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
They proceeded thither, were where ushered into the tent, and after some
brief ceremony his father opened a chest and took presents therefrom for
the new comers. He discovered that Nanamakee had given his medal to his
elder brother Namah. He told him that he had done wrong; that he should
wear that medal himself, as he had others for his brothers. That which
he had given him was typical of the rank he should hold in the nation;
that his brothers could only rank as _civil chiefs_, and that their
duties should consist of taking care of the village and attending to its
civil concerns, whilst his rank, from his superior knowledge, placed
him over all. If the nation should get into any difficulty with another,
then his puccohawama, or sovereign decree, must be obeyed. If he
declared war he must lead them on to battle; that the Great Spirit had
made him a great and brave general, and had sent him here to give him
that medal and make presents to him for his people.
His father remained four days, during which time he gave him guns,
powder and lead, spears and lances, and taught him their use, so that
in war he might be able to chastise his enemies, and in peace they
could kill buffalo, deer and other game necessary for the comforts and
luxuries of life. He then presented the others with various kinds of
cooking utensils and taught them their uses. After having given them
large quantities of goods as presents, and everything necessary for
their comfort, he set sail for France, promising to meet them again, at
the same place, after the 12th moon.
The three newly made chiefs returned to their village and explained to
Mukataquet, their father, who was the principal chief of the nation,
what had been said and done.
The old chief had some dogs killed and made a feast preparatory to
resigning his scepter, to which all the nation were invited. Great
anxiety prevailed among them to know what the three brothers had seen
and heard. . When the old chief arose and related to them the sayings
and doings of his three sons, and concluded by saying that the Great
Spirit had directed that these, his three sons, should take the rank
and power that had once been his, and that he yielded these honors and
duties willingly to them, because it was the wish of the Great Spirit,
and he could never consent to make him angry.
He now presented the great medicine bag to Nanamakee, and told him that
he "cheerfully resigned it to him, it is the soul of our nation, it has
never yet been disgraced and I will expect you to keep it unsullied."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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