It was utterly impossible to restrain the young men from murdering and plundering, either the neighboring Indians or the white settlements.

Their one ideal of glory was to get scalps, and these the young braves were sure to seek, no matter how much the older and cooler men might try to prevent them.

Whether war was declared or not, made no difference.

At one time the English exerted themselves successfully to bring about a peace between the Creeks and Cherokees.

At its conclusion a Creek chief taunted the mediators as follows: "You have sweated yourselves poor in our smoky houses to make peace between us and the Cherokees, and thereby enable our young people to give you in a short time a far worse sweat than you have yet had."[29] The result justified his predictions; the young men, having no other foe, at once took to ravaging the settlements.