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It is said that Tecumseh reproved the prophet, in very strong words, for permitting the Indians to attack the army under the command of Governor Harrison.

Among the immediate results of the Tippecanoe expedition, were the breaking up of the Indian settlement at the Prophet's Town, the destruction of the prophet's influence among the principal northwestern tribes, the defeat of the designs of Tecumseh, and a temporary relief of the frontier settlements from Indian depredations.

In the month of December, 1811, the legislature of the Indiana territory adopted a memorial to congress, asking that body to authorize the people of the territory to form a State constitution. The memorial contains the following passages: "Born and educated in different States of the Union, in the enjoyment of civil and political rights, they think it hard to be, in a degree, disfranchised as a people, when they have done no crime. * **Your memorialists, deeply impressed with a sense of their provincial dependence, in behalf of themselves and their constituents, now make a solemn appeal to the national legislature, and pray that they may have the liberty of forming a constitution, and to be admitted as an independent State into the Union, upon the same footing as one of the original States. It is a principle, and not men

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or measures, that we complain of."

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DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN-INDIAN HOSTILITIES -ATTACK ON FORT HARRISON.

THE declaration of war, which was made in June, 1812, by the United States against Great Britain, was not an event that was unexpected by the citizens of the Indiana territory; nor did the breaking out of the war surprise those northwestern Indians, who had, for many years, maintained a friendly intercourse with traders who were subjects of the British government. In the month of January, 1812, a distinguished Miami chief, who was called the Little Turtle, and who lived at a village near Fort Wayne, sent to Governor Harrison a message, in which he alluded to the signs of an approaching war with Great Britain, and expressed, for the Miami and Eel river tribes, their attachment to the government of the United States, and their opposition to the schemes of the prophet. The Delawares, also, continued to express their friendship for the United States; but it became clearly evident, in the early part of the year 1812, that the Pottawattamies, Kickapoos, Winnebagoes, and some other northwestern tribes, were not disposed to remain at peace with the pioneer settlers of the west. On the 6th of April two white men were killed by Indians, at a cabin that stood almost within view of a small military post at Chicago. On the 11th of April, at a settlement on the western side of the river Wabash, about thirtyfive miles above Vincennes, Mr. Hutson, his wife, four of his children, and a man employed in his service, were killed by Indians; and, on the 22d of April, Mr. Haryman, his wife, and five children, were killed by a party of Indians, near the mouth of Embarrass creck, at a point about five miles distant from Vincennes.

The reports of these murders created considerable alarm among the frontier settlers of the Indiana territory. In the general orders which were issued by Governor Harrison, on the 16th of April, 1812, the officers of the territorial militia were directed to put their forces "in the best possible state for

active service." The same general orders contained remarks in favor of the expediency of erecting blockhouses or picketed forts, on the frontiers of Knox county, on the two branches of White river, eastward of Vincennes, and in the county of Harrison. The propriety of erecting similar posts of defense, on the frontiers of Clark, Jefferson, Dearborn, Franklin, and Wayne counties was to be determined by the disposition of the Delaware Indians. "Means will be taken," said the governor, "to ascertain this [disposition] as soon as possible, and the result communicated. The Indians, who profess to be friendly, have been warned to keep clear of the settlements; and the commander-in-chief is far from wishing that the citizens should run any risk by admitting any Indians to come among them, whose designs are in the least equivocal. He recommends, however, to those settlements which the Delawares have frequented, as much forbearance as possible toward that tribe, because they have ever performed, with punctuality and good faith, their engagements with the United States, and, as yet, there is not the least reason to doubt their fidelity. It is also certain, that if they should be forced to join the other tribes in the war, from their intimate knowledge of the settlements upon the frontiers, they would be able to do more mischief than any other tribe."

