Black Hawk's "Pilots"

[Larry Koschkee]

There is ample evidence that Black Hawk's Band utilized members of different tribes to gather intelligence on the regular troops and militia. BH sympathizers were embedded with the military as spies. The most notorious was the Winnebago, White Crow (The Blind). In addition, several individuals served as "pilots" or guides.

The Winneshiek Family, an extended family of Winnebagoes, with their main village at Prairie la Crosse played a large role in guiding and gathering intelligence for BH. This family refused to side with the U.S. in the BHW even when threatened by their Indian Agent Joseph Street, Gen. Winfield Scott and Gen. Henry Atkinson. Several reasons existed why this family were anti-white and anti- U.S. Government.

Chief Winneshiek's former village and fields were at the present site of Freeport, IL. The village was harassed by white settlers. When the 1827 Red Bird Uprising broke out "Old Charge Em Boys" Henry Dodge and his band of miners rode through the neighborhood implementing their form of Indian relations, threatening harm to any and all Indians. Dodge saw fit to quote "arrest", unquote Chief Winneshiek, one of his sons and other members. They were held hostage for several days.

This abuse did not sit well with the old Chief and the fact that he was removed from his village on the Pecatonica River by the terms of the Treaty of Prairie du Chien, August 1, 1829.

At the outbreak of the BHW, Chief Winneshiek's two sons "The Sac" and 'The Sioux" joined BH. The sons were named as such because they lived with the Sioux and Sauk Nations for a period of time. Why so quick to join BH? A couple of good reasons:

a) The family carried a grudge against white settlers and Dodge's band... it was pay back time.

b) The Winnebago Prophet, a commrade of BH, was Chief Winneshiek's brother-in-law. Winneshiek's wife was a Sac (Sauk).

Winneshiek's two sons were said to have been the principal pilots for BH and were with his band to the bitter end at the Battle of Bad Axe. One of the sons was wounded at the battle.

This family is a good example of the "the blood runs thick" when it comes to relations.

Larry Koschkee

[Kaxiskaga]

Greetings...

If I may add my two cents worth...

By the time of the BHW, several of the area's Indigenous peoples ruling class, including White Crow, had visited the East Coast population centers. They knew of the massive numbers of whites in the East, which I'm fairly certain was the underlying reason for their being invited in the first place. Despite the fact the whites were actively "breaking treaty"; the area Indigenous Nations were told, at the Four Lake counsel, any hostile actions would be viewed as a breaking of the treaty.

Theoretically, under these conditions, any "Indian" would be allied with Black Hawk but could only do so covertly for fear of waking the "sleeping giant".

I've been reading Hugh Highsmith's, "The Mounds of Koshkonong and Rock River, which incidently has a chapter about the BHW. In it, there is mention archaeolgically and historically of White Crow's Village, this is from a reprint of, "The Archaeology of the Lake Koskonong Region", The Wisconsin Archaeolgist, 1908. Despite this, there's still a failing to truly pin down where his village was located.

In Satterlee Clark's notes, which are currently housed at the WSHS Archives, it was said to be at Carcajou Place on Lake Koshkonong but Reuben Gold Thwaites places the village at Fox Bluff on the west side of Lake Mendota. Both put the population of the village at around 1200 which would make this village one of the largest, if not the largest, Indigenous villages in these parts. Archaeology confirms there were large villages at both of these sites.

At this point, I have to wonder if the two villages were concurrently used, just speculation of course, to place White Crow in good position to help Black Hawk and to add to any confusion as to his whereabouts thus covering his possible double agent status.

