bing pulse, the
tales of the heroic dead; and he early formed the ambition to become
a leader of his race. Some sachem would sadly sketch the smiling
scenes of health and happiness in the days before the pale-face
came to wrest from the Indians their land, the gift of the Great
Spirit. And as the boy listened to these stories of encroachment
and oppression, a fierce impulse fired his blood and bade him check
the advance of the whites and win back the land of which his people
had been robbed. Thus was moulded his life's high purpose; thus
was fanned that spark of eloquence which later burst into flame
and fired the hearts of his race, from Florida to the Great Lakes.

CHAPTER II

THE BAPTISM OF FIRE

The populous Indian village of Piqua on the Mad River had prospered
during six years of peace. The fertile plains about it had been
cultivated in the rude fashion of the Indian, and the corn now
stood ripening in the August sun with promise of an abundant harvest.
Amid such a scene Tecumseh and his young companions, tired of their
play, threw themselves down one evening to listen to the exciting
tales of the warriors who lounged smoking in the cool shade. The
women busied themselves about the camp-fires cooking the game just
brought in by the men. The voices of the Indian girls rose and
fell in monotonous song as with nimble fingers they deftly wove
the rushes into mats, while keeping a watchful eye upon the little
ones who played near by. The few years of peace had given the
inhabitants of Piqua a feeling of security, and they did not know
that the dark cloud of war even then overshadowed them.

The agents of the British commandant at Detroit had been busy among
the Indians seeking to enlist their aid against the revolutionists.
And in May of this year (1780) a party of six hundred warriors from
the country north of the Ohio, accompanied by a few Canadians, had
raided a number of villages in Kentucky, slain many settlers, and
carried off horses and prisoners. George Rogers Clark, now holding
the rank of colonel in the American army, was on a visit to Kentucky.
The frontiersmen rallied about him; and with a body of 970 crack
riflemen he crossed the Ohio and advanced on the town of Old
Chillicothe. The Indians there had been warned and the town was
deserted. The Americans burnt it to the ground and continued their
march to Piqua.

At this time there were in Piqua about two hundred warriors
and two British agents