The land, they said, belonged to the warriors who defended it, and to the women who tilled it, and who were also the mothers and wives of the warriors, and if the men had not degraded themselves by intemperance and left themselves to be bribed to act dishonestly, and make treaties contrary to the rules of their people, and the judgment of the best men and all the women, their glory would not have thus faded away! CHAPTER III. THE RELIGION OF THE IROQUOIS. The council fire was the watchword in Indian government, in Indian politics, and Indian life. Around it old and young rallied on all occasions of public interest, and connected with it were the most delightful associations, memories, and legends of Indian history. Indian eloquence has been the theme of poet and historian, and it was at the council fire that the enthusiasm of the orator was kindled; here the war-song awoke its echoes; here was heard “The sound of revelry by night,” when victory filled their hearts with rejoicing; and here were celebrated their solemn feasts. When they gathered together, they came over the mountain and through the valley; crossed the silvery lake and the flowing river; listened to the music of the winds among the forest boughs, the songs of the birds, and the rippling of the waters; and to their quick impulsive spirits, all the voices of nature were inspiration. The kindling of the council fire was the signal for the display of their eloquence, when danger threatened from their enemies, and their young men panted for the war-path; and when they returned, around its glowing embers was chanted the mournful requiem for those who had fallen in battle. Here, too, were offered the prayers that they might be taken to the “happy home beyond the setting sun;” and here, at each returning festival, the song of thanksgiving went up to heaven, with the burning incense, for the good gifts which were showered upon the people. There was little of what we term social life among the Indians. There were among them large villages, but there were no streets. They had houses and occupied them during some portion of the year, season after season, perhaps for centuries; but still they were considered, in a measure, temporary abodes. The hunters left them many months in the winter, for their excursions into distant forests, and the warriors were often absent weeks, and sometimes years. Often the women accompanied them on the war path and the hunting tour, and they returned to their homes, as to a resting-place, till they were ready again to go forth. At the annual festivals they all gathered, and these were the seasons of sociality, of amusement, and religious instruction.