HITCHY-KOO OF 1822
Harrison was looking for a way to discredit the brothers in the eyes of the Indians. The Prophet claimed to have almost divine powers. So Harrison decided to put forth a challenge. Using his Christian upbringing as a base, Harrison wrote an open letter to the Indians gathered at Tippecanoe. He wrote: “If he (the Prophet) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves”. In other words, he wanted to see them produce a miracle of biblical proportions. What he did not expect was the reaction of the Indians to this request. For them, this request had different meaning.At around noon on the appointed day, June 16th 1806, a total solar eclipse crossed the region. A long eclipse with a band of totality stretching from near the southern tip of Lake Michigan to just north of Cincinnati it encompassed most of the lands inhabited by Tenskwatawa’s followers. In Greenville, where Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh waited for the event, close to a thousand had gathered to see the Prophet’s sign. The Prophet waved his arms towards the eclipse at the appropriate time, and the people were truly impressed.
He wrote: “If he (the Prophet) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves”. In other words, he wanted to see them produce a miracle of biblical proportions. What he did not expect was the reaction of the Indians to this request. For them, this request had different meaning.At around noon on the appointed day, June 16th 1806, a total solar eclipse crossed the region. A long eclipse with a band of totality stretching from near the southern tip of Lake Michigan to just north of Cincinnati it encompassed most of the lands inhabited by Tenskwatawa’s followers. In Greenville, where Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh waited for the event, close to a thousand had gathered to see the Prophet’s sign. The Prophet waved his arms towards the eclipse at the appropriate time, and the people were truly impressed.
He wrote: “If he (the Prophet) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves”. In other words, he wanted to see them produce a miracle of biblical proportions. What he did not expect was the reaction of the Indians to this request. For them, this request had different meaning.At around noon on the appointed day, June 16th 1806, a total solar eclipse crossed the region. A long eclipse with a band of totality stretching from near the southern tip of Lake Michigan to just north of Cincinnati it encompassed most of the lands inhabited by Tenskwatawa’s followers. In Greenville, where Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh waited for the event, close to a thousand had gathered to see the Prophet’s sign. The Prophet waved his arms towards the eclipse at the appropriate time, and the people were truly impressed.
WHY YOU SHOULD NAME YOUR SON TECUMSEH!
This letter was presented to the brothers when they were visiting a friend along the White River. One story has the two of them going inside to meet in private. After an hour had passed, the Prophet requested that all in the village be assembled for him to deliver his response.
He said the he had consulted with the Great Spirit and that she was not happy about Harrison’s request. Thus the Great Spirit had agreed to give a sign that the Prophet could share with others in advance to demonstrate just how closely related they were. The Prophet spoke in a loud and confident voice saying that: “Fifty days from this day there will be no cloud in the sky. Yet, when the Sun has reached its highest point, at that moment will the Great Spirit take it into her hand and hide it from us. The darkness of night will thereupon cover us and the stars will shine round about us. The birds will roost and the night creatures will awaken and stir.”He wrote: “If he (the Prophet) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves”. In other words, he wanted to see them produce a miracle of biblical proportions. What he did not expect was the reaction of the Indians to this request. For them, this request had different meaning.At around noon on the appointed day, June 16th 1806, a total solar eclipse crossed the region. A long eclipse with a band of totality stretching from near the southern tip of Lake Michigan to just north of Cincinnati it encompassed most of the lands inhabited by Tenskwatawa’s followers. In Greenville, where Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh waited for the event, close to a thousand had gathered to see the Prophet’s sign. The Prophet waved his arms towards the eclipse at the appropriate time, and the people were truly impressed.
He wrote: “If he (the Prophet) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves”. In other words, he wanted to see them produce a miracle of biblical proportions. What he did not expect was the reaction of the Indians to this request. For them, this request had different meaning.At around noon on the appointed day, June 16th 1806, a total solar eclipse crossed the region. A long eclipse with a band of totality stretching from near the southern tip of Lake Michigan to just north of Cincinnati it encompassed most of the lands inhabited by Tenskwatawa’s followers. In Greenville, where Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh waited for the event, close to a thousand had gathered to see the Prophet’s sign. The Prophet waved his arms towards the eclipse at the appropriate time, and the people were truly impressed.
NEW FINDINGS LEAD TO OLD FLAME
This letter was presented to the brothers when they were visiting a friend along the White River. One story has the two of them going inside to meet in private. After an hour had passed, the Prophet requested that all in the village be assembled for him to deliver his response. He said the he had consulted with the Great Spirit and that she was not happy about Harrison’s request. Thus the Great Spirit had agreed to give a sign that the Prophet could share with others in advance to demonstrate just how closely related they were. The Prophet spoke in a loud and confident voice saying that: “Fifty days from this day there will be no cloud in the sky. Yet, when the Sun has reached its highest point, at that moment will the Great Spirit take it into her hand and hide it from us. The darkness of night will thereupon cover us and the stars will shine round about us. The birds will roost and the night creatures will awaken and stir.”
WHY YOU SHOULD NAME YOUR SON TECUMSEH!
