Some distance westward is the Tippecanoe River, a stream flowing
southwest into the Wabash, and thence into the Ohio. The word
Tippecanoe is said to mean "the great clearing," and on this river was
fought the noted battle by "Old Tippecanoe," General William Henry
Harrison, against the combined forces of the Shawnees, Miamis and
several other tribes, which resulted in their complete defeat. They
were united under Elskwatawa, or the "Prophet," the brother of the
famous Tecumseh. These two chieftains were Shawnees, and they preached
a crusade by which they gathered all the northwestern tribes in a
concerted movement to resist the steady encroachments of the whites.
The brother, who was a "medicine man," in 1805 set up as an inspired
prophet, denouncing the use of liquors, and of all food, manners and
customs introduced by the hated "palefaces," and confidently predicted
they would ultimately be driven from the land. For years both chiefs
travelled over the country stirring up the Indians. General Harrison,
who was the Governor of the Northwest Territory, gathered his forces
together and advanced up the Wabash against the Prophet's town of
Tippecanoe, when the Indians, hoping to surprise him, suddenly
attacked his camp, but he being prepared, they were signally defeated,
thus giving Harrison his popular title of "Old Tippecanoe," which had
much to do with electing him President in 1840. Some time after this
defeat the War of 1812 broke out, when Tecumseh espoused the English
cause, went to Canada with his warriors, and was made a
brigadier-general. He was killed there in the battle of the Thames, in
Ontario Province, and it is said had a premonition of death, for,
laying aside his general's uniform, he put on a hunting-dress and
fought desperately until he was slain. Tecumseh was the most famous
Indian chief of his time, and the honor of killing him was claimed by
several who fought in the battle, so that the problem of "Who killed
Tecumseh?" was long discussed throughout the country.
The State of Indiana was admitted into the Union in 1816, and in its
centre, built upon a broad plain, on the east branch of White River,
is its capital and largest city, Indianapolis, having two hundred
thousand population. This is a great railway centre, having lines
radiating in all directions, and it also has extensive manufactures
and a large trade in live stock. The city plan, with wide streets
crossing at right angles, and four diagonal avenues radiating from a
circular central square, makes it very attractive; and the residential
quarter, displaying tasteful houses, ornate grounds and shady streets,
is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the country. The State
Capitol, in a spacious park, is a Doric building with colonnade,
central tower and dome, and in an enclosure on its eastern front is
erected one of the finest Soldiers' and Sailors' Monuments existing,
rising two hundred and eighty-five feet, out-topping everything
around, having been designed and largely constructed in Europe. There
are also many prominent public buildings throughout the city.
Indianapolis, first settled in 1819, had but a small population until
the railways centred there, the Capitol being removed from Corydon in
1825. The Wabash River, to which reference has been made, receives
White River, and is one of the largest affluents of the Ohio, about
five hundred and fifty miles long, being navigable over half that
length. It rises in the State of Ohio, flows across Indiana, and,
turning southward, makes for a long distance the Illinois boundary.
Its chief city is Terre Haute, the "High Ground," about seventy miles
west of Indianapolis, another prominent railroad centre, having
forty-five thousand people, with extensive manufactures. It is
surrounded by valuable coal-fields, is built upon an elevated plateau,
and, like all these prairie cities, is noted for its many broad and
well-shaded streets. It was founded in 1816.