USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
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The first important expedition in which he took part was about 1783, when less than seventeen years of age. At this time an attack was made upon some flatboats descending the Ohio river, near Limestone. The boats were all captured, and the boatmen, except one. were killed. This one was afterward taken prisoner and burned.
Of this phase of Indian warfare, in those days, he was never before a spectator. The experience was a terrible one, and the influence of the revolt- ing spectacle, it is said, was not lost upon him; that in addition to manifesting abhorrence of the act, he then and there resolved nevermore to burn a prisoner. It was the belief of many best acquainted with him in after life that he forever kept this resolution.
Again, about 1787, with his eldest brother Chee-see-kau, and a party of Kickapoos, he started on a hunting expedition, stopping for a few months on the Mississinewa, and then crossing over to the Mississippi, encamping op- posite the mouth of Apple creek, where they remained nearly a year. They then proceeded to the Cherokee country. He remained in the South nearly two years, returning to his birthplace-Mad river-thence to Auglaize in 1790. shortly after Harmar's defeat.
From this date until the summer of 1794. Tecumseh was chiefly occu- pied in hunting. but in the mean time participated in numerous skirmishes with the whites, exhibiting unusual coolness and tact in the management of his forces.
Ile took part in the decisive engagement between the combined Indian forces and the army of Gen. Anthony Wayne. August 20, 1704. near the Miami rapids, in which the Indians met with a terrible repulse at the hands of the "Mad Anthony Wayne." In this action, Tecumseh took command of the Shawnees, who, under his direction and leadership. fought with a desperation surpassed by no other band. From some cause, it appears he was not in the council of the preceding evening when the engagement was finally determined upon, and hence we find no evidence of any attack in force, dictated by him- self, other than in the engagement of the small bands under his immediate command. In this action it is said General Harrison and Tecumseh met for
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the first time on a battlefield as opposing foes. They were both young-nearly of an age, and both displayed a courage and gallantry indicative of the bril- liant careers awaiting them.
He refused to attend the treaty at Greenville. August 3. 1795, and ever afterward was determined in his opposition to a recognition of its provisions.
Having removed from his former habitations, near Urbana and Piqua, Ohio, to the headwaters of White Water river in the spring of 1707, the fol- lowing year the Delawares, then residing in part on White river, Indiana, in- vited Tecumseh to remove to that locality. This invitation he and his follow- ers accepted, and for a number of years remained in that section of the state. Some of the Shawnees living at the Tawa towns, on the headwaters of Auglaize river. in 1805, desiring to bring together the scattered bands of their people. sent a deputation to Tecumseh inviting him and his followers to join them at these towns. The proposition was mutually accepted but never fully carried out, in consequence of some of the movements of the embryo Prophet.
In April, 1807. under the influence of Tecumseh and his brother, some four hundred Indians were assembled at Greenville, and a council held. but with little result. other than affording an opportunity to exhibit his personal dissatisfaction with the provisions of the old treaty at that point in 1795. with General Wayne.
The Pottawatomies and Kickapoos having granted to Tecumseh and the Prophet a tract of land on the Wabash, below the mouth of the Tippecanoe, in the spring of 1808. the latter immediately located there and established a town, since known as Prophet's Town. because of its being the headquarters of the tribe and under the special control of the Prophet himself.
At about that time Tecumseh began to manifest his cherished purpose to concentrate the various Indian tribes of the Northwest into a grand con- federacy. His influence had been strongly felt, in a general sense, at an earlier date, but until recently he had not gone on a special mission with that purpose in view. In the spring of the year 1809 he attended a council of various Indian tribes at Sandusky. Ohio, and attempted to prevail upon the Wyan- dottes and Senecas to join his settlement of the Tippecanoe. His operations in this direction seemed to have been premature. for some of the wily old Wyandottes distrusted his purpose and so informed him.
However, with Captain Lewis, another Shawnee chief, a mission to the Creeks and Cherokees was planned and subsequently accomplished. the same purpose moving them.
