SIXTH REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I909 (ij 



Algonquin captives. One of them labors under a heavy load of 

 booty and expedition impedimenta and is being urged on by a 

 gigantic Mohawk. An old sachem is kneeling on one side and 

 examining a pack of skins, trinkets and seeds which has been 

 brought in by the party but his interest is diverted to one of the 

 captives who has thrown down his burden in defiance. A warrior 

 with uplifted club is about to dispatch the haughty captive when 

 a matron from the village asserting her right to adopt touches him 

 and holds out a protecting hand. The angered warrior relaxes 

 and has rested his club on his shoulder. In the presence of a 

 woman his emotion is concealed.. Hiis brow only shows a ques- 

 tioning wrinkle. Another warrior who has seen the affair turns 

 on the brow of the hill and haloos down the valley to the chiefs 

 who are leading the rest of the warriors back to the stockade. 



The scene is laid at Tionnontogen the capital o^f the Mohawk 

 Nation in 1667. Tionnontogen was the town and stockade de- 

 stroyed by De Tracey. The site of this old strongihold is found 

 on the Mitchell farm near Sprakers Basin, Montgomery co. The 

 old village and stockade was situated on a little plateau that juts 

 out into the flood plain of the river. On one side is a deep ravine 

 that forms the east bank of Flat creek. Copious springs of pure 

 water make the place an ideal one for an Indian town and the 

 steep hills on three sides render it a good site for a fortification. 

 The site of Tionnontogen commands one of the finest views of the 

 Mohawk valley to be had. Just to the east, the high limestone 

 " Noses " bar the vista, but to the north and west the river, the 

 hills and the valley may be seen stretching far intO' a blue mist 

 that covers the distant horizon. 



There are many romantic events associated with Tionnontogen 

 and the deep ravines and rugged hills and great stone " Noses " 

 which give the spot its name only intensify the romance. 



In making the sketches for this scene -the artist took his position 

 on a jutting ridge just over the ancient site. The scene is one of 

 late autumn and in the large painting the artist will attempt to show 

 it as it might have been when it was the center of Mohawk life. 



To get casts of the Mohawks the Archeologist went with the 

 sculptor to the Six Nations Reservation in Ontario where a month 

 was expended in selecting proper models and in making molds. 



Casts for a third group, the sixth in the series, were made dur- 

 ing September. This group will portray the agriculture and har- 

 vesting activities of the Seneca-Iroquois. An old man strolls in 

 from the right, holding his clay pipe in one hand and a bunch of 



