University of Virginia Library

Dryd. Oed.

“My Son—I have strange things to tell you—
events that will excite your “special wonder,”
and which may almost cause you to doubt the
veracity of your father. Attend, therefore, while

I relate a series of facts as extraordinary as any
that ever figured in romance, either ancient or
modern.

“In my last I mentioned the illness of your
aunt—I then considered it trifling; but yesterday
her mortal part was committed to its sister earth.

“On Wednesday evening last, the sixth instant,
she appeared to be considerably better, conversed
cheerfully, and desired me to seek for some repose,
as for the three preceding nights and days
I had scarcely closed an eye. A little after eleven
o'clock, she fell into a quiet sleep; when commending
her to the care of the nurse, I composed
myself in the old easy chair, wrapped in my
great-coat, before a cheerful fire. It was some
time, however, before sleep visited my eyes; my
mind was occupied with far distant events, and
the picture of the Mysterious Chief hung immediately
in my view over the fire-place. The contemplation
of this object insensibly led me into a
train of reflections, with which you was necessarily
connected, and in this frame of mind I fell
asleep.

“My waking ideas pursued me in my dreams;
and wild forests, frightful precipices, treacherous
ambuscades, and tented fields, floated in wild confusion
before my bewildered fancy. At length,
events appeared to occur in a more regular and
connected series; the battle of Miami rapids was
fought over again, with all its attendant particulars,
and the oracular corpse lay stretched before
me.

“Suddenly, the scene was changed, and I found
myself wandering alone on the shores of Erie;
no habitation was visible, all seemed desolate,
and I felt lost and bewildered. In the midst of

my perplexity, I saw the figure of a man with a
drawn sword in his hand, emerging from the
wood with a slow and solemn step. It was the
same form that I had left lifeless on the battle-field,
but no wound nor blood was now visible.
With a dignified step, he advanced to the place
where I was standing, and with a smile of benignity
tendered me his weapon; but in attempting
to take it, my hand trembled, and the sword fell to
the ground with a noise that awakened me.

“I started from my chair, and found by the
clock that I had slept more than two hours. I advanced
softly to the bed, and found both patient
and nurse in a sound sleep, and that of your aunt
appeared so sweet and gentle that I forebore to
awaken the nurse, and feeling considerably refreshed
by my nap, determined to watch the remainder
of the night myself.

“I left the bed and walked to the window,
where I amused myself awhile in gazing on the
etherial expanse glowing with myriads of golden
stars; the waning moon was riding “in cloudless
majesty” over the eastern forests, and her silver
rays glittered on the bosom of the frozen lake.

“As I turned again towards the fire, my steps
were impeded with something which, on examination,
I found to be the sword of Washington. It
had fallen, with its scabbard, from the hook by the
window, and lay nearly unsheathed upon the floor.
The noise produced by its falling must have been
that which awakened me so suddenly from my
dream; but why it should have fallen—(and at
that particular moment too)—was a mystery I
could not unravel. In my dream, the sword presented
by the chief had fallen from my hand,
either through carelessness or terror. What did

that portend? The one I now replaced on the
hook, had long been idle in its scabbard. Was it
a reproof for remissness? That could not be, for
my country had all that time been at peace. Did
this weapon,

“While indulging such reflections, I again
threw myself into the chair; and, without intending
it, was instantly asleep. My former dream
returned with all its particulars, and I was again
awakened in exactly the same manner, for

With a kind of instinct I turned my eyes to the
spot where I expected to see again the prostrate
sword. I saw it not. The clock at that moment
struck three.

“I feel, my son, a reluctance to proceed; for
you will immediately suspect that watching and
anxiety have turned your poor father's brain.
But, think of it as you will, I will leave nothing
untold. The same figure that appeared in my
dream, the exact counterpart of the picture on the
wall, in the same dress, and with the same aspect,
stood before me!

“I was not in the least terrified, though the circumstance
was such as would naturally produce
that sensation. To have unexpectedly discovered
an armed savage in my house at midnight, hovering
round the couch of slumber, would, at any
other time, have much alarmed me; but now I
only felt surprised that a dream could thus be

continued after I believed myself to be awake.
I rubbed my eyes, and involuntarily exclaimed,
“Is it possible!” still slowly advancing to the
mysterious apparition, who smiled as I approached,
with the same aspect of dignified benignity
that I admired in my dream.

“My sword was in his hand! but not undrawn.
He gracefully presented me the hilt, with the same
courteous smile and majestic attitude that graced
the immortal hero who first tendered it to my acceptance.

“Take it,” said he in accents that thrilled to
my very soul; “take it, and redeem your vow.”

