Hale.] 10 [March 2, 
they are classed with the nations of the Huron-Iroquois stock. At the 
same time, the distinguished author, with the scientific caution which 
marked all his writings, is careful to mention that no vocabulary of the 
language was known. That which was now obtained showed, beyond 
question, that the language was totally distinct from the Huron-Iroquois 
tongues, and that it was closely allied to the languages of the Dacotan 
family. 
The discovery of a tribe of Dakota lineage near the Atlantic coast was 
80 unexpected and surprising that at first is was natural to suspect some 
mistake. The idea occurred that the old Tutelo might have been a Sioux 
captive, taken in the wars which were ancien tly waged between the Iro- 
quois and the tribes of the far West. With the view of determining this 
point, I took the first opportunity, on my next visit to the Reserve, in 
October, 1870, of questioning the old man about. his early history, and 
that of his people. His answers soon removed all doubt. He believed 
himself to be a hundred and six years old; and if so, his earliest recollec- 
tions would go back to a time preceeding by some years the Revolutionary 
war. At that time his people, the Tuteloes, were living in the neighbor- 
hood of two other tribes, the Saponies and the Patshenins or Botshenins, 
In the latter we may perhaps recognize the Ochineeches, whom Governor 
Spotteswood, in 1702, enumerated with the Saponies, Toteroes, and two 
other tribes, under the general name of Christanna Indians. The Sapo- 
nies and Tuteloes, old Nikonha said, could understand one another’s 
speech. About the language of the Patshenins, I neglected to inquire, but 
they were mentioned with the Saponies as a companion tribe. When 
the Tuteloes came to Oanada with Brant, they parted with the Saponies at 
Niagara Falls, and he did not know what had become of them. His 
father’s name was Onuséwa; he was a chief among the Tuteloes. His 
mother (who was also a Tutelo), died when he was young, and he was 
brought up by an uncle. He had heard from old men that the Tuteloes 
formerly lived on a great river beyond Washington, which city he knew by 
that name, In early times they were a large tribe, but had wasted away 
through fighting. Their war parties used to go out frequently against, 
various enemies, The tribes they most commonly fought with were the 
Tuscaroras, Senecas, and Cayugas. Afterwards his tribe came to Niagara 
(as he expressed it), and joined the Six Nations, He knew of no Tutelo 
of the full blood now living, except himself, 
This, with some additions to my vocabulary, was the last information 
which I received from old Waskiteng, or Nikonha. He died a few 
months later (on the 21st of February, 1871), before I had an opportunity 
of again visiting the Reserve. There are, however, several half-castes, 
children of Tutelo mothers by Iroquois fathers, who know the language, 
and by the native law (which traces descent through the female) are held 
to be Tuteloes. One of them, who sat in the council as the representative 
of the tribe, and who, with a conservatism worthy of the days of old Sarum, 
was allowed to retain his seat after his constituency had disappeared, was 
2 ie 
