High Twelve

THE NOBLEST ROMAN OF THEM ALL

I spent an evening in the winter of 1860 with a Dr. Vansant of St. Louis. I do not recall his initials at this late day, but he was of handsome appearance, very intelligent and a fine specimen of a courteous Southern gentleman. In the course of our long conversation, when I found that his memory was clear as to the events of the war of 1812. I happened to mention the name of Tecumseh, the famous chief of the Shawanoes.

"Ah." said the Doctor with a sparkle of his eyes behind his golden spectacles, "he was the noblest Roman of them all. He was the greatest American Indian that ever lived."

"Such has always been my opinion." I replied. "and I am glad to find one so well qualified as yourself thinks the same. Have you ever seen Tecumseh?"

"Yes, several ties, though I cannot claim I was acquainted with him. I was a young man during the war of 1812, but met many actors in that struggle. However, one of my closest friends was an intimate friend of the Chief, and when there was a lull in the hostilities, he told me many interesting things about him. This man, Hoke Omyck, who served General Harrison as a scout in the Indian country, spoke Shawanoe and several Indian dialects with the proficiency of a member of the tribe. He had lived several years among the Indians, of whom he was fond and thus became a close friend of the Chieftain, for whom he felt a profound respect. They often hunted together and now and then Tecumseh told interesting things about himself.

"Among the singular facts regarding this remarkable man was that he was a triplet and was born about 1770. One of his brothers became the famous Prophet, but the third played no part in the history of the West and I incline to the belief that he died in infancy or early childhood. Before Tecumseh passed out of his teens, he developed a fondness for liquor, which has been the bane of his people ever since our race came upon them. At one time it looked as if he would become a sot, but he awoke to his danger and saw the fearful harm firewater was doing his race. He stopped off short and by his example and words saved scores of his own people from a drunkard's death. He did not marry until near middle life and had one son born to him. The latter died not many years ago, I believe, in Kansas.

"Hoke Omyck told me that thus early in Tecumseh's life he formed the theory which was the real cause of his taking side with the British in the War of 1812. He insisted that no single tribe of Indians had the right to sell any land to our government, without the consent of all the neighboring tribes. Thus if the Wyandots were offered a good price for their hunting grounds, they could not part with them until the Miamis, Pottawatomies, Shawanoes and other tribes assented. You can see that our government could never accept this proposition which would have stopped the development of the West, but Tecumseh would not yield and when Governor Harrison warned him that the United States would never grant his demand, the angry Chieftain went over to the British.

"The three greatest Indians in our history," continued my friend, "were King Philip of Mount Hope, Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawas, and Tecurnseh who towers above both. The first two were fired by the same ambition, that of uniting all the tribes in a war of extermination upon the white settlers. Philip had a good chance of succeeding, and could he have brought about such a confederation, would probably have wiped out the scattered settlements, but he failed. I don't doubt that the Colonists used Philip badly, and I believe they did make away with his elder brother, thus bringing Philip to the Wampanoag throne. But the Chief had a horrible termper. You know when one of his warriors suggested the advisability of his making terms with the settlers while there was yet time, Philip replied with a swirl of his tomahawk which clove the skull of the warrior in twain. Incidentally it caused his own death, for the brother of the Indian thus killed, betrayed Philip's hiding place and he was shot by one of his own race, while trying to escape from a swamp.

"Pontiac would not accept the surrender of the western posts by the French to the English nearly a century later, and set about forming another confederacy of the tribes. He was partially successful and his siege of Detroit was one of the most notable incidents of our western history previous to the Revolution. Of course he failed in his purpose and in the end shared the fate of Philip in that he was killed by one of his own race, though the Ottawa Chieftain was drunk at the time.

"Now, Tecumseh was too sensible to believe any combination of his people could be formed strong enough to root out the White men, but it was not unreasonable on his part to think that by combining with the powerful nation on the other side of the ocean, this conquest could be affected. Tecumseh made a long tour among the different tribes in the effort to bring about such a coalition. I do not believe that his speeches made on this journey have ever been surpassed in eloquence. In many cases they were irresistible and carried sober minded warriors off their feet. In this connection Hoke Omyck told me an amusing personal experience of his own. He was stealthily keeping tab on Tecumseh during this memorable tour of the Shawanoe leader. Hoke's familiarity with the Indian language and his many friends among the different tribes were of invaluable aid to him. Still he had to use great care, for Tecumseh was so terribly in earnest that he would have brooked no interference by his old friend, whom he would have had shot off hand if he were detected playing the spy. It was night, and Tecumseh was addressing a body of Chiefs and leading warriors of one of the Southern tribes. Hoke found a luxuriant tree near the council fire into which he stealthily climbed and hid among the branches. He could hear every word spoken by the orator whose voice he said was the most wonderful to which he had ever listened. I remember Hoke said he could compare it to nothing except that of thrusting your head into a huge barrel and shouting. It had a peculiar resonant or vibration quality he had never heard in the case of another person.

