his influence. In standard English literature Tazewell was deeply read ; in familiarity with English and American history he had few equals ; in knowledge of law he had no superior ; in politics he exhibited the traits of a Cato as much by the impracticability of his principles as by the severity of his virtues. The character of "Sidney," in William Wirt's "Old Bachelor," is a sketch of Tazewell drawn from life by his friend and compeer at the bar. He was the author of "Review of the Negotiations between the United States and Great Britain respecting the Commerce of the Two Countries" (London, 1829), and contributed under the pen-name of Senex to the Norfolk "Herald " in 1827. See a discourse on his life by Hugh Blair Grigsby, LL. D. (Norfolk, 1860).
TEALL, Francis Augustus, editor, b. in Fort Anne, Washington co., N. Y., 16 Aug., 1822. He
entered a printing-office in 1836, afterward
supplemented his common-school education by the
study of languages, and in 1841 went to New York
city. Here he worked at the case, with Walt Whitman
as a fellow-compositor, and was soon advanced
to the place of proof-reader. In this capacity he
has rendered much critical service of an editorial
character on a large variety of works. Among other
interesting things that received his attention were
the original proofs of Edgar A. Poe's “Raven” and
“Bells.” He assisted Ephraim G. Squier in
preparing his “Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi
Valley” (Washington, 1848), and John R. Bartlett
in the first edition of his “Dictionary of
Americanisms,” and made the analytical index to the
American edition of Napier's “Peninsular War.”
For some time he was on the editorial staff of the
“American Whig Review,” and in 1853 succeeded
Mr. Whitman as editor of a newspaper at
Huntington, L. I. He acted as proof-reader, contributor,
and associate editor on the different editions
of the “American Cyclopaedia,” and noted the
pronunciation of the titles in the volume of index
to the second edition and in the text of the
condensed edition. Since 1882 he has been employed
in the compilation of the “Century Dictionary.”
The University of Rochester gave him the degree
of A. M. in 1875.
TECHOTLALATZIN (tetch-ot-lah-lah-tseen'),
king of Texcoco, d. in 1409. He was the youngest
son of King Quinatzin, whom he succeeded on the
throne in 1357. During his reign one of his
dependent chiefs, Tzompan, cacique of Xaltocan,
revolted against his rule; but he asked assistance
from King Huitzilihuitl of Mexico, and with his
aid routed the rebel. From that date a mutual
alliance began between the monarchies of Texcoco,
Tlaltelolco, and Chapultepec. He was succeeded
by his son Ixtlilxochitl I.
TECTO, Juan de, Flemish missionary, b. in
Ghent in 1468; d. in Honduras in 1526. He was
graduated as D. D. in Paris, and was for several
years professor of theology in the Sorbonne
university, and afterward chaplain of Emperor
Charles V., and guardian of a convent of Franciscans
at Ghent. In 1522 he obtained from Charles
V., who was much attached to him, permission to
go to the New World, and fixed his residence at
Texcoco, where he founded missions for the Indians
and learned their language. He accompanied
Cortes in his expedition to Hibueras in 1525, and
as, owing to the rebellion of Cristobal de Olid, no
provisions were obtainable, Tecto, exhausted, fell
behind the army, and was found later by a patrol
leaning against a tree, where he had died of hunger.
According to Bernal Diaz del Castillo, he was
sent by Cortes to report to the emperor about the
conquest of Hibueras, and died at sea, off the coast
of Spain. Tecto is the author of two valuable
works: “Primeros rudimentos de la doctrina
Cristiana en lengua Mexicana,” a manuscript which
was utilized by Fray Pedro de Gante for his
“Catecismo Mexicano”; and “Apología del
bautismo administrate á los gentiles Mexicanos con
sola el agua y la forma Sacramental,” which is
cited by Torquemada in his “Monarquía Indiana.”
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TECUMSEH, or TECUMTHA, Shawnee chief, b. near the site of Springfield, Ohio, about 1768; killed in the battle of the Thames, Canada, 5 Oct., 1813. His father, Puckeshinwa, or Pukeesheno, a Shawnee brave, fell in battle when the son was a child. The latter first appears in a fight with Kentucky troops on Mad river when he was about twenty years old, and is said to have run at the first fire, yet in the campaign that ended in the treaty of Greenville in 1795 he was a bold and active warrior. About 1805, with his brother, Ellskwatawa, the “prophet,” he projected the union of all the western tribes of Indians against the whites. He claimed that the treaties by which large tracts of Indian land had been ceded to settlers were illegal, as the land was the common property of all the tribes, and therefore could be alienated only by common consent. The general discontent was increased by the action of speculators in ejecting Indians from lands, and by British emissaries; and the brothers soon had a large following. They visited the tribes from the Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and, in spite of the warnings of Gen. William Henry Harrison, who was then governor of the Northwest territory, they continued to follow out their scheme. In August, 1810, in response to an invitation to a “quiet talk” with the governor, Tecumseh, with 400 fully armed warriors, encamped in a grove near Vincennes, Ind. He was invited to the portico of the governor's house, but replied: “Houses were built for you to hold councils in; Indians hold theirs in the open air.” He opened the conference in a speech of great eloquence, and at its close, being invited to sit near his “father,” Gen. Harrison, said, boastingly: “The sun is my father, and the earth is my mother; on her bosom I will repose,” suiting the action to the word. In the discussion that followed he boldly demanded the return of treaty lands, and his violent and threatening manner put an end to the council. On the next day Tecumseh expressed regret for his violence, and the conference was resumed, but was productive of no results. William Clark, of Clarksville, Pa., is probably the only survivor of those that were present at this interview between Harrison and Tecumseh. In the following year Indian depredations increased, and another conference was held, at which Tecumseh, awed by a militia force, professed peaceful intentions, while insisting on the vacation of ceded lands; yet a few days later he set out on a journey to secure the Creeks, Choctaws, and Cherokees for his proposed
