ers to
the vicinity of White River, Indiana, among the Delawares, where he
remained for a number of years. In 1805, through the influence of
Laulewasikaw, the brother of Tecumseh, a large number of Shawnees
established themselves at Greeneville. Very soon after, Laulewasikaw
assumed the office of a _prophet_; and forthwith commenced that career
of cunning and pretended sorcery, which always enables the shrewd
hypocrite to sway the ignorant, superstitious mind. Throughout the year
of 1806, the brothers remained at Greeneville and were visited by many
Indians from different tribes, not a few of whom became their followers.
The prophet dreamed many wonderful dreams and claimed to have had many
supernatural revelations made him. The great eclipse of the sun that
occurred in the summer of this year, a knowledge of which he had by some
means attained, enabled him to carry conviction to the minds of many of
his ignorant followers, that he was really the earthly agent of the
Great Spirit. He boldly announced to the unbelievers, that, on a certain
day, he would give them proof of his supernatural powers by bringing
darkness over the sun. When the day and hour of the eclipse arrived, and
the earth, even at midday, was shrouded in the gloom of twilight, the
prophet, standing in the midst of his party, significantly pointed to
the heavens and cried out:

"Did I not prophesy truly? Behold! darkness has shrouded the sun!"

It may readily be supposed that this striking phenomenon, thus adroitly
used, produced a strong impression on the Indians, and greatly increased
their belief in the sacred character of their prophet.

In the spring of 1808, Tecumseh and the prophet removed to a tract of
land on the Tippecanoe, a tributary of the Wabash, where the latter
continued his efforts to induce the Indians to forsake their vicious
habits, while Tecumseh was visiting the neighboring tribes and quietly
strengthening his own and the prophet's influence over them. The events
of the early part of the year 1810 were such as to leave but little
doubt of the hostile intentions of the brothers. The prophet was
apparently the most prominent actor, while Tecumseh was in reality the
mainspring of all the movements, backed, it is supposed, by the
insidious influence of British agents, who supplied the Indians gratis
with powder and ball, in anticipation, perhaps, of hostilities between
the two countries, in which event a union of all the tribes against