CANTO III.
"Wake, children of Ge-nun-de-wah! The tradition of
the Seneca Indians, in regard to their birth, is, that they broke out of the
earth from a large mountain at the head of Canandaigua Lake, and that mountain
they still venerate as the place of their birth; thence they derive their name,
"Ge-nun-de-wah," or Great Hill, and are called, "The Great Hill
People," which is the true definition of the word Seneca. The great hill
at the head of Canandaigua Lake from whence they sprung, is called
Ge-nun-de-wah, and has for a long time past been the place where the Indians of
that nation met in council, to hold great talks, and to offer up prayers to the
Great Spirit, on account of its having been their birthplace; and also in
consequence of the destruction of a serpent at that placce in ancient time, in
a most miraculous manner, which threatened the whole of the Senecas, and barely
spared enough to commence replenishing the earth. The Indians say that the Fort on the Big Hill or Ge-nun-de-wah, near
the head of Canandaigua Lake, was surrounded by a monstrous serpent, whose head
and tail came together at the gate. A long time it lay there, confounding
the people with its breath. At length they attempted to make their escape, some
with their hominy-blocks, and others with different implements of household
furniture; and in marching out of the fort, walked down the throat of the
serpent. Two orphan children, who had escaped this general destruction by being
left some time before on the outside of the fort, were informed by an oracle,
of the means by which they could get rid of their formidable enemy; which was,
to take a small bow and a poisoned arrow, made of a kind of willow, and with
that shoot the serpent under its scales. This they did. and the arrow proved
effectual; for on its penetrating the skin, the serpent became sick, and,
extending itself, rolled down the hill, destroying all the timber that was in
its way. At every motion a human head was discharged, and rolled down the hill
into the lake, where they lie at this day in a petrified state, having the
hardness and appearance of stones; and the pagan Indians of the Senecas believe
that all the little snakes were made of the blood nf the great serpent after it
rolled into the lake. To this day the Indians visit that sacred place to mourn
the loss of their friends, and to celebrate some rites that are peculiar to themselves.
To the knowledge of white people there has been no timber on the Great Hill
since it was first discovered by them, though it lay apparently in a state of
nature for a great number of years, without cultivation. Stones in the shape of
Indians' heads may be seen lying in the lake in great plenty, which are said to
be the same that were deposited there at the death of the serpent."
The Poetical Works of William H. C. Hosmer, Volume 1 (Google
eBook)
William Howe Cuyler Hosmer
Redfield, 1854 - Indians of North America
Another Possible Serpent Gateway
Washington CT
(Looking East)
Above:1965 aerial photo.
Below: 1965 photo with a little enhancing of the rows of
stones and the Gateway.
The Gateway: it is possible that the large stone has been
moved from the center of the gap, blocking the view of the head of the possible
snake effigy to the left or north of the gateway gap. It is possible that on
the other side of the gap, some might interpret the large rounded stone as
similar to an egg in the jaws of another possible Great Serpent or perhaps as the Serpent's tail…
Slightly more than half a kilometer, over a third of a mile,
you could say the area outlined in yellow above is close to 2,000 feet worth of
a stone wall perimeter with some very interesting features, such as capstones
that more resemble petroform turtles rather than quarried blocks of stone.
{http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2014/11/capstones-defined-sort-of.html & https://www.flickr.com/photos/34580529@N04/sets/72157648391407148/ }
Does it keep something in or does it keep something out?
Could it work as a hunting trap? Was fire used inside to
drive animals out ward toward the gap? Was fire used outside of the rectangle
to drive animals into the trap?
Was it a resource zone of a certain plant, herb, or tree? A
certain animal?
Did it surround a house site?
Was it defensive in nature?
LiDar image crop:
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