IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS 



of the founder of the order and a thanksgiving to the host of living 

 things that have given their life power that the medicine might 

 be. The spirits of these creatures hover about the medicine which 

 they will not desert as long as the holder remains faithful to the 

 conditions that they saw fit to impose when it was given to the 

 founder. The psychic influence of the animals and plants is the 

 important part of the medicine and when the medicine is opened 

 in the dark they are believed to be present in a shadowy form that 

 is said to sometimes become faintly luminous and visible. Members 

 are said frequently to see these spirit forms, not individual members 

 only but the entire company simultaneously. There are marvels and 

 mysteries connected with the ceremonies of the Ho-noh-tci-noh-gah, 

 the Indians say, that white men will never know, nor would believe 

 if told. The Indian believes that he has some sacred mysteries 

 that will die with him, and that even in this age of inquiry, these 

 mysterious things will never become the property of civilization. 



Someone has suggested that Indian songs are not stable but 

 vary from time to time, but this idea is at once dispelled when we 

 see a company of fifty young and old chanting the same song with- 

 out a discord from night till morning. The song is uniformly 

 the same and probably has varied but slightly since it originated. 

 It is still intact with none of its parts missing, although the words 

 are archaic and some not understood. 1 



The medicine men teach that if a packet is not sung for at least 

 once in a year the spirits will become restless and finally angry 

 and bring all manner of ill luck upon its possessor. The spirits 

 of the animals and plants that gave their lives for the medicine 

 will not tolerate neglect, and relentlessly punish the negligent 

 holder and many instances are cited to prove that neglect brings 

 misfortune. The medicine will bring about accidents that will 

 cause sprains, severe bruises and broken bones and finally death. 

 In every Seneca settlement the story is the same and individuals 

 are pointed out who, having neglected their medicine, have become 

 maimed for life. Should some member of a family die leaving his 

 medicine, it is claimed that it will compel the person who should 

 rightly take the dead one's place to respect its desires. The 

 members of the society relate that when John Patterson, the last 

 holder of the secret, died, he left his medicine in the loft of his 

 house. His son, a well educated man of wide business experience, 



1 The writer has recently examined an old book in which a Seneca had recorded the 

 words of the ritual. There is no variation between the version found in the book and 

 that now used with the exception of an "r" sound in some syllables now pronounced "ah." 

 The writer's conclusion above stated is therefore justified. 



