were naked except for the breech
cloth and moccasins, but their bodies were gorgeously painted in many
colors. Mighty men were they. Few among them were less than six feet in
height, and all were splendidly built for strength, skill and endurance.
They held their heads high, too, and their eyes flashed with the haughty
pride of those who considered themselves first. Not in vain were the
woman-ruled Wyandots the bravest of the brave.

The Wyandot people advanced and waited on the outer rim of the circle in
the order of their gentes or clans. Their rank like that of all the
leading North American tribes was perfect and was never violated. There
were eleven clans with the following names in their language: The Bear,
the Deer, the Highland Striped Turtle, the Highland Black Turtle, the
Mud Turtle, the Large Smooth Turtle, the Hawk, the Beaver, the Wolf, the
Snake, and the Porcupine. The rank of the sachem of the nation was
inherent in the clan of the Bear, and the rank of military chief had
always belonged hitherto to the clan of the Porcupine, but now the right
was about to be waived and for an ample reason.

The Wyandot warriors continued to march steadily into the circle until
all were there, and then a deep murmur of approval came from the
watching Shawnees and Miamis.

The flower of the Wyandot nation here in its own home was all that
wilderness fame had made it. At the head of the first clan, that of the
Bear, stood Timmendiquas, and Henry and Shif'less Sol had never seen him
appear more commanding. Many tall men were there, but he over-topped
them all, and his eyes shone with a deep, bright light, half triumph and
half expectancy.

Now all the Wyandots were within the circle, standing as they always
camped when on the war path or the hunt. They were arranged in the form
of a horseshoe. The head was on the left and the clans ran to the right
in this way: The Bear, the Deer, the Highland Striped Turtle, the
Highland Black Turtle, the Mud Turtle, the Large Smooth Turtle, the
Hawk, the Beaver, the Wolf, the Snake and the Porcupine. These clans
were also incorporated into four phratries, or larger divisions. The
first phratry included the Bear, the Deer, and the Highland Striped
Turtle; the second, the Highland Black Turtle, the Mud Turtle, and the
Large Smooth Turtle; the third, the Hawk, the Beaver, and the Wolf, and
the fourth, the Snake, and the Porcupine.

Every clan was ruled by a council of five, and of those