Autobiography of Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, or Black HawkBlack Hawk, Sauk chief
History
Autobiography of Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, or Black Hawk
Black Hawk, Sauk chief
Black Hawk War, 1832; Black Hawk, Sauk chief, 1767-1838; Sauk Indians -- Biography
Some of our young men who had been out as spies came in and reported
that they had discovered a large body of mounted men coming toward our
village, who looked like a war party. They arrived and took a position
below Rock river, for their place of encampment. The great war chief,
General Gaines, entered Rock river in a steamboat, with his soldiers and
one big gun. They passed and returned close by our village, but excited
no alarm among my braves. No attention was paid to the boat; even our
little children who were playing on the bank of the river, as usual,
continued their amusement. The water being shallow, the boat got
aground, which gave the whites some trouble. If they had asked for
assistance, there was not a brave in my band who would not willingly
have aided them. Their people were permitted to pass and repass through
our village, and were treated with friendship by our people.
The war chief appointed the next day to remove us. I would have remained
and been taken prisoner by the regulars, but was afraid of the multitude
of pale faced militia, who were on horse back, as they were under no
restraint of their chiefs.
We crossed the river during the night, and encamped some distance below
Rock Island. The great war chief convened another council, for the
purpose of making a treaty with us. In this treaty he agreed to give us
corn in place of that we had left growing in our fields. I touched the
goose quill to this treaty, and was determined to live in peace.
The corn that had been given us was soon found to be inadequate to our
wants, when loud lamentations were heard in the camp by the women and
children, for their roasting ears, beans and squashes. To satisfy them,
a small party of braves went over in the night to take corn from
their own fields. They were discovered by the whites and fired upon.
Complaints were again made of the depredations committed by some of my
people, on their own corn fields.
I understood from our agent, that there had been a provision made in one
of our treaties for assistance in agriculture, and that we could have
our fields plowed if we required it. I therefore called upon him, and
requested him to have a small log home built for me, and a field plowed
that fall, as I wished to live retired. He promised to have it done. I
then went to the trader, Colonel Davenport, and asked for permission
to be buried in the graveyard at our village, among my old friends
and warriors, which he gave cheerfully. I then returned to my people
satisfied.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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