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
The next morning I told the crier of my village to give notice that we
must go and bury our dead. In a little while all were ready. A small
deputation was sent for our absent warriors, and the remainder started
to bury the dead. We first disposed of them and then commenced an
examination in the enemy's deserted encampment for plunder. We found
arms and ammunition and provisions, all of which we were sadly in want
of, particularly the latter, as we were entirely without. We found also
a variety of saddle bags, which I distributed among my braves, a small
quantity of whisky and some little barrels that had contained this bad
medicine, but they were empty. I was surprised to find that the whites
carried whisky with them, as I had understood that all the pale faces,
when acting is soldiers in the field, were strictly temperate.
The enemy's encampment was in a skirt of woods near a run, about half a
day's travel from Dixon's ferry. We attacked them in the prairie, with a
few bushes between us, about sundown, and I expected that my whole party
would be killed. I never was so much surprised in all the fighting I
have seen, knowing, too, that the Americans generally shoot well, as
I was to see this army of several hundreds retreating, without showing
fight, and passing immediately through their encampment, I did think
they intended to halt there, as the situation would have forbidden
attack by my party if their number had not exceeded half of mine, as
we would have been compelled to take the open prairie whilst they could
have picked trees to shield themselves from our fire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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