[Kaxiskaga]

...When Black Hawk's band came through Madison, historical tradition holds, they came into this area via approximately where Cottage Grove Road now is. Then they headed approximately the path of present day Atwood Avenue. (There's a historical marker near Olbrick Gardens on Atwood Avenue that attests to this)
I'm not sure exactly where they cut towards the present day downtown area...perhaps they followed the contours of Lake Monona with it's, at the time, many effigy mounds to guide the way or perhaps they ran the duration of Atwood Avenue which runs into Winnebago Avenue, thus named I'm told because it runs where the old Indian trail ran. At the Yahara (Catfish) River the name of the road changes to Williamson Street, it's this road that leads perfectly to the next BHW historical marker which is on Wilson Street. This marks the site of where the militia caught-up to a couple stragglers and shot them dead. At this point, fact and fiction gets a bit hazy...while Wilson Street would be a direct route to the Capitol grounds, which I understand was where the Black Hawk band encamped for the night...it's my understanding the militia narrowly averted disaster by deciding to head back towards the river to setup their own camp for the night...for two blocks to the north at approximately the present day intersection of Blair Street and East Washington Avenue, Black Hawk purportedly set-up an ambush. If this was truly the case, then East Washington Avenue would be the most direct route to the Capitol grounds. Early the next morning the Black Hawk band headed down, what is now State Street but at some point got themselves in the area of University Avenue. If you know the topography of this area you know there is a good sized hill here. Perhaps due to the exhausted state of many of Black Hawk's followers they opted to cross this hill on what appears to me to be a gentler slope than the eastern face. Present day this hill holds much of the UW-Madison campus and if you were to drive up Observatory Drive you would soon come upon the last of the BHW markers in Madison. It's near the Carrillon and marks the path the Black Hawk band took across the hill to Lake Mendota. I'm not sure why they didn't follow a path along the north base of the hill which is right on Lake Mendota; perhaps, like much of Madison used to be, it was just too marshy in 1832. Certainly, they encountered marshy conditions when they headed down the hill and towards present day Picnic Point, there still are areas out in this direction where marsh area plants like cattails can be observed. While the Black Hawk band wouldn't have gone out Picnic Point (they would have been easily trapped on this narrow point of land that juts out for quite some distance into Lake Mendota) it is known there were Ho-Chunk living on it. (Some were there even when Madison was transforming from the wilderness it was into the State Capital) Maybe some of these people helped guide them along, who knows? Anyway, the purported path they took led them along what is now know as Eagle Heights (do I really need to discuss topography here?) and through present day Shorewood Heights. (I haven't been able to nail down the exact route and much of this area is either University housing or wooded area...OT a bit here but there are some rumors that on moonlit nights shadowy figures can be seen walking single file in this area).

So what's all this leading to? Well for one thing, I hope to find comment...perhaps correct glaring errors...fill-in gaping holes...and in the wildest of chance maybe help someone to trod the path if even only on a map. So what's this all got to do with this thread? Naturally, while I'm dealing in mostly hearsay and only offering speculation, were they headed towards Fox Bluff? Were they seeking the aid of White Crow?

[Larry Koschkee]

Mr. Jones,

Whether in another post thread topic, "Voice in the Wilderness" or this thread you seem to want to discuss the whereabouts of White Crow's village. I too have pondered the Thwaites, Clark and A. B. Stout accounts of the location of the village and compared that with the Prophet's statement you cited indicating the village was on the Rock River.

In addition, White Crow's following statement places him on the Rock River. "I have been with the Rock River Indians for several years. I got my wife there, they call me one of the Rock River Band, altho' I am from above, and have appointed me to speak for them." (Whitney's BHW 1831-1832, pg 1140) He had come from the Lake Winnebago area to marry a woman on the Rock River, and was then persuaded to remain with his wife's people to be their orator.

There are several references that cite his United States Government Indian Agent was Henry Gratiot, sub Agent to the Rock River Band. Gratiot's Agency was located in Gratiot's Grove south and west of Madison (south of present day Shullsburg, WI) This begs the question... if White Crow's village was at the Four Lakes would he be under supervision of Gratiot's Agency or would John Kinzie's sub Indian Agency at the Portage (Fort Winnebago)have jurisdiction? If we can answer that, it would also in turn point to White Crow's village. I do not have the answer at the present, but this is what I do know.

Information is from Joseph M. Street, U.S. Indian Agent at Prairie du Chien to Lewis Cass, The Secretary of the War Department... dated August 26, 1831.

