Building of Fort Armstrong--The good Spirit of Rock Island--Death of
Black Hawk's children--Young Sac offers to die in place of his
brother--Black Hawk's visit to Malden--Whipped by some whites--Whites
settle at his village--Black Hawk's talk with Governor Coles and Judge
Hall--Sale of the lands on Rock river--Indians ordered to
remove--Agreement to remove for six thousand dollars--Memorial of the
white settlers to Governor Reynolds--The Governor's letters to General
Clark and General Gaines--The latter leaves Jefferson Barracks with
six companies of the United States troops for Rock Island--His
interview with Black Hawk--Calls upon the Governor of Illinois for
militia--The Indians abandon their village--treaty of peace made with
them--Official letters to the war department--Summary of the causes
which brought on this disturbance--Black Hawk's attempt to form an
alliance with other tribes.
From the treaty of peace, between the United States and the Sac Indians
of Rock river, in 1816, to the commencement of hostilities between these
parties in 1832, the life of Black Hawk seems to have been quiet and
monotonous, occasionally relieved by a warlike excursion, but generally
spent in hunting, throughout the winter, and in loitering about his
village, during the summer. Such, indeed, is the life of most Indians.
Having no intellectual pursuits and little desire for the acquisition of
property, beyond the supply of their immediate wants, they have in
reality but two sources of excitement--war and the chase. They take no
interest in the domestic affairs of their families, have little taste
for the pursuits of agriculture, and, if not engaged in hostile
excursions, in following the deer, or in trapping the beaver, they sink
into listless inactivity. It is highly probable that many of their wars
are undertaken, more for the gratification of that love of excitement,
which is an indestructible element of the human mind, than from any
constitutional proneness to cruelty and bloodshed. They need both
physical and intellectual excitation, and having none of the resources
which mental and moral culture throws open to civilized man, they seek
it in making war upon each other or upon the wild animals which share
with them the woods and the prairies.
Subsequently to the treaty of 1816, and perhaps in that year, the
government of the United States built Fort Armstrong, upon Rock Island,
in the Mississippi river, and but a few miles from the village where
Black Hawk and his band resided. This measure, though not actually
opposed, was by no means acceptable to them. They probably did not
relish the gradual advances upon them, of the white population; but they
entertained, moreover, a special regard for this beautiful island, which
is justly considered one of the finest in the whole extent of the
Mississippi. It is fertile, and produces many varieties of nuts and
fruits, and being in the rapids of the stream, the waters which lave its
shores, yield an abundance of excellent fish. In addition to all this,
they have a traditionary belief, that the island was the favorite
residence of a good spirit which dwelt in a cave in the rocks on which
Fort Armstrong now stands. This spirit had often been seen by the
Indians, but after the erection of the Fort, alarmed by the noise and
intrusion of the white man, it spread its beautiful, swan-like wings,
and disappeared. During the year 1817, the Sacs sent out some warriors
against the Sioux, and succeeded in killing several of them, but Black
Hawk was not of the party. About this time, his eldest son sickened and
died, and within a short period afterwards, he lost his youngest
daughter. This affliction seems to have made a deep impression upon him;
and according to a custom common among the Indians, he blacked his face,
and for the ensuing two years lived at home, in seclusion, drinking
water at mid-day, and eating boiled corn but sparingly, in the evening.
In the winter of 1819-20, there was a disturbance between the Sacs and
Ioways, one of the latter having killed a young man belonging to the
former. Under the agreement of a late council between these two tribes,
the old custom of appeasing the friends of one who had been killed, by
presents, had been abolished, and each party had promised, that in
future, the murderer should be surrendered up, that he might be punished
with death. A party of Sacs, of which Black Hawk was one, agreed to
visit the Ioway village on this occasion, and when about to depart,
called at the lodge of the young man who had committed the outrage, to
take him along. He was sick, but still ready to accompany them. His
brother interfered, and insisted that he was too unwell to travel; that
he would himself go and die in his place, and finally set off with the
party. On the seventh day, they reached the Ioway village. They
dismounted a short distance from it, and bid farewell to their young
brave, who went calmly forwards, alone, singing his death-song, and
seated himself in the middle of the lodges. One of the Ioway chiefs
went out to Black Hawk, who told him the brother had come in the place
of the young man that had committed the murder, he being sick. Black
Hawk and his party, now mounted their horses and set off on their
return; and casting their eyes towards the village, saw the Ioways,
armed with spears and clubs, gathering around the young prisoner. At
night the returning party, having stopped and kindled a fire, were
suddenly alarmed by the tramping of horses. They immediately stood to
their arms, but were soon relieved, by finding, instead of a foe, their
young brave, unhurt and in the possession of two horses. They
ascertained that the Ioways, at first threatened him with instant death,
but finally, changing their purpose, had given him something to eat,
smoked the pipe with him, and presenting him with two horses, bid him
return home in safety. The generous conduct of the Ioways is deserving
of praise, but the genuine affection of this young brave, in nobly
volunteering to die in place of his sick brother, presents one of those
rare cases of self-devotion, which should be held in remembrance.
