﻿424 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  nor 
  any 
  temper 
  shown. 
  If 
  the 
  women 
  have 
  a 
  proposal 
  to 
  make, 
  

   they 
  choose 
  a 
  chief 
  to 
  speak 
  for 
  them. 
  Sometimes 
  the 
  wampum 
  

   received 
  was 
  evenly 
  divided 
  at 
  the 
  council; 
  at 
  other 
  times 
  signifi- 
  

   cant 
  belts 
  were 
  kept 
  as 
  records. 
  

  

  One 
  mode 
  of 
  memorizing 
  has 
  been 
  sometimes 
  mentioned 
  and 
  

   appears 
  in 
  Prof. 
  Timothy 
  Dwight's 
  account 
  of 
  Indian 
  councils 
  : 
  

  

  When 
  in 
  council 
  they 
  spoke 
  optionally; 
  and 
  listened 
  to 
  each 
  

   speaker 
  with 
  a 
  profound 
  and 
  very 
  respectful 
  silence; 
  observing 
  a 
  

   decorum 
  which 
  might 
  with 
  great 
  advantage 
  be 
  copied 
  by 
  our 
  Con- 
  

   gress, 
  and 
  your 
  Parliament. 
  When 
  proposals 
  for 
  war 
  or 
  peace 
  

   were 
  made, 
  or 
  treaty 
  proposed 
  to 
  them 
  by 
  the 
  colonial 
  governours, 
  

   .they 
  met 
  the 
  ambassadours 
  in 
  council, 
  and, 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  each 
  part 
  

   or 
  proposition, 
  the 
  principal 
  Indian 
  delivered 
  a 
  short 
  stick 
  to 
  one 
  of 
  

   his 
  council, 
  as 
  a 
  token 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  his 
  peculiar 
  duty 
  to 
  remember 
  

   that 
  part. 
  This 
  was 
  repeated 
  till 
  every 
  proposal 
  was 
  finished. 
  They 
  

   then 
  retired 
  to 
  deliberate 
  among 
  themselves 
  ; 
  and 
  after 
  deliberations 
  

   were 
  ended, 
  the 
  sachem, 
  or 
  some 
  other 
  councilor 
  to 
  whom 
  he 
  had 
  

   delegated 
  this 
  office, 
  replied 
  to 
  every 
  part 
  in 
  its 
  turn, 
  with 
  an 
  exact- 
  

   ness 
  scarcely 
  exceeded 
  in 
  the 
  written 
  correspondence 
  of 
  civilized 
  

   powers. 
  Each 
  man 
  actually 
  remembered 
  what 
  was 
  communicated 
  

   particularly 
  to 
  him; 
  and 
  with 
  this 
  assistance 
  the 
  person 
  who 
  replied 
  

   remembered 
  the 
  whole. 
  D 
  wight, 
  1 
  :i20 
  

  

  One 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  above 
  account 
  still 
  continues 
  : 
  the 
  uniform 
  

   courtesy 
  of 
  Iroquois 
  debates. 
  There 
  are 
  no 
  interruptions 
  or 
  offen- 
  

   sive 
  personalities, 
  but 
  dignity 
  is 
  preserved 
  even 
  when 
  patience 
  is 
  

   sorely 
  tried. 
  The 
  interest 
  will 
  vary 
  with 
  the 
  importance 
  of 
  the 
  

   subject 
  or 
  the 
  power 
  of 
  the 
  speaker, 
  but 
  the 
  rules 
  of 
  good 
  breeding- 
  

   are 
  never 
  forgotten. 
  

  

  In 
  voting 
  by 
  nations 
  there 
  was 
  another 
  feature. 
  The 
  sachems 
  

   assigned 
  to 
  each 
  nation 
  were 
  divided 
  into 
  classes, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  na- 
  

   tional 
  vote 
  each 
  class 
  counted 
  but 
  one. 
  The 
  Mohawks, 
  Oneidas 
  

   and 
  Cayugas 
  each 
  had 
  three 
  classes 
  of 
  principal 
  chiefs, 
  the 
  Senecas 
  

   four 
  and 
  the 
  Onondagas 
  five. 
  Thus, 
  with 
  the 
  latter, 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  a 
  

   majority 
  of 
  chiefs 
  but 
  three 
  classes 
  at 
  least 
  that 
  said 
  what 
  the 
  

   Onondaga 
  vote 
  should 
  be. 
  It 
  was 
  much 
  like 
  our 
  national 
  electoral 
  

   system. 
  Their 
  own 
  clans 
  could 
  depose 
  sachems 
  for 
  misconduct, 
  

   but 
  action 
  on 
  this 
  was 
  referred 
  to 
  the 
  general 
  council. 
  

  

  The 
  time 
  at 
  which 
  councils 
  were 
  held 
  was 
  often 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  im- 
  

   portance. 
  Van 
  der 
  Donck 
  said 
  that 
  Algonquin 
  councils 
  were 
  held 
  

   in 
  the 
  morning, 
  and 
  if 
  the 
  business 
  was 
  not 
  finished 
  by 
  noon 
  they 
  

  

  