Stonish Giants, engraving by David Cusick from Sketches of the Ancient History of the Six Nations

David Cusick (c.1780-c.1840) was the author of David Cusick’s Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations (1828). This very early (if not the first) account of Native American history and myth, written and published in English by an Indian, is valuable on that score alone.

The history begins at the Creation, with the twin brothers Enigorio and Enigonhahetgea (the good spirit and evil spirit) and their creatures, the Eagwehoewe (the people) and their enemies the Ronnongwetowanca (giants). The earliest people were championed by the hero Donhtonha and the less heroic Yatatonwatea and plagued by the mischeivous Shotyeronsgwea. These early people were also threatened by (but survived) the Big Quisquiss or mammoth, the Big Elk, the great Emperor who resided at the Golden City to the south, the great horned serpent of Lake Ontario, and the blazing star that fell. The mythology and legendarium of many different cultures include mythological creatures of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. ... Species Mammuthus columbi Columbian mammoth Mammuthus exilis Pygmy mammoth Mammuthus jeffersonii Jeffersonian mammoth Mammuthus meridionalis Mammuthus primigenius Woolly mammoth Mammuthus lamarmorae Sardinian Dwarf Mammoth A mammoth is any of a number of an extinct genus of elephant, often with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long... Lake Ontario seen from near Wolcott, New York Lake Ontario, bounded on the north by Ontario and on the south by Ontarios Niagara Peninsula and by New York State, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ...

More recently, the creation was renewed and restored, and the Six Nations situated and intermittently rescued by the intervention of Tarenyawagon, the Holder of the Heavens.

The Five Nations were a confederacy, or Ggoneaseabneh (Long House), consisting of the 1. Teakawrehhogeh or Tehawrehogeh (Mohawks) 2. Newhawtehtahgo or Nehawretahgo (Oneidas) 3. Seuhnaukata or Seuhnowkahtah (Onondagas) 4. Shoneanawetowah (Cayugas) 5. Tehooneanyohent or Tehowneanyohent (Senecas) They were later joined by the Kautanohakau (Tuscaroras) to make the Six Nations. Five Nations can refer to: The original five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, a union of Native American tribes The Five Nations Championship in rugby union, now the Six Nations Championship The Five Nations of the Eberron Campaign Setting. ... Mohawk is: A tribe of Native Americans: see Mohawk nation The Mohawk language spoken by the Mohawk people. ... The Oneida (Onayotekaono or the People of the Upright Stone) are a tribe of American Indians and comprise one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. ... The Onondaga (Onundagaono or the People of the Hills) are one of the original five constituent tribes of the League of the Iroquois (Hodenosaunee). ... The Seneca Tribe, or Onodowohgah (People of the Hill Top), traditionally lived in New York State between the Genesee River and Canandaigua Lake. ... The term Six Nations can refer to: The six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, a union of Native American/First Nations tribes. ...

Their human enemies at times included the Sohnourewah (Shawnees), Twakanhahors (Mississaugers), Ottauwahs, Squawkihows, Kanneastokaroneah (Eries), Ranatshaganha (Mohegans), Nay-Waunaukauraunah, and Keatahkiehroneah. Shawnee The Shawnee are a people native to North America. ... The Eries were a Native American tribe. ... The Mohicans were, during the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, a functional confederation of several branches of Native Americans. ...

Their monstrous enemies included the Konearaunehneh (Flying Heads), the Lake Serpent, the Otneyarheh (Stonish Giants), the snake with the human head, the Oyalkquoher or Oyalquarkeror (the Big Bear), the great musqueto, Kaistowanea (the serpent with two heads), the great Lizard, and the witches introduced by the Skaunyatohatihawk or Nanticokes. This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ...

Important figures in the history include Atotarho I, first king of the Five Nations, his successors Atotarho II–XIII, the war chiefs Shorihowane and Thoyenogea, Sauwanoo, Queen Yagowanea, and the allied or friendly Dog Tail Nation and the Kauwetseka.

Cusick gives particular attention to geographical details, including the Kanawage or St. Lawrence River, Yenonanatche or Mohawk River, Shawnaytawty or Hudson River, Ouauweyoka or Mississippi River, Onyakarra or Niagara River, Kaunsehwatauyea or [Susquehanna River], Kuskehsawkich or Oswego Falls, Jenneatowake or Canandaigua Lake, Kauhagwarahka or Lake Erie, Goyogoh or Cayuga Lake, Geatahgweah or Chatatique Lake, and the forts at Kedauyerkawau (now Torewanta plains), Kauhanauka, and the village of Kaunehsuntahkeh. The Saint Lawrence River (French fleuve Saint-Laurent) is a large west-to-east flowing river in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. ... For other uses, see Mohawk River (disambiguation) The Mohawk River is a major waterway in north-central New York. ... View of the Hudson in the 1880s showing Jersey City The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican, is a river running mainly through New York State but partly forming the boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey. ... This page is about the river in the United States; there is also a Canadian Mississippi River (Ontario). ... The Niagara River flows to the north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. ... Lake Erie, looking southward from a high rural bluff near Leamington, Ontario Lake Erie (ee ree) is is one of the five large freshwater Great Lakes in North America, among the worlds largest such lakes. ...

Cusick’s Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations has been proposed as a possible source for or influence on the Book of Mormon; it has also been advanced as evidence for the existence of Bigfoot and the Lake Champlain monster. Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints edition) The Book of Mormon is one of four sacred texts of Mormonism, which also include the Bible, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants. ... Frame 352 from the Patterson-Gimlin film This article is about the unconfirmed North American humanoid creature with hair called Bigfoot or Sasquatch. For other uses of Bigfoot, see Bigfoot (disambiguation). ... Landsat photo Lake Champlain, named for the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who encountered it 1609, is a large lake in North America, mostly within the borders of the United States (states of Vermont and New York) but partially situated across the US-Canada border in Quebec. ...

David Cusick was born around 1780, probably on the Oneida reservation in upstate New York. He served in the War of 1812, during which his village was burned by the British. He was a physician and painter and student of Iroquois oral tradition. He published the first edition of Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations as a 28-page pamphlet at Lewiston, NY, in 1827. He re-issued it the following year with additional text and four of his own engravings. Cusick is thought to have died around 1840. The Sketches was republished in 1848 and again in 1892. Official language(s) English Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and United Kingdom from 1812 to 1815, on land in North America and at sea around the world. ... The Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee, also known as the League of Peace and Power, Five Nations, or Six Nations) is a group of First Nations/Native Americans. ...

Complete text of the 1828 edition is online here [1]

A brief biography (by Charles Boewe) is online here [2]

Images of the Library of Congress's copy of the 1828 edition of Sketches are online here [3]

Cusick's engraving of Stonish Giants is here [4]