Notes on the Iroquois

In Short

Commissioned as an official report for the New York State census of 1845, this volume gathers state-wide demographic statistics, historical minutes, and field observations regarding the surviving Iroquois population. It traces the origin, migration, and political confederation of the Six Nations, chronicling their early warfare, traditional cosmogony, and material culture. Combining field notes, archaeological site sketches, and testimony from native sachems and Christian missionaries, the text captures a historic indigenous society navigating rapid cultural transition, agricultural adaptation, and religious shift amidst an expanding American state.

The Story

The text opens with the legislative mandate behind the 1845 state census, framing the project as an unprecedented attempt to gather definitive demographic and historical data on the primary indigenous stock surviving within New York. Recognizing that early estimates of native populations were vastly exaggerated by colonial authors, the work establishes a methodical examination of the Six Nations—the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras—to track their demographic trajectory since abandoning constant warfare for agricultural pursuits.

From these preliminary statistical frames, the narrative moves into the deep past, reconstructing the origin and splintering of the original Iroquois groups. Early bands operated as independent, self-contained units analogous to solitary predators, clashing with neighboring groups to expand hunting territories. The account detail how the Oneidas originally split from the main parent stock, migrating through several temporary strongholds until settling at the sacred Oneida Stone. As external pressures multiplied, tribal statesmen recognized the ruinous nature of perpetual inter-tribal warfare. Wise leaders proposed a league of peace, uniting the separate department cantons under a single political structure bound by eight shared, cross-cutting family totems.

The work broadens its view to examine the migration and incorporation of external tribes, such as the warlike Tuscaroras who migrated north from the Carolinas after their 1711 conflict with European settlers. It investigates physical antiquities across New York counties, documenting ancient fortifications, conical seer mounds, cemetery ridges, and stone tools. Narrative traditions recorded directly from native informants explain natural phenomena and legendary battles, including the giant mosquito of Onondaga and the ancient, decisive clash between the Senecas and the Kah-Kwahs.

Turning to the present day, the chronicle presents raw census tables detailing farm acreage, livestock, educational attainment, and occupational shifts across reservations like Cattaraugus, Alleghany, and Tonawanda. Reports from local teachers and missionaries contrast past conditions with current advancements in English literacy, Washingtonian temperance pledges, and Christian church memberships. The work concludes with notes on council ceremonies—such as the inauguration of new sachems followed by traditional trotting and fish dances—asserting that the intellect once devoted to war can successfully flourish in the arts of civilization.

How It Unfolds

The legislative commission An official census mandate from New York State prompts the collection of systematic demographic tables, setting out to resolve long-standing historical mysteries and replace early colonial population exaggerations with exact data.

The gathering of traditions Travel through native settlements yields field notes, oral histories, and local accounts gathered around evening fires, establishing the earliest migrations of separate bands and the original move toward confederation.

The league of totems Iroquois statesmen institute a unified political council bound across six distinct cantons by eight original family clans, creating a resilient inter-tribal alliance linked by shared ancestral symbols and hospitality obligations.

The survey of antiquities Field inspections of sites like Kasonda and Fort Hill expose ancient earthworks, burnt palisades, conical seer mounds, and stone mortars, offering physical proof of older, forgotten settlements.

The recorded legends Native narrators share foundational folklore, describing how the Holder of the Heavens vanquished the giant mosquito of Onondaga and how young Seneca warriors vanquished the invading Kah-Kwahs.

The modern transition Detailed census tables and missionary reports detail an era of rapid transition, charting the rise of frame houses, agricultural farming, temperance societies, and formal English schooling across the reservations.

The People

Thaunowaga An ancient aboriginal sage who first conceives the radical concept of an inter-tribal alliance. He seeks to halt destructive internal feuds, successfully establishing the founding idea of the Iroquois Confederacy.

Otatschechta A renowned delegate and statesman of the Oneidas who resides at the sacred Oneida Stone. He acts on the vision of peace, leading his people into the council fire of the unified Five Nations.

Tarenyawagon Known as the Holder of the Heavens, this divine figure intervenes directly in human affairs. He pursues the pestiferous giant mosquito around the Great Lakes, killing it at the salt lake of Onondaga and accidentally generating modern insect life from its blood.

James Gould A Revolutionary War veteran and land proprietor in Onondaga who guides field research across ancient fort grounds. He preserves local antiquities and provides detailed testimony regarding burnt palisades, conical mounds, and historic burial ridges.

Baron Graffenried A German nobleman captured alongside surveyor Lawson by the Tuscaroras in 1711. He saves his life by appealing to his high rank while his captors execute their plot against the surrounding European settlements.

In Its Own Voice

To make minutes of what occurred, was all that time permitted me; but it was a rule, to make them promptly and on the spot.

The author explains the immediate, unvarnished method of gathering field notes directly from native and local sources along his journey.

Wisdom, at length, taught the Iroquois sages, that they had enemies enough, without fighting with each other, and the idea of a confederation was suggested.

This observation captures the pivotal historical shift when isolated, warring tribes recognized the political necessity of a unified league.

The hand that drew a bow, can be taught to guide a plough.

The text expresses a firm nineteenth-century conviction that the inherent energy once applied to warfare can be redirected into modern agricultural life.

What It's Really About

The central argument asserts that indigenous societies possess a complex, sophisticated history equal to European nations, characterized by advanced political systems rather than mere wild savagery. Underneath its statistical tables and historical notes, the text grapples with the historical ironies of conquest. It highlights how the Six Nations, who once scattered neighboring tribes through military dominance, found themselves disrupted by aggressive European expansion.

The work addresses whether an indigenous population can preserve its national identity while adopting the tools, farming practices, and language of a surrounding Christian civilization. Ultimately, it argues that intellectual capacity remains constant, requiring only a change in channel from warfare to civilized industry.

Why Read It Today

This text appeals to readers of Native American history, early American ethnology, and regional archaeology who crave raw, unedited primary material rather than polished modern summaries. Reading it feels like looking over the shoulder of a nineteenth-century field researcher: smooth narrative passages give way to structured census grids, site diagrams, and transcribed oral testimony.

It leaves the reader with a vivid sense of the Iroquois landscape during a pivotal moment of cultural transformation, balancing ancient oral traditions with the day-to-day realities of reservation life in the 1840s.

Modern readers must navigate periodic difficulties inherent to mid-nineteenth-century government reports. The style shifts abruptly between bureaucratic data, military troop estimates, and anecdotal travel notes. Furthermore, the prose reflects the paternalistic period attitudes of its era, often framing indigenous progress strictly through the lens of Western Christian civilization and agricultural assimilation. Yet for those willing to engage with its historical context, it offers an indispensable, highly detailed record of the Six Nations during a critical era of survival and adaptation.