Sentence:  Thus at the same time that William Henry Harrison was <WSD>preparing</WSD> to pacify the aborigines of Indiana Territory and winning fame at the battle of Tippecanoe , Anglo-Saxon settlement made a great leap into the center of the North American continent to the west of the American agricultural frontier . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc