The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-09-16
TALES
OF THE
CHIEFS
: By
Editha
L.
Watson
DEKANAWIDA AND
HIAWATHA

been revealed TO her that her son
would be source OF evil TO her peo-
pie Hence, It was loyalty to her
tribe. and not hatred OF her baby,
that prompted the awful deed.
Morning came. The mother felt
something warm in her arms. Curios-
ity triumphed over fear. and she dared
TO look at the little bundle-it was her
child,
Twice more, she tried TO drown her
hl-omened son in the icy waters OF
the river, and twice more he miracu-
lously reappeared in her arms at dawn.
She could no longer bear to attempt
his death.
This is legend. it is true, but the
child, who grew into one Of the great
est Of Indian statesmen. is a historical
reality. His name was Dekanawida,
and il was he who, with one other,
formed the first successful league Of
nations, and propouneed the idea Of
universal peace.
The Hurons had united four tribes
about the year 800, but this league
did not last. Since II was the Iro-
quois confederation which destroyed
that Of the Hurons, the prophecy about
Dekanawida would seem TO have come
to pass. 1t is probable, however, that
| the young Indian had an unusually
alert mind. which grasped the short
comings Of the Huron union and Ia
ter turned them to account in the or
ganization Of the Iroquois confeder-
acy.
As soon as he had grown TO man
hood, Dekanawida Travelled south. He
was equipped with two mighty essen
| tails for his hfe-work-wisdom in
framing laws and establishing the
foundation upon which the coufeder-
alton was based. and astuteness in
negotiation.
Among the Mohawk, about the same
time, q younger man, who was called
! Hiawatha, was filed with the same
ideas. Legends have grown up around
him, too, and In fact we think Of
Hiawatha as the hero Of Longfellow's
poem. but the truth is that the poem
was written about Manabozho, Chip
pewa deity, and does not contain a
single fact or fiction relating to the
real Hiawatha.
Somehow the two Indians met, and
found powerful allies in each other.
II was Dekanawida who formulated
the laws and principles Of the con-
federation II was Hiawatha who con-
verted the five tribes to the idea Of
union Together they labored TO es-
tablish reforms which would end all
strife and murder.
As modern reformers can testify,
| this was a bitterly hard task, and the
two were opposed, not by the general
public so much as by men of equal
standing with their own. One Of
these, an Onondaga, among which tribe
Hiawatha started his campaign, went
so far as to kill Hiawatha's daughters
in his efforts TO halt him. Even this
crime, however, proved unsuccessful
in its purpose.
Hiawatha made three attempts 70
bring his scheme before the 0nondaga
council, but the crafty chief thwarted
him each time He then turned TO his
own people, the Mohawks, for aid II
| is well known what honor a prophet
has in his own country, so that we
are not surprised TO learn that his
efforts met with meager success. Then
i he went TO the Oneida, and at last OBJ
tanned their promise to join the pro-
jected confederacy IL the Mohawk
would do likewise. Armed with this
agreement, he returned to the No
! hawks, and finally was able TO per
suade them TO unite with the Oneida
and the Cayuga, and TO invite the
Onondaga to Join them. This tribe al
last promised TO join II another, the
Seneca, would also enter the confed-
eracy. Such promises would have dis
couraged a less earnest man. Hia-
watha. however, considered them in
the light of partial success, and. en-
boldened by II, he redoubled his efforts
to consolidate the temporizing nations.
At last, about 1870, the five tribes
were brought into confederation, and
united in adopting the laws framed by
/ Dekanawida for the common welfare,
Il is worthy Of note that the remorse-
| less Onondaga chief who had so op-
posed Hiawatha's efforts IN the begin
ming, was the one through whom that
tribe accepted the proposed union As
the chief was a reputed sorcerer,
this victory Of Dekanawida and Hi
awatha over him was looked upon by
the Indians as a sign Of great super
natural power, a fact which added
greatly TO their prestige, now that ii
was too late TO be Of much value.
| The Iroquois confederation was not
| the first league OF nations. as the
Hurons had united four tribes about
thirty years earlier, but II was the
first successful one. The sensible laws
and stable foundation given II by the
able brain OF Dekanawida. and the un-
firing efforts Of both Deksnawida and
Hiawatha, formed a project deemed
worthy Of study by our statesmen OF
modern times
There are no statues erected 10 the
memory Of these two gifted men They
are scarcely known except by delivers
in Indian lore But the Iroquois con
federation stands in history as then
monument. and the memory Of thei1
success win encourage the -peace-pro
ponents Of our day.
&c. 1879. Western Newspaper Un10n-l
Adversity's Uses
Difficulties show what men are Ad
-.--s>= l. .ln tns.t that rlrnros TIA MAJ.