“I had never forgotten the tones of that mysterious
voice which announced your birth. I now
heard them again. After staring a moment in
astonishment, I exclaimed.—“Am I asleep or
awake? This is, indeed, a most singular dream!”

“The mysterious stranger heard me with
a smile, and then mildly replied: “This is no
dream; the time has arrived for dormant patriotism
to arouse, and for those who are destined to
defend their country to commence that sacred
duty.”

“My surprize, if possible, was heightened by
this address; and though I was fully convinced
that I was still dreaming, I felt an ardent curiosity
to hear an explanation of his meaning. I therefore
asked him, as I received the weapon, what danger
threatened the safety or happiness of my
country. To which he answered:

“The Wabash will run with human blood before
the dawn of morning. Even now the ambush
is laid, the tomahawk raised, and the scalping-knife
sharpened. Treachery lurks round the
white men's camp. A prophet strikes at the
heart of your country: and all this is but the
bloody prelude of a long and more dreadful contention,

the result of which will depend on that of
the approaching battle. If the valor of white
men foil the treachery and ferocity of the cruel foe,
then the Champions of Freedom will conquer in the
subsequent contest with a mighty empire. If not—
Washington has lived in vain, and the blood of
patriots flowed for nothing.”

“Admitting your assertion and prediction to be
true,” I replied, “still, why am I called upon?
There are thousands more capable of serving
their country, who possess hands to raise in her
defence.”

“You have a son, whom you devoted to his
country before you knew that he existed. Him
have I lately seen basking in the treacherous
sunshine of ease and pleasure. Rouse him
to a sense of his duty, and the high calling to
which he is destined. The day approaches that
will light him to the field. Before he can fully
acquire the art of defence, the soil of Freedom will
be prest by foreign hostile steps, and stained
with the blood of her children.”

“Prophet! spirit! angel! or devil!” I exclaimed;
“whatever you are, should the event of the
coming morning verify your prediction, I will
comply with your injunctions. Nay, more—my
son shall receive my consent to follow the bent of
his inclination, which I know will immediately
lead him from college to the army. But satisfy
me on one point: You seem to be a man; at any
rate you wear not the countenance of a demon;
how happens it that you bear so strong a resemblance
to that picture?”

“Resemblances,” answered he, “are no proofs
of identity. Many a man has been mistaken for
another.”

“But tell me,” said I, “what is your name? to
what tribe do you belong?—and how gained you
admittance here?

“Your sister sleeps,” said he, pointing to the
bed, without noticing my question; “she will
shortly sleep to wake no more on earth.”

“My eyes were directed for a moment to your
aunt; she moved, and I flew to the couch. She
did not awake, and I returned to resume the conference
with my mysterious guest; when, guess
my astonishment, he had disappeared! No door
had opened—no footstep had sounded—but the
chief was nowhere to be found.

“Surely—surely this is nothing but a dream!”
I exclaimed with a vehemence that awakened the
nurse.

“What is the matter, sir?” cried she, starting
from the chair in which she had been so long
snoring by the side of the bed.

“Matter!” I exclaimed—“come to me quick!
take hold of me! shake me—wake me!”

“Wake you!” repeated the good woman, rubbing
her eyes, and then staring with the most
unaffected surprise—“'tant possible, sure, that
you are talking and walking in your sleep?”

“I made her no answer, for at that moment I
conceived a plan of ascertaining, the next day,
whether I had been thus imposed upon by an illusive
dream or not, and this plan I resolved to put
into immediate execution. I opened my escritoir
and wrote down the particulars as above stated,
which I deposited in a certain pigeon-hole, and
once more threw myself into the easy-chair, and
fell into an undisturbed slumber which lasted until
after sunrise.

“For nearly the whole day I avoided my escritoir,
being determined, in the first place, to convince
myself fully that I was not only awake, but
in my right reason. I conversed a little with your
aunt, who had slept quietly till morning, and
seemed much relieved; I chatted a while with the
nurse, directed the threshers in the barns, visited
Cleveland, and transacted business with several
people; until every doubt was removed as to
the sanity of my mind, or the wakefulness of my
body. Then, towards evening, I ventured to look
for my singular narrative, and found it in the spot
where I left it; and yet, notwithstanding all this
mass of evidence, I almost doubted my own
senses.

“A few days, however, removed all doubts
from my mind. Yesterday morning an express
passed the Grove on the way to Erie, bearing the
intelligence of a dreadful battle that was fought,
last Thursday morning, by the army under general
Harrison, with the combined Indians under
the Shawanoe prophet. As the particulars of this
battle may not have reached Boston, I will relate
them as far as communicated by the express,
who stopped a few minutes at my house for refreshment.

