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Show I Qtories of GREAT INDIANS 1 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON E Copj right, 1922, NVeeteru iNewiipdyor union. WARRIOR TECUMSEH BECAME A BRITISH GENERAL IN THE year 176S Meetheetashe, wife of Chief Pukesheeno of the Shawnees, gave birth to triplets. One of them, Tecumtlia or Tecumseh, "The Shooting Shoot-ing Star," a name strangely prophetic of his meteoric career, was destined to be called by many historians "the Ifreatest American Indian." Tecumseh distinguished himself In battle early. Although he was a great warrior, he was not a cruel one and, due to his Influence, the Shawnees gradually gave up the practice of torturing tor-turing captives. He was a proud chieftain, chief-tain, too. At a council with Gen. William Wil-liam Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana, In-diana, In 1S10, the Interpreter Handed Tecumseh a chair with the remark, "Your father requests you to take this jhalr." "My father? The sun Is my father and the earth Is my mother and I will rest upon herbosom," replied Tecumseh haughtily as he took his place among his warriors on the ground. Tecumseh had come to protest against the cession of Shawnee lands under the Treaty of Fort Wayne, but his objections gained him nothing. He travelled throughout the Middle West gaining recruits for his confederation. confed-eration. His scheme failed. While he was absent, his brother, the loud-mouthed Prophet, rashly precipitated pre-cipitated an attack upon Harrison and the Cattle of Tippecanoe In 1811 ended Tecumseh's dream forever. He Immediately Imme-diately enlisted in the service of the British, who, at the outbreak of the War of 1S12, made him a brigadier geueral. Once while he discovered some of his Indians butchering helpless captives, he hotly rebuked General Proctor for allowing it. "Sir," replied the general, "Your Indians In-dians could not be restrained. 'I "Begone '" shouted Tecumseh. "You are not fit to command. Go home and I put on petticoats." Later In the campaign when the cowardly Proctor continued retreating Tecumseh forced him to make a stand od the Thames river in Ontario. He seems to have had a presentiment of death for he discarded his general's ; uniform and went Into the battle wear- lng the deerskin garb of a bhawnee j warrior. He was killed in that battle. I Ills had been the career of a shoot-j shoot-j lng star, truly. From the Mad river : In Ohio, his birthplace, to the Thames, I It had been only 45 years. But In that I short time Tecumseh made his place In history". i |