Below is only part of the chapter. You can read the whole chapter by going to the Iowa History Site. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Fox Indians-Their Early Wars - "Hill of the Dead" - Union with the Sacs - The United Tribes Move West - Treaties with the Whites - Found in Iowa in 1805 - Sac Village on Rock River - The Disputed Treaty of 1804 - Sacs and Foxes in the War of 1812 - Treaties of 1824 and 1825 - Massacre of Foxes in 1828 - Retaliation - The Black Hawk War of 1831-2 - "Stillman's Run" - Battle of the Wisconsin River - Black Hawk's Masterly Retreat - The Massacre of Women and Children at Bad Axe - Black Hawk a Prisoner - His Rival, Keokuk, Made Chief - Pathetic Address of the Deposed Chieftain - Death of Black Hawk.................................................................................................. ... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Sac village on Rock River was one of the oldest in the upper Mississippi Valley. Black Hawk, in his autobiography, says it was built in 1831; it was named Saukenuk. This was for more than fifty years the largest village of the Sacs and contained in 1825 a population of not less than eight thousand. The houses were substantially built, and were from thirty to one hundred feet in length and from sixteen to forty feet in width. They were made with a frame of poles covered with sheathing of elm bark fastened on with thongs of buckskin. The doorways were three feet by six and before them were suspended buffalo skins. These houses were divided into rooms separated by a hall extending the length of the building. Fire-pits were provided with openings for the smoke. The beds were made of skins of animals thrown over elevated frames of elastic poles. Half a mile east of the town is a bold promontory rising two hundred feet from the bed of Rock River. This was known as "Black Hawk's Watch Tower," and was the favorite resort of the great Sac chieftain. here he would sit smoking his pipe, enjoying the grand scenery spread out before him; the beautiful valley of Rock River, the mighty current of the Mississippi and the bluffs of the Iowa shore fringed with forests. Here he was born and it was the home of his father, Py-e-sa, one of the great Sac chiefs. It is to his credit that he clung to his old home and fought his last hopeless battles against overwhelming numbers of well-equipped white troops in defense of his native land. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On the first of August, Black Hawk had gathered the shattered remnants of his band on the banks of the Mississippi and offered to surrender. But the soldiers who crowded the steamer "Warrior" were ordered to fire upon the white flag Black Hawk had raised in token of surrender. Twenty-three of his people were thus killed while offering no resistance. The next day the Indians were attacked by the combined forces of Generals Dodge, Henry, Alexander and Posey and shot down again without mercy. Men, women and children were killed like wild animals as they sought to escape by swimming the river. More than three hundred Indians were thus massacred and the slaughter was dignified by the name of the "battle of Bad Axe." Black Hawk and a few of the people escaped but were captured by treacherous Indians, delivered up to Colonel Zachary Taylor and by him sent to Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis. Thus ended the Black Hawk war in which the whites lost about two hundred killed, the Indians about five hundred men, women and children. The cost to our government was about $2,000,000. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Debbie Clough Gerischer Iowa Gen Web, Assistant CC, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ IAGENWEB: Special History Project: http://iagenweb.org/history/index.htm Gerischer Family Web Site: http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/