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prevailed, of his being shot by Colonel Johnson, is copied into this author's work. The following descriptions, though in some respects erroneous, are of sufficient value to be preserved.

Tecumseh was endowed "with more than the usual stoutness, possessed all the agility and perseverance, of the Indian character. His carriage was dignified; his eye penetrating; his countenance, which, even in death, betrayed the indications of a lofty spirit, rather of the sterner cast. Had he not possessed a certain austerity of manners, he could never have controlled the wayward passions of those who followed him to battle. He was of a silent habit; but, when his eloquence became roused into action by the reiterated encroachments of the Americans, his strong intellect could supply him with a flow of oratory, that enabled him, as he governed in the field, so to prescribe in the council. Those who consider that, in all territorial questions, the ablest diplomatists of the U. States are sent to negotiate with the Indians, will readily appreciate the loss sustained by the latter in the death of their champion. The Indians, in general, are full as fond as other savages of the gaudy decoration of their persons; but Tecumseh was an exception. Clothes and other valuable articles of spoil had often been his; yet he invariably wore a deer-skin coat and pantaloons. He had frequently levied subsidies to, comparatively, a large amount; yet he preserved little or nothing for himself. It was not wealth, but glory, that was Tecumseh's ruling passion. Fatal day! when the Christian people' first penetrated the forests, to teach the arts of civilisation' to the poor Indian. Till then water had been his only beverage, and himself and his race possessed all the vigor of hardy savages. Now, no Indian opens his lips to the stream that ripples by his wigwam, while he has a rag of clothes on his back, wherewith to purchase rum; and he and his squaw and his children wallow through the day in beastly drunkenness. Instead of the sturdy warrior, with a head to plan, and an arm to execute, vengeance upon the oppressors of his country, we behold the puny, besotted wretch, squatting on his hams, ready to barter his country, his children, or himself, for a few gulps of that deleterious compound, which, far more than the arms of the United States, (Great Britain and France,) is hastening to extinguish all traces of his name and character. Tecumseh, himself, in early life, had been addicted to intemperance; but no sooner did his judgment decide against, than his resolution enabled him to quit, so vile a habit. Beyond one or two glasses of wine, he never afterwards indulged."

It was said not to be from good will to the Americans, that he would not permit his warriors to exercise any cruelty upon them, when fallen into their power, but from principle alone. When Detroit was taken by the British and Indians, Tecumseh was in the action at the head of the latter. After the surrender, General Brock requested him not to allow his Indians to ill-treat the prisoners; to which he replied, "No! I despise them too much to meddle with them."

Some of the English have said that there were few officers in the U. States' service so able to command in the field as Tecumseh. This

it will not behoove us to question; but it would better have become such speechmakers, if they had added, " in his peculiar mode of warfare." That he was a more wily chief than Mishikinakwa, may be doubted; that either had natural abilities inferior to those of General Wayne, or General Brock, we see no reason to believe. But this is no argument that they could practise European warfare as well as those generals. It is obvious, from his intercourse with the whites, that Tecumseh must have been better skilled in their military tactics than most, if not all, of his countrymen, whether predecessors or contemporaries.

A military man,* as we apprehend, says, " He (Tecumseh) was an excellent judge of position, and not only knew, but could point out the localities of the whole country through which he had passed." "His facility of communicating the information he had acquired, was thus displayed before a concourse of spectators. Previous to General Brock's crossing over to Detroit, he asked Tecumseh what sort of a country he should have to pass through in case of his proceeding farther. Tecumseh, taking a roll of elm-bark, and extending it on the ground by means of four stones, drew forth his scalping-knife, and with the point presently etched upon the bark a plan of the country, its hills, woods, rivers, morasses, and roads; a plan which, if not as neat, was, for the purpose required, fully as intelligible as if Arrowsmith himself had prepared it. Pleased with this unexpected talent in Tecumseh, also with his having, by his characteristic boldness, induced the Indians, not of his immediate party, to cross the Detroit, prior to the embarkation of the regulars and militia, General Brock, as soon as the business was over, publicly took off his sash, and placed it round the body of the chief. Tecumseh received the honor with evident gratification, but was, the next day, seen without his sash. General Brock, fearing something had displeased the Indian, sent his interpreter for an explanation. The latter soon returned with an account that Tecumseh, not wishing to wear such a mark of distinction, when an older, and, as he said, abler warrior than himself was present, had transferred the sash to the Wyandot chief, Round-head."

