HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK IROQUOIS 145 



gave the Snipe, Beaver, Ball, Deer and Eel, leaving out the Hawk 

 clan. Both he and Horatio Hale mention the Ball clan, which is 

 really a subdivision of the Turtle, commonly known as the Small 

 Turtle. To the Tuscaroras he gave in full the Bear, Great and 

 Little Turtle, Gray and Yellow Wolf, Eel, Beaver and Snipe. 

 There are Onondaga Eels on that reservation, which may account 

 for a supposed Tuscarora clan. He allowed them no Hawk clan, 

 and assigned the Heron only to the Senecas. J. V. H. Clark's 

 Onondaga enumeration is the Bear, Wolf, Turtle, Eel, Deer, 

 Beaver, Eagle and Heron, substituting the latter for the Snipe, 

 which is an Onondaga clan, and the Eagle for the Hawk, which 

 seems proper. The writer belongs to the Eel clan. 



In 1666 there was a different enumeration and naming by a 

 French writer. Nine Iroquois clans were named in two divisions, 

 the first being called Guey-niotiteshesgue, meaning four tribes. 

 These were the Turtle, or Atiniathin ; the Wolf, called Enan- 

 thayonni or Cahenhisenhonon ; the Bear, or Atinionguin ; and the 

 Beaver. The second division was Ouiche-niotiteshesgue, or five 

 tribes. Of these the Deer was Canendeshe ; the Potato, Schones- 

 chioronon ; the Great Plover, Otinanchahe ; the Little Plover, 

 Asco or Nicohes ; and the Eagle, Canonchahonronon. A French- 

 man, adopted as a Seneca, gave another account in 1736, naming 

 10 clans, but omitting the Wolf and Heron. They were the 

 Bear, Turtle, Plover, Eel, Deer, Beaver, Potato, Falcon, Lark 

 and Partridge. Variations are frequent. 



The Onondaga clans are now the Turtle, or Ho-te-neah-te ; 

 Wolf, or Ho-te-kwa-ho ; Bear, or Ho-te-ska-wak ; Beaver, or Ho- 

 te-hu-ne-wha-keh-ha-no. People of the Creek ; Snipe, or Ho-te-ne- 

 see-yuh. People of the Sand; Eel, or Ho-te-teu-ha-kah, People 

 of the Rushes; Deer, or Da-hah-de-ge-nine, People of Hoofs; 

 and Hawk, or Ho-te-swe-gi-yu. They are the Boards, alluding 

 to the large sticks in hawks' or eagles' nests. 



No one marries in his own clan, and not long since there were 

 clan burials. When traveling, they are supposed to be enter- 

 tained by those of their own clan. How five of the clans fared 

 in visiting the Oneidas and Mohawks has not been explained. 



