By 1826 Tipton was ready to act. He felt that the Miamis and Potawatomies were sufficiently softened by their growing dependence on government annuities and on the whiskey and other goods furnished by the traders to be amenable to proposals for another land cession. Accordingly, a commission of Tipton, Lewis Cass, and Governor James Ray of Indiana was appointed to deal with the Indians. By this time, the procedure in negotiating Indian treaties had become fairly stereotyped. The Indians were gathered together by agents who made glowing promises of good things to come. At the meeting place preparations were made for feeding great numbers of people; traders were encouraged to attend with attractive selections of goods, numerous barrels of whiskey were imported; and every precaution was taken to satisfy the appetites and desires of the Indians. At the proper time the agent in charge assembled the braves, to whom he read a stilted and pompous message from the Great White Father in which the Indians were upbraided for their depredations, drunkenness, and other misconduct, and reminded of the forbearance, generosity, and friendliness of the whites. Then the Indians were asked what lands they would surrender and if they would move farther west. Neither the Miamis nor the Potawatomies wanted to leave their lands in 1826, but after food and whiskey had been consumed and goods given out to the value of $61,588, they showed signs of weakening. However, it was apparent that the commissioners could get nowhere unless they could secure the support of the traders. The latter desired to have their claims—sometimes two or three times the actual amount of credit they had extended to the Indians—allowed and paid for out of the annuities. They also wished to gain control of more desirable land through the treaty, thus obtaining it without the land being put up at public auction as was the legal requirement.