s, though the tribe itself has been swept
away by disease, or absorbed in the larger nations. Many fragments of
tribes of Algonquin lineage--Delawares, Nanticokes, Mohicans,
Mississagas,--sought the same hospitable protection, which never failed
them. Their descendants still reside on the Canadian Reservation, which
may well be styled an aboriginal "refuge of nations,"--affording a
striking evidence in our own day of the persistent force of a great idea,
when embodied in practical shape by the energy of a master mind.

The name by which their constitution or organic law is known among them
is _kayanerenh_, to which the epitaph _kowa_ [Transcriber's note: the "o"
is the Unicode o-macron], "great," is frequently added. This word,
_kayanerenh_, is sometimes rendered "law," or "league," but its proper
meaning seems to be "peace." It is used in this sense by the
missionaries, in their translations of the scriptures and the
prayer-book. In such expressions as "the Prince of Peace," "the author
of peace," "give peace in our time," we find _kayanerenh_ employed with
this meaning. Its root is _yaner_, signifying "noble," or "excellent,"
which yields, among many derivatives, _kayanere_, "goodness," and
_kayanerenh_, "peace," or "peacefulness." The national hymn of the
confederacy, sung whenever their "Condoling Council" meets, commences
with a verse referring to their league, which is literally rendered, "We
come to greet and thank the PEACE" (_kayanerenh_). When the list of
their ancient chiefs, the fifty original Councillors, is chanted in the
closing litany of the meeting, there is heard from time to time, as the
leaders of each clan are named, an outburst of praise, in the words--

"This was the roll of you--
You that were joined in the work,
You that confirmed the work,
The GREAT PEACE." (_Kayanerenh-kowa._)

[Transcriber's note: the "o" in "kowa" is the Unicode o-macron.]

The regard of Englishmen for their Magna Charta and Bill of Rights, and
that of Americans for their national Constitution, seem weak in
comparison with the intense gratitude and reverence of the Five Nations
for the "Great Peace" which Hiawatha and his colleagues established for
them.

Of the subsequent life of Hiawatha, and of his death, we have no sure
information. The records of the Iroquois are historical, and not
biographical. As Hiawatha had been made a chief among the Mohawks, he
doubtless continued to reside with that n