The Coolidge examiner., 1932-07-15

fashion of their people, and pre-
pared for a funeral.
Nothing was further from their
thoughts than that the supposed
corpse would revive, and one may
imagine their CONSERVATION when
the Indian spoke again. However,
he had that to tell which caused
them to forget their fears: II have
seen heaven. Call the nation togeth-
er that 1 may tell them what has
appeared to me"
He announced that he had been
given a wonderful new revelation
from the Master of Life. He had
visited the spirit world and seen
behind the veil of past and future.
He had found that evil is punished
and good rewarded there, and he
also learned that the Indians were
not living good life.
Here he denounced witchcraft and
strong drink, and stated that those.
who continued to drink would have.
a fiery punishment hereafter; the
pain of burning would be theirs,
and flames would shoot from their
mouths.
Sorcery and medicine" we're also,
wrong, the prophet stated, but other
of the old Indian customs were the
right ones and should be rein
stated. The old should be respected
and the infirm taken care of. Prop
erty should be owned in common,
as had been the case in ancient
| times. White men should not be al
lowed to marry into the tribe. and
in fact, civilization should be reject
ed entirely. The Shawnees should
return to the old ways of life, as
they were before the white men
came. And thus, said the revela-
tion, happiness would come once
again to the red mans heart.
His Indian hearers received these
commands with considerable excite
ment. The belief in a Messiah was
strong in every one of the van
Quished race, and this seemed to be-
a message of hope. The strong per-
sonality of the prophet impressed
them, and although he was blind in
one eye, the other seemed to hold
magnetic power.
The name he now assumed was
Tenskwatawa, "The Open Door,"
and he became known to the whites.
simply as the Prophet" 1t is doubt
full from his intrigues if he had any
real belief in his frances" He
would have appeared more genuine
If he had avoided politics. However,
he adroitly directed suspicion of
witchcraft against those who spoke
in his disfavor, and sometimes went
too far in his zeal, thus harming his
cause.
Greenville, Ohio, was the site
chosen by the Prophet for his head
quarters. Here the campaign as
sumed a business-like air. Indians
from other tribes flocked to hear
the vigorous speaker, and his rep
resentatives were sent from the
Blackfoot country to Florida, spread
ing the report of his marvellous su-
pernatural messages.
An eclipse of the sun occurred
in 1906. Tenskwatawa had predict
ed this event, and the fulfillment of
his words served to stamp him as
a true prophet. The other tribes ac-
cepted him without further question
and began to work along the lines
he had planned.
There were two outstanding points
about Tenskwatawa's propaganda
within four years, he said, some aw-
full catastrophe would happen, and
only those who believed in the
prophet would be safe. This added
to the numbers gathered around
him. Then, the northern tribes ad-
vanced the idea that a confederacy
could be formed which would drive
the white men back, and this idea
was eagerly adopted.
At the battle of Tippecanoe, in
which more than a thousand con-
verts to the Prophets creed were
engaged, Harrison won a decisive
victory over the Indians, causing
them a considerable loss. AS Tensk-
watawa had claimed that he could
avert death in battle, this blow was
a severe one, and he lost his pres
tige on this account.
His work, however, had acquired
too great an impetus to stop. The
War of 1912 brought this ferment
to it's height. The British were
quick to see the advantage of such
an Indian league on their side, and
made good use of the opportunity.
The Creek war of 1913 was another
result of the Prophets teachings.
After the War of 1912, Tenskwat-
ava was given a pension by the
British. He lived for some years in
Canada, finally returning to the
United States, and died in Kansas
in November, 1887. His burial
place is unknown.