Black+Hawk

Original Author: Jami Lavin, A&S 195 SP10 Revision Author: Caressa Clearman ENG 340 FL11
 * An Overview of the Life of Black Hawk **

A chieftain he by right of birth, And patriot true as lived on earth; His steady nerve and iron will Gave him great power for good or ill; An orator and statesman bold With character as pure as gold.

The passage above is found in the book, “The Sauks and the Black Hawk War” by Perry Armstrong (506). It is a concise but profoundly accurate poem regarding a man named Black Hawk. His name is well known in the Quad Cities and surrounding areas. One cannot travel these roads without seeing it in some shape or form. His name adorns businesses, parks, schools, streets and more, signifying his connection to the area and its history. This is a rich and deeply rooted history indeed, which dates back to the year 1767, when Black Hawk was born in what is now the city of Rock Island, Illinois and given the Indian name “Makataimeshekiakiak” (LeClair 1).

Black Hawk was a member of the Sauk tribe (who were also known as the Sacs, Saukies, Sockeys, Socks, Sacques, Sackies, and Saucs) (LeClair 41). His family was originally from Canada. His Great Grandfather, Nan-a-ma-kee, was born near Montreal, and according to Black Hawk, “was the founder of the Sauk nation” (Armstrong 506). As war broke out between the British and the French, Nan-a-ma-kee and the Sauks were pushed out of Canada and set up a village near Green Bay. After settling, they held a council with the Fox tribe, and a national treaty of friendship and alliance was made. Both tribes were small and weak, but joining forces made them stronger. Together, they left the Green Bay area and moved southwest along the Mississippi.

The Sauks settled near the Rock River, a short distance north of its “confluence with the Mississippi” (LeClair 42). This was the Saukenuk village where Black Hawk was born. “A residential section of Rock Island, Illinois, is now built upon the site of the old village” (LeClair 42).Little is known of his childhood but,”That he lived, hunted, fished, and played, as other Indian boys, until about his 15th year is probable” (Armstrong 507). He stood about five feet ten inches tall and although he had a dark complexion for an Indian, his facial features had a distinct Anglo-Saxon quality to them. (Armstrong 506). Even as a youth he exhibited skills as a warrior as well as a desire to become one. He is quoted as saying “I remember that I was ashamed to look where our young men stood before I could take my stand in the ring as a warrior” (Armstrong 507).

It did not take Black Hawk long to earn his place in that ring. Throughout his youth, his tribe of Sauks was often in conflict with a tribe of Osages. When he was fifteen years old, he engaged one of their braves and “overcame and dangerously if not fatally wounded him” (Armstrong 507). This victory allowed him “the right to paint his face, adopt his medicine bag, and select his totem” (Armstrong 508). He chose the tail feathers of a Black Sparrow Hawk, and thus, acquired his name. This victory also earned him a place among the braves, and began his path as a shrewd and cunning warrior (Armstrong 508).

Black Hawk orchestrated several successful raids against the Osages. By the time he was nineteen years old, he led two hundred warriors to battle against Osages who had been invading the Sauk’s hunting grounds. During this battle, one hundred Osage were either hurt or killed while nineteen Sauk were killed or injured. (LeClair 48). After this great loss, the Osages abandoned the conflict for awhile, and the Sauk turned their attention to the Cherokee. The Sauk intended to exact revenge on the Cherokee for the murders of some Sauk women and children committed sometime prior (LeClair 48).

It was during this battle with the Cherokee that Black Hawk’s father was fatally wounded. Black Hawk then took command in the battle and killed three Cherokee himself. The Cherokees lost twenty-eight people over all and the Sauk lost seven.. After the loss of his father, Black Hawk went into mourn for five years. When he felt he had paid sufficient respect, he reentered the tribe and returned to leading attacks against the Osage.. He also wanted to avenge his fathers’ death so he led an attack against the Cherokee as well (LeClair 48-49).

