Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and History of the Tuscarora IndiansJohnson, Elias
History
Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and History of the Tuscarora Indians
Johnson, Elias
Iroquois Indians; Tuscarora Indians
"Listen further to what the Great Spirit has been pleased to communicate
to us. He has made us, as a race, separate and distinct from the pale
faces. It is a great sin to intermarry and intermingle the blood of the
two races. Let none be guilty of this transgression.
"At one time the four messengers said to Handsomelake, 'Lest the people
should disbelieve you and not repent and forsake their evil ways, we will
now disclose to you the house of torment, the dwelling place of the
evil-minded.' Handsomelake was particular in describing to us all that he
witnessed, and the course which departed spirits were accustomed to take
on leaving the earth. There was a road which led upward; at a certain
point it branched; one branch led straight forward to the house of the
Great Spirit, and the other turned aside to the house of torment; at the
place where the roads separated were stationed two keepers, one
representing the good and the other the evil spirit; when a person
reached the fork, if wicked, by a motion of the evil keeper, he turned
instinctively upon the road which led to the abode of the evil-minded;
but if virtuous and good, the other keeper directed him upon the straight
road; the latter was not much traveled, while the former was so
frequently trodden that no grass could grow in the pathway. It sometimes
happens that the keepers have great difficulty in deciding which path the
person should take, when the good and bad actions of the individual were
nearly balanced. Those sent to the house of torment sometimes remain one
day, (which is one year with us); some for a longer period. After they
have atoned for their sins they pass to heaven; but when they have
committed either of the great sins, (witchcraft, murder, or infantcide),
they never pass to heaven, but are tormented forever. Having conducted
Handsomelake to this place, he saw a large dark-colored mansion,
covered with soot, and beside it stood a lesser one. One of the four then
held out his rod, and the top of the house moved up until they could look
down upon all that was within. He saw many rooms. The first object which
met his eyes was a haggard-looking man, his sunken eyes cast upon the
ground, and his form half consumed by the torments he had undergone. This
man was a drunkard. The evil-minded then appeared and called him by name.
As the man obeyed his call, he dipped from a caldron a quantity of red-
hot liquid and commanded him to drink it, as it was an article he loved.
The man did as he was commanded, and immediately from his mouth issued a
stream of blaze. He cried in vain for help. The tormentor then requested
him to sing and make himself merry as he had done while on earth, after
drinking the firewater. Let drunkards take warning from this. Others were
then summoned. There came before him two persons who appeared to be
husband and wife. He told them to exercise the privilege they were so
fond of while on earth. They immediately commenced a quarrel of words.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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