CHAPTER XXXIX.
Second Trip East–A Quiet Life–July Fourth Toast at Fort Madison–Interview with Iowas–Death–Burial–His Grave Robbed–Bones Recovered–Consumed by Fire–Death of Madam Black Hawk.
In 1837 it became necessary for a delegation of Sacs and Foxes to go to Washington. Keokuk, who was at its head, prudently took Black Hawk along, fearing perhaps that during his absence he might create some new disturbance.[[276]] Knowing that he was neither a delegate nor chief, he remained indifferent to the attention given him while traveling through the various cities of the East, and little can be said of his trip.
After his return, in the autumn of 1837, Black Hawk and his family spent the winter in Lee County, Iowa, residing on a small stream known as Devil’s Creek. His family then consisted of his wife, As-shaw-e-qua (Singing Bird[[277]]), two sons, Nes-se-as-kuk and Na-som-see, and his daughter, Nam-equa. It is related that a young man from Baltimore, who met Namequa, became charmed with her comely appearance, and, with continued acquaintance, became desperately in love with her. The young lady received his advances with favor and a wedding was among the immediate possibilities at Fort Madison. All arguments by friends failed to dissuade the young gentleman from marrying the maid. He was coaxed, bantered and threatened, but nothing would affect him in the least until one more resourceful than his other friends asked how he would enjoy such comments from his Baltimore friends as, “There goes –– and his squaw.” That possibility settled the affair against the young lady, who became thereby another victim of the white man’s fickleness, but contrary to the usual trend in matters of that character, Nam-e-qua indifferently dropped the subject and later married a young Indian of her tribe, living happily thereafter, probably more happily than she ever could have lived with the impulsive young white.
In the spring of 1838 Black Hawk and his family removed to the vicinity of the chiefs of the Sacs and Foxes, on the Des Moines River, near Iowaville, the site of the famous battle where the Sacs annihilated the tribe of Iowas many years before. Here he had a comfortable cabin, furnished in humble imitation of the white settler’s on the frontier. As the whites moved into the country he formed their acquaintance and mingled very largely in their pleasures and pastimes with hearty good-will. He occasionally imbibed too freely of liquor and made himself as merry or ridiculous as the white man under the same condition, but it must be said in his favor that when found indulging in spirits it was at the invitation of his white brother.[[278]] His usually morose disposition gradually underwent a radical change, for he was frequently found receiving the chaff of the whites in a spirit of the utmost jollity and to the very best of his ability giving it back again, which, considering the few English words he could master, was said to have been remarkable.
This feature of “mixing,” which he cultivated, had much to do with bringing to him during the last years of his life the general verdict that he was a martyr and a person of ability far above his actual worth. His travels and the universal interest taken in him during them led others to seek his acquaintance and to place him in all sorts of conspicuous attitudes, comical and otherwise. The following, kindly furnished me by Prof. B.F. Shambaugh of the University of Iowa, is a fine illustration of that phase of Black Hawk’s amusement.
“TO GENERAL ‘BLACK HAWK.’”[[279]]
“Sir:–As there is at present a vacant seat in the council chamber, which certainly ought to be filled by some talented and influential person, and as you seem to be the theme of men, women and children in this place, and your political character well known and established, I would, in common with many others of my fellow-citizens, beg, with great deference, to bring you upon the carpet, by nominating you as a suitable person, worthy of our elective franchise, to fill the vacancy in question, conscious as I am that, once elected and seated beyond the threshold of the Council chamber, there to be installed as one of the councilors, in all the privileges and honors connected with that station, that your voice and vote shall not be found wanting when any question or cause is in agitation involving the rights of the people. Your inherent spirit of independence is well known to this community; also that your political views and principles are honorable, and that you have no earthly connection with that obnoxious and diabolical phalanx who would fain exclude (as they have recently attempted to do) the people from a voice in the management of the territorial affairs. Methinks your system would be more liberal. I doubt not but the grand and noble feature of your legislative acts will be recognized in the unerring vigilance to protect the liberties and rights of the citizens of this young and mighty republic, and that you will guard against speculative innovation, which, unfortunately, in this our day, sways men’s best judgments.
