His travels brought him to the Onondaga Nation, where he met with a lot of resistance from the evil Tadodarho. Tadodarho was an evil man and is described as having snakes in his head and a crooked body. This symbolized a very evil person and because of his evil deeds it reflected on him. Tadodarho would not give in to the many attempts by the Peacemaker to get him to accept the peace.

The Peacemaker and Ayonwatha moved on to the other Nations and were successful in convincing them to accept the peace. He then gathered the forty-nine men whom he had convinced to accept the peace to converge back to the center and there they all worked together on the evil mind of Tadodarho of the Onondaga Nation. They tried many times in many ways to convince him that peace was the only way, and many times they failed. Finally all the forty-nine men sang the Great Song of Peace, the 'Hai, Hai'. The song kept in focus with the one purpose of winning over the evil mind of Tadodarho. Once Tadodarho's mind was pacified, his body straightened and the snakes were combed from his hair.

The Peacemaker offered him a special position in the Confederacy. That position was to watch over the Fire on behalf of all the 5 Nations. The offer appealed to him and he accepted. He agreed to live in peace and tend the fire to make sure that it would burn forever.

After successfully winning over Tadodarho, the Peacemaker then looked upon the men and saw that they still carried their weapons. He then said that they needed a symbol that would remind them of the promise made to each other, the promise of peace. As he looked around, he saw this very tall tree. He thought that because the tree was so tall, it could be seen from distant places, and because the top of the tree pierced the sky, attention would be drawn to it.

On the branches of this very tall tree, the needles are in clusters of five. He used this as a symbol of the Five Nations being bound together as one. He took some needles off the branch and told them that even with the changes of the seasons, the tree stays green for all time. So shall the Great Peace stay among the Five Nations, for all time.

He then uprooted the tree and it created a cavity. He instructed the men to cast down their weapons of war into the cavity to bury their greed, hatred and jealousy. The tree was then replaced and the Peacemaker then said: "Into the depths of the earth, down into the deep under earth currents of water flowing into unknown regions, we cast all weapons of strife. We bury them from sight forever and plant again the tree. Thus shall all Great Peace be established and hostilities shall no longer be known between the Five Nations but only peace to a united people."

The roots that spread out from the tree are called the Great White Roots of Peace, and they spread in the four directions: one to the north, one to the south, one to the east, and one to the west. On top of this Great Tree was placed an Eagle. The meaning of planting the tree symbolizes the Kaienerakowa, Great Peace and Strength. The Eagle symbolizes keeping a watchful eye on the roots and if any evil or danger approaches, he will scream loudly, sounding the alarm and all the Nations of the Confederacy will at once come to the defense and rescue. This symbolizes that everyone has the responsibility to protect the peace.

The Peacemaker then took an arrow from each one of the Five Nations and bound them together. By each Nation contributing an arrow, it symbolized the combining of individual powers into one great power. The union had now been complete, a union which no one can bend or break. The Peacemaker then said:"We have now completed our power so that we the Five Nations Confederacy shall in the future have one body, one mind, and one heart. If any evil should befall us in the future, we shall stand or fall united as one man."

From First People. The Peacemaker and the Tree of Peace