"What wait we for? Shall we suffer the French to multiply, till we are no longer in a condition to oppose their efforts? What will the other nations say of us, who pass for the most ingenious of all the Red-men? They will then say, we have less understanding than other people. Why then wait we any longer? Let us set ourselves at liberty, and show we are really men, who can be satisfied with what we have. From this very day let us begin to set about it, order our women to get provisions ready, without telling them the reason; go and carry the Pipe of Peace to all the nations of this country; make them sensible, that the French being stronger in our neighbourhood than elsewhere, make us, more than others, feel that they want to enslave us; and when become sufficiently strong, will in like manner treat all the nations of the country; that it is their interest to prevent so great a misfortune; and for this purpose they have only to join us, and cut off the French to a man, in one day and one hour; and the time to be that on which the term prefixed and obtained of the French Commandant, to carry him the contribution agreed on, is expired; the hour to be the quarter of the day (nine in the morning;) and then several warriors to go and carry him the corn, as the beginning of their several payments, also carry with them their arms, as if going out to hunt: and that to every Frenchman in a French house, there shall be two or three Natchez; to ask to borrow arms and ammunition for a general hunting-match, on account of a great feast, and to promise to bring them meat; the report of the firing at the Commandant's, to be the signal to fall at once upon, and kill the French: that then we shall be able to prevent those who may come from the old French village, (New Orleans) by the great water (Missisippi) ever to settle here." He added, that after apprising the other nations of the necessity of taking that violent step, a bundle of rods, in number equal to that they should reserve for themselves, should be {78} left with each nation, expressive of the number of days that were to precede that on which they were to strike the blow at one and the same time. And to avoid mistakes, and to be exact in pulling out a rod every day, and breaking and throwing it away, it was necessary to give this in charge to a person of prudence. Here he ceased and sat down: they all approved his counsel, and were to a man of his mind. The project was in like manner approved of by the Sun of the Apple: the business was to bring over the Grand Sun, with the other petty Suns, to their opinion; because all the Princes being agreed as to that point, the nation would all to a man implicitly obey. They however took the precaution to forbid apprising the women thereof, not excepting the female Suns, (Princesses) or giving them the least suspicion of their designs against the French.