Southern shield., 1840-03-28

Inc governor ID person exercised these troops, in that mode of formation which had
 been so successfully practised by Wayne; giving them instruction which was equally
 necessary for the regular troops, and the
 militia, as this kind of manGuyring was en- tirely new to the former.
 1 On the 18th of October, lSll the march was commenced from Fort Harrison, al Ipost on the Wabash about sixty miles a. bove Nlncennes. In the mean while an
 attempt was made, through the interven- ton and Miami tribes, to induce the prophet to deliver up the murderers and stolen horses The inpostor and his council iireatdu these overtures with insolence, and lrejecte1 them with disdain To lcav. moi doubt ei tiieir intentions d small war party was t.e,.s he'd to commence hostilitieS. who not meeting with any struggles from our camp, advanced to the vicinity of the army, and fired spon sentinel
 The march 10 Tippecanoe was conduct ed with great prudence. The troops were lencamped in the order of battle they march ed in form from which that order could be assumed with facility, at a moments warning, the infantry in two columns, inI single file on each side of the trace so that by single conversion they could be form ed in two lines to receive the enemy at any point or be reduced into hallow square the cavalry. and mounted riAemen, of the
 latter of which there were two companies,
 covering the advance, flank, and wildernessl 1.-the most westward of a narrow and loosely connected line of settlements. ex- tending across the territory of Indiana, from the falls of Ohio. It was line hay 1 ing without much breadth or solidity-hav ing little strength in itself and difficult to be protected large portion of the able-bod-
 led men were in the army, leaving their homes defenceless, and the country ex posed to almost certain destruction, should a sudden inroad be mad by the h.
 dians.
 [ The uncertainty of the position of the en- emy threw upon governor Harrison hea " weight of responsibility Had he been opposed to a regular army, it would have ibeen his duty to know its position. and tol become advised of it's movements, in which are familiar to the accomplished comman- der; and he might have been expected toI linterpose his force between the foe and the points to be protected, in such :; manner asI Ito insure the safety of the latter. But nol army D"s.slT- r.: r.s : ..s,1. snt q barrier against an Truptlon Of Sava- ges, who having no artillery. baggage, porI common store of provisions. can at anyI moment dissolve their army into its ele-
 ments, disperse themselves so as to leaveI organized force, and reunite at any point l L. ! the forest without roads and the rivers with
 out bridges. and leave scarcely trace ofI their footprints.
 l Such circumstances were calculated to
 create great anxiety in the mind of com
 mander and especially when as the civil
 magistrate, as well as the military head, the whole responsibility rested upon himself
 and it became his duty to protect his people from outrage, while he was invad- ing the strong hold of the enemy. After
 crossing the river, the suspense of the Gov ernor, on this intensely interesting subject
 became painful. Anxious as he was to push forward, the idea of the enemy might
 be even now marchingupon the settlements
 caused deep solicitude for the safety of the
 defenceless population at home, had he re-
 traced his steps, the measure would have
 been of such obvious prudence, that no
 military man would have been found to
 censure It.
 These reflections passed upon the Gov
 ernor's mind so heavily that they become
 painful, and to drive away the sleep which 1 is usually so sound to hm. who lies wrap | ped in his blanket by the camp fire, after a
 weary days march He determined to tpersevere in his march upon the Tippeca-
 noe Town, but to make further provision I for the protection of the settlements; he|
 rose one night from the hard couch of the
 bordor leader, and dispatched his orderly
 for Major Jordan of the Indian volunteers,
 in whom he had great confidence. He di-
 rected that officer to take forty picked
 men, and return to Vincennes, to protect
 that post, and to place that, and the other
 settlements upon their guard
 The order to Jordan was minute, as|
 well in relation to his conduct on reach ing the settlement, as in case of disaster toI
 the army. in the latter event, he directed
 him to fortify the courthouse in VincenesI
 and other houses capable of defence, and
 place in them the women and children. and
 to send expresses to the governor of Ken
 lucky, inviting volunteers from that State.
 By this conveyance he wrote to his friend
 Dr. Scott of Frankfort, who had come tol 1 Vincennes to attend Mrs. Harrison in anI
 expected indispositon and to remain with , |