Wisconsin Historical Collections, Volume XII (1892)

              1832 the black hawk war 255 short distance above fort crawford killing fifteen men and capturing thirty-two women and children and four men nearly as many more were drowned during the onslaught while of the rest who escaped to the woods all but a half score perished with hunger or were massacred by a party of three hundred menomonee allies from the green bay country under colonel stambaugh and a small staff of white officers * daring the night after the battle at wisconsin heights — as it has ever since been known there were frequent alarms from prowling indians and the men fearing an at tack were under arms nearly the entire time about an hour and a half before dawn of the twenty-second a loud shrill voice speaking in an unknown tongue was heard from the direction of the knoll occupied by black hawk during the battle there was a great panic in the camp for it was thought that the savage leader was giving orders for an attack and henry found it desirable to make his men a patriotic speech to bolster their courage just before daylight the harangue ceased it was afterwards learned that the orator was neapope who had spoken in winne bago presuming that paquette and the winnebago pilots were still in the camp but they had left for fort winne bago during the night succeeding the battle and there was not one among the troops who had understood a word of the speech it was a speech of conciliation addressed to the victors jsteapops had said that the sacs had their squaws children and old people with them that they had been unwillingly forced into war that they were literally starving and if allowed to cross the mississippi in peace would never more do harm but the plea fell on un witting ears and thus failed the second earnest attempt of the british band to close the war as for neapope finding that his mission had failed he fled to the winnebagoes leaving his half-dozen companions to return with the dis couraging news to black hawk now secretly encamped in a neighboring ravine north of the wisconsin 1 see post " boyd papers for the documentary history of stambaugh's expedition 2 autobiography pp 131-133 black hawk does not mention this inci