The Gods of Prophetstown

the Battle of Tippecanoe and the Holy War for the American Frontier

It began with an eclipse. In 1806, the Shawnee leader Tenskwatawa ("The Open Door") declared himself to be in direct contact with the Master of Life, and therefore, the supreme religious authority for all Native Americans. Those who disbelieved him, he warned, "would see darkness come over thesun." William…