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NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



You, the Five Nations Confederate Lords, be firm so that if a 

 tree falls upon your joined arms it shall not separate you or weaken 

 your hold. So shall the strength of the union be preserved. (16- 

 XIV, TLL). 



59 A bunch of wampum shells on strings, three spans of the hand 

 in length, the upper half of the bunch being white and the lower 

 half black, and formed from equal contributions of the men of the 

 Five Nations, shall be a token that the men have combined them- 

 selves into one head, one body and one thought, and it shall also 

 symbolize their ratification of the peace pact of the Confederacy, 

 whereby the Lords of the Five Nations have established the Great 

 Peace. 



The white portion of the shell strings represent the women and 

 the black portion the men. The black portion, furthermore, is 

 a token of power and authority vested in the men of the Five 

 Nations. 



This string of wampum vests the people with the right to correct 

 their erring Lords. In case a part or all the Lords pursue a course 

 not vouched for by the people and heed not the third warning of 

 their women relatives, then the matter shall be taken to the Gen- 

 eral Council of the women of the Five Nations. If the Lords 

 notified and warned three times fail to heed, then the case falls into 

 the hands of the men of the Five Nations. The War Chiefs shall 

 then, by right of such power and authority, enter the open council 

 to warn the Lord or Lords to return from their wrong course. If 

 the Lords heed the warning they shall say, " we will reply to- 

 morrow." If then an answer is returned in favor of justice and 

 in accord with this Great Law, then the Lords shall individually 

 pledge themselves again by again furnishing the necessary shells 

 for the pledge. Then shall the War Chief or Chiefs exhort the 

 Lords urging them to be just and true. 



Should it happen that the Lords refuse to heed the third warn- 

 ing, then two courses are open: either the men may decide in their 

 council to depose the Lord or Lords or to club them to death with 

 war clubs. Should they in their council decide to take the first 

 course the War Chief shall address the Lord or Lords, saying: 

 " Since you the Lords of the Five Nations have refused to return 

 to the procedure of the Constitution, we now declare your seats 

 vacant, we take off your horns, the token of your Lordship, and 

 others shall be chosen and installed in your seats, therefore vacate 

 vour seats." 



