HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK IROQUOIS 287 



dressed and painted, as is usual with them when they set out in 

 War. The Indians saluted the Governor as they passed the Fort, 

 by a running fire ; which his Excellency ordered to be answered 

 by a Discharge of some Cannon from the Fort. 



Through Johnson's influence the Mississagas and Six Nations 



threw down the war l)elt and declared war against the French 



at this council, in which Massachusetts united with New York. 



Colden presided. The official interpreter was ill, and it was 



thought best to have a chief give the address to the Indians. 



In the choice a modern division appears : 



At first a Mohawk Sachem was pitched upon ; but the Sachems 

 themselves told us, That for some time past a kind of Party- 

 Division among the Six Nations had subsisted : That the Mo- 

 hawks, Onondages, and Senekas form'd one Party ; and the 

 Oneydoes, Tuscaroras, and Cayugas, the other : That, as the 

 Mohawks might be suspected to be more partial to the English, 

 it would be of more Use to employ one of the other Party ; and 

 an Oneydo Sachem .was proposed for that Purpose. 



Colden, who made the above note, saw the war dance at this 

 time, and thus described it : 



They were painted as when they go to War. The Dance is a 

 slow and solemn Motion, accompanied with a pathetick Song. 

 The Indians in their Turns perform this singly, but it is not easy 

 to describe the Particularities of it. 



Sep. 26 the Oquaga Indians marched in in single file, firing as 

 they passed the fort and receiving a salute from the cannon. 

 iThey said they would go to the war, but were late in getting the 

 I summons. It was reported that Weiser would bring some from 

 •the Susquehanna, but no others came. At this time the Missis- 

 Isagas were called a seventh nation, living north of Lake Erie, 

 I but nothing came of this. 



I Smallpox was quite fatal, and this stopped some of Johnson's 

 iparties : 



! While he was pressing them to this Purpose, one of the 

 jSachems who had promised to head a Party from the Canajohary 

 jCastle, said, You seem to think that we are Brutes, that we have 

 ino Sense of the Loss of our dearest Relations, and some of them 

 [the bravest Men we had in our Nation : You must allow us Time 

 [to bewail our Misfortune. 



