﻿38° 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  June 
  1795. 
  At 
  this 
  time 
  took 
  place 
  the 
  curious 
  ceremony 
  which 
  

   made 
  the 
  Delawares 
  men 
  and 
  warriors, 
  and 
  of 
  which 
  Zeisberger 
  

   gave 
  this 
  account: 
  

  

  They 
  had, 
  among 
  other 
  ceremonies, 
  shorn 
  an 
  Indian's 
  head, 
  

   leaving 
  only 
  a 
  little 
  hair 
  at 
  the 
  top, 
  adorned 
  him 
  with 
  white 
  

   feathers, 
  as 
  the 
  warriors 
  are 
  accustomed 
  to 
  do, 
  and 
  painted 
  him. 
  

   They 
  left 
  him 
  no 
  clothing 
  except 
  a 
  breech-clout, 
  and 
  put 
  a 
  war- 
  

   beetle 
  into 
  his 
  hands, 
  and 
  then 
  presented 
  him 
  to 
  the 
  Delawares 
  

   with 
  these 
  words 
  : 
  " 
  Cousin, 
  beforetimes 
  we 
  put 
  on 
  thee 
  only 
  a 
  

   woman's 
  garment; 
  hung 
  on 
  thy 
  side 
  a 
  calabash, 
  with 
  oil 
  to 
  

   anoint 
  thy 
  head, 
  put 
  into 
  thy 
  hand 
  a 
  grubbing 
  axe 
  and 
  a 
  pestle, 
  

   to 
  plant 
  corn 
  and 
  to 
  grind 
  it, 
  together 
  with 
  other 
  house-gear, 
  

   and 
  told 
  thee 
  to 
  support 
  thyself 
  by 
  agriculture, 
  together 
  with 
  thy 
  

   children, 
  and 
  to 
  trouble 
  thyself 
  about 
  nothing 
  else. 
  Xow 
  we 
  cut 
  

   in 
  two 
  the 
  band 
  wherewith 
  thy 
  garment 
  is 
  bound, 
  throw 
  it 
  among 
  

   these 
  thick 
  dark 
  bushes, 
  whence 
  no 
  man 
  must 
  bring 
  it 
  again, 
  or 
  

   he 
  must 
  die. 
  Thou 
  art 
  no 
  longer 
  in 
  thy 
  proper 
  form, 
  but 
  thy 
  

   form 
  is 
  like 
  this 
  Indian's, 
  whom 
  we 
  now 
  present 
  to 
  thee, 
  that 
  

   thou 
  mayest 
  see 
  who 
  thou 
  now 
  art, 
  and 
  instead 
  of 
  a 
  grubbing 
  axe 
  

   and 
  corn-pestle 
  we 
  put 
  into 
  thy 
  hand 
  a 
  war-beetle, 
  and 
  feathers 
  

   upon 
  thy 
  head. 
  Thou 
  goest 
  about 
  now 
  like 
  a 
  man." 
  Thus 
  they 
  

   made 
  the 
  Delaware 
  nation 
  not 
  onlv 
  into 
  men, 
  but 
  into 
  warriors. 
  

  

  A 
  party 
  of 
  Mohawks 
  went 
  through 
  the 
  Moravian 
  towns 
  Aug. 
  

   28, 
  1796, 
  and 
  Zeisberger 
  said: 
  "They 
  are 
  earnestly 
  working 
  to 
  

   kindle 
  war 
  again, 
  saying 
  quite 
  openly 
  that 
  there 
  should 
  be 
  a 
  new 
  

   war 
  with 
  the 
  States, 
  and 
  they 
  seek 
  to 
  arouse 
  the 
  Canada 
  Indians." 
  

  

  The 
  mission 
  of 
  Ganeodiyo, 
  or 
  Handsome 
  Lake, 
  the 
  prophet 
  of 
  

   the 
  new 
  religion, 
  has 
  been 
  placed 
  both 
  in 
  1790 
  and 
  in 
  1800, 
  with 
  

   probabilities 
  in 
  favor 
  of 
  the 
  later 
  date. 
  It 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  

   unknown 
  when 
  the 
  Iroquois 
  chiefs 
  visited 
  President 
  Washington 
  

   in 
  1792, 
  and 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  revelation 
  assumes 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  dead. 
  

   Handsome 
  Lake's 
  name 
  first 
  appears 
  on 
  a 
  treaty 
  in 
  1794, 
  but 
  

   without 
  special 
  notice, 
  and 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  assumed 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  then 
  

   in 
  no 
  way 
  distinguished 
  from 
  other 
  chiefs. 
  The 
  revelation 
  is 
  

   said 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  interest 
  of 
  his 
  half-brother, 
  Corn- 
  

   planter, 
  but 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  proof 
  of 
  this. 
  It 
  taught 
  rewards 
  and 
  

   punishments 
  based 
  on 
  sound 
  morality, 
  and 
  strongly 
  opposed 
  

   drunkenness 
  and 
  the 
  sale 
  of 
  lands. 
  It 
  was 
  largely 
  accepted 
  by 
  

   four 
  of 
  the 
  Six 
  Nations 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  and 
  effected 
  a 
  considerable 
  

   reformation. 
  The 
  prophet 
  died 
  at 
  Onondaga 
  in 
  1815 
  and 
  was 
  

  

  