20 FIRST FLOOR, SOUTHWEST WING 



This league was formed probably as early as 1539 and with the purpose, 

 as its founders boasted, of bringing peace and breaking up the spirit of 

 perpetual warfare. It is interesting to note that the Indians recom- 

 mended it as a model to the colonies. The Oneida Indians were the 

 only members of this league who, as a tribe, adhered to the colonists in 

 the war of the Revolution. 



In the wall case on the right are shown the dress, occupations and 

 dwellings of the Iroquois. A life-size model of an Iroquois representing a 

 messenger is holding out a belt of wampum. This wampum, made chiefly 

 of the shells of the "quahog" or common hard clam of our 

 markets, was utilized in various ways: It was greatly prized 

 as an ornament and as trimming on garments; was an important feature in 

 religious ceremonies and festivals, being the token by which the Indians 

 confessed and took oaths; and was the object by which public transactions 

 were commemorated. Wampum was not used as currency however, the 

 Indians having no standard of value until they found it in our currency, 

 but it did come nearer currency than any other kind of property, and when 

 sold to white settlers the strings were counted and reckoned at half a cent a 

 bead. The woman in the right of the case is pounding corn in a primitive 

 mortar. (Corn and tobacco are our legacies from the Indian.) The 

 matrons of the Iroquois owned their own property in distinction from their 

 husbands; they sat in council by themselves and had the right to terminate 

 a war. 



On the left is a collection of grotesque masks. These were worn by 

 tt the False Face Societies. The Indians were very superstitious 



Fac s" anc ^ De ^ eve d m the existence of demons or evil spirits who 

 were without bodies, legs or arms, and possessing hideous faces 

 only, were characterized as "false faces." There eventually grew up a 

 society calling itself the "False Face Band" whose members were supposed 

 to have power to counteract the evil done by these demons and to possess 

 the capacity to heal sickness. Pictures by De Cost Smith illustrating this 

 society are on exhibition in this hall. 



The earliest Indians of the vicinity of New York City are represented 

 by the archaeological collections in the first alcove on the left. 

 New York Here will be seen remnants of their crude pottery, weapons, 

 Indians cooking utensils, and various implements made of stone, 



wood or bone, collected chiefly from burial sites on Man- 

 hattan Island, Staten Island and Long Island. On the top of one of the 

 cases is a portion of an original dugout canoe which was excavated in 

 Oliver Street in 1906 when a telephone conduit was being laid. This canoe 

 and a large earthern pot are among the very few good specimens that 

 have ever been found representative of New York City Indians. 



