the pupils are commendable. A new interest has been aroused, as on other reservations, by the various investigations of the conditions and necessities of the Six Nations, and a very decided exhibition of progressive tendencies is noted by citizens who are in daily contact with this people. The need of education, and especially of a practical business knowledge of the English language, is fully recognized by many, and the schools are beginning to respond to this growing conviction.

SCHOOL NO. 1, on the Saint Regis road, north from Hogansburg, shows the following record: Largest attendance any one day, 31; number attending 1 month or more, 25, viz, 12 males and 13 females, all between the ages of 6 and 18; average age, 10 years; average attendance, 13; largest average attendance any single month, 18, in February. John Lazar (La Salle) and Agnes Torrance did not miss a day. During a driving snow storm, which lasted from early morning until night, every pupil on the register was present, and also upon the following day, when the mercury dropped 2 degrees below zero. It had been intimated that visitors might be present about that time, and the ambition of the excellent teacher was aroused, but the response of the pupils was indicative of future possibilities.

SCHOOL No. 2 is 3.33 miles from Hogansburg, on the direct road to Fort Covington. Largest attendance any one day, 32; number attending 1 month or more, 28, viz, 12 males and 16 females; under the age of 6, males 2 and females 1; between the ages of 6 and 18, males 11 and females 13; average age, 10 years; average attendance, 13; average attendance any single month, 17, in February. Lewis Herring (Heron) attended every day, and Maggie Gareau (Gorrow) lost but 1 day of the long term.

SCHOOL NO. 3 is nearly 2 miles from Hogansburg, on the direct road west to Messina Springs. Largest attendance any one day, 21; number attending 1 month or more, 24, viz, 11 males and 13 females, all between the ages of 6 and 18; average age, 10 years; average attendance, 15; largest average attendance any single month, 18, in February. Caroline Billings lost but 1 day.

SCHOOL NO. 4 is 2.25 miles northeast from Hogansburg, as indicated on the map. Largest attendance any one day, 25; number attending 1 month or more, 27, viz, 13 males and 14 females, all between the ages of 6 and 18; average age, 10 years; average attendance, 15; largest average attendance any single month, 18, in February. Sarah Ranson, Nancy Gareau (Gorrow), Maria Cook, and Angus Cook showed exceptional attendance.

SCHOOL No. 5 is 1.33 miles southwest from Hogansburg, on the new road leading west from the Helena road, at Frank Cook's. Largest attendance any one day, 21; number attending 1 month or more, 26, viz, 14 males and 12 females, all between the ages of 6 and 18; average age, 10 years; average attendance, 14; largest average attendance any single month, 17, in February; exceptional attendance, Hattie and Thomas Gray and Alexander White, who lost but 1 day of the spring term.

The highest aggregate of attendance any single day in the 5 schools was 130. The number of those who attended 1 month or more during the school year of 36 weeks was also 130, or about one-third of the 397 of school age (school age in New York ranges from 5 to 21 years). The data given are in accordance with the census schedules and the school age most common in the United States.

The qualification as to "reading and writing", which was made in reporting upon the educational progress of the other nations of the Iroquois league, has even greater force among the Saint Regis Indians. One adult read accurately a long newspaper article, upon the promise of half a dollar, but freely acknowledged that he did not understand the subject-matter of the article. In penmanship the faculty of copying or drawing and taking mental pictures of characters as so many objectives becomes more delusive when the question is asked, "Can you write English"? As for penmanship, most adults who can sign their names do it after a mechanical fashion. The Mohawk dialect of the Iroquois has but 11 letters, A, E, H, I, K, N, O, R, S, T, W. Striking metaphors and figures of speech, which catch the fancy, are in constant use, and to reach the minds of this people similar means must be employed; hence it is, that Rev. A. A. Wells, the Methodist minister among the Saint Regis Indians, proposes that his granddaughter learn their language, as the best possible preparation for teaching in English. The objection to Indian teachers is the difficulty of securing those who have thoroughly acquired the English. The Saint Regis Indians who conduct ordinary conversation in English almost universally hesitate to translate for others when important matters are under consideration although apparently competent to do so. The white people do not sufficiently insist that Indians who can speak some English should use it habitually. It is so much less trouble to have an interpreter. This people do not, as might be expected, understand French; neither do the Canadian Saint Regis Indians. The New York commission of 1889, in commenting upon the good work accomplished by the jesuit priests, very pertinently said: "The neglect, however, of these missionaries to teach them the English language is a serious misfortune". But this is not strange, in view of the fact that the missionaries themselves did not understand the English language, and that Father Mauville, a man of great learning and literary attainment, is still at work perfecting the Iroquois grammar, begun by his predecessors, and is translating the Latin forms and hymns into the Iroquois dialect for church use. The French could not teach English, and did not teach French. Contact with the Canadian Saint Regis Indians, however social and tribal in its affinities and intercourse, retards, rather than quickens, the American Saint Regis Indians in the acquisition of the English language. It is true with them, as with the other nations, that this is a prime necessity in their upward progress.

