﻿352 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  This 
  wayside 
  fire, 
  which 
  interrupts 
  the 
  roll 
  call 
  song, 
  preserves 
  

   an 
  old 
  custom 
  : 
  that 
  of 
  welcoming 
  official 
  visitors 
  at 
  some 
  distance 
  

   from 
  the 
  town. 
  For 
  ordinary 
  purposes 
  this 
  meeting 
  might 
  once 
  

   have 
  been 
  at 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  the 
  clearing, 
  and 
  the 
  song 
  welcoming 
  

   the 
  visitors 
  is 
  now 
  called 
  At 
  the 
  Wood's 
  Edge. 
  For 
  convenience 
  

   most 
  of 
  the 
  songs 
  appear 
  together 
  here, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  Indian 
  copy 
  used, 
  

   and 
  references 
  will 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  them. 
  They 
  are 
  not 
  in 
  due 
  sequence 
  

   in 
  this. 
  As 
  these 
  songs 
  are 
  now 
  known 
  to 
  but 
  few 
  Indians, 
  an 
  

   expert 
  chief 
  is 
  often 
  loaned 
  to 
  conduct 
  the 
  ceremony 
  for 
  one 
  or 
  

   both 
  parties, 
  as 
  in 
  ancient 
  times. 
  

  

  The 
  song 
  At 
  the 
  Wood's 
  Edge 
  is 
  full 
  of 
  gratitude 
  that 
  their 
  

   friends 
  have 
  escaped 
  every 
  peril 
  while 
  on 
  their 
  mission 
  of 
  love, 
  and 
  

   ends 
  with 
  a 
  list 
  of 
  early 
  villages 
  of 
  the 
  three 
  principal 
  clans. 
  At 
  

   the 
  council 
  house 
  all 
  business 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  duly 
  completed, 
  and 
  there 
  the 
  

   horns 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  taken 
  off 
  the 
  dead 
  chief's 
  grave. 
  The 
  horns 
  are 
  as 
  

   significant 
  of 
  power 
  to 
  the 
  Iroquois 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  ancient 
  Hebrew. 
  

   When 
  the 
  song 
  ends 
  at 
  the 
  fire 
  and 
  the 
  invitation 
  wampum 
  has 
  been 
  

   returned, 
  all 
  form 
  a 
  procession 
  and 
  go 
  to 
  the 
  council 
  house. 
  The 
  

   mourners 
  silently 
  lead 
  the 
  way, 
  as 
  being 
  the 
  hosts; 
  the 
  visitors 
  fol- 
  

   low, 
  singing 
  the 
  roll 
  call, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  council 
  house 
  each 
  party 
  takes 
  

   its 
  proper 
  end. 
  There 
  the 
  opening 
  ceremony 
  called 
  The 
  Old 
  Way 
  of 
  

   Mutual 
  Greeting, 
  is 
  sung 
  by 
  the 
  visitors, 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  old 
  and 
  

   familiar 
  modes 
  of 
  restoring 
  the 
  afflicted 
  to 
  a 
  sound 
  condition 
  are 
  

   gone 
  through. 
  

  

  Until 
  the 
  curtains 
  are 
  hung 
  the 
  succeeding 
  songs 
  are 
  by 
  one 
  

   person, 
  who 
  walks 
  to 
  and 
  fro 
  as 
  he 
  utters 
  the 
  long 
  and 
  monotonous 
  

   chant. 
  Those 
  behind 
  the 
  curtains 
  are 
  quite 
  different. 
  

  

  The 
  laws 
  which 
  their 
  ancestors 
  established 
  are 
  recalled, 
  the 
  means 
  

   they 
  took 
  to 
  strengthen 
  the 
  long 
  house 
  or 
  league. 
  As 
  of 
  old 
  the 
  

   long 
  list 
  of 
  the 
  original 
  50 
  chiefs 
  is 
  chanted 
  in 
  one 
  song, 
  with 
  some 
  

   words 
  regarding 
  each 
  one. 
  The 
  three 
  great 
  clans 
  and 
  some 
  early 
  

   towns 
  belonging 
  to 
  them 
  are 
  mentioned. 
  The 
  chiefs 
  themselves 
  are 
  

   grouped 
  in 
  classes. 
  In 
  this 
  song 
  the 
  Haii 
  is 
  repeated 
  hundreds 
  of 
  

   times, 
  but 
  is 
  mostly 
  omitted 
  in 
  Hale's 
  version. 
  As 
  sung 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  

   most 
  prominent 
  feature, 
  and 
  is 
  expressive 
  of 
  joy 
  or 
  sorrow 
  accord- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  the 
  tone, 
  as 
  with 
  some 
  of 
  our 
  ejaculations. 
  Hennepin 
  said: 
  

   " 
  There 
  was 
  an 
  Iroquese 
  captain 
  who, 
  one 
  day 
  wanting 
  his 
  bowl, 
  

   entered 
  into 
  the 
  town 
  of 
  Montreal 
  in 
  Canada, 
  crying 
  ' 
  Hai 
  ! 
  hai 
  ! 
  ' 
  

  

  