ng at the glow with meditative eyes, now diverted to
industriously licking his sides. As the long cane of the waking Indian
threw off the summit of the ashes and touched up the embers to a more
cordial warmth, the dog, always relishing companionship, repaired to the
side of the divan, and the young Cherokee, pushing him off, noticed the
dripping sides of the animal where the snow had melted on the hair.

"It must be raining," he said to himself, all unaware that aught had
entered except the dog, coming and going after the manner of his
restless kind. The incident recurred no more to his mind save for a
vague recollection of his error when he perceived in the morning that it
was snow that had fallen in the night and not rain.

A new sensation pervaded the town upon its awakening. The "grandfather"
announced the termination of his visit.

"_N'matschi_!" (I shall go home) he said. And in explanation of this
sudden resolution, "_N'matunguam_." (I have had a bad dream.)

Now a dream among the Indians was of hardly less significance than among
the Hebrews of old. It was sufficient justification for the undertaking
of any enterprise or for any change of intention. Thus the departure of
the Delaware delegation was shorn of all surprise or imputation of
discourtesy. The head-men among the Cherokees felt it very definitely a
relief to be freed from the importunities of their "grandfather."

"Good speed to the journey of the _illau_ Tscholens!" Atta-Kulla-Kulla
said that evening after the departure, as the head-men of several towns
sat discussing the matter around the council-fire in the great
state-house of Citico.

"A turbulent 'grandfather' has a stormy voice and makes the heart of a
young man like me very poor for fear!" the aged Tsiskwa coughed out, and
they all greeted the great man's jest with a laugh of appreciation, and
felt it was well that one so old could at once be so sage and so merry.
But there came a time when they were of a different mind.

A most important crisis had supervened in the policy of the Cherokee
Indians toward the British government when their attention was diverted
from their projected demonstration against the South Carolina colonists
by a sudden attack from their ancient enemy, the Mengwe (the Iroquois,
as the colonists called them). It was an altogether unprovoked attack,
it seemed. The martial Cherokees, however, always eager to fight,
demanded no explanations, but at once took the war-path