Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief who hoped to unite the Native Americans in a confederation, and thereby be able to resist white advances. He was a great leader and a great warrior, even from a young age. Some believed he was a prophet He predicted the coming of a lunar eclipse. He also predicted an earthquake, and that as a result of the quake the Mississippi River would flow backwards saying that the time to unite and attack the whites would be when the trees fall and the earth trembles and rivers change their course.
He visited many tribes, and many joined with him. He made himself an enemy to the American government. He would encourage the Native Americans saying, "We will all be Indians, united together." However not all tribes joined him. When his authority began to wain, the eclipse happened as he said. The governor of Indian territories hoping to kill him and destroy his power attacked his camp at Tippecanoe. He was away but many were killed. Again his power lessened. However the earthquake also took place as he said, with rolling boulders and falling trees. Some of the warriors came back to him, and thee joined the British in fighting the Americans in the War of 1812. Tecumseh was killed in 1813.
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