The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-02-10
CHAPTER x.
The Cougar cro6,eb..

were given three SOILS at . h,rth " mse
81 tne three died Ink infancy tw w. line Uns
terr;hIo 80 uie MOST famous leaders the
',erno oae lnhabitsknts of the forest will
1rar ness ever Knew. AS one of the two
70 ~ - ma1fhood and forced his way
he Tue nea9of his tribe by his daring
ans eunRhg, his matchless eloouence
~ wer, the red man, with his love
Imagery in names, chose the cou-
gar, the panther, the great cat of the
forest, as the fitting type of the chief
whose Hghtest word was law.
The cougar! 1t was from this demo-
Mac beast that the Shawnee chief
received his name-Tecumseh, "the
cougar about to spring."
A Yankee surveyor predicted one
day an eclipse of the sun. Tecum-
seh's brother, on account of his fire.
quent drunken babblings, had been
dubbed "The Open Door :" but a glim-
mer of shrewdness lighted up his rum
sodden brain at the words of the white
man; he returned to his tribe, and say
ing to all who would listen that he
had been given message from the
Great Manitou himself, prophesied
that on a certain day the sky would
be darkened-a sign that he, "The
Open Door," was divine and was
henceforth to lead his people. They
laughed; but the darkness came as he
had fOretold, and from that day he
was looked up to by every warrior in
the forest as the greatest of conjurers.
He was no longer called 'sThe Open
Door," but Elkskatawa, "The Loud
Voice." and his voice In council was
the voice of authority. But years had
now passed; and he prayed in secret
for another sign to bolster up his
wavering strength.
The white men came farther and
farther into the wilderness, reared
their cabins in greater and greater
numbers in the red mans forest, bar
tered and bought larger and larger
territories from the stupid savage, who
reached out eagerly for handful of
toys, a jug of the white mans fiery
drink, and gave in return the countless
acres of his hunting ground. But now
for years his dumb resentment grew
more and more bitter. To Tecumseh
and his brother, Elkskatawa, the
Prophet, the red men looked impatient
ly for a leadership which should re-
strain the encroaching settler, OF
which might even regain for them
their lost lands.
The young warriors could not wait
for council; here and there they struck
down a settler, took woman captive
dashed out the brains Of child, and
hurried back into the forest. To Har
rison i'm Vincennes came Tecumsef
for council and promised redress; ther
slipped away to the South. down the
great river, to the tribes along tht
Gulf. to implore them to stand witt
their brothers Of the North against tn
white mans advance. The Prophe
meanwhile remained at his village, IL
miles north of Vincennes, and spen
tho time in incantations and ominou
mutterings; and the little town Q
yincennes lay In anxious uncertaiht.
on the banks of the Wabash river
down which came the news Oh III
PROHIBITS restless plotting.
The little village presented seen
of tbe most unusual activity. Her
and there In vacant fields the Var,ou
comnanies of the territorial miiiti
were driIling-four companies
mounted men and eight OF lnfantry-
forca of some six hundred mel
,rh;ch Harrison had caused TO De III
sembled hastily.
women and children stood watcnln
Tho evolutions of the volunteers. In
French inhabitants Chartered away
tremendous excitement. AS iar .
,n,I,,orv drill and accouterment Wer
concerned. the men were RIDICULOUS,
awkward and unframed. Tney coui
not kaep step to save their Souls, an
il onlv one of the twelve companies lhau ~.
any pretense at uniform; .ns sn ~
,ras tha company commanded Dy Sple
Snancar of Corydon. These wore ye
low hunting shirts trimmed WIN =
feathers: they were promptly ouDp 'e
.the yellow Jackets" and were ma e
men. But the rest were ~ =. tte
clothes they were possessed VI ~
da,,v I;fe--tow Jeans or hnsey-"oo,se
or tbe hunters dress OF tanneu o.e
skin: and each man carried tne ~, II,
Of his choice, firearms Of every ina'
and of any length of barrel.
One morning was enliveneo W
shooting match. Someone 60. 40 ward
wood plank, and pacing on o. =
dropped it up firmly. a cll. ,.ad J
inches in diameter was smear TEA
the board with wet powder anu MI
the center of this black spot %. :,
white paper. the size Of q dollar .,a " "
PINNED. one after another OF .ne me a y,
ward militiamen stepped to .n aus =,
and fred, seemingly witnou' 49, =
to aim. Not a man failed to SEM SEN - :
S ~ into the white. Then the =
get was moved to so yards Glsta ! ~
then hundred; and the deadly ar :
racy continued. as the better na ~ !
men took their turns. And tnen ~ =
tossed pieces of wood INTO ~ ~ !
5nvUn MERGED Dy