“As you are fully alive to the present depressed and truly deplorable state of our commercial affairs, which, if some relief more than the stay of action upon executions for twelve months is not immediately devised, will most assuredly prostrate and render our young and enterprising merchants of this territory bankrupts, and thus, alas! pave the way to ruin, and bring into active operation the machinery of the debtor laws, with their ruinous and demolishing consequences.
“It need hardly be observed that, upon installation in office, your actions will be public, so that they need not blush at daylight; besides, as you know, privacy is generally hateful, and is indeed more worthy and characteristic of nocturnal clubs than that of legislative assemblies, and thereby give every facility of watching and judging the whole course of your official career for your own exoneration and the satisfaction of your constituents. You will, in all cases, particularly in the passage of bills, laying off county lines and seats of justice, faithfully obey the people’s instructions and correspond with them timorously; in short, be entirely, as far as consistent, guided by petitions from the people, and by so doing you will, in a great measure, get rid of responsibility which otherwise you might not, and if your acts do not turn out so favorable as have been anticipated, they (your constituents) cannot, and will not, justly charge you with dereliction of duty. Let it not be heard said of you, as of some others, that you legislate for your own and that of your friends’ private interests, but for the general good of the country.
“In conclusion, I beg you to be very guarded how and in what manner you vote, not voting for the cause one day, and the next day jump about from ‘post to pillar,’ like jumping ‘Jim Crow,’ and vote differently. These hints may be of some service to you. Indeed, were it not that I have special interest in your welfare, I should be the last individual in this community to advise you in any shape or form. I have the honor to be, with due respect,
“ONE OF THE PEOPLE.
“Burlington, Dec. 9, 1837.”
Black Hawk’s constant mingling with the whites taught him another familiar characteristic; one more likely than any other to get him into difficulty–that of borrowing money. From Louisiana, Mo., I was furnished with the copy of one of his financial engagements, presented herewith, and for which I am under obligations to Mrs. Fannie Anderson of Louisiana, Mo.
Thus in a tranquil, careless way Black Hawk was passing the remainder of his days, without responsibilities and with the hearty good will and esteem of every person who knew him. An old “plug” hat was his passion; he so dearly loved it that some contend it was placed upon his head when he was buried. In this and similar eccentric adornments he one day rode into Fort Madison, by special invitation, to attend a Fourth of July banquet, and it must be said that it was a sorry day in his declining years in which he allowed the whites to inveigle him into a speech. While his animosity toward Keokuk was as bitter as ever, he had latterly learned to curb it with discretion. Among the toasts for that occasion was one to which he was asked to respond: “Our Illustrious Guest, Black Hawk–May his declining years be as calm and serene as his previous life has been boisterous and full of warlike incidents. His attachment and present friendship to his white brethren fully entitle him to a seat at our festive board.” After the sentiment was explained to him by an interpreter, he responded as follows, his words being taken down by two interpreters:
“It has pleased the Great Spirit that I am here to-day. I have eaten with my white friends. The earth is our mother; we are now on it, with the Great Spirit above us. It is good. I hope we are all friends here. A few summers ago I was fighting against you. I did wrong, perhaps, but that is past. It is buried; let it be forgotten. Rock River was a beautiful country. I loved 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 thank the Great Spirit that I am now friendly with my white brethren. We are here together. We are friends. It is his wish and mine. I thank you for your friendship. I was once a great warrior. I am now poor. Keokuk has been the cause of my present situation, but do not attach blame to him. I am now old. I have looked upon the Mississippi since I was a child. I love the great river. I have dwelt upon its banks from the time I was an infant. I look upon it now. I shake hands with you, and as it is my wish, I hope you are my friends.”
