While the battle was raging, The Prophet stood on a neighboring hill, keeping up his frenzied performance.
A SHAWANOE CHIEFTAIN
He shouted to the warriors that victory was certain, and none of the enemy's bullets could hurt them. Told that his people were falling, he urged the others to keep on fighting, declared all would come out right and sang his war songs louder than ever; but when the final overthrow took place, The Prophet led in the flight. He was soon left alone by his men, who lost faith in his claims. Two days later, Governor Harrison laid the town and surrounding settlements in ashes, sending the hostiles scurrying in every direction, after which he returned to Vincennes.
The victory of Harrison could not have been more complete. It won the admiration of his countrymen, and had more than anything else to do with his nomination and election to the presidency of the United States. Nearly thirty years later, the cry of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," swept the country like wildfire, and roused an ardor the like of which had never been seen before.
As we know, Tecumseh was absent on his "stumping tour" when the battle of Tippecanoe was fought. It was contrary to his orders, and overturned all his plans. When he came back and learned what had been done, his rage was fearful. He seized his brother by his long hair, and almost shook his head off, declaring that he deserved death and he was tempted to inflict it.
Tecumseh gave his eloquence and energies to rallying the different tribes, after they had fallen away through the blundering of The Prophet. He visited them all again, and won not hundreds but thousands to his standard. With these, he entered the service of the British when war broke out between England and our country. Hardly a battle took place in the West, down to the death of the Shawanoe, in which he did not act a creditable part. His military ability was so notable that he was made a brigadier general, and, as has been said, there was no white officer of that rank who was his superior, if indeed any one was his equal. When asked one day to give an idea of the face of the country through which they were marching, he took a piece of elm bark, laid it on the ground, with a heavy stone on each corner to hold it flat, and with the point of his hunting knife, traced a map, which the English engineers declared could not be surpassed by any of their number.
One day General Proctor was sitting on his horse calmly watching a number of Indians that were maltreating several American prisoners. Although claiming to be civilized and guided by the rules of honorable warfare, the commander smiled, as if the sight was as pleasing to him as to the dusky persecutors.
In the midst of the cruel pastime the sound of a galloping horse was heard, and the animal was reined up on his haunches within a few feet of the general. At the same instant Tecumseh leaped from his back to the ground, grasped the principal tormentor by the throat, hurled him backward a dozen feet, struck another a blow that almost fractured his skull, and with his face flaming with passion, whipped out his hunting knife, and shouted that he would kill the first one who laid hands on another prisoner.