Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations

Legends, Traditions, and Laws of
the Iroquois, or Six Nations

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Title: Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations,
and History of the Tuscarora Indians
Author: Elias Johnson
Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7978] [This file was first posted on
June 8, 2003]

Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: US-ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, LEGENDS,
TRADITIONS, AND LAWS OF THE IROQUOIS, OR SIX
NATIONS, AND HISTORY OF THE TUSCARORA INDIANS ***

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LEGENDS, TRADITIONS, AND LAWS OF THE
IROQUOIS, OR SIX NATIONS
AND
HISTORY OF THE TUSCARORA INDIANS
BY
ELIAS JOHNSON,
A NATIVE TUSCARORA CHIEF.

INTRODUCTION.
"A book about Indians!"--who cares anything about them?
This will probably be the exclamation of many who glance on my little
page. To those who know nothing concerning them, a whole book
about Indians will seem a very prosy affair, to whom I can answer
nothing, for they will not proceed as far as my Preface to see what
reasons I can render for the seeming folly.
But to those who are willing to listen, I can say that the Indians are a
very interesting people, whether I have made an interesting book about
them or not.

The Antiquarian, the Historian, and the Scholar, have been a long time
studying Indian character, and have given plenty of information
concerning the Indian, but it is all in ponderous volumes for State and
College libraries, and quite inaccessible to the multitude--those who
only take up such book as may be held in the hand, sitting by the
fire,--still remain very ignorant of the Children of Nature who inhabited
the forests before the Saxon set his foot upon our shores.
There is also a great deal of prejudice, the consequence of this
ignorance, and the consequence of the representations of your
forefathers who were brought into contact with the Indians, under
circumstances that made it impossible to judge impartially and
correctly.
The Histories which are in the schools, and from which the first
impressions are obtained, are still very deficient in what they relate of
Indian History, and most of them are still filling the minds of children
and youth, with imperfect ideas. I have read many of the Histories, and
have longed to see refuted the slanders, and blot out the dark pictures
which the historians have wont to spread abroad concerning us. May I
live to see the day when it may be done, for most deeply have I learned
to blush for my people.
I thought, at first, of only giving a series of Indian Biographies, but
without some knowledge of the government and religion of the
Iroquois, the character of the Indians could not be understood or
appreciated.
I enter upon the task with much distrust. It is a difficult task at all times
to speak and to write in foreign language, and I fear I shall not succeed
to the satisfaction of myself, or to my readers.
My title will not be so attractive to the American ears, as if it related to
any other unknown people. A tour in Arabia, or Spain, or in India, or
some other foreign country, with far less important and interesting
material, would secure a greater number of readers, as we are always
more curious about things afar off.
I might have covered many pages with "Indian Atrocities," but these
have been detailed in other histories, till they are familiar to every ear,
and