Approximately fifteen years after the death of Black Hawk’s father, a Saukkilled an American soldier, was taken prisoner, and held in St. Louis. Black Hawk sent four men of the Sauk tribe to try to negotiate a release “by paying for the person killed, thus covering the blood and satisfying the relations of the man murdered” (Drake 58). When the four men reached their destination and explained their situation, they were told they would have to give up some land. “When the business was all arranged, they expected to have their friend released to come home with them…their friend was led out of [the] prison…ran a short distance and was //shot dead”// (Drake 59)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The land the four Sauks relinquished in order to save their friend became part of an 1804 treaty between “William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana territory and the district of Louisiana, superintendent of Indian affairs for the said territory and district, and commissioner plenipotentiary of the United States… and the chiefs and head men of the united… [Sauk] and Fox tribes of the other part” (Drake 50). It was signed by Harrison, and the four Sauk men whose signatures were designated by an “X” (Drake 50).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">At the time, the story relayed to Black Hawk by the four men was the only information he or any of his people knew about this treaty. It came as quite a shock to learn the amount of land that had been ceded, and that it had been done so for a mere one thousand dollars per year (Drake 59). Regarding this incident, Black Hawk stated that he would “leave it to the people of the United States to say, whether our nation was properly represented in this treaty… or whether we received a fair compensation for the extent of country ceded by those four individuals” (Drake 59).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Black Hawk and the Sauks were disillusioned by this treaty to say the least, and this, along with the construction of Fort Madison on the Mississippi, continued to sour relations between the Sauk and the Americans. “This was increased by British agents and traders, who instigated them to resist the encroachments of the Americans, now beginning to press upon their hunting grounds” (Drake 62). When the war of 1812 began, some Sauk, with Black Hawk among them, joined the side of the British, “and fought against the Americans until the peace of 1815” (Drake 64).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The treaty of 1804 remained a source of contention over the years, and was renegotiated resulting in more land ceded to the United States by the Sauk. They were removed to the west of the Mississippi “too late in the season to enable them to plant beans and corn a second time; and before autumn was over they were without provisions” (Drake 143). In one instance, they attempted to cross the river to, in Black Hawk’s words, “//steal roasting-ears from their own fields”// (Drake 143). They were subsequently shot at by the whites, who were quite upset at the intrusion, and “they, in turn, were highly exasperated at being fired upon for attempting to carry off the corn, which they had raised, and which they insisted, belonged to them” (Drake 143).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Another incident occurred including a band of the Fox tribe (believed to be Black Hawk’s men) who sought revenge on the Menominies and Sioux. Twenty-eight Menominies were killed, and the United States authorities called for the surrender of the killers. “Black Hawk, with other chiefs, took the ground that the United States had no right to make this demand and refused to give them up” (Drake 144). This added another wrinkle in the delicate fabric of the relationship between the U.S. and the Sauk.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">But Black Hawk’s stance was firm. He had a solid character and was often compared to Julius Caesar. He was an eloquent speaker. “Full of fine imagery and apt illustrations, he never descended to the plane of vulgarity and seldom indulged in the humorous” (Armstrong 530). His sole focus was the physical improvement and safety of his people. “He felt and acted as if he had a great mission to perform, and diligently bent all his energies to its accomplishment” (Armstrong 530). This commitment to his tribe probably contributed to his eventual decision to surrender.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">During the battle of Bad Axe, a massacre of Sauks took place. Around one hundred were killed while an “additional thirty-six –all women and children” were drowned in the river. (Armstrong 474). Black Hawk had attempted to surrender the day before, raising a white flag, but it only served to anger the whites and they responded by firing a canon into the Sauk camp killing twenty-three men, women and children (Armstrong 474). “Words cannot excuse this most inhumane massacre, unless… [we pronounce] the Indians mere dumb brutes or wild animals, without any of the attributes common to humanity” (Armstrong 475). Often enough, this was exactly what was done.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">It was the news of the massacre at Bad Axe that ultimately led Black Hawk to surrender himself to the authorities at Prairie du Chien (LeClair 139). He was taken to Jefferson barracks and “forced to wear the //ball and chain”// (LeClair 142). This was humiliating to Black Hawk, feeling that if the roles had been reversed he, “would not have wounded… [the American war chief’s] feelings so much, by such treatment –knowing that a brave war chief would prefer //death// to //dishonor”// (LeClair 142). The stop at Jefferson barracks was just a brief one that would eventually take Black Hawk on a tour across northeast America.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">When he finally returned to his people, he was disturbed to see white people mining in the land called Dubuque. This land was supposed to be for the Indian, and it was Black Hawk’s understanding “that the Mississippi was to be the dividing line between… [the] red and white children, and that… [neither were] to cross it” (LeClair 150). Black Hawk had become resigned to this idea and thought the separation was best; however, he was not confident that the deal would remain intact. He stated, “I am very much afraid… they will begin to drive and abuse our people, as they have formerly done” (LeClair 150).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Although Black Hawk felt this deep foreboding, his inherent respect for the land never faltered. An excerpt from a toast he made at a dinner in Fort Madison on July 4th, 1838, follows:

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Rock River was a beautiful country –I liked my towns, my cornfields, and the home of my people. I fought for it. It is now yours –keep it as we did –it will produce you good crops… I have looked upon the Mississippi since I have been a child. I love the Great River. I have dwelt upon its banks from the time I was an infant [and] I look upon it now (Drake 243-244).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Words such as these signify the deep connection he felt with the Quad City area. Black Hawk passed away on October 3rd, 1838 with his wife by his side (Drake 236). He led a long life of bravery and loyalty to his people. He questioned the white man’s intentions stating, “Why did the Great Spirit ever send the whites to this island, to drive us from our homes, and introduce among us //poisonous liquors, disease and death//” (LeClair 61). He suffered a great deal, but showed great resolve, especially on the battlefield. “He was a brave chief and a leader of men, whose courage, skill and general ability demanded a better fate, to say nothing of the eternal justice of his cause…” (Armstrong 476).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The blood and bones of Black Hawk, his family, and his tribe of Sauk are in the very elements of Quad City soil, and it is quite fitting that so many reminders of his presence occupy this area. The love he felt for the land is evident in how hard he fought to keep it.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Works Cited **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Armstrong, Perry A. //The Sauks and the Black Hawk War: with Biographical// //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Sketches, etc. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Springfield, Illinois: H.W. Rokker, 1887. Print.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Drake, Benjamin. //The Great Indian Chief of the West: or, Life and Adventures// //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">of Black Hawk. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Cincinnati:H.M. Rulison, 1857. Print.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">LeClair, Anton. //Black Hawk: An Autobiography//. Ed. Donald Jackson. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1955. Print.

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