The place of this renowned warrior's birth was upon the banks of the Scioto river, near what is now Chillicothe. His father's name was Pukeesheno, which means, I light from flying. He was killed in the battle of Kanhawa, in 1774. His mother's name was Meetheetashe, which signifies, a turtle laying her eggs in the sand. She died among the Cherokees. She had, at one birth, three sons:- -Ellskwatawa, which signifies, a door opened, was called the Prophet; Tecumseh, which is a tiger crouching for his prey; and Kumskaka, a tiger that flies in the air.

We will here present the reader with a specimen of the Shawanee language, in the Lord's prayer:

Coe-thin-a, spim-i-key yea-taw-yan-oe, o-wes-sa-yeg yey-sey-tho

* Mr. James, ut supra.

yan-ae: Day-pale-i-tum-any-pay-itch tha-key, yea-issi-tay-hay-yon-ae issi-nock-i-key, yoe-ma-assis-key-kie pi-sey spim-i-key. Me-li-na-key oe noo-ki cos-si-kie ta-wa-it-thin oe yea-wap-a-ki tuck-whan-a; pucki-tum-i-wa-loo kne-won-ot-i-they-way. Yea-se-puck-i-tum-a ma-chili-tow-e-ta thick-i ma-chaw-ki tus-sy-neigh-puck-sin-a wa-aun-si-loo wau po won-ot-i-they ya key-la tay pale-i-tum-any way wis-sa kie was-sa-cut-i-we-way thay-pay-we-way.

In 1826, the only surviving son of Tecumseh, whose name is Puchethei, which signifies crouching or watching his prey, left the Ohio to settle beyond the Mississippi. This son, when his father was slain, was fighting by his side. "The prince regent," says Mr. James, "in 1814, out of respect to the memory to the old, sent out as a present to the young Tecumseh a handsome sword;" and then closes this paragragh with this most savage lamentation: "Unfortunately, however, for the Indian cause and country, faint are the prospects that Tecumseh the son will ever equal, in wisdom or prowess, Tecumseh the father."

CHAPTER VI.

FACTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SENECA NATION-SAGOYEWATHA, OR RED JACKET-HIS FAMOUS SPEECH TO A MISSIONARY-GOVERNOR CLINTON'S ACCOUNT OF HIM-WITCHCRAFT AFFAIR-ONE OF HIS PEOPLE PUT TO DEATH FOR BEING A WITCH-HE DEFENDS THE EXECUTIONER-HIS IN TERVIEW WITH LAFAYETTE-COUNCIL AT CANANDAIGUA-FARMERS BROTHER-NARRATIVE OF HIS CAPTURE DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY

WAR.

Sagoyewatha, called by the whites, Red-Jacket. His place of residence was, for many years previous to his death, (which happened January 20th, 1830, at his own house,) about four miles from Buffalo, and one mile north of the road that leads through the land reserved for the remnant of the Seneca nation, called the Reservation. His house was a log-cabin, situated in a retired place. Some of his tribe are Christians, but Red-Jacket would never hear to any thing of the kind. He was formerly considered of superior wisdom in council, and of a noble and dignified behaviour, which would have honored any man. But, like nearly all his race, he could not withstand the temptation of ardent spirits, which, together with his age, rendered him latterly less worthy of notice. Formerly, scarce a traveller passed near his place of residence, who would not go out of his way to see this wonderful man, and to hear his profound observations.

