years afterwards, my Business led me again among them, I directed 

 the Interpreter to say something from me to the Sachems ; he was 

 for some Time at a Loss to understand their Answer, till he asked 

 me whether I had any Name. among them: I then found that I 

 was really known to them by that Name, and that the old Sachem, 

 from the Time he had given me his Name, had assumed another 

 to himself. I was adopted, at that Time, into the Tribe of the Bear, 

 and for that reason, I often afterwards had the kind Compliment of 

 Brother Bear. Golden, 1 : xxviii 



The adoption of Father Milet when a captive will be recalled, 

 which resulted in his being an Oneida principal chief, and the adop- 

 tion of the Joncaires and others helped the French greatly. When 

 Kirkland first visited the Senecas in 1765, he said: 



Sir William likewise told me that if I was cordially received by 

 the Senecas, I should, in a week or two, be adopted into some one 

 of their principal families, and that I must pay particular attention 

 to my new relations, and that it would give me the liberty of apply- 

 ing to them for anything I wanted. Probably I might receive this 

 adoption into the head sachem's family. It is usually performed 

 with some ceremony, a short speech being made on the occasion. 

 Ketchum, i -.214 



A little later he was adopted in the council house, " the mem- 

 bers of the head sachem's family being present, and sitting apart 

 by themselves." Mr Kirkland was then invited there, and a chief 

 addressed him and the rest: 



I am appointed to say to you and our young white brother, that 

 our head sachem adopts him into his family. He will be a father 