In the following autumn, Black Hawk and some of his band went on a visit
to their British father at Malden and received presents from him. A
medal was given to Black Hawk for his fidelity to the British in the
late war, and he was requested to come up annually, to that place, with
his band, and receive such presents, as had been promised them by
Colonel Dixon, when they joined the English forces. These visits were
regularly made, it is believed, from that time down to the year 1832. It
is owing to this circumstance that Black Hawk's party has long been
known by the appellation of the "British Band."
In the winter of 1822, Black Hawk and his party, encamped on the
Two-rivers, for the purpose of hunting, and while there was so badly
treated by some white men, that his prejudices against the Americans
were greatly strengthened. He was accused of having killed the hogs of
some settlers, who, meeting him one day in the woods, wrested his gun
from his hands, and discharging it in the air, beat him so severely with
sticks that for several nights he was unable to sleep. They then
returned him his gun and ordered him to leave the neighborhood. Of the
perpetration of this outrage, there is little doubt, while the fact of
Black Hawk's having committed the offence charged upon him, rests, at
best, upon suspicion. Supposing him to have been guilty, and the
supposition is at variance with the whole tenor of his intercourse with
the whites, it was on their part, one of those brutal appeals to _club_
law, which are but too often practised towards the Indians; and which,
when avenged by them, not unfrequently brings upon their nation, the
power and the arms of the United States.
The ensuing summer, the expediency of a removal of the whole of the Sacs
and Foxes, to the west side of the Mississippi, was urged upon them by
the agent at Fort Armstrong. The principal Fox chief, as well as
Keokuk, assented to the removal. The latter sent a messenger through the
village informing the Indians that it was the wish of their great
Father, the President, that they should remove, and he pointed out the
Ioway river as presenting a fine situation for their new village. There
was a party, however, among the Sacs, made up principally of the
"British Band," who were decidedly opposed to a removal; and they called
upon their old leader, Black Hawk, for his opinion on the question. He
took the ground that the land on which their village stood had never
been sold; that the Americans had, therefore, no right to insist upon
the measure, and that as a matter of policy he was opposed to it. The
old man was probably swayed in his decision by another cause. He felt
that his power in the tribe was waning before the rising popularity of
Keokuk. Here was a question on which their people differed in opinion.
By placing himself at the head of one of the parties, he might recover
his influence, or at least sustain himself against the overshadowing
ascendancy of his rival. He had an interview with Keokuk to see if the
matter could not be adjusted with the President, by giving him other
lands in exchange for those on which their village stood; and the latter
promised to see the great chief at St. Louis, on the subject. During the
following winter, while Black Hawk and his party were absent on a
hunting expedition, several white families arrived at their village,
destroyed some of their lodges and commenced making fences over their
corn-fields. Black Hawk upon hearing of this movement, promptly
returned to Rock river, and found his own lodge occupied by the whites.
