Their laws of descent are quite intricate. They follow the female line, and as the children always follow the tribe of the mother, and the man never is allowed to marry in his own tribe, it follows that the father and son are never of the same tribe, and hence the son can never succeed the father, because the sachemship runs in the tribe of the father. It really is quite surprising to find such permanent original institutions among the Iroquois, and still more surprising that these institutions have never seen the light. If I can construct a table of descents with any approach to accuracy, I will send it down to the Historical Society. The idea at the foundation of their law of descent, is quite a comment upon human nature. The child must be the son of the mother, though he may not be of his mother’s husband—quite and absolutely an original code. The object of this council was to “raise up sachems” in the place of those who had died. It would require more room than twenty letters would furnish to explain what we saw and heard—the mode of election and deposition—the lament for the dead—the wampum—the two sides of the council fire, &c. &c., and the other ceremonies connected with raising up sachems; also the dances, the preaching, the feast. We were well received by the Indians, and they seemed disposed to give us whatever information we desired on the religious system of the Iroquois, their marriage and burial rites, &c. Faithfully, L. T. MORGAN. NOTE. In Mr. Cusick’s statement of his labors, he states that he has been instrumental in forming _three_ churches, consisting of _two hundred members_; but he omits noticing the locality and separate number of these churches. The church over which he presides, at Tuscarora, constitutes a part, but I am not able to say what part of the number. He probably includes the Tonewanda church in the estimate; but, from this uncertainty, it was impossible to bring either definitely into the column of “church members.” A reference in the appropriate column of the returns from Buffalo, denotes this church also to be “incomplete,” as no return from the missionary, Mr. Wright, has been received, and the interpreter, Mr. Pierce, who filled up the returns for that station, dropped this column, after inserting _five_ names, under the belief that the information would be given, and better given, by the missionary himself. Mr. Hall, of Alleghany, returns one more _school_ than appears in the column of schools, an error which was not detected till the proof sheets had been returned; nor is it known whether this includes the schools kept by the Society of Friends on that reservation, no information having been received from their local teacher, who was, however, verbally requested to state the number of his pupils.