On the whole, we are inclined to put small faith in the popular theory which represents the Prophet as a fool. Possibly he assumed that character on some occasions, knowing the proverbial reverence of the Indians for an idiot. Allowance should be made also for the reaction produced by his failure at Tippecanoe, although his influence was in some degree restored after that event,—the misfortune being sagely attributed by many to the important circumstance of his wife having touched some of his sacred utensils. Nothing but a series of triumphs on the part of the American forces, the death of his brother, and the loss of all his best friends of his own tribe, (for the Kishopokes were reduced to about twenty warriors during the war,) finally destroyed his character as a Prophet. When this was effected, it was human nature to degrade him below the level of a man.
It might have been expected, that a person of his pretensions, with so many rivals and enemies, would be exposed to the hazard of assassination. But here again he was on his guard; for it was always one of his strong positions, that the least violence offered to him or his followers, would be punished by the immediate interposition of the Great Spirit. The religious character, indeed, was sustained to the last. The Delaware messengers already mentioned found his forces at Tippecanoe in the highest state of excitement, owing to his magical rites, his harangues, and the war-dance which he performed with them day and night. Hence the unexampled bravery manifested in the attack upon the American army. They rushed on the very bayonets of our troops; and in some instances, pressing aside the soldier's musket, they brained him with the war-club. The Prophet, meanwhile, is said to have been comfortably seated on an adjacent eminence, singing a war-song. He had assured his followers, that the American bullets would do them no harm; and that, while they should have light, their enemies should be involved in thick darkness. [FN] Soon after the battle commenced, he was told that the Indians were falling. "Fight on! fight on!" cried he, never at a loss, "It will soon be as I predicted;" and he howled his war-song louder than ever.
[FN] He was not so much out of the way in this prediction, as in some others. McAfee observes, that the campfires, so long as they remained burning, were "more serviceable to the Indians than our men."
The character of Tecumseh appears so fully in the course he pursued, as to require but brief comment. While the Prophet resorted without hesitation to all the wiles of Indian cunning and stratagem, for effecting his own purposes, and for thwarting those of his opponents, his course was as manly and dignified as it was prompt. He was certainly under no obligation to disclose his schemes, and yet he appears never to have taken much pains to conceal them. We know that he was suspected, and accused, of having actively engaged in inducing general hostility, as well as instigating particular outrages among the frontier tribes, for several years before much was actually known of him. This may have been the case, and it may not; the evidence amounts to nothing, and the suspicion and accusation alluded to, like the offences themselves, are very easily accounted for upon other and obvious grounds. There is no necessity, then, of going at length into the history of the Western country for the last half century, to point out the real grounds of complaint and the real provocations to hostility, which Tecumseh, or his brother, or any other Indian of information and reflection, might have alleged on the part of the tribes, against the American Government or the American people. This would be justifying what we do not admit. It is sufficient to observe that quite enough had occurred, to furnish plausible pretexts for all that the Chieftain is known to have done or attempted to do.
Governor Harrison stated in his annual message, for 1809, to the Indiana Legislature, that owing to defects in the Federal law, "every person has been allowed to trade with the Indians that pleases; which proves a source of numberless abuses, of mischievous effect both to them and ourselves." Two years before, we find an opinion advanced by the same excellent authority on a similar occasion, that "the utmost efforts to induce them (the Indians) to take up arms would be unavailing, if one only, of the many persons who have committed murders on their people, could be brought to punishment." To illustrate the truth of this remark, we may mention the murder of a Creek Indian at Vincennes, early in 1810, and of course subsequently to the particular transactions alluded to in the message. He was shot by a white man, an Italian trader, upon the pretext that the Indian, who was intoxicated, had shown a disposition to do him some injury. The Governor discharged his duty by causing the Italian to be arrested and tried; but, in the language of our informant, "as in too many other cases, acquittal was the consequence." [FN] We are farther told, that about the same time, two Indians were wounded by a white man, at a few miles distance from Vincennes. The occurrence of circumstances of this nature is said to have been a source of great embarrassment and vexation to Governor Harrison; but in this case, he could only send out,—not a constable for the aggressor, for that course had been sufficiently tried,—-but a surgeon for the wounded men, who both finally recovered.
[FN] Dawson's Narrative.
It cannot be doubted, that the character of these proceedings was well understood, and indignantly resented by all the tribes which obtained knowledge of them,—as most of them did in the course of their own experience. The house of a white man in Ohio was robbed, during this same summer, by a member of the Delaware tribe, so famous for its faithful, and more than faithful adherence to the American cause. According to the stipulations of Wayne's treaty, expressly provided for giving up criminals to the parties respectively injured,—and scrupulously observed up to this date, we should add, on the part of the Indians,—the robber in the present instance was demanded of the Delawares. The answer was, that the nation never would give up another man, until some of the white people were punished, who had murdered members of their tribe; they would however punish him themselves. And they did accordingly put him to death.
But all these were trifling causes of irritation, compared with those which had occurred at various periods, in the treaties and other negotiations, public and private, whereby immense quantities of territory had been obtained of the Indians. It is not intended to insinuate, that the Government was in fault upon any of these occasions. But in the transaction of affairs of this nature, to such an extent, at such a distance, by the instrumentality of agents,—as likely as any other men to be sometimes ignorant, insolent, and avaricious,—offences must needs come. On the other hands, in cases wherein the Government was not even nominally concerned, (whatever the understanding of the vendors might be upon that point) the most flagitious deception had been practised. In still other instances, where the conduct of the purchasers was unobjectionable, there were conflicting claims to territory, which one or more tribes, or portions of tribes, or perhaps individual chiefs, nevertheless undertook to convey. Owing to these and similar causes, the Indians had very generally become extremely suspicious of proposals for the purchase of land.