He knew the fulfillment of the
decree as laid down by Pipe and Half King would be known as his
work. His name, infamous now, would have an additional horror, and
ever be remembered by posterity in unspeakable loathing, in
unsoftening wrath. He knew this, and deep down in his heart awoke a
numbed chord of humanity that twinged with strange pain. What awful
work he must sanction to keep his vaunted power! More bitter than
all was the knowledge that to retain this hold over the indians he
must commit a deed which, so far as the whites were concerned, would
take away his great name, and brand him a coward.
He briefly reviewed his stirring life. Singularly fitted for a
leader, in a few years he had risen to the most powerful position on
the border. He wielded more influence than any chief. He had been
opposed to the invasion of the pioneers, and this alone, without his
sagacity or his generalship, would have given him control of many
tribes. But hatred for his own people, coupled with unerring
judgment, a remarkable ability to lead expeditions, and his
invariable success, had raised him higher and higher until he stood
alone. He was the most powerful man west of the Alleghenies. His
fame was such that the British had importuned him to help them, and
had actually, in more than one instance, given him command over
British subjects.
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