26 
The circle was laid down as in the figure, with all the pendants turned 
in towards the centre and with the long pendant representing the seventh 
Onondaga sachem to the left of the join in the circle. Beginning from 
this join and reading counter-clockwise, you have fourteen pendants 
for the fourteen sachems of the Onondaga nation, 1 then eight pendants 
for the Seneca nation, nine for the Mohawk, nine for the Oneida, and, 
finally, ten for the Cayuga, who were thus to the right of the Onondaga. 
It was in this same order that the sachems took their seats in the council 
house. There the Mohawk, if they were introducing a question, referred 
it first to the sachems of the Seneca nation, who sat on their right. When 
the Seneca gave their judgment the Mohawk referred it to the sachems 
of the Oneida and Cayuga. Lastly, the Mohawk laid it before the sachems 
of the Onondaga, who could express an independent opinion only if the 
other nations had disagreed. According to Chief Loft’s tradition, Dekan- 
awida ruled that if the nations failed to reach a unanimous agreement 
the matter was to be referred to the council of matrons for decision. 
The second wampum record (Plate I, figure 2) which contains 
about 300 beads also drilled from both ends, is closely associated with the 
first. Dekanawida ordained, besides a record for the entire League, a 
mnemonic record of the sachems of each nation; and this is the record of 
the Mohawk nation. Chief Loft, as first sachem of the Mohawk wolf clan 
and bearer of the title Sharenhhonwaneh, is the hereditary keeper of this 
record also. Whether the records of the Seneca and other nations are still 
in existence he did not know. 
Since the Mohawk nation had nine sachems there are nine pendants 
in the record. A short string of beads unites them, symbolizing that the 
sachems should all be of one mind. The nine pendants are grouped in 
threes, for there were three clans in the Mohawk nation and each clan 
was represented on the council by three sachems. The pendant represent- 
ing the first sachem of each clan contains white beads only, that represent- 
ing the second sachem had two purple beads among the white, and that 
representing the third sachem three purple beads. Laying the record 
down as in the figure so that the pendant on the left contains white beads 
only it reads, from left to right: 
Turtle Clan 
1st sachem: Tehkarihhoken “the mediator” 
2nd sachem: Hayenwatha “he who uses a comb”, i.e., combs out differ- 
ences and unites the people 
3rd sachem: Shadekarihwade “the clear thinker, the reliable one” 
Wolf Clan 
1st sachem: Sharenhhonwaneh “majestic tree” 
2nd sachem : Tehyonhhehkon “he who has two lives” 
3rd sachem: Ohrenrehkawa “great limb on a tree” 
Bear Clan 
1st sachem: T ehhennahkarineh “he who drags horns” 
2nd sachem: Ahstawenseronhtha “he hangs up the rattles” 
3rd sachem: Shoskoharohwaneh “a great bush” 
’For convenience the pendants of each nation have been separated at the Museum by a knot of red ribbon. 
