'/////////// ■■'///////// 
 
 ... ._J//m'////y///y^^/y.yy^. '' .. 
 
 /////////////////y////////^^^^ .^ 
 
 :,yyy////////////////////y//////////yy//^^^^ 2 
 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyjyy/yyy/, 4. 
 
 ■ ^yyyyyyyyyyyy<ryyyy/yyyyyyyy//y/yyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yy///yyyyA 
 yyyyyyyyy/yyy//yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy//yyyyy/yy///yy//yyy/y/, 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yy/y/yyyz-m^ 
 ■yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyy/y/y/yyy/yyyy////y/////// '- ^-^ 
 
 ■yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyy^- 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyvA 
 
 ■yyyyyyAyy/y/:<yyyyyyyr/yyyyy///^yyyyA 
 'yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy£'yyyyyy'y/yyyyy//y. 
 ■yyy/yyyyyy/yyyy/fyyyy/yy/yyyyyy/yyyy!^ 
 yy//yyyyy//yyyyyiyyyyyyy//yyy/yy/yyyyA 
 yyyyyyy/yyyyyy/iyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyA 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyM<y///yyyyyyyyyy/yyyyA 
 yyyyyyyyyyyy^yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/. ' 
 yyyyyyyy/yyy\<^//yyyy//y'>y/yyy/yyyy') 
 'yyyyyyyyyyy\yyyyyyy//yy/yyyyyy//, \ 
 '■yyyyyyyy/\ '■yyyyyy/yy/y/yyy///yyv/ 
 
 yyy^yy\ yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/. 
 
 yyyyy/\y/yyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyy/y 
 yyyy///yyy/yy\ yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyi 
 
 ■■yy//yyyyy/' 
 y-yyyy/y/v/yy/y, 
 y/yyyyyy//yy/yyyy. 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyy/'yy/'. 
 yy///yyyy/yyy/y^ 
 
 ''<<y//y/yyyyy 
 
 ■yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/ /; 
 
 'yyyyyyy//yy/-.yy,Y/y .. , 
 
 [^yyyyyyyy/iy/y 
 
 yyy/yyyyy/^n^yyy/yyyy 
 
 ''yyy///yy///-' y^i^^yyyyy/y 
 
 .^yyy- ■'' 
 
 ■yyyyyyyyyyy///y'^i^/////y, 
 {' y^-'yy/yy////yy///.\-" 
 yyw^yyw- \ 
 
 Iy^y/yyyyyyyyyyy/y//."\ ; 
 yyyyy/yyyyyy/yyyyy//yyy\ 
 yyyyyyyyy//'yyyyyyyyyyyy/y\ ■■ 
 \^y/yy//yyyyyyyyyyy/yyyy^ 
 ■yy/yyyy/yyyyyyy-yy/y/yyyAyyyy// 
 Wy/yyyyyyy/yyyyyyyy//yyy\yy-yy 
 ^yyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyy/yyyyyy^y 
 
 yyyyyyy/yyy 
 
Class ^ 3f^ 
 
 i'Ui;si;nti:ij in' 
 
cs. 
 
 /^-^/^ 
 
\ 
 
 -, \ 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, 
 
 (OF OHIO,) 
 THE PEOPLE'S CANDIDATE 
 
 FOR 
 
 THE PRESIDENCY. 
 
 WITH A 
 HISTORY OF THE WARS WITH 
 
 THE BRITISH AND INDIANS 
 
 ON OUR NORTH-WESTERN FRONTIER. 
 
 BY ISAAC R. JACKSON. 
 
 FU'TH EDITION. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 MARSHALL, WILLIAMS & BUTLER. 
 
 1840. 
 
.Jl32 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, 
 
 BY I. R. JACKSON, 
 
 in the clerk's office of the district court of the eastern district 
 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 STEREOTYPED BY J. FAGAN PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN AND CO. 
 
 Gift 
 Mrs. Benjamin Harrison 
 June 9 1934 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 The principal aim and object of the following 
 biography, is to place before its readers a fair and 
 impartial narrative of the life of one of our most 
 eminent fellow-citizens, the history of whose pub- 
 lic services, both civil and military, is, for many 
 years, closely and inseparably interwoven with 
 that of our country. The many responsible offi- 
 ces held by General Harrison, the numerous im- 
 portant treaties made by him with the Indians, and 
 the prominent part he took in all the wars and 
 uegotiations on our North-western frontier, during 
 one of the most exciting and eventful periods of 
 our national existence, render his life one of gene- 
 ral and absorbing interest. Indeed we look upon 
 the political and moral history of such a man as 
 belonging to his country, and as constituting one 
 of those bright beacon-lights destined to shine as 
 long as the annals of our nation endure. To the 
 character of such a man, justice is rarely done 
 during his life-time. The carpi ngs of envy or 
 jealousy, and the misrepresentations of political 
 opponents taint the public mind to a certain degreef 
 
 (5; 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 and cast a shadow over the most brilliant actions 
 and the purest and most virtuous motives. But 
 long after the stormy waves that now agitate the 
 great ocean of political strife shall have subsided, 
 when all personal opposition shall have shared the 
 fate of its originators and have sunk into a mer- 
 ited oblivion, the page of history will still record, 
 with perennial fame, the good deeds and noble ac- 
 tions of the patriot, the hero and the statesman ; 
 and grateful generations shall point to his example 
 as a bright and unclouded load-star to guide them 
 in the true course to honest and honourable dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 The author of this little work has made no at- 
 tempt at an eulogium. From a long personal ac- 
 quaintance with General Harrison, and a know- 
 ledge as well as admiration of his character, he 
 has certainly felt at liberty to express himself on 
 some points relating to his private life, more fully 
 than he would otherwise have ventured. Still his 
 sole endeavour has been to discharge his duty 
 faithfully to his fellow-citizens, and render them at 
 the present time an acceptable service by offering 
 within as brief a space as possible, a clear, candid, 
 and comprehensive narrative of the life of Gene- 
 ral Harrison, and of the wars and negotiations on 
 our North-western frontier, in which he took so 
 active a part, from the date of St. Clair's defeat to 
 
PREFACif. Vii 
 
 the close of our last contest with Great Britain — 
 a period embracing a portion of our general his 
 tory, full of exciting and thrilling interest, and yei 
 but little known to the great mass of the people. 
 
 Many of the materials for this biography have 
 been derived from " Dawson's Narrative of the 
 Civil and Military Services of General Harrison," 
 a large octavo published in Cincinnati, in 1824, 
 but long since out of print ; from " Butler's His- 
 tory of Kentucky ;" and from " M'Afee's Histo- 
 ry of the Late War in the Western Country." 
 " Hall's Memoir of the Public Services of William 
 Henry Harrison" has likewise occasionally been 
 consulted. And to ensure the necessary accuracy 
 on many leading points of history, a due reference 
 has also been made to our public documents and 
 state papers connected with the events here re- 
 corded. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Harrison's birfh and parentage. — Sketch of his 
 father's public life and services. — Harrison's 
 education. — His determination to enter the 
 army. — Situation of our North-western frontier 
 at that time. — British intrigues. — Defeat of 
 General Harmar Page 15 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 Harrison enters the United States' army with the 
 commission of an ensign.— Defeat of St. Clair.— 
 Appointment of General Wayne. — Organiza- 
 tion of the United States legion.— Harrison is 
 promoted to a lieutenancy. — Is appointed aid 
 to the commander-in-chief. — Wayne's cam- 
 paigns. — Battle of the Maumee Rapids, and 
 final defeat of the Indians. — Harrison's appoint- 
 ment to the command of Fort Washington. — His 
 marriage -------.__. ..22 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Harrison resigns his commission in the army. — Is 
 appointed Secretary and Lieutenant Governor 
 of the North-western Territory.— Is elected De- 
 legate to Congress.— Introduces a bill to regu- 
 
 (8) 
 
CONTENTS. " IX 
 
 late the disposal of the public lands. — Its justice 
 and true policy. — Its success. — The North- 
 western Territory divided. — Harrison resigns 
 his seat in Congress. — Is appointed Governor of 
 Indiana Territory -- -...----42 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Condition of Indiana Territory. — Harrison is ap- 
 pointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs and 
 Commissioner for treating with the Indians. — 
 His extensive jurisdiction and powers. — Harri- 
 son's address to the territorial legislature. — The 
 cession of Louisiana to the United States - - 48 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Intrigues of Tecumthe and the Prophet. — The 
 Prophet's visit to Vincennes and interview with 
 Harrison. — Treaty of Fort Wayne. — Dissatisfac- 
 tion of Tecumthe. — Tecumthe's interview with 
 the Governor. — The Governor's firmness and 
 intrepidity. — Harrison's Message to tlie Legisla- 
 ture. — Triumphant refutation of slander - - - 62 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 Commencement of hostilities. — Harrison assembles 
 the Militia and Volunteers. — He organizes his 
 forces. — March to the Prophet's town. — Battle 
 of Tippecanoe. — Its results -------81 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 Declaration of War with Great Britain. — Mea- 
 sures adopted to defend our North-western fron- 
 tier. — Governor Harrison is appointed Major 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 General in the Kentucky militia. — He receives 
 the commission of Brigadier General in the 
 service of the United States. — He is made Com- 
 mander-in-chief of the North-western army. — 
 His extensive pov^^ers and arduous duties. — 
 Plan of ihe Campaign. — Massacre at the River 
 Raisin. — Expedition against the Indian towns - 104 
 
 CHAPTER Vni. 
 
 Opening of the second Campaign. — Siege of Fort 
 Meigs. — Its gallant Defence. — Brilliant sortie. — 
 Defeat of Colonel Dudley. — The Siege aban- 
 doned. — Second Siege of Fort Meigs. — Attack 
 on Fort Stephenson --------- 133 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Harrison advises the construction of a fleet on 
 Lake Erie. — Perry's Victory. — Embarkation of 
 the army. — Invasion of Canada. — Pursuit of the 
 enemy. — Battle of the Thames and capture of 
 the British army. — Close of the campaign. — 
 Resignation of General Harrison 149 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Appointment of General Harrison as Commissioner 
 to treat with the Indians. — His election to Con- 
 gress. — Is chosen a Senator of the State Legis- 
 lature. — His election to the Senate of the United 
 States. — Is appointed Minister to Colombia. — 
 His Letter to Bolivar. — His recall. — His personal 
 appearance and private Character. — His Letter 
 to Harmar Denny -- 170 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Harrison's birth and parentage. — Sketch of his father's 
 public life and services. — Harrison's education. — His 
 determination to enter the army. — Situation of our 
 North-western frontier at that time. — British in- 
 trigues. — Defeat of General Harmer. 
 
 William Heivry Harrison was born in 
 Virginia, on the ninth day of February, 1773, 
 at Berkeley, an estate on the James River, in 
 the county of Charles City. The family from 
 which he is descended settled in Virginia in 
 the year 1640. At an extremely early period 
 in the history of that province, the name of 
 Harrison appears among the most prominent 
 mentioned in their public annals, and the 
 honourable station which it then held has de- 
 scended unsullied to our own times. 
 
 (15) 
 
16 LIFE OF 
 
 Benjamin Harrison, the father of the subject 
 of this memoir, was one of the foremost and 
 most conspicuous patriots of our country. 
 Before he had attained his twenty-first year, 
 he was elected to the provincial legislature, 
 and took his seat in the House of Burgesses, 
 where he continued to represent his native 
 district, with much honour, for many years. 
 He, on every occasion, manifested a sincere 
 devotion to the interests of the province, and 
 was one of that patriotic band of members 
 who united, heart and hand, in opposing the op- 
 pressive measures of the mother country. On 
 the fourteenth of November, 1764, he was ap- 
 pointed with several other distinguished mem- 
 bers of the house, to prepare an address to the 
 king, a memorial to the lords, and a remon- 
 strance to the house of commons, in opposi- 
 tion to the odious Stamp Act — a bill in favour 
 of which had already been proposed to parlia- 
 ment by George Grenville, the British minister 
 of finance. These papers were accordingly 
 prepared by this committee, and Mr. Harrison 
 thus evinced, several years before the date of 
 our revolution, his determination to side with 
 the people in their struggle to defend their sa- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 17 
 
 cred rights, and in their resistance to the rapa- 
 cious tyranny of the crown. 
 
 In August, 1774, Mr. Harrison was ap- 
 pointed one of the delegates from Virginia to 
 the first Continental Congress, which assem- 
 bled in Philadelphia, on the first of the ensuing 
 September : and on that day, he had the grati- 
 fication of seeing his colleague and brother-in- 
 law, Peyton Randolph, placed in the presiden- 
 tial chair by the unanimous choice of the 
 assembled delegates. 
 
 At the Congress of the following year, 1775, 
 after the death of Mr. Randolph, it was the 
 wish of nearly all the southern members, that 
 Mr. Harrison should succeed him in the presi- 
 dency ; but as the patriotic John Hancock of 
 Massachusetts had likewise been nominated, 
 Mr. Harrison, to avoid any sectional jealousy 
 or unkindness of feeling between the northern 
 and southern delegates, at so momentous a 
 crisis, with a noble self-denial and generosity 
 relinquished his own claims, and insisted on 
 the election of Mr. Hancock, who accordingly 
 had the honour of being unanimously chosen 
 to that high office. Mr. Harrison still, how- 
 ever, continued one of the most active and 
 influential members of the Continental Con- 
 
18 LIFE OF 
 
 gress. , On the tenth of June, 1776, as chair- 
 man of the committee of the whole house, he 
 introduced the resolution which declared the 
 independence of the colonies, and on the fol- 
 lowing ever-memorable fourth of July, he 
 reported the more formal Declaration of In- 
 dependence, to which celebrated document 
 his signature is annexed. 
 
 The Legislature of Virginia returned Mr. 
 Harrison four times as a dele^-ate to Cono:ress. 
 On the expiration of his last term of congres- 
 sional service, he was immediately elected to 
 the House of Burgesses from his own county, 
 and was at once chosen speaker of that body ; 
 an office which he held uninterruptedly until 
 the year 1782, when he was elected governor 
 of Virginia, and became one of the most 
 popular officers that ever filled the executive 
 chair. This eminent patriot died in the year 
 1791. 
 
 William Henry Harrison was left by his 
 father under the guardianship of his friend, 
 Robert Morris, the distinguished financier of 
 our revolution. He was educated at Hamp- 
 den Sydney College; and, by the advice of 
 his friends, turned his attention to the study 
 of medicine. But about the period when he 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 19 
 
 had completed his education, soon after the 
 death of his father, the increased and barba- 
 rous hostihtios of the Indians on our north- 
 western borders, began to excite a feehng of 
 indignation throughout the whole country. In 
 this general excitement our young student par- 
 ticipated so warmly, that he resolved to relin- 
 quish his professional pursuits, and join the 
 army destined to the defence of the Ohio 
 frontier. The service was then neither popu- 
 lar nor inviting, but on the contrary was ex- 
 ceedingly toilsome and fraught with great 
 danger and hardships ; and nothing but high 
 courage and elevated motives, could have 
 induced him to form such a resolve at so 
 gloomy a period. This determination was 
 \varmly opposed, too, by many of his friends 
 as well as by his prudent guardian. But his 
 generous design was cordially approved and 
 encouraged by one whom he thought entitled 
 to even more influence — by General Wash- 
 ington, who had been his father's intimate 
 friend, and who was, at that time, president 
 of the United States. 
 
 The war in our western country was then 
 assuming a very alarming aspect. But few 
 of the warlike Indians on the frontier had at 
 8 
 
20 LIFE OF 
 
 that time declared in our favour, while the 
 powerful tribes of the Miamies, the, Hurons, or 
 Wyandots, the Delawares, the Shawnees, the 
 KicJiapoos, the Potowatoniies, the Ottaicas, and 
 the Winnehagoes, who occupied all the borders 
 of our northern lakes, and were scattered 
 through the whole immense extent of our north- 
 western territory, were eno^aored in active 
 hostility against the United States. 
 
 Most of these Indian tribes had been in the 
 service of Great Britain during our revolution- 
 ary struggle ; and they were no doubt urged 
 to the course they now pursued, in some mea- 
 sure, by their own savage love for war, but 
 still more by the instigations of the British 
 authorities in Canada, who, contrary to the 
 provisions of the treaty of peace, still held for- 
 cible possession of Detroit, Mackinac, Niagara, 
 and other forts in our acknowledged territory, 
 and continued to tamper with the Indians 
 within our limits, and to supply them freely 
 with arms and ammunition to carry on the 
 war against our country. Thus incited, they 
 still persisted in their barbarous hostilities, and 
 accounts were almost daily received of their 
 having perpetrated some ruthless aggression or 
 outrage of unexampled ferocity. From the 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 21 
 
 year 1783, when Great Britain acknowledged 
 our independence, and war with the mother 
 country ceased, up to the year 1791, it was 
 estimated that more than fifteen hundred of 
 our hardy borderers had fallen victims to the 
 rifle and scalping-knife of their savage foes. 
 Our north-western frontier presented an appal- 
 ling scene of rapine, conflagration, and wanton 
 destruction of life and property. Many of our 
 border settlements had been crushed in their 
 infancy, and all had been retarded in their 
 growth. Expedition after expedition, fitted 
 out to oppose them, had met with the most 
 disheartening losses ; and finally a gallant 
 army under Brigadier General Harmer, which 
 had been sent expressly to chastise these sa- 
 vages, after destroying some of their towns, 
 had been signally defeated by them, and al- 
 most annihilated. Of the few experienced 
 oflicers who escaped from Harmer's defeat, 
 nearly all, worn out with the fatigues of a 
 service so harassing, and shrinking from a 
 warfare of so dangerous and barbarous a na- 
 ture, had resigned their commissions ; and a 
 general feeling of dismay began to pervade 
 the whole of our exposed frontier. 
 
 Such was the gloomy aspect of affairs, when 
 
22 LIFE OF 
 
 the ardent and generous patriotism of young 
 Harrison prompted him to give up the com- 
 forts and luxuries that surrounded him at 
 home, and enter his country's service in de- 
 fence of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Harrii'on enters the United States' army with the com- 
 mission of an ensign. — Defeat of St. Clair. — Appoint- 
 ment of General Wayne. — Organization of the 
 United States legion. — Harrison is promoted to a 
 lieutenancy. — Is appointed aid to the commander-in- 
 chief. — Wayne's campaigns. — Battle of the Maumee 
 Rapids, and final defeat of the Indians. — Harrison's 
 appointment to the command of Fort Washington, — 
 His marriage. 
 
 *»' 
 
 In the autumn of the year 1791, Harrison 
 received the commission of an ensign in the 
 United States artillery, from the hands of the 
 president, General Washington, whose warm 
 approval had greatly cheered him in his de- 
 sign. He hastened immediately to join his 
 regiment, which was then stationed at Fort 
 Washington, which occupied the present site 
 of the city of Cincinnati, where he arrived a 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 23 
 
 few days after the unfortunate defeat of 
 General St. Clair, near the Miami villages, 
 by the confederated Indians, under the com- 
 mand of Meshecunnaqua, the Little Turtle, a 
 celebrated Miami warrior, and Buckongelas, 
 head chief of the Delawares. This disastrous 
 defeat, in which St. Clair's army was de- 
 stroyed, with the loss of nearly a thousand 
 men, killed or taken prisoners, left the whole 
 of our north-western frontier exposed to the 
 ravages of a merciless enemy, and added 
 greatly to the general consternation before 
 existing. 
 
 The whole defence of our extensive frontier 
 now devolved on the broken fragments of an 
 army panic-struck and dispirited by their re- 
 cent defeat, while the Indians, flushed with 
 victory, had grown still more daring and au- 
 dacious than ever. Winter was approaching, 
 and the privations to be anticipated by those 
 who were stationed at our remote posts were 
 so great, that Harrison, young, slender, and 
 apparently of a delicate constitution, was ad- 
 vised by his friends to resign his commission, 
 and avoid hardships which he seemed but little 
 fitted to encounter. But he rejected this ad- 
 vice without hesitation, and by an almost 
 2* 
 
24 LIFE OF 
 
 reckless exposure of his person to danger and 
 fatigue, soon proved himself well qualified for 
 the arduous service he had chosen. 
 
 Not long after his arrival at Fort Washing- 
 ton, his courage and good conduct were put 
 to the test, by his being appointed to the com- 
 mand of an escort having in charge a supply 
 of provisions and munitions of war, destined 
 for Fort Hamilton. The perilous duty of 
 conducting this escort through a wilderness 
 infested by hostile Indians, required an un- 
 common degree of personal exposure, as well 
 as constant watchfulness, and a greater share 
 of prudence and military sagacity than is 
 usually found in so youno^ an officer. But he 
 acquitted himself of this duty with so much 
 skill and success as to elicit the warm appro- 
 bation and encomium of his commander, 
 General St. Clair. 
 
 At this time, the deojradinor vice of intern- 
 perance was unhappily but too common among 
 the officers of our army. Removed from the 
 wholesome restraints of civilized society, and 
 deprived of the comforts of domestic life, the 
 extreme hardships they were often compelled 
 to endure, predisposed the young officers, in 
 their moments of relaxation, to indulge in de- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 25 
 
 basin-g excesses, to the great injury of their 
 reputation and the frequent destruction of their 
 health. But Harrison had the good sense to 
 see the danger to which he was exposed, and 
 the firmness of character to resist the entice- 
 ments of dissipation. And in the midst of 
 these temptations, he laid the foundation of 
 those habits of temperance, which subsequently 
 enabled him to support so well the severe fa- 
 tigues and hardships of a border warfare, and 
 which have adhered to him through life, giving 
 him, even to the present day, a remarkable 
 degree of health and vigour. 
 
 In the unfortunate state of things existing 
 after St. Clair's defeat, our government saw 
 the necessity of adopting immediate and effi- 
 cient means to put an end to this savage con- 
 flict. Another army was promptly raised, and 
 the command given to General Anthony 
 Wayne of Pennsylvania, a gallant and skilful 
 officer, who had earned a brilliant reputation 
 in the revolutionarv war. The United States 
 Legion, as Wayne's army was called in the 
 new organization, assembled at Pittsburgh, in 
 the summer of 1792 ; and in tlie ensuing month 
 of November, they left that place, and went 
 into winter quarters, at an eligible position on 
 
26 LIFE OF 
 
 the Ohio, 22 miles below Pittsburgh. This 
 place they called Legionville. 
 
 Our illustrious President, Washington, guid- 
 ed by his customary humanity, had instructed 
 General Wayne to endeavour, if possible, to 
 conciliate the Indians, and prevent the further 
 effusion of blood. In pursuance of these in- 
 structions. General Wayne invited several dis- 
 tinguished chiefs of some of the principal tribes 
 to visit him at Legionville. Accordingly, in 
 March, 1793, Cornpla7iter, a noted warrior, 
 Guasthuaj an aged chief, JVmo A)irow, Big 
 Tree, and several others, made their appear- 
 ance at the encampment. But after a council 
 with these chiefs, it soon became evident that 
 no honourable terms of peace could be esta- 
 blished with the Indians. Excited by their 
 recent victories, and stimulated by the intrigues 
 of the British, they bad become exceedingly 
 unreasonable in their demands. They now 
 insisted that the American government should 
 relinquish all claim to the immense extent of 
 territory north-west of the Ohio river, notwith- 
 standing it had been obtained by open and re- 
 peated treaties and by fair purchase, and had 
 already been partially disposed of to actual 
 settlers,' whose rights, emanating from" our 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 27 
 
 government, we were, in common justice, 
 bound to protect. They further declared that 
 nothing would now satisfy them but the estab- 
 lishment of the Ohio river as a permanent 
 boundary, beyond which our settlements should 
 never be permitted to extend. 
 
 Terms so haughtily demanded, and so stern- 
 ly opposed to our national honour and good 
 faith, as well as to our interest, were, of course, 
 wholly inadmissible ; and General Wayne was 
 now compelled to prepare for the only alter- 
 native offered him, a savage and desolating 
 war. This was, therefore, on our part, strictly 
 a war of self-defence — since we had no other 
 honourable means of defending our border 
 settlements from the fierce aarsressions of the 
 Indians, or of uprooting the influence of the 
 British authorities, who, in defiance of the de- 
 claration of peace, were still warring against 
 us through their former savage auxiliaries. 
 
 On the 30th of April, 1793, General Wayne 
 broke up his winter quarters at Legion vi lie, 
 and conveyed his army in boats down the 
 Ohio to Fort Washington. At this place Har- 
 rison, having been promoted to a lieutenancy, 
 joined the Legion. His fearlessness and en- 
 ergy, with his strict attention to discipline, soon 
 
28 - LIFE OF 
 
 attracted the notice of his commander-in-chief, 
 himself a bold and darinoj soldier and a rigid 
 disciplinarian ; and General Wayne, not long 
 after his arrival, selected him as one of his 
 aids-de-camp. 
 
 It will thus be seen at how early a period, 
 and in what trying times, young Harrison was 
 thought worthy of honourable distinction ; and 
 how soon, too, he attracted the attention and 
 especial notice of a man and a soldier like 
 Wayne, whose well-known independence of 
 character was such, that no influence save that 
 of intrinsic merit was ever with him of any' 
 avail, and whose daring and almost reckless 
 intrepidity had won him, in our revolutionary 
 war, the singular appellation of " Mad An- 
 thony." 
 
 The ensuing summer was occupied by Gen- 
 eral Wayne in disciplining his troops, and in 
 obtaining reinforcements and supplies, prepar- 
 atory to the next campaign. Having at length 
 received instructions from the Secretary of 
 War to commence active operations, early in 
 October he left Fort Washington, and ad- 
 vanced with his army eighty miles along the 
 south-western bank of the Miami. But as the 
 season was now too far advanced to permit 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 29 
 
 him to carry the plans he had formed into exe- 
 cution^ he strongly fortified a position which 
 was called Greenville, where his army went 
 into quarters for tlie winter. 
 
 But the winter was not suffered to pass in 
 idleness. On the 23d of December, the com- 
 mander-in-chief sent a detachment of eight 
 companies of infantry and a battalion of artil- 
 lery, to take possession of the ground on which 
 St. Clair's army had been defeated. A strong 
 post, called Fort Recovery, was built on this 
 mournful battle-field, and the bones of our gal- 
 lant soldiers, who were there slain, were care- 
 fully collected and interred with military hon- 
 ours. The artillery used on this interesting 
 occasion, to pa}' the last tribute of respect over 
 the graves of those who fell on the bloody 4th 
 of November, 1791, were the same that were 
 lost on that fatal dav, but which were now 
 recovered bv this detachment. 
 
 In the general order issued by the com- 
 mander-in-chief, on the return of these troops, 
 he particularly notices Lieutenant Harrison, 
 who accompanied the expedition — and tenders 
 him " his best thanks for his voluntary aid and 
 services on this occasion." We thus find Har- 
 rison, though at an early age, and young in 
 
30 LIFE OF 
 
 the service, foremost in volunteering his aid 
 on every occasion where danger was to be 
 encountered or duty performed. 
 
 On the 30th of June, 1794, Fort Recovery 
 was fiercely assailed by a large body of In- 
 dians, aided by British and Canadian auxili- 
 aries. But though their assaults were unusu- 
 ally bold and daring, and repeatedly renewed, 
 they were each time bravely repulsed, and 
 were finally compelled to retreat with great 
 loss. About two weeks subsequent to this at- 
 tack on Fort Recovery, General Wayne was 
 reinforced by a body of mounted volunteers 
 from Kentucky, under the command of Gene- 
 ral Scott. On the 8th of the following Au- 
 gust, having, by a rapid movement, advanced 
 seventy miles beyond Greenville, he encamped 
 at Grand Glaise, in the very heart of the In- 
 dian country. In his dispatch to the War 
 Department on this occasion, the commander- 
 in-chief says, — " We have thus gained posses- 
 sion of the grand emporium of the hostile In- 
 dians in the west, without loss of blood. The 
 very extensive and highly-cultivated fields and 
 gardens show the work of many hands. The 
 margins of those beautiful rivers, the Miami 
 of the Lake, and Au Glaise, appear like one 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 31 
 
 continued village for a number of miles above 
 and below the place ; nor have I ever before 
 beheld such immense fields of corn in any part 
 of America, from Canada to Florida." 
 
 A strong work, called Fort Defiance, was 
 immediately erected by our troops at the con- 
 fluence of the rivers mentioned in the above 
 despatch. General Wayne now felt himself 
 fully prepared for decisive operations ; but be- 
 fore striking the final blow, he, in compliance 
 with his instructions, renewed his endeavours 
 to conciliate and effect some amicable nearotia- 
 tion with the Indians. " I have thought pro- 
 per," he said, " to ofl^er the enemy a last over- 
 ture of peace ; and as they have every thing 
 that is dear and interesting at stake, I have 
 reason to expect they will listen to the propo- 
 sition mentioned in the inclosed copy of an ad- 
 dress dispatched yesterday by a special flag, 
 under circumstances that will insure his safe 
 return, and may eventually spare the effusion 
 of much human blood." " But should war be 
 their choice, that blood be upon their own 
 heads. America shall no longer be insulted 
 with impunity. To an all-powerful and just 
 God, I therefore commit myself and gallant 
 army." 
 
32 LIFE OF 
 
 The Indians haughtily rejected this over- 
 ture, contrary to the advice of Little Turtle, 
 the celebrated warrior who had commanded 
 the combined forces of the Indian tribes at the 
 defeat of St. Clair's army. This sagacious 
 chief, at a council held by the Indians on the 
 night of the lOth of August, a few hours only 
 before the battle, strongly recommended the 
 acceptance of the offered terms of peace. 
 " We have beaten the enemy," said he, " twice, 
 under separate commanders. We cannot ex- 
 pect the same good fortune to attend us al- 
 ways. The Americans are now led by a chief 
 who never sleeps : the night and the day are 
 alike to him. And during all the time he has 
 been marching upon our villages, notwithstand- 
 ing the watchfulness of our young men, we 
 have never been able to surprise him. Think 
 well of it. There is something whispers me 
 it would be prudent to listen to his offers of 
 peace." 
 
 General Wayne had, in the meantime, left 
 Fort Defiance, and advanced within a short 
 distance of the Rapids of the Miami, (now 
 generally known as the Maumee,) where the 
 British had recently erected a strong fort for 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 33 
 
 the purpose of encouraging and controlling 
 the neighbouring Indians. 
 
 On the 19th of August our troops were em- 
 ployed in making a temporary fortification, 
 which they called Fort Deposite, for the pro- 
 tection of their military stores and baggage, 
 and in reconnoitring the position of the In- 
 dians who were encamped behind a thick, 
 bushy wood, and near the British fort. On 
 the following day was fought that memorable 
 battle, which we cannot better describe than 
 by quoting a portion of the graphic account 
 of General Wayne himself, in his official let- 
 ter to the Secretary of War. 
 
