Heyanwatha means the Wise Man. Hiawatha the people call him now. He taught the Onondagas many things, for he had lived with the Great Spirit. He was sent to help the Indian tribes.
Hiawatha taught the people how to plant corn and beans. They learned much about planting, and they learned how to store food for winter time.
While he was with the Onondagas the runners brought word that a great band of warriors was coming to fight them. The young braves put on their war paint.
“Call a great council of all the tribes,” said the wise Hiawatha. “Let them meet on the hill by the lake.” It was Onondaga Lake. [[247]]
Swift runners carried word to four tribes. Their chiefs and great braves met on the hill by the lake, and their wives waited with them. All the people waited for three days, but Hiawatha did not come to the council. The chiefs sent men to Hiawatha on the morning of the fourth day to ask why he made them wait.
Hiawatha answered: “The Holder of the Heavens has shown me that if I go to this council great sorrow will come to me. I was sent to teach you peace. I shall show you how to make war. I will come.”
Then Hiawatha stepped into his white stone canoe, and it went to the place of the great council, where the chiefs waited.
All the great chiefs and the people shouted when Hiawatha came. He stood still in the council circle. His daughter stood beside him, but no one had seen her before. When her father looked at her she went to her place among the women.
The first day of the council the chiefs told their plans, and Hiawatha listened. The second day he arose in the council, and the people listened. Hiawatha said wise words. All the chiefs remembered the words of Hiawatha. He made this speech:
“My brothers: You are from many tribes. You have come here for one cause. It is to live in safety. We must join ourselves together. The tribes that are [[248]]on the warpath are strong. Not one tribe here is equal to that great people. Make yourselves a band of brothers. Then you will be stronger than they.