The Black Hawk War Including a Review of Black Hawk's Life
James D. Henry brought them to reason, they marched with a grim
determination to avenge the murders of their ancestors by hurling Black
Hawk forever from the power to molest them more, and they did it in a
manner sufficiently decisive.
In 1829[65] these settlers, observing the fertility of the lands at the
mouth of Rock River, the protecting influence of a Government fort,
pushed over to that point and squatted upon the lands there. Settlements
multiplying by the reputation of the land, the President was persuaded
that the time had come to survey and open them up for sale, and he
issued his proclamation accordingly. This survey included the village
occupied by Black Hawk.
It has been urged by some that there was no necessity for opening up
this tract for settlement, because the nearest settlements were far
away, leaving an extensive belt between, which should first have been
occupied. Who is to judge of man’s choice in the public domain but the
man himself? The fort and public buildings made a respectable settlement
by themselves. Add to these the traders and a garrison with all the
hangers-on, and the neighborhood became an inviting one for settlers.
The mines to the north were booming; the river boats were carrying great
numbers of passengers, who always stopped at this point, and one must
repeat, why should it not be attractive?
When requested, Keokuk and the other chiefs issued proclamations, and,
with most of their people, removed to the west side of the river.[66]
Wapello, the head chief of the Foxes, and Pash-e-pa-ho of the Sacs,
making the decision almost unanimous, also went over, but Black Hawk,
finding it possible to annoy the Americans, refused, claiming that when
he signed the treaty of 1816 he had been deceived and never knew that
his village had been included in its terms. His offenses had been
condoned so many times by the indulgent Americans that he had grown to
consider himself above danger from them, and doggedly remained, in
defiance of the wish of the President and the proclamations of Keokuk
and Wapello. The promotion of Keokuk to be chief of the Sacs had its
influence, for any proclamation Keokuk might make would certainly be
defied by Black Hawk. Keokuk urged him to avoid friction by peaceably
removing with the others, but this appeal only strengthened his
determination to remain, and he sat back upon his haunches like the bull
before the locomotive, and, to carry the simile to a logical conclusion,
was very naturally annihilated.
The disposition to quarrel may be seen from the following extract from a
letter written to Governor Clark by Agent Forsythe:
Rocky Island, 17th May, 1829.
Sir:–Some time early in the spring, a number of settlers came to the
Sac village on Rock river and enclosed nearly all the Sac Indians’
corn fields. The Indians, on their arrival, were surprised at this, as
also the destruction committed by the settlers by tearing down many of
their lodges. The settlers who reside at the Sac village have called
on me frequently, wishing me to drive the Indians away; that they must
go, ought to go, pointing out the necessity of sending them away,
etc., etc.
I yesterday had a meeting with a number of Indians, and had a very
long talk with them on the subject of all the Indians moving onto
their own lands.
Quash-qua-me denying that he ever sold any land above Rock river,
etc., the Black Hawk also saying that the white people were in the
habit of saying one thing to the Indians and putting another on paper;
and both those Indians made use of every argument they were masters of
to convince me that they never had sold the land above Rock river,
etc.
I acquainted all the Indians with the provisions of the treaty of
1804, where Quash-qua-me’s name is, as one of the chiefs who sold the
land in question (the other chiefs being dead). I also reminded the
Black Hawk of the treaty of 1816, when the commissioners refused to
smoke with him and the other Sac chiefs (who accompanied him down to
St. Louis), to make peace, until they signed the treaty, etc.
The Black Hawk denied that any mention was made to him about land in
making the treaty of 1816; but that the commissioners must have
inserted in the treaty what was not expressly explained to him and
friends.
The Indians and myself had a great deal of talk at this meeting, the
most of which was quite unnecessary, at the winding up of which I told
the Indians I would not listen to any complaints that might come in
future from any Indians who would remain at Rocky river.
The chief Keokuk inquired of me in private if he and some of his
friends could remain at Rocky river to raise the corn they had
planted,[67] saying at the same time that most of the principal chiefs
and braves had gone to reside at a place a few miles within the mouth
of Ioway river, and that more than one-half of those now at Rocky
river would also go shortly to the same place.
I told Keokuk that he had heard what I had said to the Indians in
council, and that it was out of my power to give any Indians such
permission as he asked for.
It is my opinion that but few Indians will remain at Rocky river this
summer, but yet I am fearful that some difficulties will take place
among them and the settlers during the ensuing summer. All the Fox
Indians formerly residing in this vicinity have gone and made a new
village at the Grand Mascatin.
As has been stated, Black Hawk was not a chief, and was never recognized
as such. He was simply a brave who had gathered around him a party of
disaffected spirits, eager to foment strife; being no Pontiac or
Tecumseh, and having no call upon him by his nation or his tribe to
rectify any wrongs, his controversies in 1830 had degenerated into petty
quarrels with the incoming settlers.
