this time, Tecumseh made a visit to the Mississinaway towns, the immediate object of which could not be clearly ascertained.  That it was connected with the grand scheme in which he was engaged, is probable from the fact that the Indians of that region agreed to meet him and the Prophet on the Wabash, in the following June, to which place he had at this time resolved to move his party.  Mr. Jouett, one of the United States’ Indian agents, apprehended that this meeting would result in some hostile action against the frontiers; and, as a means of preventing it, and putting an end to the influence of the Prophet, recommended to the governor that he should be seized and confined.  The proposition, however, was not entertained.

In the spring of this year, 1808, Tecumseh and the Prophet removed to a tract of land granted them by the Potawatamies and Kickapoos, on Tippecanoe, one of the tributaries of the Wabash river.  They had not been long at their new residence before it became apparent that the Prophet had established a strong influence over the minds of the surrounding Indians, and there was much reason for believing that his views were hostile to the United States.  The governor still confided in the fidelity of the Delawares and the Miamis; but he apprehended, that although disbelievers in the Prophet’s divine mission, they might be turned from the line of duty from a fear of his temporal power.  When he had established himself upon the banks of the Tippecanoe, the Prophet drew around him a body of northern Indians, principally from the Potawatamies, Ottowas and Chippewas.  To this, the Miamis and Delawares had strong objections; and a deputation of the latter was sent to the Prophet on the subject.  He refused to see them himself, but Tecumseh met them; and after a solemn conference, they returned to their tribe with increased apprehensions of the combination at Tippecanoe, which was now uniting warlike sports with the performance of religious duties.[A] The Delawares decided in council to arrest the progress of this rising power, but in vain.  Strong in the moral force with which they were armed, the two brothers were not to be driven from their purpose of planting the banner of union, which they were now holding out to the tribes, upon the waters of the Wabash.  The sacred office which the Prophet had impiously assumed, enabled him to sway many minds, and in doing so, he was effectively sustained by the personal presence, tact and sagacity of his brother.  From his youth, Tecumseh had been noted for the influence which he exercised over those by whom he was surrounded.  Hence, when the chiefs of the Miamis and Delawares, who were disbelievers in the Prophet’s holy character, set out to prevent his removal to the Wabash, Tecumseh boldly met them, and turned them from their purpose.  This was done at a moment when the number of the Prophet’s followers was greatly reduced, as we gather from the statement of the agent, John Conner, who in the month