The Detroit times., 1910-01-04
WHITE WOMAN
Gets RARE HONOR
Mrs. Helen Troy, Adept in Indian
Folklore. Is Initiated Into His
toric Federation OF Iroquois.

ceptlOn inlO iub uicHioetsHip VIZ"
survivors of the Six Nations. the MS
toric Federation OF the Iroquois. or
white woman. Mrs. Helen Troy ~
Auburn. She Is the first white VIC
man 10 receive such an honor. ana
she will be invested with the sum
of ancient knowledge" the thirty
sixth degree OF Indian Free Masonry
the Clan OF the Snipe, (Tar-wish, Tar
wish
Mrs. TROY, who was Miss Helen
Reilly OF Uxbridge. Mass, has spent
fifteen years in study and research
into the Iroquois traditions, and has
unearthed much that Is new 10 the
world For a number OF years she
lived in this city. and here became
acquainted with the wife OF the late
DR.. Isaac Thomas. a full-blooded Mo-
hawk. who for many years practiced
medicine in the Onondaga Valley. His
widow Is an Onondaga, a descendant
of the famous chief Captain Joseph.
and, according To tribal custom, by
virtue OF her descent, has voice In
the councils OF the Six Nations.
Details Of the Initiation.
After number of preliminary cere-
monies. Mrs. Troy. prepared through
years OF instruction by Mrs. Thomss
iir the secret work OF the Iroquois for
complete investiture. will be brought
TO the Long, OF Council House, set IN
the middle OF the reservation that Is
encircled by snow-capped hills. The
head chief OF the Onondagas, Frank
Logan, tTah-do-dah-ho.) will preside,
assisted by Chief Harry Isaacs (Sar-
ha-agee. Long Step.)
The head chief will chant 10 the
Great Spirit an incarnation that has
like the rite been handed down from
time immemorial, and will deliver a
set sermon. Then the head woman
OF the Onondagas. Mrs. Polly La
Forte, (Gar-he-war-sah. New Word.(
who will give her a new name. Gar
wen-no-shoe. Esprit Dipping Into the
Silent Waters.)
Another incarnation will follow. and
then the novice will seat herself. The
chiefs and young braves will pass be-
fore her. chanting mystic phrases TO
the solemn beating OF the tom-tom.
and she will be full-fiedged member
OF the tribe.
In every detail the ceremony will
be performed as II has been In the
Iroquois Federation for countless GEN.
turtles. and as newborn red children
have been named since long before
men began to reckon time in figures.
For the Indians maintain that this
rite, bequeathed from father to son,
is as old as the world. which their
traditions tell them they originally
peopled.
! The ceremony over. the fsvorite In
ffaA diversion, the dance fOf pleas
ure," in which young and old OF both
sexes join, will take place. The pro-
gram Is finished with refreshments ~
corn and beans. favored with beef
They are mixed in the manner tradi-
tional for such events, and the dish
Is not unlike the American house
wifes "succotash."
Indian Rite Older Than Freerasonry.
Indian Freemasonry. the Secret
Seal. (Ho-not-yahr-dohn) antedates
not only civilization, but ancient his-
tory by many centuries. II is claimed
by the Indians that the teachings OF
Caucasian Freemasonry are similar
to their own. and probably founded
on them. The browning honor OF the
Indian rite, now conferred for the
first time on a white woman, parallels.
the IroQuois maintain, the thirty-third
degree OF their white brethren. and
even exceeds II in mystic import.
Mrs. Thomas, who instructed the
novice, speaks fiuently thirteen In
dian dialects besides French and Ger
man. Mrs. Troy will be immeasur-
ably assisted In her studies OF Indian
folk lore by her full adoption. She
has already published poems based
on the Indian folk lore which have
won wide attention. and she and Mrs
Thomas are now compiling diction-
airy OF the languages OF the Six Ma
tons. which is intended for use in the
colleges. They will visit Albany Uni
yersity in the Spring to interest the
authorities In their work
They have already completed lexi-
con OF the Onondaga and Mohawk
tongues containing 10000 words. and
are now at work on the other dialects.
They also have nearly finished a
treatise on the sacred wampum,
which will elucidate the religion OF
the tribes and a wealth Of weird tradi-
ton not previously known.
Iroquois First D~eIIers on Earth.
There Is no doubt" said Mrs Troy
to a reporter. that the mythology
Of the Irouuois antedates that of the
Greeks and Romans. and, in fact. all
other peoples. just as their language
does that OF the Hebrews and all
others. Indeed. Max Muller says. The
Sanskrit is from an older language
and Iroquois traditions and records
prove conclusively that Onondaga,
the mother tongue OF all the ages.
mothered also Sanskrit. O-wen-na-ga-
rune (old tongue) antedated Greek.
Roman. Hebrew. and Sanskrit, and
when our dictionary is published IL
will prove this conclusively.
The Iroquois assert that the red
race in the beginning exclusively
peopled the earth. and that all other
nations sprang from 1t. The ancient
Egyptians were in reality an Iroquois
tribe. Why. they used tom-toms
AT the time OF the flood there was
one great continent which the In
dams alone inhabited. IL was cut into
several portions. and subsequently
races OF other colors, eliminating IN
the dominant Anglo-Saxon. made their
appearance. The Indian To the west,
was cut off from his fellows, till the
white man made his appearance from
the east. with what tragic conse.
quences the world knows.
The experience I have had In the
last fifteen years. while studying. In
learning the Iroquois inner life. so
jealously guarded from aliens. is won
dprful They are the trua rvctica