CHAPTER X.

“Regions of beauty there the rovers found; The flowery hills with emerald woods were crowned; Spread o'er the vast savannas, buffalo herds Ranged without master; and the bright winged birds Made gay the sunshine as they glanced along, Or turned the air to music with their song.”

MONTGOMERY.

To preserve unity, and also to explain some portions of our story, which may seem to wear a mysterious colouring, the thread of our narrative requires that we should again return to the brothers, Tecumseh and Elkswatawa. As will be recollected, at the treaty of Greenville, in '95, they were too young to be allowed a voice in council; for, among the aborigines, wisdom and age are regarded as almost synonymous terms, and no exploit, however daring, nor reputation, however well earned, is ever regarded as a sufficient equivalent for the want of years. Previous to that date, however, Tecumseh, as the leader of a roving band, had, in the estimation of his countrymen, won for himself the reputation of a great warrior; and when, although it was stern necessity which forced them, he saw the chieftains of his own and other tribes, about to surrender all for which they had so long contended, he would not witness the humiliating compact, but beckoning to his brother, they left the council, that they might avoid the hated face of the white men, and plunging deeper into the forest, rove where yet they could be wild and free.

Satisfied that, under existing circumstances, they could do nothing which would materially benefit their tribe, or tend in any way to effect a restoration of their lands, they passed several years wandering far in the wilderness, and were rarely known to mingle with their countrymen. But when the tidings that a firm peace had been established were spread throughout the country, and the uninterrupted quiet of a few years proclaimed those tidings true, swarms of emigrants were seen hurrying on to the west. With their arrival, encroachments were commenced on the lands of the Indians, and with these encroachments, again appeared Tecumseh and his brother. They ranged the frontier from north to south, and viewed in silence the ravages which the great influx of strangers was making upon their lands. They then returned from south to north, that they might more fully acquaint themselves with the power and resources of the whites; but when they returned, they found that their former footsteps had been effaced by the rapidly swelling flood; and they made for themselves a new path, farther in the forest, upon lands which were as yet untouched by the inundation. And often did they pause, and in silence contemplate the tide which was sweeping along, and which they saw they had no means of opposing; and their bosoms heaved, and they wept, when looking a few years into the future, they saw the fate of the red men.

But when the brothers beheld these things, although no star of hope shone to illumine their path, they resolved to make an effort to free their country; to unite the tribes in one desperate struggle, and at least die nobly in its defence. History assigns the summer of 1806, as the period at which Elkswatawa and Tecumseh, who had resided apart for some time, met by appointment, to discuss matters of grave import. And since their meeting at that time exerts a serious influence on the story we are telling, or rather since the incidents arising therefrom, told almost without colouring, are to form the chief subject of the following pages, we must be pardoned for going somewhat minutely into detail.

To give vent to their feelings, and arrange their plans, was the object of their present meeting. The morning was beautiful, and the place selected by the brothers, far from their wigwams, was wild and picturesque, and as quiet as it could be, surrounded by breathing nature. The gravity of the speakers, indicated that indeed no common-place theme was to be discussed, and the spot selected for their conference, seemed chosen that its associations, if necessary, might stimulate them in the execution of the plans they were about to adopt. An Indian mound, beneath which might have slept a thousand warriors, was the chosen spot; rising up some forty or fifty feet above the plain, which lay spread out before them, it presented a beautiful landscape of prairie and forest,—the former dotted with many wild herds, browsing on its pasturage; and the whole scene untenanted by human beings, save alone the two above mentioned lords of the forest. Reclining an its top, and gazing upon the deep blue heavens, they were for some time silent, showing by that silence, the deep interest they felt in a subject, for the discussion of which they had now met.

At last, Tecumseh rising up, said:—“Brother, I have sought this meeting that we might hold a talk. I have visions of the future. Our people must wake up, or the plough of the pale face will upturn the hunting fields of the red men.”

“When, obeying thy call, I left my wigwam,” said Elkswatawa, “I knew not thy purpose. I knew not there was a red man who would dare speak of the wrongs of his country. But thou art of my mind, brother.” Then pausing:—“Where are the fields over which in boyhood we hunted? Gone. Where rest the bones of our fathers? They whiten the fields of the stranger: they make grow the corn of the pale face.”

“Yes,” replied Tecumseh, “far, far, from the home of his children. But they are crying unto his sons for vengeance; I hear their voice in the running streams, I hear it borne on the winds as they sweep along.”

“Then we will dig up the tomahawk,” said Elkswatawa. “Onward be our battle cry, and the red torch shall blaze until no red man is left to kindle it, or until no wigwam remains to shelter a pale face.”

