In    the    conflicts    between    the  English  and  French,  the  Iroquois


THE    FIVE    NATIONS.  4OI

usually  sided  with  the  former,  as  the  French  had  generally  been  allies  of
the  Algonquins,  who  were  the  inveterate  foes  of  the  Six  Nations.  Upon
the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  War  the  confederacy  was  split  asunder,
a  portion  of  them  adhering  to  the  English,  the  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras
being  generally  friendly  to  the  Americans.  In  1777,  therefore,  the
council  fire  at  Onondaga  was  extinguished  forever.  Previous  to  the
war  of  181 2,  when  the  Iroquois  tribes  were  again  arrayed  against  each
other,  the  MohawLs,  and  a  portion  of  the  Cayugas,  went  to  Canada,  and
subsequently  they  were  followed  by  other  members  of  the  .Six  Nations,
lands  being  granted  to  them  on  Ouinte  Bay,  Grand  River,  the  Thames,
Sault  St.  Louis,  St.  Regis  and  Lake  of  the  Two  Mountains.  In  con-
nection with  the  present  condition  of  the  Iroquois,  a  remarkable  fact  is
noticed  —  viz.  :  that  there  has  been  little,  if  any,  decrease  in  their  num-
bers since  they  were  the  most  prosperous.  Their  15,000  people  are
nearly  divided  between  Canada  and  the  New  York  reservations,  with  a
band  of  over  1,000  Oneidas  at  Green  Bay,  Wis.  The  Six  Nations  may
be  called  converts  to  Christianity.
THE    FIVE    NATIONS.
The  Cherokees,  Creeks,  Choctaws,  Chickasaws  and  Seminoles,  all
Southern  tribes  who  previous  to  the  war  held  slaves  and  were  in  arms
against  the  United  States  Government,  constitute  now  the  Five  Nations
of  the  Indian  Territory.  They  had  previously  developed  quite  a  com-
plete system  of  self-government,  and  generally  retained  their  old  con.
stitutions  when  they  were  removed  to  the  Indian  Territory  after  the  war.
THE    CHEROKEES.
