Hays remained at Fort Wayne until June 5, 1823, and for a short time both he and Tipton were present at the agency. John Tipton was a product of the east Tennessee frontier, where he was born in 1786. When he was seven, his father was killed by an Indian. In 1807, the Tipton family moved to Harrison County, Indiana. Although he lacked any formal education, Tipton’s dynamic qualities as a leader more than compensated for his educational shortcomings. In later life, Tipton learned to read and write, but it always remained a difficult task for him, judging by his letters. In 1811, Tipton took part as a common soldier in the battle of Tippecanoe. Afterward his advancement in the army was astonishingly rapid, for in six years, he became a brigadier general. After the War of 1812, Tipton’s rise in the political field was equally as rapid and his influence became statewide. The political positions he held were as follows: justice of the peace, deputy sheriff, sheriff, member of the state legislature, state commissioner, Indian agent at Fort Wayne, and finally U. S. Senator. In 1823, Tipton was glad to accept the position as Indian agent at Fort Wayne for life at Corydon, his former home, had become unpleasantly complicated by financial and domestic difficulties. His marriage to Martha Shields had ended with a divorce in 1817. The salary of the Indian agent was $1,200 a year, a fair income in those days. The position also gave Tipton special advantages in the treaty negotiations to secure choice sites of land either for his friends or for himself. It was primarily through this means that Tipton was well on his way to becoming one of the wealthiest men in the state at the time of his death. Obviously Tipton’s financial and political success were closely linked. In today’s society the public and private “conflict of interest” in his career would be grist for many crusading journalists. However in an age when the “Spoils System” would soon become acceptable and in a small isolated frontier community where the agent had to deal constantly with the same few individuals, his career should also be judged in relation to the time and place. Tipton was not insensible to the needs of the Indians under his care, but he usually decided on the issues with his personal and political future in mind.