"In 1828, I was notified that a Sub-Agent had been appointed a the portage of the Wisconsin, whose Agency was made independent of this and the Sub-Agent dirfected to report to Detroit. The limits of this Agency extended West two miles West of the Portage, on a line running dur North & South. This includes all the Winnebeagoes South of the Wisconsin, who I was informed were no longer under my management or control. Early this spring I was informed Henry Gratiot had been appointed Sub-Agent (independent of this Agency or at the Portage) with orders to reside near the Winnebeagoes on Rock-River &c. and report to the Superintendant at St. Louis -- thus dividing the Agency at the Portage, but not affecting this Agency... The suspected Winnebeagoes live on Rock-River within the limits first assigned to Mr. John H. Kinzie & this Spring assigned to Henry Gratiot."

In this last sentence, Street had suspicions that the Prophet and followers had stirred up or supported the "Saukies & Foxes" during the 1831 incidents.

Though as I mentioned in the thread "Voices in the Wilderness" the Ho-Chunk Historic Preservation Department has place his village "w or nw shore of Lake Mendota on high point known as Foxes Bluff.

Your description of the route of Black Hawk's Band through the Madison area is very interesting... It shows you have done a lot of intense research on the subject.

Larry Koschkee

[Larry Koschkee]

When you attach a specific name to a "village" the meaning is very murky at times... for example White Crow's Village. Does that mean White Crow is the leader of the village or does it simply mean his domicile?

There was a general ebb and flow of leaders and residents of villages that adds confusion to identifying individuals at a specific village. I have always considered Little Priest as the leader or chief of a village at Koshkonong at the time of the Black Hawk War, not White Crow. John Kinzie stated in 1829 he was the chief there. Whirling Thunder was the leader there in 1836. Prior to that he was leader at the old Turtle Village. He then moved to the Portage in 1837.

It is possible that White Crow lived in a village but was not the "Chief" or leader of that village. The Winnebago culture in the era we are discussing was very complex. There were many catagories of chiefs or leaders. White Crow descended from the Bear clan whose member's function within the tribe was policing and discipline. Because of his orator abilities he rose to be a quasi-Civil Chief not of a single village but a leader and spokes person for several villages. There were many Winnebago leaders that could trump him in status. They were generally from the Thunderbird clan.

White Crow was an interesting and colorful figure in the historical accounts of the BHW, an equivcoal individual. Many historical accounts of the period cast strong suspicions on his fidelity to the Americans.

Larry Koschkee

[Kaxiskaga]

"This begs the question... if White Crow's village was at the Four Lakes would he be under supervision of Gratiot's Agency or would John Kinzie's sub Indian Agency at the Portage (Fort Winnebago)have jurisdiction? If we can answer that, it would also in turn point to White Crow's village. I do not have the answer at the present, but this is what I do know."
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"There were two divisions of the Winnebago Indians, one of which was paid by the Agent, at the Portage, the other at Prairie du Chien, by General Street. The first, between four and five thousand by number, received, according to treaty stipulations, fifteen thousand dollars annually, besides a considerable amount of presents, and a certain number of rations of bread and pork, to be issued in times of emergency throughout the year."

"The principal villages of this division of the tribe were at Lake Winnebago, Green and Fox Lakes, the Barribault, Mud Lake, the Four Lakes, Kosh-ko-nong, and Turtle Creek."

Wau-bun; Juliette M. Kinzie; p. 72

[Larry Koschkee]

The account from Julliette Kinzie's book does not really go to the center of my question, which, essentially is under what agent supervision was White Crow subjected to?

Agencies at Prairie du Chien and The Portage did not have supervision or advisory functions in the case Kinzie was stating, rather their function in this case was to manage and disperse the treaty allotment provisions. The two agencies had federal military support and protection for the "silver" and provisions earmarked for distribution set forth by the treaties.

On the other hand Gratiot's agency location had a storehouse but no federal troops to guard provisions or "silver."

