Elkswatawa : $b or, The prophet of the west. A tale of the frontierFrench, James Strange
General
Elkswatawa : $b or, The prophet of the west. A tale of the frontier
French, James Strange
Tippecanoe, Battle of, Ind., 1811 -- Fiction
“My Father, I have informed you what we mean to do, and I call the
Great Spirit to witness the truth of my declaration. The religion
which I have established for the last three years, has been attended
to by the different tribes of Indians in this part of the world. Those
Indians were once different people; they are now but one; they are all
determined to practise what I have communicated to them, and that has
come immediately from the Great Spirit through me.
“Brother, I speak to you as a warrior. You are one. But let us lay
aside this character, and attend to the care of our children that they
may live in peace and comfort. We desire that you will join us for the
preservation of both red and white people. Formerly, when we lived in
ignorance, we were foolish; but now, since we listen to the voice of
the Great Spirit, we are happy.
“I have listened to what you have said to us. You have promised to
assist us. I now request you in behalf of all the red people, to use
your exertions to prevent the sale of liquor to us. We are all well
pleased to hear you say that you will endeavour to promote our
happiness. We give you every assurance that we will follow the
dictates of the Great Spirit.
“We are all well pleased with the attentions you have shown us; also
the good intentions of our Father the President.”
There was so much apparent frankness in this speech, that it won in a
great measure the confidence of the Governor. The Prophet continued
his visit for more than two weeks;—frequently addressed his followers,
dwelling solely on the evils of war, and the bad effects of ardent
spirits, and persuading them to live in peace and friendship with all
mankind. The Governor was astonished at the perfect ease with which he
governed his followers, and was convinced that they acted on
principle, from not being able to make them drink spirit, which he
tried to do by way of experiment.—Elkswatawa denied all connexion with
the British, and by his manner and address, succeeded in deceiving the
Governor, and even caused him to believe that his intentions had been
misrepresented. He went farther,—he satisfied the Governor that the
influence he had gained was beneficial to humanity, and having created
the impression he desired, returned with his followers to Tippecanoe.
We have now given a sketch of the great plan of union, which was
projected by the brothers, and traced the character of Elkswatawa,
from his first appearance as a Prophet, to the period at which he was
introduced in his temporary camp, on the prairie. His power was then
as great as we have painted it, and had been obtained by the means we
have stated. He was then professing peace, though doing all in his
power to bring about war. And now having brought up the history of the
Prophet to the period of which we are writing, we will proceed with
our narrative.
CHAPTER XIV.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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