While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
The following incidents in the early history of Shau-be-na are principally taken
from his own statements, and the truth of them, no person acquainted with the
old chief will doubt. My first acquaintance with Shau-be-na occurred nearly
forty years ago, while his whole band, one hundred and forty-two in number, were
hunting on Bureau River, Illinois. Being encamped near my father's residence, I
visited them almost daily for many weeks, and always felt myself at home in the
old chief's wigwam.
Shau-be-na was above the medium size, tall and straight, with broad shoulders
and intelligent face, while his bearing and general appearance showed him to be
no ordinary Indian. According to his statement, he was born in the year 1775 or
1776, at an Indian village on the Kankakee River, now in Will County. He was of
the Ottawa tribe. His father came from Michigan with Pontiac, about the year
1767, being one of the small band of warriors who fled from their native country
with that noted chief, after his defeat.1 Shau-be-na
married a daughter of a
Pottawattamie chief who had a village on the Illinois, a short distance
above the mouth of the Fox River; and, at his death, which occurred a few years
afterwards, Shau-be-na was made head chief of the band. The following year they
abandoned their village on the Illinois River, on account of sickness, and made
a new one at Shau-be-na's Grove, now in DeKalb County, where they were found in
the early settlement of the country,
In 1810,
Tecumseh after meeting Governor Harrison, in council at Vincennes, came west
for the purpose of enlisting the different Indian tribes in repelling the
encroachments of the whites. On a warm afternoon in the early part of Indian
summer, Tecumseh accompanied by three other chiefs, all mounted on spirited
black ponies, arrived at the village. On the following day, a dog was killed, a
feast made, and the succeeding night spent in songs and dances. Shau-be-na
accompanied the visitors to a number of villages on the Illinois River, and
listened to Tecumseh's stirring eloquence in behalf of his great scheme of
uniting all the Western tribes in a war against the whites. After visiting many
Pottawattamie villages, they went on Rock River among the
Winnebago and
Menomonie, touching at Green Bay and Prairie du Chien, and descending the
Mississippi as far as Rock Island. At this point, Shau-be-na parted from his
companions, and returned home; while Tecumseh and his friends continued their
journey as far southwest as Missouri.
The ensuing summer, Shau-be-na was with Tecumseh in his council with Governor
Harrison, at Vincennes, and accompanied that chief South, spending the summer
and fall among the different Southern tribes, in efforts to induce them to join
Tecumseh's Indian confederacy. It was late in the fall when they reached home,
about two weeks after the battle of Tippecanoe; and passing over the field of
slaughter, they saw the remains of the soldiers which had been disinterred by
the Indians, and scattered over the ground. Runners from Tecumseh visited many
of the Pottawattamie villages in the ensuing summer of 1812, informing the
people that war had been declared between the United States and Great Britain,
and offering the warriors large rewards to fight for the latter. They also
wanted a force raised to go immediately to Chicago and take Fort Dearborn before
the garrison was aware that war had been declared. Shau-be-na intended to stay
at home and take no part in the contest; but on learning that a large company of
warriors from other villages, as well as a few of his own band, had gone to
Chicago, he mounted his pony and followed them, arriving there after the
soldiers were massacred. The part he took under the leadership of Black
Partridge in saving the lives of prisoners and guarding the house of John Kinzie,
was thus related by Shau-be-na himself to the writer:
Sketch Of
Shau-Be-Na.
It was in the afternoon of
the fatal day, a few hours after the battle,
when, in company with twenty-two warriors,
he arrived at Chicago. Along the beach of
the Lake, where the battle was fought, lay
forty-one dead bodies "the remains of
soldiers, women and children" all of which
were scalped, and more or less mutilated.
The body of Capt. Wells was lying in one
place, and his head in another; these
remains were gathered up by Black Partridge,
and buried in the sand near where he fell.
The prisoners were taken to the Indian
encampment, and closely guarded, to prevent
their escape. John Kinzie, an Indian trader,
whose house stood on the north side of the
river, opposite to Fort Dearborn, had been
for some years trading with the Indians, and
among them he had many friends. By special
favor he was allowed to return to his own
house, accompanied by his family, and the
wife of Lieut. Helm, who was badly wounded.
That evening, about sundown, a council of
chiefs was called to decide the fate of the
prisoners; and it was agreed to deliver them
to the British commander at Detroit, in
accordance with the terms of the
capitulation. After dark, many warriors from
a distance came into camp, who were
thirsting for blood, and were determined to
murder the prisoners, regardless of the
stipulated terms of surrender. Black
Partridge, with a few of his friends,
surrounded Kinzie's house, to protect the
inmates from the tomahawks of these
blood-thirsty savages. Shau-be-na said that
he and other warriors were standing on the
porch, with their guns crossing the doorway,
when a body of hostile warriors, with
blackened faces, rushed by them, forcing
their way into the house.