The movements of Tecumseh and his brother during the latter part of the summer of 1809 and spring of 1810, began to develop more certainly than
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ever before their ultimate purpose to make war upon the frontier settlements, especially along the Wabash. Their followers continued to increase and there were numerous instances of secret diplomacy between them and the head men of other tribes supposed to entertain opinions favorable to an alliance with them against the white people. The visit of Tecumseh to the Wyandottes and the success attending his visit, with concurrent circumstances, elicited greater vigilance on the part of General Ilarrison, including a de- termined purpose on his part to prepare for an active defense of his territory.
In August of that year. Tecumseh, under promise of a visit to the Gov- ernor at Vincennes, proposed to go there accompanied by only thirty of his warriors. Instead of complying with this promise, on the 12th of August, he descended the Wabash river, accompanied by some four hundred warriors fully armed with tomahawks and war clubs, for the purpose of holding a con- ference with the Governor at Vincennes. This council took place in a grove near the Governor's residence, on the morning of August 15, ISIO. Tecum- seh opened the council with a speech in which he avowed his fixed purpose to resist all cessions of land unless agreed to by all the tribes in common as one nation. He had threatened to kill the chiefs who signed the treaty of Fort Wayne, and was still determined not to permit village chiefs. in the future. to manage their affairs, but to place that power in the hands of the war chiefs. While he disclaimed all purpose to make war against the United States, he declared his resolution to oppose all further intrusion of the whites on Indian lands, except on the terms indicated.
General Harrison, in reply, reviewing Tecumseh's objections to the treaty of Fort Wayne, stated that the Indians were not one nation having a com- mon property in the lands; that the Miamis were the real owners of the lands on the Wabash ceded by that treaty, and that the Shawnees had no right to interfere in the case except by suffrance, because, from time immemorial, the Miamis had been in undisputed possession. As an answer to the assertion of Tecumseh that the red men constituted but one nation, that if such had been the purpose of the Great Spirit, He would have taught them to speak the same language; instead, as the facts were, every tribe was wont to speak in a different tongue. This strong point to the Governor's speech greatly exas- perated the chief, who sprang to his feet and flourished his tomahawk and disputed the correctness of the statement. The Indians, his warriors, sprang to their feet also, and assumed a warlike attitude. A collision seemed inimi- nent, but by the coolness of the Governor, and his manifest purpose to meet force with force, if need be, the calamity was averted. Rebuking Tecumseh for his rashness, he told him he was a bad man, and that no further communi-
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cation would then be held with him, and that he must at once leave the place. On the following morning. having recalled his hasty temper, he sought and obtained another interview with the Governor, in which the subjects of conference were more pacifically canvassed. without materially changing the issues. In the latter interview the Wyandottes, Kickapoos, Pottawatomies, Ottawas and Winnebagoes signified their purpose to abide by the principles of their compact with the Shawnees.
Subsequently, while Tecumseh manifested an indisposition to commence hostilities against the whites, he occupied his time in visiting neighboring tribes, and sought by every means in his power to further the objects of his proposed confederacy. In the meantime, however, the battle of Tippecanoe was brought about by the Prophet, contrary to the wishes of Tecumseh, who, at that time, was on a mission to the Southern Indian tribes and in the interest of the confederacy of all the tribes.
Up to the declaration of war by the United States against Great Britain, June 18, 1812, Tecumseh declared himself the ally of the latter, and united his destinies with the British army, in which he was given command of Indians in alliance with him. In the engagement at Brownstown, which took place soon after the declaration of war. he received a slight wound. The courage and tact exhibited by him in the action before Detroit. August 16, 1812, which resulted in the capture of that post. induced his appointment as a brigadier- general in the British army. Again, at the siege of Fort Meigs, in May, 1813, Tecumseh commanded the Indians and acquitted himself with distinguished credit. It is related of him that, after the defeat of Colonel Dudley, through his agency many of the American prisoners were saved from the tomahawk and scalping knife, the usages of civilized warfare being more in consequence of his deep convictions of duty: thus in his conduct. exhibiting qualities of heroism to which the British general. Proctor, seemed to be a stranger. On that occasion Tecumseh, seeing the indisposition of Proctor to stay the effusion of blood, said to him: "You are unfit to command: go and put on petticoats." A further declaration of Tecumseh on this point is especially characteristic : "I conquer to save, and you to murder," addressing himself to the belittled general.