"Tecumseh accompanied his address with gestures which gave them an indescribable power. The first thing Hoke knew, he was imbibing the sentiments of the Shawanoc. He concluded that he and his race were abused beyond bearing and it was his duty to help them out. "I knew I was acting the fool," said Hoke "but I was captured, body, boots and baggage. I could hardly refrain from uttering a yell, leaping down from the tree and bursting among the chiefs with the assurance that I was with them to the end. However, my senses did not wholly desert me, but would you believe it, I became so afraid of acting the idiot, that I slipped from my perch, skurried into the woods and reaching a safe distance I let off the superfluous steam by a series of yells and leaps that finally cooled my blood and brought me to myself again. After that I kept beyond ear shot of the most eloquent orator that ever opened his mouth."

"Another remarkable incident of Tecumseh's tour is historical record. In one instance when he was appealing to a party of chiefs, (Creeks, I think they were) they were so backward in responding that in a flash of anger he exclaimed. When I get home, I shall stamp the ground and it will shake!"

"A week or two after he had left came the famous New Madrid earthquake of 1811. When the Creeks found their lodges tumbling about their heads, they rushed out shouting in their terror, 'Tecumseh has got home! Tecumseh has got home!"

"To show his remarkable ability, he was commissioned a Brigadier-general in the British army and it is conceded that he had no superior among his associates. On one occasion when his brother officers at a council of war, asked him to give them some idea of the topography of the country in which operations were about to be conducted, he stripped off a piece of bark from a tree close by, and with the point of his hunting knife drew a map of the region, which in accuracy and artistic ability surpassed anything the English engineers could have done, as they themselves admitted.

"Tecumseh badly defeated Major Van Home near Brownstown while he was on his way to escort a force to Detroit, which was afterward shamefully surrendered by General William Hull. General Proctor the British commanding officer showed so much cowardice that Tecumseh told him that if he did not stop retreating and make a stand, he would draw off all his warriors. He literally forced Proctor to fight and Tecurnseh selected the battle ground for the struggle upon the Thames.

"Tecumseh promised General Harrison, when both knew war was coming, never to take women and children prisoners and not to allow the torture of a captive. The Chieftain kept this pledge in spirit and letter. On one occasion General Proctor was complacently watching a party of warriors who were tormenting several American prisoners, when Tecumseh burst upon the scene, his horse on a dead run and leaping to the ground hurled the Indians right and left, declaring he would kill the first one that laid hands on another captive. Then turning to Proctor he demanded in a flaming furry:

"What do you mean by permitting such things?"

"Your warriors cannot be restrained," replied the officer.. Leveling the finger of scorn at Proctor, Tecumseh thundered:

"You are not fit to command! Go home and put on petticoats!"

"Before engaging in the battle at the Moravian Towns, Tecumseh told those around him that he knew he was about to be killed. He divided what few effects he had among his subordinate chiefs and wound his sash around one who was older than he, saying he was more worthy to wear the badge than himself. As you know, he fell in that battle, where our victory turned back the threatened invasion of Ohio."

At this point in our conversation I asked Dr. Vansant:

"Who killed Tecumseh?"

He answered with a smile:

"That question has been asked countless thousands of times and never conclusively answered. Scores claimed the honor, if honor it can be considered, but my belief is that he was shot by General Richard M. Johnson, or 'Dick Johnson,' as he was always called, of Kentucky. He was United States Senator from 1819 to 1829 and a Congressman for eight years after. The Senate elected him Vice-President in 1837, under Martin Van Buren. During those days the claim was often made that it was he who shot Tecumseh, while others strenuously denied it. I once put the direct question to Johnson who replied:

"I don't know; all that I remember as bearing on the matter, is that in the midst of the fighting, my horse was shot under me. As he went down and I was struggling to free my foot from the stirrup, I saw an Indian rushing down upon me with uplifted tomahawk. I had no time to ask his name or stand upon ceremony. I drew my pistol and slew him when so near that he fell at my feet. I was afterward told that this Indian was Tecumseh, but it may not have been he. None the less I am satisfied from other evidence that the Colonel's victim was the great Shawanoe."

At the time of my talk with Dr. Vansant, I was not a Freemason, but I asked him whether the statement was true, as I had heard it that Tecumseh belonged to the Order.

"He certainly did," was the reply. "He and two other distinguished chiefs of his tribe, when on a visit to Philadelphia, while all was peaceful on the border, were made Freemasons. I incline to the belief that when he interfered in the case of a number of American prisoners and gave General Proctor so burning a reproof, it was in answer to a sign from one of the sufferers, but I am not certain on that point. However, I heard an address made by Brother Robert G. Scott, Past Grand Master of Virginia in 1845, when he related, an anecdote which he said was vouched for by several witnesses then living. It was after General Winchester's bloody defeat by the British and Indians at the river Raisin, when the Indians, who had lost many warriors, were so incensed that they attacked the prisoners. Suddenly one of them made a Masonic sign of distress. Instantly Tecumseh dashed among the red men, as he afterward did in the presence of General Proctor and by his resistless wrath stayed the out-rages and prevented their renewal.

Another incident is well authenticated. Tecumseh had, actually raised his tomahawk to slay an American officer, when the latter made the all-potent signal. The uplifted weapon was stayed and helping the officer to his feet, the Chief uttered the single word "Brother!"