"Two Nations Under One Roof"

Indian braves and British royalty alike were once made welcome at stately Chiefswood, birthplace of Indian poet and Mohawk Princess Pauline Johnson.

Chiefswood is located on the Six Nation's Indian Reserve. It's a pleasant 40-minute drive from Hamilton, south on Highway 6 to Caledonia and then west on Highway 54 for eight miles.

BUILT in 1853 by Pauline Johnson's father, Chief George Johnson, distinguished leader of the Six Nations Indians, the house was a wedding gift to his British-born bride, Emily Howells.

It was there, in 1861, that their fourth child was born and christened Emily Pauline. E. Pauline Johnson was her stage name.

The Six Nations Indian Council spent six years and $20,000 restoring the house to the way it was when lived in by Chief Johnson and his family from 1853 to 1884.

It's doors were opened to be public as a museum, in June 1963.

It is maintained by the Six Nations Indian Council through admission charges, which are 50 cents for adults. It is open week days, except Fridays, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. Weekend and holiday hours are 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 6 p.m.

THE HOUSE has no back, but two identical fronts. One faces the Grand River, representing the Indian way of life. The other faces the road and represents the white man's way of life.

This combination of two modes of living is illustrated throughout the museum.

Five cobs of corn hang in side one door - an Indian sign of well-being. And the original English tea service Chief Johnson gave his wife, is in the dining room.

CURATOR and guide at Chiefswood is Mrs. Angus Smoke, a member of the Seneca Tribe. She explains that the restoration of the home was facilitated by several trunks of the Johnson family's possessions which were found in the attic.

A central hall runs the length of the main floor and four rooms lead off from it: a family sitting room, dining room, formal parlor and reception room.

In the reception room is a cabinet containing mementos of Miss Johnson's life. Several first issues of the 1961 Canadian postage stamp, which honors her are there.

"She was the first woman, first Indian, and first author to have a stamp," says Mrs. Smoke.

The house is built entirely of walnut wood. Timbers 2 inches by 12 inches were piled on top of each other, so all walls are one foot thick.

THREE bedrooms, a dressing room and a room set aside as a museum are upstairs.

In the dressing room, hang many of the costumes worn by Pauline Johnson when she was giving theatrical performances. Size eight, the dresses have very tiny waistlines.

"During her career, Pauline made 19 round trips of Canada," says Mrs. Smoke. "She also made six trips to the United States and four to Europe."

Since the time Chiefswood opened to the public, 15 people who heard Pauline Johnson read her poetry on stage, have visited the home.

In Pauline Johnson's bedroom, along with many of her personal possessions, stands a lifesize mannequin of the poet. She died in 1913.