Gray's influence with the Creeks had been regarded as a menace. Now it was put to account. In 1759 the French succeeded in turning the Cherokees against the English. To strike a counter blow Ellis fitted out a Creek war party and put Gray in command of it. In April, Gray marched into Savannah at the head of a conquering band displaying Cherokee scalps. The braves were congratulated, and richly rewarded for being the . first to shed Cherokee blood. But even Gray's services did not avail him to get permission to invade the Neutral Ground. He applied for a renewal of his license to trade in the south. Governor Wright gave consent, but only on condition that the permit be restricted to Cumberland Island.1 [Note 1 For Gray's service in the Cherokee War, see Ga. Col. Rec., VIII, 284, 292-294, 569.]