answer, the
Potawatamie heaped upon him every term of abuse and contumely, and
finally charged him with being the slave of the red-coats, (the
British.) Tecumseh, perfectly unmoved, made no reply, but continued his
conversation with Mr. Baron, until the Deaf Chief, wearied with the
effort to provoke his antagonist to action, returned to his camp. There
is some reason for believing that the Prophet did not disobey his
orders: the Deaf Chief was never seen again at Vincennes.

Of the result of the mission of Tecumseh to the southern tribes, we
have no detailed information. Hodgson, who subsequently travelled
through this country, in his "Letters from North America," says:

"Our host told me that he was living with his Indian wife among the
Creeks, when the celebrated Indian warrior Tecumseh, came more than one
thousand miles, from the borders of Canada, to induce the lower Creeks,
to promise to take up the hatchet in behalf of the British, against the
Americans, and the upper Creeks whenever he should require it: that he
was present at the midnight convocation of the chiefs, which was held
on that occasion, and which terminated after a most impressive speech
from Tecumseh with a unanimous determination to take up the hatchet
whenever he should call upon them. This was at least a year before the
declaration of the last war."

In the "History of the Tribes of North America," there is an
interesting notice of this visit of Tecumseh.

"The following remarkable circumstance may serve to illustrate the
penetration, decision and boldness of this warrior chief. He had been
south, to Florida, and succeeded in instigating the Seminoles in
particular, and portions of other tribes, to unite in the war on the
side of the British. He gave out that a vessel, on a certain day,
commanded by red-coats, would be off Florida, filled with guns and
ammunition, and supplies for the use of the Indians. That no mistake
might happen in regard to the day on which the Indians were to strike,
he prepared bundles of sticks, each bundle containing the number of
sticks corresponding to the number of days that were to intervene
between the day on which they were received, and the day of the general
onset. The Indian practice is to throw away a stick every morning; they
make, therefore, no mistake in the time. These sticks Tecumseh caused
to be painted red. It was from this circumstance that in the former
Seminole war, these Indians were called 'Red S