Wisconsin Historical Collections, Volume XII (1892)

              183o-3i the black hawk war 225 land at the mouth of the rock so selected as to cover the village site and the sac cornfields this was clearly a trick to accord with the letter but to violate the spirit of the treaty of 1804 there was still a belt fifty miles wide of prac tically-unoccupied territory to the east of the village and no necessity for disturbing the sacs in the natural progress of settlement for several years to come the indignant black hawk at once proceeded to maiden to pour his sorrows into the ears of his british father here he received additional assurance of the justice of his cause and upon his return visited the prophet at whose village he met some of the pottawatomies and winnebagoes who also gave him words of encouragement when therefore he returned to his village in the spring of 1831 after another gloomy and profitless winter's hunt and was fiercely warned away by the whites he in a firm and dignified manner notified the settlers that if they did not themselves remove he should use force he informs the readers of his autobiography that he did not mean blood shed but simply muscular eviction.1 his announcement was construed by the whites however as a threat against their lives and petitions and messages were showered in by them upon governor john reynolds of illinois setting forth the situation in terms of exaggeration that 1 the white people brought whiskey into our village made our people drunk and cheated them out of their homes guns and traps this fraud ulent system was carried to such an extent that i apprehended serious dif ficulties might take place unless a stop was put to it consequently i visited all the whites and begged them not to sell whiskey to my people one of them continued the practice openly i took a party of my young men went to his home and took his barrel and broke in the head and turned out the whiskey i did this for fear some of the whites might be killed by my people when drunk — autobiography 89 " i now determined to put a stop to it by clearing our country of the in truders i went to the principal men and told them that they must and should leave our country and gave them until the middle of the next day to remove in the worst left within the time appointed — but the one who remained represented that his family which was large would be in a starv ing condition if he went and left his crop and promised to behave well if i would consent to let him remain until fall in order to secure his crop he spoke reasonably and i consented ibid p 101 15