History: Tecumseh's curse foretold deaths of several presidents

Friday, January 14, 2011  

"George W Bush is a fortunate man. Not only did he dodge the slings, grenades and occasional footwear of outrage and scorn during his presidential twin-term in office, but, some say, a pre-destined arrow exacting an ancient Indian thirst for revenge…

In the newly formed land of the free, democracy was in its first throes of infancy. One of its many defining tantrums, the quaintly named ‘Battle of Tippecanoe’, saw charismatic Shawnee chieftain Tecumseh take on the first gov­ernor of the Indiana Territories, William H Harrison – and not for the first time.

“Harrison will not win this year to be the Great Chief. But he may win next year. If he does… He will not finish his term. He will die in his office. You think that I have lost my powers. I who caused the Sun to darken and Red Men to give up firewater… I tell you Harrison will die. And after him every Great Chief chosen every 20 years thereafter will die. And when each one dies, let everyone remember the death of our people.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, accounts of the curse’s origin conflict. Some say it was born out of the defeat at Tippe­canoe; others claim that it was some time later, and that under the shadow of Tecumseh’s death the following year at the Battle of the Thames, it was Tenskwatawa who uttered the fateful words. The confusion doesn’t end there. Some say the curse is simply nonsense and that no records exist that support the existence of such a native Indian jinx. What is not in doubt is that the sinister malediction came to pass.

Sure enough, William H Harrison was elected ninth President of the United States in 1840; his inaugural address as president on 4 March 1841 first saw Death cast his shadow over the White House lawn. Harrison, the hardy military man, would later lay claim to the longest inauguration speech in American history, delivering his address on a shivering, wet, late winter’s day without a coat, hat or care for the cold. Soon after, he fell ill. His might have been the longest speech, but it turned out to be the shortest presidency: 31 days into his term, Harrison was dead."

Get the Story:
Nick Parkins: A Plague on Your White House (The Fortean Times 1/14)