Immediately after the execution of the senator, the heralds convened the chiefs to a grand Auca-coyog. Thirty Ulmens and Apo-Ulmens were quickly assembled at the place appointed. Antinahuel soon appeared, followed by General Bustamente. Antinahuel held in his hand the letter taken from Don Ramón, and he spoke as follows:—
"Ulmens, Apo-Ulmens, and chiefs of the four Uthal-mapus of the Araucanian confederacy, I have convoked you by the heralds to communicate to you a necklace taken from the spy who by my order has just been put to death. This necklace will cause us to alter our arrangements, I think, for the malocca, on account of which we have assembled. Our ally, the Great Eagle of the Whites, will explain it to you. Let my brother read," he added, turning towards the general.
The latter read with a loud voice:—
"'MY DEAR GENERAL,—I have submitted to the council assembled at Valdivia the objections you have thought it your duty to make on the subject of the plan of the campaign. These objections have been found just; consequently the following plan has been modified according to your observations. You will continue, then, to cover the province of Concepción, by holding the line of the Bio Bio, which you will not cross without fresh orders. On my side, with seven thousand men, I will march upon Arauca, of which I will take possession and destroy. This plan offers us the more chances of success, from the enemy being, as we learn from trustworthy spies, in a deceitful security with regard to our movements. The bearer of this order is a person you know, whose nullity itself will facilitate the means of passing through the enemy's lines. You will get rid of this individual by sending him to his home, with an injunction not to leave it.'"
"'Signed,
DON TADEO DE LEÓN,'"
"'Dictator and General-in-Chief of'"
"'the Army of Liberation."
The reading of this despatch was listened to by the chiefs with the deepest attention.
"This necklace," said Antinahuel, "was traced in private characters, which our brother the paleface has succeeded in deciphering. What do the Ulmens think?"
One of the ancient Toquis arose.
"The palefaces are very cunning," he said; "they are foxes in malice and jaguars in ferocity. This order is a snare for the good faith of the Aucas. But Aucas warriors are wise; they will laugh at the machinations of the Huincas, and will continue to guard the ford of the Bio Bio. The communications of the whites are cut off, like a serpent whose body has been divided by a stroke of the hatchet: they in vain seek to unite the various trunks of their army, but they will not succeed. I have spoken."
This speech, pronounced in a firm, clear voice, by one of the most justly respected chiefs of the nation, produced a certain effect.