entuckians reduced so low will not
dare to come against them."

"That we do not know," said Timmendiquas. "When we destroy the men in
Kaintuckee others come to take their places. It is the duty of the
Wyandots and all the allied tribes to look into the future. Listen, O
Colonel of the King. I was at Wyoming in the East when the Indians and
their white friends won a great victory. Never before had I seen such a
taking of scalps. There was much joy and feasting, dancing and singing.
It was the Iroquois, the great Six Nations who won the victory, and they
thought that their Aieroski, who is our Manitou, would never forsake
them. They swept the whole valley of Wyoming and many other valleys.
They left the country as bare as my hand. But it was not the end."

Timmendiquas seemed to grow in stature, and he looked fiercely into the
eyes of the English officers. Despite themselves de Peyster and Caldwell
quailed.

"It was not the end," continued Timmendiquas, and his tone was severe
and accusing. "The Iroquois had destroyed the rear of the Yengees and
great were the thanks of the King's men. The mighty Thayendanegea, the
Mohawk, was called the first of all warriors, but the great chief of
the Long Knives far away in the East did not forget. By and by a great
army came against the Iroquois. Where were the King's men then? Few came
to help. Thayendanegea had to fight his battle almost alone. He was
beaten, his army was scattered like sand before the wind, and the army
of the Long Knives trod out the Iroquois country. Their great villages
went up in flames, their Council Houses were destroyed, the orchards
that had been planted by their grandfathers were cut down, their fields
were deserted, the whole Iroquois country was ruined, and the Six
Nations, never before conquered, now huddle by the British posts at
Niagara and Oswego for shelter."

"It is a great misfortune, but the brave Iroquois will repair it," said
de Peyster. "Why do you tell of it, Timmendiquas?"

"For this reason," replied the chief. "The Iroquois would not have been
without a country, if the King's men had helped them as they had helped
the King's men. Shall we, in the West, the Wyandots, the Shawnees, the
Miamis and the others meet the same fate? Shall we go against
Kaintuckee, destroy the settlements there, and then, when an avenging
army comes against our villages, lose our country, because the King's
men who should help us are far away, as the Iroquois l