He went to Fort Armstrong and complained to the interpreter, the agent
being absent. He crossed the Mississippi and travelled several days to
converse with the Winnebago sub-agent, who concurred with the
interpreter in advising the Sacs to remove to Keokuk's settlement on the
Ioway. He then visited the prophet, Wabokieshiek, or White-Cloud, whose
opinions were held in much respect by the Sacs and Winnebagoes. He urged
Black Hawk not to remove, but to persuade Keokuk and his party to return
to Rock river, assuring them that if they remained quietly at their
village, the whites would not venture to disturb them. He then rejoined
his hunting party, and in the spring when they returned to their
village, they found the white settlers still there, and that the greater
part of their corn-fields had been enclosed by fences. About that time
Keokuk visited Rock river and endeavored to persuade the remainder of
the Sacs to follow him to the Ioway. He had accomplished nothing with
the great chief at St. Louis, in regard to their remaining at their
village, and as a matter of policy, that peace might be preserved, he
was warmly in favor of the proposed removal. Black Hawk considered it an
act of cowardice to yield up their village and the graves of their
fathers, to strangers, who had no right to the soil, and the breach
between Keokuk and himself was widened.
The white immigrants continued to increase, and the Sac village was the
great point of attraction to them. It was situated on the neck of land
formed by the junction of Rock river with the Mississippi, and had been
the chief village of the tribe for sixty or seventy years. "Their women
had broken the surface of the surrounding prairie with their hoes, and
enclosed with a kind of flimsy pole fence, many fields, which were
annually cultivated by them, in the raising of corn, beans, potatoes and
squashes. They had also erected several hundred houses of various
dimensions, some probably an hundred feet in length by forty or fifty
broad; which were constructed of poles and forks, arranged so as to form
a kind of frame, which was then enclosed with the bark of trees, which,
being peeled off and dried under a weight for the purpose of keeping it
expanded, was afterwards confined to the walls and roof by means of
cords, composed of the bark of other trees. This indeed is a delightful
spot:--on the north-west rolls the majestic Mississippi, while the dark
forests which clothe the numerous islands of Rock river, with its
several rippling streams on the south-east, form a delightful contrast,
which is rendered still more pleasing from the general declivity of the
surrounding country, as it sinks gradually away to the shores of these
rivers. This ancient village had literally become the grave-yard of the
nation. Scarcely an individual could be found in the whole nation, who
had not deposited the remains of some relative, in or near to this
place. Thither the mother, with mournful and melancholy step, annually
repaired to pay a tribute of respect to her departed offspring; while
the weeping sisters and loud lamenting widows, joined the procession of
grief; sometimes, in accordance with their own feelings, no doubt, but
always in pursuance of an established custom of their nation, from time
immemorial. On these occasions they carefully clear away every spear of
grass or other vegetable, which they find growing near the grave, and
make such repairs as may be thought necessary. They also carry to the
grave some kind of food, which they leave there for the spirit of the
deceased: and before they conclude these ceremonies, they often, in a
very melancholy and lamenting mood, address the dead, enquiring how they
fare, and who, or whether any one performs for them the kind offices of
mother, sister or wife; together with many other enquiries which a
frantic imagination may happen to suggest. This being one of the most
important religious duties, is scrupulously observed by all the better
class of this people."[4]
The whites who established themselves at this place, in violation of the
laws of congress, and the provisions of the treaty of 1804, committed
various aggressions upon the Indians, such as destroying their corn,
killing their domestic animals, and whipping the women and children.
They carried with them, as articles of traffic, whiskey and other
intoxicating liquors, and by distributing them in the tribe, made
drunkenness and scenes of debauchery common. Black Hawk and the other
chiefs of the band, remonstrated against these encroachments, and
especially in regard to the introduction of spirituous liquors among
their people: and, upon one occasion, when a white man continued,
openly, to sell whiskey to them, the old chief, taking with him one or
two companions, went to his house, rolled out the barrel of whiskey,
broke in the head, and emptied its contents upon the ground, in presence
of the owner. This was done, as he alleges, from the fear that some of
the white persons would be killed by his people when in a state of
intoxication. Thus things wore on until 1827. During that winter, while
the Indians were making their periodical hunt, some of the whites, in
the hope of expediting their removal to the west side of the
Mississippi, set on fire, in one day, about forty of their lodges, a
number of which were entirely consumed. When the Indians returned in the
spring and demanded satisfaction for the destruction of their property,
they were met by new insults and outrages.
In the summer of 1829, Black Hawk happened to meet, at Rock island, with
the late governor Coles, of whom he had heard as a great chief of
Illinois, in company with "another chief" as he calls him--Judge Hall.
Having failed in his appeals to the Indian agents, for redress of the
grievances of his people, he determined to apply to these two chiefs, on
the subject, and accordingly waited upon them for that purpose.
