"In your face General Harrison!" 

Tenskwatawa (the "Prophet)

1775 - 1836

How in the World could he predict a solar eclipse?

The question has always been, did Tecumseh and his brother, Tenskwatwa, aka known as the "Prophet" make their bold prediction of an upcoming solar eclipse based on hearsay or from something they may have read somewhere?.  I think I have the answer to that question and will present it at the end of the following article.

The following is an excerpt from of an article written by Pam Frazier Cottrel and published in the Springfield News Sun.  You can find the article in its entirety at  https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/

The total solar eclipse of 1806:  How a prediction from "The Prophet" shaped U.S. - Native American relations. 

 

By Pam Cottrel – Contributing Writer

Before the April 8 solar eclipse happens, let’s take a look at the last time this area experienced a total solar eclipse 218 years ago.  Some historians say that the 1806 Eclipse contributed to the start of the War of 1812. And an interesting story that is.The total eclipse on June 13, 1806 is also known as the Tecumseh Eclipse.

 The year 1806 was a turbulent time in Ohio and the Northwest Territory immediately to its west and north. Although Ohio had become a state in 1803, the northwest corner of the state belonged to the Shawnee and other tribes. The Greenville Treaty had allowed for them to live there peacefully. A cautious peace existed.

But things were different next door in the Indiana Territory. General William Henry Harrison in Vincennes was having problems with a group of Native Americans led by Tecumseh and his brother  Tenskwatwa (The Prophet)  

 Tecumseh had refused to sign the Greenville Treaty in 1795 and wanted to fight to push all settlers back east. He was urging other tribes to join him in a mighty coalition. The Prophet had hundreds of devotees who followed his every word, and the crowd was growing.

 In spring of 1806, Harrison was so fed up with Tenskwatwa’s theatrics that were disrupting the peace that he sent a letter to the two Shawnee brothers.  In his letter, Harrison 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.”

 According to accounts in “The Frontiersman” and “Sorrow in the Heart” by Allan W Eckert, this is how it happened:

When the letter was received by the brothers, they met alone then later emerged with an answer.  The Prophet told his followers that in exactly 50 days he would make the moon cover the sun and it would be as dark as night. The word spread quickly to all the tribes in the region. The Prophet had promised to prove his power.

 Just before noon on June 13, 1806, the Great Eclipse of 1806 began. No one on the frontier had ever seen anything like that before. Standing in front of his cabin, The Prophet had made the moon block the sun. The entire dramatic event was awe-inspiring to his followers. Those who once doubted The Prophet now knew for sure that he spoke with authority and his predictions were real.  Tenskwatwa and Tecumseh gained greatly in power.

 And the situation between Harrison and the two Shawnee leaders dramatically worsened. Eventually this growing animosity led to the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, which led to the War of 1812.

 

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 So How Did the Prophet Predict the Eclipse?

The gauntlet had been thrown down.  General Harrison, tired of Tecumseh and his brother running around the frontier disrupting his attempts for peace taslks, challenged the brothers to prove their powers by  "cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course."   In other words Harrison was telling them either put up or shut up.  When the brothers read Harrison's challenging letter they must have laughed and laughed and laughed because they knew they could, they had ace in the hole

What was that "Ace in the Hole?"

While searching the internet for a clue, I found an excerpt from a Masters Degree thesis written by Robert Bashore Jr. in which he wrote about  medical procedures.  Three things caught my eye, the date (1806) and the phrase "figures of lunar eclipses," and "German Almanac."

"The Cincinnati Almanac No. I is unique in this particular point. It illustrates the recipe with two woodcuts, one of the true skullcap and another of a spurious herb.545 This is the only instance in all the almanacs from 1806 to 1821 where such use is made of illustration; indeed, other than title pages, the homo signorum and one or two figures of lunar eclipses (and the German almanac) this is the only instance of woodcuts appearing within the body of such works."

The key word, "almanac" made me wonder if there was an American version in 1806, Not only was there an American version (Farmer's Almanck), it was widely distributed.  I located a copy of 1806 Almanack on the intenet and luckily  the bottom half of the cover page is missing (see picture below).  Notice the next page shows a drawing and words describing an upcoming ecliplses.   Bingo!

The Ace in the Hole

 

I think it safe to say the Prophet would never have made his prediction of an eclipse based solely on word of mouth and hearsay becasue he would have had no idea of whether or not the rumors were true and if so, where  could it be proven.  After all, his reputation was ast stake. On the other hand, he could however boast of his powers to "cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course." How?   He had scientific proof (Farmer's Almanack) that there would be an eclipse in June 1806.

In the end, one must wonder what General Harrison thought when he realized his challenge to Tecumseh and his brother had backfired.  The Prophet had called his bluff.  I wonder if while watching the eclipse, the Gerneral  slapped his forehead and said "DUH!"   With all due respect General Harrison, using tmodern vernacular, "You just got faced ."