“In 1819, I lodged with Anthony Shane, at what was then called ’the Second Crossing of the St. Mary’s.’  I had known Shane intimately for a long time, indeed, from my first settlement at fort Wayne, in 1806.  In speaking of the battle of the Thames, and the fall of Tecumseh, he said, the most authentic information he had obtained upon this point, was from two brothers of his wife, who were in the battle, and near the person of Tecumseh when he fell.  They stated, in positive terms, that Tecumseh was shot by a private of the Kentucky troops; and Shane seemed so well satisfied with the truth of their statement, that he informed me it was entitled to belief.”

To John Johnston, of Piqua, late Indian agent, and others, Shane, at this early period, expressed the opinion that Tecumseh did not fall by the hands of the commander of the mounted regiment.  The reader of this volume will recollect, that long subsequent to the period when these opinions were expressed, and upon the eve of a political campaign, in which colonel R.M.  Johnson was a candidate for a high and honorable office, Anthony Shane is represented by the reverend O.B.  Brown, as having stated to him his belief, that Tecumseh did meet his death by a shot from the colonel.  Shane, who, we believe, is now deceased, sustained, through life, a character for integrity.  Whether, in his latter years, his memory had failed him, by which he was led to express these contradictory opinions, or whether Mr. Brown misunderstood the import of his language, when talking upon this matter, we shall not undertake to decide.  The reader who feels an interest in the point at issue will settle the question for himself, whether, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, the early or late declarations of Shane were the genuine expression of his belief on this subject.

CHAPTER XVI.

Mr. Jefferson’s opinion of the Prophet—­brief sketch of his character—­anecdotes of Tecumseh—­a review of the great principles of his plan of union among the tribes—­general summary of his life and character.

Mr. Jefferson, in a letter to John Adams,[A] says:  “The Wabash Prophet is more rogue than fool, if to be a rogue is not the greatest of all follies.  He rose to notice while I was in the administration, and became, of course, a proper subject for me.  The inquiry was made with diligence.  His declared object was the reformation of his red brethren, and their return to their pristine manner of living.  He pretended to be in constant communication with the Great Spirit; that he was instructed by Him to make known to the Indians that they were created by Him distinct from the whites, of different natures, for different purposes, and placed under different circumstances, adapted to their nature and destinies; that they must return from all the ways of the whites to the habits and opinions of their forefathers; they must not eat the flesh of hogs, of bullocks, of sheep,