Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 21, 1910.djvu/155

Rh emotion in the mind of civilized man which is produced in the primitive mind which entertains the myth, without destroying the native style or warping the facts of the narrative." This method of recording folk-tales was justified by her intimate knowledge of and love for the Indians. Mrs. Converse's grandfather, Alexander Maxwell, migrated from Scotland in 17703 he was greatly esteemed by the Indians on account of his courtesy and honesty. His son was adopted into the Wolf clan of the Senecas. Thus Mrs. Converse was reared in the right atmosphere, but it was not till she was stimulated by General Ely S. Parker that she devoted herself to befriend and study the Senecas. Morgan, in his League of the Iroquois, acknowledges the collaboration of Parker, who was evidently a very remarkable Indian. Mrs. Converse spent her life in assisting the Indians in all sorts of ways, and to prove their gratitude she was gradually advanced in honour among them, till in 1892 she was unanimously confirmed a chief of the Six Nations, an honour never before conferred upon a white woman. Unfortunately, in 1903 she died suddenly, and the pious duty of editing her manuscripts fell to the able hands of Mr. A. C. Parker; the present memoir of 195 pages is all that he was able to publish. The reliability of the matter is beyond question, and therefore it is worthy of careful study. Thirty-six legends are given, and there are added several valuable papers by Mrs. Converse. One on the " Iroquois Indians of the State of New York "summarizes their religious beliefs and moral code. Another is on "Woman's right among the Iroquois"; it will be remembered that the Iroquois afford one of the best examples of a mother-right community. Some welcome information is given about wampum belts. A short paper describes the game of lacrosse, which evidently was of ceremonial origin. The most important papers are those by Mrs. Converse and Mr. Parker on the ceremony of initiation into a Seneca Medicine Society. Several illustrations of Indians, ceremonial objects, wampum belts, etc., and several drawings by a Seneca boy-artist, increase the interest of this publication.