 " At 8 o'clock on the 20th," said General 
 Wayne, "the army advanced in columns, 
 agreeably to the standing order of march ; the 
 legion on the right flank, covered by the Mi- 
 ami, — one brigade of mounted volunteers on 
 the left, under Brigadier General Todd, and 
 the other in the rear, under Brigadier Gen- 
 eral Barbee : — a select battalion of mounted 
 volunteers moved in front of the legion, com- 
 manded by Major Price, who was directed to 
 keep sufficiently advanced — so as to give 
 timely notice for the troops to form, in case 
 of action — it beinsr vet undetermined whether 
 
34 LIFE OF 
 
 the Indians would decide for peace or war. 
 After advancing about five miles, Major 
 Price's corps received so severe a fire from 
 the enemy, wlio were secreted in the woods 
 and high grass, as to compel them to retreat. 
 
 " The legion was immediately formed in 
 two lines, principally in a close, thick wood, 
 which extended for miles on our left ; and for 
 a very considerable distance in front, the 
 ground being covered with old fallen timber, 
 probably occasioned by a tornado, which ren- 
 dered it impracticable for cavalry to act wdth 
 effect, and afforded the enemy the most favour- 
 able covert for their savage mode of warfare, 
 they were formed in three lines, within sup- 
 porting distance of each other, and extending 
 nearly two miles, at right angles with the 
 river. 
 
 " I soon discovered, from the w-eight of the 
 fire, and extent of their lines, that the enemy 
 were in full force in front, in possession of 
 their fav^ourite ground, and endeavouring to 
 turn our left flank. I therefore gave orders 
 for the second line to advance, to support the 
 first, and directed Major General Scott to gam 
 and turn the right flank of the savages, with 
 the whole of the mounted volunteers, by a 
 
WILLIAM HExNRY HARRISON. 35 
 
 circuitous route : at the same time I ordered 
 the front line to advance with trailed arms, 
 and rouse the Indians from their coverts at 
 the point of the bayonet; and, when up, to 
 deliver a close and well directed fire on their 
 backs, followed by a brisk charge, so as not 
 to give them time to load again. I also 
 ordered Captain Campbell, who commanded 
 the legionary cavalry, to turn the left flank of 
 the enemy next the river, which afforded a 
 favourable field for that corps to act in. 
 
 " All these orders were obeyed with spirit 
 and promptitude ; but such was the impetuos- 
 ity of the charge of the first line of infantry, 
 that the Indians and Canadian militia and 
 volunteers were driven from all their coverts 
 in so short a time, that although every exer- 
 tion was used by the officers of the second 
 line of the legion, and by Generals Scott* 
 Todd, and Barbee, of the mounted volunteers, 
 to gain their proper positions, yet but a part 
 of each could get up in season to participate 
 in the action ; the enemy being driven, in the 
 course of one hour, more than two miles, 
 through the thick woods already mentioned, 
 by less than one-half their numbers. 
 
 " From every account, the enemy amount- 
 3* 
 
36 LIFE OF 
 
 ed to two thousand combatants; the troops 
 actually engaged against them were short of 
 nine hundred. This horde of savages, with 
 their allies, abandoned themselves to flight, 
 and dispersed with terror and dismay, leav- 
 ing our victorious army in full and quiet pos- 
 session of the field of battle, which terminated 
 under the influence of the guns of the British 
 garrison. , 
 
 " Inclosed is a particular return of the kill- 
 ed and wounded — the loss of the enemy was 
 more than double that of the federal army. 
 The woods were strewed for a considerable 
 distance with the dead bodies of the Indians, 
 and their white auxiliaries ; the latter armed 
 with British muskets and bayonets. 
 
 "We remained three days and nights on 
 the banks of the Miami, in front of the field 
 of battle, during which all the houses and 
 corn-fields were consumed and destroyed for 
 a considerable distance, both above and below 
 Fort Miami, as well as within pistol-shot of 
 that garrison, who were compelled to remain 
 tacit spectators of this general devastation 
 and conflagration — among which were the 
 houses, stores, and property of Colonel M'Kee, 
 the British Indian agent, and principal stimu- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 37 
 
 lator of the war now existing between the 
 United States and the savages." 
 
 The success of this brilliant action, so 
 strongly in contrast to our previous contests 
 with the Indians, was owing, undoubtedly, to 
 the high state of discipline of the army, and 
 to the consummate skill and judgment dis- 
 played by General Wayne, in the entirely 
 novel system of tactics originated by him. 
 He not only adopted the old and approved 
 mode of extending his line and forming his 
 troops in open order, to lessen their exposure 
 to the deadly aim of the enemy, but he intro- 
 duced, likewise, his favourite plan of charg- 
 ing rapidly upon the Indians, and rousing 
 them from their coverts at the point of the 
 bayonet, and then pouring in a close and 
 heavy fire, before they could again shelter 
 themselves. This system, which proved so 
 effectual at the battle of the Maumee Rapids 
 has since been almost universally adopted in 
 our warfare with the Indians. 
 
 In his dispatch to the Secretary of War 
 after this decisive action. General Wayne, in 
 mentioning those whose good conduct and 
 intrepidity were particularly conspicuous on 
 this occasion, says — "My faithful and gallant 
 
38 LIFE OF 
 
 aid-de-camp, Lieutenant Harrison, rendered 
 the most essential service by communicating 
 my orders in every direction, and by his con- 
 duct and bravery exciting the troops to press 
 for victory." 
 
 We hold it not to be amiss here to remark, 
 that in addition to the acknowledged services 
 of General Wayne in the camp and field, time 
 has proved that that fearless soldier and dis- 
 tinguished commander has placed our country 
 under a still deeper debt of gratitude — since 
 the instructions he gave his favourite aid in 
 his severe school of discipline, the example he 
 showed him, and the experience he led him to 
 acquire in the arduous campaigns they en- 
 countered together, subsequently in still more 
 trying and perilous times, enabled Harrison 
 .o fight the battles of his country against the 
 same savage foe with such signal success, 
 that though more frequently in conflict with 
 the enemy than any other general in our ser- 
 vice, and though often attacked by vastly su- 
 Derior numbers, he never yet has been defeated. 
 
 The heavy losses suffered by the confede- 
 rated tribes in the battle of the Maumee Ra- 
 Dids, greatly disheartened the Indians, and 
 Jieir dissatisfaction was much increased by 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 39 
 
 the vacillating conduct of Colonel Campbell, 
 the commander of the British fort, who, after 
 their defeat, refused to take any part on their 
 behalf The distinguished and powerful chiefs, 
 Little Turtle and Buckongelas, doubting the 
 power of Great Britain to protect them, and 
 now taught to respect our strength, openly 
 declared in favour of the United States, and 
 by their influence, a negotiation for peace was 
 opened on the first of January, 1795. After 
 some delay, a council was held at Greenville, 
 between General Wayne and a numerous 
 delegation of chiefs and w^arriors from the 
 principal tribes, and an honourable and highly 
 advantageous treaty was finally eflTected with 
 our Indian neighbours. And thus, with the 
 close of this war were extinguished what 
 may be considered as the last embers of our 
 revolutionary struggle. 
 
 The impression produced in London by the 
 news of this final defeat of the Indians, is said 
 to have had much effect in hastening to a 
 conclusion the protracted negotiation, which 
 had been so long pending between Mr. Jay 
 'xni. Lord Grenville, and which was now ter« 
 minated successfully and advantageously to 
 our country. 
 
,IF^' 
 
 40 LIFEl OF 
 
 Soon after the close of this campaign, Lieu- 
 tenant Harrison received the commission of a 
 captain, and was placed in command of Fort 
 Washington, under circumstances which 
 evinced the high estimation in which his ta- 
 lents and discretion were held by General 
 Wayne. At this period France was at war 
 with Spain ; and certain agents of the French 
 government had been sent to Kentucky by 
 Genet, the French minister, and w^ere then 
 diligently employed in exciting the gallant 
 people of that state to an invasion of Louisi- 
 ana, by w^hich means they hoped to embroil 
 our country in a war with Spain. One of 
 our distinguished officers, General Clark, had 
 artfully been prevailed upon to take command 
 of the proposed expedition, and commissions 
 W'Cre offered, and money and munitions of war 
 freely promised, to induce the adventurous 
 spirits of the West to engage in a campaign 
 for the purpose of wresting Louisiana from 
 the Spaniards. This project was peculiarly 
 attractive to the Kentuckians, who had long 
 felt aggrieved by the refusal of the Spaniards 
 to allow them the free navigation of the Mis- 
 sissippi river. Our government was soon made 
 aware of this scheme, and serious apprehen- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 41 
 
 sions were entertained that some hasty and 
 rash act of hostility would involve us in a war 
 with Spain. General Wayne received in- 
 structions to adopt every precaution to pre- 
 vent the occurrence of such a result ; and in 
 giving the command of Fort Washington to 
 Captain Harrison, he left with him extensive 
 discretionary powers in relation to the ma- 
 nagement of this delicate responsibility. About 
 this time, too, in compliance with the terms 
 of Jay's treaty, the military posts, which, in 
 defiance of good faith, had been established 
 by the British on our northwestern frontier, 
 were given up to the United States ; and 
 Captain Harrison was charged w^ith the im- 
 portant duty of dispatching from Fort Wash- 
 ington the troops destined to take possession 
 of the surrendered forts, and of forwarding 
 through the wilderness the stores and muni- 
 tions of war necessary for these remote posts. 
 These various duties were discharged by 
 Captain Harrison with so much fidelity, skill 
 and prudence, as fully to prove the judicious 
 discrimination of General Wayne in his selec- 
 tion of the commander of so important a sta- 
 tion as Fort Washington, and to justify his 
 unusual confidence in so young an officer. 
 
42 LIFE OF 
 
 Wnile in command of Fort Washington, 
 Captain Harrison married the daughter of 
 John Cleves Symmes, the celebrated founder 
 of the Miami settlements — a lady who com- 
 mands the esteem and respect of all who know 
 her. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Harrison resigns his commission in the army. — Is ap- 
 pointed Secretary and Lieutenant Governor of the 
 North-western Territory. — Is elected Delegate to 
 Congress. — Introduces a bill to regulate the disposal 
 of the public lands. — Its justice and true policy. — Its 
 success. — The Northwestern Territory divided. — 
 Harrison resigns his seat in Congress. — Is appointed 
 Governor of Indiana Territory. 
 
 Captain Harrison remained in the army till 
 near the close of the year ] 797 ; when, soon 
 after the death of his friend General Wayne, 
 as peace had been established with the In- 
 dians, and there was no longer an opportunity 
 to serve his country in the field, he resigned 
 his commission, to commence his career of 
 civil services. He was almost immediately 
 appointed Secretary, and, ex-officio, Lieutenant 
 Governor of the Northwestern Territory; 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. '43 
 
 which then embraced the whole extent of our 
 territory lying north-west of the Ohio river — 
 thus, by a just award, receiving his first civil 
 appointment, in that part of our country which 
 he had first perilled his life to defend. 
 
 While in this station, he entered so warmly 
 into the interests of the people, and his intelli- 
 gence, and the kindness and urbanity of his 
 manners rendered him so popular, that, when, 
 in the following year, the Northwestern Ter- 
 ritory entered the second grade of govern- 
 ment, according- to the system which then 
 prevailed, and the inhabitants became entitled 
 to representation in the councils of the nation, 
 they almost unanimously elected him their first 
 delegate to Congress. Mr. Harrison was, at 
 this time, about twenty-six years of age. 
 
 He took his seat in the House of Represent- 
 atives at the first session of the sixth Con- 
 gress, in December, 1799. There were then 
 in Congress some of the ablest and most en- 
 lightened statesmen, and some of the most elo- 
 quent men our country has ever produced. 
 Yet in this severe ordeal, the abilities and 
 manly energies of Mr. Harrison soon com- 
 manded universal respect. At this period, the 
 all-engrossing subject in the west, and one in 
 4 
 
44 LIFE OF 
 
 which our whole country had a deep interest, 
 was the sale of the public lands. The manner 
 in which these lands had been hitherto disposed 
 of, had created great dissatisfaction among the 
 people. They had been sold only in large 
 tracts ; the smallest of which included, at least, 
 four thousand acres; and as the minimum 
 price was at that time two dollars per acre, a 
 great majority of the new settlers were utterly 
 precluded from becoming possessors of land 
 by an original purchase from the government. 
 Our hardy yeomanry, with limited pecuniary 
 means, were thus entirely shut out from all 
 chance of competition with wealthy specula- 
 tors and grasping monopolists, — the poorer 
 emigrants were becoming disheartened at the 
 chilling prospects before them, and the settle- 
 ment of the new country was greatly retarded. 
 -^ Fully aware of the impolicy and injustice of 
 this state of things, and true to the trust con- 
 fided to him, Mr. Harrison's earliest legislative 
 efforts were made to overthrow this exclusive 
 and pernicious system. He aroused the atten- 
 tion of Congress to the consideration of this 
 important subject, and evinced so intimate an 
 acquaintance with the facts and business de- 
 tails connected with it, that he was appointed 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 45 
 
 chairman of a committee raised to examine 
 into and report on the existing mode of dis- 
 posing of the pubhc lands ; the only instance, 
 it is believed, in which that honour has been 
 conferred on a territorial delegate. After a 
 proper investigation, he presented a report, 
 accompanied by a bill, the principal object of 
 which was to reduce the size of the tracts of 
 pubhc land offered for sale, to such a smaller 
 number of acres as would place them within 
 the reach of actual settlers. This masterly 
 report, which was the joint production of him- 
 self and Mr. Gallatin, together with the great 
 ability and eloquence with which he defended 
 his bill from the powerful opposition it encoun- 
 tered in ihe House, gained Mr. Harrison a 
 reputation rarely attained by so young a states- 
 man. The bill was carried triumphantly in 
 the House, and finally, after some amend- 
 ments, passed the Senate. The result was, 
 that the public lands, instead of being offered 
 only in large tracts, of Vv'hich four thousand 
 acres was the smallest size, were now to be 
 sold in- alternate sections and half sections — 
 the former containing 640, and the latter 320 
 acres each. The point gained was of immense 
 importance, since, from the low price of these 
 
46 LIFE OF 
 
 lands, and the small amount of purchase money 
 required to be paid, they were now, with the 
 aid of industry, within the reach of nearly all 
 the poorer emigrants and actual settlers, who 
 felt a natural desire to own the fee simple of 
 their homes, and of the lands they subdued 
 from the wilderness. Thousands of the hardy 
 and industrious farmers of our Northern and 
 Middle States, and many of the poorer plant- 
 ers of the South, availed themselves of the fair 
 field which was now opened for emigration 
 and enterprise ; and we may justly consider 
 this happy result, which Mr. Harrison was so 
 instrumental in producing, as one of the lead- 
 ing causes of the rapid settlement and pros- 
 perity of our Western Country. 
 
 The justice and true policy of reducing the 
 size of the tracts of public lands offered for 
 sale having been once admitted, subsequent 
 legislators have found it not only a politic, but 
 a popular measure, and have followed up the 
 principle thus introduced by Mr. Harrison, 
 until now our public lands may be bought in 
 tracts of but eighty acres each, and at the 
 price of only one dollar and twenty-five cents 
 per acre — whereas, but for the first blow at 
 the old system struck by Mr. Harrison, and 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 47 
 
 ibut for the wise and just principle first intro- 
 duced by him, that exclusive system might 
 perhaps still have continued — in which case 
 we feel assured of being within bounds in as- 
 serting that the great valley of the Mississippi, 
 the mighty empire of the West, would not, at 
 this day, have numbered one half the popula- 
 tion, nor boasted a moiety of the weahh it 
 now contains. 
 
 In the year 1800, the North-western Terri- 
 tory was divided. That part of the old terri- 
 tory, included within the present boundaries 
 of Ohio and Michigan, retained its former 
 name; and the immense extent of country 
 north-west of this, was erected into a separate 
 government, and received the name of Indiana. 
 Soon after this division had taken place, Mr. 
 Harrison resigned his seat in Congress, and 
 was appointed governor of the new territory. 
 This appointment gave great satisfaction to 
 the people of Indiana, with whom the patriotic 
 exertions of Mr. Harrison had rendered him 
 deservedly popular ; and it was, at the same 
 time, the strongest evidence of the confidence 
 with which the general government relied upon 
 his mtegrity, prudence, and capacity for civil 
 government. 
 4* 
 
48 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Condition of Indiana Territory. — Harrison is appointed 
 Superintendent of Indian Affairs and Commissioner 
 for treating- with the Indians. — His extensive juris- 
 diction and powers. — Harrison's address to the terri- 
 torial legislature. — The cession of Louisiana to the 
 United States. 
 
 The vast extent of this new territory in- 
 cluded what now constitutes the states of In- 
 diana, IlHnois, and Michigan, and the territory 
 of Wisconsin. But the small population it 
 then contained was thinly scattered through 
 a vast wilderness, and only three white set- 
 tlements of any note existed within its bound- 
 aries. One of these was at the seat of go- 
 vernment, Vincennes, a small town originally 
 built by the French, and beautifully and ad- 
 vantageously situated on the banks of the 
 Wabash ; the second, knovv^n as Clark's Grant, 
 -was at the Falls of the Ohio, nearly opposite 
 Louisville, about one hundred miles from Vin- 
 cennes ; and the third was the French settle- 
 ment on the banks of the Mississippi, near St. 
 Louis, and more than two hundred miles dis- 
 tant from the seat of government. The com- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 49 
 
 munication between these remote points was, 
 at all times, difficult and toilsome, and often 
 attended with great danger. There existed 
 no practicable roads, and nearly all the inter- 
 mediate country was occupied by the Indians, 
 or overrun by their hunting parties. Most of 
 these savage tribes, though professing to be 
 friendly, were restless and dissatisfied; and 
 their leading chiefs still nursed a moody hope 
 of revenge for the mortifying defeat they had 
 sustained, six years before, at the battle of the 
 Maumee Rapids. Artful and treacherous, nu- 
 merous, warlike, and thirsting for plunder, they 
 kept this remote frontier in continual excite- 
 ment and alarm. The angry feelings of our 
 hardy borderers were frequently roused by 
 some robbery or atrocious aggression com- 
 mitted by the more evil-disposed among their 
 savage neighbours, and quarrels often ensued, 
 which threatened the peace of the whole com- 
 munity. 
 
 [ Such was the existing state of things in In- 
 diana Territory, when Mr. Harrison was 
 appointed to the administration of its govern- 
 ment. As governor of a frontier territory so 
 peculiarly situated, Mr. Harrison was invested 
 with civil powers of the most important na- 
 
50 ■ LIFE OF 
 
 ture, as well as with military authority. Be- 
 sides the ordinary powers which he held, ex- 
 officio, as governor, he had the sole powder of 
 dividing the district into counties and town- 
 ships ; and, with the aid of the judges, had full 
 authority to adopt and pubUsh such laws, both 
 civil and criminal, of the original states, as 
 might be necessary and best adapted to the 
 wants and situation of the district; and he 
 had the appointment of all the m.agistrates 
 and other civil officers. He was made com- 
 mander-in-chief of the militia, and all the offi- 
 cers below the rank of general received their 
 commissions from him. He was likewise ap- 
 pointed superintendent of Indian affairs, and 
 agent and representative of the general govern- 
 ^ment; in performance of the duties of which 
 office, he was required to keep up a constant 
 and voluminous correspondence with the Cabi- 
 net at Washington. He had also the unusual 
 power of conferring on a numerous class of 
 individuals, a legal title to large grants of land, 
 on which they before held merely an equitable 
 claim. His sole signature was sufficient, 
 without any other formality, to give a valid 
 title to these extensive and valuable tracts of 
 land. No other formahty or publicity w^as 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 51 
 
 required, and whatever secret collusion might 
 have existed between the claimant and the 
 governor, the title would still have been un- 
 questionable before any legal tribunal. Pos- 
 sessed of this immense powder, without check 
 or hmitation, opportunities were continually 
 before him of accumulating a princely for- 
 tune; but the scrupulous sense of honour, 
 which has always characterized Mr. Harri- 
 son, would never permit him to speculate in 
 lands over which he had any control. Dur- 
 ing the whole of the time that he held this 
 important trust, he never availed himself of 
 his peculiar advantages to promote his own 
 interests either directly or indirectly; and it 
 is a fact worthy of particular note, that, even 
 to the present time, he has never owned a 
 single acre of land, the title to which, origi- 
 nally, emanated from himself as the repre- 
 sentative of the government. No shadow of 
 suspicion has ever clouded his honour, his 
 honesty or disinterestedness ; and not a mur- 
 mur ever accused him of partiality, or even 
 of unnecessary delay, in the performance of 
 this delicate duty. We allude to this to show 
 that the integrity of Mr. Harrison is well-tried 
 and practical ; and that it has always shone 
 
52 LIFE OF 
 
 with the purest lustre when assailed by the 
 strongest temptations. 
 
 In 1803, Mr. Jefferson appointed Governor 
 Harrison sole " commissioner to enter into 
 any treaties which might be necessary with 
 any Indian tribes, north-west of the Ohio, and 
 within the territory of the United States, on 
 the subject of their boundaries or lands." By 
 virtue of this authority, in the following year, 
 Harrison succeeded in negotiating a treaty 
 with the Sacs and Foxes ; and besides the 
 amicable relations established with those 
 tribes, he obtained the cession of an extensive 
 tract of country, including the whole of the 
 valuable region between the river Illinois and 
 the Mississippi, with a northern boundary, 
 stretching from the head of Fox river to a 
 point on the Wisconsin, thirty-six miles above 
 its mouth. This was the largest cession of 
 lands that had ever yet been made by the 
 Indians at any one time. Considerable tracts 
 of land between the Ohio and the Wabash, 
 and extending from Vincennes westward to 
 the Mississippi, were likewise purchased by 
 annuities from the Delawares and the Mia- 
 mies. We may here appropriately remark 
 that during the entire course of his adminis- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 63 
 
 tration, Harrison effected thirteen important 
 treaties with the different tribes, on the most 
 advantageous terms ; and obtained from them, 
 at various times, the cession of large tracts of 
 land, amounting, in all, to more than sixty mil- 
 lions of acres, and emhraciiig a large portion 
 of the richest region in our country. 
 
 In their frequent intercourse with Governor 
 Harrison, the Indians had learned to respect 
 his undaunted firmness, and were, at the same 
 time, conciliated by his kindness of manner 
 and considerate forbearance. This, with his 
 intimate knowledge of the Indian character, 
 is the true secret of the remarkable success 
 invariably attendant upon every treaty he has 
 attempted to negotiate. 
 
 The various and arduous duties of the go- 
 vernor of Indiana, required for this office a 
 man of very superior abilities and qualifica- 
 tions, and of a rare temperament — one pos- 
 sessed of a stern integrity and prudent 
 moderation, with wisdom in the exercise of 
 the extensive powers entrusted to him, ac- 
 companied by the most unwavering firmness. 
 Such a man Governor Harrison, in the long 
 course of his administration, fully proved 
 himself to be. The plainest evidence that can 
 
54 LIFE OF 
 
 be presented to those who are not familiar 
 with the history of Indiana, during this event- 
 ful period, of the peculiar fitness of Governor 
 Harrison for tjais important station, of the 
 confidence reposed in him, and of the great 
 popularity he attained while in the exercise 
 of so delicate a trust, is the unquestionable 
 fact, that, for thirteen years, at every succes- 
 sive expiration of his term of office, he was 
 re-appointed, at the earnest solicitation of the 
 people of the Territory, and with the public 
 expression of the most flattering approbation 
 on the part of our chief Executive. And this 
 too, notwithstanding the entire change which 
 had taken place within that time in the ruling 
 politics of the country — his first appointment 
 having been made by Mr. Adams, his second 
 and third by Mr. Jefferson, and his fourth by 
 Mr. Madison. The following extract from 
 the resolution, unanimously passed by the 
 House of Representatives of Indiana, in the 
 year 1809, requesting the re-appointment of 
 Governor Harrison, will show the estimate 
 which a long acquaintance had taught them 
 of his worth : " They (the House of Repre- 
 sentatives) cannot forbear recommending to, 
 and requesting of, the President and Senate, 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 55 
 
 most earnestly in their own names, and in the 
 names of their constituents, the re-appoint- 
 ment of the present governor, William Henry 
 Harrison, — because he possesses the good 
 wishes and affection of a great majority of 
 his fellow-citizens ; — because they believe him 
 sincerely attached to the Union, the prosperity 
 of the United States, and the administration 
 of its government ; because they believe him 
 in a superior degree capable of promoting the 
 interest of our Territory, from long expe- 
 rience and laborious attention to its concerns, 
 from his influence over the Indians, and wise 
 and disinterested management of that depart- 
 ment ; aud because they have confidence in 
 his virtues, talents, and republicanism." 
 
 If necessary, we might fill a goodly volume 
 with extracts from public documents of a 
 similar nature ; but what stronger proof than 
 this could we have of the popularity of Go- 
 vernor Harrison, and of the entire confidence 
 with which the people relied on his experi- 
 ence, his integrity, and his ability as a states- 
 man ? 
 
 In 1805, the Territory of Indiana was ad- 
 vanced to the second grade of government 
 under the new system. The citizens were 
 & 
 
56 LIFE OF 
 
 allowed to elect a Territorial House of As- 
 sembly, by which ten persons were nominated, 
 out of whom the president appointed five as a 
 legislative council to complete the territorial 
 legislature. This measure deprived Governor 
 Harrison of much power and great patronage, 
 since it threw into the hands of the people the 
 election of many officers who were before 
 appointed by the executive — but always a 
 ready advocate for the republican rights of 
 suffi'age and self-government, he was true to 
 his principles even when against his interest, 
 and he strenuously urged this change of go- 
 vernment. 
 
 Nearly two years prior to this time, by a 
 brilliant negotiation, a treaty had been effected 
 in Paris, by which Louisiana was purchased 
 by our government from France (to whom it 
 had been ceded by Spain) for eighty millions 
 of francs, or about fifteen millions of dollars ; 
 and we were thus finally enabled to realize 
 the boundaries of the ancient charters granted 
 by the British monarchs to their American 
 colonies, and extend the limits of the territory 
 of the United States " from sea to sea." Upon 
 our obtaining actual possession of Louisiana, 
 the jurisdiction of Governor Harrison became 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 57 
 
 greatly enlarged, and the responsibility and 
 laborious duties of his station were conse- 
 quently much increased. The governor refers 
 to this annexation of Louisiana to the United 
 States, in his address at the first session of the 
 territorial legislature — a document so remark- 
 able for its high-minded and purely republican 
 spirit, and for its clearness and fluency of 
 style, that notwithstanding our narrow limits 
 we cannot refrain from laying some portions 
 of it before our readers. 
 
 " Upon a careful review of our situation," 
 said Governor Harrison, " it will be found that 
 we have much cause of felicitation, whether it 
 respects our present enjoyments or our future 
 prosperity. An enlightened and generous 
 policy has for ever removed all cause of con- 
 tention with our western neighbours. The 
 mighty river which separates us from the 
 Louisianians will never be stained with the 
 blood of contending nations, but will prove the 
 bond of our union, and will convey upon its 
 bosom, in the course of many thousand miles, 
 the produce of our great and united empire. 
 The astonished traveller will behold upon 
 either bank a people governed by the same 
 laws, pursuing the same objects, and warmed 
 
58 LIFE OF 
 
 with the same love of Hbertv and science. 
 And if, in the immense distance, a small point 
 should present itself, where other laws and 
 other manners prevail, the contrast it will af- 
 ford will serve the useful purpose of demon- 
 strating the great superiority of a republican 
 government, and how far the uncontrolled and 
 unbiassed industry of freemen excels the cau- 
 tious and measured exertions of the subjects 
 of despotic power. 
 
 " The acquisition of Louisiana will form an 
 important epoch in the history of our country. 
 It has secured the happiness of millions, who 
 will bless the moment of their emancipation, 
 and the generous policy which has secured to 
 them the rights of men. To us it has pro- 
 duced immediate and important advantages. 
 We are no longer apprehensive of waging an 
 eternal war with the numerous and warlike 
 tribes of aborigines that surround us, and per- 
 haps being reduced to the dreadful alternative 
 of submitting to their depredations, or of ex- 
 terminating them from the earth. 
 
 " By cutting off their communication v/ith 
 every foreign power, and forcing them to pro- 
 cure from ourselves the arms and ammunition, 
 and such of the European manufactures as 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 59 
 
 habit has to them rendered necessary, we 
 have not only secured their entire dependence, 
 but the means of ameliorating their condition, 
 and of devoting to some useful and beneficial 
 purpose the ardour and energy of mind which 
 are now devoted to war and destruction. 
 The policy of the United States, with regard 
 to the savages within their territories, forms a 
 striking contrast with the conduct of other civil- 
 ized nations. The measures of the latter ap- 
 pear to have been well calculated for the effect 
 which has produced the entire extirpation of 
 the unhappy people whose country they have 
 usurped. It is in the United States alone that 
 laws have been passed, not only for their 
 safety and protection from every species of 
 injury, but considerable sums of money have 
 been appropriated, and agents employed, to 
 humanize their minds, and instruct them in 
 such arts of civilized life as they are capable 
 of receiving. To provide a substitute for the 
 chase, from which they derive their support, 
 and which, from the extension of our settle- 
 ments, is daily becoming more precarious, has 
 been considered a sacred duty. The humane 
 and benevolent intentions of the government, 
 however, will for ever be defeated, unless ef- 
 5* 
 
60 LIFE OF 
 
 fectual measures be devised to prevent the 
 sale of ardent spirits to those unhappy people. 
 The law which has been passed by Congress 
 for that purpose, has been found entirely inef- 
 fectual, because its operation has been con- 
 strued to relate to the Indian country exclu- 
 sively. In calling your attention to this sub- 
 ject, gentlemen, I am persuaded that it is 
 unnecessary to remind you, that the article 
 of compact makes it your duty to attend to it. 
 The interests of vour constituents, the interests 
 of the miserable Indians, and your own feel- 
 ings, will sufficiently urge you to take it into 
 your most serious consideration, and provide 
 the remedy which is to save thousands of our 
 fellow-creatures. So destructive has the pro- 
 gress of intemperance been among them, that 
 whole villages have been swept away. A 
 miserable remnant is all that remains, to mark 
 the names and situation of many nunrierous 
 and warlike tribes. In the energetic language 
 of one of their orators, it is a dreadful confla- 
 gration, which spreads misery and desolation 
 through their country, and threatens the anni- 
 hilation of the whole race. Is it then to be 
 admitted as a political axiom, that the neigh- 
 bourhood of a civilized nation is incompatible 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 61 
 
 with the existence of savages ? Are the bless- 
 ings of our repubhcan government only to be 
 felt by ourselves? And are the natives of 
 North America to experience the same fate 
 with their brethren of the southern continent ? 
 It is with you, gentlemen, to divert from those 
 children of nature the ruin that hangs over 
 them. Nor can I believe that the time will 
 be considered misspent, which is devoted to 
 an object so consistent with the spirit of Chris- 
 tianity, and with the principles of republican- 
 
 ism." 
 