He spoke of the indignity perpetrated upon himself, (his having been
beaten with sticks by the whites,) with the feeling that a respectable
person among us would have shown under such circumstances; and pointing
to a black mark on his face, said that he wore it as a symbol of
disgrace. The customs of his nation required, that he should avenge the
wrong that he had received, but he chose rather to submit to it for the
present than involve them in a war. And this was the only alternative,
for if an Indian should kill, or even strike a white man, the aggression
would be eagerly seized upon and exaggerated; the whole frontier
population would rush to war, and the Indians would be hunted from their
houses like wild beasts. He spoke of the intrusion upon their fields,
the destruction of their growing corn, the ploughing up of the graves of
their fathers, and the beating of their women; and added, "we dare not
resent any of these things. If we did, it would be said that the Indians
were disturbing the white people, and troops would be sent out to
destroy us." We enquired, "why do you not represent these things to our
government?--the President is a wise and a good ruler, who would protect
you." "Our great father is too far off, he cannot hear our voice." "But
you could have letters written and sent to him." "So we could," was his
reply, "but the white men would write letters, and say that we told
lies. Our great father would not believe an Indian, in preference to his
own children."[5] Black Hawk in reference to this interview, says,
"Neither of them could do any thing for us; but both evidently appeared
very sorry. It would give me great pleasure at all times, to take these
two chiefs by the hand."
Under the seventh article of the treaty made at St. Louis in 1804, it is
provided that, "as long as the lands which are now ceded to the United
States remain their property, the Indians, belonging to the said tribes,
shall enjoy the privilege of living and hunting upon them." It was not
until the year, 1829, that any part of the lands upon Rock river, were
brought into market by the United States. It follows as a matter of
course, that all the white settlers upon them prior to this period, were
trespassers, being there in violation of the laws of Congress, and the
provisions of the treaty. Although the frontier settlements of Illinois,
had not approached within fifty or sixty miles of Rock river, and the
lands for a still greater distance around it, had not been offered for
sale, yet in this year, government was induced to make sale of a few
quarter sections, at the mouth of Rock river, including the Sac village.
The reason for this uncalled for measure, is obvious--to evade the
provisions of the foregoing treaty of cession, and create a pretext for
the immediate removal of the Indians to the west side of the
Mississippi.
In the spring of 1830, when Black Hawk and his band returned from their
annual hunt, to occupy their lodges, and prepare as usual for raising
their crop of vegetables, they found, that the land in and around their
village, had been brought into market, and that their old friend, the
trader at Rock Island had purchased a considerable part of it. Black
Hawk, greatly disturbed at this new condition of things, appealed to the
agent at that place, who informed him, that the lands having been sold
by government to individuals, he and his party had no longer any _right_
to remain upon them. Black Hawk was still unwilling to assent to a
removal, and in the course of the summer, he visited Malden to consult
his British father on the subject, and returned by Detroit to see the
great American chief, Governor Cass, residing there. Both of these
persons told him that if the Indians had not sold their lands and would
remain quietly upon them, they would not be disturbed. Black Hawk,
acting upon the assumption that the land on which their village stood,
never had been legally sold to the United States, returned home
determined to keep possession of it. It was late in the fall when he
arrived: his people had gone to their hunting grounds for the winter and
he followed them. They made an unsuccessful hunt and the season passed
off in gloom. Keokuk again exerted his influence to induce them to
desert Black Hawk and remove to the Ioway. Such, however, was their
attachment to their favorite village, that the whole band returned to it
in the spring of 1831. The agent at Rock island forthwith notified them
that if they did not remove from the land, troops would be sent by the
United States to drive them off. Black Hawk says, he had a conference,
about this time, with the trader at Rock Island, who enquired of him, if
some terms could not be made, upon which he and his party would agree
to remove to the west side of the Mississippi. To this he replied, that
if his great father would do justice to them and make the proposition,
they would remove. He was asked by the trader, "if the great chief at
St. Louis would give six thousand dollars, to purchase provisions and
other articles," if he would give up peaceably and remove. To this he
agreed. The trader accordingly sent a message to the agent at St. Louis,
that Black Hawk, and his whole band, could be removed for the sum of six
thousand dollars, but the answer was, that nothing would be given, and
that if they did not remove immediately, an armed force would be sent to
compel them.
