The Old Northwest: A Chronicle of the Ohio Valley and BeyondOgg, Frederic Austin
History
The Old Northwest: A Chronicle of the Ohio Valley and Beyond
Ogg, Frederic Austin
Northwest, Old -- History; Ohio River Valley -- History
The Indian losses were small, and for twenty-four hours Harrison's
forces kept their places, hourly expecting another assault. "Night,"
wrote one of the men subsequently, "found every man mounting guard,
without food, fire, or light and in a drizzling rain. The Indian dogs,
during the dark hours, produced frequent alarms by prowling in search of
carrion about the sentinels." There being no further sign of
hostilities, early on the 8th of November a body of mounted riflemen set
out for the Prophet's village, which they found deserted. The place had
evidently been abandoned in haste, for nothing--not even a fresh stock
of English guns and powder--had been destroyed or carried off. After
confiscating much-needed provisions and other valuables, Harrison
ordered the village to be burned. Then, abandoning camp furniture and
private baggage to make room in the wagons for the wounded, he set out
on the return trip to Vincennes. A company was left at Fort Harrison,
and the main force reached the capital on the 18th of November.
Throughout the western country the news of the battle was received with
delight, and it was fondly believed that the backbone of Tecumseh's
conspiracy was broken. It was even supposed that the indomitable
chieftain and his brother would be forthwith surrendered by the Indians
to the authorities of the United States. Harrison was acclaimed as a
deliverer. The legislatures of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois formally
thanked him for his services; and if, as his Federalist enemies charged,
he had planned the whole undertaking with a view to promoting his
personal fortunes, he ought to have been satisfied with the result. It
was the glamour of Tippecanoe that three decades afterwards carried him
into the President's chair.
In precipitating a clash while Tecumseh, the master-mind of the
fast-growing confederacy, was absent, the Prophet committed a capital
blunder. When reproached by his warriors, he declared that all would
have gone well but for the fact that on the night before the battle his
squaw had profanely touched the pot in which his magic charms were
brewed, so that the spell had been broken! The explanation was not very
convincing, and ominous murmurings were heard. Before the end of the
year, however, word came to Vincennes that the crafty magician was back
at Tippecanoe, that the village had been rebuilt, and that the lives of
the white settlers who were pouring into the new purchase were again
endangered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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