 The reply of the Territorial Assembly to 
 this address, manifested the high estimation in 
 which Governor Harrison was held ; and is 
 one of the many proofs of his singular popu- 
 larity, and of the entire confidence reposed in 
 his abilities, and in his disinterestedness and 
 moderation in the exercise of the extensive 
 authority entrusted to him. 
 
62 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Intrigues of Tecumthe and the Prophet. — The Pro- 
 phet's visit to Vincennes and interview with Harri- 
 son. — Treaty of Fort Wayne. — Dissatisfaction of 
 Tecumthe. — Tecumthe's interview with the Gover- 
 nor. — The Governor's firmness and intrepidity. — 
 Harrison's Message to the Legislature. — Triumphant 
 refutation of slander. 
 
 In- the following year, 1806, our friendly 
 relations with the Indians were broken in 
 upon, and the plans our government had form- 
 ed to civilize them, and ameliorate their con- 
 dition, were entirely destroyed by a new and 
 very remarkable influence. 
 
 Two twin brothers of the Shawnee tribe, 
 Tecumthe, the Croitching Panther, and 01-li- 
 w^a-chi-ca, the Open Door, generally known as 
 the Prophet, commenced a series of artful and 
 daring intrigues among the Indians on our 
 north-western frontier, which finally involved 
 them in a war with our country, destined to re- 
 sult in the expulsion of many of these warlike 
 tribes from all their old and favourite hunting- 
 grounds. 
 
 Tecumthe and his brother differed widely 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 63 
 
 in character, but their separate accomplish- 
 ments and their peculiar qualifications well fit- 
 ted them to prosecute the design they had 
 formed. 
 
 Tecumthe was a bold and skilful warrior, 
 sagacious in council and formidable in battle. 
 An active, daring, energetic man, but one who 
 preferred tact and secret management to open 
 violence. Deeply imbued with a hatred to the 
 whites, against whom he had sworn an unre- 
 lenting enmity, full of enthusiasm and highly 
 gifted with eloquence, he appealed with great 
 success to the passions of the Indians, in his 
 endeavours to rouse them to a hostile feeling 
 against the United States. Tecumthe, never- 
 theless, possessed a loftier spirit and a higher 
 and better tone of feeling than is often found 
 in the savage warrior ; and on several occa- 
 sions during the ensuing war, he evinced a for- 
 bearance and generosity which might well 
 have put his more civilized allies to the blush. 
 
 The Prophet had none of the nobler quali- 
 ties of his brother. He was cunning, cruel, 
 cowardly, and treacherous. He was no war- 
 rior, but was an accomplished and persuasive 
 orator. A shrewd and crafty impostor, he an- 
 nounced himself as a medicine man, or magi- 
 
64 LIFE OF 
 
 cian, possessed of vast and miraculous pow- 
 ers, and as having been specially sent by the 
 Great Spirit to reform the condition of the red 
 people, tu restore them to their former pros- 
 perity, and to replace them in the possession 
 of their lost prairies and hunting-grounds. 
 
 Availing himself of the superstition com- 
 mon to all ignorant and uncivilized people, the 
 Prophet commenced a series of wild incanta- 
 tions, and, from time to time, uttered extrava- 
 gant prophecies of the speedy downfall of the 
 whites and the approaching success of the red 
 men, until he succeeded in obtaining so strong 
 a hold upon the credulity of the deluded In- 
 dians, that his influence over the warriors of 
 several powerful tribes became almost un- 
 bounded. 
 
 The object of these arch-intriguers was to 
 form a genera] combination of all the North- 
 western and South-western tribes of Indians, 
 for the purpose of preventing the whites from 
 extending any new settlements west of those 
 already existing ; and with the vain hope, too, 
 that by a simultaneous attack on the whole of 
 our extensive, thinly-inhabited, and ill-defend- 
 ed western frontier, they might force back the 
 whites from the valley of the Mississippi, and 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 65 
 
 regain a much-coveted portion of their former 
 territory. This scheme is supposed to have 
 been suggested to Tecumthe by the noted chief 
 and warrior Red Jacket. It is the same plan 
 which cost the celebrated Pontiac his life, and 
 one which the no less distinguished Little* Tur- 
 tle is said to have cherished until the haughty 
 spirit of the Indians was broken and subdued 
 by their disheartening defeat at the Maumee 
 Rapids. These designs of Tecumthe and his 
 wily brother soon became known to Governor 
 Harrison, who, aware of his dangerous and 
 critical position, by prudent forbearance and 
 wise policy, was enabled for several years to 
 hold his savage neighbours in check. 
 
 In the summer of 1808, the Prophet en- 
 camped with his followers on the banks of the 
 Tippecanoe, a tributary to the Upper Wabash; 
 with the design of being in the more immedi- 
 ate neighbourhood of his most powerful par- 
 tisans. 
 
 About this time, our relations with Great 
 Britain began to assume a threatening aspect, - 
 and war seemed almost inevitable. The Brit- 
 ish emissaries and Canadians, anxious under 
 these circumstances to secure the aid of the 
 Indians, used every endeavour, by presents 
 
66 LIFE OF 
 
 and artful Dromises, to form strict alliances 
 with all the powerful tribes^ which they hoped 
 to effect through the aid of the Prophet. 
 
 The plans of the Prophet and his brother 
 were not yet fully matured ; and conscious 
 that Governor Harrison suspected their hostile 
 designs, this cunning impostor formed the au- 
 dacious resolve to visit the governor, and en- 
 deavour to deceive his vigilance and lull his 
 suspicions to rest, by protestations of his ami- 
 cable intentions. He accordingly made his 
 appearance at Vincennes in the following 
 month of August, and made such warm and 
 apparently sincere professions of his friendly 
 and peaceful purposes, as to leave rather a fa- 
 vourable impression on all who listened to his 
 assurances. But immediately after his return 
 to Tippecanoe, he renewed his hostile intrigues 
 with the neighbouring Indians, intelligence of 
 whibh was soon conveyed to the gox'ernor. 
 
 In September, 1809, Governor Harrison held 
 a council at Fort Wayne, aad negotiated a 
 treaty with the Miamies, Delawares, Potawa- 
 tomies, and Kickapoos, by which he succeed- 
 ed in purchasing from those tribes an extensive 
 tract of country on both sides of the Wabash, 
 and extending up that river more than sixty 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 67 
 
 miles above Vincennes. The tribes who owned 
 these lands were paid for them by certain an- 
 nuities which they considered a satisfactory 
 equivalent. . 
 
 Tecumthe was absent at this time on a visit 
 to the distant tribes, and the Prophet not feel- 
 ing himself interested, had made no opposition 
 to the treaty ; but on the return of Tecumthe, 
 some months after, both he and his brother ex- 
 pressed great dissatisfaction, and even threat- 
 ened to put to death all those chiefs who had 
 signed the treaty. Hearing this, and anxious 
 too to ascertain their intentions from them- 
 selves, if possible. Governor Harrison dis- 
 patched messengers to invite them both to 
 Vincennes. He assured them that any claims 
 they might have to the lands in question, were 
 not affected by the treaty of Fort Wayne ; but 
 that if they would come to Vincennes and 
 exhibit their pretensions, and they should be 
 found to be valid, the lands would be given up 
 or an ample compensation made for them. 
 Tecumthe came, without his brother — and 
 though the governor, having no confidence in 
 his good faith, had requested him not to bring 
 with him more than thirty warriors, he came 
 with four hundred, completely armed. The 
 
 6 
 
68 LIFE OF 
 
 governor held a council on the 12th of Au- 
 gust, 1810, at which Tecumthe and forty of 
 these warriors were present. The governor 
 was attended by the judges of the supreme 
 court, several officers of the army, Winne- 
 mac, a friendly chief, and a few unarmed 
 citizens. A sergeant's guard of twelve men 
 was likewise placed near him, but as the day 
 was exceeding sultry, and they were exposed 
 to the sun, the governor, with his characteris- 
 tic humanity, directed them to remove to a 
 shaded spot at som.e distance. 
 
 Tecumthe addressed this council with a 
 speech, in which he openly avowed the de- 
 signs of himself and his brother. He declared 
 it to be their intention to form a coalition of 
 all the red men, to prevent the whites from 
 extending their settlements farther w^est — and 
 to establish the principle that the Indian lands 
 belonged in common to all the tribes, and could 
 not be sold without their united consent. He 
 again avowed their intention to put to death 
 all the chiefs who had signed the treaty at 
 Fort Wayne, yet, with singular inconsistency, 
 he at the same time denied all intention to 
 make war, and declared that all those who 
 had given such information to the governor 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 69 
 
 were liars. This was aimed particularly at 
 Winnemac, from whom the governor had 
 received a timely notice of the designs of Te- 
 cumthe and his brother. 
 
 Governor Harrison replied to Tecumthe in 
 a mild and conciliatory tone, explaining the 
 treaty at Fort Wayne, and clearly proving 
 that all the chiefs whose tribes had any claims 
 upon the lands ceded at this time to the United 
 States, were present at the treaty, and had 
 voluntarily signed it — and that they had sold 
 these lands for an annuity which they consi- 
 dered a sufficient compensation. The inter- 
 preter of the Shawnees explained the govern- 
 or's speech to the warriors of that tribe, but 
 when the interpreter to the Potawatomies was 
 about to begin, Tecumthe interrupted him in 
 a rude and insulting manner, using the most 
 vehement language and the most violent ges- 
 ticulation. He loudly declared that all the 
 governor had said was false, and that he and 
 the United States had cheated and imposed 
 upon the Indians. As he uttered this, his 
 warriors sprung to their feet and began to 
 brandish their tomahawks and war-clubs, their 
 eyes all fiercely turned upon the governor. 
 Harrison rose immediately and drew his 
 
70 LIFE OF 
 
 sword. The friendly chief Winnemac cocked 
 a pistol with which he was armed, and some 
 of the officers in attendance drew their wea- 
 pons and stood on the defensive. Every one 
 momentarily expected to hear the yell of the 
 savage war-whoop, and to encounter the 
 fierce attack of their excited opponents. At 
 this critical time not a word was spokon, until 
 the guard hastily approached, and were about 
 to fire on the Indians, when the governor, 
 with singular coolness and presence of mind, 
 restrained them. He then turned to Tecum- 
 the, and calmly but authoritatively told him 
 that " he was a bad man — that he would hold 
 no further communication with him — and that 
 he must now return to his camp, and take his 
 departure from the settlements without delay." 
 The council was immediately broken up, and 
 'Tecumthe and his warriors, awed by the 
 calmness and intrepidity of the governor, 
 withdrew in silence. 
 
 The next morning, Tecumthe, finding that 
 he had to deal with a man of firmness and 
 undaunted bravery, whom he could neither 
 intimidate by his audacious violeace nor dis- 
 concert by his cunning manoeuvres, solicited 
 another interview with the governor, and 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 7] 
 
 apologized for the improprieties he had com- 
 mitted at the council the day before. 
 
 At this interview, the governor expostulated 
 with Tecumthe on the frequent murders com- 
 mitted by the Indians at Tippecanoe, on their 
 constant depredations, their refusal to give 
 any satisfaction for their repeated aggressions, 
 and their daily accumulation of force at the 
 Prophet's town for the avowed purpose of 
 obliging the United States to give up lands 
 w^hich they had fairly purchased of the right- 
 ful owners. In his reply, Tecumthe denied 
 that he had taken the murderers under his 
 protection ; but admitted his design of forming 
 a grand confederacy of all the nations and 
 tribes of Indians upon the continent, for the 
 purpose of putting a stop to the encroach- 
 ments of the white people. He said that " the 
 policy which the United States pursued, of 
 purchasing their lands from the Indians, he 
 viewed as a mighty ivater, ready to overflow 
 his people ; and that the confederacy which 
 he was forming among the tribes, to prevent 
 any individual tribe from selling their lands 
 without the consent of the others, was the dam 
 he was erecting to resist this mighty water." 
 And he added, "your great father may sit 
 6* 
 
72 LIFE OF 
 
 'Over the mountains and drink his wine, but if 
 he continues this policy, you and I will have 
 to fight it out." He admitted that he was 
 then on his way to the Creek nation, for the 
 purpose of bringing them over to his measures ; 
 and he actually did, two days afterwards, set 
 out on this journey with twelve or fifteen 
 warriors. 
 
 Still anxious to conciliate this haughty 
 savage, the governor afterwards paid him a 
 visit at his own camp, with no other attend- 
 ant than the interpreter. Tecumthe received 
 him with courtesy and much attention ; Har- 
 rison's uniform kindness and inflexible firm- 
 ness having won the respect of the rude 
 •warrior : but he still persisted in adhering to 
 the declarations he had made at the council 
 on the preceding day. 
 
 Meanwhile, his brother was using every 
 exertion to advance their mutual object. His 
 reputation as a prophet still continued to in- 
 crease, and his cunning pretensions to super- 
 natural powers gave him so strong a hold on 
 the superstitions of his red brethren as to 
 enable him not only to attach his own peop-le 
 warmly to his interests, but greatly to extend 
 his influence over the neighbouring tribes. 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 73 
 
 Governor Harrison alludes to this in his mes- 
 sage to the Legislature of Indiana, in the 
 ensuing winter of 1810, from which the fol- 
 lowing is an extract : 
 
 " Presenting as we do," said Governor Har- 
 rison, " a very extended frontier to numerous 
 and warlike tribes of the aborigines, the state 
 of our relations with them must always form 
 an important and interesting feature in our 
 local politics. It is with regret that I have to 
 inform you, that the harmony and good under- 
 standing which it is so much our interest to 
 cultivate with these our neighbours, have, for. 
 .some time past, experienced a considerable 
 interruption, and that we have indeed been 
 threatened with hostilities, by a combination 
 formed under the auspices of a bold adven- 
 turer, who pretended to act under the imme- 
 diate inspiration of the Deity. His character 
 as a prophet would not, however, have given 
 him any dangerous influence, if he had not 
 been assisted by the intrigues and advice of 
 foreign agents, and other disaffected persons, 
 who have for years omitted no opportunity of 
 counteracting the measures of the government 
 with regard to the Indians, and filling their 
 naturally jealous minds with suspicions of the 
 
74 LIFE OF 
 
 justice and integrity of our views towards 
 them." 
 
 " The circumstance which was laid hold of 
 to encourage disaffection, on a late occasion, 
 was the treaty made by me at Fort Wayne 
 in the autumn of the l^st year. Amongst the 
 difficulties which were to be encountered, to 
 obtain those extinguishments of title which 
 have proved so beneficial to the treasury 
 of the United States, and so necessary, as 
 the means of increasing the population of the 
 territory, the most formidable was that of 
 ascertaining the tribes which were to be ad- 
 mitted as parties to the treaties. The object 
 was accordingly discussed in a long corres- 
 pondence between the government and myself, 
 and the principles w^hich were finally adopted, 
 were made as liberal towards the Indians as 
 a due regard to the interests of the United 
 States would permit. Of the tribes which 
 had formed the confederacy in the war which 
 terminated by the peace of Greene ville, some 
 were residents upon the lands which were in 
 the possession of their forefathers, at the time 
 that the first settlements were made in Ame- 
 rica by white people, whilst others were emi- 
 grants from distant parts of the country, and 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 75 
 
 had no other claim to the tracts they occu- 
 pied, than what a few years' residence, by 
 the tacit consent of the real owners, could 
 give. Upon common and general principles, 
 the transfer of the title of the former descrip- 
 tion would have been sufficient to vest in the 
 purchaser the legal right to lands so situated. 
 But in all its transactions with the Indians, 
 our government have not been content with 
 doing that which was just only. Its savage 
 neighbours have, on all occasions, experienced 
 its liberahty and benevolence. Upon this 
 principle, in several of the treaties which have 
 been made, several tribes have been admitted 
 to a participation of their benefits, who had no 
 title to the land ceded, merely becaufse they 
 had been accustomed to hunt upon, and de- 
 rive part of their support from them. For 
 this reason, and to prevent the Miamies, who 
 were the real owners of the land, from expe- 
 riencing any ill effects from their resentment, 
 the Delawares, Potawatomies and Kickapoos 
 were made parties to the late treaty at Fort 
 Wayne. No other tribe was admitted, be- 
 cause it never had been suggested that any 
 other could plead even the title of use or oc- 
 
76 LIFE OF 
 
 cupancy of the lands, which at that time were 
 conveyed to the United States. 
 
 " It was not until eight months after the 
 conclusion of the treaty, and after his design 
 of forming a hostile combination against the 
 United States had been discovered and de- 
 feated, that the pretensions of the prophet, 
 with regard to the lands in question, were 
 made known. A furious clamour was then 
 raised by the foreign agents among us, and 
 other disaffected persons, against the policy 
 which had excluded from the treaty this great 
 and influential character as he is termed ; and 
 the doing so, expressly attributed to personal 
 ill-will on the part of the negotiator. No such 
 ill-will did in fact exist. I accuse myself, 
 indeed, of an error, in the patronage and 
 support which I afforded him upon his first 
 arrival on the Wabash, before his hostility to 
 the United States had been developed ; but 
 on no principle of propriety or policy could 
 he have been made a party to the treaty. 
 The personage called the prophet is not a 
 chief of the tribe to which he belongs, but an 
 outcast from it, rejected and hated by the real 
 chiefs, the principal of whom was present at 
 the treaty, and not only disclaimed on the 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 77 
 
 part of his tribe any title to the lands ceded, 
 but used his personal influence with the chiefs 
 of the other tribes to effect the cession. 
 
 " As soon as I was informed that his dis- 
 satisfaction at the treaty was assigned as the 
 cause of the hostile attitude which the prophet 
 had assumed, I sent to inform him that what- 
 ever claims he might have to the lands which 
 had been purchased for the United States, 
 were not in the least affected by that pur- 
 chase ; that he might come forward and ex- 
 hibit his pretensions, and if they were really 
 found to be just or equitable, the lands would 
 be restored, or an ample equivalent given for 
 them. His brother was deputed, and sent to 
 me for that purpose ; but far from being able 
 to show any colour of claim, either for him- 
 self or any of his followers, his objections to 
 the treaty were confined to the assertion, that 
 all the lands upon the continent were the 
 common property of all the tnbes, and that 
 no sale of any part of it could be \ alid, with- 
 out the consent of all. A proposition so ex- 
 tremely absurd, and which would for ever 
 prevent any further purchase of lands by the 
 United States, could receive no countenance 
 from any friend of his country. He had, 
 
78 LIFE OF 
 
 however, the insolence to declare, that by the 
 acknowledgment of that principle alone could 
 the effects of his resentment be avoided." 
 
 * * * "I have been thus particular, 
 gentlemen, in giving you information upon 
 the present state of affairs with the neighbour- 
 ing Indians, that you may have them fully 
 before you, in case you should think proper 
 to make them in any shape the subject of 
 your deliberations." 
 
 In the course of this address, the whole of 
 which we regret that the liaiited size of our 
 volume will not permit us to quote. Governor 
 Harrison alluded to some idle complaints and 
 malicious calumnies which had been spread 
 abroad by certain disaffected persons within 
 the Territory — the totally unfounded nature of 
 which was soon made apparent in a court of 
 justice. There are in every community, indi- 
 viduals who are incapable of appreciating or 
 are unwilling to admit the existence of disin- 
 terested and patriotic motives of action — and 
 who, if they are too dull or perverse to com- 
 prehend the wise policy and strict justice of 
 any public measure, are inclined by the whis- 
 perings of their own hearts to attribute that 
 measure to the promptings of base or unwor- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 79 
 
 thy motives. It is not a matter of surprise, 
 therefore, that some such were found in the 
 territory over which Governor Harrison pre- 
 sided. Among these was one IVI'Intosh, who 
 openly asserted that Governor Harrison had 
 cheated the Indians in the treaty at Fort 
 Wayne, by which the United States had the 
 year before obtained so large a cession of lands 
 from, the Miamies, -Delawares, Potawatomies 
 and Kiclapoos. As this calumny was indus- 
 triously circulated, Governor Harrison thought 
 it due both to his own character and to" that 
 of the general government that the charge 
 should be fully and judicially investigated, 
 while the subject was still fresh and the testi- 
 mony in relation to the treaty at Fort Wayne 
 was still within reach. An action for slander 
 was therefore brought against M'Intosh, in the 
 Supreme Court of the Territory, and every 
 possible measure was adopted to obtain a fair 
 and an impartial decision. To insure this, two 
 of the judges left the bench during the trial — 
 one being a friend of the governor, and the 
 other of the defendant — leaving the case to be 
 adjudicated by the third judge, who had but 
 recently arrived in the Territory and was but 
 slightly acquainted with either of the parties. 
 
80 LIFE OF 
 
 All the facts connected with the negotiation 
 of the treaty of Fort Wayne were critically 
 inquired into, and the defendant was allowed 
 every opportunity to examine all the persons 
 engaged in the Indian Department, or who 
 were acquainted with the circumstances at- 
 tendant upon the making of this treaty. But 
 the more the subject was inquired into, the 
 more clearly did it manifest the strict honour 
 and integrity of Governor Harrison ; until, at 
 length, convinced of this, the counsel of M'ln- 
 tosh abandoned all plea of justification, and 
 asked only for a mitigation of damages. The 
 jury returned a verdict of four thousand dol- 
 lars against the defendant — a heavy verdict in 
 a new country, where money is always scarce, 
 and damages given by juries in such cases are 
 generally very small. A large amount of the 
 defendant's property was sold the following 
 year to satisfy this judgment, and was bought 
 in by the agent of the governor, while he him- 
 self was absent in command of the army. 
 Two-thirds of this property Governor Harrison 
 afterwards returned to JWIntosh, and the re- 
 mainder he distributed among the orphan chil- 
 dren of some of his gallant fellow-citizens who 
 fell in battle during the last tear ! Such acts 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON 81 
 
 need no comment — while magnanimity, disin- 
 terestedness, 'Cfud generosity are prized among 
 men, the tongue of praise even can scarcely 
 do them justice. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Commencement of hostilities. — Harrison assembles the 
 Militia and Volunteers. — He organizes his forces. — 
 March to the Prophet's town. — Battle of Tippeca- 
 noe. — Its results. 
 
 In the following year, 1811, the Indians pro- 
 ceeded to more open violence, and assumed 
 an attitude of more decided hostility. It is 
 believed that Tecumthe, on his departure to 
 visit the Southern Indians, left positive instruc- 
 tions with his brother to avoid coming to ex- 
 tremities with the white j^eople, and to restrain 
 his followers from committing depredations 
 which might lead to the commencement of 
 hostilities before his plans were fully matured. 
 But the Prophet wanted both the inclination 
 and the authority necessary to carry these in- 
 structions into effect. Aggressions of the most 
 atrocious nature were audaciously committed 
 by the Indians within the limits of the Terri- 
 
82 LIFE OF 
 
 tory, and every day brought fresh accounts of 
 the perpetration of those ruthless deeds of de- 
 predation and murder which always give the 
 first intimation of the approach of a savage 
 war. 
 
 From motives of humanity as well as poli- 
 cy, Governor Harrison had always endeavour- 
 ed to avoid a war with the Indians ; but when 
 this result became unavoidable, he promptly 
 adopted the most energetic measures within 
 his limited resources to place the Territory in 
 a posture of defence. 
 
 The people upon the frontier had now be- 
 come exceedingly alarmed. The citizens of 
 Vincennes w'ere much excited, and a large 
 public meeting was there held, at which seve- 
 ral resolutions were passed indicating their 
 sense of the danger to which they were ex- 
 posed, and warmly approving the measures 
 which had been taken by the governor for 
 their defence. These resolutions, with a strong 
 remonstrance against the permitting this horde 
 of savages to continue their depredations, were 
 forwarded to the President of the United States, 
 They produced the desired effect — and the 4th 
 regiment, commanded by Colonel Boyd, which 
 was then at Pittsburgh, was ordered by Mr. 
 
• WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 83 
 
 Madison to repair without delay to Vincennes, 
 and was placed under the command of Go- 
 vernor Harrison, Instructions were likewise 
 sent to the governor to march with an armed 
 force to the Prophet's town — but he was re- 
 quired to avoid hostilities " of any kind, or to 
 any degree not absolutely necessary." 
 
 The governor immediately assembled five 
 hundred of the militia and volunteers of Indi- 
 ana. These, with the regiment of United 
 States' infantry, consisting of about three hun- 
 dred and fifty men, and a small but gallant 
 body of volunteers from Kentucky, constituted 
 his whole available force — amounting in all to 
 scarcely nine hundred effective men. These 
 troops were collected at Fort Harrison, a post 
 on the Wabash, about sixty miles above Vin- 
 cennes. And as soon as his new soldiers were 
 properly disciplined, and he had trained both 
 the regulars and the militia to the Indian mode 
 of warfare, he took up his line of march for 
 the Prophet's town. 
 
 In the mean time, in conformity to his in- 
 structions from the President, the governor 
 had endeavoured, by the intervention of the 
 Delaware and Miami chiefs who continued 
 friendly, to open an amicable negotiation with 
 7* 
 
84 LIFE OF 
 
 the Indians, and induce them to give up the 
 murderers, who were known to be at Tippe- 
 canoe, and to restore the stolon horses, that 
 were still in the possession of his followers. 
 But his messengers of peace were received 
 and treated with great insolence, and the very 
 reasonable demands made by them were re- 
 jected with disdain by the Prophet and his 
 council. To put an end to all hopes of ac- 
 commodation, a small war-party was detached 
 for the purpose of commencing hostilities. 
 Finding no stragglers about the camp, they 
 fired upon one of the sentinels, and w^ounded 
 him severely. The Delaware chiefs informed 
 the governor of the object of this party, and 
 that it was now in vain to expect that any 
 thing but force could obtain either satisfaction 
 for the injuries done, or security for the future- 
 He learned also from the same source, that the 
 strength of the Prophet was daily increasing 
 by the ardent and giddy young men from 
 every tribe, and particularly from the tribes 
 on and beyond the Illinois river. 
 
 In this state of things, the governor marched 
 from Fort Harrison on the 28lh of October, 
 1811. Profiting by his own early experience, 
 .and the remembered example of his old friend 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 85 
 
 and commander, General Wayne, his march 
 through a singularly wild and exposed region 
 to Tippecanoe, was conducted with great skill 
 and prudence. The country through which 
 the army passed was occasionally open, beau- 
 tiful prairie, intersected by thick woods, deep 
 creeks, and ravines. The cavalry and mount- 
 ed riflemen, of the latter cf which there were 
 two companies, covered the advance, the 
 flanks, and the rear, and were made to ex- 
 change positions with each other, as the ground 
 varied; so as always to keep them in the situ- 
 ation best suited to the mode of fighting which 
 they f espectively practised. The Indians being 
 adroit in the art of ambuscading, every pre- 
 caution was taken to guard against surprise, 
 and prevent the army from being attacked in 
 a disadvantageous position. To the north of 
 the Wabash, the prairies are very extensive, 
 affording few favourable situations for the kind 
 of warfare peculiar to the savages. To de- 
 ceive the enemy, the governor caused the route 
 to be reconnoitred on the south side, and a 
 Wagon-road laid out; and having advanced 
 upon it a short distance, he suddenly changed 
 his direction, and gained the right bank of the 
 
86 LIFE OF 
 
 river, by crossing it above the mouth of Ra- 
 coon creek. In passing the large prairies, the 
 army was frequently halted, and made collec- 
 tively to perform the evolutions which they 
 had been taught in smaller bodies, during their 
 stay at Fort Harrison; at which place the 
 governor had manoeuvred the relieving guards 
 every day in person, and had required the at 
 tendance of the field-officers on those occa- 
 sions. 
 
 As the Indian scouts had returned to their 
 main body and given the information that our 
 troops were making a road along the southern 
 banks of the Wabash, they were wholly un- 
 prepared to meet them on the north side of 
 the river, or to oppose their passage of Pine 
 Creek, at a very dangerous ford, where a few 
 men might have successfully resisted the whole 
 army. The appearance of this creek forms a 
 singular exception to the other water-courses 
 of this country. It runs, for the distance of 
 fifteen or twenty miles above its mouth, be- 
 tween immense cliffs of rock, upon whose 
 summits are found considerable quantities of 
 pine and red cedar, the former of which is 
 rare, and the latter is nowhere else to be 
 found near the Wabash. The ordinary cross- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 87 
 
 ing-place was represented by the guides to 
 be extremely difficult, if not impassable for 
 wagons ; and this was no doubt the spot 
 where the Indians would have designed to 
 make their attack, had they been prepared to 
 meet the army here, instead of having been 
 induced by the governor's feigned advance to 
 gather their forces on the southern side of the 
 river. This place had already been twice 
 selected by the Indians for an ambush — once, 
 in the year 1780, when General Clarke un- 
 dertook a campaign against the Indians on 
 the Wabash ; and a second time, in the year 
 1790, when Colonel Hamtramack penetrated 
 with a small force as high as the Vermilion, 
 to make a diversion in favour of General 
 Harmar's expedition to the Miami of the 
 Lake. 
 
 The governor had no intention of encoun- 
 tering the enemy in a place like this. He 
 accordingly, in the course of the night pre- 
 ceding his approach to the creek, dispatched 
 Captain Prince of the Indiana militia, with an 
 escort of forty men, to reconnoitre the creek 
 some miles above, and endeavour to find a 
 better fording. On his return, the following 
 morning, this officer met the army in its ad- 
 
88 LIFE OF 
 
 vance, and informed the governor, that at the 
 distance of six or eight miles, he had found a 
 trace used by the IlHnois Indians in travelHng 
 to Tippecanoe, which presented an excellent 
 ford, at a place where the prairie skirted the 
 creek. This prairie, which they were now 
 crossing, excited the admiration and astonish- 
 ment of the officers and soldiers, who had 
 never been on the north-west side of the Wa- 
 bash. To the north and west the prospect 
 was unbounded. From the highest eminence 
 no limit was to be seen, and the guides as- 
 serted that the prairie extended to the Illinois 
 river. 
 