He refused to cross the Mississippi because he was meanly jealous of
Keokuk and his influence and because of his hatred of the Americans, and
not because of fealty to any principle. He considered every argument of
his friends to mean that his removal meant his absorption as an
attraction. Removal west, with Keokuk above him, meant desuetude and dry
rot for his schemes. He preferred being a small quarreler to being none
at all, and he remained.
The Indian inclosures were made with stakes driven into the ground, to
which poles were transversely laid and tied with strips of bark. When
the crop of 1830 had been planted within these enclosures, or otherwise,
the Indians left for a summer hunt. Returning when the corn was in the
milk, it was gathered and their horses were turned into the fields. The
aftermath of those meagerly cropped fields was uninviting while the
ripening grain of the whites was near at hand, and, without any
ceremony, the slight fences were trampled down and the grain of the
white man more or less consumed or destroyed. A casual glance at this
state of things would disclose no premeditation on the part of the
Indians to molest the whites, but the whites complained and seem to have
proven beyond all doubt that the Indians, finding they could harass the
whites by these tactics, carried them a little further, until they
secretly drove horses into the fields and upon various occasions killed
the live stock of the whites. The correspondence entire upon the
subject, as found in public document No. 2 of the proceedings of the
Twenty-second Congress, first session, is scattered along through this
chapter. These depredations continued until autumn, when Black Hawk and
his band departed on their winter’s hunt.
By way of experiment, a compromise for the year 1830 was attempted
whereby the whites and Indians were to try to live together in peace,
but the antagonistic natures of both made success impossible and the
attempt was abandoned, with the determination by the whites that if
Black Hawk annoyed them in their future efforts to develop their farms
his actions would be met with resistance and his removal by force
demanded of the authorities. In the spring of 1831 the Indians returned
to find the whites prepared to resist them. Black Hawk’s wick-a-up was
occupied. This act brought his contention to a climax, as might have
been expected, by openly attempting the destruction of property. This he
did without molesting the owner, adroitly provoking the Americans to
menace and possibly force him to assume an attitude of defense of Indian
rights and the “graves of his fathers.” On April 30, 1831, the following
letter was sent to Governor Reynolds, setting forth grievances, and
signed by a numerical force which should command attention from any
executive:
“April 30, 1831.
“His Excellency, the Governor of the State of Illinois:
“We, the undersigned, being citizens of Rock River and its vicinity,
beg leave to state to your honor the grievances which we labor under,
and pray your protection against the Sac and Fox tribe of Indians, who
have again taken possession of our lands near the mouth of Rock River
and its vicinity. They have, and now are, burning our fences,
destroying our crops of wheat now growing, by turning in all their
horses. They also threaten our lives if we attempt to plant corn, and
say they will cut it up; that we have stolen their lands from them,
and they are determined to exterminate us, provided we don’t leave the
country. Your honor, no doubt, is aware of the outrages that were
committed by said Indians heretofore. Particularly last fall, they
almost destroyed all our crops, and made several attempts on the
owners’ lives when they attempted to prevent their depredations, and
actually wounded one man by stabbing him in several places. This
spring they act in a much more outrageous and menacing manner, so that
we consider ourselves compelled to beg protection of you, which the
agent and garrison on Rock Island refuse to give, inasmuch as they say
they have no orders from government; therefore, should we not receive
adequate aid from your honor, we shall be compelled to abandon our
settlement, and the lands which we have purchased of government.
Therefore, we have no doubt but your honor will better anticipate our
condition than it is represented, and grant us immediate relief in the
manner that to you may seem most likely to produce the desired effect.
The number of Indians now among us is about six or seven hundred. They
say there are more coming, and that the Pottawattomies and some of the
Winnebagoes will help them, in case of an irruption with the whites.
The warriors now here are the Black Hawk’s party, with other chiefs,
the names of whom we are not acquainted with. Therefore, looking up to
you for protection, we beg leave to remain yours, etc.”[68]
“John Wells, “Erastus Kent, “G.V. Miller,
“B.F. Pike, “Levi Wells, “Edward Burner,
“H. McNiel, “Joel Wells, “Joel Thompson,
“Albert Wells, “Michael Bartlet, “Joel Wells, Jr.,
“Griffith Ausbury, “Huntington Wells, “J.W. Spencer,
“Thomas Gardiner, “Thomas Davis, “Joseph Danforth,
“J. Vandruff, “Thomas Lovitt, “William Brazher,
“S. Vandruff, “William Heans, “Jonah H. Case,
“John L. Bain, “Charles French, “Samuel Wells,
“Horace Cook, “M.S. Hulls, “Charles French,
“David B. Hail, “Eli Wells, “Benjamin Goble,
“John Barrel, “Asaph Wells, “Gentry McCall.”
“William Henry,
Receiving no reply to that request, the citizens waited until the 19th