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
Yet who was there, who had not heard of Tecumseh, the Shawanee
warrior, who so often had foiled the whites, and like an eagle
stooping from his eyrie, so often struck, and was gone, no one knew
whither. Even when a boy in years, he had associated his name with so
many tales of frontier massacre, that in the settlements it would
blanch the cheek of a maiden, or hush a crying child into silence.
When the war which terminated with the humiliating peace of
Greenville, was still raging, Tecumseh was the leader of a roving band
which often swept down upon the settlements, and marked its path with
the most desolating ravages. Nor, in the long interval of peace which
succeeded, did his restless mind continue inactive, but was constantly
engaged in meditating schemes of vengeance, and devising plans for
concentrating the scattered energies of his countrymen, weakened as
they were by petty jealousies, and by divisions among their
tribes;—the particulars of which shall be shortly unfolded.
It is said that even when a child he gave marks of the prowess which
was to distinguish his riper years. Oft time had he listened to the
chiefs of his tribe, while they detailed the proud descent of the
Shawanees, and described their once princely dominions, and had wept
upon hearing their change of situation attributed to the perfidy and
aggression of the whites. Like Hannibal in his infant years, who swore
eternal enmity to Rome, Tecumseh vowed that all his energies should be
directed to resist the encroachments of the whites; that never would
he move from the lands which his tribe now held; but that there, on
the graves of his fathers, would he make the last stand for the rights
of his countrymen. It seemed as if all the wrongs his race had
suffered were glowing in him alone:—he felt them, and had been in part
avenged; for in early life, his path was like a tornado sweeping
through the forest, plainly visible from the destruction that marked
its course; and how faithfully he carried into effect the resolves of
his early years, let the sequel tell.
Still, great as he was, Tecumseh was not alone, but was one of three
brothers at a birth; and a more remarkable one, the annals of history
never recorded. Tecumseh, Elkswatawa, and Kumshaka, were born near
Chilicothe, on the banks of the Scioto, in the year 1772. Their father
fell in assisting the unfortunate Logan in the battle of Point
Pleasant, which was fought at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, in 1774,
and for instruction they became entirely dependent upon their mother,
who was by birth a Cherokee. She early made them acquainted with all
warlike sports; instilled into their minds a deadly enmity against the
whites; narrated the sad catastrophe which led to the battle of
Kanawha; and breathed into them that spirit of vengeance which had led
their father on to the battle in which he fell.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account