f was killed by this shot, the
wound in the eyes, that in the neck, or the one in the hip? But again;
colonel Johnson was not the only person who fought on horseback in this
part of the battle. He led a "forlorn hope" of twenty men, all mounted;
while on his left was Davidson's company of one hundred and forty men,
also on horseback. Mr. Wall, who was one of the "forlorn hope," says,
"the fighting became very severe, each party mingling with the other."
Finally, Mr. B. closes his testimony with the remark, that it was well
known and acknowledged, by the British and Indians, at the time, that
Tecumseh received his death from the hand of colonel Johnson, as
appears by James' History of the Late War. It is stated by the
historian here cited, that colonel Johnson shot Tecumseh in the
head--that the body was recognized not only by the British officers who
were prisoners, but by commodore Perry and several other American
officers: Mr. James also expresses his surprise that general Harrison
should have omitted, in his official letter to the War Department, to
mention the death of this chief. Now, we have the authority of several
American officers, of high rank, for stating, that these British
officers were not, on the evening of the day on which the action was
fought, in that part of the line where Tecumseh fell; and that early on
the ensuing morning, they were taken to a house two miles below the
battle ground, and from thence to Detroit, without returning to the
scene of their defeat, Mr. James is, therefore, incorrect on this
point, as he certainly is, in saying that commodore Perry and other
American officers recognized the body of Tecumseh. The commodore had
never seen this chief prior to the afternoon of the battle in which he
fell. General Harrison, it is believed, was the only American officer
in the engagement, who had a personal knowledge of Tecumseh. The day
after the battle, the general, attended by several of his officers,
visited the battle ground. The body of the Indian, supposed to be that
of Tecumseh, was pointed out to him, but owing to its swollen
condition, he was unable to say whether it was Tecumseh, or a
Potawatamie chief, who usually visited Vincennes in company with him:
he felt confident it was one of the two, but further than this could
not pronounce with certainty. Mr. James and Anthony Shane are Mr.
Brown's chief witnesses. The first states that Tecumseh was shot with a
musket ball in the arm, and f