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They charged that the Governor, in the ensuing negotiations, resorted to trickery, and that he availed himself of the threats and violence of Winamac, the Potawatomi chief, in order to bring the hesitating tribes to the terms of the purchase.
If Winamac is to be believed, the Prophet in person urged upon the council an immediate surprise of Detroit, Fort Wayne, the post at Chicago, St. Louis and Vincennes, and a junction with the tribes of the Mississippi, but the "forcible representations" of the Delaware deputies, who were looked upon as "grandfathers," prevented the adoption of his plans.
When Winamac arrived at Vincennes in the latter part of June, he reported that as he passed through the Prophet's Town an attempt was made to assassinate him so enraged was the Prophet at his failure on the St. Joseph.
Winamac further told the Governor that about the time of the council the Prophet had proposed to the younger warriors that the principal chiefs of all the tribes should be murdered; that they were the ones who had brought about a sale of the Indian lands, and that their, the warriors' hands, would never be untied until they were rid of them. The brothers were baffled in another mission.
The Governor, with a short sword at his side, seated on the platform with his officers and advisers; the Indians in front of him seated on the grass; to the left, the Potawatomi chief, Winamac, with one of his young men, extended on the green, and all about the eager and curious faces of the crowd, now wrought up to a high state of tension by the sarcastic retort of the Indian chieftain.
Little Turtle was soon won over, but the younger and more aggressive chiefs of the Miami villages were hostile to him and openly expressed their disapproval of his conduct. The Mississinewa chiefs were also violently opposed to the pretensions of Winamac and the Potawatomi.
The Governor noticed Tecumseh's angry manner, but thought he was seeking to make some explanation, when his attention was directed to Winamac, who was cocking his pistol, and a moment later, General Gibson, who understood the Shawnee language, said to Lieutenant Jennings: "Those fellows intend mischief; you had better bring up the guard." In an instant all was confusion.
They were led in battle by the perfidious Winamac, who had always professed to be the friend of the Governor, and by White Loon and the Stone Eater. In the weeks that followed the battle much censure of Harrison was heard, and much of the credit for the victory was at first accorded to the United States regulars and Colonel Boyd.
It is well known that in his later days the Little Turtle was almost universally despised by the other Miami chieftains. A deadly hatred existed between the Cornplanter and Joseph Brant. Tecumseh and Winamac were enemies. Governor Arthur St.
The Miami chiefs arrived for an apparently friendly council, but the Stone Eater was vacillating, and already under the influence of the Prophet. Winamac, who had made so many professions of friendliness towards the government, was now rallying his forces on the side of the Shawnee.
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