The squaws had now planted their corn, and it was beginning to grow,
when the whites again commenced ploughing it up. Black Hawk at last
determined to put a stop to these aggressions upon his people, and
accordingly gave notice to those who were perpetrating them, that they
must remove, forthwith, from his village. In the mean time, after the
return of the Indians, which took place in April, eight of the white
settlers united in a memorial to the Executive of the state of Illinois,
in which they set forth that the Sac Indians of Rock river had
"threatened to kill them; that they had acted in a most outrageous
manner; threw down their fences, turned horses into their corn-fields,
stole their potatoes, saying _the land was theirs and that they had not
sold it_,--although said deponents had purchased the land of the United
States' government: levelled deadly weapons at the citizens, and on some
occasions hurt said citizens for attempting to prevent the destruction
of their property," &c. &c. The memorial concludes with the still more
startling outrage, that the said Indians went "to a house, rolled out a
barrel of whiskey and destroyed it." One of these eight afflicted
memorialists, swore the other seven to the truth of their statements,
and with an earnest prayer for immediate relief, it was placed before
his Excellency, on the 19th of May.
This long catalogue of outrages, backed by other memorials, and divers
rumors of border depredations, committed by "General Black Hawk" and his
"British Band," called into immediate action the patriotism and official
power of the Governor. Under date of Bellville, May 26, 1831, he writes
to the superintendent of Indian affairs, General William Clark, at St.
Louis, that in order to protect the citizens of Illinois, which he
considered in a state of "actual invasion," he had called out seven
hundred militia to remove a band of Sac Indians, then residing at Rock
river, and he pledges himself to the superintendent, that in fifteen
days he will have a force in the field, sufficient to "remove them
_dead_ or _alive_, over to the west side of the Mississippi." But to
save all this disagreeable business, his Excellency suggests to General
Clark that perhaps a request from him to these Indians, to remove to the
west side of the river, would effect the object of procuring peace to
the citizens of the state. The letter concludes with the magnanimous
declaration that there is no disposition on the part of the people of
the state of Illinois to injure these unfortunate, deluded savages, "if
they will let us alone."
General Clark, under date of St. Louis, 28 May, 1831, acknowledges the
receipt of the above letter, and says, that he had already made every
effort in his power, to get all the Indians who had ceded their lands to
remove.
On the same day, 28th May, 1831, Governor Reynolds writes to General
Gaines, then at St. Louis, that he had received information that Black
Hawk and his band had invaded the state of Illinois; and that he had
called out seven hundred troops to meet them. General Gaines, on the
29th of May, replies to his Excellency that he had ordered six companies
of United States troops from Jefferson Barracks to Rock Island, and that
they would be joined by four other companies from Prairie des Chiens,
making in all ten companies; a force which he deemed sufficient to repel
the invasion and give security to the frontier: That if the residue of
the Sacs and Foxes, or other tribes should unite with the band of Black
Hawk, he would call on his Excellency for some militia, but did not then
deem it necessary.
On the 30th of May, the troops, accompanied by General Gaines, left
Jefferson barracks, in a steam boat, for Fort Armstrong; and upon the
7th of June, the commanding general held a council on Rock island, at
which Black Hawk and some of his braves were present. Keokuk, Wa-pel-lo
and other chiefs from the west side of the Mississippi were also in
attendance. When the council was opened, General Gaines rose and stated
that the President was displeased with the refusal of the Sacs of Rock
river, to go to the right bank of the Mississippi, that their great
father wanted only that which was reasonable and right, and insisted
that they should remove. Black Hawk replied, in substance, that the Sacs
had never sold their lands and were determined to hold on to their
village. General Gaines inquired, "who is Black Hawk? Is he a chief? By
what right does he appear in council?"