He wrote: “If he (the Prophet) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves”. In other words, he wanted to see them produce a miracle of biblical proportions. What he did not expect was the reaction of the Indians to this request. For them, this request had different meaning.At around noon on the appointed day, June 16th 1806, a total solar eclipse crossed the region. A long eclipse with a band of totality stretching from near the southern tip of Lake Michigan to just north of Cincinnati it encompassed most of the lands inhabited by Tenskwatawa’s followers. In Greenville, where Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh waited for the event, close to a thousand had gathered to see the Prophet’s sign. The Prophet waved his arms towards the eclipse at the appropriate time, and the people were truly impressed.
DON’T MESS WITH THE INJUNS, THEY GOT STRONG JUJU
The question of just how Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa came to know about the eclipse is not clear. Tenskwatawa did not travel much and tended to stay near his village and town of Tippecanoe where he governed his followers. Tecumseh, on the other hand, traveled frequently and was known to associate with many people of diverse backgrounds, include a great deal of white settlers. It is possible that he ran across this information at some time in his travels as there were eclipse chasers from the eastern USA in the lake Erie area.
It is also possible that Tecumseh had access to an almanac when he was learning to read English* and simply filed the information away for later retrieval as good students are prone to do. An almanac would have been a useful book for a farmer in the frontier to have handy. He did consider several settlers to be friends and it is also possible that one of them could have told him about the eclipse however no stories have emerged in Ohio history of such an event. If someone had, they would have most likely suffered some retribution from Harrison as he lost a lot of political ground with this blunder – thus it would have been wise to remain reticent.
Did Tecumseh have an almanac himself? Word reached the brothers when they were in the town of Buckangehela’s Town and not in Tecumseh’s Town of Greenville. And they gave their response shortly afterwards. It is unlikely that any almanacs would have been available giving the details of the eclipse at this village and also unlikely that Tecumseh would have traveled with an instrument of his enemy. It is more likely that Tecumseh remembered that tidbit of information at just the right time. When the challenge arrived he would have marveled at the wonderful opportunity that had been provided.
THIS JUST IN
It is also possible that the information was provided by other sources such as another Indian who had been studying an almanac or was a student of astronomy. Based on direct evidence from eyewitness accounts, the Shawnee people did not track the movements of the Sun and Moon with great precision. As a result it is unlikely that they had determined this information on their own in the time indicated by this story (less than an hour). In addition, the impact of this event and the subsequent lifting of the Prophet’s status in the eyes of the many Indian tribes who had heard of the prophesy indicates that it was not anticipated by any others. Thus it is unlikely that any other tribal shaman or wise man knew of this event about to occur. Of if they did, they wisely remained quiet for political reasons.
Although eclipse chasing into the wild frontier may have brought Tecumseh into contact with astronomers arriving well in advance to establish a base camp I could not find any references to expeditions into the part of the country he roamed. The best opportunity would have been a chance encounter near Michigan where there were numerous active trade routes. If anyone knows of any expeditions please let the author know! As an experienced eclipse chaser I would have selected a location along the Great Lakes nearer to settlements, forts, and available transportation (traders).
TIPPECANOE AND TYLER TOO
Harrison was looking for a way to discredit the brothers in the eyes of the Indians. The Prophet claimed to have almost divine powers. So Harrison decided to put forth a challenge. Using his Christian upbringing as a base, Harrison wrote an open letter to the Indians gathered at Tippecanoe. He wrote: “If he (the Prophet) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves”. In other words, he wanted to see them produce a miracle of biblical proportions. What he did not expect was the reaction of the Indians to this request. For them, this request had different meaning.
He wrote: “If he (the Prophet) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves”. In other words, he wanted to see them produce a miracle of biblical proportions. What he did not expect was the reaction of the Indians to this request. For them, this request had different meaning.At around noon on the appointed day, June 16th 1806, a total solar eclipse crossed the region. A long eclipse with a band of totality stretching from near the southern tip of Lake Michigan to just north of Cincinnati it encompassed most of the lands inhabited by Tenskwatawa’s followers. In Greenville, where Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh waited for the event, close to a thousand had gathered to see the Prophet’s sign. The Prophet waved his arms towards the eclipse at the appropriate time, and the people were truly impressed.
He wrote: “If he (the Prophet) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves”. In other words, he wanted to see them produce a miracle of biblical proportions. What he did not expect was the reaction of the Indians to this request. For them, this request had different meaning.At around noon on the appointed day, June 16th 1806, a total solar eclipse crossed the region. A long eclipse with a band of totality stretching from near the southern tip of Lake Michigan to just north of Cincinnati it encompassed most of the lands inhabited by Tenskwatawa’s followers. In Greenville, where Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh waited for the event, close to a thousand had gathered to see the Prophet’s sign. The Prophet waved his arms towards the eclipse at the appropriate time, and the people were truly impressed.
He wrote: “If he (the Prophet) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves”. In other words, he wanted to see them produce a miracle of biblical proportions. What he did not expect was the reaction of the Indians to this request. For them, this request had different meaning.At around noon on the appointed day, June 16th 1806, a total solar eclipse crossed the region. A long eclipse with a band of totality stretching from near the southern tip of Lake Michigan to just north of Cincinnati it encompassed most of the lands inhabited by Tenskwatawa’s followers. In Greenville, where Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh waited for the event, close to a thousand had gathered to see the Prophet’s sign. The Prophet waved his arms towards the eclipse at the appropriate time, and the people were truly impressed.