The parlor was now full of Indians, who
stood with their tomahawks and scalping
knives awaiting the signal from their chief,
when they would commence the work of death.
Black Partridge said to Mrs. Kinzie: "We
have done everything in our power to save
you, but all is now lost; you and your
friends, together with all the prisoners of
the camp, will be slain.'' At that moment a
canoe was heard approaching the shore, when
Black Partridge ran down to the River,
trying in the darkness to make out the new
comers, and at the same time shouted "Who
are you, friend or foe?" In the bow of the
approaching canoe stood a tall, manly
personage, with a rifle in his hand; and as
the canoe came to shore, he jumped off on
the beach, exclaiming in a loud clear voice,
the musical notes of which rang forth on the
still night air: "I am the San-ga-nash!'"2
''Then,' said Black Partridge, "hasten to
the house, for our friends are in danger,
and you alone can save them." Billy
Caldwell, for it was he, ran to the house,
entering the parlor, which was full of
Indians, and by threats and entreaties
prevailed on them to abandon their murderous
design; and by him Kinzie's family, with the
prisoners at the Fort, were saved from
death. Such was Shau-be-na's unvarnished
narrative.
Late in the fall of 1812, as Shau-be-na and
his band were about going to Bureau for
their winter hunt, a runner from Tecumseh
arrived with a large package of presents,
consisting of rings, beads, and various
kinds of ornaments, mostly for the squaws,
and with an offer of money, goods, etc., if
he and his warriors would join him. The
winter hunt was abandoned, and on the
following day, Shau-be-na and twenty-two
warriors started for the River Raisin. On
the St. Joseph's River they overtook Col.
Dixon's recruits of about five hundred
warriors under the command of Black Hawk,
who had followed around the Lake from Green
Bay.
Shau-be-na was aid to Tecumseh, and stood by
his side when the noted Shawanoe chief was
shot by Col. Johnson, at the battle of the
Thames. Shau-be-na related that Johnson's
mounted men charged the Indian line at a
gallop, and the forlorn hope of the party
were all killed or wounded except a single
one; and the old chief added, that he was by
Tecumseh's side when the officer on a white
horse "whom he always referred to as Col.
Johnson" shot him with a pistol; and at the
same moment Shau-be-na sprang forward to
tomahawk the slayer of the great chief; but
Johnson's horse reared and fell dead, having
been pierced by many bullets, and his
wounded rider was rescued by his white
comrades. With the fall of their chief the
Indians fled, and Shau-be-na with them, and,
he said, he never after fought for the
British cause. He was fond of talking about
this battle.3
Years after, when Col. Johnson was
Vice-President, Shau-be-na visited
Washington and called on the Colonel, and
together they talked over the incidents of
the Thames campaign, after which the
Vice-President took the old chief by the
arm, and introduced him to the heads of the
Departments. On leaving Washington, Johnson
gave him a heavy gold ring as a token of
friendship, which he wore on his finger to
the day of his death, and by his request it
was buried with him.
In the summer of 1819, John C. Sullivan,
under the direction of Commissioners Graham
and Phillips, surveyed the old Indian
boundary line4
extending from Lake Michigan to the
Mississippi, at the mouth of Rock River.
Shau-be-na was employed by this surveying
party, and accompanied them over the whole
route, while his hunters supplied them with
meat.
When the early pioneers settled in this
section of the country, he became a frequent
visitor to their cabins, and was known
everywhere as the white man's friend. During
the year 1831, '32, and '33, as the settlers
were frequently alarmed by reports of
threatening hostilities, Shau-be-na was
often consulted, and his advice generally
taken. Thus he became known personally, or
by reputation, throughout the country, and
all that was necessary for him to receive a
hearty welcome at any cabin was his peculiar
manner of introducing himself as "Mr.
Shau-be-na."
In February, 1832, the chiefs of most of the
Pottawattamie villages met in council at
Indiantown. Black Hawk and the Prophet were
in attendance, and made long speeches in
favor of uniting all the different tribes to
make war on the frontier settlements. After
the death of Black Partridge and Sen-ach-wine,
no chief among the Pottawattamie exerted so
much influence as Shau-be-na. Although not a
great orator, his knowledge of human nature,
and his earnest manner of making his
appeals, more than counterbalanced the
eloquence of others. At this council, no
Pottawattamie chief of note, except
Wau-bun-sie, spoke in favor of union. Thus
Black Hawk's scheme was thwarted and the
council broke up. Shau-be-na said to the
writer a few years afterwards, if he had
favored this union, all the Pottawattamie
from the Lake to the Mississippi would have
taken part with Black Hawk.