 On the evening of the 5th of November, the 
 army encamped at the distance of nine or ten 
 miles from the Prophet's town. It was ascer- 
 tained that the approach of the army had been 
 discovered before it crossed Pine creek. The 
 traces of reconnoitring parties were very 
 often seen, but no Indians were discovered 
 until the following day, when the troops ar- 
 rived within five or six miles of the town. 
 The interpreters were then placed with the 
 advanced guard, to endeavour to open a com- 
 munication with them. The Indians, how- 
 ever, would return no answer to the invita- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 89 
 
 tions that were made for that purpose, but 
 continued to insult our troops by their ges- 
 tures. Within about three miles of the town, 
 the ground became broken by ravines, find 
 covered with a heavy growth of trees. The 
 utmost precaution became necessary, and 
 every difficult pass was examined by the 
 mounted riflemen, before the army was per- 
 mitted to enter it. The ground being unfit 
 for the operation of the squadron of dragoons, 
 they were thrown in the rear. 
 
 Within about two miles of the town, the 
 path descended a steep hill, at the bottom of 
 which was a small creek running through a 
 narrow, wet prairie, and beyond this was a level 
 plain partially covered with oak timber, and 
 without underbrush. No place could be bet- 
 ter fitted for the savages to attack the army 
 with a prospect of success ; and the governor 
 apprehended that the moment the troops de- 
 scended into the hollow, they would be as- 
 sailed. A disposition was therefore made of 
 the infantry, to receive the enemy on the left 
 and rear. A company of mounted riflemen 
 was advanced a considerable distance from 
 the left flank to check the approach of the 
 Indians; and the other companies were or- 
 
90 LIFE OF 
 
 dered to turn the enemy's flanks, should they 
 attack from that direction. The dragoons 
 were ordered to move rapidly from the rear 
 and occupy the plain in advance of the creek, 
 to cover the crossing of the army from an 
 attack in front. In this order the troops were 
 passed over; the dragoons were made to ad- 
 vance to give room to the infantry, and the 
 latter having crossed the creek, were formed 
 to receive the enemy in front in one line, with 
 a reserve of three companies ; the dragoons 
 flanked by mounted riflemen forming the first 
 line. 
 
 During all this time, Indians were frequently 
 seen in front and on the flanks. The inter- 
 preters endeavoured in vain to bring them to 
 a parley. Though sufficiently near to hear 
 what was said to them, they would return no 
 answer, but continued by gestures to menace 
 and insult those who addressed them. Cap- 
 tain Dubois, of Vincennes, having volunteered 
 his services, was dispatched with an inter- 
 preter, to the Prophet, to ascertain whether 
 he would now comply with the terms that had 
 been so often proposed to him. The army 
 was moved slowly after, in order of battle. 
 In a few moments, a messenf:^er came from 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 91 
 
 Captain Dubois, informing the governor that 
 the Indians were near him in considerable 
 numbers, that they would make no reply to 
 the interpreter, but that, upon his advancing, 
 they actually endeavoured to cut him off from 
 the army. Governor Harrison, after this last 
 effort to open a negotiation, which sufficiently 
 evinced his desire for an amicable accom- 
 modation, could no longer hesitate to treat 
 the Indians as open enemies. He therefore 
 recalled Captain Dubois, and moved on with 
 a determination to attack them. He had 
 not proceeded far, however, before he was 
 met by a deputation of the Prophet's counsel- 
 lors. They were sent, they said, to ascertain 
 why the army was advancing upon them; 
 they stated that the Prophet wished, if possi- 
 ble, to avoid hostilities ; that he had sent a 
 pacific message by the Miami and Potawato- 
 mie chiefs, who had come to him on the part 
 of the governor, but that those chiefs had un- 
 fortunately gone down on the south side of 
 the Wabash. A suspension of hostilities was 
 accordingly agreed upon, and a meeting was 
 to take place the next day between the gover- 
 nor and the chiefs, to agree upon the terms 
 of peace. But Harrison knew too well the 
 8 
 
92 LIFE OF 
 
 treachery of his artful antagonist, to allow 
 himself to be deceived by his specious profes- 
 sions, or lulled into any fancied securit}^ 
 
 The governor marched the army to a care- 
 fully selected position, and encamped late in 
 the evening, on a dry piece of ground, which 
 rose about ten feet above the level of a marshy 
 prairie in front towards the town, and about 
 twice as high above a similar prairie in the 
 rear, through which, near the bank, ran a 
 small stream, fringed with willows and brush- 
 wood. The governor posted his troops in a 
 hollow square. Two columns of infantry oc- 
 cupied the front and rear ; the right flank 
 consisted of a strong body of infantry, and the 
 left flank was composed of three companies 
 of mounted riflemen. The cavalry were en- 
 camped in the rear of the front rank and the 
 left flank. The encampment was not more 
 than three-fourths of a mile from the town. 
 
 The order given to the army, in the even 
 of a night attack, was for each corps to main- 
 tain its ground at all hazards till relieved. 
 The dragoons were directed, in such a case, 
 to parade dismounted, with their swords on 
 and their pistols in their belts, and to await 
 for orders. But the army in general had no 
 
WILLIAM HEx^^RY HARRISON. 93 
 
 expectation of an attack. Many of the men 
 appeared to be much disappointed. They 
 were anxious for a contest with the Indians, 
 and some of the more ardent loudly expressed 
 their regret that they should have to return 
 home without a battle. 
 
 The night was dark and cloudy. The- moon 
 rose late, and soon after midnight there com- 
 menced a light fall of drizzling rain. The 
 whole night passed without the slightest inter- 
 ruption, and the governor and his aids rose at 
 about a quarter before four, and were sitting 
 in conversation about the fire. It was still 
 dark, as the light of the moon was shadowed 
 by heavy and lowering clouds. At this mo- 
 ment the attack commenced. The treacher- 
 ous Indians had stealthily crept up near our 
 sentries, with the intention of rushing upon 
 them and killing them before they could give 
 the alarm. But fortunately one of the sentries 
 discovered an Indian creeping towards him 
 through the grass, and fired at him. This 
 was immediately followed by the Indian yell, 
 and a furious charge upon the left flank. So 
 sudden and fierce was this onset, that the 
 guard stationed in that quarter gave way, at 
 first, to their savage assailants ; but notwith- 
 
94 LIFE OF 
 
 Standing the severe fire, they soon rallied, and 
 maintained their ground with desperate va- 
 lour. The camp-fires were immediately ex- 
 tinguished, as their light only served to expose 
 our men to the deadly aim of the Indians. 
 Upon the first alarm, the governor mounted 
 his horse, and proceeded to the point of at- 
 tack; and finding the line much weakened 
 there, he ordered two companies from the 
 centre and rear line to march up to their sup- 
 port. About this time. Colonel Joseph Ha- 
 milton Daviess, of Kentucky, informed the 
 governor that the Indians, concealed behind 
 some trees near the left of the front line, were 
 severely annoying the troops in that quarter, 
 and requested permission to dislodge them. 
 In attempting this hazardous exploit, he charged 
 the Indians on foot, but unfortunately the 
 flash of his pistol exposed him to the deadly 
 aim of the savages, and he was shot down 
 almost instantly, pierced with three balls, 
 either of which would have proved fatal — and 
 thus fell a gallant and chivalric spirit, and one 
 of the most daring and intrepid officers in the 
 whole army. His men repulsed the Indians 
 several times, and finally succeeded in carry- 
 ing him into the camp. Colonel Isaac White, 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 95 
 
 of Indiana, another brave officer, who served 
 as a volunteer under Colonel Daviess, like- 
 wise fell in this sanguinary charge. A heavy 
 fire now commenced upon the right flank, 
 upon a part of the rear line, and upon the 
 entire front as well as upon the left flank. 
 Finding that many of our officers were killed 
 by the severe fire on the right flank, and that 
 our men there were warmly pressed, the go- 
 vernor led another company to their aid, 
 which enabled them to defend their position 
 during the rest of the attack. While the go- 
 vernor was leading this company into action, 
 his gallant aid. Colonel Owen, of Kentucky, a 
 veteran warrior in Indian warfare, was killed 
 at his side. 
 
 The battle was now maintained in every di- 
 rection with desperate valour. The Indians 
 advanced and retreated by a rattling noise 
 made with deer-hoofs. They fought with great 
 enthusiasm, and seemed determined to con- 
 quer. Our men maintained the fight with even 
 more than their accustomed bravery, and the 
 governor was unwearied in his active exer- 
 tions. Amid all the din of battle, the fierce 
 shouting of our troops, and the fiend-like yell- 
 ings of the savages, his clear and manly voice 
 8* 
 
96 LIFE OF 
 
 was heard encouraging and supporting his men 
 where they were most severely pressed, and 
 cheering them on to victory. He repeatedly, 
 during the engagement, changed their position 
 to meet the varying attacks of his desperate 
 assailants, and in all these evolutions the troops 
 were formed and led into action by himself. 
 
 When the day dawned, the left flank, the 
 most assailable part of the encampment, was 
 reinforced by four companies drawn from the 
 rear and centre ; the right flank was strength- 
 ened by two companies; the dragoons were 
 mounted, and, supported by them, a simulta- 
 neous charge \vas made upon the enemy on 
 both flanks. And so vigorous and determined 
 was this attack, that the enemy gave way on 
 all sides — the Indians on the left flank were 
 driven into a swamp impenetrable to cavalry, 
 while those on the right were put to flight with 
 great loss, and this severely-contested victory 
 was at last gained by our gallant troops. 
 
 The Indians, who were supposed to amount 
 to about a thousand in number, were com- 
 manded in this battle by three noted warriors 
 — White Loon, Stone Esiter, and Winnemac, 
 a Potawatomie chief, who had been with the 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 97 
 
 governor at Fort Harrison, and on his march, 
 making great professions of friendship. 
 
 More than two-thirds of our armv were 
 volunteers, principally from Indiana. Those 
 from the neighbourhood of Vincennes had been 
 trained for several years by the governor, and 
 had become very expert in the manoeuvres 
 which he had adopted for fighting the Indians. 
 The greater part of the territorial troops fol- 
 lowed him as well from personal attachment 
 as from a sense of duty. Indeed, a greater 
 degree of confidence and personal attachment 
 has rarely been found in any army towards 
 its commander, than existed in this ; nor have 
 there been many battles in which the depend- 
 ence of the army on its leader was more dis- 
 tinctly felt. During the whole action the go- 
 vernor was constantly on the lines, and always 
 repaired to the point which was most hardly 
 pressed. The reinforcements drawn occa- 
 sionally from the positions most secure, were 
 conducted by himself and formed on the spot 
 where their services were most wanted. The 
 officers and men who believed that their uhi- 
 mate success depended on his safety, warmly 
 remonstrated against his so constantly expos- 
 ing himself; but, the consciousness of his per- 
 
98 LIFE OF 
 
 sonal danger never interfered, for a moment, 
 with the unshrinking performance of his duty. 
 Upon one occasion, as he was approaching an 
 angle of the Hne against which the Winneba- 
 goes, the most daring of the Indians, were ad- 
 vancing with the fiercest yells, one of his offi- 
 cers seized the bridle of his horse and earnest- 
 ly entreated that he would not go there; but 
 the governor, freely applying his spurs, push- 
 ed on to the point of attack, and so cheered 
 the troops by his presence that they received 
 the enemy with firmness and drove them back 
 with the loss of several of their chiefs. 
 
 The Prophet took no active part in this bat- 
 tle, but during the whole of the contest he re- 
 mained secure- on a neighbouring eminence, 
 chanting a war-song. He had promised his 
 warriors that " the Great Spirit would turn 
 the powder of the whites into ashes, and charm 
 their bullets, so that they should drop harm- 
 less, and that the red men should have light, 
 while their enemies were involved in utter 
 darkness." Soon after the battle commenced, 
 he was told that his warriors were falling in 
 great numbers, but he bade them fight on, and 
 they would soon see the fulfilment of all his 
 predictions. 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 99 
 
 The day of the battle was spent in taking 
 care of the wounded, and in paying the last 
 mournful rites to the remains of those who 
 had fallen. On the next day, the town, which 
 had been abandoned by the Indians in great 
 haste, was occupied by a detachment of our 
 troops; and after the removal of every thing 
 of value, its fortifications were destroyed and 
 the town itself burnt. On the same day the 
 troops were put in motion on their homeward 
 march. Every wagon was required to trans- 
 port the wounded, and it therefore became 
 requisite to destroy all the unnecessary bag- 
 gage ; in doing which, the governor set the 
 example, by ordering all his own camp furni- 
 ture to be broken and burnt first. They pur- 
 sued their route by easy marches, till they 
 arrived, without interruption, at their block- 
 house on the Wabash ; where the wounded 
 were embarked in boats, while the rest of the 
 army continued their march by land to Vin- 
 cennes. 
 
 The battle of Tippecanoe was unquestiona- 
 bly one of the most spirited and best-fought 
 actions recorded in the annals of our Indian 
 wars. The numbers and weapons on either 
 side were nearly equal ; and the Indians, con- 
 
100 LIFE OF 
 
 trary to their usual custom, fought hand to 
 hand, and with the most desperate ferocity; 
 displaying a boldness and reckless daring, dur- 
 ing the engagement, that can only be account- 
 ed for by their reliance on the specious pro- 
 mises held out to them by the Prophet. Every 
 man in this battle encountered his share of 
 danger, but no one was in more personal peril 
 than Governor Harrison himself — well known 
 to many of the Indians, and the object of their 
 peculiar attack, his fearless and unshrinking 
 exposure makes it seem almost a miracle that 
 he should have escaped unwounded. In re- 
 ferring to the coolness and intrepidity of Go- 
 vernor Harrison, on this occasion, we cannot 
 refrain from making the following extracts 
 from a journal published in Keene, New Hamp- 
 shire, by Adam Walker, a private soldier, who 
 fought in this battle, and who could have had 
 no interested motives for his publication: — 
 " General Harrison," he says, " received a shot 
 through the rim of his hat. In the heat of the 
 action, his voice was frequently heard, and 
 easily distinguished, giving his orders in the 
 same calm, cool, and collected manner, with 
 which we had been used to receive them on 
 drill or parade. The confidence of the troops 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 101 
 
 in the General was unlimited." The same 
 writer, in speaking of Harrison's kindness to 
 the soldiers, and his influence over them, re- 
 marks : — " He appeared not disposed to detain 
 any man against his inclination; being en- 
 dowed by nature with a heart as humane as 
 brave, in his frequent addresses to the militia, 
 his eloquence was formed to persuade; appeals 
 were made to reason as well as feeling, and 
 never were they made in vain." 
 
 An incident that occurred at this time ap- 
 pears well worthy of being recorded. The 
 night before the battle, a negro man belonging 
 to the camp, who had been missing, was ar- 
 rested under the governor's marquee, under 
 very suspicious circumstances. He was tried 
 by a court-martial for desertion to the enemy, 
 and for an attempt to assassinate the governor. 
 Sufficient evidence was found to convict him, 
 and he was sentenced to death ; yet such were 
 the humane feelings of Harrison, that he could 
 not induce himself to sign the order for his 
 execution. As the criminal attempt had been 
 made against his own life, he felt himself pri- 
 vileged to exercise his benevolence towards 
 the offender, and the misguided wretch was 
 suffered to escape the just punishment of his 
 
102 LIFE OF 
 
 crime. It would have been more in accord- 
 ance with the principles of strict justice, had 
 the law been permitted to take its own course 
 in this instance — but the circumstances of the 
 case were very peculiar, and Governor Har- 
 rison's conduct evinced a magnanimity and 
 humanity of heart rarely equalled. 
 
 The importance of the victory at Tippeca- 
 noe cannot be too highly estimated. It quelled 
 the haughty spirit of the discontented and hos- 
 tile Indians, and defeated the plan, which they 
 had almost matured, of attacking and destroy- 
 ing our scattered border settlements in detail. 
 Had we lost this battle, our army must have 
 been annihilated — the whole extent of our de- 
 fenceless frontier would have been left to the 
 mercy of sanguinary and unsparing savages, 
 and the consequent loss of life, and destruction 
 of property, w^ould have been almost incalcu- 
 lable. 
 
 President Madison, in his message to Con- 
 gress, dated December 18th, 1811, makes the 
 following honourable mention of this battle: — 
 " While it is deeply to be lamented," says the 
 President, "that so manv valuable lives have 
 been lost in the action which took place on the 
 9th ult.. Congress v.'ill see, with satisfaction, 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 103 
 
 the dauntless spirit and fortitude victoriously 
 displayed by every description of troops en- 
 gaged, as well as the collected firmness which 
 distinguished their commander, on an occasion 
 requiring the utmost exertion of valour and 
 discipline." 
 
 The Legislature of Kentucky, at their en- 
 suing session, on the motion of John J. Crit- 
 tenden, now a distinguished member of the 
 United States Senate, expressed their high 
 sense of Governor Harrison's good conduct 
 on this occasion, by the following comphment- 
 ary resolution : — 
 
 " Resolved, That in the late campaign 
 against the Indians, on the Wabash, Governor 
 VV. H. Harrison has, in the opinion of this le- 
 gislature, behaved like a hero, a patriot, and a 
 general ; and that for his cool, deliberate, skil- 
 ful, and gallant conduct, in the late battle of 
 Tippecanoe, he deserves the warmest thanks 
 of the nation." 
 
 This high encomium came from those whose 
 friends and neighbours had participated in the 
 late campaign, and who were consequently 
 familiar with all its details, and with the merits 
 of the commander-in-chief. 
 
 Tecumthe was not present at the battle of 
 9 
 
104 LIFE OF 
 
 Tippecanoe ; being on a visit to the southern 
 tribes, whom he was endeavouring to unite 
 in his combination against the United States. 
 During his tour, he visited the Creeks, Choc- 
 taws, and Chickasaws, and then crossed the 
 Mississippi and continued his course north- 
 wardly as high as the river Demoins ; and 
 having obtained, it is believed, the promise of 
 assistance from all the tribes in that direction, 
 he returned to the Wabash bv land, across 
 the heads of the Illinois river. In his absence, 
 his affairs had sustained a sad reverse. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Declaration of War with Great Britain. — Measures 
 adopted to defend our North-western frontier. — 
 Governor Harrison is appointed Major General in the 
 Kentucky militia. — He receives the commissicn of 
 Brigadier General in the service of the United 
 States. — He is made Commander-in-chief of the 
 North-western army. — His extensive powers and ar- 
 duous duties. — Plan of the Campaign. — Massacre 
 at the River Raisin. — Expedition against the Indian 
 towns. 
 
 War was declared against Great Britain on 
 the 18th of June, 1812. Prior to this event, 
 British agents had, for a long time, been tarn- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 105 
 
 pering with the discontented Indians within 
 our territory, and had bribed them with pre- 
 sents, and furnished them with firearms, to 
 induce them to renew their hostilities against 
 our country. The crafty and daring Tecum- 
 the, too, was once more in the field. Urged 
 on by his savage eloquence, by their own 
 natural love for war and plunder, and by the 
 atrocious intrigues of foreign agents, the 
 north-western Indians again raised the war- 
 whoop, and commenced their barbarous sys- 
 tem of warfare. Their cruel murders and 
 depredations became of frequent occurrence, 
 and the wailings of bereaved mothers and or- 
 phans, and the bitter complaints of those who 
 had escaped from the conflagration of their 
 plundered homes, excited the commiseration 
 of our hardy borderers, and roused a general 
 feeling of indignation. Such was the state 
 of excitement in the frontier settlements in the 
 summer of 1812. 
 
 Immediately after the declaration of war, 
 our western governors promptly adopted 
 every measure in their power, for the defence 
 of their respective States and Territories. 
 But conscious of the great abilities and expe- 
 rience of Harrison, they placed the utmost 
 
106 LIFE OF 
 
 reliance on his counsels, and looked to him as 
 the leader, under whom they might hope for 
 success against the common enemy. He 
 aided Governor Edwards in placing the fron- 
 tier of Illinois in a posture of defence, and 
 soon after, was invited by Governor Scott 
 of Kentucky, a distinguished revolutionary 
 officer, to a conference in relation to the 
 Kentucky troops, which had been raised for 
 the defence of the frontier. He accepted this 
 invitation, and met Governor Scott at Frank- 
 fort ; where he was received wdth the accla- 
 mations of the people, and with the highest 
 civil and military honours. These public 
 marks of the high estimation in which Harri- 
 son w^as held by the people, were shortly 
 after followed by proofs still more flattering of 
 their confidence in his patriotism, his abilities, 
 and his military skill. 
 
 Governor Scott had levied an armed force 
 of more than five thousand mihtia and volun- 
 teers, commanded by some of the ablest men 
 and most experienced officers in the State. 
 Two thousand of these troops were ordered 
 for immediate service ; and they had no 
 sooner learned that they were destined to 
 march to the aid of their fellow-countrymen 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 107 
 
 on the frontier, than they at once unani- 
 mously expressed the most earnest desire to 
 be placed under the command of Governor 
 Harrison. This feeling was responded to by 
 the wishes of the whole mass of the people 
 throughout the State. The laws of Ken- 
 tucky, however, would not permit any other 
 than a citizen to hold a command in the State 
 militia. In this dilemma, Governor Scott 
 consulted with the venerable Shelby, (the 
 governor elect), the Hon. Henry Clay, and 
 other distinguished citizens of the state, and 
 by their unanimous advice he gave Harrison 
 a brevet commission of major general in the 
 Kentucky militia, with express authority to 
 take command of the gallant troops, about to 
 march to the frontier. This was a bold and 
 unprecedented measure, but one that gave 
 unbounded satisfaction to both soldiers and 
 citizens, and one fully warranted by the pe- 
 culiar exigencies of the case. These facts 
 speak volumes in favour of the remarkable 
 popularity and great military reputation which 
 Governor Harrison enjoyed in a population 
 of brave and chivalric people, boasting an un- 
 usual proportion of highly-gifted and distin- 
 guished men. 
 9* 
 
108 LIFE OF 
 
 About this time, the cowardice and imbe- 
 cihty of General Hull tamely surrendered to 
 the British the important post of Detroit, with 
 the gallant force which composed its garrison. 
 This event spread consternation, far and wide, 
 through the western country, and greatly in- 
 creased the difficulty and arduous nature of 
 Governor Harrison's duties. He immediately, 
 however, organized the brave troops under 
 his command, and commenced a course of 
 rigid discipline and mihtary training; with 
 the confident hope of retrieving the disasters 
 consequent upon the cowardly surrender of 
 Detroit. 
 
 But his operations were soon interrupted by 
 the receipt of official letters from the War De- 
 partment, written in ignorance of the surren- 
 der of Hull and of the proceedings in Kentucky, 
 and appointing General Winchester to take 
 command of the forces marching to Detroit. 
 Governor Harrison was, at the same time, ap- 
 pointed Brigadier General in the service of the 
 United States — but he declined to accept this 
 appointment, being desirous that the War De- 
 partment should first be made aware of the 
 arrangements by which he had received the 
 command of the Kentucky troops. Mean- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 109 
 
 while, the armv had marched to the north- 
 western frontier of Ohio ; and Governor Har- 
 rison, having reheved Fort Wayne, which had 
 been besieged by the enemy, and having de- 
 stroyed the Indian towns on the Elkhart and 
 the Wabash, resigned the command to Win- 
 chester, with the intention of returning to In- 
 diana, and resuming the duties of his territorial 
 government. 
 
 General Winchester, who had thus taken 
 the chief command, was an old revolutionary 
 soldier, and a brave and meritorious officer ; 
 but being less known and less distinguished, 
 he was not, like Harrison, possessed of the en- 
 thusiastic confidence of the army. Governor 
 Harrison, Hcvertheless, exerted every effort in 
 his power to reconcile the troops to this change. 
 But soon after he left them, their displeasure 
 at having been deprived of their favourite 
 commander was not confined to murmurs, but 
 created open disaffection and almost mutiny. 
 The volunteers, especially, were loud in their 
 complaints and expressions of dissatisfaction 
 at the change of commanders — and the troops 
 were at last induced to continue their march, 
 solely by the belief that as soon as the case 
 was rightly understood at Washington, the 
 
110 ' LIFE OF 
 
 command would be restored to Governor Har- 
 rison. 
 
 This expectation was speedily realized — 
 for no sooner w^as the President made aware 
 of the condition of the army, and of the al- 
 most unanimous w^ishes of the western people, 
 than he immediately appointed Harrison in 
 place of Winchester, commander-in-chief of 
 the north-western army. The dispatch con- 
 veying this appointment, overtook him on his 
 way to Indiana, and, with a small escort, he 
 returned, w-ithout delay, to the army. 
 
 He arrived at the encampment late at night, 
 but at a very critical moment. A revolt had 
 that day taken place in one of the regiments 
 of Kentucky volunteers, commanded by Colo- 
 nel Allen, the result of w hich forcibly evinced 
 the powerful influence General Harrison pos- 
 sessed over the army. He had scarcely ar- 
 rived, when he was waited upon by Colonel 
 Allen and his second in command, who bore 
 him. the mortifying intelligence that their men, 
 exhausted by the hard fare of the campaign, 
 and disappointed in their expectation of an 
 immediate engagement with the enemy, had, 
 in defiance of their duty to their country, and 
 ail the earnest and impassioned remonstrances 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. Ill 
 
 of their officers, determined to return home. 
 They assured General Harrison that their ap- 
 peals and representations were answered by- 
 insult, and they entreated his instant interfer- 
 ence as the only means of bringing the muti- 
 neers back to their duty. 
 
 The general declined takmg any step that 
 night, but gave orders that the next morning 
 the alarm signal should be beat instead of the 
 reveille. This adroit expedient brought all the 
 troops to their arms, and they were formed as 
 usual in a hollow square. Goneral Harrison 
 then made his appearance on parade, much to 
 the surprise of the troops, who, from his late 
 arrival in camp, had not been aware of his 
 presence. 
 
 With a ready eloquence, he immediately 
 addressed them on the subject of the cam- 
 paign, and referred to the disaffection that ex- 
 isted in one of the Kentucky regiments. " It 
 was fortunate," he said, " that this discontent 
 had been found out before the campaign was 
 further advanced, when the discovery might 
 have been mischievous to the public interests, 
 as well as disgraceful to the parties concern- 
 ed. Now, so far as the government was in- 
 terested, the discontented troops, who had 
 
112 LIFE OF 
 
 come into the woods with the expectation of 
 finding all the luxuries of home and of peace, 
 had full liberty to return. He w^ould," he con- 
 tinued, " order facilities to be furnished for 
 their immediate accommodation. But he 
 could not refrain from expressing the mortifi- 
 cation he anticipated for the reception they 
 would meet from the young and the old, who 
 had greeted them as their gallant neighbours' 
 on their march to the scene of war. 
 
 " What must be their feelings," said the 
 general, " to see those whom they had hailed 
 as their generous defenders, now returning 
 without striking a blow, and before their term 
 of plighted service had expired ? But if this 
 would be the state of public sentiment in Ohio, 
 what would it be in Kentucky ? If their fa- 
 thers did not drive their degenerate sons back 
 to the field of battle to recover their wounded 
 honour, their mothers and sisters would hiss 
 them from their presence. If, however, the 
 discontented men were disposed to put up with 
 all the taunts and disdain which awaited them 
 wherever they went, they were,'* General 
 Harrison again assured them, " at full liberty 
 to go back." 
 
 The influence of this manly and exciting 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 1 13 
 
 address was instantaneous. Colonel Scott, the 
 senior colonel of Kentucky, a war-worn vete- 
 ran who had served in the armies of Harmar, 
 St. Clair, and Wayne, immediately faced his 
 regiment, and said to them, — " You, my boys, 
 will prove your attachment to the service of 
 your country, and to your general, by giving 
 three cheers." The air instantly I'esounded 
 . with the shouts of both officers and men. The 
 regiment of Colonel Lewis replied in the same 
 manner to a similar request from their com- 
 mander ; and when, at last, Colonel Allen ad- 
 dressed the soldiers of his regiment in a forci- 
 ble appeal to their patriotism and returning 
 sense of duty, they, too, responded with the 
 same cheering shouts — and none of the troops 
 behaved more faithfully and gallantly than these 
 during the remainder of their term of service. 
 The powers conferred on Harrison, as com- 
 mander-in-chief of the North-western army, 
 were of great extent, and he was left to exer- 
 cise them according to his own unrestricted 
 judgment. In the dispatch containing this ap- 
 pointment, dated September 17th, 1812, the 
 Secretary of War says : — " You will com- 
 mand such means as may be practicable — ex- 
 ercise your own discretion, and act in all cases 
 
114 LIFE OF 
 
 according to your own judgment," — thus con- 
 ferring upon him extraordinary and almost 
 unlimited powers. We refer to this, merely 
 that we may here notice the remarkable fact, 
 that, though vested with unusual powers, Gene- 
 ral Harrison was never known, during the 
 whole of liis command, to exercise his author- 
 ity in an unjust or oppressive manner. His 
 measures were energetic, but always qualified 
 by his characteristic moderation and human- 
 ity, and by a due regard for the feelings of 
 every soldier in his camp. 
 
 This appointment, it should be remembered, 
 too, was not obtained by General Harrison by 
 any party or personal influence, but was con- 
 ferred upon him in compliance with the almost 
 unanimous washes of the western people ; and 
 by a President, who, when Secretary of State 
 under Jefferson, had been in constant corre- 
 spondence wdth him in relation to the territo- 
 rial affairs of Indiana, and had thus enjoyed 
 an ample opportunity of forming a fair esti^ 
 mate of his abilities and qualifications. 
 
 The duties that devolved on General Har- 
 rison, in his new station, were a»rduous bevond 
 description. The troops under his command, 
 though brave, were either volunteers for a 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 115 
 
 limited period of time, or inexperienced and 
 undisciplined recruits ; and the army was 
 badly equipped, and nearly destitute of bag- 
 gage and military stores. The enemy to which 
 he was opposed w^ere tried and disciplined 
 British troops, well supplied with every muni- 
 tion of war, and assisted by a powerful body 
 of Indians under the command of a warrior 
 distinguished for his great sagacity, energy, 
 and daring bravery. With these inadequate 
 means, under these unfavourable circum- 
 stances, and with such formidable opponents, 
 he was required to defend an immense extent 
 of frontier, stretching along the shores of the 
 great northern lakes, whose numerous har- 
 bours and rivers were easy of access to an 
 enemy, possessed of a fleet sufficiently large 
 to command these waters, and to transport 
 their troops in any direction. In addition to 
 this, the roads leading to those points which, 
 most required defence, were nearly impassa- 
 ble, and lay, for hundreds of miles, through a 
 wilderness swarming with hostile Indians, 
 and through gloomy and dangerous swamps, 
 where the troops, though little encumbered 
 with baggage, could advance but slowly, and 
 with great labour. But under all these diffi- 
 10 
 
116 LIFE OF 
 
 culties, the spirits of the soldiers were sus- 
 tained by the presence and example of their 
 favourite connmander — who animated them 
 in their fatigues, and cheerfully endured the 
 same hardships and privations which they 
 encountered. 
 
