The Black Hawk War Including a Review of Black Hawk's Life

by Frank Everett Stevens

“The warriors now held another dance, but not around us this time, as before. Here we had all the maple sugar we desired, while the Indians seemed to make as good preparations for our accommodation as they could.

“About this time our dresses were changed, the Indians furnishing the dresses. The one furnished Rachael was a red and white calico dress, ruffled around the bottom. Sylvia’s was blue calico. The Indians now tried to get us to throw away our shoes and put on moccasins, which we would not do. They also threw away Rachael’s comb, and she went and got it again and kept it. We now traveled and camped about as usual, until the seventh day, when the Indians came to where we were and took Sylvia off on to the side of a hill, about 40 rods from where we were before, to where the Indians seemed to have been holding a council, and one of the Indians said that Sylvia must go with an old Indian, which we afterward learned was the chief of the Winnebagoes, and called himself White Crow, and was blind in one eye, and that Rachael was to remain with the Indians we had been with all the time. Sylvia said she could not go unless Rachael went also. He, the White Crow, then got up and made a speech, loud and long, and seemed very much excited and interested. After he had concluded his speech, some Indian, who called himself Whirling Thunder, went and brought Rachael to where Sylvia was, and the chiefs shook hands together, and horses were brought, switches cut to whip them with, and we were both placed on horses, while one of the young Indians stepped up, and with a large knife cut a lock of hair out of Rachael’s head over the right ear, and one out of the back of the head and said to the old chief White Crow that he would have her back (as we afterwards learned) in three or four days. One of the Indians also cut a lock of hair out of the front part of Sylvia’s head. Then we started and rode at a rapid rate, until the next morning near daylight, when we halted at the encampment of the Winnebagoes, and where a bed was prepared on a low scaffold with blankets and furs, upon which we lay down until after daylight. This was the morning of the ninth day of our captivity. After breakfast the whole encampment packed up and placed us and themselves in canoes, and we traveled all day until near sundown, by water, and camped on the bank of the stream, the name of which we never knew, neither can we now tell whether we traveled up or down; neither can we tell what went with the horses on which we rode the day before.

“On the morning of the 9th we were up and had breakfast as usual with the Indians very early, after which White Crow went round to each camp or wigwam, as far as we could see, and stood at the opening with a gourd with pebbles in it, shaking it and occasionally talking as if he was lecturing, then he went off and was gone all day, while we remained in camp. He came back at night, and for the first time spoke to us in English and asked if father or mother was alive, and whether we had any brothers or sisters. We told him we thought not, for we expected they were all killed. When he heard this he shook his head and looked very sorry, and then informed us that he was going to take us home in the morning.

“Things remained as usual through the night. Next morning, being the 10th, White Crow went through the same performance as on the morning of yesterday. Then 26 of the Winnebagoes went with us into the canoes and crossed over the stream, swimming their ponies by the side of the canoes. After landing on the other shore, all were mounted on the ponies, and we traveled all day through wet land, sloughs and a growth of underbrush, no water being where the underbrush grew.

“At night we came to where there were two or three families encamped. (They expressed great joy at seeing us.) Here we stopped for the night and camped. At the camp where we staid, White Crow and Whirling Thunder staid. Here we had pickled pork, potatoes, coffee and bread for supper for ourselves and the two chiefs, which we relished better than anything we had since our captivity.

“After all the Indians had laid down, except White Crow, we laid down on the bed prepared for us, and White Crow came and sat down by our bed and commenced smoking his pipe and continued there, smoking the most of the time until morning, never going to sleep, as we believe.

“The next morning, 11th, breakfast about the same as supper. The Indian families with whom we staid bid us good-bye, and the same company of 26 Indians as the day before started with us, and we traveled over land that seemed to be higher than that traveled over the day before, and more barren timber. About 10 a.m. we came to some old tracks of a wagon, and now for the first time we began to have some hopes that these Indians were going to convey us home, as they said they would. And as we passed on we began to see more and more signs of civilization. About three o’clock p.m. we stopped and had some dinner, broiled venison and boiled duck eggs, and if they had not been boiled so soon, the young ducks would have made their appearance, and our stomachs would have revolted at such a mess as this. But the Indians would never starve, if they could always get young ducks boiled in the shell.