In the year 1805, a council was held at Buffalo, in the State of New York, at which were present many of the Seneca chiefs and warriors, assembled at the request of a missionary, Mr. Cram, from Massachu setts. It was at this time that Red-Jacket delivered his famous speech, about which so much has been said and written, and which we propose to give here at length, and correctly; as some omissions and errors

were contained in it as published at the time. It may be taken as genuine, at least as nearly so as the Indian language can be translated, in which it was delivered, for Red-Jacket would not speak in English, although he understood it. The missionary first made a speech to the Indians, in which he explained the object for which he had called them together; namely, to inform them that he was sent by the missionary society of Boston to instruct them "how to worship the Great Spirit," and not to get away their lands and money; that there was but one religion, and unless they embraced it they could not be happy; that they had lived in darkness and great errors all their lives; he wished that, if they had any objections to his religion, they would state them; that he had visited some smaller tribes, who waited their decision before they would consent to receive him, as they were their "older brothers."

After the missionary had done speaking, the Indians conferred together about two hours, by themselves, when they gave an answer by Red-Jacket, which follows:

"Friend and brother, it was the will of the Great Spirit that we should meet together this day. He orders all things, and he has given us a fine day for our council. He has taken his garment from before the sun, and caused it to shine with brightness upon us; our eyes are opened, that we see clearly; our ears are unstopped, that we have been able to hear distinctly the words that you have spoken; for all these favors we thank the Great Spirit, and him only.

"Brother, this council fire was kindled by you; it was at your request that we came together at this time; we have listened with attention to what you have said; you have requested us to speak our minds freely; this gives us great joy, for we now consider that we stand upright before you, and can speak what we think; all have heard your voice, and all speak to you as one man; our minds are agreed.

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Brother, you say you want an answer to your talk before you leave this place. It is right you should have one, as you are a great distance from home, and we do not wish to detain you; but we will first look back a little, and tell you what our fathers have told us, and what we have heard from the white people.

"Brother, listen to what we say. There was a time when our forefathers owned this great island.* Their seats extended from the rising to the setting sun. The Great Spirit had made it for the use of Indians. He had created the builalo, the deer, and other animals for food. He made the bear and the beaver, and their skins served us for clothing. He had scattered them over the country, and taught us how to take them. He had caused the earth to produce corn for bread. All this he had done for his red children because he loved them. If we had any disputes about hunting-grounds they were generally settled without the shedding of much blood: but an evil day came among us; your forefathers crossed the great waters, and landed

* A general opinion among all the Indians, that this country was an island.

on this island. Their numbers were small; they found friends, and not enemies; they told us they had fled from their own country for fear of wicked men, and come here to enjoy their religion. They asked for a small seat; we took pity on them, granted their request, and they sat down amongst us; we gave them corn and meat; they gave us poison* in return. The white people had now found our country, tidings were carried back, and more came amongst us; yet we did not fear them, we took them to be friends; they called us brothers; we believed them, and gave them a larger seat. At length their numbers had greatly increased; they wanted more land; they wanted our country. Our eyes were opened, and our minds became uneasy. Wars took place; Indians were hired to fight against Indians, and many of our people were destroyed. They also brought strong liquors among us: it was strong and powerful, and has slain thousands. "Brother, our scats were once large, and yours were very small; you have now become a great people, and we have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets; you have got our country, but are not satisfied; you want to force your religion upon us.

"Brother, continue to listen. You say that you are sent to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to his mind, and if we do not take hold of the religion which you white people teach, we shall be unhappy hereafter; you say you are right, and we are lost; how do we know this to be true? We understand that your religion is written in a book; if it was intended for us as well as you, why has not the Great Spirit given it to us, and not only to us, but why did he not give to our forefathers the knowledge of that book, with the means of understanding it rightly? We only know what you tell us about it; how shall we know when to believe, being so often deceived by the white people?

"Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit; if there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it; why not all agree, as you can all read the book?

"Brother, we do not understand these things; we are told that your religion was given to your forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. We also have a religion which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us, their children. We worship that way. It teacheth us to be thankful for all the favors we receive; to love each other, and to be united; we never quarrel about religion.

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Brother, the Great Spirit has made us all, but he has made a great difference between his white and red children; he has given us a different complexion, and different customs; to you he has given the arts; to these he has not opened our eyes; we know these things to be true. Since he has made so great a difference between us in other things, why may we not conclude that he has given us a different

Spirituous liquor is alluded to, it is supposed.

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