THE OLD NEW YORK FRONTIER
that the Iroquois League had existed for about a century when the Dutch landed, thus carrying its formation back almost to the coming of Columbus. Indian tradition pointed to a much older date, but Indian tradition is a very uncertain guide for dates. We know that before the League was formed, the Iroquois had long been in possession of these New York lands. They came originally from the St. Lawrence Valley and had lived near the site of Montreal, at which point some of their descendants now reside. But when their first migration into Central New York took place, we do not know. Five nations originally composed the League, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas; but the Tuscaroras, who had long lived in North Carolina, early in the eighteenth century, were permitted to settle in New York and become members of the federation. Thenceforth these Indians were known as the Six Nations.
Writers have been fond of dwelling upon the masterly statesmanship which directed the formation of the League. So far from being a compact designed to promote war, its avowed purpose, as understood by Hale, was "to abolish war altogether." Dr. Brinton is quoted by Grinnell as pronouncing the scheme "one of the most far-sighted and, in its aims, the most beneficent" that ever statesman designed for mankind. After its formation the Iro-
was born in Aurora, N. Y., in 1818, and died in Rochester in 1881. He was a graduate of Union College, a lawyer for many years, and served several terms in the State Legislature. He often visited the New York Indians on their reservations and was adopted by the Senecas. He wrote other books on aboriginal life in America, the scientific nature of which has been much esteemed. But "The League of the Iroquois" is the best known. It has long been out of print and scarce. Hardly more than one copy a year turns up in the auction sales. A reprint is much needed.
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