No reply was made; Black Hawk arose, gathered his blanket around him,
and stalked out of the council room. On the following morning he was
again in his seat, and when the council was opened, he arose and said,
"My father, you inquired yesterday, "who is Black Hawk? why does he sit
among the chiefs?" I will tell you who I am. I am a Sac, my father was a
Sac--I am a warrior and so was my father. Ask those young men, who have
followed me to battle, and they will tell you who Black Hawk is--provoke
our people to war, and you will learn who Black Hawk is." He then sat
down, and nothing more was said on the subject. The result of this
conference was, that Black Hawk refused to leave his village, and that
General Gaines informed him and his party, if they were not on the West
side of the Mississippi within a few days, he should be compelled to
remove them by force. The General anxious, if possible, to effect the
object without bloodshed, deemed it expedient to increase his forces,
that the Indians might be intimidated, and thus induced to submit; or,
in case of a resort to hostile measures, that he might be fully
prepared to act with efficiency. He accordingly called upon the Governor
of Illinois for some militia, to co-operate with the United States'
troops under his command. On the 25th of June, Governor Reynolds, and
General Joseph Duncan with 1600 mounted militiamen, principally
volunteers, reached Rock river. On the morning of the 26th, General
Gaines with his combined forces, took possession of the Sac village
without firing a gun or finding an Indian; the whole party, with their
wives and children, having crossed over the Mississippi the previous
night. On the following day they were found on the west bank of that
stream, encamped under the protection of a white flag.
On the 30th of June, General Gaines and Governor Reynolds signed a
treaty of capitulation and peace, with Black Hawk, Pa-she-pa-how,
Wee-sheat, Kah-ke-ka-mah, and other chiefs and head men of the British
band of Sac Indians, and their old allies of the Winnebago, Pottawatamie
and Kickapoo nations. The preamble to this treaty is worthy of
preservation. It is in these words.
"Whereas, the British Band of Sac Indians, have in violation of the
several treaties, entered into between the United States and the Sac and
Fox nations, in the year 1804, 1816 and 1825, continued to remain upon
and to cultivate the lands on Rock river, ceded to the United States by
said treaties, after the said lands had been sold by the United States,
to individual citizens of Illinois and other states: and whereas the
said British Band of Sac Indians, in order to sustain their pretensions
to continue upon said Rock river lands, have assumed the attitude of
actual hostility towards the United States, and have had the audacity to
drive citizens of the state of Illinois from their homes, destroy their
corn, and invite many of their old friends of the Pottawatamies,
Winnebagoes, and Kickapoos, to unite with them the said British band of
Sacs, in war, to prevent their removal from said lands: and whereas many
of the most disorderly of these several tribes of Indians, did actually
join the said British band of Sac Indians prepared for war against the
United States, and more particularly against the state of Illinois; from
which purpose they confess nothing could have restrained them, but the
apprehension of force far exceeding the combined strength of the said
British Band of Sac Indians, with such of their aforesaid allies, as had
actually joined them; but, being now convinced that such a war would
tend speedily to annihilate them, they have voluntarily abandoned their
hostile attitude and sued for peace." Therefore, &c.
The first article stipulates that peace is granted by the United States
to the British Band of Sac Indians--the second that they are required to
submit to the chiefs of the Sac and Fox nations, who reside on the west
side of the Mississippi--the third that the United States guaranty to
them the integrity of their lands west of that river under the treaties
of 1825 and 1830--the fourth that the said British Band shall not trade
with any nation but the United States--that the United States have a
right to establish military posts and roads within their country--the
sixth that the chiefs and head men of the Sac and Fox nations shall
enforce the provisions of this treaty--and finally that permanent peace
and friendship be established between the United States and the said
British Band of Sac Indians, and that the latter are not to return to
the east side of the Mississippi without the permission of the former.
The commanding General, under date of sixth of July, 1831, informs the
war department, that, "The mounted volunteers, the regulars, two pieces
of artillery, and some musquetry and riflemen, induced the Indians to
abandon the village before our arrival, without firing a gun. Deserted
by their allies, this disorderly band was left alone to seek security in
a speedy flight to the right bank of the Mississippi, where they were
found the next day, under the protection of a white flag." Governor
Reynolds in his official despatch to the same department, under date of
Belleville. Ill. 7th July 1831, says:
"The Indians with some exceptions, from Canada to Mexico, along the
northern frontier of the United States, are more hostile to the whites,
than at any other period since the last war; particularly the band of
Sac Indians, usually and truly called the "British Band," became
extremely unfriendly to the citizens of Illinois and others. This band
had determined for some years past to remain at all hazards, on certain
lands which had been purchased by the United States, and afterwards some
of them sold to private individuals by the general government. They
also determined to drive off the citizens from this disputed territory.
