IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS 



145 



"... during the course of the proceedings Cannehoot, a Wa- 

 gun-ha sachem, presented a proposed treaty between the Wa-gun- 

 has and the Senecas, speaking as follows: ' We come to join the 

 two bodies into one. We come to learn wisdom of the Senecas 

 (giving a belt). We, by this belt, wipe away the tears from the 

 eyes of your friends, whose relations have been killed in the war. 

 We likewise wipe the paint from your soldiers' faces (giving a 

 second belt). We throw aside the ax which Yon-on-di-o put into 

 our hands by this third belt.' A red marble sun is presented, a 

 pipe made of red marble. ' Yon-on-di-o is drunk; we wash our 

 hands clean from his actions (giving a fourth belt). We have 

 twelve of your nation prisoners; they shall be brought home in 

 the spring (giving a belt to confirm the promise). We will bring 

 your prisoners home when the strawberries shall be in blossom, at 

 which time we intend to visit Corlear (the Governor of New York).' 

 The belts were accepted by the Five Nations and their acceptance 

 was a ratification of the treaty. A large belt was also given to 

 the messengers from Albany as their share. A wampum belt sent 

 from Albany was, in the same manner, hung up and afterwards 

 divided." 



ORIGIN OF THE GAME OF LACROSSE 



Lacrosse, now so commonly adopted as a favorite game among 

 athletes in all countries, originated with the North American 

 Indians who played it centuries before the discovery of America. 

 The oldest detailed description of the game was given by Nicolas 

 Perrot, a trader and government agent employed by the French 

 when Canada was a French colony. From 1662 to 1669, Nicolas 

 Perrot wrote various accounts of this game which cover a very 

 early period of history and they are doubly interesting in com- 

 parison with games of the present time. In 1662, Perrot writes: 

 " The savages have a certain game of ' cross ' which is very similar 

 to our tennis. They match tribe against tribe and if their number 

 are not equal they withdraw some of the men from the stronger 

 side. They are all armed with a ' cross,' a stick which has a large 

 portion at the bottom laced like a racket. The ball with which 

 they play is of wood and nearly the shape of a turkey's egg. It is 

 the rule of the contest that after a side has won two goals, they 

 change sides of the field with their opponents, and that two out 

 of three or three out of five goals decide the game." 



Abbe Ferland, says of this game: " Men, women and girls are 

 received on the sides in these games which begin at the melting of 



