496 New Yoek at the World's Coltjmbian Exposition. 



because each sachem's opinion was fully respected. Honor and esteem 

 were the rewards of merit ; shame and contempt were the recompense 

 of ill-desert. Eacli- family bore the name of some animal or bird. 

 The mark of a family was the animal whose name it bore. 



No man could marry into his own family, or clan. The children fol- 

 lowed the clan of the mother ; therefore, no chief could be succeeded in 

 office by his own son. All members of the wife's clan were her 

 brothers and sisters ; none of them, therefore, would go to war with 

 each other. Neither would they war with her husband or with his 

 family or clan, for that would be a family quarrel — an unheard-of 

 occurrence. A half-brother to a sachem could succeed him, or a sister's 

 son, or some other distant relative, but only through the female line. 

 Matters of national importance were settled at conventions or councils 

 of all the sachems. The grand councils are to this day held among the 

 Onondagas. The sachems, or heads of families, number fifty in all. 

 There has always been, among the Six Nations, an order of war chiefs 

 or military leaders, whose authority came simply by virtue of their 

 bravery and ability. The slightest cowardice on the part of one of them 

 deprived a warrior of his rank as chief. The sachems are nominated 

 in their respective clans by the eldest woman in each clan. 



The Iroquois league held the balance of power on this continent in 

 all the early struggles between the French and English, and threw its 

 weight on the side of the latter. One of the most conspicuous and 

 remarkable facts of American history is the fidelity with which the 

 Iroquois held allegiance to the English. "When Sir William Johnson 

 died, to whom the Mohawks allied themselves, they linked their for- 

 tunes with Sir William's family, and followed them to the north, 

 departing forever from their life-long abodes, and are now found along 

 the St. Lawrence river. They are known as the St. Regis, or St. 

 Francis Mohawks. 



In 1677 the entire force of Iroquois warriors numbered 2,150. 

 Never in the history of Grreece or Rome, or any other nation of 

 earth, have 2,000 warriors produced such results or wielded so 

 mighty an influence over so wide a realm as the Iroquois in those 

 palmy days. They conquered the territory from the Atlantic ocean 

 to the Mississippi river, and not only called it theirs, but located 

 representative chiefs, or consuls, throughout this wide domain, and 

 levied tribute on conquered tribes. A dependent tribe on Long Island, 

 200 years ago, neglected to pay the customary tribute, and even dared 

 to sell some land without consent of tlieir conquerors. A Mohawk 

 chief, in full war dress, appeared in their midst, convened their coun- 

 cil, asked why the tribute had failed, demanded to know the name of 

 the chief who first put his signature to the deed of sale, drew his 

 tomahawk, and, approaching the chief who arose in confession to the 

 signature, slew him. The council was paralyzed with fear, and the 

 haughty Iroquois, without another word, turned into the forest and 

 retraced his steps unmolested 200 miles to his own people. Such was 

 the power of the league everywhere. 



The league was a union of five tribes made up of clans, all forming 

 one government, each tribe having local authority like our individual 