“Thou speakest well,” said Tecumseh, “we must brighten our tomahawks, and the war whoop must ring. The pale faces like a mighty river are sweeping over our lands. We must make a dam to resist them, or we shall have not a hole to hide in, not a lap of earth whereon to lay our heads. They are always hungry. If you give them land to day, they want more to-morrow. They are never satisfied, but will drive us away into the big Salt Lake.” Then, pausing for a moment, he burst forth with renewed energy. “No; it shall never be. Sooner shall our streams run red with the blood of the dying, our plains grow white with the bones of the slain. Shall the children of the sun be wronged, and not seek vengeance? Yes, brother. But it shall be when the mountains fall, and rivers cease to flow.”

“Shall the red men be like the beasts of the forest,” said Elkswatawa, “and seek for holes to hide in? No; let us sharpen our knives and feather our arrows, and in coming years the red men shall ask, ‘lives there a pale face?’”

Tecumseh, wrapped in gloom, turned to Elkswatawa, and his face betrayed that some unwelcome thought lingered in his mind.

“Knowest thou, Elkswatawa,” said he, “the numbers of the pale faces? Countless are they as the leaves of the forest.”

“I know not,” replied Elkswatawa. “Hast thou counted the tribes of the red men? Call on the north, the south, and the setting sun; bid them pour forth their dusky warriors, and a cloud would arise so dark, the sun would be hid; cause it to roll on to the homes of the white men, and burst over their wigwam. Hast thou seen a whirlwind when it sweeps through the forest? It lasts but a moment, and 'tis gone; the leaves are stripped from the trees and scattered to the winds. Thou sayest the white men are like the leaves of the forest.”

“Thy words are sweeter to my ears than the running of waters,” said Tecumseh. “War shall rage, but not yet. When again we kindle the torch, and grasp the tomahawk, every red man who lives shall cry out for vengeance. The Great Spirit wishes it. What makes the power of the ‘Father of waters?’ The rills which flow from the mountain tops, and hurry to meet him, through a thousand valleys.”

Elkswatawa grasped the hand of his brother. “The vision is bright,” said he. “It was the same to Pontiac, and the settlements trembled at the gathering of his warriors. He was great among the tribes. So shall be Tecumseh. The mind of Elkswatawa has long been troubled. He has slept upon the graves of the red men, and their spirits have sung to him in the winds of the night. They cried for vengeance, and said they were not happy in their hunting grounds.”

“They shall have it,” said Tecumseh, “and the pale faces, like snow drifts, shall be gathered in heaps upon the plains.”

“Then we agree,” said Elkswatawa. “The red men must be united. They must be all tied strongly together. They must think alike, and one spirit must lead them on to battle.”

“We must become one people,” said Tecumseh; “without it, there is no hope. But here lies a log in our path; it is this; dissensions exist among the red men. Not only is one tribe arrayed against another, but even members of the same tribe against each other. There are fathers who would raise the tomahawk against their children, and there are children who would drink the blood of their fathers. Can'st thou reconcile these differences, and unite all by one common tie?”

“I can.”

“How?”

“Are we not all children of the Great Spirit?”

“We are.”

“Then,” said Elkswatawa, “the Great Spirit must unite us, and one common wrong incite us to action. A messenger from the Manito must go among the red men, and preach the word. It must tie them together, until a wrong done one, is felt by the whole; until one mind, is the mind of all. Then let the war club be raised. Hast thou seen the torrent when it rushes from the mountains? or the wild horse of the prairie when he flies along with his countless troop?”

“Yes,” cried Tecumseh, animated by the glowing vision, “the music of coming feet seems already floating in the air. Like the heavy tread of a herd of buffalos, I hear them tramping across the plains. Yes, let the red men come on, and every leaf of the forest shall be stirred as they move along, and the war whoop shall ring, and the red torch blaze. Then the Indian warrior shall cry out ‘where is the pale face?’ and there shall be none left to answer. They shall sleep, and wake no more.”

“It shall be so,” said Elkswatawa, “but time and toil and labour must be borne with. We must work and not tire. Nothing must drive us from our purpose. Like a steady stream we must continue our course. Our ears must not hear what people say of us. Though they laugh at us, our passions must go to sleep. Still the red men must be aroused. To the strong, we must give honey. Over the weak, we must hold the tomahawk. And to what all this is to lead to, for a time, must be buried deep in the ground. No one must know it.”

“Then to our purpose;” said Tecumseh, “you have thought upon this subject; give me your plans.”

“Superstition must do our work,” said Elkswatawa, “and by it we must master them. We must excite their fears. We must seem to work miracles. We must see into the future, and the red men must be troubled until they say, ‘behold the agents of the Great Spirit!’ When we have done this, we lead them as we please.”

“Then a Prophet must arise.”

“Even so.”

