ongue.[A]

[Footnote A: James Galloway, of Xenia.]

We next hear of Tecumseh, under circumstances which show the confidence
reposed in him by the white settlers on the frontier.

In the month of April, 1803, Thomas Herrod, living sixteen miles
north-west of Chillicothe, was shot, tomahawked, and scalped, near his
own house. The Indians were suspected of having committed this deed; a
wanton and cruel retaliation was made upon one of them, (guiltless no
doubt of that particular crime,) and the settlement in the Scioto
valley and north-west of it, was thrown into a state of much
excitement. The Indians fled in one direction and the whites in
another. For the purpose of ascertaining the facts in the case, and
preventing further hostilities, several patriotic citizens of
Chillicothe mounted their horses, and rode into the Indian country,
where they found Tecumseh and a body of Indians. They disavowed all
knowledge of the murder of Herrod, and stated, explicitly, that they
were peaceably inclined, and disposed to adhere to the treaty of
Greenville. Tecumseh finally agreed to return with the deputation from
Chillicothe, that he might in person, give similar assurances to the
people of that place. He did so, and a day was fixed on, when he should
make an address upon the subject. A white man, raised among the
Indians, acted as interpreter. Governor Tiffin opened the conference.
"When Tecumseh rose to speak," says an eyewitness, "as he cast his gaze
over the vast multitude, which the interesting occasion had drawn
together, he appeared one of the most dignified men I ever beheld.
While this orator of nature was speaking, the vast crowd preserved the
most profound silence. From the confident manner in which he spoke of
the intention of the Indians to adhere to the treaty of Greenville, and
live in peace and friendship with their white brethren, he dispelled,
as if by magic, the apprehensions of the whites--the settlers returned
to their deserted farms, and business generally was resumed throughout
that region."[A] This incident is of value, in forming an estimate of
the character of this chief: it exhibits the confidence reposed in him
by he white inhabitants on the frontier. The declaration of no other
Indian could thus have dissipated the fears of a border war, which then
pervaded the settlement.

[Footnote A: Colonel John M'Donald.]

Some time during this year, a stout Kentuckian came to Ohio, for the
purpose of explorin