Life of Tecumseh, and of His Brother the Prophet | Page 6

the river, but soon
abandoned it, and removed to the plains of the Scioto and Paint creek,
where they established themselves, on the north fork of the latter
stream. They had also several other villages of considerable size in the
Miami valley. One was "Chillicothe," standing near the mouth of
Massie's creek, three miles north of Xenia. Another, called Piqua, and
memorable as the birth place of TECUMSEH, the subject of our
present narrative, stands upon the north-west side of Mad river, about
seven miles below Springfield, in Clark county. Both of these villages
were destroyed in 1780, by an expedition from Kentucky, under the
command of general George Rogers Clark.
After the peace of 1763, the Miamis having removed from the Big
Miami river, a body of Shawanoes established themselves at Lower and
Upper Piqua, in Miami county, which places, being near together,
became their great head-quarters in Ohio. Here they remained until
driven off by the Kentuckians; when they crossed over to the St. Mary's
and to Wapakanotta. The Upper Piqua is said to have contained, at one
period, near four thousand Shawanoes.[A]
[Footnote A: John Johnston.]
From the geographical location of the Shawanoes, it will be perceived
that they were placed under circumstances which enabled them, with
great facility, to annoy the early settlements in Kentucky; and to attack
the emigrants descending the Ohio. In this fierce border war, which was
waged upon the whites for a number of years, and oftentimes with
extreme cruelty, the Delawares, Wyandots, Mingoes and Miamis,
united: the Shawanoes, however, were by far the most warlike and
troublesome.
The Shawanoes were originally divided into twelve tribes or bands,
each of which was sub-divided into families, known as the Eagle, the
Turtle, the Panther, &c., these animals constituting their totems. Of
these twelve, the names of but four tribes are preserved, the rest having

become extinct, or incorporated with them. They are, 1st. the
Mequachake,--2d. the Chillicothe,--3d. the Kiskapocoke,--4th. the
Piqua. When in council, one of these tribes is assigned to each of the
four sides of the council-house, and during the continuance of the
deliberations, the tribes retain their respective places. They claim to
have the power of distinguishing, at sight, to which tribe an individual
belongs; but to the casual observer, there are no visible shades of
difference. In each of the four tribes, except the Mequachake, the chiefs
owe their authority to merit, but in the last named, the office is
hereditary. Of the origin of the Piqua tribe, the following tradition has
been recited:[A] "In ancient times, the Shawanoes had occasion to
build a large fire, and after it was burned down, a great puffing and
blowing was heard, when up rose a man from the ashes!--hence the
name Piqua, which means a man coming out of the ashes."
Mequachake, signifies a perfect man. To this tribe the priesthood is
confided. The members, or rather certain individuals of it, are alone
permitted to perform the sacrifices and other religious ceremonies of
the tribe.[B] The division of the tribe into bands or totems, is not
peculiar to the Shawanoes, but is common to several other nations. One
of the leading causes of its institution, was the prohibition of marriage
between those related in a remote degree of consanguinity. Individuals
are not at liberty to change their totems, or disregard the restraint
imposed by it on intermarriages. It is stated in Tanner's narrative, that
the Indians hold it to be criminal for a man to marry a woman whose
totem is the same as his own; and they relate instances where young
men, for a violation of this rule, have been put to death by their nearest
relatives. Loskiel, in his history of the Moravian missions, says, the
Delawares and Iroquois never marry near relatives. According to their
own account, the Indian nations were divided into tribes for the sole
purpose, that no one might, either through temptation or mistake, marry
a near relation, which is now scarcely possible, for whoever intends to
marry must take a person of a different totem. Another reason for the
institution of these totems, may be found in their influence on the social
relations of the tribe, in softening private revenge, and preserving peace.
Gallatin, on the information derived from a former Indian agent[C]
among the Creeks, says, "according to the ancient custom, if an offence
was committed by one or another member of the same clan, the

compensation to be made, on account of the injury, was regulated in an
amicable way by the other members of the clan. Murder was rarely
expiated in any other way than by the death of the murderer; the nearest
male relative of the deceased was the executioner; but this being done,
as under the authority of the clan, there