All the chiefs had been summoned to this place by belts of wampum sent to the different tribes by runners appointed by the Onondagas, to whom this honor belonged.

All treaties had to be ratified by the exchange of belts, and now this was done by the assembled chiefs.
Timmendiquas, as an honorary chief of the Mohawks, and as the real head of a brave and allied nation, was present throughout the council.

His advice was asked often, and when he gave it the others listened with gravity and deference.

The next day the village played a great game of lacrosse, which was invented by the Indians, and which had been played by them for centuries before the arrival of the white man.

In this case the match was on a grand scale, Mohawks and Cayugas against Onondagas and Senecas.
The game began about nine o'clock in the morning in a great natural meadow surrounded by forest.