It is to be hoped that on this occasion Black Hawk was intoxicated, not with liquor, but with pride at his flattering reception, and that he forgot himself (as he once before did), when he thus uncivilly spoke of Keokuk, the man who implored him to desist from entering his disastrous campaign of 1832; the man who urged that Black Hawk was deceived by liars; the man who, when Black Hawk was imprisoned, took to him his wife and child and friends to cheer his fallen spirits; the man who, with all the strength of his mighty eloquence, urged the old man’s liberation; the man who pledged his every resource as a guaranty of Black Hawk’s future good behavior for that liberation; the man who stood at Black Hawk’s side when in an evil hour he flew into a passion and defied those who were giving him that liberation on Keokuk’s pledge, and who whispered in the angry old man’s ear words of moderation, and then who rose and in the greatness of his heart apologized for Black Hawk’s haste and begged that it be overlooked; the man who at all times had but the kindest of words for the old man’s failings and who, to please a whim of passing envy, actually resigned his chieftainship into the hands of his tribe to avoid friction, that his exalted position might no longer wound the false pride of Black Hawk. No sacrifice was ever demanded that he did not make for Black Hawk.
It was a shame to compromise the old man as he was drifting so rapidly to the grave, and expose his foibles, then long forgotten. In the fullness of his eloquence he made himself to speak of “my towns, my cornfields, and my people,” as though he had been autocrat of all the Indian tribes, when, in fact, he never had been a chief and had naught whatever to say more than another about their disposition or their government; but no blame shall go to Black Hawk for that speech. Let the reader peruse and remember its concluding words, which are as sweet and gentle and pathetic as one will find in all literature, and forget the old man’s follies, for he was mistaken, as many another has been before and since.
Black Hawk’s cabin stood about one hundred feet from the north bank of the Des Moines River, a few rods from that of Mr. James H. Jordan, the agent. Near it, on the sloping bank, stood two large trees, an elm and an ash, so intertwined as to appear like one tree. Close by flowed the clear waters of what was known as Black Hawk’s Spring. Here, during the sultry days of summer, he would sit and dreamily ponder over the scenes of his, long and turbulent career. Before him was spread that old battlefield on which his nation snatched from the Iowas their country and their homes–the same country then passing to others. Then came a gloomy period of melancholy, which enveloped him so completely that he said but little, and that to his few intimates. In the summer of 1838 a party of Iowas returned on a friendly visit to their old home and Black Hawk held a friendly council with them at a place about half a mile from his cabin. On that spot he directed that his body should be buried. At this time he regarded the usual indifferences of the Indians as personal slights, and while it may be true that many of his whilom companions neglected to show him many of the little civilities which white men might observe, the whites supplied them with unusual attentions, and he should not have fretted as he did fret. General Street, observing the same, thoughtfully made the family a present of a cow, a property very unusual with an Indian. This pleased him and the family immensely. Madam Black Hawk and her daughter learned to milk, and during the warm days of 1838 the two were often seen sitting beside their beloved cow, patiently brushing away the troublesome flies and other insects. This daughter, though married, remained with her parents to the time of Black Hawk’s death and, it may be said, was the mainstay in their domestic affairs; a model of neatness. It has been said that she and Madam Black Hawk were so neat that the little yard was swept during the warmer months once a day. One October day was designated as “ration day” which was attended by nearly every Indian, leaving Black Hawk almost alone. Though he had been sick of a fever[[280]] for many days, nothing serious was feared. Mr. Jordan was with him to the last moment his official duties would permit, leaving him, as he supposed, on the high road to recovery; but the old man took a sudden turn for the worse and within three hours after Mr. Jordan left his bedside Black Hawk was dead, after a sickness of fourteen days.
BLACK HAWK’S PROMISSORY NOTE.
BLACK HAWK’S TOWER.
BLACK HAWK’S POWDER HORN.
