Lewis said to Otoe if he disobeyed the great father is by having to say the following, “Lest by one false step you should bring upon your nation the displeasure of your great father, the great chief of the seventeen great nations of America, who could consume you as the fire consumes the grass of the plains.” Bu this, Lewis is likely blackmailing Otoe and that what he meant by his sentence is that he wanted Otoe to do what he is asked or if not, he would likely face consequences that are not good.