 The published accounts of our recent war 
 with the Seminoles in Florida, the disastrous 
 details of which have been made but too 
 familiar to us, will convey to our readers 
 some idea of the peculiar dangers and diffi- 
 culties of this campaign, and of the skill and 
 fortitude required to overcome them. In 
 both cases, we were opposed by the same 
 savage foe, and the country was almost inac- 
 cessible from the same causes — its unhealthful- 
 ness at that season of the year, and its exten- 
 sive and treacherous swamps, the passes 
 through which were known only to the 
 hostile Indians by whom they were occupied, 
 with perhaps, in the two cases, but this differ- 
 ence only, that the northern Indians are well 
 known to be much fiercer and more formida- 
 ble warriors than their southern brethren, and 
 that, during the whole of this campaign, they 
 were kept constantly supplied, by the British, 
 with more effective arms and ammunition. 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 117 
 
 Yet, undismayed by these dangers and ob- 
 stacles, General Harrison, wishing to strike 
 an early blow at the enemy, formed the bold 
 and daring design of a winter campaign — 
 hoping, by a rapid and unexpected move- 
 ment, to re-capture Detroit, take Maiden, and 
 perhaps overrun the greater part of Upper 
 Canada. To lessen the difficulty of collecting 
 the necessary supply of provisions and forage, 
 and to form the requisite depots, he stationed 
 the several corps of his army, at three differ- 
 ent points. The left wing, consisting princi- 
 pally of Kentuckians, under the command of 
 General Winchester, he posted at Fort Defi- 
 ance — the centre, composed of Ohio troops 
 under the command of General Tupper, he 
 stationed at Fort McArthur — and the right 
 wing, consisting of the Pennsylvania and Vir- 
 ginia brigades, was under his own immediate 
 command, at Upper Sandusky. After accu- 
 mulating supplies of provisions and military 
 stores at these several points, the army was 
 to take up the line of march by three different 
 routes. The left wing was to descend the 
 river from Fort Defiance, the centre to ad- 
 vance along Hull's Trace, the right wing was 
 to cross the Black Swamp by a difficult and 
 
118 UFE OF 
 
 dangerous route, and the three corps were to 
 meet and concentrate the entire forces of the 
 army at the Rapids of the Maumee, near 
 Wayne's old battle-ground. 
 
 Having made all the arrangements, the 
 general used every effort to hasten the neces- 
 sary supplies, and meanwhile kept the troops 
 constantly and laboriously employed in build- 
 ing forts, forming depots, and cutting roads to 
 facilate his future operations. 
 
 The centre and right wing of the army, not 
 being far removed from our settlements, were 
 able to collect provisions with comparative 
 ease ; but the left wing, stationed at a more 
 remote distance, found great difficulty in ob- 
 taining a sufficient supply even for their own 
 immediate subsistence. Under these circum- 
 stances, and ascertaining that he could pro- 
 cure forage in abundance at the Rapids, 
 General Winchester, having received the 
 instructions of General Harrison, determined 
 to move his forces down the Maumee to the 
 appointed place of concentration, without 
 waiting for the co-operation of the centre and 
 right wing of the army. He accordingly, on 
 the 30th of December, took up his hne of 
 march for the Rapids. On the same day, a 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 119 
 
 gallant young volunteer from Kentucky (Mr. 
 Leslie Combs), was sent with a dispatch to 
 apprise General Harrison of this movement. 
 On the day after Mr. Combs had set out with 
 this dispatch, a heavy rain fell, followed im- 
 mediately by a violent snow storm, which 
 continued without intermission for nearly 
 three days, and covered the ground to the 
 depth of two feet, thus preventing the rain 
 which had first fallen from freezing. On foot, 
 and with but a single guide, his way, which 
 led partly through a wilderness and partly 
 through the Black Swamp, would, under the 
 most favourable circumstances, have been 
 toilsome and dangerous. But the unexpected 
 yet unavoidable difficulties were such, and 
 the circuit he was compelled to make round 
 the morasses so increased the distance (about 
 a hundred miles), that this dispatch was de- 
 layed five days longer than had been antici- 
 pated. Mr. Combs arrived at his point of 
 destination, Fort McArthur, on the 7th of 
 January, worn out and exhausted with fatigue- 
 and privations — neither he nor his guide hav-^ 
 ing tasted food of any kind, for the last three 
 days of their journey. General Tupper at 
 once forwarded this dispatch to General 
 10* 
 
120 LIFE OF 
 
 Harrison, who received it on the 12th of 
 January, and immediately issued orders for 
 sending on a part of the artillery to support 
 General Winchester, and a supply of provi- 
 sions for his troops. 
 
 In the mean time. General Winchester had 
 proceeded down the Maumee to the Rapids, 
 where he arrived on the 10th of January, and 
 encamped at a strong position on the north 
 side of the river, which he fortified. 
 
 The first information General Harrison re- 
 ceived of Winchester's arrival at this place, 
 came, not from that officer himself, but through 
 an indirect channel. On the evening of the 
 16th, an express arrived from General Per- 
 kins, who then commanded a force at Lower 
 Sandusky, informing Harrison that Winches- 
 ter had encamped at the Rapids, and had ap- 
 plied to him for a battalion of troops, to aid in 
 a movement that he teas meditating against the 
 enemy. Alarmed at this intelligence, and 
 dreading disastrous consequences. General 
 Harrison instantly dispatched reinforcements 
 to Winchester, and used every effort to for- 
 ward him a supply of provisions and military 
 stores. 
 
 Soon after Winchester had arrived at the 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 121 
 
 Rapids, the inhabitants of Frenchtown — a 
 small settlement on the river Raisin, within 
 our territory, sent messages to General Win- 
 chester, urgently entreating him to protect 
 them from the large force of British and In- 
 dians, assembled at Maiden, only eighteen 
 miles distant from their town. By the advice 
 of a council of his officers, Winchester deter- 
 mined to comply with their entreaties, and 
 send on a strong force for their protection. 
 On the 17th, Colonel Lewis and Colonel Allen 
 were detached for this duty, and marched at 
 the head of six hundred and sixty men. The 
 nex»t day, they arrived at the river Raisin, and 
 finding that the force:^ of the enemy were al- 
 ready in Frenchtown, they attacked them 
 with great gallantry, and after a sharp action, 
 succeeded in dislodging them, and gained 
 possession of the place. The engagement 
 commenced at three o'clock, and the pursuit 
 continued until dusk, when the enemy were 
 driven several miles from the field of action. 
 Flushed with this victory, Colonel Lewis de- 
 termined to maintain his position, and dis- 
 patched an express to General Winchester to 
 apprise him of his intention. 
 
 Winchester, on hearing this intelligence, 
 
122 LIFE OF 
 
 approved of the decision of Colonel Lewis, 
 and knowing his critical situation, hastened to 
 support him with all his force. He arrived 
 and encamped at Frenchtown on the 20th — 
 but unfortunately, for the first time during the 
 whole campaign, he omitted to fortify his po- 
 sition, and even neglected to station a piquet 
 
 , guard on the road leading to Maiden, where 
 the enemy were posted in great strength. 
 
 , The whole of the 21st was suffered to pass 
 away without any of these necessary precau- 
 tions having been adopted — and on the follow- 
 ing morning, the British and Indians from 
 Maiden, having advanced unperceived with 
 their entire force, opened a heavy fire of 
 grape-shot upon our troops, from several 
 pieces of artillery, at a distance of not more 
 than three hundred yards from the camp. 
 The troops under Winchester's immediate 
 command, completely taken by surprise and 
 unprotected by any fortification, were soon 
 overpowered by numbers, and forced to re- 
 treat in confusion. Winchester, and the in- 
 trepid Lewis arjd Allen, made every effort to 
 rally the fugitives, but in vain. They fled in 
 disorder across the river and to the woods, 
 where the Indians having gained their flank 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 123 
 
 and rear, pursued and tomahawked them 
 without mercy. General Winchester and 
 some few others were taken prisoners and 
 carried to the British camp. 
 
 But a part of Lewis's detachment, who had 
 adopted the precaution to protect their en- 
 campment by pickets, still defended their posi- 
 tion with great bravery and resolution ; until 
 Proctor, the commander of the British force, 
 procured an order from Winchester, com- 
 manding them to surrender. As their ammu- 
 nition was nearly expended, and they had no 
 hope of relief, these heroic troops, though re- 
 luctantly, obeyed this order — but not, how- 
 ever, until Proctor had given them an express 
 assurance of protection from the exasperated 
 rage and cruelty of the Indians. 
 
 All the prisoners who were able to make 
 the exertion, were marched to Maiden ; but 
 those who were severely wounded were left 
 behind in the houses at Frenchtown, with the 
 repeated promises of Proctor that they should 
 be protected from the savages, and that, the 
 next morning, sleds should be sent to convey 
 them to Maiden. But instead of this, they 
 were left wholly unprotected, and the next day, 
 in place of the sleds, came a party of infuri- 
 
124 LIFE OF 
 
 ated Indians, who set fire to the town, burnt 
 the houses, and barbarously murdered all the 
 , prisoners in cold blood ! 
 
 The defeat and massacre at the river Raisin 
 produced a great sensation throughout the 
 Western country, and especially in Kentucky 
 — which state, always foremost in danger, lost 
 some of her most valuable citizens and gallant 
 officers in this disastrous affair. So serious a 
 calamity necessarily excited much discussion 
 with regard to its causes, and as some censure 
 was thrown on those who committed no error, 
 and who were not instrumental in causing the 
 defeat of Winchester, which proved the defeat 
 of the campaign, it is proper that we should 
 proceed to state the measures taken by Gene- 
 ral Harrison to reinforce General Winchester, 
 and prevent the unfortunate result above re- 
 lated. 
 
 On the evening that General Harrison re- 
 ceived, though indirectly, the intelligence of 
 General Winchester's contemplated movement 
 against the enemy, as before stated, he imme- 
 diately dispatched an express to the Rapids 
 for information, gave orders for a corps of 
 three hundred men to hasten on with the ar- 
 tillery, and for escorts to advance, without 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 125 
 
 delay, with the provisions and military stores. 
 The next morning he proceeded himself to 
 Lower Sandusky, at which place he arrived 
 in the night following — having travelled a dis- 
 tance of forty miles in seven hours and a half, 
 over roads requiring such exertion to pass 
 them, that the horse of his aid. Major Hakill, 
 fell dead, from fatigue and exhaustion, on their 
 arrival at the fort. He found there, that Gene- 
 ral Perkins had prepared to send a battalion 
 to the Rapids, in conformity with a request 
 from General Winchester. That battalion was 
 dispatched the next morning, the 18th, with a 
 piece of artillery ; but so bad were the roads, 
 that it was unable, by its utmost exertions, to 
 reach the river Raisin, a distance of seventy- 
 five miles, before the fatal disaster. 
 
 General Harrison then determined to pro- 
 ceed to the Rapids himself, to learn personally 
 from General Winchester his situation and 
 views. At four o'clock on the morning of the 
 19th, while he still remained at Lower San- 
 dusky, he received the information, that Colo- 
 nel Lewis had been sent with a detachm.ent, 
 to secure the provisions on the river Raisin, 
 and to occupy, with the intention of holding 
 possession of the village of Frenchtown. There 
 
126 LIFE OF 
 
 was then but one regiment and a battalion at 
 Lower Sandusky — the regiment was immedi- 
 ately put in motion, with orders to make forced 
 marches for the Rapids, while General Harri- 
 son himself immediately proceeded to the same 
 place. On his way, he met an express with 
 intelligence of the victory which had been 
 gained on the preceding day. 
 
 The anxiety of General Harrison to push 
 forward, and either prevent, or remedy any 
 misfortune which might occur, as soon as he 
 was apprised of the advance to the river Rai- 
 sin, was manifested by the great personal ex- 
 ertions which he made in this instance. He 
 started in a sleigh, with General Perkins, to 
 overtake the battalion under Cotgreve, attend- 
 ed only by a single servant. As the sleigh 
 w^ent very slowly, from the roughness of the 
 road, he took the horse of his servant and 
 pushed on alone. Night came upon him in 
 the midst of the swamp, which was so imper- 
 fectly frozen, that his horse sank to the saddle- 
 girths at every step. He had then no resource 
 but to dismount and lead his horse, jumping 
 himself from one sod to another. When al- 
 most exhausted with the cold and fatigue, the 
 General overtook one of Cotgreve's men, by 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 127 
 
 whose assistance he was enabled to reach the 
 camp of the battalion. 
 
 Very early on the morning of the 20th, 
 General Harrison arrived at the Rapids, from 
 which place General Winchester had gone, on 
 the preceding evening, with all his disposable 
 force, to the river Raisin. On the same day, 
 by a forced march, Cotgreve's battalion 
 reached the Rapids, and was, without delay, 
 hurried on with two pieces of artillery, to the * 
 aid of Winchester — and on the evening of the 
 21st, three hundred Kentuckians, who had been 
 left behind by Winchester, as a, garrison, were 
 likewise ordered to march to Frenchtown. 
 The next day intelligence reached the Rapids 
 of Proctor's attack on Winchester's camp, and 
 General Harrison instantly ordered the whole 
 force at that station to be pushed on with all 
 possible expedition, and himself hastened for- 
 ward to the scene of danger. They were soon, 
 l^owever, met by fugitives from the field of 
 battle, from whom they ascertained the total 
 defeat of Winchester's forces. A council was 
 held of general and field officers, by whom it 
 was decided that it would be imprudent and 
 useless to advance any further. Strong par- 
 ties were then sent out to protect the fugitives 
 11 
 
128 LIFE OF 
 
 ' from the field of battle and from Frenchtown, 
 and the remainder of the troops returned to 
 the Rapids. 
 
 It is thus evident that every thing possible, 
 within the control of General Harrison, was 
 done by him to reinforce and aid General Win- 
 chester in the dangerous position he had as- 
 sumed. This expedition of Winchester, to the 
 river Raisin, was highly imprudent, since he 
 ' advanced within eighteen miles of the head- 
 quarters of the enemy, wnose forces were 
 strong and daily increasing, and he, at the 
 same time, removed more than thirty miles 
 from the Rapids, the nearest point from which 
 he could possibly have received any assistance. 
 Still the disastrous result that ensued would no 
 doubt have been avoided, had he adopted the 
 ordinary precautions of fortifying his camp, 
 and stationing videttes to give him timely 
 warning of the approach of the enemy. His 
 troops could then, at least, have defended them- 
 selves until the arrival of the reinforcements 
 from the Rapids, when the enemy would have 
 been compelled to retreat, or, had they fought, 
 the battle would, in all probability, have ter- 
 minated in our favour. 
 
 After Winchester's defeat, our troops at the 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 129 
 
 Rapids amounted to less than nine hundred ef- 
 fective men. General Harrison called a coun- 
 cil of war, who, supposing that their position 
 would be attacked by the enemy in overwhelm- 
 iug force, unanimously recommended that the 
 army should fall back to Portage River, eigh- 
 teen miles distant. The next morning, there- 
 fore, our troops abandoned the Rapids, and re- 
 tired to the designated point, which they 
 strongly fortified. 
 
 But on the 1st of February, the army, hav- 
 ing been reinforced by the arrival of General 
 Leftwich, with the Virginia brigade and a part 
 of the artillery, augmenting their number to 
 eighteen hundred men, again marched to the 
 Rapids. General Harrison, still entertaining 
 a hope to accomplish the great objects of the 
 campaign, during the winter, continued to ex- 
 ert himself unremittingly in making prepara- 
 tions. But the elements seemed to conspire 
 against him. Instead of the severe cold and 
 intense frosts, that usually prevailed in this 
 northern region at this season, and which 
 would have enabled him to move his forces, 
 military stores, and supplies, with comparative 
 ease and celerity, warm rains broke up the 
 roads, and were followed by heavy falls of 
 
130 LIFE OF 
 
 snow, which rendered the march of troops ex- 
 ceedingly fatiguing and dangerous, as well as 
 slow, and the conveyance of provisions and 
 heavy munitions of war almost impossible. 
 The unavoidable exposure, too, of the troops 
 to the heavy rains, which kept the encamp- 
 ment almost constantly inundated, the defi- 
 ciency of proper tents to shelter them, and 
 their want even of sufficient food and clothing, 
 produced pleurisies and much other severe 
 sickness in the camp, and greatly reduced the 
 number of effective men.* 
 
 Under these circumstances. General Harri- 
 son was at length constrained to abandon, 
 though with much reluctance, all thought of 
 the contemplated expedition to Maiden, and 
 he prepared to go into winter quarters at the 
 Rapids. He accordingly selected a good po- 
 sition on the south side of the river, which he 
 strongly fortified, and called Camp Meigs, in 
 
 * The General's tent, placed in the centre, happened 
 to be in one of the lowest parts of the encampment, 
 and consequently suffered most from the rain ; but, 
 when entreated by his officers to change its position, he 
 refused to do so, declaring- that it was necessary that 
 every military man should be satisfied with the situa- 
 tion which, in the course of his duty, fell to his lot. 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 131 
 
 honour of the patriotic governor of Ohio. 
 Leaving the army at that station, General 
 Harrison proceeded to Cincinnati, to procure 
 reinforcements of men, and supplies of provi- 
 sions and military stores. 
 
 About this time. General Harrison was ap- 
 pointed major-general in the service of the 
 United States. This appointment had been 
 strangely delayed, although General Harrison 
 had been clothed with such extensive powers ; 
 and the people of the West, fearing that their 
 favourite commander might therefore resign 
 at the close of this campaign, had called pub- 
 lic meetings and sent addresses to the presi- 
 dent, requesting him to give Harrison the 
 appointment of major-general, and urging him 
 to accept it — a demonstration of public feeling 
 which soon produced the desired effect. 
 
 We should here mention, that while engaged 
 in the various and arduous services of this 
 campaign, General Harrison organized several 
 distinct expeditions against the Indian towns, 
 to keep the hostile savages in check, and pro- 
 tect our extended frontier. One of these ex- 
 peditions, consisting of a detachment of six 
 hundred men, under the command of Colonel 
 Campbell, was sent against the towns on the 
 11* 
 
132 LIFE OF 
 
 Mississinevvay, from which our scattering set- 
 tlements had suffered much annoyance. This 
 enterprise was conducted with great skill, and 
 proved signally successful. The principal 
 town was attacked in the most gallant man- 
 ner, and after a desperate action of more than 
 an hour, was carried at the point of the bayo- 
 net. From the general order issued by Har- 
 rison, on the return of this expedition, we 
 make the following extract, which will convey 
 some idea of the humane and generous feel- 
 ings, that have always characterised both his 
 public and private conduct. After awarding 
 these gallant troops the high meed of praise 
 which their bravery had won, he goes on to 
 say — "But the character of this gallant de- 
 tachment, exhibiting as it did, perseverance, 
 fortitude, and bravery, would, however, be 
 incomplete, if, in the midst of victory, they 
 had forgotten the feelings of humanity. It is 
 with the sincerest pleasure that the general 
 has heard, that the most punctual obedience 
 was paid to his orders, in not only saving all 
 the women and children, but in sparing all the 
 warriors who ceased to resist; and that even 
 when vigorously attacked by the enemy, the 
 claims of mercy prevailed over every sense 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 133 
 
 of their own danger, and this heroic band re- 
 spected the lives of their prisoners. Let an 
 account of murdered innocence be opened in 
 the records of heaven against our enemies 
 alone. The American soldier will follow the 
 example of his government ; and the sword of 
 the one will not be raised against the fallen 
 and helpless, nor the gold of the other be paid 
 for the scalps of a mas?acred enemy." What 
 a contrast do these noble sentiments present 
 to the atrocious conduct of the British Gene- 
 ral, Proctor — who, at the cruel massacre at 
 Raisin river, and at the Rapids, basely permit- 
 ted unresisting prisoners of war to be unspar- 
 ingly butchered, by his savage and remorse- 
 less allies. 
 
 CHAPTER VIIT. 
 
 Opening of the second Campaign. — Siege of Fort 
 Meigs. — Its gallant Defence. — Brilliant sortie. — De- 
 feat of Colonel Dudley. — The Siege abandoned. — 
 Second Siege of Fort Meigs. — Attack on Fort Ste- 
 phenson. 
 
 Early in the spring, intelligence was re- 
 ceived that the British were making extensive 
 preparations, and concentrating a large force 
 
134 LIFE OF 
 
 of regular soldiers, Canadians, and Indians, to 
 besiege Fort Meigs. 
 
 On obtaining this information, General Har- 
 rison hastened to his camp, and exerted the 
 most strenuous efforts, to prepare for this 
 threatened attack of the enemy. His presence 
 cheered the troops, and he inspired them with 
 fresh ardour, on the approach of the enemy, 
 by an eloquent address, in which he alluded 
 modestly, but in the most animating manner, 
 to the neighbouring battle-field, where Gene- 
 ral Wayne had gained the brilliant victory of 
 the Maumee Rapids, and where he himself 
 had won the brightest of his earlier laurels. 
 
 At this time, the garrison of Fort Meigs was 
 much reduced in numbers, and the period for 
 which those who still remained had enlisted, 
 was about to expire. General Harrison there- 
 fore looked with great anxiety for the arrival 
 of the strong reinforcement of Kentucky 
 troops, who were approaching with all possi- 
 ble dispatch under General Clay ; but whose 
 march had been greatly impeded by the 
 wretched condition of the roads. 
 
 On the morning of the 28th of April, the 
 scouts brought in intelligence of the near ad- 
 vance of the enemy. And soon after, on that 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 135 
 
 day, the British troops were discovered from 
 the fort, ascending the river in vessels and 
 boats, while the Indians, in strong force, were 
 seen approaching, at the same time, by land. 
 The British disembarked and encamped at the 
 old station on the Maumee, nearly two miles 
 below Fort Meigs ; and on the night after they 
 landed, thev commenced the construction of 
 three powerful batteries, on the north side of 
 the river, directly opposite our camp. 
 
 On the first of May, the batteries of the 
 enemy were completed. But to counteract 
 their effect, during the time they had been 
 employed in erecting them, our troops had 
 thrown up a traverse of earth twelve feet in 
 height, and running across the whole extent 
 of the camp. The construction of this tra- 
 verse, being behind the tents of our camp, had 
 been entirely concealed from the British, but 
 as soon as their batteries began to play, these 
 tents were struck, and to the disappointment 
 of the enemy, our troops were safely with- 
 drawn behind the protection of their new for- 
 tification. A severe fire was now opened from 
 the British works, which was returned, vv'ith 
 equal vigour and more effect, from the fort. 
 Other batteries were likewise erected by the 
 
136 LIFE OF 
 
 enemy, on the southern side of the river, and 
 a heavy cannonading was continued, with 
 scarcely any intermission, for five days. In 
 consequence, however, of the skilful disposi- 
 tions of General Harrison, very little loss was 
 suffered on our side. 
 
 At midnight, on the fourth of May, General 
 Harrison received the welcome intelligence 
 that General Clay with his forces was just 
 above the Rapids, and would arrive at the fort 
 by daybreak of the next morning. Immedi- 
 ately on receiving this information, General 
 Harrison promptly decided to make a bold 
 and vigorous effort to raise the siege, by a 
 simultaneous attack on the enemy's batteries 
 upon both sides of the river. Preparations were 
 at once made for a sortie from the fort, against 
 the British works on the right bank, and an 
 officer was dispatched to General Clay, direct- 
 ing him to land six or eight hundred men about 
 a mile above the fort, on the left bank, with 
 orders to march with great secresy and ra- 
 pidity to the assault of the batteries in that 
 quarter, to carry them by storm, spike the 
 cannon and let down the carriages, and then 
 hasten to their boats and xiross over_ to the 
 camp. The sortie from the fort was attended 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 137 
 
 With great success. The detachment ordered 
 to this service, consisted of three hundred and 
 fifty men, a part of whom were regulars, and 
 the remainder volunteers and Kentucky mili- 
 tia, under the command of Colonel Miller, of 
 the United States' army. These brave troops 
 attacked a body of British regulars and In- 
 dians, of more than double their number ; but 
 the impetuosity of their charge was irresisti- 
 ble, and after a severe struggle, they drove 
 the enemy from the batteries. They spiked 
 the cannon, took a large number of prisoners, 
 and having fully accomplished their object, 
 returned in triumph to the fort. This sortie 
 was one of the most sanguinary and desperate 
 actions fought during the whole war — and its 
 brilliant success was richly merited, by the 
 intrepid gallantry of the brave troops engaged 
 in the enterprise. 
 
 General Clay, after detaching Colonel Dud- 
 ley with eight hundred men, to attack the bat- 
 teries on the left bank, descended the river 
 with his troops in boats ; and though endan- 
 gered by tlie swiftness of the rapids, and 
 strongly opposed by the Indians, he overcame 
 every difficulty, and fought his way, in safoty, 
 to the fort. 
 
138 LIFE OF 
 
 In the mean time Colonel Dudley's detnchment 
 had landed nearly two miles above the enemy's 
 batteries. This movement v^-as so wholly 
 unlocked for, that the attack proved complete- 
 ly successful. The British were taken by sur- 
 prise, and the gallant Kentuckians charging 
 unexpectedly upon them, put them to flight 
 and carried their batteries without the loss of 
 a man. But though the commencement of this 
 enterprise was so well conducted and so sin- 
 gularly fortunate, its result proved far other- 
 wise. When Dudley attacked the batteries, 
 he threw forward a van-guard, consisting of 
 two companies of spies and friendly Indians, 
 under the command of Captain Leslie Combs, 
 whose bravery and intrepidity in the former 
 campaign, as well as the intimate knowledge 
 of the country w^hich he then acquired, had 
 obtained him, though very young, a command 
 over much older officers. Dudley had direct- 
 ed Combs to take possession of the woods skirt- 
 ing the swamp, to prevent the approach of the 
 Indians from that quarter; but in the hurry 
 and excitement of the moment, he omitted to 
 give any directions to retire to the boats after 
 the storming of the batteries. Combs, in com- 
 pliance with his orders, posted his men along 
 
WILUAM HENRY HARRISON. 139 
 
 the edge of the swamp — a position which they 
 had not long occupied, before they were at- 
 tacked by outlying parties of Indians, who, 
 every moment increased in numbers. A re- 
 treat to the boats might still have been effected 
 by the van-guard, with very inconsiderable 
 loss ; but Combs, thinking it necessary, from 
 Dudley's instructions, that he should maintain 
 his position, cheered on his men, who, unaided 
 by any reinforcement, bravely resisted the In- 
 dians for some time. By the sacrifice of this 
 small but intrepid body of men, Dudley might 
 even yet have withdrawn the remainder of his 
 troops without much additional loss; but on 
 hearing the report of the Indian rifles, this gal- 
 lant and high-minded officer, conscious of his 
 omission to give the van-guard the necessary 
 orders to retire to their boats, and hoping to 
 bring them ofl' in safety, hastened at once to 
 their support, leaving Major Shelby with but 
 two companies, in charge of the batteries he 
 had taken. He attacked the Indians with great 
 vigour, and, after a sharp action, succeeded in 
 driving them some distance into the swamp. 
 But, meanwhile, the Indians had been continu- 
 ally crossing over from their main body on tho^ 
 opposite side of the river, until their force had 
 12 
 
140 LIFE OF 
 
 increased to overwhelming numbers; and Dud- 
 ley, after repeatedly driving them back by the 
 impetuous charge of his brave Kentuckians, 
 was at last compelled to retreat. He still 
 hoped, however, to make a successful stand 
 against the enemy at the batteries ; but on ap- 
 proaching them, he found, to his mortification, 
 that they had been retaken by a superior force 
 of British troops, to whom, finding themselves 
 entirely surrounded by the Indians, th^ greater 
 part of his men reluctantly surrendered them- 
 selves. The brave and generous Dudley him- 
 self paid with his life the penalty of his own 
 neglect and thoughtlessness, being killed in this 
 retreat, as were Captain Kilbreath, the second 
 in command to Captain Combs, (who was se- 
 verely wounded), and several other gallant and 
 meritorious officers. Even after the surrender 
 of our troops, the Indians still continued to 
 tomahawk and scalp them without mercy, in 
 the presence of the British commander and his 
 whole army, until the arrival of Tecumthe, 
 who, less savage than Proctor, instantly put a 
 stop to this barbarous massacre. 
 
 About two hundred of the left wing of Dud- 
 ley's detachment escaped to their boats, and 
 succeeded in reaching the fort ; but more than 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 141 
 
 an eighth part of all the men and officers en- 
 gaged in this sanguinary contest were killed, 
 and the remainder were taken prisoners. Thus 
 ended, in signal defeat, an enterprise ably plan- 
 ned, and conducted for a time with great skill 
 and bravery, and which promised such entire 
 success. But it must be evident to every one, 
 that had the instructions given to Dudley been 
 obeyed, this misfortune could not have occur- 
 red, and the day would have been one of un- 
 clouded success and triumph. 
 
 Foiled by the skilful dispositions of Harri- 
 son, and by the battle, or rather succession of 
 battles, fought on the fifth, Proctor was com- 
 pelled to abandon the siege of Fort Meigs — 
 and on the eighth of May, he broke up his 
 camp, and retreated in disappointment and dis- 
 grace. 
 
 Thus terminated the glorious defence of 
 Fort Meigs. Harrison, soon after,' left Gene- 
 ral Clay in command of that important post, 
 and, unwearied in his exertions, proceeded to 
 more difficult and arduous duties, at other ex- 
 posed stations. 
 
