"Well, well, if we can raise powder like corn, we will buy your stock and plant it."
But some of the Indians thought best to wait, and see if the seed would grow. So the trader agreed to wait a few days.
In about a week the tiny sprouts of the onion seed began to appear above the ground.
The trader calling the Indians to the spot, said: "You see now for yourselves. The powder already begins to grow, just as I told you it would."
The fact that some small plants appeared where the trader had put the gunpowder, was enough to convince the Indians.
Every one of them became anxious to raise a crop of gunpowder.
The trader sold them his stock, in which there was a large mixture of onion seeds, at a very high price, and then left.
From this time, the Indians gave no attention to their corn crop. If they could raise gunpowder, they would be happy.
They took great care of the little plants as they came up out of the ground, and watched every day for the appearance of the gunpowder blossoms.
They planned a buffalo hunt which was to take place after the powder harvest.