TECUMSEH TEETH. 



543 



Hons have come to honour ; i e. since the growth 

 of tree cities in the middle ages. 



TECUMSEH, a celebrated Indian chief, was 

 born on the banks of the Scioto river, near Chili- 

 cothe, Ohio. His father was a Shawanee warrior 

 of distinction, who was killed at the battle of 

 Kcnawa, while Tecumseh was still a child. His 

 mother is variously stated to have been a Shaw- 

 anee, a Creek, and a Cherokee. In his youth, 

 Tecumseh was remarkable for temperance and 

 integrity ; but he did not at first display the valour 

 which afterwards distinguished him. He first 

 fought in an engagement with the Kentucky troops, 

 on the banks of the Mud river, in the heat of which 

 he fled from the field. But he soon retrieved his 

 icputation, and, at the age of twenty-five, was re- 

 garded as one of the boldest of the Indian warriors. 

 His enmity against the whites was constant and 

 bitter. In all the terrible incursions of the savages, 

 by which the first settlers of Kentucky were har- 

 rassed, he was conspicuous ; but he rarely appro- 

 priated to his own use any of the booty thus ob- 

 tained; the love of glory, and the desire of sating 

 his vengeance on the whites, being his predominant 

 passions. At length, in conjunction with his 

 brother, the famous prophet Elskatawa, he suc- 

 ceeded in effecting, to a considerable extent, a 

 union of the savages, and produced so strong a 

 fermentation among them as to render it necessary 

 for the government of the United States to take 

 decisive measures. Accordingly, general Harrison, 

 the governor of Ohio, commenced offensive opera- 

 tions, and, November 7, 1811, defeated the forces 

 under the command of the prophet, in the battle of 

 Tippecanoe. At the time of the action, Tecumseh 

 was absent in the south, whither he had gone for 

 the purpose of prosecuting his plans of union. Soon 

 after his return, in 1812, he joined the British, 

 then at war with the United States, and received 

 the rank of brigadier-general in the royal army. 

 He was extremely useful to his allies in raising and 

 retaining the Indian forces. During the first months 

 of the war, he was principally occupied in recruit- 

 ing; but he was also present at the two sieges of 

 fort Meigs, and, May 5, 1812, commanded the co- 

 operating savage force on the south-east side of the 

 river. His career, however, was soon cut short. 

 In the decisive battle of the Moravian towns, he 

 led the right wing of the allied army ; and whilst 

 all were flying around him, he continued to press 

 on with a chosen band of followers, until he fell ; 

 by whose hand has never been satisfactorily ascer- 

 tained. Tecumseh was a remarkable man, fitted 

 for attaining greatness both in peace and war. His 

 eloquence was vivid and powerful. He was saga- 

 cious in contriving and accomplishing his objects, 

 and, by his address, obtained an unlimited influence 

 over his savage brethren. Throughout life he was 

 exemplary in his habits of temperance, and adhe- 

 rence to truth. He was disinterested, generous, 

 hospitable, and humane. He married at a mature 

 age, in consequence of the persuasions of his friends, 

 and left one child. In person, he was about five 

 feet ten inches high, with handsome features, a 

 symmetrical and powerful frame, and an air of 

 dignity and defiance. 



TE DEU'M LAUDAMUS, or, still more abbre- 

 viated, TE DEUM (Thee, God, we praise), is the 

 beginning of the hymn or song of thanksgiving 

 usually ascribed to St Augustine and St Ambrose. 

 It is sung on particular occasions, as on the news 

 of victories and on high festival days, in Calnulic 



and also in many Protestant churches. Among 

 the modern composers of this hymn are Hasse, 

 Naumann, Haydn, Danzi, and Schicht. 



TEETH (dens, a tooth : quasi edens, from edo, 

 to eat) ; small bones fixed in the alveoli of the 

 upper and under jaw. In early infancy, nature 

 designs us for the softest aliment, so that the gums 

 alone are then sufficient for the purpose of mandu- 

 cation ; but, as we advance in life, and require a 

 different food, she provides us with teeth. These 

 are the hardest and whitest of our bones, and, at 

 full maturity, we usually find thirty-two in both 

 jaws, viz. sixteen above, and as many below. 

 Their number varies, indeed, in different subjects ; 

 but it is seldom seen to exceed thirty-two, and it 

 will very rarely be found to be less than twenty- 

 eight. Each tooth may be divided into two parts, 

 viz. its body, or that part which appears above the 

 gums, and its fang, or root, which is fixed into the 

 socket. The boundary between these two, close 

 to the edge of the gum, where there is usually a 

 small circular depression, is called the neck of the 

 tooth. Every tooth is composed of its cortex, or 

 enamel, and its internal bony substances. The 

 enamel, or, as it is sometimes called, the vitreous 

 part of the tooth, is a very hard and compact sub- 

 stance, of a white colour, and peculiar to the teeth. 

 It is found only upon the body of the tooth, 

 covering the outside of the bony or internal sub- 

 stance. When broken, it appears fibrous or striated, 

 and all the striae are directed from the circumference 

 to the centre of the tooth. The bony part of a 

 tooth resembles other bones in its structure, but is 

 much harder than the most compact part of bones in 

 general. It composes the inner part of the body, and 

 the whole of the root of the tooth. Each tooth has 

 an inner cavity, supplied with blood-vessels and 

 nerves, which pass through the small hole in the 

 root. In old people this hole sometimes closes, 

 and the tooth becomes then insensible. The teeth 

 are invested with periosteum from their fangs to a 

 little beyond their bony sockets, where it is at- 

 tached to the gums. This membrane seems to be 

 common to the tooth which it encloses, and to the 

 sockets which it lines. The three classes into 

 which the teeth are commonly divided, are incisors, 

 canine, and molars, or grinders. The incisors are 

 the four teeth in the fore part of each jaw; they 

 derive their name from their use in dividing and 

 cutting the food in the manner of a wedge, and 

 have each of them two surfaces, which meet in a 

 sharp edge. The canine or cuspidati (eye-teeth) 

 are the longest of all the teeth, deriving their 

 name from their resemblance to a dog's tusk. 

 There is one of these teeth on each side of the 

 incisors, so that there are two in each jaw. Mr 

 Hunter remarks, that we may trace in them a 

 similarity in shape, situation, and use, from the 

 most imperfect carnivorous animal which we be- 

 lieve to be the human species to the lion, which 

 is the most perfectly carnivorous. The molars, or 

 grinders, of which there are ten in each jaw, are so 

 called, because, from their size and figure, they are 

 calculated for grinding the food. The canine and 

 incisors have only one fang; but the three last 

 grinders in the under jaw have constantly two 

 fangs, and the same teeth in the upper jaw, three 

 fangs. Sometimes these fangs are divided into 

 two points near their base. The grinders likewise 

 differ from each other in appearance. The tat 

 grinder is shorter and smaller than the rest, and 

 from its coming through the gums later than the 



