Excerpt from The Adoption of Mew-Seu-Qua, Tecumseh's Father, and the Philosophy of the Delaware Indians, With Unpolished Gems The Delaware Tribe of Indians was the head of the Algonquin confederation of which 37 tribes recognized them as Grandfather. The head Chief of the Delaware Indians was called Great Sachem. There was a chief of each clan, the Turtle Clan, the Wolf Clan, the Turkey Clan and a war chief of each Clan. The Delaware In dians also recognized in ancient times a Council of Mothers, and it was the women or the Council of Mothers that would plead for peace when peace was made. The same custom was recognized by all the Algonquin Confederation. Sometimes in minor wars or tribal disputes, individual tribes or bands of the confed eration would go to war on their own initiative; but in case of great grievances, runners were always sent to the Grand Council of the Delawares, and the Great Sachem of the Delaware tribe had a right to call to the assist 'ance of those allied into the Confederation, all members of the Confederation. Many of the traditions as handed down by oration correspond with that of the other tribes of the Federa tion. Among other things, no member of one tribe could marry into the one clan of his Father or Mother, and for that reason ofttimes a young man called a Hunter would wander to a distant country, sometimes among the Confederation of the Algonquins, and sometimes even to the enemy's camp to get a wife. In the particular case in which this story follows, Tecumseh's father went from Kentucky to the Western part of Pennsylvania to the Delaware Country to seek awife, and the narratives that are here recited, are as near as can be translated from the Delaware language to the English. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.