On the banks of @Tioto, or Cross Lake, resided a man who bore the name of @Hiawatha, or the Wise Man.
This name was given him, as its meaning indicates, on account of his great wisdom in council and power in war. Hiawatha was of high and mysterious origin. He had a canoe which would move without paddles, obedient to his will, and which he kept with great care and never used except when he attended the general council of the tribes. It was from Hiawatha the people learned to raise corn and beans. It was through his instructions they were able to remove obstructions from the water courses and clear their fishing grounds. And it was from him they received the help they needed to gain mastery over the great monsters which overran the country. The people listened to him with ever increasing delight, and he gave them wise laws from the Great Spirit; he had been second to him alone before taking up his dwelling with mankind.
Having selected the @Onondagas for his tribe, years passed away in prosperity.