No people are quicker to catch opportunities for easy gain. A system of rewards, stimulative of effort in the education of their children, if well advised and fostered, would be worth its cost and accomplish lasting good. They need the stimulant of earnest, consistent, painstaking sympathy, and are prepared to respond to it. Superintendent Grow says: "When the commission was here I was almost discouraged. All was at a low grade. I am surprised at the recent rapid improvement in industrial and all other pursuits, and am especially gratified at the improved condition of the schools and the interest taken by parents in their success ".

Schools Nos. 3 and 5 are in Protestant Indian communities, and Mr. Grow, an enlightened Roman Catholic, with large sympathies and life-long knowledge of this people, has submitted to the Protestant missionary, Mr. Wells, the privilege of suggesting Protestant teachers, of proper capacity, for appointment to those schools. There is wanting nothing in his management to encourage the Saint Regis parents and children in this prime element of their future development.

LANGUAGE.

The passivity of this people is never more apparent than in their indifference to the better use of the English language. It would be expected that Americans visiting Europe would use their native tongue in personal intercourse; but if they expected to remain abroad they would not fail to perfect themselves in the language of their adopted country. It is not so with the people of the Six Nations. The easiest way of doing anything is their way of doing it. Much of the value of school training is sacrificed by this practice. 10 months of contact with them, living with them, sharing their hospitality, and mingling in all their affairs, serious or social, strengthened the conviction that beyond the range of actual necessity the large majority are unwilling to make the effort, or do not desire to substitute the English for the Indian language. At all times and places where the use of the English is not absolutely indispensable the Indian language is used, but this is not for the purpose of concealing their meaning. The native courtesy toward strangers, offhand kindliness of manner, and good address of this people prevent breaches of companionship; and yet, even among the nations themselves, the acquirement by one nation of the language of another is rare. Among the Tuscaroras, however mellifluous and musical their dialect, the lips are not used in speaking, and the labials not being pronounced, many intelligent Tuscaroras are unable to converse freely with those of other nations. The constant dependence upon interpreters is a drawback, and represses the desire to understand English. It keeps down the comprehension of ideas, which can not find expression through the Indian vocabulary, and it is simply impossible for the Indian either to appreciate his condition and needs or make substantial progress until he is compelled by necessity to make habitual use of English. The use of an interpreter seems generally to be necessary at the church services to impress a religious sentiment; but this perfunctory deliverance is unsatisfactory. The minister can not know how far he touches both understanding and heart nor, without knowledge of the Indian language, can he realize the best results. The New York Indians should understand that they must make the acquisition of the English language an essential element in their dealings with the white people.

HEALTH AND VITAL STATISTICS.

