Black Hawk Slept Here - at the Wight cabin
From Black Hawk Slept Here
Lydia Lucinda Wight was twelve years old when Black Hawk came to her family's cabin. She wrote the following later in life, perhaps when she was in her late 50s:
"In September or October [footnote, Oct 13, 1830] Mr. James Olds came in, giving us two neighbors. About this time the Sioux [footnote: Should be Sacs and Foxes] came here, 600 strong, on their way to Canada for presents, old Black Hawk with his six sons sleeping in the house, much against our wishes. On their return they had many presents, and were highly painted with black stripes,--a token of war.
-- History of Hillsdale County, Michigan (1879), page 126
Her recollection of this and other events was faulty, but there is some corroboration for this anecdote.
Black Hawk's destination in Canada was Fort Malden, across the Detroit River at present day Amherstberg. Records kept by the British Indian agent at Fort Malden show that Black Hawk did indeed make the trip to Malden that year, as he had done in many of the years since the War of 1812, though not in every year. The trip to Malden would have been in the summer, though, and not in the fall. Black Hawk's party was issued presents by the Indian Agent on July 31. Another group of Sauk and Fox came a little later, and were issued presents on August 13. Black Hawk's group on July 31 was the larger of the two, and the two together totaled 212 people. (A citeable source for the foregoing will be provided here later.) That's a lot less than 600, but it's not uncommon for people to exaggerate the numbers of people they're afraid of.
The editor of the 1879 county history knew that Mrs Southworth was mistaken in referring to Black Hawk as Sioux rather than Sauk (or Sac). It's a point of confusion found more than once in the old county histories. Both groups were then living along the upper Mississippi River, but the Sioux and the Sauk had been enemies for some time. In fact, if Black Hawk's people were in a state of obvious warlike agitation when they returned past the Wight cabin, it could well have had to do with news of new trouble with the Sioux that had taken place that summer.
Other items to be discussed in this article or referenced here:
- How do we know where this incident took place?
- Black Hawk had six sons?
- Why "presents"?
