trail to the Mohawk river; and the baby was for the first
time among the fertile cornfields and the strange Long
Houses of his people. At this period the Mohawks lived
farthest east of all the tribes of the Six Nations. Their
main settlements were along the Mohawk river in what is
now the state of New York, but they claimed authority
over the region stretching thence towards Montreal. They
had three settlements on the Mohawk, the central one of
which, called Canajoharie Castle, was the home of
Thayendanegea's parents. Near by lived the celebrated
William Johnson, His Majesty's representative for Indian
Affairs in the colony of New York, who some years later
became sole superintendent of 'the six united nations,
their allies and dependents.'

When Thayendanegea grew stronger he began to romp with
the other boys of the village. With them he followed the
women down to the river's brink, picking up shiny pebbles
from the sand, or watching the minnows dart about in the
sunlight. With them, when the days were long, he crawled
through the brambles, looking for luscious berries, or
ran with the wiry Indian dogs into copse and brushwood.
Then he learned to swim, to fish, and to dip his paddle
noiselessly in the stream. Like every red child,
Thayendanegea listened rapt in wonder to the tales that
were told him. The Mohawks had a storehouse of fable,
and he soon became versed in the lore of the forest.
Perhaps, too, he sat beside his wrinkled grandfather,
who was a sachem, [Footnote: That Thayendanegea was the
grandchild of one of these sachems who were so honoured