New-York tribune., 1905-11-19

A country full Of histc rical and legendary IN
terest surrounds Ithaca. and the Cornel SUI
dent who likes to have some objective point 1of
a days ramble finds himself almost embarrassed
in making a ctoics by the opulence OF his op-
portunities.
Queen jewel of that wonderful crescent OF
lakes which from Oneida to Conesus number
thirteen, is Lake Cayuga- Until 1119, when
George Washington. named in Iroquois dialect
Town Destroyer through Sullivan the Avenger
with his FIVE thousand Continentals. devastated
the region and shattered the Iroduois confed-
eracy this lake contained On its borders pos
sibly the densest Indian population known IN
any equal area in North America.
On the western ridge and shore Of the lake,
along which Colonel Dearborn's New-Hampshire
men with torch and sword marched all the way
from Cayuga to where Ithaca now stands, there
were dozen or more Indian towns or villages
The houses in these towns were built Of timber
frames with roof and sides of bark. on the
American apartment house plan, having hall
way from end to sn1, and large family rooms
on either side. Such houses. often forty yaros
long accommodated from twenty to one nun
dred Dersons With a fire In the centre OF each
room and hunks along the sides Of three walls.
with q snokehole space for cooking pots and
fettles. as we'll as implements for the squaw
cook and farmer and the buck hunter and war
clared them to be in comfort equal TO many Of
the white farmers dwellings on the frontier.
OF course there were clean Indians and dirty
Indians as there were high grade and low
grade warriors. There were not only houses for
human habitation. but for service before the
Great Mystery, for .t IS an open question
whether the white man served his God any bet
ter than did the red man-according to his
ushts In each village g shrine, at which
the sacrifice of the white dog and offerings Of
the earth were made to the spirits and the Great
Mystery with due religious ceremonies
The diaries of Sullivan's officers show how
numerous these were. There were mystic cere-
monies also at the planting of the maize. with
rejoicings, dancfngs, symbolic costume. and dec
orations made OF the leaf. stalk and ripened
ear of the wonderful food plant whose cultiva-
tion value and manifold benefits the red man
taught his white guest Then there WIS the
great thrashing floor. made Of fiat stones, laid
over considerable OF the ground, for the
huskfrg shelling and grinding Of the corn. The
cooking oven was made by lining the floor and
sides of pits with stone able to resist the crack
ing Influence OF fire in which whole deer and
fowls and salmon were baked TO perfection.
within the memory Of scores Of people living
along the lakes these thrashing floors stone
lined ovens, stumps OF apple. peach and pear
trees have been found ploughed up. There
was more than one painted post which served
as a news bulletin pasquin column Others
in Ithaca have heard from their immigrant
fathers (frorn Connecticut and New-Jerscy) OF
how Prospect Hill, in Ithaca, which overiooks
tie Lei1igh Valley Railroads route to the south
asd the Cayuga Lake trough to the north. was
used as signal station by the Indiana. Then