In order to effect this object, they committed various outrages on the
persons and property of the citizens of this state. That this band might
the more effectually resist all force that would be employed against
them, they treated with many other tribes to combine together for the
purpose of aiding this British Band to continue in possession of the
country in question." General William Clark, the Indian agent at St.
Louis, in his official communication to the department, says, "The
disaffected Sacs were depending for an increase to their number from the
discontented parts of the Kickapoos, Pottawatamies and Winnebagoes," and
that they exhibited a daring opposition, &c. &c.
From the tone and pomposity of these documents, commencing with Governor
Reynold's annunciation to General Clark, that Illinois was in a state of
"actual invasion," and ending with the letters to the war department,
just cited, it might appear, to one not familiar with the facts in the
case, that a powerful confederacy of warlike Indians, after years of
secret preparation, had made a sudden and bold descent upon the state of
Illinois, and were about to carry war and desolation throughout the
frontiers--to make the heavens lurid with the conflagration of dwelling
houses, and the air resonant with the wails of women and children
sinking beneath the murderous tomahawk: and, that this banded horde of
northern savages, had been successfully met, captured or dispersed, by
the patriotism, valor and overwhelming power of the combined army of
the United States and the militia of Illinois! And yet, will it be
credited by posterity, that this "actual invasion" of the state, fierce
and appalling as it has been represented, consisted simply in this: a
part of the Sac tribe of Indians, residing within the boundaries of
Illinois, at their village on Rock river, where they were born and had
lived all their lives, refused to give up their corn-fields to some
white men, who had purchased the same, under a sale made by the
government of the United States for the purpose of a technical evasion
of one of its own treaties. In short, thus far, it was little more than
a neighborhood quarrel between the squaws of the "British Band" of
Indians, and a few white settlers,--most of whom were there in violation
of the laws of the country--about the occupancy of some corn-fields,
which, from time immemorial, had been annually cultivated by the Indian
women. Black Hawk became excited by these outrages, as he deemed them,
upon the rights of his people; but instead of killing every white man in
his vicinity, which he could have done in one night, he simply commanded
them to leave his village: and threatened in case they did not, to
remove them by force. Such is the substance of the "actual invasion" of
the state of Illinois, by the British Band of Sac Indians.
It is alledged, however, by the defenders of this memorable campaign,
that this band of Sacs had, in violation of the treaties of 1804, 1816
and 1825, continued to remain upon and cultivate the land on Rock
river, ceded to the United States, after it had been sold by the United
States to individual citizens of Illinois and other states--that they
had refused positively to remove to the west side of the
Mississippi--that they had endeavored to persuade some of the
neighboring tribes to unite with them in defending this land against the
rightful occupancy of the white purchasers--that they had "threatened to
kill" them--"thrown down their fences"--on some occasions "hurt" said
settlers--"stole their potatoes" saying they had not sold these
lands--otherwise "acted in a most outrageous manner," and finally, in
the words of the capitulation on the 30th June, 1831, "assumed the
attitude of actual hostility towards the United States, and had the
audacity to drive citizens of the state of Illinois, from their homes."
Admitting these allegations to be true, what may be said in behalf of
the party against which they are made? It may be replied, that under the
treaty of 1804, the Indians had an undoubted right to "live and hunt"
upon the land ceded by that treaty, so long as it remained the property
of the United States: that as early as 1823-4 the whites had intruded
upon the land on Rock river around the principal village of the Sacs and
Foxes--the United States neglecting to have these intruders removed, as
by the treaty they were solemnly bound to do: that these whites
frequently beat the Indian men, women, and children with sticks,
destroyed their corn fields, distributed whiskey among them, cheated
them out of their furs and peltries and on one occasion, when the
Indians were absent on a hunting excursion, set fire to some thirty or
forty of their lodges, by which many of them were totally destroyed.
