24 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



there anything indicating the great Huron feast of the dead. Burial 

 customs varied greatly, nor were the changes far apart in time. 

 Graves of the early Iroquois period often contain no relics, and 

 are generally marked by depressions rather than elevations. Open 

 grain caches have been mistaken for these. 



In historic times defensive works were generally of palisades, 

 peculiarly arranged with upright and cross timbers. The quadruple 

 Oneida palisades attacked by Champlain in 1615 may have required 

 no holes, and extended into the shallow pond. Some Mohawk 

 palisades were double and have left no traces. The single or triple 

 palisade required holes for the upright posts. In some, these holes 

 were from 18 inches to 2 feet deep. Galleries ran along the inter- 

 secting tops of the pickets. These were reached by ladders from 

 within and were useful in defense. The gates were sometimes sur- 

 mounted by human figures or other fantastic designs carved in 

 wood. Carvings or paintings often adorned the gables of the long 

 houses, which were furnished with many fires. The outlines of 

 many of these houses may still be traced, but the length was hardly 

 a national Iroquois distinction as some have supposed. Circular 

 lodges were often used. Blackened or burned earth always appears 

 in an aboriginal camp or town of long occupation. The fireplaces 

 of these may be several feet deep, a hole being made at the outset 

 for the fire. 



When New York was first known, all the aborigines living near 

 the Hudson river and the ocean were of the Algonquin family, 

 using labials in their words, by which they were mainly distin- 

 guished from the Iroquois. West of this territory all belonged to 

 the Huron-Iroquois family, which extended into Canada, Ohio and 

 Pennsylvania, without speaking of remote southern branches. 

 These used no labials^ all words being uttered with the open mouth. 

 Part of these were the Five Nations, before whom the rest 

 soon disappeared. These nations still survive and are the historic 

 Iroquois^ comprising the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas 

 and Senecas. The Tuscaroras were added in 17 14. Their terri- 

 tory shows the most abundant signs of occupancy, but their towns 

 were not of great age. It must be remembered that they built 



