New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-10-02

baton. Mr. Johnson might have been Kiiieu ="
the instant But it did not take long ioi '.o
Delawares to reason that god VINO coui" 30
beaten down in such fashion was hardly worm
fighting for. This appears to have been the only
idol ever worshipped on the Reserve.
A curious detail Of the scene in the OhonuaSa
Long House on the day of the Green corn ree'.
val was the appearance of the stove al the Gnu VI
| the room where the women were grouped "hi'e
the stove among the men stood up on lts FOUR ~so
in bare and box like severity of outline that among
the women showed only here and there corner OF
an edge of moulding pcepinG out among the oas-
kcts heaped up with boiled corn and raw cucum-
bers. To the little chaps the cucumbers were
most attractive One might see fodder IN de-
fance of all civilized experience with stomach
ache contentedly nibbing at vegetable almost
as long as his arm. The children really seemed 10
get as much enjoyment in this way as whl'e
young one would have got ont of stick OF canoy'
or a black pickaninny out of segment OF water
melon Beside the stove stood large Kettle COW
cred with a lid 1t contained soup when had
been made over fire in shed that stood along
| side the house There seemed to one who looked
on this heaping up of the things for which grail
| tude was due TO the Great Spirit some renlnls-
ccnce of ceremony which may have occupied the
very centre of the ancient lodge. One could not
help thinking of the practice recorded as char-
acterstic of the Creeks, who refrained even from
eating any Of the harvest until AFTER IRE Pur-
| fying ceremonies of the Green Corn festlVa, anu
began the feast by putting out the ires oil the oid
voor and starting a new one from which all the
| family hearths were replenished Some OF the
ne,v corn was burned in this sacred fire appar-
only bv way Of sacrifice If any such ceremony
were ever known to the Iroquois, the only relics
| of it now were the appointment OF particular
woman TO attend to the cooking of the soup. and
simple act Of looking over the new CORN whlch
was described as inspection and was certainly con-
sIdered Indispensable.
| In respect for sacred place, the Ononnaeas
| showed very different notions from those 10
which white people are accustomed. Smoking
was not forbidden and hats were worn. But the
nractice was not uniform as it would be in a
| Jewish synagogue meeting OF FRIENDS where
all the men kept their heads covered. One
could here dor his hat or put it on as he chose
When an orator rose to speak. he did so with I'M
covered head There was evidently no irrcvcr-
ence in this want of regularity because within
doors the assemblage silent and decorous
Rnt the people, especially the young folks, came
and went and any time when one looked outside
he saw groups seated under the trees, or busy at
some athletic game. In fact, the younger genera
ton did not appear to take the religious ous-
ness of the day over seriously. 1t was a holi-
day for them and little more. After awhile 1t was
observed that the busiest lacrosse players were
also the musicians of the occasion. They came
in TO play when the dances had to be performed
and escaped to the ball field when Orations were
in order. But nothing could surpsss the gravity
of the older people. One recalled involuntary
the memorable remark of Father Hennepln:
Les Senator's de Venise nont pas une conte-
nance plus grave ct ne parlent peut etre pas ayec
plus dc pols Que les Anciens des lroquols.
While there was apparently no seat of honor
vet the fact that Skanawati sat at the end OF
the room drew the more scdate and important
personaees 10 his side. When tie tall figure OF
lladwenninc, known to the whites more famlllarly
as Chief Wage the Cayuga leader, appeared IN
the doorway he paused fer an instant and then
moved TO where the Onondaga chieftain sat. The