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274 it was rumored that at the Jesuit stations the priests had been robbed of their cattle and were in fear for their lives. The peace at the Protestant missions was not, however, of long duration. In the spring White received information from Lapwai, Waiilatpu, and the Dalles that the natives were again threatening the extinction of the settlers, assigning as a reason that the white men intended to take away their lands. The Cayuses, Walla Wallas, and Nez Percés were exasperated because there were so many strangers in the country, and rumor had it that they contemplated cutting off Whitman, who was expected soon to return from the States with a party of colonists.

The alarm was great and general. Almost every man had a plan of his own for averting the impending catastrophe, for should the savages combine, it was probable that the settlers would be exterminated. Several isolated families abandoned their homes and sought the settlements. Some urged the Indian agent to erect a strong fortification in the midst of the colony, and furnish guns and ammunition. Others thought it better to go with an armed force into the midst of the conspirators and bring them to reason with words, if possible, and if these failed, to use force. White himself wished the settlers to pledge themselves, under forfeiture of a hundred dollars in case of delinquency, to keep on hand, ready for use, a good musket or rifle, and a hundred rounds of ammunition; and to hold themselves ready to march at a moment's notice to any part of the country, not to exceed two days' travel, for the purpose of repelling the savages should they attempt to invade the settlements. But no plan could be formed upon which all would unite.

To add to the general excitement, the Indians in the Willamette Valley became unusually insolent,