Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and History of the Tuscarora Indians — John Shaqi
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
Ta-ren-ya-wa-go (the Holder of the Heavens), who was the patron of the
five home bands, did not fail, in this crisis, to direct them their way
also. He instructed those on the eastern bank the art of the bow and
arrows, to use for game and in time of danger. After giving them suitable
instructions, he guided their footsteps in their journeys, south and
east, until they had crossed the Alleghany Mountains, and with some
wanderings they finally reached the shores of the sea, on the coast which
is now called the Carolinas. By this time their language was changed.
They were directed to fix their residence on the banks of the Gow-ta-no
(that is, pine in the water) now Neuse River, in North Carolina. Here Ta-
ren-ya-wa-gon left them to hunt, increase and prosper, whilst he returned
to direct the other five nations to form their confederacy.
Tarenyawagon united in one person the power of a God and a man, and gave
him the expressive name of the Holder of the Heavens, and was capable of
assuming any form or shape that he chosed, but appeared to them only in
the form of a man, and taught them hunting, gardening, and the knowledge
of the arts of war. He imparted to them the knowledge of the laws and
government of the Great Spirit, and gave them directions and
encouragement how to fulfill their duties and obligations. He gave them
corn, beans, and fruits of various kinds, with the knowledge of planting
those fruits. He taught them how to kill and to cook the game. He made
the forest free to all the tribes to hunt, and removed obstructions from
the streams. He took his position, sometimes, on the top of high cliffs,
springing, if needs be, over frightful chasms; and he flew, as it were,
over great lakes in a wonderful canoe of immaculate whiteness and of
magic power.
Having finished his commission with the Tuscaroras at Cautanoh, in North
Carolina, and the other five families, which were left at the north, he
came down to closer terms and intimacy with the Onondagas. He resolved to
lay aside his divine character and live among them, that he might
exemplify the maxims which he had taught. And for this purpose he
selected a handsome spot of ground on the southern banks of Cross Lake,
New York. Here he built his cabin, and from the shores of this lake he
went into the forest, like the rest of his companions, in quest of game
and fish. He took a wife of the Onondagas, by whom he had an only
daughter, whom he tenderly loved, and most kindly and carefully treated
and instructed, so that she was known far and near as his favorite child,
and was regarded almost as a goddess. The excellence of his character,
and his great sagacity and good counsels, led the people to regard him
with veneration, and they gave him, in his sublunary character, the name
of Hi-a-wat-ha (a wise man). People came to him from all quarters, and
his abode was thronged by all ages and conditions who came for advice.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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