Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1897-07-12
HIA WATHA THE GREAT.

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most valuable and interesting his
torical relics in America, which is
now the trophy of the mayor of the
city, says the Washington correspon-
dent Of the Chicago Record. 1t is the
wampum belt OF Hiawatha, and was
made to commemorate the formation
| of the Iroquois onfederation-the
league Of the five nations, which oc
Cured somewhere about the middle
of the fourteenth century, long be-
fore the discovery Of this hemisp here
by the white man.
Hiawatha was not love-sick war
rior and minstrel, as Longfellow de-
scribes him. He was the foremost
statesman Of his age in America and
was several centuries ahead of his
American soil Of international arbi-
tration. He was the first apostle of
peace in America that we know any
thing about, and his untutored mind
developed the fundamental princi
pies Of Christianity as he trod the
I "A
moccasins.
The wampum is belt of bead en-
broidery, for that is the meaning of
the term. 1t represents four squares
about five inches by four inches in
size, two of which are on either side
of the diamond shaped centre. They
are connected by links. The diamon
shaped figure represents the Onon-
daga nation, which was the wealthiest
and most powerful. The other four
represent the Senecas, the Mohawks,
the Cayugas and the Oneidas. Later
the Tuscaroras joined the confed
eracy, and became known as the Six
Nations.
It was Hiawatha who brought about
the confederation. He was a member
of the Onondaga tribe, but was con-
sidered a parsonage of miraculous
birth which gave him great influence
as a medicine man among the super
stitious Indians. This belief was cor
roborated by several narrow escapes
from death. Hiawatha was also
known and greatly esteemed by all
the tribes in New York, New England,
and Eastern Canada for his wisdom
and benevolence. He beheld with
great grief the evils of war and the
destruction that attended the strug
giles that were constantly going on
between the neighboring tribes over
little jealousies and petty ambitions
and the improvements and miseries
which those wars produced. He
therefore proposed a great confedera-
ton of all the Indians north and east
of the Allegheny mountains. Each
nation was to retain it's own indi-
viduality and manage its own do
mestic affairs as before, but Etheir
mutual relations or their foreign af
fairs, as one might say, were to be
governed by general council COM
posed of delegates from each in pro-
portion to their population. His
great purpose was to abolish war and
promote the welfare of his people.
He intended that the confederation
should extend SO as to exclude other
tribes, until all the races of men
should be embraced in single union
with d common interest, and that
peace should reign everywhere. Thus
he was the first great peace COM
missioner in American history.
Twice H1awatha failed to secure the
assent of his own tribe because of
the ambition and warIike disposition
of AtotarhO, chief Of the Onondagas,
but the latter finally agreed to enter
the confederation provided he should
be made the great chief and the
chieftianship and the keeper of the
Wampum should always remain with
his tribe. Through the diplomacy of
Hiawatha the other nations were
persuaded to accept these conditions.
The league was formed, Atotarho was
made the chief, and the wampum
which I have described was woven
to commemorate one of the greatest |
events in Indian history.
After accomplishing this purpose,
and fearful of the jealousy of Atotar
no, Hiawatha left his home, mounted |
his canoe and fioated down the Mo- |
hawk into oblivion. Of his subsequent |
career and his death we have no in
formation. Schoolcraft, the historian
of the Indians, makes him the hero of |
many great legends. Longfellow's
poems transforms this grave Onondo-
ga statesman into an Ojibway demi-
god, the son of the west wind
The same gentleman who owns the
Hiawatha belt has another piece of