borne by each female i* a considerable fraction
over fear. Of a population of 312 Tuscaroras,
.five have reached to and passed, the age -of 80,
or over If per eent. Among the Senecas and
Gayugas of Cattaraugus, the per centage^ 1-h
with a smaller fraction, 4‘2 persons m 808 having
passed that lim it Ihical;0auWhave^ihiinish^;
ed this to 1 percent nearly on the Buffalo resexr
vation. On the contrary, it is found i© M PV
creased inthovalley of the Allegany to full 2 per
cent. The ruling chief of that tnbe^Ten-mm-
vm-ahs, of Teongono, commonly called Blacksndke,
is now in his, ninety-sixth year, and rs active
and hale, and capable of performing journeys to
the annual assemblies of his people at Buffalo.
Inquiries respecting the number of deaf and
dumb,, bMd> havf pptj
escaped my attention. .
I could not learn that there ever was a child
born blind among the Iroquois. The traditions
of the people do not refer to any instance of the
kind. They believe none has occurred. It is
certain, from inquiries made on the several-re-
servatioris, that no such person now exists. .Yet
it is a subject which, from the importance ol
the fact in aboriginal statistics, deserves to he
further investigated.. * ‘
Among the Oneidas, prior to the removal of
the principal body of this tribe to m s c q n # ^
there was onelunatic—ayoung man, who was
kindly taken care of, and who accompanied them
on their removal to the west. There is also an
instanC^pf à deaf and dumb child, among those
of the tribe who remain in the state. This person,
who is a female, now under 12 years of age,
was recently taken to the Onondaga reservation
by her relatives, and is now at t%t location.
There is one .idiot among the Onondagas, a
young man under 21 years of age. He is supported
by his jeratives and friends. »
I also found one idiot among the Tuscaroras.
My inquiries on the several reservations of the
Senecas, at Tonawanda, BufFalo, .Cattaraugus
and ««Alleghany, ■ did not result in detecting a
single,-person who wds either deaf and dumb, an
idiot, qr a lunatic. As the Senecas are sevenfold
more numerous than the highest in number
among the other cantons, this result* if it should
hé verified by subsequent and fuller inquiries,
after more thoroughly explaining the object of
the information sought for to each band, would
offer a remarkable exemption from the usual
laws of population. There are nq means of instruction
for this class of persons on the reservations.
- The : care of the three individuals aboyé
designated, calls for the same disproportionate
tax on time, which is elsewhere necessary, and
the admission of these persons to the State Lunatic
Asylum, and the Deaf and Dumb Institute
at New York, ftee of expense, would seem to be
due to them.
Among the St. Begis* \Vhich is the only tribe
I did not visit and take the enumeration of) it is
not known whether there be any persons of
either class.