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It was while Major Zachary Taylor was located at
Prairie du
Chien that he received from Old Gray-headed Decorah a peace pipe now in
the State Historical Museum at Madison, Wis. This calumet is a fine
specimen, the head is of catlinite inlaid with lead polished to look like
silver. The stem, or wooden handle, is about three feet long, rather
rudely carved.
Mrs. J. H. Kinzie described15
him as "The most noble, dignified, and venerable of his own or indeed of
any other tribe. His fine Roman countenance, rendered still more striking
by his bald head, with one solitary tuft of long silvery hair neatly tied
and falling back on his shoulders; his perfectly neat, appropriate dress,
almost without ornament, and his courteous manner, never laid aside, under
any circumstances, all combined to give him the highest place in the
consideration of all who knew him."
Mrs. Kinzie further states:16
"The noble Old Day-kau-ray came one day from the Barribault to apprise us
of the state of his village. More than forty of his people, he said, had
now been for many days without food, save bark and roots. My husband
accompanied him to the commanding officer to tell his story, and ascertain
if any amount of food could be obtained from that quarter. The result was
the promise of a small allowance of flour, sufficient to alleviate the
cravings of his own family. When this was explained to the chief he turned
away. 'No,' he said, "if his people could not be relieved, he and his
family would starve with them," and he refused for those nearest and
dearest to him the proffered succor until all could share alike." During
the winter of 1832-33 food was scarce at Fort Winnebago, and the Indians
suffered severely.
Old Day-kau-ray delivered an address on education to
the agent, Mr. Kinzie, at a conference held with the Winnebago chiefs in
1831, in regard to sending the children of the Indians away to school. The
following quotation is from his speech17
"The white man does not live like the Indian; it is not his narure ;
neither does the Indian love to live like the white man. This is
what we think. If we change our minds we will let you know."
The known sons of Old Dekaury were:
(1) Little Decorate
(2) Spoon Decorate |
Big Canoe, or One-eyed Decorah, a son of
Chatpost-kaw-kah, told George Gale18 about
1855 that he had but one brother, Waukon Decorate. One-eyed Decorah's
Indian name was Wadge-hut-ta-kaw, or the Big Canoe. The signature,
Watchha-ta-kaw, (by Henry M. Rice, his delegate) is attached to the treaty
of Washington, October 13, 1846, and is undoubtedly that of One-eyed
Decorate.
He was born about 1772, and was fifteen years of age
when his father settled at La Crosse. He aided in the capture of Mackinaw,
July 17, 1812, and was with the British in the attack on Fort Stephenson,
August 2, 1813, near Fremont, Ohio, and with McKay at the capture of
Prairie du Chien. It is said that he signed the treaty there in 1825. The
act for which he became celebrated was the capture of Black Hawk and the
Prophet, in 1832. Black Hawk's force was pursued by General Atkinson, who
completely defeated him August 3, 1832. The famous Sauk leader and the
Prophet escaped to the northward and sought refuge among some Winnebagoes,
whither they were followed and captured by One-eyed Decorah and Chaetar
(another Winnebago), who delivered him to General Street (a former
Winnebago agent) at Prairie du Chien, August 27, 1832. On this occasion
One-eyed Decorah made the following speech:19
"My father, I now stand before you. When we parted I
told you I would return soon, but I could not come any sooner. We had to
go a great distance. You see we have done what you sent us to do. These
(pointing to the prisoners) are the two you told us to get. We have done
what you told us to do. We always do what you tell us, because we know it
is for our good. Father, you told us to get these men, and it would be the
cause of much good to the Winnebagoes. We have brought them, but it has
been very hard for us to do so. That one (Black Hawk) was a great way off.
You told us to bring them to you alive; we have done so. If you had told
us to bring their heads alone, we would have done so, and it would have
been less difficult than what we have done. We would not deliver them to
our brother, the chief of the warriors, but to you, because we know you,
and we believe you are our friend. We want you to keep them safe; if they
are to be hurt, we do not wish to see it. Wait until we are gone before it
is done. Father, many little birds have been flying about our ears of
late, and we thought they whispered to us that there was evil intended for
us; but now we hope these evil birds will let our ears alone. We know you
are our friend because you took our part, and that is the reason we do
what you tell us to do. You say you love your red children; we think we
love you as much as, if not more than, you love us. We have confidence in
you and you may rely on us. We have been promised a great deal if we would
take these men-that it would do much good to our people. We now hope to
see what will be done for us. We have come in haste; we are tired and angry. We now put these men into your hands. We have
one all that you told us to do."
15 Wau-Bun," pg. 89.
16 Same reference as above, pg. 484.
17 Smithsonian Report, 1885, part 2, pg. 128.
18 A Wisconsin pioneer who in 1851 removed to the copper
Mississippi region where he was judge, state senator,etc. founding the
village of Galesville and the academy there at. He wrote a history
of the Winnebago Indians, which is still in manuscript form in the
Wisconsin Historical Society's possession.
19 "Red Men of Iowa," pg. 160.
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