In October following, the battle of the Thames was fought between the army of General Harrison and the combined forces of Proctor and Tecumseh. The result of this action was disastrous to the latter forces. Tecumseh, the brave and magnanimous, falling in the midst of the terrible fight-a greater hero than his superior in command.
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THE PROPHET.
The Shawnee Prophet was a brother of Tecumseh. the great warrior, and through him acquired much of the celebrity that in times past attached to his name. He was also the twin brother of Kum-skau-kau, the two being the sixth and seventh children of their parents-see Tecumseh's ancestry else- where. The name by which the Prophet was known prior to his being en- dowed with the spirit of prophecy, was Law-le-wa-si-ka, which signified in the Indian dialect, "Loud Voice," a name no doubt derived from his noisy propensities in early life. He was born about 1771. in the vicinity of Piqua, Ohio. In early life he does not appear to have created any great sensation because of his sagacity. It was not until the early part of 1805 that he as- sumed to have been clothed with the spirit of prophecy.
The circumstances connected with the acquisition of his supernatural power were to this effect : About this time Pen-ag-she-ga ( the changed feathers ), who, for some years, had been the reputed prophet of the Shawnees, died and his mantle was appropriated by Law-le-wa-si-ka. From this time forward he refused to be known as "Loud Voice," but gave himself the name of Tens-qua-ta-wa, meaning the "Open Door," because he claimed to be the medium through which he was to open new ways of life for their observ- ance.
In November of that year, he called together a considerable number of the Shawnees, Wyandottes, Ottawas and Senecas on the Auglaize river, where he unfolded to them the new character assumed by him, and developed his religious formularies. Among other things, he declaimed against drunkenness ; against the custom of intermarriage of Indian women with white men. One of the doctrines advocated by him in his new departure was the propriety of a community of property, whereby all would possess individual equity in the ownership and use of property. He advocated the observance of a precept, which might well be endorsed by the white race, the duty, especially of young people, at all times and under all circumstances, to respect old age, support and cherish the weak and infirm.
Another peculiarity of his teaching was the maintenance of the original dress and habits of the Indians as a means of preserving the identity of the Shawnee nation as the superior of all other divisions of the Indian family. The chief of the new lights which, through his agency, were made to dawn upon this peculiar people was that, having received from the Great Spirit su- pernatural powers, "he was able to cure all manner of diseases and to confound his enemies on the field of battle."
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In consequence of this superstitious credulity of the Inchans, he was competent to exercise an uncommon control over the actions and opinions of a large number of his own, as well as of kindred nations. The power as- sumed to be exercised by him would not admit of any interference or opposi- tion from others. Numerous instances are recorded of his dealing out such summary punishment for their temerity.
In the course of time the character of these inflictions began to excite a feeling of distrust in the genuineness of his agency. A single instance will illustrate this: Tat-e-poc-o-she, a venerable chief of the Delawares, having incurred the displeasure of the Prophet's order, his body was consumed by fire. He was first tomahawked by command of the Prophet. Two or three other victims were disposed of in like manner. The wife of Fat-e-pec-o-she was selected for immolation, after the manner of her husband. While prepa- rations were being made. her brother, a youth of twenty years, suddenly stepped forward and took her by the hand, and. to the amazement of the council sitting in judgment, led her from the house. On his return, in allund- ing to the Prophet, he exclaimed : "The devil has come among ns, and we are killing each other." Having thus spoken he reseated himself in the crowd. This bold and unexpected act checked the superstitious frenzy by causing them to appreciate the inhuman acts committed by the emissaries of the Prophet, whose influence was much impaired. A message from Governor Harrison to the Delawares, at about this time, also had a soothing effect. The power of his magnetism upon the Miamis was less successful. while among the Kickapoos he acquired a popularity greatly surpassing that among his own people.
During 1806, the Prophet continued to reside at Greenville, Ohio, prac- ticing his vocation with more or less success, and the spring following, with Tecumseh, his brother, called together there a large number of their fanatical adherents with a view to better display his wonderful influence. It resulted in little more than a feeling of distrustful uncertainty of the adjustment of differences. The settlers were greatly exercised over the strange affair and a state of preparation on their part for successful resistance to the contemplated movements of the Indians, notwithstanding the latter numbered some seven or eight hundred warriors.