In the spring of 1832, when the Sacs and
Foxes crossed the Mississippi, Black Hawk
sent two runners, one of whom was his own
son, to notify the Indians on Bureau, and to
obtain volunteers among the warriors. At
that time Shau-be-na with his band were
encamped at a point of timber about two
mile, south-east of Princeton; and Joel
Doolittle, whose cabin stood near by,
noticed these emissaries, with painted
faces, and their heads adorned with eagle
feathers, enter the camp. Their arrival
appeared to cause much excitement and
"confusion" the camp was broken up, ponies
caught, and Shau-be-na and his band left for
their home, saying to one of the settlers as
he took his departure, he feared there was
trouble ahead.
On the day after Stillman's defeat,
Shau-be-na knowing that more parties would
immediately attack the frontier settlements,
lost no time in notifying the people of
their danger. He sent Py-pa-gee, his son,
and Pyps, his nephew, to Fox River, and
Holderman's Grove settlements, while be
hastened to give warning to the settlers on
Bureau and Indian Creek. The morning of May
16th was bright and clear, and the settlers
on Bureau were busy putting in their crops,
not knowing that hostilities had commenced,
nor thinking of danger from their red foe,
when Shau-be-na was seen riding at full
speed, without gun or blanket, his long hair
streaming in the wind, and his pony covered
with foam, calling at each cabin, and in his
bad English telling the people to flee for
their lives, as the enemy would in all
probability be on them before the setting
sun. A few hours afterward, not a family was
left in the Bureau settlement; and the
sequel shows they had no time to lose, as
the notorious half-breed Girty, with seventy
or eighty warriors, visited some of the
cabins, while the fire was still burning on
the hearth. Shau-be-na continued his mission
of mercy to Indian Creek settlement; some of
the settlers fled from their homes, but the
families of Davies, Hall and Pettigrew
"disregarded the warning, and paid the
forfeit with their lives" fifteen persons
were slain, and two girls taken prisoners.
In 1836, the Indian Agent notified Shan-be-na's
band that they must go west to lands
assigned them by the Government, in
accordance with treaty stipulations. As no
one but the chief and his family could
remain on the reservation. Shau-be-na
concluded to accompany his people, as he
could not think of parting with them.
Accordingly in August of that year, they
left their ancient homes, came to Bureau,
hunted about two months, and then left for
the west.
About one year after going west, Shau-be-na,
with his family, returned to this country,
saying that he barely escaped with his life.
The Sacs and Foxes, on account of the part
he had taken in the late war, tried to kill
him; they killed his son and nephew, and
hunted him down as though he was a wild
beast.
Shau-be-na, with his two wives, children and
grand children, making in all some
twenty-five persons, lived at the Grove
until 1849. Some time previous to this, he
sold a tract of land to Azel and Orrin
Gates, and with the proceeds of the sale had
his farm improved so that the rents of it
would clothe his family. In the spring of
1819, Shau-be-na with his family went to
Kansas, leaving his farm in care of Mr.
Norton, who agreed to collect and save the
rents until he came back. He was gone three
years, and on his return found his land had
been sold by the Government at a public land
sale at Dixon, the Land Office Commissioner
having decided that it was only a
reservation to Shau-be-na, not a title in
fee simple, and when he left it, his title
failed. When Shau-be-na returned and found
all his possessions gone, he cried like a
child. The owner of the land, where he
camped, cursed him for cutting tent poles,
and ordered him to leave. This Grove had
been his home for nearly fifty years; here
was the grave of his first wife and two of
his children, as well as many of his
friends, and with a sorrowful heart he left
it forever.
The friends of Shau-be-na raised money to
buy for him a small tract of land on the
Illinois River near Seneca, on which they
built a house, and put part of the tract
under cultivation. Shau-be-na used the house
for storing purposes, while he lived in a
tent near by. The old chief died on the 10th
of July 1859, at about the age of
eighty-four years, and was buried with much
pomp in Morris cemetery. In 1861, money was
subscribed to raise a monument over his
remains; but the war broke out, and the
scheme was abandoned. Only a small board
marks the resting place of this friend of
the white man.
1. It was in 1764. See
Parkman's Pontiac. L. C, D..
2. Billy Caldwell, called
by the Indians Sau-ga-nash, or Englishman,
was a half-breed, said to have been a son of
Col. Caldwell, a British officer. He was one
of the principal chiefs among the
Pottawattamie, and was well known by the
early settlers of Chicago.
3. Another account of
Shau-be-na's, relative to the battle and
Tecumseh's death, maybe found in the IVth
Vol. of Wis. Hist. Collections, p. 375-76,
as communicated by Hon. John T. Kingston. L.
C. D.
4. In 1840, Wisconsin claimed all of the land north of this
line under the Ordinance of 1787.
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