 The unceasing efforts of the British, and 
 the restless spirit of Tecumthe, allowed our 
 troops but little time to recover from their se- 
 
142 ' LIFE OF 
 
 vere fatigues. In less than two months after 
 the siege of Fort Meigs had been abandoned, 
 the Indians assembled a formidable body of 
 more than five thousand warriors, under their 
 most noted chiefs, and again invested that for- 
 tress. On receiving this intelligence, General 
 Harrison immediately removed his head-quar- 
 ters to Seneca Town, about nine miles up the 
 Sandusky river, where he constructed a forti- 
 fied camp. From this position the general 
 could fall back for the protection of his prin- 
 cipal depot at Upper Sandusky, should the 
 enemy endeavour to turn his flank and attack 
 that place ; or should the safety of Fort Meigs 
 require it, he could proceed there by an unfre- 
 quented route, and cut his way into the fort 
 with a reinforcement. As soon as the arrival 
 of additional troops should render his force 
 strong enough to cope with that of the enemy 
 in the field, he intended to make a descent 
 upon them from this favourable situation, and 
 raise the siege. The enemy, however, re- 
 mained before Fort Meigs but a few days. On 
 the 28th of July, despairing of success, they 
 again abandoned the siege of this place. The 
 British troops embarked and sailed round to 
 Sandusky Bay, while a large body of their 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 143 
 
 savage allies marched across the swamps of 
 Portage River to co-operate with them in a 
 combined attack on Fort Stephenson, a tem- 
 porary depot at Lower Sandusky. 
 
 At this time the enemy had nearly seven 
 thousand men in the field — two thousand af 
 whom were British regulars and Canadians, 
 and the remainder were warriors of the fiercest 
 Indian tribes. The army under General Har- 
 rison was greatly inferior in numbers, and it 
 became his duty, as a skilful commander, to 
 withdraw his unimportant outposts, to avoid 
 risking unnecessarily the loss of a single sol- 
 dier, and to enable him, by concentrating his 
 forces, to hold the enemy in check, at least, if 
 he should not prove strong enough to give him 
 battle. Fort Stephenson was a temporary and 
 unimportant station, and so commanded by 
 the high ground in its neighbourhood, as to be 
 utterly indefensible against heavy artillery — 
 and such, from their command of the lake, the 
 British could easily transport to its attack. 
 Fully aware of this, from having reconnoitred 
 the ground in person, General Harrison, on 
 learning that this station was about to be as- 
 sailed, thought it proper to withdraw the gar- 
 rison. He accordingly dispatched an order 
 12* 
 
144 LIFE OF 
 
 to Major Croghan, directing him to abandon 
 Fort Stephenson, and repair, if practicable, to 
 head-quarters — which were still at Seneca 
 Town, nine miles distant. This order was 
 not received by Major Croghan until the fol- 
 lowing day — when flying parties of the In- 
 dians had become so numerous round the fort, 
 that, as Croghan himself stated, it was too late 
 to carry the order into execution, and he de- 
 cided on maintaining the place. In conse- 
 quence of this disobedience of orders, Colonel 
 Wells was immediately sent, with a strong es- 
 cort of cavalry, to take command of Fort Ste- 
 phenson, and Croghan was ordered to repair 
 forthwith to head-quarters. But on his arrival 
 there, he made such satisfactory explanations 
 to the commander-in-chief, of the situation of 
 the fort, and of his own respectful intentions, 
 that General Harrison at once reinstated him 
 in his command. He returned to his duties 
 the following morning, and on the same day, 
 July 31st, this station was invested by a force 
 of thirteen hundred British regulars and In- 
 dians. They attacked the fort with great 
 vigour, and repeatedly attempted to take it by 
 assault — but they were each time defeated, and 
 were at length forced to abandon their attempt, 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 145 
 
 and retreat in confusion, having lost, in killed 
 and wounded, nearly as many as the entire 
 number of the gallant spirits who defended 
 the fort. 
 
 This defence of a position, which General 
 Harrison had ordered to be abandoned, and 
 the fact of his not having immediately ad- 
 vanced upon the enemy, were seized upon, 
 with avidity, by the ignorant and malicious 
 among his political opponents, who industri- 
 ously circulated the falsest statements and 
 most perverted misrepresentations, in relation 
 to these occurrences. But fortunately, the plain 
 truth soon became so well known, that Gene- 
 ral Harrison's fair fame suffered no injury from 
 these unfounded calumnies. So many gallant 
 officers as well as honourable and high-mind- 
 ed men bore witness, of their own accord, to 
 the military foresight and wisdom of his mea- 
 sures, that no slander which even the malice 
 of his calumniators could devise, ever dark- 
 ened, for a moment, his unsullied reputation. 
 
 We lay before our readers the following 
 short extracts from an address to the public, 
 relative to this affair, which was voluntarily 
 published by the general, field, and staff-offi- 
 cers, of General Harrison's army. After ex- 
 
146 LIFE OF 
 
 pressing their "regret and surprise, that charges 
 as improper in form as in substance, should 
 have been made against General Harrison, 
 during the recent investment of Lower San- 
 dusky," they go on to say : — " He who believes 
 that with our disposable force, and under the 
 circumstance which then occurred, General 
 Harrison ought to have advanced upon the 
 enemy, must be left to correct his opinion in 
 the school of experience. 
 
 " On a review of the course then adopted, 
 we are decidedly of the opinion, that it was 
 such as was dictated by military wisdom, and 
 by a due regard to our circumstances and to 
 the situation of the enemy. * # * # And 
 with a ready acquiescence, beyond the mere 
 claims of military duty, we are prepared to 
 obey a general, whose measures meet our most 
 deliberate approbation, and merit that of his 
 - country." 
 
 The chivalrous and noble-spirited Croghan, 
 who was one of the signers of the above ad- 
 dress, about the same time published another 
 paper on this subject, dated from Lower San- 
 dusky, in which he says : — " I have, with much 
 regret, seen in some of the public prints such 
 misrepresentations respecting my refusal to 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 147 
 
 evacuate this post, as are calculated not only 
 to injure me in the estimation of military men, 
 but also to excite unfiivourable impressions as 
 to the propriety of General Harrison's conduct 
 relative to this affair. 
 
 " His character as a military man is too 
 well established to need my approbation or 
 support. But his public service entitles him 
 at least to common justice. This affair does 
 not furnish cause of reproach. If public opiiv 
 ion has been lately misled respecting his late 
 conduct, it will require but a moment's cool, 
 dispassionate reflection, to convince them of 
 its propriety. The measures recently adopted 
 hy him, so far from deserving censure, are the 
 clearest proofs of his keen penetration and able 
 generalship.''^ 
 
 We have dwelt on this passage in the life 
 of General Harrison, somewhat longer than 
 is consistent with the brevity and condensed 
 nature of this work — but the political oppo- 
 nents of General Harrison can find so few 
 points in his whole life, that afford them the 
 slightest apology for censure, that they have 
 been driven to pervert and misrepresent an af- 
 fair of so simple a nature as this, and one that, 
 in truth, entitled him, as the gallant Croghan 
 
148 LIFE OF 
 
 justly says, to the highest commendation. We 
 have therefore thought it no more than com- 
 mon justice to him and to our readers, to lay 
 before them this plain exposition of facts. The 
 wisest and best actions are often misunderstood 
 and perverted by the ignorant or mahcious. 
 We trust and believe that the former consti- 
 tute the larger portion of those who have 
 sought to shadow the fair fame of General 
 Harrison ; but w^hile mean and sordid spirits 
 exist, envy and detraction will always pursue 
 exalted merit. Even Washington, the Father 
 of our Country, was intrigued against and ca- 
 lumniated. 
 
 Disappointed in their hope of plunder, and 
 dispirited by the numerous defeats they had 
 sustained, the savage allies of the British had 
 become discontented ; the second siege of 
 Fort Meigs had been abandoned, and gradu- 
 ally the enemy entirely withdrew from our 
 territory, and concentrated their forces at 
 Maiden, their principal stronghold in Upper 
 Canada. It will thus be seen, that the skill 
 with which General Harrison had conducted 
 his defensive operations, the only resource 
 left him in the face of a superior foe, had been 
 eminently successful ; and had not only pro- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 149 
 
 tected our widely extended frontier, but had 
 eventually forced the enemy to retire, morti- 
 fied and humbled by defeat, from our country. 
 During the whole of this interesting cam- 
 paign, the vigilance and the intrepidity of 
 General Harrison, with the bravery of his sol- 
 diers, enabled him to keep a far superior force 
 of the enemy in check, and to protect the 
 wide extent of our exposed frontier. Our 
 forts were ably defended, and our troops gal- 
 lantly repelled every attack of the enemy, 
 except in some few instances, Avhere they 
 were assailed by an overwhelming force. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Harrison advises the construction of a fleet on Lake 
 Erie. — Perry's Victory. — Embarkation of the army. — 
 Invasion of Canada. — Pursuit of the enemy. — Battle 
 of the Thames and capture of the British army. — 
 Close of the campaign. — Resignation of General 
 Harrison. 
 
 The activity and enterprise of General 
 Harrison did not long permit the enemy to 
 rest, after their retreat from our territory. 
 He immediately commenced preparations for 
 
150 LIFE OF / 
 
 carrying the war into their own country, and 
 formed his plan for the capture of Maiden, 
 and the conquest of Upper Canada. 
 
 During the preceding campaign, in his let- 
 tors to the War Department, General Harri- 
 son had repeatedly urged the great import- 
 ance of obtaining command of Lake Erie, 
 and the immediate necessity for creating a 
 navy for that purpose. In one of his commu- 
 nications he remarks — " Should our ofiensive 
 operations be suspended until spring, it is my 
 decided opinion that the cheapest and most 
 effectual plan will be to obtain command of 
 Lake Erie. This being once effected, every 
 difficulty will be removed. An army of four 
 thousand men landed on the north side of the 
 lake, below Maiden, will soon reduce that 
 place, re-take Detroit, and, with the aid of the 
 fleet, proceed down the lake to co-operate 
 with the army from Niagara." In several 
 subsequent letters, he again strenuously urged 
 this plan, until the government at length became 
 convinced of the injportance of the measure, 
 and determined upon its adoption. At that 
 lime we were not in possession of a single 
 armed vessel above the falls of the Niagara. 
 It was now, however, resolved to proceed 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 151 
 
 vigorously to the forming a fleet on Lake 
 Erie, and the gallant Perry was sent to super- 
 intend its building, and to take the connmand. 
 No effort of activity or skill was spared to 
 hurry the completion and equipment of the 
 vessels; and early in August, Commodore 
 Perry had the satisfaction of finding that he 
 had a fleet fitted for sea and ready for action, 
 nearly equal in force to that of the enemy. 
 
 On the 2d of August, he commenced get- 
 ting his heavier vessels over the bar at the 
 mouth of the harbour at Erie. On the 5th, 
 he sailed for Sandusky Bay. On his arrival 
 there, he sent a dispatch to General Harrison 
 at head-quarters, to obtain a company of sol- 
 diers to act as marines. The general visited 
 the fleet accompanied by several of his 
 officers, and sent on board a picked detach- 
 ment of nearly a hundred and fifty men. 
 Commodore Perry then sailed for Maiden, and 
 used every endeavour to bring the British 
 fleet to an engagement. His attempts, for 
 some time, proved ineffectual ; but at last he 
 had the good fortune to meet them, on the 
 10th of September, and fought that celebrated 
 battle, in which, after a severely-contested 
 action, he succeeded in gaining a brilliant 
 13 
 
152 LIFE OF 
 
 victory and capturing the entire fleet of the 
 enemy. Perry immediately dispatched a 
 messeno-er to General Harrison, with the 
 following brief but very acceptable note. 
 
 « U. S. Brig Niagara, Sejit lOth, 1813. 
 
 Dear General : — 
 We have met \he enemy and they are 
 ours — two ships, two brigs, one schooner and 
 a sloop. 
 
 Yours with great respect and esteem. 
 
 Oliver Hazard Perry." 
 
 By a happy coincidence, this glorious event 
 occurred just about the time when General 
 Harrison had matured his plans for the inva- 
 sion of Canada. On the 27th of September, 
 the troops embarked at Sandusky Bay, and 
 advanced towards Maiden, expecting to find 
 the British and Indians encamped there in full 
 force. But upon landing on the Canada shore, 
 they found that Proctor, disheartened by his 
 recent defeats, had abandoned that stronghold, 
 after having destroyed the fort and navy-yard, 
 and had retreated v/ith his regulars and savage 
 allies to Sandwich. This retreat was in op- 
 position to the counsel of Tecumthe, who ad- 
 
WILLIAM HEi\RY HARRISON. 153 
 
 vised Proctor to remain protected by his for- 
 tifications, and fight our troops as they landed. 
 But the guilty fears of Proctor would not 
 suffer him to accede to this more judicious as 
 well as gallant counsel of his savage ally. 
 Our army encamped at Maiden, having at 
 last driven the enemy from their head-quar- 
 ters, and gained possession of that fortress, 
 from which had issued, for years past, those 
 ruthless bands of savages, which had swept 
 so fiercely over our extended frontier, leaving 
 death and destruction only in their path. 
 
 The army advanced rapidly in pursuit of 
 the enemy, who had retreated up the river 
 Thames, to the Moravian Town — a place 
 which is destined to be remembered as the 
 battle-ground of one of the most remarkable 
 and decisive actions fought during the war. 
 
 On the evening of the 4lh of October, our 
 troops encamped a few miles above the forks 
 of the river; near which place after a slight 
 skirmish with a flying party of Indians, they 
 gained possession of a large quantity of mili- 
 tary stores and munitions of war, which the 
 enemy had abandoned in their precipitate re- 
 treat. A still larger amount had been de- 
 stroyed, to prevent their falling into our hands. 
 
154 LIFE OF 
 
 A breastwork was then thrown up around the 
 encampment, which proved to have been a 
 necessary precaution ; as, during that night, 
 General Proctor and Tecumthe came down 
 the river and reconnoitred our position, with 
 the intention of making an attack before day; 
 but on seeing its strength, and the care taken 
 to guard against surprise, they were discou- 
 raged and abandoned their scheme. 
 
 On the morning of the 5th, the troops were 
 under arms at an early hour, and as the day 
 dawned, the army v/as put in motion. The 
 mounted regiment, with general Harrison and 
 his staff at their head, led the van ; and the 
 infantry followed as expeditiously as possible, 
 under the command of Governor Shelby of 
 Kentucky, a time-honoured and distinguished 
 veteran of the revolution. By nine o*clock, 
 the advance reached a mill, near which there 
 is a rapid in the river, where it is practicable 
 to ford it on horseback ; and at this place 
 General Harrison intended to cross, that he 
 might reach the enemy, who were known to 
 be on the north side. Two gunboats and 
 several batteaux laden with military stores 
 and munitions of war, together with several pri- 
 soners, had already been captured that morning, 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 155 
 
 and at the mill a lieutenant and eight privates 
 were taken, from whom information was re- 
 ceived that the enemy had determined to give 
 us battle at no great distance from that place. 
 The infantry soon came up with the mounted 
 men, and the passage of the river was effected 
 by twelve o'clock. Each horseman took up 
 one of the infantry behind him, and the re- 
 mainder crovssed in canoes. As soon as all 
 the troops were over, the line of march was 
 resumed in the former order. At every place 
 where the road touched a bend of the river, 
 boats and canoes Vv^ere found, with military 
 stores, clothing and provisions which the 
 enemy had abandoned in their precipitate 
 retreat. After advancing about eight miles, 
 an encampment was discovered, which Colo- 
 nel Warburton had occupied the night before 
 with a part of the British troops ; and it was 
 ascertained that General Proctor had reached 
 the Moravian Town, four miles from this 
 place, with a detachment on the preceding 
 day. As it was now certain that the enemy 
 were nearly overtaken, the general directed 
 the advance of the mounted regiment to 
 hasten their march, with a view to procure 
 the necessary information for regulatint^ the 
 13* ^ 
 
156 LIFE OF • 
 
 movements of the main body. When they 
 had proceeded about two miles, they captured 
 a British wagoner, who informed them that 
 the enemy were lying in order of battle, only 
 about three hundred yards before them, wait- 
 ing for the arrival of our army. Our scouts 
 confirmed the report of the wagoner, and the 
 troops were halted and formed in order of 
 battle. 
 
 General Proctor, having had his choice of 
 ground, occupied a strong position, well se- 
 lected to resist the progress of our army. It 
 was flanked on the left by the river Thames, 
 and supported by artillery, and on the right, 
 by tw^o extensive swamps, running nearly 
 parallel to the river and occupied by a strong 
 body of Indians. The British regulars were 
 formed in open order, in two extended lines. 
 The Indians were commanded by Tecumthe 
 in person. Their left flank was posted on the 
 isthmus between the two swamps, and their 
 right extended a considerable distance down 
 the principal marsh. 
 
 General Harrison drew up one division of 
 his infantry in a double line reaching from 
 the river to the swamp, opposite to Proctor's 
 troops, and the other division at right angles 
 
WILLIAiM HENRY HARRISON. 157 
 
 to the first, with its front extending along the 
 swamp, with a view of preventing the Indians 
 from turning his left flank and attacking him 
 in the rear. Johnson's mounted regiment was 
 placed in front of the infantry. 
 
 The American army advanced in order 
 of battle, and the reconnoitring parties soon 
 brought in exact intelligence of the disposi- 
 tions Proctor had made. Harrison, with the 
 rapid decision of an able general, saw at once 
 the egregious error of his opponent in forming 
 his regular soldiers in extended line, and in- 
 stantly took advantage of it. Aware that 
 troops formed in open order could not resist 
 a vigorous charge of cavalry, he immediately 
 ordered Colonel Johnson to form his regiment 
 of mounted men, and dash through the ene- 
 my's line, in close column. This charge was 
 rapidly made, and with the most brilliant suc- 
 cess. The extended and weakened line of the 
 enemy could ofl^er but a feeble resistance to 
 the charge of these gallant troops, who dashed 
 through their ranks, with overwhelming im- 
 petuosity, and wheeling to the right and left, 
 began to pour in a destructive fire upon their 
 rear. Thrown into confusion and disheart 
 ened by this bold and unexpected manoeuvre, 
 
158 LIFE OF 
 
 and panic-struck at being assailed both in 
 front and rear, the British threw down their 
 arms in dismay, and surrendered at discre- 
 tion. The whole army was captured, with 
 the exception of a few stragglers only, who 
 escaped by an early flight with the cowardly 
 Proctor. 
 
 The contest with the Indians on the left, 
 was maintained with more obstinacy. They 
 waited until our columns had advanced within 
 a few paces of their concealed position, when 
 they commenced a heavy fire which cut down 
 nearly the whole of our advanced guard. 
 Their fire was warmly returned by our 
 troops, who formed in line, and for a while 
 a warm conflict was sustained with severe 
 execution on both sides. But the Indians 
 were finally driven from their coverts by a 
 vigorous charge, and forced to retreat into 
 the outer swamp — not however, until they 
 had heard of the entire discomfiture of their 
 allies, and that their leader, Tecumihe, had 
 been slain. The death of this high-spirited and 
 distinguished chief, who possessed to an un- 
 usual degree all the nobler qualities of the 
 savage warrior in his better days, destroyed 
 the strength of the northern tribes of Indians 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 159 
 
 by breaking that bond of union, which his 
 personal influence alone had created, and 
 which therefore terminated with his exist- 
 ence, never again to be renewed to so for- 
 midable an extent. 
 
 This decisive and important battle was thus 
 fought and won, in a space of time almost 
 incredibly short, and with a very trifling loss 
 only on our side. All the baggage of the 
 enemy, and their valuable military stores and 
 munitions of war, together with the official 
 papers of Proctor, fell into our hands; and 
 several pieces of brass cannon, which had 
 been taken from the British in our revolu- 
 tionary victories at Saratoga and Yorktown, 
 but which Hull had shamefully surrendered at 
 Detroit, were again captured from our ancient 
 foe. 
 
 The united force of the British regulars and 
 Indians engaged in this battle, amounted to 
 more than 2800. The number of our troops 
 was less than 2500 ; and these were principally 
 militia and volunteers. The venerable Gover- 
 nor Shelby commanded the Kentucky volun- 
 teers in this battle, and General Cass, our pre- 
 sent Minister to France, and the heroic Perry, 
 acted as volunteer aids to General Harrison. 
 
160 LIFE OF 
 
 This brilliant victory, following up the capture 
 of their fleet on Lake Erie by the gallant Per- 
 ry, entirely destroyed the force of the enemy 
 in Upper Canada, and put an end to the war 
 on our north-western frontier. 
 
 Upon this, as well as former expeditions,' 
 General Harrison adopted a rule, on all occa- 
 sions, to favour himself in nothing, but to share 
 equally with the common soldiers the fatigues 
 and hardships of the campaign. A small va- 
 hse contained all his baggage, except his bed- 
 ding, which consisted of a single blanket only, 
 fastened over his saddle ; and even this he 
 gave to Colonel Evans, a British oflicer, who 
 was wounded and taken prisoner in this bat- 
 tle. Thirty- five British officers, prisoners of 
 war, supped with General Harrison on the 
 night after the battle, and all the fare he had 
 it in his power to offer them w^as fresh beef, 
 plainly roasted before a camp fire, without 
 either bread or salt. This had been the food 
 of the army during the expedition, and the ra- 
 tions of the General were always precisely 
 those of the soldiers. On every occasion, in- 
 deed, he made it a point to set an example of 
 fortitude and patience to his men, and to share 
 with them every hardship, difficulty, and dan- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 161 
 
 ger. Whether encamped or marching, the 
 whole army was regularly under arms at day- 
 break ; and, however severe the weather, he 
 never failed to be present, and, indeed, was 
 generally the first officer on horseback in the 
 whole army. 
 
 On receiving the glorious news of the vic- 
 tory of the Thames, the thanks of Congress 
 were expressed to General Harrison in the 
 warmest manner — and President Madison in 
 his message, dated on the 7th of the following 
 December, declared that " the officer com- 
 manding the North-western army had forced 
 the enemy to a general action, which termi- 
 nated in the capture of the British and disper- 
 sion of the savage force — a result signally hon- 
 ourable to Major- General Harrison ^ by whose 
 military talents it was performed.''^ 
 
 Among many others, whose grateful feelings 
 found utterance on this occasion, the Hon. 
 Langdon Cheves observed, on the floor of Con- 
 gress, that — " The victory of Harrison was 
 such as would have secured to a Roman gene- 
 ral, in the best days of the Republic, the hon- 
 ours of a triumph." A sentiment which was 
 fully responded to in the complimentary no- 
 tices which he received from every part of the 
 
162 LIFE OF 
 
 union. Simon Snyder, who was then Gover- 
 nor of Pennsylvania, and the idol of the de- 
 mocracy of that state, said in his address to 
 the Legislature, on this occasion, " The bless- 
 ings of thousands of women and children res- 
 cued from the scalping-knife of the ruthless sav- 
 age of the wilderness, and from the still more 
 savage Proctor, rest on Harrison and his gal- 
 lant army.^^ But the feelings that prompted 
 these expressions were not confined to those 
 individuals, who, from their station, were more 
 particularly called upon to notice the events 
 of the war — they appeared rather to exist uni- 
 versally throughout the country. 
 
 Our army continued to occupy the battle- 
 ground for two days, employed in burying the 
 dead and collecting the public property of the 
 enemy, of which a large quantity was found 
 at different places. In addition to the artillery 
 already mentioned, and a great variety of mil- 
 itary stores, more than 5000 stand of small- 
 arms v/ere captured by our troops or destroy- 
 ed by the enemy during this expedition. A 
 large number of the latter had been taken from 
 us at the surrender of Detroit, at the massa- 
 cre of the River Raisin, and at Dudley's de- 
 feat; and their recapture was therefore pecu- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 163 
 
 Iiarly grateful to our troops, and more espe- 
 cially to the warm-hearted Kentuckians, many 
 of whom joyfully recognized among the spoils 
 the favourite weapons of their old comrades 
 and less fortunate fellow-soldiers. 
 
 On the 7th of October, the different corps 
 of our armv commenced their return home, 
 having first embarked the greater part of the 
 property they had captured in boats on the 
 Thames, and set fire to the Moravian Town, 
 a small village occupied chiefly by Delaware 
 Indians, who professed to be of the Moravian 
 sect of religion. On the 10th, all the troops 
 arrived with their prisoners at Sandwich. 
 
 In the mean time General -Harrison had con- 
 cluded an armistice with the Indians. A depu- 
 tation of the Ottawas and Chippewas had sued 
 for peace, which the general granted on con- 
 dition that they should give up their alliance 
 with the British, and openly declare in favour 
 of the United States, and that they should 
 bring in their families as hostages for their 
 good behaviour. The Miamies and the Pot- 
 tawatomies, who had been our fiercest oppo- 
 nents, likewise solicited a cessation of hos- 
 tilities, on the same conditions, and agreed to 
 deliver up all their prisoners at Fort Wayne. 
 14 
 
164^ LIFE OF 
 
 Disheartened by our victories on Lake Erie, 
 and at the Thames, and separated from the 
 allies who had given them all their supplies, 
 they were now glad to accept our friendship 
 on any terms that would save them from ex- 
 termination by famine or the sword. 
 
 Having thus entirely defeated the British 
 and subdued the Indians in Upper Canada, 
 General Harrison advanced with a part of his 
 army to the Niagara frontier, and thence to 
 Sackett's Harbour where he left the troops, 
 and proceeded to the seat of government. On 
 his way thither, he passed through New York 
 and Philadelphia ; in which cities he was re- 
 ceived, by the whole population, with the most 
 flattering marks of public honour and distinc- 
 tion. After the necessary delay of a few days 
 at Washington, General Harrison proceeded 
 to Ohio, where important duties required hi 
 presence. 
 
 In the plan for the ensuing campaign, to 
 the surprise and regret of the pubhc, Genera 
 Harrison was designated for a service, far 
 inferior to that w^hich he had a right to ex- 
 pect. Regardless of the memorable victories 
 which this gallant and experienced officer 
 had won, and unmindful of the various and 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 165 
 
 important services wliich he had rendered to 
 his country, the Secretary of War, the noto- 
 rious John Armstrong, saw fit to assign to 
 him the command of a district, where he 
 would be compelled to remain inactive, while 
 others were appointed to those more arduous 
 duties, which he had heretofore fulfilled with 
 so much honour to himself, and to the nation. 
 As if still unsatisfied with this egregious insult 
 which he had ofl^ered to General Harrison, 
 the Secretary of War, on the 25th of April, 
 1814, appointed a subordinate officer to a 
 separate command within his district, and 
 notified him to that effect. On the receipt of 
 this notification. General Harrison instantly 
 sent in his resignation to the Secretary of 
 War, and at the same time addressed a letter 
 on the subject to President Madison, couched 
 in such simple yet manly language, and ex- 
 pressive of such noble sentiments, that we 
 cannot refrain from quoting it. 
 
 " I have this day," said General Harrison, 
 "forwarded to the Secretary of War my 
 resignation of the commission I hold in the 
 army. 
 
 " This measure has not been determined on, 
 without a reference to all the reasons which 
 
166 LIFE OF 
 
 should influence a citizen who is sincerely- 
 attached to the honour and interests of his 
 country, who believes that the war in which 
 we are engaged is just and necessary ; and 
 that the crisis requires the sacrifice of every 
 private consideration, which could stand in 
 opposition to the public good. But after giv- 
 ing this subject a most niature consideration, 
 I am perfectly convinced that my retiring 
 from the army is as compatible with the 
 claims of patriotism, as it is with those of my 
 family, and a proper regard for my own feel- 
 ings and honour. 
 
 "I have no other motive for writing this 
 letter, than to assure you, that my resignation 
 was not produced by any diminution of the 
 interest which I have always taken in the 
 success of your administration, or of respect 
 and attachment for your person. The for- 
 mer can only take place when I forget the 
 republican principles in which I have been 
 educated, and the latter, when I shall cease to 
 regard those feelings which must actuate 
 every honest man, who is conscious of fa- 
 ' vours that it is out of his power to repay." 
 As soon as Governor Shelby heard of the 
 resignation of General Harrison, he lost no 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 167 
 
 time in addressing the president in his usual 
 forcible terms, to prevent its being accept- 
 ed ; but unfortunately for the public interests, 
 the president was then on a visit to Virginia, 
 to which place the letters from General Har- 
 rison and Governor Shelby were forwarded, 
 and that of the latter was not received until 
 after Secretary Armstrong, without the pre- 
 vious conseiit of the president, had assumed to 
 himself the high prerogative of accepting the 
 resignation. The president expressed his 
 great regret that the letter of Governor 
 Shelby had not been received earlier, as in 
 that case the valuable services of General 
 Harrison would have been preserved to the 
 nation in the ensuing campaign. 
 
 In this resignation, General Harrison dis- 
 played the true patriotism and disinterested- 
 ness, which have always marked his conduct. 
 He would cheerfully have devoted his ser- 
 vices to his country, even in an appointment 
 inferior to that which should have been as- 
 signed to him ; but he was too high-principled 
 to retain his rank, by yielding assent to a 
 measure, which he considered to be subver- 
 sive of military order and discipline; and 
 though his own fortune had been shattered by 
 14* 
 
168 LIFE OF 
 
 the neglect of his private affairs, for the bene- 
 fit of the pubHc, and it would therefore have 
 been exceedingly convenient to have retained 
 the rank and pay of a major general ; yet he 
 scorned to receive the emoluments of his 
 office, when he was no longer permitted to 
 perform its duties actively and honourably. 
 
 It would be difficult at this period, to trace 
 out the true motives that induced the Secre- 
 tary of War to the unjustifiable course he 
 pursued in this affair. But some knowledge 
 of those events of the war in which he bore a 
 part, with a little insight into human nature, 
 would suggest that the leading causes which 
 prompted him, were the envy and jealousy, 
 which a narrow-minded man would naturally 
 feel, on contrasting his own feeble efforts, and 
 abortive attempts, with the consummate skill, 
 the brilliant victories, and the almost uniform 
 successes of another. That he had acted in 
 an arbitrary and unwarrantable manner, was 
 afterwards clearly proved. — And in the inves- 
 tigation which took place in Congress in the 
 winter of 1816-17, it became so evident that 
 General Harrison had been treated with great 
 injustice by the war department, that a reso- 
 lution, giving him a gold medal and the thanks 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 169 
 
 of Congress, was passed, with but one dissent- 
 ing voice in both houses of Congress. 
 
 The leading events in the campaign of 
 1812-13, — the gallant defence of Fort Meigs, 
 and the decisive victory of the Thamies, are 
 lasting memorials of General Harrison's mili- 
 tary genius. Yet, for those isolated actions, 
 he deserves far less praise than for the skilful 
 operations and the Fabian policy, which led 
 to these and other successes. The prudent 
 care and indefatigable exertions, by which he 
 provided for his army in a wild and almost 
 impassable country — the promptness and un- 
 wearied activity, with which he met and de- 
 feated the schemes of his antagonists — and 
 the admirable skill, with which he held in 
 check an enemy far superior in numbers, and 
 with a small force protected an extended line 
 of frontier, and guarded the lives and property 
 of thousands of his fellow-citizens, betokened 
 a genius of the highest order, with a vigorous 
 mind constantly on the alert. 
 
