Woman Suffrage Among Indians

One ot tbo most eloquent of tho Uncida chiefswM kiiown by the nickname of ■iven him by the Germán settlers on the Mohawk. A report ia ■ di'iiii by him it u connoil of the OifteidaSj convened in the latter part of tho last century, to determine ler to sttll a portion of their kinds to the State. The council was held beneath ;i very large pine tree, knowu as the oounoil-tre , whioh theii, and for inuny years after, sio.id n the south side of the western turnpike i istanoe west of the village of üneidn. The men and woinon of the nation were assembled around ir.. The project Lad been oanvasaed by the wurriors and women for two days; and, acoording to the custouia ot' the Nations, the usual decisión as to the sale of Lands luid tu be m.uu by the eqaawa, who, beiBg the cultivator, were, by u most equitable rule of Indiau law which anti'duied the niudei'ii movoment for women'srighis and teníale suíl'nigc, rogarded as tile propriotors of tlio soil. Thi! quustion now to be deoided was : Should the nattonal domain, alroady very considerably oirouuuoiibed, be till furtber dnuhiishi '1 ' Üue after anotlier bad spoki-n, Plattkopf aróse. ll; oommenced by pniuting the glory ot' their nation before the white man carne. He laid it vithen l'ull of strengthj mil vigor and beauty, líe looked upward, andpointed to the ander which he stood, whicb, thougli still of groat size and beauty, was visibly marked with ago and symptoms of decay. " W wbn luto this council-tree," he said. " It was theu full of lite and vigor an.i beauty. It was tho üneidas' tree. 't drewita nourislnuent l'iom 1 ii t! grouud ; - not erjmped and oonflned ; it could druw its sap from all tíio land, tor the Oneidag owned it all; they had parted with none of it ; and, as it could draw its Bap Erom all the land, it grew and put fortli more branches and more leiives, and wnt out new root, aml spread them fai-ther ia the groundi It became strong and very beautiful. So did the Oneidas. As the tree grew, so did the Oneidas. The white man camo. We sold him a portion of our land. A root of the tree, which drew its sap from that land, witheied ; wlien it withored, a braneh diéd, and the tree lot soine of its beauty. Again tho white man carne. We sold him uuother pieco of our land ; another root witherod ; anothor branch died, and the tree beoame li'ss beautiful nul liss vigoróos, The white man tune a third time. We sold another piece of our land; acother and anotber root withered, and another and anotber branch feil down, nnd we now see oúr tree; though beautiful, it ha; lost its branches; it no longer senda foitb u v,p roots or new branches; it is cramped; it lias not tho land to draw sap from that it had ; and we, where are we 'r The white man has come agaili. He waata more of our land BhaU we si 11 him another pioco ? Shall we let the tree ander which our fathers sat l'se another and another root, and cause another and another branch to f all ? ' He dwelt upou the figure, and continue! i. n its decay ii)d that ofhis nalion, shculd itpart with more of the land which was to nonrish and nirihen its life and beauty, until the warriorSt as well as the womeri, were propared with unanimity to rejeot the