During the latter part of 1807, he extended the influence of his newly discovered doctrines among the Ojibways, and for some time there was much interest excited touching the observances proposed as tests of their sincerity. The effects of these spasmodic efforts to keep themselves in good repute with the Prophet's chosen ministers was of short duration and the proffered intlu-
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ence was thrown aside. From other quarters, however, proselytes came in large numbers and remained in the sacred presence until their means of subsistence was exhausted, and then their religious frenzy abated.
The Kickapoos and Pottawatomies on the Tippecanoe granted to the Prophet and his brother a tract of land below the entrance of that stream into the Wabash, and in the spring of 1808 these two worthies and their followers took possession and established a town thereafter styled Prophet's Town, which in the subsequent history of pioneer movements figured quite exten- sively. Indeed, a comparatively short period, and it became the true hot-bed of treachery and corruption, where raids upon the frontier settlements were hatched and sent out, and plans made for the final consummation of the once proposed Indian confederacy. Here the prime purpose of the Prophet's zeal for reform among the people was nurtured into maturity and bore fruit -- defeat of his enterprise and the breaking of his magic spell.
The frequent and large accessions to his band from the various tribes made the number so formidable as to become a source of uneasiness and ap- prehension to Governor Harrison and the territorial authorities. As a conse- quence of the disturbances that uniformly had their origin at this point, at- tention was directed toward the pacification of the elements of discord con- centrated there. So well were the motives of the cunning old Prophet con- cealed by his plausible statements, that it was a long time before the full measure of his deception was fully ascertained.
During 1810, the Prophet sent a deputation to the Wyandottes, with a flattering request that he have permission to examine the provisions of the treaty of 1795 made at Greenville, insinuating that its terms did injustice to the great body of Wyandottes in not being consented to by the chief men of the tribe, alleging that the head men of the tribe had not been properly repre- sented. So well pleased were they with his plausible representations that they seemed ready to form an alliance with him, and soon after visited his town on the Tippecanoe in the interest of the confederation. manipulating some of the plastic elements of the Miamis on their route. Some of the Miamis joined them on their Tippecanoe visit and participated in the councils that ensued. To this council the Weas were also invited to take part.
Notwithstanding these acts of diplomacy were conducted with remarkable secrecy. Governor Harrison soon became cognizant of the movements and ultimate purposes of the Prophet, through the agency of an old Piankeshaw chief, who was friendly to the white people. From him it was learned that a general massacre of the citizens of Vincennes was a part of the contemplated plot. The result of this information was that active preparations began rapidly
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to be made by the Governor : military companies were speedily organized, alarm posts were established and other measures, looking especially to the pro- tection of Vincennes, were adopted at once.
In the latter part of June. 1810. information was received through the agency of Winamac, at the head of a deputation of Pottawatomies. that a council had been held at the St. Joseph's of Lake Michigan, attended by all of the tribes of that vicinity, including a deputation from the Delawares. At this council it was determined by the representatives present that they would participate in no act of hostility against the whites, and that the Governor should be notified of the fact by Winamac. Day by day the situation became more desperate.
According to the instructions received by him from the authorities at Washington, before taking aggressive steps to ascertain definitely the designs contemplated by the Prophet, Governor Harrison sent out two confidential agents, Major DuBois, of his staff, and Joseph Barron, his principal interpre- ter, with a message of peace to the Prophet's Town, requesting an explana- tion of his apparently hostile intentions. The agents were kindly received by the Prophet, who disclaimed any purpose of making war upon the whites. These plausible representations were not satisfactory.
A month later Mr. Barron was sent again. Upon arriving at the town, he was conducted with great ceremony into the presence of the Prophet, who was surrounded by a number of families from the various tribes. Here the attendants left him. Says Mr. Barron: "He looked at me for several min- utes without speaking or making any sign of recognition, although he knew me well. At last he spoke. evidently in anger, 'For what purpose do you come here? Brouillette was here ; he was a spy. DuBois was here ; he was a spy. Now you come : you, too, are a spy. There is your grave-look upon it." pointing to the ground near where Barron stood. Tecumseh, however. possessing a higher degree of honor. interposed, and the threat was not car- ried into execution. This embassy resulted in little more than a promise on the part of Tecumseh to visit the Governor at Vincennes in a few days.