170 LIFE OF 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Appointment of General Harrison as Commissioner to 
 treat with the Indians. — His election to Congress. — 
 Is chosen a Senator oi" the State Legislature. — Hia 
 election to the Senate of the United States. — Is ap- 
 pointed Minister to Colombia. — His Letter to Bolivar. 
 — His recall. — His personal appearance and private 
 Character. — His Letter to Harmar Denny. 
 
 Soon after the resignation of General Har- 
 rison, in the summer of 1814, President Madi- 
 son evinced an unabated confidence in his 
 abilities and integrity by appointing him to 
 treat with the Indians, in conjunction with his 
 old companions in arms. Governor Shelby and 
 General Cass. In the following year, he was 
 placed at the head of another commission, 
 appointed to treat with the north-western tribes. 
 The honourable and advantageous treaties 
 made in both these cases, afforded new in- 
 stances of the unfailing success, that has al- 
 ways attended General Harrison's negotia- 
 tions with the Indians. 
 
 In 1816, he was elected, by a large majo- 
 rity, a member of the House of Representa- 
 tives in Congress, from Ohio. 
 
 A short time prior to this election, certain 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 171 
 
 malicious and defamatory reports had been 
 widely circulated against General Harrison. 
 His brilliant career, his remarkable popularity, 
 and his almost invariable success had natu- 
 rally excited the envy and jealousy of many 
 of those with whom he had been necessarily 
 associated, and whose ignorance and incom- 
 petency had been rendered more conspicuous, 
 in contrast with the singular skill and ability 
 evinced by him. In addition to this, he had 
 incurred the bitter enmity of certain army- 
 contractors, whose fraudulent designs had 
 been detected and foiled by his careful vigi- 
 lance. Disappointed and mortified by the dis- 
 grace of this detection and exposure, these 
 persons had endeavoured to avenge themselves 
 by spreading abroad reports that General 
 Harrison, while in command of the army, had 
 been partial, unjust, and otherwise improper 
 in his conduct, in relation to the commissariat 
 department. Conscious of his integrity. Ge- 
 neral Harrison, soon after he had taken his 
 seat in the House, demanded an investigation 
 by Congress of these calumnious reports ; and, 
 in compliance with his request, a committee 
 of seven was appointed for that purpose. This 
 committee, after a thorough and minute ex- 
 
172 LIFE Of 
 
 amination of every thing relating to the sub- 
 ject, unanimously reported through their chair- 
 man Richard M. Johnson, (now Vice-Presi- 
 dent of the United States,) that the charges 
 against General Harrison were false and un- 
 founded, — that he ^^ stood above suspicion,^^ 
 and " that he was, in his measures, governed 
 solely hy a proper zeal and devotion to the pub- 
 lic interest,^' 
 
 The result of this investigation silenced 
 these calumnies, and exposed to the world the 
 malicious motives of those who had invented 
 and circulated them. It likewise satisfied Con- 
 gress that great injustice had been done to 
 General Harrison by the War Department; 
 and as a proof of their high estimation of his 
 character and their just appreciation of his 
 services, a resolution, giving him a gold medal 
 and the thanks of Congress, was soon after 
 passed by the Senate unanimously, and by the 
 House with but one dissenting vote. 
 
 During the following session, there occurred 
 in the House of Representatives the interest- 
 ing and celebrated debate on the conduct of 
 General Jackson in the Seminole war — on 
 which occasion. General Harrison delivered 
 an able and eloquent speech. He praised 
 General Jackson for his gallantry ; defended 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 173 
 
 such of his acts as he thought right, and gave 
 him credit for patriotic motives ; but he voted 
 in favour of the resolution to censure him for 
 the unwarrantable power he had assumed in 
 taking possession of the Spanish posts. This 
 speech and vote v^ere never forgiven by Ge- 
 neral Jackson. 
 
 General Harrison continued to serve in the 
 House of Representatives of the United States, 
 greatly to his own honour and to the satisfac- 
 tion of his constituents, until 1819; when, on 
 the expiration of his term of service, he was 
 elected to the Senate of Ohio. 
 
 At the ensuing session of the Legislature of 
 that State, the criminal law of Ohio was re- 
 vised and amended. Among other enact- 
 ments for this purpose, a bill was at that time 
 passed, declaring that all convicts, who had 
 been guilty of larcenies to the amount of fifty 
 dollars and upwards, should be subjected to 
 punishment in the penitentiary. There then 
 remained the difficult task of framing a suita- 
 ble law for the punishment of convicts for 
 thefts below fifty dollars. Public whipping 
 was proposed and strongly urged as a proper 
 mode of punishing this numerous class of 
 criminals ; but from motives of humanity, the 
 
174 LIFE OF 
 
 House of Representatives, after mucn debate, 
 at length adopted fine and imprisonment as a 
 more suitable punishment for such convicts ; 
 and a clause was added to this bill, enacting 
 that vvhen they could not pay their fines and 
 costs, their services, for a limited time, should 
 be sold out to any per^n who would pay 
 these fines and costs for them. In this form 
 the bill passed the House of Representatives 
 by an almost unanimous vote; and when it 
 was sent to the Senate, for their concurrence, 
 General. Harrison voted for it, as he expressly 
 stated, as a substitute for the barbarous prac- 
 tice of public whipping, and " as the most hu- 
 mane and suitable mode of dealing with that 
 class of convicts." This bill, it must be re- 
 membered, applied only to convicted criminals. 
 Yet out of this plain and simple matter, which 
 is in truth but a new illustration of General 
 Harrison's characteristic benevolence and hu- 
 manity, his reckless opponents hax^encoined 
 the base falsehood of his havina: voted to sell 
 white men into slavery for mere debt. To 
 those who know General Harrison, a contra- 
 diction of this ridiculous slander would be 
 wholly unnecessary ; and to those who do not, 
 or who are not disposed to do him justice, we 
 fortunately have it in our power to quote his 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 175 
 
 own words on this point from a letter written 
 by himself during this very year, 1820, in 
 which he says — " So far from advocating this 
 abominable proposition, I think that imprison- 
 ment for debt, under any circumstances but 
 those where fraud is alleged, is at war with 
 the best principles of our Constitution, and 
 ought to be abolished." Such are the just and 
 honourable sentiments of General Harrison on 
 this subject. But his pure and spotless life, his 
 unblemished honour and integrity, and the 
 faithfulness and ability with which he has ful- 
 filled the duties of the many high offices with 
 which he has been entrusted, have left his op- 
 ponents no other weapons against him but 
 those to which they now so unblushingly re- 
 sort — contemptible misrepresentations or slan- 
 derous falsehoods. 
 
 In 1824, General Harrison was elected a 
 Senator of the United States ; and soon after 
 taking his seat was appointed Chairman of the 
 Military Committee, in place of General Jack- 
 son, who had resigned. While serving in this 
 high station, he commanded universal respect 
 His views, as a statesman, were liberal and ex- 
 tended, — his remarkable readiness in debate 
 soon rendered him a prominent member, — 
 15 
 
176 LIFE OF 
 
 and the nervous and impassioned eloquence, 
 and classical felicity of illustration, with which 
 he enforced his arguments, gained him much 
 influence. 
 
 As Chairman of the Military Committee, 
 General Harrison introduced a bill for the 
 prevention of desertion in the army. This 
 object, with his customary and generous hu- 
 manity, he proposed to effect, not by increas- 
 ing the punishment, but by raising the moral 
 character of the army ; by elevating the grade 
 of the non-commissioned officer; by increas- 
 ing his pay and responsibility ; and by hold- 
 ing out additional inducements to the common 
 soldier to perform his duty faithfully. He 
 likewise devoted himself warmly to the sub- 
 ject of military pensions ; and endeavoured 
 to procure the passage of a uniform law em- 
 bracing the cases of all those who then were, 
 or who should be deserving of that species of 
 honourable reward and justice from their 
 country. His efforts, on this occasion, in fa- 
 vour of the surviving soldiers of the revolu- 
 tion, will not soon be forgotten by the de- 
 scendants of those heroes. 
 
 In 1828, General Harrison was appointed 
 by President Adams, envoy extraordinary and 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 177 
 
 minister plenipotentiary to the Republic of Co- 
 lombia. He accepted this appointment, and 
 proceeding immediately upon his mission, land- 
 ed at Maracaybo on the 22d of December, in 
 that year, and thence repaired to Bogota, the 
 capital of Colombia. He was received with 
 the most flattering demonstrations of respect ; 
 but his liberal ideas, his stern integrity, and 
 the plain republican simplicity of his dress and 
 manners, were too strongly in contrast with 
 the arbitrary opinions, and the ostentatious 
 display of the Court at Bogota, to permit him 
 long to remain a favourite with the public offi- 
 cers and the courtiers of the Colombian Go- 
 vernment. They soon began to fear that the 
 people would perceive the difference between 
 a real and a pretended patriot, and that a com- 
 parison so disadvantageous to themselves 
 might perhaps seriously interfere v^^ith their 
 grasping ambition for the future. But though 
 too honest and pure-minded to be a favourite 
 at this court, General Harrison's intelligence, 
 his strict attention to the duties of his office, 
 and his manly and gallant bearing commanded 
 universal respect. 
 
 The Republic of Colombia was at that time 
 in a very deplorable condition; the people 
 
178 LIFE OF 
 
 were ignorant of their rights, and almost in a 
 state of anarchy ; and Bolivar was apparently 
 about to assume the despotic power of a mili- 
 tary dictator. Shocked at this state of things, 
 General Harrison, with the frankness of an 
 old soldier, wrote his celebrated letter to Boli- 
 var, not in his diplomatic capacity, but as a 
 personal friend, and addressed him in a strain 
 of noble and thrilling eloquence which has 
 rarely been equalled. So chaste and vigorous 
 is the language of this letter, and so deeply is 
 it imbued with the purest and most exalted 
 sentiments of republican freedom, that, limited 
 as our space is, we cannot refrain from giving 
 it to our readers entire. 
 
 " Bogota, 27th September, 1829. 
 Sir: — 
 If there is any thing in the style, the mat- 
 ter, or the object, of this letter, which is cal- 
 culated to give offence to your Excellency, I 
 am persuaded you will readily forgive it, 
 when you reflect on the motives which in- 
 duced me to write it. An old soldier could 
 possess no feelings but those of the kindest 
 character, towards one who has shed so much 
 lustre on the profession of arms ; nor can a 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 179 
 
 citizen of the country of Washington cease 
 to wish that, in Bolivar, the world might be- 
 hold another instance of the highest military 
 attainments united with the purest patriotism, 
 and the greatest capacity for civil govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Such, sir, have been the fond hopes, not 
 only of the people of the United States, but 
 of the friends of liberty throughout the world. 
 I will not say that your Excellency has formed 
 projects to defeat these hopes. But there is 
 no doubt, that they have not only been formed, 
 but are, at this moment, in progress to matu- 
 rity, and openly avowed by those who possess 
 your entire confidence. I will not attribute to 
 these men impure motives ; but can they be 
 disinterested advisers? Are they not the very 
 persons who will gain most by the proposed 
 change ? — who will, indeed, gain all that is to 
 be gained, without furnishing any part of the 
 equivalent ? That thaty the price of their fu- 
 ture weahh and honours, is to be furnished 
 exclusively by yourself? And of what does 
 it consist? Your great character. Such a 
 one, that, if a man were wise, and possessed 
 of the empire of the Caesars in its best days, 
 he would give all to obtain. Are you pra- 
 15* 
 
180 LIFE OF 
 
 pared to make this sacrifice, for such an ob- 
 ject? 
 
 I am persuaded that those who advocate 
 these measures, have never dared to induce 
 you to adopt them, by any argument founded 
 on your personal interests ; and that, to suc- 
 ceed, it would be necessary to convince you 
 that no other course remained, to save the 
 country from the evils of anarchy. This is 
 the question, then, to be examined. 
 
 Does the history of this country, since the 
 adoption of the constitution, really exhibit un- 
 equivocal evidence that the people are unfit to 
 be free ? Is the exploded opinion of a Euro- 
 pean philosopher, of the last age, that " in the 
 new hemisphere, man is a degraded being," 
 to be renewed, and supported by the example 
 of Colombia ? The proofs should, indeed, be 
 strong, to induce an American to adopt an 
 opinion so humiliating. 
 
 Feeling always a deep interest in the suc- 
 cess of the revolutions in the late Spanish 
 America, I have never been an inattentive ob- 
 server of events pending, and posterior to the 
 achievement of its independence. In these 
 events, I search in vain for a single fact to 
 show that, in Colombia at least, the state of 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 181 
 
 society is unsuited to the adoption of a free 
 government. Will it be said that a free go- 
 vernment did exist, but, being found inade- 
 quate to the objects for which it had been in- 
 stituted, it has been superseded by one of a 
 different character, with the concurrence of a 
 majority of the people 1 
 
 It is the most difficult thing in the world 
 for me to believe that a people in the posses- 
 sion of their rights as freemen, would ever be 
 willing to surrender them, and submit them- 
 selves to the will of a master. If any such 
 instances are on record, the power thus trans- 
 ferred has been in a moment of extreme pub- 
 lic danger, and then limited to a very short 
 period. I do not think that it is by any means 
 certain, that the majority of the French peo- 
 ple favoured the elevation of Napoleon to the 
 throne of France. But, if it were so, how 
 different were the circumstances of that coun- 
 try from those of Colombia, when the consti- 
 tution of Cucuta was overthrown ! At the 
 period of the elevation o( Napoleon to the 
 first consulate, all the powers of Europe were 
 the open or secret enemies of France — civil 
 war raged within her borders ; the hereditary 
 king possessed many partisans in every pro- 
 
182 • LIFE OF 
 
 vince ; the people, continually betrayed by the 
 factions which murdered and succeeded each 
 other, had imbibed a portion of their ferocity, 
 and every town and village witnessed the in- 
 discriminate slaughter of both men and wo- 
 men, of all parties and principles. Does the 
 history of Colombia, since the expulsion of 
 the Spaniards, present any parallel to these 
 scenes 1 Her frontiers have been never seri- 
 ously menaced — no civil war raged — not a 
 partisan of the former government was to be 
 found in the whole extent of her territory — 
 no factions contended with each other for the 
 possession of power; the executive govern- 
 ment remained in the hands of those to whom 
 it had been committed by the people, in a fair 
 election. In fact, no people ever passed from 
 under the yoke of a despotic government, to 
 the enjoyment of entire freedom, with less dis- 
 position to abuse their newly acquired power, 
 than those of Colombia. They submitted, in- 
 deed, to a continuance of some of the most 
 arbitrary and unjust features which distin- 
 guished the former government. If there was 
 any disposition, on the part of the great mass 
 of the people, to effect any change in the ex- 
 isting order of things ; if the Colombians act 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 183 
 
 from the same motives and upon the same 
 principles which govern mankind elsewhere, 
 and in all ages, they would have desired to 
 take from the government a part of the power, 
 which, in their inexperience, they had confided 
 to it. The monopoly of certain articles of 
 agiicultural produce, and the oppressive duty 
 of the Alcavala, might have been tolerated, 
 until the last of their tyrants were driven from 
 the country. But when peace was restored, 
 when not one enemy remained within its bor- 
 ders, it might reasonably have been supposed 
 that the people would have desired to abolish 
 these remains of arbitrary government, and 
 substitute for them some tax more equal and 
 accordant with republican principles. 
 
 On the contrary, it is pretended that they 
 had become enamoured with these despotic 
 measures, and so disgusted with the freedom 
 they did enjoy, that they were more than wil- 
 ling to commit their destinies to the uncon- 
 trolled will of your Excellency. Let me 
 assure you, sir, that these assertions will gain 
 no credit with the present generation, or with 
 posterity. They will demand the facts w^hich 
 induced a people, by no means deficient in 
 intelligence, so soon to abandon the principles 
 
184 LIFE OF 
 
 for which they had so gallantly fought, and 
 tamely surrender that liberty, which had been 
 obtained at the expense of so much blood. 
 And what facts can be produced ? It cannot 
 be said that life and property were not as well 
 protected under the republican government, 
 as they have ever been ; nor that there existed 
 any opposition to the constitution and laws, 
 too strong for the ordinary powers of the go- 
 vernment to put down. 
 
 If the insurrection of General Paez, in Ve- 
 nezuela, is adduced, I would ask, by what 
 means was he reduced to obedience ? Your 
 Excellency, the legitimate head of the repub- 
 lic, appeared, and, in a moment, all opposition 
 ceased, and Venezuela was restored to the 
 republic. But, it is said, that this was effected 
 by your personal influence, or the dread of 
 your military talents, and that, to keep Gene- 
 ral Paez, and other ambitious chiefs, from 
 dismembering the republic, it was necessary 
 to invest your Excellency with the extraordi- 
 nary powers you possess. There would be 
 some reason in this, if you had refused to act 
 without these powers ; or, having acted as 
 you did, you had been unable to accomplish 
 any thing without them. But you succeeded 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 185 
 
 completely, and there can be no possible rea- 
 son assigned, why you would not have sue 
 ceeded, with the same means, against any 
 future attempt of General Paez, or any other 
 general. 
 
 There appears, however, to be one senti- 
 ment, in which all parties unite ; that is, that, 
 as matters now stand, you alone can save the 
 country from ruin, at least, from much ca- 
 lamity. They differ, however, very widely, 
 as to the measures to be taken to put j^our 
 Excellency in the way to render this impor- 
 tant service. The lesser, and more interested 
 party, is for placing the government in your 
 hands for life ; either with your present title, 
 or with one which, it must be confessed, bet- 
 ter accords with the nature of the powers to 
 be exercised. If they adopt the less offensive 
 title, and if they weave into their system some 
 apparent checks to your will, it is only for the 
 purpose of masking, in some degree, their real 
 object ; which is nothing short of the establish- 
 ment of a despotism. The plea of necessity, 
 that eternal argument of all conspirators', an- 
 cient or modern, against the rights of man- 
 Kmd, will be resorted to, to induce you to 
 accede to their measures; and the unsettled 
 
186 LIFE OF ' 
 
 State of the country, which has been design- 
 edly produced by them, will be adduced as 
 evidence of that necessity. 
 
 There is but one way for your Excellency 
 to escape from the snares which have been so 
 artfully laid to entrap you, and that is, to stop 
 short in the course which, unfortunately, has 
 been already commenced. Every step you 
 advance, under the influence of such councils, 
 will make retreat more difficult, until it will 
 become impracticable. You will be told that 
 the intention is only to vest you w^ith authority 
 to correct what is wrong in the administration, 
 and to put down the factions, and that, when 
 the country once enjoys tranquillity, the go- 
 vernment may be restored to the people. 
 Delusive will be the hopes of those who rely 
 upon this declaration. The promised hour of 
 tranquillity will never arrive. If events tended 
 to produce it, they w^ould be counteracted by 
 the government itself. It was the strong re- 
 mark of a former President of the United 
 States, that, " Sooner will the lover be con- 
 tented with the first smiles of his mistress, 
 than a government cease to endeavour to pre- 
 serve and extend its powers." With whatever 
 reluctance your Excellency may commence 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 187 
 
 the career; with whatever disposition to aban- 
 don it, when the objects for which it was com- 
 menced have been obtained ; when once fairly 
 entered, you will be borne along by the irre- 
 sistible force of pride, habit of command, and, 
 indeed, of self-preservation, and it will be im- 
 possible to recede. 
 
 But, it is said, that it is for the benefit of 
 the people that the proposed change is to be 
 made; and that by your talents and influence, 
 alone, aided by unlimited power, the ambi- 
 tious chiefs in the different departments are to 
 be restrained, and the integrity of the republic 
 preserved. I have said, and I most sincerely 
 believe, that, from the state into which the 
 country has been brought, you alone can 
 preserve it from the horrors of anarchy. But 
 I cannot conceive that any extraordinary 
 powers are necessary; The authority to see 
 that the laws are executed ; to call out the 
 strength of the country, to enforce their exe- 
 cution, is all that is required, and is what is 
 possessed by the Chief Magistrate of the 
 United States, and of every other republic; 
 and is what was confided to the executive, 
 by the constitution of Cucuta. Would your 
 talents or your energies be impaired in the 
 16 
 
188 LIFE OF 
 
 council, or the field, or your influence less 
 ened, when acting as the head of a repubhc ? 
 I propose to examine, very briefly, the re- 
 sults which are likely to flow from the pro- 
 posed change of government: 1st, in relation 
 to the country ; and 2d, to yourself, personally. 
 Is the tranquillity of the country to be secured 
 by it ? Is it possible for your Excellency to 
 believe, that when the mask has been thrown 
 ofl^, and the people discover that a despotic 
 government has been fixed upon them, they 
 will quietly submit to it ? Will they forget 
 the pass-word which, like the cross of fire, 
 was the signal for rallying to oppose their for- 
 mer tyrants ? Will the virgins, at your bid- 
 ding, cease to chaunt the songs of liberty, 
 which so lately animated the youth to vic- 
 tory? Was the patriotic blood of Colombia 
 all expended in the fields of Vargas, Bayaca, 
 and Carebobo ? The schools may cease to 
 enforce upon their pupils the love of country, 
 drawn from the examples of Cato and the 
 Bruti, Harmodius and Aristogiton ; but the 
 glorious example of patriotic devotion, ex- 
 hibited in your own hacienda, will supply 
 their place. Depend on it, sir, that the mo- 
 ment which shall announce the continuance 
 
WILLIAM PIENRY HARRISON. 189 
 
 of arbitrary power, in your hands, will be the 
 commencement of commotions which will 
 require all your talents and energies to sup- 
 press. You may succeed. The disciplined 
 army, at your disposal, may be too powerful 
 for an unarmed, undisciplined, and scattered 
 population; but one unsuccessful effort will 
 not content them, and your feelings will be 
 eternally racked by being obliged to make 
 war upon those who have been accustomed 
 to call you their father, and to invoke bless- 
 ings on your head, and for no cause but their 
 adherence to principles which you yourself 
 had taught them to regard more than their 
 lives. 
 
 If by the strong government which the ad- 
 vocates for the proposed change so strenuously 
 recommend, one without responsibility is in- 
 tended, which may put men to death, and im- 
 mure them in dungeons, without trial, and one 
 where the army is every thing, and the people 
 nothing, I must say, that, if the tranquillity of 
 Colombia, is to be preserved in this way, the 
 wildest anarchy would be preferable. Out of 
 that anarchy a better government might arise ; 
 but the chains of military despotism once fas- 
 
190 LIFE OF 
 
 tened upon a nation, ages might pass away 
 before they could be shaken off. 
 
 But I contend that the strongest of all go- 
 vernments is that which is most free. We 
 consider that of the United States as the 
 strongest, precisely because it is the mosl 
 free. It possesses the faculties, equally to 
 protect itself from foreign force or internal 
 convulsion. In both, it has been sufficiently 
 tried. In no country upon earth, would an 
 armed opposition to the laws be sooner or 
 more efiectually put down. Not so much by 
 the terrors of the guillotine and the gibbet, as 
 from the aroused determination of the nation, 
 exhibiting their strength, and convincing the 
 factious that their cause was hopeless. No, 
 sir, depend upon it, that the possession of ar- 
 bitrary power, by the government of Colom- 
 bia, will not be the means of securing its tran- 
 quillity ; nor will the danger of disturbances 
 solely arise from the opposition of the people. 
 The power, and the military force which it 
 will be necessary to put in the hands of the 
 governors of the distant provinces, added to 
 the nature of the country, will continually pre- 
 sent to those officers the temptation, and the 
 means of revolt. 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 191 
 
 Will the proposed change restore prosperity 
 to the country ? With the best intentions to 
 do so, will you be able to recall commerce to 
 its shores and give new life to the drooping 
 state of agriculture ? The cause of the con- 
 stant decline, in these great interests, cannot 
 be mistaken. It arises from the fewness of 
 those who labour, and the number of those 
 who are to be supported by that labour. To 
 support a swarm of luxurious and idle monks, 
 and an army greatly disproportioned to the 
 resources of the country, w4th a body of offi- 
 cers, in a tenfold degree disproportioned to 
 the army, every branch of industry is op- 
 pressed wdth burdens which deprive the inge- 
 nious man of the profits of his ingenuity, and 
 the labourer of his reward. To satisfy the 
 constant and pressing demands w^hich are 
 made upon it, the treasury seizes upon every 
 thing within its grasp — destroying the very 
 germ of future prosperity. Is there any pros- 
 pect that these evils will cease with the pro- 
 posed change? Can the army be dispensed 
 with ? Will the influence of the monks be no 
 longer necessary? Believe me, sir, that the 
 support which the government derives from 
 16* 
 
192 LIFE OF 
 
 both these sources, will be more than ever 
 requisite. 
 
 But the most important inquiry is, the effect 
 which this strong government is to have upon 
 the people themselves. Will it tend to im- 
 prove and elevate their character, and fit them 
 for the freedom which it is pretended is ulti- 
 mately to be bestowed upon them? The 
 question has been answered from the age of 
 Homer. Man does not learn under oppres- 
 sion those noble qualities and feelings which 
 fit him for the enjoyment of liberty. Nor is 
 despotism the proper school in which to ac- 
 quire the knowledge of the principles of re- 
 publican government. A government whose 
 revenues are derived from diverting the very 
 sources of wealth from its subjects, will not 
 find the means of improving the morals and 
 enlightening the minds of the youth, by sup- 
 porting the systems of liberal education ; and, 
 if it could, it would not. 
 
 In relation to the effect which this invest- 
 ment of power is to have upon your happiness 
 ^nd your fame, will the pomp and glitter of a 
 ■court, and the flattery of venal courtiers, re- 
 ward you for the troubles and anxieties 
 attendant upon the exercise of sovereignty, 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 193 
 
 every where, and those which will flow from 
 your peculiar situation ? Or power, supported 
 by the bayonet, for that willing homage which 
 you were wont to receive from your fellow- 
 citizens? The groans of a dissatisfied and 
 oppressed people will penetrate the inmost 
 recesses of your palace, and you will be tor- 
 tured by the reflection, that you no longer 
 possess that place in their affections, which 
 was once your pride and your boast, and 
 which would have been your solace under 
 every reverse of fortune. Unsupported by 
 the people, your authority can be maintained, 
 only, by the terrors of the sword and the scaf- 
 fold. And have these ever been successful 
 under similar circumstances? Blood may 
 smother, for a period, but can never extin- 
 guish the fire of liberty, which you have con- 
 tributed so much to kindle, in the bosom of 
 every Colombian. 
 
 I will not urge, as an argument, the per- 
 sonal dangers to which you will be exposed. 
 But I will ask if you could enjoy life, which 
 would be preserved by the constant execution 
 of so many human beings — your countrymen, 
 your former friends, and almost your wor- 
 shippers. The pangs of such a situation will 
 
194 LIFE OF 
 
 he made more acute, by reflecting on the hal- 
 lowed motive of many of those who would 
 aim their daggers at your bosom ; — that, like 
 the last of the Romans, they would strike, 
 not from hatred to the man, but love to the 
 country. 
 
 From a knowledge of your own disposition, 
 and present feelings, your Excellency will not 
 be willing to believe, that you could ever be 
 brought to commit an act of tyranny, or even 
 to execute justice with unnecessary rigour. 
 But trust me, sir, that there is nothing more 
 corrupting, nothing more destructive of the 
 noblest and finest feelings of our nature, than 
 the exercise of unlimited power. The man 
 who, in the beginning of such a career, might 
 shudder at the idea of taking away the life of 
 a fellow-being, might soon have bis conscience 
 so seared by the repetition of crime, that the 
 agonies of his murdered victims might become 
 music to his soul, and the drippings of his 
 scaflbld afford "blood enough to swim in." 
 History is full of such examples. 
 
 From this disgusting picture, permit me to 
 call the attention of your Excellency to one 
 of a different character. It exhibits you as 
 the constitutional chief magistrate of a free 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 195 
 
 people, giving to their representatives the influ- 
 ence of your great name and talents, to reform 
 the abuses which, in a long reign of tyranny 
 and misrule, have fastened upon every branch 
 of the administration. The army, and its 
 swarm of officers, reduced within the limits 
 of real usefulness, placed on the frontiers, and 
 no longer permitted to control pubhc opinion, 
 atid be the terror of the peaceful citizen. By 
 the removal of this incubus from the treasury, 
 and the establishment of order, responsibility, 
 and economy, in the expenditures of the go- 
 vernment, it would soon be enabled to dispense 
 with the odious monopolies, and the duty of 
 the AlcavaJa, which have operated with so 
 malign an effect upon commerce and agricul- 
 ture, and, indeed, upon the revenues which 
 they were intended to augment. No longer 
 oppressed by these shackles, industry would 
 everywhere revive : the farmer and the arti- 
 san, cheered by the prospect of ample reward 
 for their labour, would redouble their exer- 
 tions : foreigners, with their capital and skill 
 in the arts, would crowd hither, to enjoy the 
 advantages which would scarcely elsewhere 
 be found: and Colombia would soon exhibit 
 the reality of the beautiful fiction of Fenelon— 
 
196 LIFE OF 
 
 Salentum rising from misery and oppression 
 to prosperity and happiness, under the coun- 
 cils and direction of the concealed goddess. 
 
 What objection can be urged against this 
 course? Can any one, acquainted with the 
 circumstances of the country, doubt its suc- 
 cess in restoring and maintaining tranquillity? 
 The people would certainly not revolt against 
 themselves ; and none of the chiefs who are 
 supposed to be factiously inclined, would 
 think of opposing the strength of the nation, 
 when directed by your talents and authority. 
 But it is said, that the want of intelligence 
 amongst the people unfits them for the govern- 
 ment. Is it not right, however, that the ex 
 periment should be fairly tried? I have al- 
 ready said, that this has not been done. Foi 
 myself, I do not hesitate to declare my firm 
 belief that it will succeed. The people of Co- 
 lombia possess many traits of character suita- 
 ble for a republican government. A more 
 orderly, forbearing, and well-disposed people 
 are nowhere to be met with. Indeed, it may 
 safely be asserted, that their faults and vices 
 are attributable to the cursed government to 
 which they have been so long subjected, and 
 to the intolerant character of the religion, 
 
\ 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 197 
 
 whilst their virtues are all their own. But, 
 admitting their present want of intelligence, 
 no one has ever doubted their capacity to ac- 
 quire knowledge, and under the strong motives 
 which exist, to obtain it : supported by the in- 
 fluence of your excellency, it would soon be 
 obtained. 
 
