﻿426 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  pie 
  of 
  the 
  council, 
  who 
  were 
  waiting 
  for 
  me, 
  to 
  say 
  Adieu, 
  in 
  the 
  

   hope 
  of 
  my 
  return, 
  which 
  they 
  testified 
  they 
  wished 
  for, 
  with 
  much 
  

   eagerness." 
  

  

  Councils 
  among 
  the 
  Iroquois 
  were 
  often 
  held 
  in 
  chiefs' 
  houses 
  

   at 
  the 
  first, 
  these 
  usually 
  being 
  more 
  spacious 
  than 
  others. 
  As 
  Van 
  

   Curler 
  passed 
  through 
  the 
  Mohawk 
  towns 
  in 
  1634, 
  he 
  said 
  nothing 
  

   of 
  council 
  houses, 
  and 
  at 
  Oneida 
  a 
  council 
  was 
  held 
  in 
  a 
  chief's 
  

   house. 
  In 
  another 
  he 
  met 
  a 
  deputation 
  of 
  Onondagas. 
  The 
  indoor 
  

   councils 
  with 
  Le 
  Moyne 
  at 
  Onondaga 
  in 
  1654 
  were 
  mostly 
  in 
  Gara- 
  

   kontie's 
  house. 
  Father 
  Bruyas, 
  in 
  his 
  Mohawk 
  vocabulary 
  of 
  1675, 
  

   recorded 
  many 
  words 
  about 
  councils, 
  but 
  none 
  regarding 
  a 
  council 
  

   house. 
  As 
  late 
  as 
  1666 
  at 
  least 
  these 
  primitive 
  conditions 
  con- 
  

   tinued, 
  meetings 
  being 
  held 
  either 
  with 
  a 
  chief 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  village 
  

   square. 
  A 
  writer 
  describing 
  the 
  Iroquois 
  in 
  that 
  year, 
  said 
  : 
  " 
  They 
  

   assemble 
  in 
  the 
  hut 
  of 
  a 
  war-chief 
  when 
  the 
  question 
  is 
  of 
  war, 
  

   and 
  in 
  the 
  hut 
  of 
  a 
  council 
  chief 
  when 
  it 
  is 
  for 
  ordinary 
  matters 
  of 
  

   state." 
  

  

  Among 
  the 
  kindred, 
  the 
  Hurons, 
  civil 
  councils 
  were 
  usually 
  held 
  

   in 
  the 
  house 
  of 
  the 
  head 
  chief, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  midst 
  of 
  the 
  town 
  or 
  

   even 
  in 
  the 
  woods 
  in 
  the 
  summer. 
  As 
  with 
  the 
  Iroquois 
  there 
  were 
  

   two 
  kinds 
  of 
  chiefs, 
  civil 
  and 
  war, 
  the 
  former 
  having 
  precedence, 
  

   and 
  councils 
  of 
  war 
  and 
  peace 
  were 
  held 
  in 
  their 
  houses 
  respec- 
  

   tively. 
  Among 
  the 
  Hurons 
  the 
  war 
  chief's 
  house 
  was 
  also 
  the 
  

   place 
  of 
  torture, 
  and 
  the 
  Relation 
  of 
  163,7 
  describes 
  an 
  event 
  of 
  this 
  

   kind: 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  cabin 
  of 
  one 
  named 
  Atsan, 
  who 
  is 
  the 
  great 
  war 
  

   captain 
  ; 
  so 
  it 
  is 
  called 
  Otinontsiskiaj 
  ondaon. 
  that 
  is 
  to 
  say 
  the 
  

   house 
  of 
  the 
  heads 
  cut 
  off. 
  It 
  is 
  there 
  where 
  all 
  the 
  councils 
  of 
  war 
  

   are 
  held; 
  for 
  the 
  cabin 
  where 
  the 
  affairs 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  are 
  dis- 
  

   cussed, 
  and 
  which 
  regards 
  only 
  the 
  polity, 
  is 
  called 
  Endionrra 
  ondaon, 
  

   the 
  council 
  house. 
  

  

  As 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  this 
  was 
  but 
  a 
  private 
  house 
  used 
  for 
  public 
  

   affairs. 
  With 
  its 
  simple 
  furniture 
  any 
  house 
  was 
  quickly 
  prepared 
  

   for 
  these, 
  and 
  most 
  were 
  large 
  enough. 
  Apparently 
  a 
  house 
  solely 
  

   for 
  councils 
  was 
  an 
  afterthought 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  18th 
  cen- 
  

   tury, 
  and 
  even 
  then 
  it 
  became 
  a 
  lodging 
  place 
  for 
  honored 
  guests. 
  

   As 
  Iroquois 
  influence 
  increased 
  and 
  reached 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  land, 
  

   councils 
  multiplied 
  and 
  the 
  need 
  of 
  special 
  accommodations 
  was 
  

   felt. 
  La 
  Salle 
  had 
  a 
  hospitable 
  reception 
  by 
  the 
  Senecas 
  in 
  1669, 
  

  

  