against his benefactors and former
friends. His hostile bands invaded the lands of his grandfather, but
they were defeated, and fled howling to their wilderness. The Mengwe, by
their cunning and duplicity, had brought all the tribes of the land upon
the Lenape, whose sons nevertheless continued in possession of their
hunting-grounds, for they were very brave. Still their enemy continued
his arts. He first sought to raise quarrels and disturbances, which in
the end might lead to wars between the Lenape and the distant tribes
who were friendly to them, for which purpose they privately murdered
people on one or the other side, seeking to make the injured party
believe that some particular nation or individual had been the
aggressor. They left a war-club painted as the Lenape paints his[A] in
the country of the Cherokees, where they purposely committed a murder,
and that people, deceived by appearances, fell suddenly on the Lenape,
and a bloody and devastating war ensued between the two nations. They
frequently stole into the country of the Lenape and their associates,
committing murders and making off with plunder. Their treachery having
at length been discovered, the Lenape marched with a powerful force into
their country to destroy them. Finding that they were no match for the
brave Delawares, Thannawage, an aged and wise Mohawk, called the
different tribes of the Mengwe to the great council-fire. "You see,"
said he, "how easily the sons of our grandfather overcome us in battle.
Their pole is strung full of the scalps of our nation, while ours has
but here one and there one. This must not be; the last man of the Mengwe
is not yet prepared to die. We must become united, the Mohawks, the
Oneidas, the Onondagos, the Cayugas, and the Senecas, must become one
people; they must move together in the conflict, they must smoke in one
pipe, and eat their meat in one lodge." The people listened to the words
of Thannawage, and the five nations became one people.

[Footnote A: The different tribes are known by their manner of painting
their war-clubs.]

Still, though united they did not prevail over the Lenape and their
connexions; the latter were most usually victorious. While these wars
were at their greatest height, and when neither could decidedly
pronounce themselves conquerors, the Big-knives arrived in Canada, and a
war commenced between them and the confederated Iroquois. Thus placed
between two fires, and in danger of being