Show I TALES es of o ES ESBy By EDITIA I. I WATSON The Iroquois The first successful ful League of ot Na U dons n. n was 81 that of ot the tile also so known as M tile the Mite V N Nations a t to 10 n s. s These tribes the Seneca a Mohawk Oneida and Onondaga Onon Onon- rr daga daia were tre united y In a confederation l b by y the efforts of I I I a and n d dI I atha t those b 0 Sl brilliant statesmen statesman of tf the aborigines about the y e u a r 1570 0 One n e h humI hun hum u n. n I Bred 5 and ond two fifty years ears later the I i Iroquois r i morn were aO- aO to the t league which was known from thenon then on u as ns the Six Nations All the Iroquois tribes were much alike like In lu their customs C. C hlll w was wa at traced through the female blood and the Iho women controlled man ninny many of the political and legal situations The lodges and their were wre the property of or the tho won women on and so were the children All 11 IRnI lunK Including In ing IlIg the burial grounds al also o were no n n. n n. n hue ers era of Or no till much of the tribal property ty It f followed ed that the councils even en that of ot the league Itself while composed of men I lIall really only represented the women omen and ond their rights The penalty for killing a woman was twice that for killing a n man num Women possessed the right to forbid their sons to go on the warpath wl they kept close ose watch atch on the affairs of their tribe and guarded the treasury with a voice rolce In the disposal of ot Its con- con tents The feminists of today ma may point with pride to this great confederation confederation as na the of or their desired cl In each ah tribe certain classes of persons per sons lIOns held the position of chiefs and there were three grades gradl's of these thee whose functions were defined by the tribal laws The confederation was an nn enlargement of ot the tribal government govern Io ment meat which created new rights and duties yet yot It adhered closely to the precedent pre pree set b by the separate tribes The sensible laws lows and principles of the constitution of this confederation were due In a n large measure to De- De a Huron who appears to hate ha been a man fur In advance of ot othi hi Ms his time Hiawatha a Mohawk was the one w who ho undertook the enormous tabor labor of putting principles prin prin- 1118 Into practice The ChI story of ot these two men almost passes belief because of the time In which they lived Jived the obstacles they were WE're compelled com coin omI I to surmount and anti the brilliance of their tI final for the I Iroquois confederation will stand forever for for- ever It as a R wonderful example of aboriginal abor allor- go government gO When the Europeans first heard of ot ottile the tile league It was os already a powerful one oot and as ns soon as 88 contact with the whites whilEs enabled lIal th them to obtain firearms firearms fire fire- arms the Five Nations began to conquer conquer con on quer their neighbors on all oil sides lides and to extend their territory They were successful In this expansion until blocked by the Cherokee on the south and the Chippewa who were WE're also expanding expanding ex on the west In fact the Chippewa finally forced them to withdraw from part of ot the country they had conquered the peninsula between between be be- tween Lake Erie and take loke Huron The Canadian Indians to their north were WE're resisting their Advance al 1110 o and t hAn a ft IA nn Ihl un the leagued tribes hack back he created In Inthe Inthe inthe the baffled Iroquois most bitter enemies fn- fn emles of the I French From this time on the French had cause lIu e to know the strength and the venom of these Indians In Indians In- In who as ns they had become allied with the English bad had powerful back- back Ing The French realizing not only that these were dangerous enemies but bat also aillo that they would be friends worth having having hav hav- ing trl tried d Ier every means In their power to change han 1 their attitude The rhe ml mission mission- lon Aries were charged to befriend these Indians and to try to alter oller their enmity enmity en en- mity and were ere successful In some Individual cases ases A good many from the Mohawk and Onondaga and a few from the other tribes tribe withdrew from their people and ond formed settlements of their own on the St. St Lawrence riv riv- er Ir These ThEle people known as 88 the Catholic Catholic Cath Cath- olic Iroquois were friendly to the Trench French and took part with lIh them against their former tribesmen Th league Iague tried time after time to win them back but hat finally gave ve them up as traitors who would not reform When the American Revolution ne began began be be- gan It was WIlS decided among the IroquoIs Iro Ira to let IH each earb tribe make Its own choice hole of action The 1 league 8 had hod al- al wa ways s 1 been een friendly with the tile English so that they all oil with two u exceptions Joined their friends In the struggle The Che Oneida Onelda the most cruel and least tractable of the Iroquois tribes and find part of ot the Tu Tuscarora carora remained neu neu- After the war those of the league who had been allied with the tie English h were settled n a reservation ID In On On- tario tarlo Those In the United States except ex tx except ept the tIe Oneida Onelda were given r reserve reserve- In N New w York while the Orielda Oneida went to Ray iris WIs near which plate they settled CO I c Ull lUI Watern MIera Newspaper r Union Valon Yellow Head a has hUR been selected 1 bj by artists as a perfect physical cal 81 type of the American In Indian Indan laD |