﻿I3 
  2 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  the 
  Great 
  Spirit 
  at 
  a 
  later 
  time, 
  but 
  offerings 
  were 
  usually 
  sim- 
  

   pler; 
  some 
  tobacco 
  burned, 
  a 
  pipe 
  or 
  beads 
  dropped 
  at 
  some 
  

   sacred 
  place, 
  were 
  the 
  common 
  gifts. 
  Worship 
  was 
  by 
  singing 
  

   or 
  dancing; 
  seldom 
  with 
  prayer. 
  

  

  Though 
  the 
  myths 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  many 
  nations 
  is 
  in- 
  

   volved 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  taken 
  with 
  reservations, 
  they 
  may 
  have 
  interest 
  

   and 
  value. 
  Those 
  of 
  the 
  Iroquois 
  are 
  many 
  and 
  conflicting. 
  The 
  

   creative 
  myth, 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  woman 
  falls 
  from 
  the 
  sky, 
  alighting 
  

   on 
  the 
  turtle's 
  back, 
  which 
  thenceforth 
  supports 
  the 
  world, 
  was 
  

   not 
  peculiar 
  to 
  the 
  Iroquois, 
  being 
  told 
  by 
  others 
  with 
  varying 
  

   details. 
  The 
  creature 
  which 
  at 
  last 
  brings 
  up 
  earth 
  from 
  the 
  

   bottom 
  of 
  the 
  sea, 
  using 
  it 
  for 
  the 
  germ 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  island 
  of 
  

   America, 
  is 
  not 
  always 
  the 
  same, 
  nor 
  do 
  all 
  relate 
  the 
  later 
  events 
  

   alike. 
  When 
  the 
  woman's 
  descendants 
  appear, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  greater 
  

   variation 
  still. 
  David 
  Cusick's 
  story 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  children, 
  the 
  

   Good 
  and 
  Bad 
  Mind, 
  is 
  well 
  known. 
  Mr 
  James 
  Dean, 
  the 
  inter- 
  

   preter, 
  gave 
  the 
  Oneida 
  story 
  with 
  other 
  particulars. 
  The 
  father 
  

   of 
  the 
  children 
  lived 
  at 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  sea, 
  and 
  lured 
  the 
  

   Good 
  Mind 
  to 
  his 
  home, 
  to 
  save 
  him 
  from 
  the 
  malice 
  of 
  his 
  

   mother 
  and 
  brother, 
  and 
  tell 
  him 
  what 
  to 
  do. 
  The 
  great 
  contest 
  

   began 
  after 
  this, 
  with 
  its 
  peculiar 
  weapons. 
  When 
  slain, 
  the 
  

   flinty 
  body 
  of 
  the 
  Evil 
  Mind 
  became 
  the 
  great 
  range 
  of 
  the 
  Rocky 
  

   Mountains. 
  

  

  The 
  Seneca 
  chief 
  Canassatego 
  — 
  not 
  the 
  earlier 
  Onondaga 
  of 
  

   that 
  name 
  — 
  had 
  another 
  tale 
  of 
  man's 
  creation. 
  One 
  of 
  their 
  

   deities 
  raised 
  the 
  land 
  of 
  Konosioni 
  above 
  the 
  waters, 
  and 
  sowed 
  

   five 
  handfuls 
  of 
  red 
  seed 
  in 
  it. 
  From 
  these 
  came 
  the 
  Five 
  

   Nations 
  ; 
  prosperous 
  when 
  following 
  his 
  advice, 
  unfortunate 
  

   when 
  disregarding 
  it. 
  

  

  The 
  story 
  of 
  national 
  origin 
  and 
  migration 
  is 
  not 
  always 
  the 
  

   same. 
  The 
  Delaware 
  tradition 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  Delawares 
  and 
  the 
  

   Five 
  Nations 
  came 
  eastward 
  together, 
  side 
  by 
  side 
  and 
  harmoni- 
  

   ously, 
  dispossessing 
  those 
  who 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  way 
  and 
  amicably 
  

   dividing 
  the 
  land. 
  There 
  is 
  some 
  ground 
  for 
  part 
  of 
  this. 
  

  

  David 
  Cusick, 
  the 
  Tuscarora 
  historian, 
  had 
  a 
  different 
  tale 
  to 
  

   tell. 
  The 
  people 
  were 
  hid 
  in 
  a 
  great 
  mountain 
  at 
  Oswego 
  Falls, 
  

  

  