After this sumptuous feast, we traveled on until we found we were near the fort at the Blue Mounds. White Crow then took Rachael’s white handkerchief, or one that had once been white, and made a flag of it, raised it on a pole, rode on about one-half mile, and halted. There the Indians formed a ring around us, and White Crow and two others went on towards the fort until they came within about one-half mile of the fort, where they halted and remained until an interpreter met him and ascertained what he wanted. When the interpreter learned what was wanted, he returned to the fort, and the Indian Agent, Henry Gratiot, in company with a company of soldiers, returned to where we were enclosed. White Crow then delivered us over to the company of soldiers, and we returned with the troops to the fort and found, to the great joy of our hearts, two of our uncles in the company, Edward Hall and Reason Hall.

“We remained here in the fort two nights and one day; obtained here a change of clothing. It was now about the 1st of June. We started in company with the same 26 Indians and a company of soldiers, with the Indian agent, Henry Gratiot, for Gratiot’s Grove, which place we reached at night, and remained over night with a family, the agent and interpreter remaining with us, while the Indians camped near by. Next morning White Crow made a speech to the company, in which he referred to the incidents of our rescue. He also proposed to give each of us a Sac squaw for a servant during life, which we declined, telling him that we did not desire to have them placed in such a situation. Then we, in company with the troops, went on to the fort at the White Oak Springs (the Indians bidding us a final adieu at Gratiot’s Grove). Here we remained three or four days, when J.W. Hall, our dear brother, who we supposed murdered, met us, and from whom we learned that all the families that were at the house of Davis, and all the individuals that were present, were killed, himself excepted. Those in the field at the time of our captivity made their escape to the fort at Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois, and he, J.W. Hall, after seeing all fall by the hands of the Indians, made his escape by jumping down the bank of the creek and keeping under said bank on the side nearest the Indians, until he could venture out in the prairie and get across to said fort. His statements will be found in this work. There we remained two or three weeks, and while there we were furnished with materials (by the merchants and others, who seemed to take a great interest in our welfare) to make us some clothing, which we made, in order to prepare ourselves to pass through the country honorably, decently and respectably. And we are very sorry we cannot recollect the names of those kind friends, that they might appear upon record as a testimony of their kindness to us in our destitute condition. May the blessings of our Father in Heaven rest upon them all!

“From this place we went, in company with brother John W. Hall and uncle Edward Hall to Galena. Here we staid at the house of Mr. Bells, with whom we had a little acquaintance, some days. While here we received rations from the army. We also found kind friends in abundance, and received donations in clothing and other things, and needed nothing to make us comfortable as we could be under such circumstances. For what was supplied, all those friends have our thanks, and now we take our leave of them and pass down the Fevre River, to the Mississippi, then to St. Louis, Mo. Here we stopped with Governor Clark, where we received all the attention necessary to make us comfortable and happy, that could be bestowed by himself and kind family. We also here received many presents in the way of clothing, and through his (Hon. Gov. William Clark) influence, a sum of money was raised and placed in his hands for our special benefit, amounting in all, we believe, to the sum of four hundred and seventy dollars, to be laid out in land and intrusted to the care of Rev. R. Horn, of Cass County, Illinois, which was done at our request. There were also other smaller sums donated to pay our expenses up the river homeward. Those kind friends also have our thanks for their kindness and liberality. We remained here a few days and took our leave of those kind friends, probably never to meet again in this world. Leaving here, we took boat for Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois, on the Illinois River, where we were safely landed in due time and escorted out in the country five miles east, by brother J.W. Hall and uncle Edward Hall, who had been with us all the time since leaving Blue Mounds, to where we had an uncle, Robert Scott, living here. Here we remained about two months while brother J.W. Hall went up to Bureau County, Illinois, which is about 40 miles from where we were captured, Uncle Edward returning to Galena. About the last of September or first of October, 1832, brother J.W. Hall returned, and in his company we went to Bureau County, Illinois, where we remained with brother J.W. Hall until the next spring.