Great Leader: Main Poc of the Potawatomi (Yellow River/Kankakee)

Part of Tecumseh's talent was to gather around him other able Native leaders into a cohesive unit loyal to him and his movement.  One such was Main Poc of the Yellow River/Kankakee Potawatomi.  His Native name was Wenebeset, or Crafty One.  He had no fingers or thumb on his left hand.  Whether this was a birth defect or an injury is uncertain.  However, he was known to Whites by the French words for Crippled Hand.  A formidable shaman and leader, he was also an effective warrior.  His disability did not diminish his capacities one bit.

Little is known of Main Poc's life until 1793, when American officials in St. Louis began urging local tribes to raid the Osage, who were allies of the Spanish.  Main Poc, who otherwise opposed American incursions on U.S. territory, took up the offer, making several daring raids deep into Osage and Spanish territory.  He continued these raids for several years, keeping Spanish officials in territories neighboring the U.S. in a constant state of apprehension.  Thus, though he was opposed to American settlement, the United States found him and his warriors useful allies for the time being. 

With the Louisiana Purchase and tensions easing with Spain, Main Poc turned his energies elsewhere, still adamantly opposed to any terms with Americans that including ceding of tribal land.  In 1809 he spent the winter with the Shawnee at Fort Wayne, becoming exposed to Tenskwatawa's teachings.  He then went on a delegation to Washington and met with Thomas Jefferson before returning home to his own territory.  While the Americans believed that he might be a useful ally against the growing power of Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa, as he had been against the Osages, Main Poc was becoming more inclined to the Prophet's message rejecting Americans and their ways of life.  He returned to Prophetstown in 1810, originally intending to lead raids against Fort Dearborn, now modern-day Chicago.  Events intervened and he resumed his raids on the Osage, as well as on American settlements. 

Main Poc was in Canada in 1811, during the Battle of Tippecanoe, but in its aftermath, he continued to recruit Potawatomi and warriors from other tribes to fight against the Americans.  As the War of 1812 broke out, Main Poc was occupied in fighting around Fort Detroit, while other Potawatomi leaders attacked Fort Dearborn in August, 1812.  Main Poc was part of the Native contingent at the Battle of Maguaga on August 9, 1812, which happened just days before the Fort Dearborn attack.  While Tecumseh led most of his Native force in support of the British into Canada and the disaster at the Battle of the Thames in 1813, Main Poc remained in the Detroit area, intending to harass Harrison's supply columns.  General Duncan McArthur extended a truce to the local tribes and pressured Harrison to allow Main Poc to sign on, if he so wished.  Main Poc finally signed a treaty with the Americans to cease fighting, but adamantly refused any concessions for land. 

The Americans called for another treaty parley at Greenville in 1814.  Main Poc refused to attend.  He was at Fort Mackinac when the British commander there received word of the Treaty of Ghent ending the War of 1812.  Inviting again to treaty parleys in in 1815 and 1816, Main Poc refused to attend and refused any agreements.  He died in 1816.