 To yourself the advantage would be as 
 great as to the country; like acts of mercy, 
 the blessings would be reciprocal ; your per- 
 sonal happiness secured, and your fame ele- 
 vated to a height which would leave but a 
 single competitor in the estimation of pos- 
 terity. In bestowing the palm of merit the 
 world has become wiser than formerly. The 
 successful warrior is no longer regarded as 
 entitled to the first place in the temple of fame. 
 Talents of this kind have become too common, 
 and too often used for mischievous purposes, 
 to be regarded as they once were. In this 
 enlightened age, the mere hero of the field, 
 and the successful leader of armies, may for 
 the moment attract attention. But it will be 
 such as is bestowed upon the passing meteor, 
 whose blaze is no longer remembered, when 
 it is no longer seen. To be esteemed emi- 
 nently great, it is necessary to be eminently 
 
198 LIFE OF 
 
 good. The qualities of the hero and the 
 general must be devoted to the advantage of 
 mankind, before he will be permitted to as- 
 sume the title of their benefactor; and the 
 station which he wdll hold in their regard and 
 affections will depend, not upon the number 
 and the splendour of his victories, but upon 
 the results and the use he may make of the 
 influence he acquires from them. 
 
 If the fame of our Washington depended 
 upon his military achievements, would the 
 common consent of the world allow him the 
 pre-eminence he possesses ? The victories at 
 Trenton, Monmouth and York, brilliant as 
 they were, exhibiting, as they certainly did, 
 the highest grade of military talents, are 
 scarcely thought of The source of the vene- 
 ration and esteem which are entertained for his 
 character, by every description of politicians 
 — the monarchist and aristocrat, as well as 
 the republican, is to be found in his undevi- 
 ating and exclusive devotedness to the interest 
 of his country. No selfish consideration was 
 ever suffered to intrude itself into his mind 
 For his country he conquered; and the un- 
 rivalled and increasing prosperity of that 
 country is constantly adding fresh glory to his 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 199 
 
 name. General, the course which he pursued 
 is open to you, and it depends upon yourself 
 to attain the eminence which he has reached 
 before you. 
 
 To the eyes of military men, the laurels you 
 won on the fields of Vai'gas, Bayaca and Ca- 
 rebobo will be for ever green ; but will that 
 content you ? Are you willing that your name 
 should descend to posterity, amongst the mass 
 of those whose fame has been derived from 
 shedding human blood, without a single ad- 
 vantage to the human race? Or shall it be 
 united to that of Washington, as the founder 
 and the father of a great and happy people ? 
 The choice is before you. The friends of 
 liberty throughout the world, and the people 
 of the United States in particular, are waiting 
 your decision with intense anxiety. Alexan- 
 der toiled and conquered to attain the applause 
 of the Athenians ; will you regard as nothing 
 the opinions of a nation which has evinced its 
 superiority over that celebrated people, in the 
 science most useful to man, by having carried 
 into actual practice a system of government 
 of which the wisest Athenians had but a 
 glimpse in theory, and considered as a blessing 
 never to l^ realized, however ardently to be 
 37 
 
200 LIFE OF 
 
 desired ? The place which yon are to occupy 
 in their esteem depends upon yourself. Fare- 
 well. 
 
 W. H. HARRISON. 
 
 General Harrison remained in Colombia but 
 a short time — as General Jackson, on coming 
 into power, availed himself of the earliest op- 
 portunity to evince the resentment which the 
 remembrance of Harrison's speech on the 
 Seminole war had left still rankling in his bo- 
 som, by recalling him from this mission almost 
 immediately after he had taken possession of 
 the Presidential chair. 
 
 Since the return of General Harrison from 
 Colombia, he has liv^ed in comparative retire- 
 ment, upon his farm at North Bend, on the 
 Ohio, about fifteen miles below Cincinnati. 
 With the most enticing opportunities of accu- 
 mulating wealth, during his long government 
 of Indiana, and superintendency of Indian af- 
 fairs, he acquired none; his honest and scru- 
 pulous integrity were proof against the golden 
 temptations. His time and best energies were 
 devoted to the service of his country, and his 
 own interests were ever, with him, a seconda- 
 ry consideration. He even, when Governor 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 201 
 
 of Indiana, greatly diminished the usual emolu- 
 ments of such an office, by refusing to accept 
 any of those fees, whether as governor or su- 
 perintendent of Indian Affairs, which, before 
 his time, had been customarily paid. For his 
 services as commander of the expedition to 
 Tippecanoe, he never asked nor received any 
 compensation. And subsequently, when in 
 command of our North-western army, though 
 he lived as frugally and fared as hardly as any 
 of his fellow-citizens in the ranks, yet, at his 
 own expense, he purchased clothing and ne- 
 cessarv comforts for his sick and wounded 
 soldiers, until he not only exhausted his pay as 
 commander-in-chief, but seriously encroached 
 too on his own private means. He therefore 
 retired without the spoils of office, and with 
 only a competency barely sufficient for his 
 support ; but rich in what he esteemed of far 
 greater value — in a reputation undimmed by 
 a single tarnish, and in the honour and respect 
 of all his fellow-citizens. 
 
 We cannot refrain here from alluding to a 
 circumstance which evinces the peculiar deli- 
 cacy and honour which have always swayed 
 General Harrison in his pecuniary transac- 
 tions. A few years ago, it was ascertained 
 
202 LIFE OF 
 
 that a large tract of land near Cincinnati 
 which had been sold some time before for a 
 mere trifle, under an execution against the ori- 
 ginal proprietor, could not be held by the 
 titles derived from the purchasers, on account 
 of some irregularity in the proceedings. The 
 legal title was in General Harrison and an- 
 other gentleman, who were the heirs at law. 
 This tract of land was exceedingly valuable 
 and would have constituted a princely estate 
 for both these heirs, had they chosen to insist 
 on their legal rights — or they might have made 
 some amicable arrangement with the purcha- 
 sers, to which they would gladly have assent- 
 ed, and have retained at least one half of this 
 property, by giving up the remainder. But 
 General Harrison had never yet suffered his 
 interest to blind his true sense of justice and 
 high-minded honour, nor did he in this instance. 
 On being informed of the situation of this pro- 
 perty, he obtained the assent of his co-heir, 
 and immediately executed deeds in fee simple 
 to the purchasers, without claiming any con- 
 sideration except the trifling difference be- 
 tween the actual value of the land when sold 
 and the amount paid at the sheriff''s sale. 
 There were in this tract, too, twelve acres of 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 203 
 
 General Harrison's private property by dona- 
 tion from his father-in-law, which had been 
 improperly included in the sale, and which he 
 might have retained both legally and equitably 
 — but such was his nice sense of honour and 
 scrupulous regard for the rights of others, that 
 he suffered even these twelve acres to be in- 
 cluded in the deed given to the purchasers. 
 This portion of the land thus relinquished by 
 General Harrison is now worth more than 
 one hundred thousand dollars ! 
 
 After the quotations we have made from the 
 writings of General Harrison, at various pe- 
 riods of his Hfe, it is scarcely necessary that 
 we should now allude to his talents and men- 
 tal cultivation. A reference to those quota- 
 tions alone will abundantly prove the high 
 order of his intellect, and the unusual extent 
 of his literary attainments. He writes with 
 great ease and rapidity, yet with singular 
 clearness and beauty of composition. His 
 writings, which, from the many high stations 
 he has occupied, are very numerous, carry to 
 every impartial reader convincing evidence of 
 a strong mind, highly cultivated and well dis- 
 ciplined. Among the later productions of Ge- 
 neral Harrison, which are not of a political 
 17* 
 
204 LIFE OF 
 
 nature, and are therefore perhaps less known, 
 are " An Address delivered before the Hamil- 
 ton County Agricultural Society, at their an- 
 nual exhibition, held on the 15th and 16th of 
 June, 1831 ;" and •' A Discourse on the Abo- 
 rigines of the Valley of the Ohio, with some 
 remarks on the study of History, prepared a 
 the request of the Historical Society of Ohio." 
 This discourse was written in the winter of 
 1837-8, about two years since only. To these 
 interesting and ably-written productions it 
 would be impossible to do justice without pre- 
 senting them to our readers entire. Still we 
 cannot forbear quoting a few paragraphs from 
 each, as an evidence of the uncommon beauty 
 of language, and the manly and noble senti- 
 ments that pervade them both. In the address 
 before the agricultural society, in allusion to 
 the place at which the exhibition was held. 
 General Harrison says : — 
 
 " What patriot, what American, what lover 
 of mankind, can view the scene which is here 
 presented, and not enjoy it? Thirty-eight 
 years ago, the spot on which we are now as- 
 sembled was. a dreary wilderness. — Not a 
 habitation was to be seen save a solitary, de- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 205 
 
 serted cabin, which only added to the gloom 
 by which it was surrounded. No sound of 
 voices, as now, was heard from men busied in 
 the fulfilment of the commands of the Creator, 
 to cultivate and improve the earth. The 
 silence was unbroken, save by the shout of the 
 Christian warrior, or the appalling yell of the 
 sava<re, as thev minojled in mortal combat. 
 To this scene of solitude, of desolation, and 
 of blood, what wonders have now succeeded ! 
 More than the efforts of unaided man could 
 have accomplished — the hand of heaven is to 
 be distinctly traced. Yes ! it is to thy influence, 
 fair Liberty, 
 
 " Daughter of Heaven ! who with indignant eye, 
 On pomp and pageant royalty looks down," 
 
 that we ascribe these wonders, only to be 
 effected under institutions which leave the ac- 
 tions of man unfettered, and his mind as free 
 as the air he breathes." 
 
 aF ^BP tP ^p ^" ^^ 
 
 " The encouragement of agriculture, gen- 
 tlemen, would be praiseworthy in any country ; 
 in our own it is peculiarly so. Not only to 
 multiply the means and enjoyments of life, but 
 as giving greater stability and security to our 
 
206 LIFE OF 
 
 political institutions. In all ages and in all 
 countries it has been observed that the culti- 
 vators of the soil are those who are least will- 
 ing to part with their rights, and submit them- 
 selves to the will of a master." # * * 
 
 The greater part of this address is of a 
 more practical nature — conveying to the so- 
 ciety before whom it was delivered, a valuable 
 fund of usei'ul information, well and forcibly 
 explained by appropriate illustrations. 
 
 In the discourse of General Harrison on the 
 Aborigines of the Valley of the Ohio, he con- 
 tests the opinion advanced by the Hon. Cad- 
 wallader Golden, in his " History of the five 
 Indian Nations of Ganada," and which is like- 
 wise asserted by Governor Povvnal,. and by 
 many others, that the original inhabitants of 
 that valley were conquered by the Iroquois. 
 He proves that this alleged subjugation of the 
 northwestern tribes by that warlike confede- 
 ration, rests on no competent authority ; and 
 he brings forward convincing evidence to show 
 that the favoured region through which the 
 Ohio flows, as well as the contiguous country, 
 has been for many centuries as it now is, 
 
 " The land of the free and the home of the brave.** 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 207 
 
 In endeavouring to enforce the great im- 
 portance of a proper study of history, Gene- 
 ral Harrison says, in this discourse : — 
 
 " It is in youth, and in early youth, that the 
 seeds of that patriotism must be sown, which 
 is to continue to bloom through life. No one 
 ever began to be a patriot in advanced age. 
 That holy fire must be lighted up when the 
 mind is best suited to receive with enthusiasm, 
 generous and disinterested impressions. If it 
 is not then ^' the ruling passion" of the bosom, 
 it will never be at an age when every action 
 is the result of cool calculation, and the basis 
 of that calculation too often the interest of the 
 individual. This has been the prevailing opi- 
 nion with every free people, throughout every 
 stage of civilization, from the roving savage 
 tribe to the numerous and polished nation ; 
 from the barbarous Pelasgi to the glorious era 
 of Miltiades and Cymon, or the more refined 
 and luxurious age of Pericles and Xenophon. 
 By all, the same means were adopted. With 
 all, it was the custom to present to their youth 
 the examples of the heroic achievements of 
 their ancestors, to inspire them with the same 
 ardour of devotion to the welfare of their 
 
208 LIFE OF 
 
 country. As it regards the argument, it mat- 
 ters not whether the history was written or 
 unwritten ; whether in verse or in prose ; or 
 how communicated ; whether by national an- 
 nals, to which all had access ; by recitation in 
 soien^m assemblies, as at the Olympic and other 
 games of Greece ; in the songs of bards, as 
 among the Celts and Scandinavians ; or in the 
 speeches of the aged warriors, as was prac- 
 tised by the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, 
 and other tribes of our own country. Much 
 fiction was no doubt passed off on these occa- 
 sions, as real history; but as it was believed 
 to be true, that was sufficient to kindle the 
 spirit of emulation in the cause of patriotism 
 among those to whom these recitations, songs, 
 and speeches were addressed. 
 
 In the remarks I have made, it is by no 
 means my intention to deny the good effects 
 which have been derived from some works of 
 fiction, and that they have greatly assisted 
 " To raise the genius and to mend the heart.'* 
 But this result is better effected by authentic 
 history." 
 
 Throughout the whole of this discourse 
 there is a vein of deep thought and calm re- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 209 
 
 flection, aided by a profound research and 
 scholastic knowledge rarely attained. It 
 abounds, too, in that ready and happy elo- 
 quence for which its author has always been 
 peculiarly noted. Our regret that we cannot 
 indulge in quotations from this able production 
 more at length, is lessened by the hope that it 
 will soon be presented to our readers in a bet- 
 ter form, together with other wTitings of the 
 same distinguished author. 
 
 In person, General Harrison is tall and slen- 
 der ; his features are irregular, but bold and 
 strongly marked ; his eyes are dark, keen, and 
 penetrating, his forehead is high and expan- 
 sive, his mouth peculiarly denotes firmness 
 and genius, and the expression of his counte- 
 nance is highly indicative of intelligence and 
 benevolence of character. From early man- 
 hood he has never had the appearance of pos- 
 sessing a robust constitution, but from the ac- 
 tivity and temperate habits of his past life, few 
 men at his age enjoy their moral and physical 
 energies in such remarkable vigour. His man- 
 ners are plain, frank, and unassuming, and his 
 disposition is cheerful, kind, and generous, al- 
 most to a fault. In his private intercourse he 
 
210 LIFE OF 
 
 is beloved and esteemed bv all who know him. 
 In the various civil and military offices he has 
 held, he has always been moderate and for- 
 bearing, yet firm and true to his trust. No 
 other commander has ever been more popular 
 vvith our militia ; and the true secret of this 
 cannot be better explained than by his own 
 reply, when asked how he had gained this in- 
 fluence : " By treating them," said he, " with 
 affection and kindness ; by always recollect- 
 ing that they were my fellow-citizens, whose 
 feelings I was bound to respect; and by shar- 
 ing with them, on every occasion, the hard- 
 ships which they were obliged to undergo.'* 
 
 His suavity of manners, his generosity and 
 kindness of heart, in variablvw^on him the warm 
 affections of those who were placed under his 
 authority ; while his moderation, his disinterest- 
 edness, his scrupulous attention to the public 
 interests, and the wisdom with which he exer- 
 cised the extensive powers entrusted to him, 
 commanded the respect and confidence of his 
 fellow-citizens. 
 
 General Harrison is likewise strictly and 
 truly a pious man. Though he has always 
 been noted for his particular attention to pub- 
 lic worship and Christian offices, yet religion 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 211 
 
 with him has not been a Sabbath-day garment 
 only, but rather an every-day familiar habit 
 — not a mere sense of incumbent duty, but a 
 warm and spontaneous feeling, kindled into 
 life in his early youth, and forming the hope 
 and firm reliance of his manhood and declin- 
 ing years. The writer of this biography deems 
 it no betrayal of confidence to say that he has 
 more than once, on entering at day-break the 
 chamber of General Harrison, found him on 
 his knees at his bedside, absorbed in his devo- 
 tions to his Maker, when he could not have 
 supposed that any eye save that of his God 
 was resting on him. 
 
 An incident, which occurred in Philadelphia 
 on the visit of General Harrison to that city, 
 in 1836, will serve, in some measure, to illus- 
 trate the peculiar depth and single-heartedness 
 of his truly Christian and devotional feelings. 
 On the evening preceding the only Sabbath 
 he then spent in that city, he was visited by 
 two of his warm political friends, who stated 
 to him, that as there were in Philadelphia two 
 religious sects which comprised a much larger 
 number of followers than any others, they 
 thought it would be good policy in him to at- 
 tend divine service at a church of one of these 
 18 
 
212 LIFE OF 
 
 sects in the morning, and at a church of the 
 other in the afternoon — and that they had, 
 therefore, made arrangements to that effect. 
 His reply was singularly characteristic. " Gen- 
 tlemen," said he, after a moment's pause, " I 
 thank you sincerely for your kindness, and re- 
 gret only that I cannot take advantage of it — 
 but I have already promised to attend divine 
 service to-morrow, and when I go to Church 1 
 go to iccrship my God and not to court popu- 
 larity.^^ Tliis plain and simple reply came 
 evidently from the heart, and carried a per- 
 fect conviction of its truth and sincerity to the 
 minds of all who heard it. 
 
 In the republican institutions of our country, 
 birth and parentage are comparatively of very 
 little importance; and no candidate for public 
 favour can found thereon the slightest claim 
 to the respect or the support of his fellow-citi- 
 zens. We have happily shaken off the thrall- 
 ing prejudices of the old world, and a title to 
 office and honourable distinction is not with 
 us hereditary ; but every man must earn his 
 own good name, and his claim on the favour, 
 of the people, by his own good deeds. Yet, 
 aware, as every one must be, of the powerful 
 influence of early education, it is worthy of 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 213 
 
 remark, as well as gratifying to know, that a 
 candidate for public office, in whom we feel 
 an interest, passed all the early years of his 
 life with the brightest examples of virtue con- 
 stantly before him ; and under the parental tui- 
 tion of one of those illustrious patriots, whose 
 memory is revered by every true-hearted 
 American. It is pleasing to be assured, that 
 his first political sentiments were imbibed in a 
 school of the purest republican principles. And 
 when we trace up the career of this individual, 
 from the spring-time of his youth, to the sum- 
 mer of his manhood, and to the early autumn 
 of his years, and see those principles closely 
 adhered to throughout, we can scarcely resist 
 the conviction, that his future course will be 
 consistent with the past ; and that, with ma- 
 tured abilities, he will be still more conspicu- 
 ous for his republican principles, his modera- 
 tion in office, his firm integrity, and his extend- 
 ed and enlightened views as a statesman. Such 
 were the early advantages of William Henry 
 Harrison ; such has been his course thus far 
 through fife ; and such is now the bright pro- 
 mise, to a realization of which we may safely 
 look forward, should the people see fit to place 
 him in office. 
 
214 LIFE OF 
 
 The principles that would govern General 
 Harrison, should he be elected to the Presi- 
 dency, may be known by the following ex- 
 tracts from a letter addressed by him to the 
 Hon. Harmar Denny, on the 2d of December 
 1838. 
 
 " Among the principles proper to be adopt- 
 ed by any Executive sincerely desirous to re- 
 store the administration to its original simpli- 
 city and purity, I deem the following to be of 
 prominent importance. 
 
 " I. To CONFINE ins SERVICE TO A SINGLE 
 TERxM. 
 
 " II. To DISCLAIM ALL RIGHT OF CONTROL OVER 
 
 THE PUBLIC TREASURE, wUh the exceptioTi of 
 such part of it as may be appropriated hy law 
 to carry on the public services, and that to be 
 applied precisely as the laio may direct, and 
 drawn from the treasury agreeably to the long- 
 established forms of that department. 
 
 " III. That he should never attempt to 
 INFLUENCE THE ELECTIONS, either by the people 
 or the state legislatures, nor suffer the federal 
 officers under his control to take any other part 
 in them than by giving their own votes when 
 they possess the right of voting. 
 
 " IV. That in the exercise of the veto power, 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 21 5 
 
 he should limit his rejection to: 1st Such as 
 are in his opinion unconstitutional. 2d. Such 
 as tend to encroach on the rights of the states 
 or individuals. 3d. Such as, involving deep 
 interests, may in his opinion require more ma- 
 ture deliberation or reference to the will of the 
 people to be ascertained at the succeeding elec- 
 tions. 
 
 " V. That he should never suffer the influ- 
 ence of his name to be used for purposes of a 
 purely party character. 
 
 " VI. That in removal from office of those 
 who hold their appointments during the plea- 
 sure of the executive, the cause of such removal 
 should be stated if requested, to the senate, at 
 the time the nomination of a successor is made, 
 
 " And last, but not least in importance, 
 
 " VII. That he should not suffer the execu- 
 tive department of the government to become 
 the source of legislation ; but leave the ivhole 
 business of making laws for the Union to the 
 department to which the constitution has exclu- 
 sively assigned it, until they have assumed that 
 perfected shape, where and when alone the 
 opinions of the executive may be heard. 
 
 " A community of power in the preparation 
 
 of the laws between the legislature and the 
 18* 
 
216 LIFE OF 
 
 Executive Departments, must necessarily lead 
 lo dangerous combinations, greatly to the ad- 
 vantaoje of a President desirous of extendino: 
 his power. Such a construction of the con- 
 stitution could never have been contemplated 
 by those who framed it, as they well knew 
 that those w4io propose the bills will always 
 take care of themselves, or the interests of 
 their constituents ; and hence the provision in 
 the constitution, borrowed from that of Eng- 
 land, restricting the originating of rev^enue 
 bills to the immediate representatives of the 
 people. So far from agreeing in opinion with 
 the distinguished character who lately retired 
 from the presidency, that Congress should 
 have applied to him for a project of a banking 
 system, I think that such an application would 
 have manifested not only great subserviency 
 upon the part of that body, but an unpardon- 
 able ignorance of the chief danger to be ap- 
 prehended from such an institution. That dan- 
 ger unquestionably consists in a union of inter- 
 ests between the executive and the bank. 
 Would an ambitious incumbent of the execu- 
 tive chair neglect so favourable an opportu- 
 nity as the preparing of the law would give 
 him, to insert in it provisions to secure his in- 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 217 
 
 fluence over it? In the authority given to the 
 president by the constitution, " to recommend 
 to Congress such measures as he shall judge 
 necessary and expedient," it was certainly ne- 
 ver intended that the mjeasures he recommend- 
 ed should be presented in a shape suited for 
 the immediate decision of the legislature. The 
 sages who made the constitution too well knew 
 the advantages which the crown of England 
 derives from the exercise of this power by its 
 ministers, to have intended it to be used by 
 our Chief Magistrate, or the heads of depart- 
 ments under his control. The boasted princi- 
 ples of the English constitution, that the con- 
 sent of the democratic branch is not only ne- 
 cessary to receive money from the people, but 
 that it is its inviolable prerogative also to ori- 
 ginate all the bills for that purpose, is true in 
 theory, but rendered utterly false and nugato- 
 ry in effect, by the participation of the minis- 
 ters of the crown in the details of legislation. 
 Indeed the influence thev derive from sittino^ 
 as members of the House of Commons, and 
 from wielding the immense patronage of the 
 crown (constitutional or usurped) gives them 
 a power over that body, that renders plausible, 
 at least, the flattery, or as it is more probable, 
 
218 LIFE OF 
 
 the intended sarcasm of Sir Walter Raleigh, 
 in an address to James I., that the demand of 
 the sovereign upon the Commons for pecuni- 
 ary aid, was required only " that the tax might 
 seem to come from themselves." 
 
 *#**#*<< The question may, perhaps, 
 be asked of me, what security I have in my 
 power to offer, if the majority of the Ameri- 
 can people should select me for their Chief 
 Magistrate, that I would adopt the principles 
 which I have herein laid down, as those upon 
 which my administration would be conduct- 
 ed. I could only answer by referring to my 
 conduct, and the disposition manifested in the 
 discharge of the duties of several important 
 offices which have heretofore been conferred 
 upon me. If the power placed in my hands 
 has, even on a single occasion, been used for 
 any purpose other than that for which it was 
 given, or retained longer than was necessary 
 to accomplish the objects designated by those 
 from whom the trusts were received, I will 
 acknowledge that either will constitute a suf- 
 ficient reason for discrediting any promise I 
 may make, under the circumstances in which 
 I am now placed. I am, dear sir, truly yours, 
 
 " W. H. HARRISON. 
 
 " To the Hon. Harmar Denny." 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISOJN. 219 
 
 Our confined limits restrain us from makinor 
 more extensive extracts from this admirable 
 letter — the noble and truly republican senti- 
 ments of which, together with its plain yet 
 manly and vigorous language, forcibly remind 
 us of the invaluable writings of our revered 
 Washington. 
 
 The friends of General Harrison found no 
 especial claim on his military services. His 
 own sentiments on this subject we have al- 
 ready quoted; and his friends would scorn, 
 as much as he would, any attempt to dazzle a 
 single one of his fellow-citizens by the glory 
 of his military renown, brilliant though it be. 
 They would point rather to his numerous civil 
 services, in the forty years he has devoted to 
 his country; to the various and important 
 offices he has so ably filled — in the territorial 
 governments, in the legislature of his own 
 state, and in the house of representatives and 
 senate of the United States ; and to the high 
 order of abilities displayed in his speeches in 
 congress, in his public acts, and in his volu- 
 minous public correspondence. And we here 
 take occasion to say, that all his letters and 
 public papers have been exclusively written 
 by himself; and that so far from his having 
 
220 LIFE OF 
 
 called in the mental aid of another, to prepare 
 his messages and dispatches, as some of our 
 distinguished men have condescended to do, 
 he has never even employed an amanuensis, 
 to perform the manual labour of his corre- 
 spondence. His ruling principles through life, 
 appear to have been, an ardent love for his 
 country, and an earnest desire to serve her 
 best interests ; with a devotion to the pure 
 republican maxims of the revolution, always 
 unwavering and consistent ; unlike the schem- 
 ing politicians of a more modern school, whose 
 own interest is the polar star that guides them, 
 whatever may betide their country. 
 
 The services of General Harrison have 
 always been rendered to his country and not 
 to any political faction : nor have his civil or 
 military promotions ever been obtained by 
 party arrangements or underhand manoeuvres; 
 but, on the contrary, they were given him at 
 the earnest wish and by the spontaneous con- 
 fidence of his fellow-citizens. Neither has his 
 present nomination for the presidency been 
 made by a discontented faction or political 
 party, but by the voluntary choice of a great 
 majority of the people uttered by their chosen 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 221 
 
 delegates. And happily, the more his claims 
 to the high office for which he has been nomi- 
 nated are canvassed, the more acceptable will 
 he become. A veteran soldier who has won 
 for his country every battle he has fought, an 
 experienced statesman whose integrity has 
 been thoroughly tried and proved, a practical 
 republican of the good old school, and an 
 honest man — whose attachment to the true 
 interests of the people is unquestionable, and 
 who will rally about him the great mass of 
 honest and intelligent citizens, and with their 
 aid and support, wall rescue the constitution, 
 of late so trampled upon by party violence 
 and executive usurpation. 
 
 With tried patriotism, with abilities of the 
 highest order, with integrity pure as the un- 
 sullied snow, and with the truest republican 
 principles, William Henry Harrison is now 
 before his fellow-citizens, as a candidate for 
 the highest office in their gift. In the long 
 course of his public life, he has always openly 
 avowed and proved himself a staunch adv^o- 
 cate of popular rights, and is therefore truly 
 THE CANDIDATE OF THE PEOPLE 
 He comes before them, not with a crowd ol 
 
222 LIFE OF WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 
 
 pampered and still-grasping officials to intrigue 
 and bribe for him, but with the noble frank- 
 ness of an honourable and high-minded man, 
 willing and desirous to be judged impartially 
 by his fellow-citizens, and ready to abide by 
 their honest decision. 
 
 THE END 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 V ■///////////:<&> 
 
 ■(yy. ■/yy//>///>'//y/'/yA 
 
 01 1 895 526 2 # 
 
 '^y/y////://////7////A'/. 
 
 ■^^////////yy////////yy///////^^^^ 
 
 yy^y//////y//y////y//y//yy//Ay^^^^ ,,.,,. v. , 
 
 y/'///y'///////yy///yyy>yy///////M^^ :. 
 
 f/jyy//////y>y/yy////y//////yy/////yy//>^^^^^^^^ 
 •:' '^y^yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'yyyyyyyyy/yyyyyf^yyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyy/.'yyyyyyyyyyy^^^^ 
 
 iyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyvyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyy. ■'- 
 -, V ■■yyyyyyy/yy/:yyyyyy/yyyMyyy'yyyy::?yyy^yy/yy^ 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyy/y/yyyyyyyyyy /y/f'yyy'y' 
 
 Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/y/yy/yyy//yyyyyyyyy/y- ■■ yyy>y<y' 
 
 '/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyy^ 
 yyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyy-.yyy^ ^^. v^^. .^ >,>^^^^- .. ^^w, 
 Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyy'yyyyyyyyy/yy/yyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyy/.yyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/y 
 yyyyyy yyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/y/yyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/,/. 
 
 yyyyy , , , . - , :yy<yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyAyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyy/y/yyy . 
 yyyy/yyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyzyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyy^yyyy/yyyyyy/y/yy/yyyy/yy/y/yyyyyyyyy/^^^^^^ 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyMyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyy/>yyyyyyyyyyy^^ 
 <yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy''yyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 
 . yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyy- 
 
 yyyyMyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyy^y^yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'yyy^^^^^ 
 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.. ^ 
 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyZ'yyyyyyyyyyyyy 
 ■>yyyy//yy/yyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyy'yyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy^^^^^^^ 
 yyyy/yyyyy/yyyy:yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy>yy/yyyyyyyyyy:yyyyyyyyyyyy^^ 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy- 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy//- 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'yyyyyyy 
 ■yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 
 yiyyyyyyyyy'yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'yyyy'^^^^^^^ 
 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/- 
 ■yyyyyyyy^yyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy^^^^^^ 
 yyyyy:yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'yyyyy/yyyyy<yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'yyyyyyyyyy ''^ ' 
 'yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'' V • 
 , , , 'yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy' 
 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'y 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy - 
 
 yyyyyyyyyy:yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'yy//yyyyyyyyyyy. 
 ■yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy \ 
 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy' 
 yyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy^'y 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyycyyyyyyyy'yyyyyyyyyyyyy 
 yyyyyyyy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy<yyyyyyyy 
 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy/y/yyyyyyyyyyyyy^\ \ 
 
 yy-^yy y^yy^zwyyyy^iyyyyyy'^^'^^' '' 
 yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy-yyy 
 
 • ■ • I- . r 
 \V V.\* 
 
 ^m^-^y ^}