Tecumseh expressed regret that his violent temper had gotten
the better of him; but prudent men knew from his conduct that war was
inevitable.
In the spring of 1811, the hostile savages began to roam over the Wabash
region, in small parties, plundering the white settlers and
friendly Indians.
Soon after the council at Vincennes, Tecumseh went South among the
Creeks to extend the confederacy of the people of Indiana among them.
There is a tradition among the Tuckabachees that Tecumseh, failing to
enlist them in his enterprise, in his wrath said:
"When I return to the North, I will stamp on the earth and make it
tremble." When the effects of the earthquake of New Madrid were felt,
the Tuckabachees said:
"Tecumseh has reached the North."
The hostile demonstrations on the part of the Indians in Indiana alarmed
the people of that territory, and General Harrison therefore took
measures to increase his regular force. He warned the Indians to obey
the treaty at Greeneville; but at the same time he prepared to break up
the prophet's establishment if necessary. In September, the prophet sent
assurances to the governor that his intentions were pacific. About the
same time, he dispatched a message to the Delawares, who were friendly,
asking them to join him in a war against the United States, stating that
he had taken up the tomahawk and would not lay it down but with his
life, unless their wrongs were redressed.
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