These outrages were perpetrated before a single acre of the land upon
Rock river, had been sold by the United States, and when in fact, the
regular frontier settlements of Illinois, had not approached within
fifty miles of the Sac village. Consequently they were committed in
express violation of the most solemn treaties and of the laws of the
United States, for the protection of the Indians. In 1829, clearly with
a view, on the part of those who brought about the measure, of evading
the force of that article of the treaty of 1804, which permitted the
Indians to live and hunt upon these lands, so long as they remained the
property of the United States, a few quarter sections were sold, on Rock
river, including the Sac village. New insults and outrages were now
offered to the Indians, and they were again ordered to remove, not from
the quarter sections which had actually been sold, but to the west side
of the Mississippi. Against this, they remonstrated and finally refused,
positively, to be driven away. The results of this refusal have already
been shown in the narration which has been made of the events following
upon the "actual invasion" of the state of Illinois, in the spring of
1831. But it has been said that these Indians endeavored to form an
alliance with some of the neighboring tribes to defend their lands.
There is no doubt that Black Hawk labored to persuade Keokuk and the
Sac Indians residing with him, to return to the east side of the
Mississippi and assist in defending their village. His effort to unite
with him, in alliance against the United States, the Winnebagoes,
Pottawatamies and Kickapoos, was probably for the same object, though
the case is not so clearly made out. Mr. Schoolcraft in his "Narrative"
speaks of a war message having been transmitted to the Torch lake
Indians, by Black Hawk, or his counsellors, in 1830, and repeated in the
two succeeding years; and adds that similar communications were made to
other tribes. The message, continues Mr. Schoolcraft, was very
equivocal. It invited these tribes to aid the Sacs in fighting their
enemies. Whatever may have been the object, no success attended the
effort. Other motives than that of retaining possession of these lands,
may have prompted Black Hawk to seek this alliance. Being an ambitious,
restless man, he may have thought it expedient to do something to keep
himself in power with his people. A military campaign is occasionally a
fortunate circumstance for a politician, whether his skin be red or
white. Gunpowder-popularity is of equal importance to the chiefs of the
Sacs and the chiefs of the Illini. An "actual invasion" of a
state--which, in these modern times, is supposed to consist in
"levelling deadly weapons" at the inhabitants thereof, and "stealing
their potatoes," is quite a wind-fall to political aspirants.
That the British Band of Sac Indians cherished the feeling of active
hostility towards the whites, that has been attributed to them, may
well be questioned. That they were provoked to a feeble assertion of
their rights by the injustice of our government and the lawless conduct
of the white settlers among them, is unquestionably true. But it should
be recollected, that from the period of their treaty with the United
States, in 1816, to their capitulation in 1831, they had not killed one
of our people. For a number of years prior to 1831, the Americans had
constantly passed through their country, unarmed, carrying with them
large amounts of money and of goods, for the trade at the lead mines:
and yet not one of these travellers, sleeping in the woods and the
Indian lodges, had been molested in person or property. For several
years, the whites residing at and around the Sac village on Rock river
were trespassing upon these Indians, for the purpose of driving them to
the west side of the Mississippi, but still the tomahawk was not raised
for retaliation. If Black Hawk and his party, had really intended to
resort to arms, who that understands the Indian character, can doubt for
a moment, that they would have struck a decisive blow, and murdered
every white settler upon Rock river, before General Gaines ascended the
Mississippi? After our army reached Fort Armstrong and General Gaines
had been informed by Black Hawk that he would not remove, he gave orders
to his braves, that if the American war chief came to the village to
force them away, not a gun should be fired, nor any resistance offered;
but that they must remain quietly in their lodges and let the war chief
kill them if he chose. Under these circumstances, it is as difficult to
believe that Black Hawk and his band seriously intended to make war upon
the whites at that time, as it is to admit that the United States had a
right to force the Indians to remove to the west side of the
Mississippi, because a few quarter sections of the land at the mouth of
Rock river, had been prematurely sold; while millions of acres around,
were still the property of the United States, and as such, under the
treaty of 1804, the Indians were expressly permitted to live and hunt
upon them.
In the course of this narrative, frequent mention has been made of the
leading chief of the Sac nation, who is highly distinguished by his
influence, pacific character and fine talents. The relation he sustains
to Black Hawk and his band, connects him directly with our narrative. On
this account, as well as to gratify the interest which is felt in his
history, the succeeding chapter will be occupied with a brief sketch of
the life and adventures of Keokuk, the Watchful Fox.
KEOKUK,
THE WATCHFUL FOX