five, four were
women. The fifth, the man, was chosen by the four women from the men of
their clan. The four women of the Board of Council had been selected
previously by the married women or heads of families of the clans. The
wife, not the husband, was the head of the family, nor did he own
anything in their home except his clothes and weapons. He was merely a
hunter and warrior. All property and rank descended through the female
line. The lands of the village which were communal were partitioned for
cultivation by the women. The clan council of five was called the
Zu-wai-yu-wa, and the lone man was always deferential in the presence of
the four women who had elected him. The men councilors, however, had
some privilege. When it became necessary to choose the Grand Sachem of
the whole nation, they alone did it. But they were compelled to heed the
voices of the women who constituted the whole voting population, and who
also owned all the property. There was, too, a separate military council
of men who chose the military chief. Every clan had a distinctive way of
painting the face, and the four women councilors and their man comrade
wore on state occasions distinctive chaplets of wild flowers, leaves and
grass.

Much of this lore Henry and Shif'less Sol knew already and more they
learned later. Now as they watched the impressive ceremonies they often
divined what was to come.

After the horseshoe was formed, forty-four women and eleven men in a
compact body advanced to the inside of the circle. The women were mostly
middle-aged, and they were better looking than the women of other
tribes. Seen in the firelight they had primitive dignity and a
wilderness majesty, that was brightened by the savage richness of their
dress. They wore their hair in long dark braids, adorned by shells and
small red and blue feathers. Their tunics, which fell nearly to the
knee, were made of the finest dressed deerskin, fastened at the waist
with belts of the same material, dyed red or blue. As they watched, the
little beads on their leggings and moccasins tinkled and gave forth the
colors of the firelight. The expression of all was one of great gravity
and dignity. Here was the real senatorial body of the nation. Though
they might not fight nor lead in war, they were the lawmakers of the
Wyandots. Great deference was paid to them as they passed.

Henry and Shif'less Sol, flattened in the dark against the side of a
tepee, watched everything