“Where shall we find a Prophet?” said Tecumseh. “Shall I turn Prophet?”

“No, brother; you are wise above most of the red men in the gift of speech. Your words flow sweet as honey from the hive. But you cannot dissemble. I can. I am the Prophet, you are my convert, and as such, must paint to them what they were before the stranger came among them, and make their misfortunes a judgment from the Great Spirit on account of their dissensions and evil deeds. Tell them how they may wipe it away; but above all, talk to them of the glory of their fathers; tell them that their spirits are unhappy in their hunting grounds; talk to them of days that are gone; when the children of the sun were masters of the world; then change the scene, and dwell upon their present condition. Preach to them peace, aye, peace; yet make them dream of war and of vengeance, and cry for their lands which have been taken away. This must you do, and you must have no home; let your wanderings be from the big lakes to the setting sun, from where the ‘Father of waters’ takes its rise, even unto the far south; wherever an Indian fire burns, there must be heard the voice of Tecumseh.”

“And thou art the Prophet.”

“I am. This very night shall the Great Spirit hold a talk with me, and to-morrow will I tell it to the red men. Then will I be troubled, and fast, and sleep in the forest; and the Great Spirit shall again appear to me, and again will I preach, and again, and again, until anxiety shall appear in every face, and wandering about each one shall ask, ‘what is the matter?’ Thou thyself must wonder and disbelieve; let time intervene, then be convinced; commence thy wanderings, and support as thou knowest how my doctrines. For our tribe alone, at first will we labour; having gained a mastery over that, and bound it to us by fetters which none but the wise know how to forge, then will we commence the campaign.”

“Hast thou studied thy character?” inquired Tecumseh. “The power of a Prophet is great when established, loud in its voice as the rolling thunder, fatal in its decrees, as the forked lightning; yet, in its origin, 'tis but the gush of a fountain, or the twig of a tree.”

“I have. Philip and Pontiac endeavoured to do what we intend; they failed, yet the earth trembled under their operations. I have studied their histories. Many Prophets have arisen in days past and been for a time all powerful. I have considered their plans, I have learned their tricks, their deceptions, their practices; gathering something from all I will perfect my character, and form my medicine bag, and with it will I trouble the red men, and they shall know no quiet until the same spirit animates every wandering tribe.”

“And to-morrow thou beginnest?”

“To night I have a vision, to-morrow I tell it.”

“Shall our purpose be known to a living soul?”

“No;” said Elkswatawa, “not yet; bury it deep, deep in the ground.”

“Then,” said Tecumseh, “let a moon pass away, and we will again meet;” and rising, they sought their respective wigwams.

How inadequate sometimes are circumstances to their results? Is there one of us whose life has not been influenced by a circumstance deemed at the time trivial in its nature, or is there one of us who cannot trace many of the most material events in our own lives to circumstances apparently so trifling, that at the time of their happening, we would not have changed them, if we could, by a wish. Not only have individuals felt the force of the above remark, but even empires. It is said, with how much truth I know not, that Buonaparte, when leaving the military school at Brienne, applied for employment in the Turkish army, and contemplated entering into the service of the Grand Seignor. If it be true, what a source for speculation! What a multitude of events hung suspended upon that application! How many lives were numbered upon its refusal? What if the blood which Napoleon caused to flow, had at that moment rushed by in a torrent? What a startling vision for the Mussulman, could he have seen in the future, that his employment of Napoleon would change his destiny, and reserve for a different fate the countless thousands whom his mad ambition sacrificed? What a source of speculation in the conduct of the Pasha! was he an instrument in the hands of high Heaven, settling the fate of the thousands whose destiny depended thereon, or was his refusal but the result of blind chance?

It is but comparing small things with great, to advert to the meeting of the Indian brothers in connexion with the alleged application of Napoleon. Though less in its consequences, it was not to some extent, less fatal in its results; and served to produce events darker than which none are to be found on the page of history.

How sad were the effects of that conversation! How many, while it was going on, were in the possession of health and happiness, who afterward, on account of it were made to writhe at the stake; and how many, both red men and white, did it hurry on to an untimely grave!

The consequences are remarkable, because the character was assumed by one aware of its weakness, not by a fanatic believing what he preached, and led on by a bigoted zeal; but by one who knew that it must be founded in deception, and supported by trick, cunning, and treachery. Aware of this, it will be a source of interest to trace the petty devices which were used by the new made Prophet, in order to enable him to obtain a mastery over the uncultivated minds of the aborigines; and it will be the more interesting, when we reflect, that he so far succeeded, as to establish for himself a power, which not only spread terror and dismay along our frontiers, but which enabled him to order to the stake those of his own race who opposed his schemes, even though they were the chiefs of their tribes.