“On the twenty-ninth of October last, the governor
of Indiana, with a small army, left Fort
Harrison, on an expedition, the object of which
was to break up a combination formed by the
Shawanoe prophet on the Wabash, inimical to the
tranquility and interests of the United States.

“After a long and hazardous march, they
reached the prophet's town on Wednesday, the
sixth instant. Here the general held a parley with
some chiefs who met him for that purpose, when
it was mutually agreed to suspend all further discussion

until the next day, and that, in the mean
time, no hostile step should be taken on either
side.

“The American army then encamped on the
banks of the Wabash, but were attacked the next
morning, a little after four o'clock, by a host of
savages, led by the treacherous prophet; and so
sudden and unexpected was the assault, that it
fared hard with many of our brave countrymen,
some of whom were scalped in their tents. The
Americans formed, however, with all possible expedition,
and after a sharp contest of two hours,
succeeded in beating them off with great loss, and
the victory was decided with the bayonet. Two
hundred fell wounded on our side, about seventy
of them never to rise again. A much larger number
of the Indians were destroyed, and the prophet's
town was burnt to ashes.

“Thus, my son, was literally fulfilled one prediction
of the Mysterious Chief. Who can this
being be? I am not superstitious; but `there are
things in heaven and earth not dreamt of in our
philosophy.' Is he supernatural? But I forbear
to ask questions of one as unable to satisfy these
doubts as I am myself. Whoever he be, I shall
comply with my engagement, and you have my
free consent to enter the army or navy as soon as
you please. The relinquishment of your studies
will be a great sacrifice, but if we are on the eve
of a war, as this unknown Indian has predicted, you
cannot too soon commence a military life. `In
time of peace prepare for war,' is the language
of the hero whose name you bear, and whose
sword you are to wield. I know your generous,
daring spirit, and unless it has been much relaxed
by the new sphere in which you are moving,
your soul is now `in arms, and eager for the

fray.' A very singular agent was made the instrument
to announce your birth; a very singular
agent now claims your services for our common
country. `I have a son to redeem my vow.'

“I possess sufficient influence at the seat of
government to procure you a commission, but
shall not apply for it until you accompany me
thither in person. I shall set out immediately for
Boston, so that you will not do wrong to expect
me in the first week of December. I have been
informed that a bill will be shortly laid before congress,
which will probably pass, for raising an
army of thirty thousand men, so that our application
will be in good season.

“As to the marvellous part of this letter, I would
recommend you to keep it a secret for the
present; possibly we may yet discover a clue to
unravel the mystery. The particulars of the Wabash
battle will soon appear in all the newspapers.
It is probable that the account I have given
is not correct in all its parts.

“Harrison, you have heard me mention, was
aid to the gallant Wayne, in the battle of your
birth-day; he is a man of fine talents, and possesses
a perfect knowledge of the topography of
this state and the adjacent territories.

“The pretended prophet who has thus led
these deluded people to ruin, is brother to that
Tecumseh, whose inveterate animosity against
the people of the United States you have heard
Logan mention. Some of the newspapers have
represented him to be Red Jacket, the celebrated
warrior who commanded the Indians by whom we
were defeated, in the year one thousand seven
hundred and ninety-two, under St. Clair. But
this I know to be incorrect. He was indeed in

that battle, but was then too young to command.
It is said that at the age of fifteen, this Indian
disappeared from his relatives, and was considered
as finally lost; that he strolled to Quebec, and
from thence to Montreal, where he remained
several years; and in this space received an
education qualifying him to act the part of a prophet.
Among the sciences which he studied, that
of astronomy was his favorite, and the only one
in which he made any considerable proficiency.
By his calculations he discovered that a comet
was about to make its appearance, whose orbit
would approximate so near to that of our earth
as to give rise to that tremulous motion which has
lately been sensibly felt in several parts of the
United States, the earth alternately preponderating
between two great attractive powers.

“With this calculation of the cometary influence
in his pocket, the prophet left Quebec, and immediately
set about forming the Wabash combination,
instigated, no doubt, by his hot-headed
brother, the fiery Tecumseh. He went on an
embassy to the Creeks, in the month of August
last, and required them to unite in the northern
coalition, and on their refusing, he solemnly announced,
in the public square, that `a lamp
would shortly appear in the west to aid him in his
hostile attack upon the whites; and that if they
would not be influenced by his persuasion, the
earth would ere long tremble to its centre.'

“The lamp is in the west—the earth has
shaken. No wonder that these circumstances
should have had a powerful effect on the minds of
these untutored Indians, and tended greatly to
strengthen the confederacy. I shall be but a few
days behind this letter.