This prediction made a great impression upon the superstitious Creeks. A saying of Tecumseh, which that leader had probably not meant to be taken literally, also caused great excitement among the savages. A Creek chief known to the white settlers of Alabama as “Big Warrior” had refused to believe that the Great Spirit had sent Tecumseh among them. With upraised hand the Shawnee had said to him: “You do not believe me, chief of the Muscogees; you think I speak with a crooked tongue. But you shall believe. When I leave your country I will go to Detroit; when I reach there I will stamp my foot upon the earth; and the wigwams of this village will tremble.” Unquestionably what Tecumseh meant was that the effects of the war which would begin upon his reaching the region of the Great Lakes would be felt as far as Toockabatcha; nevertheless a strange thing is said to have happened. About the time in which he must have reached Detroit, a sharp shock of earthquake shook almost the whole of the Creek country; and the wigwams of Toockabatcha did, indeed, reel and tremble. Instantly the Indians recalled the Shawnee’s words and were filled with fear. “Tecumseh has reached Detroit!” they cried. “He has struck the earth with his foot and it has trembled.” This was in December, 1812, and the entire Gulf region was affected by this earth tremor. At about the same time the predicted comet appeared in the sky; and the credulity of the Creeks at once saw in it the fiery arm of Tecumseh. “War with the white man!” ran through the nation of the Muscogee. “War! The Great Spirit has commanded it!” Through the remainder of the winter and the next spring, clashes took place between the military and the Indians, who were preparing for the war. Settlers were attacked, hunters were driven from their trapping grounds. At Burnt Corn, a number of whites and half-breeds were assembled for mutual protection; the Creeks attacked, defeated and scattered them. Farms were abandoned, the settlers flocking to the numerous stockades to await the expected onslaught. Having remained idle, so far as their mission was concerned, through the fall, the winter and the spring, Jack and Frank, together with Running Elk, made up their minds that they could not afford to waste any more time. So, in the month of July, in spite of the protests of the friends they had made at Mobile, they took horse and rode into the wilderness once more. “It’s a risk,” admitted Jack to his comrades, “but, then, we can’t wait forever.” “I’d rather face the Creeks than the clock,” stated Frank. “They were the longest hours I ever spent toward the last.” As for the young Cherokee hunter, he seemed greatly pleased with the venture; the danger, instead of being dreaded in his case, was welcomed. “Brave must fight,” said he, elatedly. “Not like squaw or papoose.”