During Black Hawk’s sickness his wife, As-shaw-e-qua (Singing Bird), was devoted in her attentions to him and deeply mourned his death. Some days before it occurred she said: “He is getting old; he must die. Monoto calls him home.”
His remains were followed to the grave by the family and about fifty of the tribe, the chiefs and all others being absent at Fort Armstrong to receive their rations. He was buried on the spot selected by him prior to his death, which is best described by James H. Jordan[[281]] in a letter to Dr. J.F. Snyder of Virginia, Ill., who has written the best account of Black Hawk’s burial to be found,[[282]] and to whom I am much indebted for points in this work:
“Eldon, Iowa, July 15, 1881.
“Black Hawk was buried on the Northeast Quarter of Section Two, Township 70, Range 12, Davis County, Iowa, near the northeastern corner of the county, on the Des Moines River bottom, about ninety rods from where he lived at the time he died, and on the north side of the river. I have the ground where he lived for a dooryard, it being between my house and the river. The only mound over the grave was some puncheons split out and set over his grave and then sodded over with blue grass, making a ridge about four feet high. A flagstaff, some twenty feet high, was planted at his head, on which was a silk flag, which hung there until the wind wore it out. My house and his were only four rods apart when he died. He was sick only about fourteen days. He was buried right where he sat the year before when in council with the Iowa Indians, and was buried in a suit of military clothes, made to order, and given to him when in Washington City by Gen. Jackson, with hat, sword, gold epaulets, etc., etc.”
His body was placed on the surface of the ground in a sitting posture, with his head toward the southeast, the body supported in position by a wooden slab or puncheon. On his left side was placed a cane given him by Henry Clay, with his right hand resting on it. Three silver medals, the gifts of prominent persons in the east, hung upon his breast.[[283]] There were also placed in the grave two swords, a quantity of wampum, an extra pair of moccasins and other articles of Indian costume, with a supply of provisions sufficient to last him three days on his journey to the spirit land. Around the body and the articles buried with him two large blankets were closely wrapped. On his head was placed a military cap elaborately ornamented with feathers. Forked sticks were firmly driven at the head and foot of the grave and across these a pole was placed, extending over the body. Against this pole split puncheons were laid to a peak, the gables of the primitive vault being closed with boards and the whole then sodded over. Near by was a hewn post inscribed with Indian characters. Enclosing all was a strong circular picket fence ten or twelve feet high.
One morning about the 1st of July, 1839, Madam Black Hawk, bitterly weeping, called upon Mr. Jordan and informed him that the grave of her husband had been opened and rifled of everything within.[[284]] Mr. Jordan immediately instituted a search and traced the act to a Dr. Turner of Lexington, in the County of Van Buren, who had sent the body to St. Louis, where the bones were cleaned and then removed to Quincy, where they were articulated. Much contention as to the details of the body’s pilgrimage has existed, but the letter to be found on page 10 hereof, written at the time, should conclusively settle the matter.
At once Governor Lucas, then governor of the Territory of Iowa, learned of the location of the bones; he sent for and received them very soon thereafter, but when the sons of Black Hawk called upon the Governor and found them “in a good dry place,” they concluded it was best to allow them to remain in storage. Governor Lucas allowed them to remain in his office for a little while and then deposited them in the collections of the Burlington Geological and Historical Society, where they remained until the year 1855, at which time they were consumed by the fire which destroyed the building and all the society’s collections. Thus all that remained mortal of Black Hawk passed away in fire and smoke after the manner of his stormy life.
It was a spectacular finish and one Black Hawk might possibly have courted in his strenuous days had it been less ignoble; but ignoble it was and unworthy the man. To Madam Black Hawk and her children it was an act of inhumanity which can never be forgiven by civilization. If Black Hawk had faults, they were buried with his body, which by all rules of decency should have remained sacred.
When the Sac nation was again removed to its new reservation in Kansas, Madame Black Hawk with her family followed and there remained until the 29th of August, 1846, when she died at the fine old age of 85 years.