An examination of the annual reports of the United States agents for many years indicates the classes of diseases heretofore most common among the Six Nations. The reluctance of the Indians to employ physicians springs from want of means, want of easy access to physicians, and, in some measure, to the fact that from time immemorial they have relied much upon the use of medicinal roots and herbs in ordinary ailments. The women are practical nurses, and the offices and appliances of nature require small aid to meet emergencies. This lack of professional treatment and the ignorance of the names of diseases have almost entirely prevented an accurate specification of the causes of death during the census year. The chief diseases reported, other than consumption and kindred lung troubles, of which there are many, have been scrofula and syphilitic ailments in some form. Their relations to the white people have been credited with these to a large extent; but it can not be correctly claimed that pure white and pure Indian blood involves an enfeebled race. Death in infancy, or at an early age, and enfeebled or inefficient maturity belong to a depleted people, who lack the stamina of real constitutional vigor. The natural indolence of the Indian is a part of the antecedent life of his people, which precluded systematic, regular labor. Seasons of half-wild activity in the chase alternate with others of comparative freedom from all active work. Loss of essential vitality does not necessarily ensue. The facts, as disclosed by this enumeration, are suggestive. Catarrhal troubles and diseases of the eye are common with the Tuscaroras, due to exposure, they think, to the lake winds, while at Cattaraugus many attribute their coughs to the harsh winds that sweep up the valley from Lake Erie.

William Bone, of Allegany, claims that he is the only Seneca. It is not certain that any are purely such. The presence of the mustache and beard shows how largely the white element has united with the red, and men like E. M. Poodry, of Tonawanda, and W. C. Hoag, of Allegany, are only two of very many who are of distinct white admixture. This admixture of blood also appears conspicuously among the children without discredit to mental and physical vigor. The mixture of a cultivated and exercised brain with a passive brain or one of narrow and untrained ranges of thought, develops both, and it is an unfortunate but popular error of many to attribute to vice only all Indian approximation to the white man in respect of hair, complexion, and color. The irregularities of early frontier life have left their impress; but all are not heirs of incurable ills. Neither are the Six Nations on the decline. In the Six Nations, from June 30, 1889, to June 30, 1890, the deaths were 161; the births, 185; gain, 24. This includes the Saint Regis Indians.

The Indians of New York invariably trace their stock to that of the predominant female sources, and as remotely as tradition will warrant, notwithstanding there may have been an occasional admixture of white female blood. This last incident is rare, that of Mary Jimerson, the Wyoming captive, being the most conspicuous. It is doubtful if the Mohawks among the Saint Regis, who are the proper representatives of the old Mohawks, are free from admixture with other tribes. Caughnawaga (of Montreal) is properly but another name for Mohawk.

The admixture of French white blood is very marked among the Saint Regis Indians. Other New England captive white people besides the Tarbells, of Groton, Massachusetts, left their impress upon these Indians, and also upon the Oneidas and Onondagas. The grandfather of Mrs. Mountpleasant, of the Senecas, was a French officer. The spirit of each of the Six Nations is adverse to white admixture, and the jealousy of successive generations of fading" Indians is still very marked among the old pagan element. This is fostered by the fact that children of a white mother, although of half blood, are not within the distribution of annuities, while the children of an Indian having a white father, although of half blood, share the distribution. As a general rule, the Indians themselves do not specially recognize as of exclusively pure Indian origin, with no admixture, those who assert that distinction. Intermarriage between clans, while technically prohibited, does not, as formerly, greatly prevent marriage between the tribes, so that the maternity of the Indian generally determines whether he is to be styled Seneca, Onondaga, or otherwise.

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PART XI.

INDIAN NAMES, TRADITIONS, AND REMINISCENCES.

Indian nomenclature almost invariably has a distinct and suggestive meaning, especially in geographical locations, relations, and peculiarities. Only a few of those which relate to the accompanying maps are supplied. The location of Bill Hill's cabin, near the foot of the Onondaga reservation, was called Nan-ta-sa-sis, "going partly round a hill". Tonawanda creek is named from Ta-na-wun-da, meaning "swift water". Oil spring, on the Allegany map, was Te-car-nohs, "dropping oil". The Allegany river was O-hee-yo," the beautiful river ", and the Geneseo was Gen-nis-he-yo, "beautiful valley ". beautiful valley". Buffalo was Do-sho-weh, "splitting the fork", because near Black Rock (a rocky shore) the waters divided, uniting and dividing again at Date-car-sko-sase, "the highest falls", on the Ne-ah-ga river. The modern Canajoharie was Ga-na-jo-hi-e, "washing the basin "; Chittenango creek, Chu-de-naang, "where the sun shines out"; Oriskany creek, Ole-hisk, "nettles"; Onondaga, O-nun-da-ga-o-no-ga, "on the hills"; Cayuga lake, Gwe-u-gweth, "the lake at the mucky land"; Canandaigua, Ga-nun-da-gwa, "place chosen for a settlement". The Indian meaning for other names finds expression in recognized English substitutes. Thus, "The place of salt" becomes Salina, and "Constant dawn" becomes Aurora. Morgan illustrates the dialectic difference respecting the name for Buffalo as follows: in Seneca, Do-she-weh; in Cayuga, De-o-sho-weh; in Onondaga, De-o-sa-weh; in Oneida, De-ose-lole; in Mohawk, Deo-hose-lole, and in Tuscarora, Ne-o-thro-ra.