To establish agency responsibility for White Crow and the Rock River Band of Winnebagoes we need to look at some other questions.

1) Was John Kinzie at the Prophet's village on the Rock River with White Crow, Whirling Thunder and others. --No! Henry Gratiot was.

2) Was John Kinzie counciling the The Winnebago Rock River Band at any time during the BHW? No! Henry Gratiot did.

3) Did White Crow turn over the Hall sisters to John Kinzie at the Portage Agency? No! They were eventually placed in the hands of Henry Gratiot.

Who was White Crow's "Father" (white-father)?

1) "This is Bolevain's daughter, and a good interpreter, always speaks the truth. Mr. Gratiot is our second father, and always gives good advice." ( White Crow addressing Henry Atkinson at Rock Island, 28th April, 1832) Whitney - pg 321

2) My Fathers, here are our two white sisters that we got from the Sacks, we bring them here, and we take their hands and we give them into the hands of our sister here Mrs Miott for we know her that she is true, and when she speaks to you for us, or to us for you, we perfectly understand each other, and she must take our two white Sisters and give them to the whites, to whom they belong." ( White Crow at Porters Grove Council, June 3-4, 1832...addressing Gen. H. Dodge and Henry Gratiot.) ...Whitney, page 509

3) "We have met with you where there was many whites and a great many Indians at Prairie du Chien in 1829. The Indians at that time were all chosing out there friends, and we picked uou both as our friends to give us good advice and we also took this woman, Mrs. Miott as our Interpreter, and they took Mr. Gratiot as our father in place of her father, who was also our father." (the former agent was Nicholas Boilvin)... (White Crow addressing Dodge and Gratiot at Porters Grove Council, June 3-4, 1832.. Whitney - page 507

My research is on going to establish the agency supervision boundarieis that would help connect the dots between White Crow and a village at the Four Lakes, Kosh-ko-nong or perhaps at another site.

Larry Koschkee

[Chris]

Larry, what is your source of information on the Winneshiek family?

[Larry Koschkee]

L.G. Jones and I deviated from the original intent of this thread and touched on a debate where White Crow's village site was. I believe Mr. Jones briefly mentioned Saterlee Clark's statement of White Crow's village. Here is an account from COLLECTIONS OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN, VIII, 1908, PG 313. "EARLY TIMES AT FORT WINNEBAGO"

I believe Clark wrote down the account in 1879, but did not get published until later.

Clark was the sutler at Fort Winnebago when the BHW broke out and was pressed into service as a scout for the militia on their marching leg from Fort Winnebago to the Wisconsin Heights. Before the "pilot" service, however, he couried a dispatch from Fort Winnebago to General Atkinson at Fort Koshkonong seeking help for the small army garrison at Fort Winnebago.

"At nine o'clock at night I left the fort, with many a God speed you, armed with a small Ruggles rifle, my dispatches, a tomahawk, and bowie knife. I crossed the Fox River at a shallow point just above where the public stables used to stand, and keeping the Indian trail that led from here to White Crow's village on Lake Koshkonong on my right, I traveled rapidly all night, walking up hill, and running down hill and on a level. I struck the trail several times during the night, but left it immediatly as I feared some Indians might be encamped upon it, whose dogs would discover me before I would discover them. I arrived safely t the fort at half pas 11 o'clock in the forenoon, and delivered my dispatches to Gen. Atkinson, who sent 3.000 men at once to relieve Fort Winnebago."

If White Crow's village was in fact at the Four Lakes, why would Clark place it at Lake Koshkonong? Clark had been trading with the Winnebago Indians at Fort Winnebago for at least two years and appeared to be well connected and respected by them. He certainly would have been familiar with the "movers and shakers" in the Winnebago community and from what village they were from. In the collections, Lyman Draper noted "Mr. Clark writes, that White Crow's village was built in the usual style of lodges not wigwams, more like houses covered with white cedar bark; and contained a population of about 1,200 souls."

I continue to lean towards Lake Koshkonong rather than The Four Lakes as White Crow's domicile.

Larry