nter, who was just returning to his cottage as Austin and his brothers reached it

, perceiving this, willingly agreed to gratify him. He told them, that, in reading or hearing the history of Indian chiefs, they must not be carried away by false notions of their valour, for that it was always mingled with much cruelty. The word of God said truly, that "the dark places of the earth are full of the habit

. lxxi

e would tell it himself. Speak to us as if you we

ell you will be true, only the words will be my own, instead of those of

of war have made me old. I have been a conqueror, and I ha

d of the Great Spirit, to the hunting grounds of my fathers in another world, to tell my history; it will then be seen why I hat

village on Rock River. This was, according to white man's reckoning

I was a brave, and afterwards a chief, a leading war-chief, carrying the medicine bag.

f the Mississippi;' and they said, 'Yes.' But I said, 'No: why should I leave the place where our wigwams stand, where we have

e go to the other side of the river. My prophet also told me the same. I felt my arm strong, and I fough

not let me dress like a chief. I did not paint myself; I did not wear

ll an enemy, and tear away the scalp from his head. I felt determined to do the same. I pleased my

e killed a hundred, and took many scalps. In a battle with the Cherokees my father was killed. I painted my face blac

and Foxes, and one hundred Ioways. We fell upon forty lodges. I made two of their squaws prisoners, but all the rest of the people in the

faces do well? No, they did not; they set our man free, but when he began to run they shot him down; and they gave strong drink to our four people, and told them t

e went against the fort. I dug a hole in the ground with my knife, so that I could hide myself with some grass. I shot with my rifle

hey let him go, but he ran back through the prairies next day, in time to be shot down. He did not say he would come bac

ut them? Why did he let them come among my people with their fire-drink

and clothes. I held a talk with him in his tent; he took my hand. 'General Black Hawk,' said he, and he put a medal round my neck, 'you must now hold us fast by the hand; you will have the comma

the prisoners, but Black Hawk stopped them. He is a coward who kills a brave that has no arms and cannot fight. I did not like so often t

soner, and shot and stabbed to death. I put my pipe to my friend's mouth; he smoked a little. I took his hand, and said 'Black Hawk would revenge his son's death.' A storm came on; I wrapped my old frien

raves; not caring how many of their people fall. They then feast and drink as if nothing had happened, and write on paper that they have won, whether they have won or been beaten. And they do not write

iend. I told my friend so when he was dying. Why should Black Hawk speak a lie? I took with me thirty braves, and went to Fort Madison; but the American pale faces had gone. I was glad, but

s and my rifles to keep the peace. A party of soldiers built a fort at Prairie du Chien. They were friendly to us, but the British cam

othes, which I divided with my braves. The Americans built a fort; I went towards it with my braves. I had a dream, in which the Great Spirit told me to go down the bluff to a creek, and to look in a hollow tree cut down, and there I should see a snake; clo

imes. We said this was a lie; for our great father had deceived us, and forced us into a war. They were angry at what we said; but we smoked the pipe of peace ag

supplied us with plums, apples and nuts, with strawberries and blackberries. Many happy days had I spent on Rock Island. A good spirit had the care of

he Portage des Sioux, near the mouth of the Missouri. If another prophet had come to us in those days, and said, 'The white man will drive you from these hu

where lay his father. There was no place in sorrow like that where the bones of our forefathers lay. There the Great Spirit took pity

m from drinking it. My eldest son and my youngest daughter died. I gave away all I had; blackened my face for two year

e had done. I said I could not forsake my village; the prophet told me I was right. I thought

e robbed them. They made right look like wrong, and wrong like right. I tried hard to get right, but could not. The white man wanted my village, and back I must go. Sixteen thousand dollars every twelve moon

us, and get our land without paying for it. I had a talk with the great chief. He said if I would go, well. If I would not, he would drive

us some corn, but it was soon gone. Then our women and children cried out for the roasted ears, the beans, and squashes they had be

wn in the way. I consulted the prophet, and recruited my bands to take my village again; for I knew that it had bee

anoes. Our prophet was among us. The great war chief, White Beaver, sent twice to tell us to go back; and that

were shot down. The whites behaved ill to me, they forced me into war, with five hundred warriors, when they had against us three o

my braves feasted, I took my great medicine bag, a

n. They were handed down to the great war chief of our nation, Na-nà-ma-kee, who has been at war with all the nations of

us, it was in vain. We had not enough to eat. We dug roots, and pulled the bark from trees, to keep us alive; some of our old

sacrifice our women and children. I was mounted on a fine horse, and addressed my warriors, encouraging them to be brave. Wi

the rest escaped into the woods. After many battles, I found the white men too strong for us; and thinking there would be no peace while Black Hawk was at the head of his braves, I gave myself up and my

ildren, and people, who had crossed the Mississippi, and killed sixty o

ar with his people. I said but little, for I thought he ought to have known why before, and perhaps he did; perhaps he knew th

e, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the big village of New York; and I was allowed to return home again to my people, of whom Kee-

that has only been raised against warriors and braves. It has always been our custom to receive the stranger, and to use him well. The white man sha

ll go where my fathers are. It is the wish of the heart of Black Hawk, that the Great Spirit

h a great deal. And Kee-o-kuk, the Runn

e in peace. The time may come, when Indians may love peace as much as they now love war; and when the "peace of God which passe

a little about a buffalo hunt; just a little, and then we s

, as the case may be. I have hunted with the Camanchees in the Mexican provinces, who are famous horsemen; with the Sioux, on the Mississippi; the Crows, on the Yellow-stone river; and the

id you prepar

herd of buffaloes was on the prairie, we prepared our horses; while some Indians

then, that you shoul

ef round my head, and another round my waist; rolled up my sleeves; hastily put a few bullets in my mouth, and

in spear would

he buffalo. Every bound his horse gives, the Indian keeps moving his spear backwards and forwards across the pommel of his saddle, with the point sideways towards the buffalo. He gallops on in this way, saying "Whish! whish!" every time he makes a feint, until he finds himself in ju

buffalo has no

ted your horse, and ro

catching sight of us, in an instant they set off, and we after them as hard as we could driv

a scamper th

ng on the ground, and there a horse gored to death by a buffalo bull. I brought down one of the largest of the herd with my rifle, at the beginning of the hunt; and, before it was

ng in mind what had been said about a longer account at another time, he cordially thanked the hunter f

alo