"Younger brothers!"--said the speaker--"You that reside on the Wabash, listen to what we say; and in order that you may distinctly hear and clearly understand our words, we now open your ears and place your hearts in the same position they were placed in by the Great Spirit when he created you. "Younger brothers!--We are sorry to see your path filled with thorns and briars, and your land covered with blood. Our love for you has caused us to come and clean your paths and wipe the blood off your land, and take the weapons that have spilled this blood from you, and put them where you can never reach them again. "Younger brothers!--This is done by the united voice of all your elder brothers, that you now see present, who are determined not to be disobeyed. This determination of your elder brothers, to put an entire stop to the effusion of blood, has met with the approbation of our fathers, the British, who have advised all the red people to be quiet and not meddle in quarrels that may take place between the white people." Tecumseh, who found himself in a small minority on this occasion, replied thus: "Elder brothers!--We have listened with attention to what you have said to us. We thank the Great Spirit for inclining your hearts to pity us; we now pity ourselves; our hearts are good; they never were bad. Governor Harrison made war on my people in my absence; it was the Great Spirit's will he should do so. We hope it will please Him that the white people may let us live in peace. We will not disturb them; neither have we done it, except when they come to our village with the intention of destroying us. We are happy to state to our brothers present, that the unfortunate transaction that took place between the white people and a few of our young men at our village, has been settled between us and Governor Harrison; and I will further state, that had I been at home, there would have been no blood shed at that time. "We are sorry to find that the same respect has not been paid to the agreement between us and Governor Harrison, by our brothers, the Potawatamies. However, we are not accountable for the conduct of those over whom we have no control. Let the chiefs of that nation exert themselves, and cause their warriors to behave themselves, as we have done and will continue to do with ours. "Should the bad acts of our brothers, the Potawatamies, draw on us the ill will of our white brothers--and they should come again and make an unprovoked attack on us at our village--we will die like men--but we will never strike the first blow."