With the opening of the spring of 1811 came no abatement of the appre- hension concerning the movements of the Prophet and his brother, but rather a confirmation of the grounds of distrust. Meantime, a load of salt had been sent by Governor Harrison, as a part of the annuities of the Wabash Indians, five barrels of which were designed for the use of the Shawnees and Kicka- poos. When the boat landed at Tippecanoe, a council. called by the Prophet, decided to seize the boat load and. accordingly, it was done. Appearances in- dicated that Vincennes was to be attacked by the combined forces of Tecumsel:
(5)
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and his brother, consisting of about six hundred warriors, amply provided for. With this force Governor Harrison, not feeling able to compete should the post be attacked, sent a request to the secretary of war asking for assistance in such emergency, and that he be authorized to act offensively against the Indians whenever it became evident to him that their intentions were hostile. Accordingly, the President directed that the Governor should call out the territorial militia, and, should circumstances render it necessary, attack the Prophet and his followers and thus quiet the apprehension of the settlers. He was further authorized to call into service the Fourth United States Infantry, under Col. John P. Boyd. These orders were carried literally into effect, and on the 25th of September of that year the expedition thus organized was ready to move toward the Prophet's Town.
It was desirable to avoid a collision with the Indians as long as pacific measures were of avail. The expedition went forward and on the afternoon of the 6th of November, halted in front of the Prophet's Town, where efforts were made to definitely ascertain the Prophet's intentions. The sequel dis- closes the results of the efforts. On the following morning the Indians at- tacked Governor Harrison in his encampment and were defeated, the plans of the Prophet frustrated, his lease of power broken and his followers totally demoralized. The battle of Tippecanoe was fought and the Prophet was consigned to obscurity.
For a time, subsequently, he remained in British territory and under British protection, ere long returning to the Shawnee settlement in Ohio, whence, with a band of his own tribe, he removed to the Indian country to the west of the Mississippi, where he died in 1834. having been since 1813 a pen- sioner of the British government.
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
Gen. William Henry Harrison, who had command at the battle of Tippe- canoe, was so intimately connected with the settlement and protection of its frontiersmen and their families in this section, that a brief biographical review of his career is demanded at this point in the history of the county in which he bravely fought and won against the combined Indian forces in November, 1811-almost a century ago.
General Harrison was the third son of Benjamin Harrison, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, as well as one of the illustrious men of Revolutionary days. He was Governor of Virginia and served in the Continental Congress. A. D. 1770, being the man who presented the resolution of independent government in that famous body.
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The son, William Henry Harrison, was born in Charles county, Vir- ginia, February 9, 1773. After the death of his father. in 1791, he was placed under the charge of his father's intimate friend, Robert Morris, of Pennsylvania, the great financier of the Revolution. He was well educated, being a student under Benjamin Rush. of Philadelphia, but before his course had been fully completed the reports of Indian bloodshed in the west reached the east, he abandoned his cherished profession and entered the United States army. receiving from President George Washington the commission of an ensign when but nineteen years of age. He joined the artillery at Fort Wash- ington in 1791. He was soon placed at the head of the command of a body of troops to reinforce Fort Hamilton, on the Miami river, through a country infested with a horde of savage Indian tribes. The following year he was commissioned lieutenant. In 1793 he was placed into the field under Gen. Anthony Wayne. He was put at the head of a command to take possession of the ground on which General St. Clair had been defeated two years pre- viously. He established Fort Recovery and collected the bleaching bones of the soldiers who had been killed there in November. 1791. June 30, 1794, Fort Recovery was attacked by the Indians, but he caused them to be repulsed and retreat. Again at the battle of Maumee Rapids. in August the same year, he fought the savages and won. For brave and wise acts at that engagement, he was promoted to captain. and placed in command at Fort Washington. While there he married the daughter of John Cleves Symmes, the founder of the Miami settlements. After the close of the war in 1797. he resigned his position, but was soon appointed by President Adams as secretary ex-officio. lieutenant governor of the Northwestern Territory. October, 1799. he was elected first territorial delegate to congress, and was then but twenty-six years old. While in congress he was largely instrumental in causing the public lands to be subdivided into smaller tracts, in order that the poor man might obtain such lands and on it build for himself a home.
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