Personal names were given from peculiarities or sudden fancies, and upon elevation to chieftainship a new name was given. The celebrated and eloquent Red Jacket, O-te-ti-an-i, "always ready ", became Sa-go-ye-wat-ha, "keeper awake". So special uses and qualities or supposed resemblances entered into their nomenclature. Mrs. Sarah L. Lee, of Boston, in her life of Mrs. Erminie Smith, a lifelong friend of the Iroquois, very appropriately applied Chaucer's "day's-eye" (the English daisy) to similar Iroquois forms. "It sheds its blush" describes the watermelon. The white ash was the "bow-tree". The corn, bean, squash, strawberry, and maple were classed as "our life supporters".

At present, through adoption of English customs, the names of Adam, John Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Andrew Johnson, Millard Fillmore, "General Scott", Ulysses, Rutherford B., Grover, and Benjamin Harrison have appeared on the Tonawanda list. The name of Washington escapes use. On this same Tonawanda list the Bible names of Abram, Adam, Andrew, Benjamin, Cephas, David, Elijah, Eli, Enos, Elizabeth, Eunice, Esther, Hannah, Isaac, Joshua, Jacob, Jesse, John, Lydia, Mary, Moses, Martha, Noah, Norah, Peter, Reuben, Samson, Samuel, Simon, Simeon, and Stephen are both christian names and surnames, in contrast with those of Big Fire, Blue Sky, Hot Bread, Big Kettle, Black Snake, Silverheels, Spring, Ground, Stone, and Steep Rock on the Allegany reservation and elsewhere. Bone, Blackchief, Bucktooth, Cornfield, Fatty, Hemlock, Halfwhite, Redeye, Logan, Longfinger, Ray, Snow, Twoguns, and Warrior have companionship with Beaver, Crow, Deer, Eel, Fox, and Turkey.

With the exception of old family names of traditional value, names are less frequently given than formerly through some distinct association. Many do not even know their proper Indian name. The tribal relation itself has become so immaterial a matter, through daily association with the white people, that in hundreds of inquiries for "tribe or clan "the first response was good-humored laughter, and often a reference to some one else to give it. Even the most conservative of the old party are losing their relations to the past, except through their religious rites. No single item, apparently of small import, more impressively shows a social transition in progress than this indifference to old names. On the Onondaga school register only 4 ancient Bible names are opposite 29 such names of parent or guardian, and throughout the Six Nations the names of the young children, especially those of the girls, are selected from the more euphonious ones in general use among the white people.

The force of this fact is increased as familiarity with the white people keeps before the more intelligent men and women the names and events of the swiftly passing changes in American society. They are forced to think of and deal with the present, and the superstitions and associations that are only matters of vague tradition gradually die out. The old Indian answer to the inquiry "What's in a name "? no longer implies a peculiarity or quality, but simply identity, and the enforcement of a good English education will turn their traditional legends of names or characteristics into the practical line of dealing with the affairs and surrounding influences of to-day; and yet this change has reasonable limits.

The American people wrong their whole country by the obliteration of Indian names, which made rivers, mountains, and valleys representative of their location, their beauty, and their power. Excepting the aboriginal American, Hebrew history alone, throughout the early ages, thus dignified human qualities and the works of nature. The attempt to obliterate Indian names and to silence Indian tradition is to obliterate landmarks which the American people should be more disposed to rescue and perpetuate. This feature of civilization is neither