Beadle's New Dime Novels: The Specter Chief — page 66: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

on. ‘THE PHANTOM CHIEF. maintained by all; and then two finely proportioned war. ‘iors entered with a stately tread, and passed on to the head-couneil seat, of which one of them took possession with great dignity of manner, the other stationing himself on his right. One half of this end of the square was soon filled with warriors, who, in paint and costume, were not inferior to those who had preceded them.» The remain ing sides were successively occupied, and a pause ensued, These were members of the four great divisions or tribes of the Shawano nation—the Piqua, Kiskapocoke, Chili- cothe and Mequachake, who, in ail general councils, took fepirate stations, as on the present occasion. The last named, fo whom was yielded the post of honor, had the eustody of the national medicine-bag, or charmed standard alinded to above, which was symbolical of their moral and physical sanity, and was the centre of many superstitious associations. They also had the control and conduct of public sacrifices, which could not be performed but by in- dividuals of this tribe—a curious example of a hereditary priesthood, and the only clear instance of the kind yet dis- covered among the Indians within the limits of the Uuited Biates. A long file of grim-looking savages were guided with some ceremony fo the vacant seats on the right of the pre- siding chief, where they arranged themselves with an air which evinced a consciousness of merited precedence, There were in part Wyandots (or Hurens), and in part Jroquois, or members of the great Coufederacy of the Biz Nations. The former, who, in state speeches, were ad- ' dressed by the respectfal tile “unele’—a term of politi. elaimed from all the tribes a deference such as is yiel led eal relationship implying superior national rank—exercised over all the Indians setiled be: ween the Great Miami and the Allegheny, a powerful influence. the reason of which has never been wholly explained’. The froquois, who had for nearly a century been the Romanus of the new werld, ouly to aleolute conquerors; and on this occasion their Prerogative wus exuibited iu the position of sack of their = SS comicbooks:co a i <n ~ ‘ aM