The general orders issued by Governor Harrison, on the 16th of April, 1812, contained the following instructions: "When mischief is done by the Indians, in any of the settlements, they must be pursued; and the officer nearest to the spot, (if the number of men under his command is not inferior to the supposed number of the enemy,) is to commence it as soon as he can collect his men. If his force should be too small, he is to send for aid to the next officer to him; and, in the mean time, take a position capable of being defended, or watch the motions of the enemy as circumstances require. The pursuit must be conducted with vigor; and the officer commanding will be held responsible for making every exertion in his power to overtake the enemy."

In the course of the spring and summer of the year 1812, blockhouses or picketed forts were erected throughout the Indiana territory, in the principal settlements which were exposed to Indian depredations. About the middle of the

month of May, in the same year, a great Indian council was held at an Indian village on the Mississinewa river. There were deputations present from the Wyandots, Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawattamies, Delawares, Miamis, Eel river Miamis, Weas, Piankeshaws, Shawanees, Kickapoos, and Winnebagoes. The general expression of opinion at this council, was in favor of the preservation of peace between the United States and the Indian tribes. The Wyandots, who were called "the elder brothers," expressed their views in the following speech, which was made by one of their orators, at the opening of the council:

"Younger brothers-you that reside on the Wabash-listen to what we say; and, in order that you may distinctly hear, and clearly understand our words, we now open your ears, and place your hearts in the same position that it was placed by the Great Spirit when he created you. Younger brothers, we are sorry to see your path filled with thorns and briers, and your land covered with blood. Our love for you has caused us to come and clean your paths, and wipe the blood off your land, and take the weapons that have spilled this blood from you, and put them where you can never reach them again. Younger brothers, this is done by the united voice of all your elder brothers that you now see present, who are determined not to be disobeyed. This determination of your elder brothers, to put an entire stop to the effusion of blood, has met with the approbation of our fathers the British, who have advised all the red people to be quiet, and not meddle in quarrels that may take place between the white people."

At the close of this speech, Tecumseh, the brother of the prophet, spoke as follows:

"Elder brothers, we have listened with attention to what you have said to us. We thank the Great Spirit for inclining your hearts to pity us. We now pity ourselves. Our hearts are good; they never were bad. Governor Harrison made war on my people in my absence. It was the will of God that he should do so. We hope it will please God that the white people may let us live in peace. We will not disturb them; neither have we done it, except when they came to our village with the intention of destroying us. We are happy to state to our brothers present, that the unfortunate transaction that

took place between the white people and a few of our young men, at our village, has been settled between us and Governor Harrison. And I will further state, had I been at home, there would have been no blood shed at that time. We are sorry to find that the same respect has not been paid to the agreement between us and Governor Harrison, by our brothers, the Pottawattamies. However, we are not accountable for the conduct of those over whom we have no control. Let the chiefs of that nation exert themselves, and cause their warriors to behave themselves, as we have and will continue to do ours. Should the bad acts of our brothers, the Pottawattamies, draw on us the ill-will of our white brothers, and they should come again and make an unprovoked attack on us, at our village, we will die like men; but we will never strike the first blow.”

In the course of a speech that was then made on behalf of the Pottawattamies, the speaker said:

1: "We are glad that it should please the Great Spirit for us to meet to-day, and incline all our hearts for peace. Some of the foolish young men of our tribe, that have, for some winters past, ceased to listen to the voice of their chiefs, and followed the counsel of the Shawanee, that pretended to be a prophet, have killed some of our white brothers this spring, at different places. We have believed that they were encouraged, in this mischief, by this pretended prophet, who, we know, has taken great pains to detach them from their own chiefs, and attach them to himself. We have no control over these few vagabonds, and consider them not belonging to our nation; and will be thankful to any people that will put them to death, wherever they are found. As they are bad people, and have learnt to be so from the pretended prophet, and as he has been the cause of setting those people on our white brothers, we hope he will be active in reconciling them. As we all hear him say his heart is inclined for peace, we hope we may all see this declaration supported by his future conduct, and that all our women and children may lie down to sleep without fear."

Tecumseh, in reply to the Pottawattamies, said: "It is true we have endeavored to give all our brothers good advice; and if they have not listened to it, we are sorry for it. We defy a living creature to say we ever advised any one, directly or

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