the great peace

North of the Beautiful Lake, Lake Ontario, on the land of the Huron Nation there was a village. This Huron village was on the Bay of Quinte, where Tyendinaga Mohawk Reservation is today. The Hurons are Iroquoian. They were related by blood to the Five Nations, they had similar language, customs, religion, traditions, and dress.

Living in that Huron village was a virgin woman. This woman was favored by the Creator of All Things. In a vision this woman was told that, though she was married to no man, she was to give birth to a boy child. She was told that she must name this child Deganahwideh. Deganahwideh was to be a great man who was to spread peace and good will among the different nations. He was to plant the Tree of peace. His life and teachings would someday influence the world. The son was born and the eyes of the Great Spirit ever watched and guarded him from harm. He was given special powers by the Creator.

The boy’s grandmother greatly disliked him and often she scolded her daughter for bringing disgrace upon the family. Three times she tried to drown the boy by thrusting him through a hole in the ice

of the lake. But the next day the boy was in his lodge by the side of his mother. He seemed well and strong and showed no aftereffect. In a dream the Great Spirit spoke to the old woman, the grandmother. He told her to cease trying to harm the boy, that the boy’s mother had born him without having marriage with any man. She was told that the boy was to become an important man.

When Deganahwideh became a man, he was an honest and good man. He had a generous heart. He never killed game for sport but only when he needed food. He shared what he had with the poor and less fortunate of the village. Because of his kindness the birds would light on his shoulders and animals would eat from his hand. He always told what he believed was right. He always spoke against war and talked for peace among all peoples.

One day he bid farewell to his mother and grandmother. In a canoe of white rock (probably birch bark) he paddled across the Beautiful Lake toward the south wind (Little Fawn). He crossed Lake Ontario and paddled up the Oswego River. Crossing Oneida Lake he made a short carry to the Mohawk River. He went eastward down the Mohawk River.

He came to a village of the Flint People, the Mohawks. In those days a stranger never entered an Indian village without an invitation. To do so invited death, as this was during a time of many wars. As was the custom at that time, he made a fire near the village and waited for an invitation to enter. The chiefs sent a scout to ask the stranger, who sat by the fire, to enter their village.

Deganahwideh spoke to the council of the Flint People. He told them of his mission, that he was to speak the works and will of the Creator, the Great Spirit. He told the people that the Great Spirit did not love war. He said that he, Deganahwideh, was sent to establish the Great Peace among the Ongewe-Oweh, the Iroquois, and that nations should no longer kill each other but must smoke the Pipe of Peace and Friendship with each other. “Warfare must cease! To love our brother is better than to hate him. The weapons of war and strife must be buried deep under the earth! To kill is evil!” So said Deganahwideh! The Head Chief of the Flint People agreed with Deganahwideh. He demanded proof, however, that Deganahwideh was the one appointed by the Great Spirit to plant the Tree of Peace and to establish the Great Laws of Friendship. Deganahwideh said that he could prove that he was the messenger of the Great Spirit. Near the village was a high cliff overlooking the lower falls of the Mohawk River. Growing on top of this cliff and overlooking the rough waters of the falls

was a huge tree. Deganahwideh said that he would climb the tree and sit on its top branches. The people were to cut down the tree and thus would fall Deganahwideh with it, into the rough waters and sharp rocks below. If he recovered, that was the proof needed. The people agreed, for the cliff was very high, the rocks very sharp, and the waters very rough. They knew that he would surely drown if he was not what he claimed to be. Deganahwideh climbed the tree and it was chopped down. He went beneath the waters and vanished.

The next morning the warriors saw smoke arising from the smoke hole of an empty bark house near the village. There they saw Deganahwideh. He was alive and was smoking while cooking his morning meal. The People of Flint were convinced that Deganahwideh was the one appointed by the Great Spirit to plant the Great Tree of Peace, and that he told the truth.

