Page:Women of Ohio; a record of their achievements in the history of the state (Vol. I).djvu/78

74 Tecumseh, Indian Chief, is told by VIRGINIA COOLEY, of Columbus, in the Ohio Nurses Review. It says in part —For the duration of a moon, at least, the fate of many Americans, British and Indians, later lost in the bloody wars of 1812-13, was suspended on the slender thread of romance between a pioneer girl and the great Indian chief, Tecumseh. Rebecca Galloway was six in 1798 when her father brought his family to live in Greene County after the Greenville Treaty had made the Ohio frontier safe for settlers. James Galloway was influential among his neighbors, and trusted by the Indians. For many years, Tecumseh Avas a frequent visitor in the household, which charmed him with its gracious ways—family prayers, grace before meals, and all the courtesies and conveniences of affluent pioneer living. A pretty, blue-eyed studious girl, Rebecca was often Tecumseh ’s com- panion. She taught him a splendid command of English and read to him from the Bible and Shakespeare. He particularly admired Hamlet, and was enthralled with the magnificent phrases intoned by Rebecca’s voice. He gaA^e her a little birch canoe and many lovely trinkets, including a silver comb. When she was sixteen, the tall, stately, copper-skinned chieftain, then more than twenty years her senior, asked her father for permission to marry her. James Galloway wisely left the decision to Rebecca. When she received Tecumseh ’s dignified proposal, she was naturally flattered ; she had been honored by one whom she greatly admired, who was a rising power among his people, a man of destiny. His tribe, however, was polygamous, and Rebecca did not fancy herself as a squaw. When Tecumseh removed these objections, the girl promised to give him her answer on his next visit. After his departure, the full import of the alliance occurred to the family. Tecumseh had long discussed the grievances of his people with them; he had confided to James Galloway his desire for a great protective con- federation of all the tribes, that would save them from being cheated at the hands of the white men. War clouds were already rising in the north and west. If Tecumseh ’ s statesmanship could be diverted toward peace under Rebecca’s inspiration, the catastrophe might be averted. When Tecumseh returned, Rebecca selected a lovely spot on the river and took him there in her canoe. She consented to be his wife if he would adopt the white man’s mode of living and defend his principles. For a long time Tecumseh was silent. He would return, he said, in the next moon, with his decision. At that time he told her he could not turn from his people without losing their respect and his influence among them. He left the Galloway home with mutual expressions of friendship. During the next few years Tecumseh pledged the separate tribes to a concerted effort for defense against white invasion. He fell in the Battle of the Thames in 1813. Rebecca married George Galloway from Pennsylvania and lived, it seems, quite happily ever after.