Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-09-09
DEATH OF TECUMSEH.
POINTS ON A QUESTION THAT HAS
LONG BEEN IN DISPUTE.
The Claim That an Old Indian Warrior,
. Bitter Indian Halter, Killed the Cele-
brated Chief-A Document Found Among
the Late Richard Conner's Papers.


the Late Richard Corners Papers.
The following account Of the death
Of the great Indian chieftain Tecumseh,
or Tecumthe, was found among the pa
pers of Richard J. Conner. editor Of the
Peru Sentinel, who died in this city
July %, 1895. 1t contains information
touching the question that has hereto
fore been widely disputed. The death
of Mr. Conner prevented the fulfillment
Of the task, says the indianapolis News:
my fathers family was captured by
the Indians about the year 1TS5. 1t may
have been earlier or year or two later.
They were carried to Michigan, and
We're afterward ransomed by some Mo-
ravians, and the family settled about
four or five miles below the present site
Of Mount Clemens. on the Clinton river,
90 miles north of the city Of Detroit.
when captured, the family lived at
place called Conner Town, or Con-
ner's Station, near what is now the east
line of Coshocton county, o., adjoin
ing Pennsylvania. The long journey
through the wilderness then covering
the distance from eastern Ohio to the
Clinton river in Michigan was most
painful and fatiguing.
My father settled on White river in
central Indiana i'll 1902, hut he had
made Il trip to the Wabash in 1900. He
remained at his trading post until the
breaking ont Of the war with Great
Britain in 1912, when he joined the
forces under General Harrison at Fort
Meigs, on the Maumee river, and with
his brother John acted as guide and in
terpreter for General Harrison. He was
sent by the general down the Wabash
to the Miamis, Rattawatomies and
Shawnees, to learn if possible their in
tcntions and attitude i'll the approach
ing trouble with British forces. He
knew Tecumthe and his brother, the
Prophet, intimately. The Prophet often
befriendcd him, and was a trustworthy
friend. My father always spoke well Of
these Indians. He had many CONVERSE
tons with Tecumthe in regard to the
| attitude of the Indian tribes under his
| direction and his reasons for his adher-
ence to the British cause, and his CO.
! operation with that country in the war
| that followed. Tecumthe complained
bitterly of tho lack of faith ON the part
| Of the United States in regard to per-
| Torrance of treaty stipulations and
| contrasted it with the policy as carried
ont by Great Britain in its management
Of Indian affairs in Canada. He felt
| that there was no security for the In
| al.
was not distant when the Indian would
possess little or no part Of the domain
he had inherited from his fathers.
"Tecumthe seemed to be fully aware
| that step by step the tribes would be
pushed farther west or cxterminated
| by the bitterness and hate Of tho white
man. With II power warlike and ag-
| gressiye as Great Britain to back and
ally the Indian, he hoped to put off the
final day and possibly save Il remnant
of his people.
| 'These, il part at least, We're the
reasons that actuatcd him in that Won
derful crusade he was making, visiting
the tribes covering the country from
the lakes TO Arkansas. NJ father said
he had a persuasive tongue and power
to move his fellow savages rare indeed,
and he never failed to rally the red man
on TO the war path. His nature was not
naturally IL savage one, and he often ex-
pressed adherence of unnecessary blood
shed.
| He declared that he would not toler-
ate crueltics or predatory warfare on
peaceful, noncombatant settlements OF
white people, but he felt it his duty to
rally the tribes and inflame them to a
point Of resistance and fair warfare
against the government of the United
States, which had for a hundred years
their homes and the places which that
government had assigned to them with
solemn pledges that they should always
retain such as their future homes, and
that it would protect them from the
restless greed of white pioneers
| MY father was IN command Of 800
friendly Indians at the battle of the
Thames, in Canada. His command was
attached to Colonel Paul's regiment in
that battle. His Indians did some good
service and contributed to the defeat of
the British and Indians.
After the battle, late in the after
noon, he was summoned TO the headquar-
tiers of Colonel II. NJ. Johnston, who
stated to him that it was the rumor that
the great chief Tecumthe was among
the slain in battle and requested my
father to take some of his friendly In
dians and search the field and ascertain
if it We're indeed true Ny father i'm
mediately took with him four or five
Delawarcs and began the search, which
was successful. When they found the
body, some of the Indians were not sure
that it was thai of Tecumthe There
was Il striking resemblance between the
two brothers, Tccumthe and the Prophet,
bat one Of them had spot or defect on
one of his eyes. One of the Delawares
stopped down and pushed open the eye
lid, and it was at once known that the
dead man wasA4ndeed Tecumihe.
During the political campaign of
1910 it was universally asserted by the
Democrats that Colonel johnson killed
Tecumthe. My father often declared