It was a time of great trouble. The nations of the Iroquois were fighting each other, brothers against brothers. The People of the Flint, (Mohawks), People of the Upright Stone (Oneidas), Hill People (Onondaga), People of the Mucklands (Cayugas), and People of the Great Mountains (Senecas) were continually at war with each other

and with outside nations. Because of foolish warfare there were many people were killed. The people mourned the deaths of their loved ones, lost through warfare. People faced starvation because hunters feared to walk alone in the forests, farmers feared to work alone in the gardens. Nowhere was anyone safe. No one knew when the terrible war-cry of the enemy might sound. Fear was constantly in the hearts of the people.

In the country of the Hill People, the Onondagas, near the Onondaga village on Onondaga Lake, there rose the smoke of a lone campfire. It was the fire of Adadarho, the terrible war-chief of the Onondagas. He was feared alike by all nations and even by his own people. This evil man had a body twisted into seven crooks. His long tangles hair was adorned with living serpents. His crooked hand always held a war-club. He was the cause of much hatred and many feuds between the men of the Five Nations. He had great power and was master of witchcraft. With the use of this wicked power he destroyed many men. Every attempt to destroy Adadarho met with failure. This man was a devourer of raw meat. It is said that he even ate the flesh of humans destroyed in battle.

Though the Onondaga People hated Adadarho, they obeyed him. They feared his sorcery. Finally the Onondagas could endure him no longer. The council asked one called Hayonwatha, who is also called Hiawatha, to clear the mind of the war-chief and to straighten his crooked body. Hiawatha, who was a man of peace, was determined to make Adadarho cease his evil ways. In canoes the people attempted to cross the lake to Adadarho’s camp. When they were in the middle of the lake, Adadarho, shouting in a loud voice, gave his terrible war cry. The people were frightened and some stood up in the canoes. Their canoes tipped over and may were drowned. Thus the first attempt to meet Adadarho was a failure. Again the people prepared to reason with Adadarho. This time they walked. Adadarho was again ready with his magic power. He caused Akweks, the eagle to fly close to the heads of the people and to shake his wings, thus loosening many prized eagle feathers. In the rush to secure the feathers, blows were struck and evil feelings were caused. The people forgot their mission. Again the Evil One was stronger.

The people were to try three times before giving up their attempt to win over the war-chief. A certain medicine man told of a vision. He said that Hiawatha alone could not conquer Adadharo. He said that a great man (Deganahwideh) was to come from the north and travel to the east. That great man and Hiawatha together could win over Adadharo. He said that Hiawatha must not remain with the Onondagas but must go to the People of the Flint country. The great man from the north lived in village of the Flint People.

Hiawatha had seven daughters who he greatly loved. The Ononda­ga people tried to get Hiawatha to go to the Flint country but he refused to leave his daughters. The people knew that as long as he had his daughters to keep him that he would never meet Deganah-wideh. They decided to kill Hiawatha’s daughters through sorcery. Ohsinoh, a noted shaman was employed to do this. Ohsinoh climbed a tree near the lodge of one of the daughters and imitating the cry of a screech owl. He sang a powerful witch song. In three days the daughter died. He did this in turn to all of the daughters of Hiawatha. During the night all of the daughters, seven in number, took sick and died.

The shock and grief of Hiawatha was great. He walked in a daze but not one of his people came to give him sympathy or comfort. His mind was shadowed and troubled with his great loss. Those who belonged to the same clan as Hiawatha’s daughters suspected some kind of mischief. Just before the seventh daughter of Hiawatha took sick they secretly watched the lodge. They heard the cry of the owl and heard the witch chant. They followed the singer, Ohsinoh, home to his own lodge and discovered who he was. When in revenge they lifted their war-clubs to kill him, he gazed at them and their arms were held back by his great power. They could not harm him. Their arrows were held back. The grief of Hiawatha was terrible to behold. When no one punished the shaman he said that he would leave Onondaga. He was determined to become a wanderer in the forest. His anger was so great that the sky shook with thunder. Lightning flashed as, leaving the village, he headed toward the south (Little Fawn).

Continued next week