It was more than a village of the
Onondagas that lay before them, it was the temple and shrine of the
great league, the Hodenosaunee. The Onondagas kept the council fire, and
ranked first in piety, but the Mohawks, the Keepers of the Eastern Gate,
were renowned even to the Great Plains for their valor, and they stood
with the Onondagas, their equals man for man, while the Senecas, known
to themselves and their brother nations as the Nundawaono, were more
numerous than either.
"We shall be in time for the great festival, the Maple Dance," said
Tayoga to the young Mohawk.
"Yes, my brother, we have come before the beginning," said Daganoweda,
"and I am glad that it is so. We may not have the Maple Dance again for
many seasons. The shadow of the mighty war creeps upon the Hodenosaunee,
and when the spring returns who knows where the warriors of the great
League will be? We are but little children and we know nothing of the
future, which Manitou alone holds in his keeping."
"You speak truth, Daganoweda.
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