On the banks of the Tippecanoe creek, near the river Wabash, not far from Vincennes, and about one hundred and fifty miles south-east of Fort Dearborn (Chicago), was a flourishing Indian village. Cultivated fields testified to the industry of its inhabitants. As the home and headquarters of the great chief, Tecumseh, the village was frequented by bands of Indian warriors, then numbering about five thousand in the territory, who hoped to keep for themselves and their children a portion of the heritage of their forefathers. They were animated by a spirit of patriotism, fostered by the teaching of their leader. On July 31st, 1811, Tecumseh set off on a mission to the Creeks in the far south. No sooner had he gone than the white dwellers on the Miami River determined to take active measures against the Indians. It happened that there had been depredations committed by the latter, and a feeling of distrust had arisen among the settlers, many of whom had encroached on the {175} Indian boundaries, and had thus laid themselves open to attack. General Harrison was at that time governor of Indiana, and was authorized by the president to fit out an expedition, nominally as a protection for the white inhabitants, but in reality with an intention of breaking up the Indian settlement. Among the members of this expedition were a number of hot-headed young Kentuckians, eager to emulate the deeds of their fathers who had taken part in the old Indian wars of the century before. The expedition set off through what was then a wilderness, carrying with them a rather scanty supply of ammunition and food. General Harrison was himself in command, and pressed on with all haste in order to reach the village before their supplies should give out. At last they came to the banks of the Wabash, and there, within a short distance of Tippecanoe they encamped for the night on a hill. Word had gone to the village of their approach, and before the dawn a party of nine hundred young Indian braves stole on the sleeping camp and made a sudden attack. All was soon in confusion, and in the _mêlée_ several hundred Americans, including some prominent Kentuckians, were killed and wounded. Having accomplished their task, and not waiting for the break of day, the Indians retired to their village.