When the Indians wished to go from one place to another, they did so by means of their canoes, or small birchen boats, if a stream was near; if not, they tramped through the forest. They knew nothing of firearms, but used bows and arrows, spears, tomahawks, and knives, with which they killed bears, deer, buffaloes, and large game. Since they did not know how to forge iron, they made their knives, tomahawks, and spearheads of bone or stone. These wild men were divided into large tribes or families, whose head or ruler was called _chief_, and whom all the others had to obey. His men were called warriors, the women were squaws, and the babies were papooses. The tribes were jealous of one another, and often fought. Generally their captives were put to cruel deaths. Some of the tribes numbered several thousand warriors, and in more than one instance a number of tribes formed a confederacy. The Iroquois, or Six Nations, whose headquarters were in the present State of New York, was the most powerful union of this kind that ever existed among the American Indians.