The place of peace chief, or head man confers honor rather than power and is by no means a desirable situation unless the incumbent be a person of popular talents. He [is] nominally the first man in the tribe. He presides at the councils: all acts of importance are done in his name; and he is saluted by the patriarchal title of Father. But his power and influence depend entirely upon his personal weight of character and when he happens to be a weak man the authority is virtually exercised by the war chiefs. The principal war chief is often, therefore, the person whose name is most widely known, and he is frequently confounded with the head man, The station of war chief is not heredit[ary], nor can it properly be said to be elective; for although in some cases of emergency a leader is formally chosen, they usually acquire reputation by success, and rise gradually into confidence and command. The most distinguished warrior, especially if he be a man of popular address becomes by tacit consent the war chief.
Black Hawk (P. 29 id) was born at the principal village of his tribe on Rock River, in Ills., about the year 1767 and was the great grand son of a chief called Nanamakee or Thunder. At the early age of 15 having had the good fortune to wound an enemy of his nation, he was admitted to the rank of a brave and allowed to paint himself and wear feathers. Soon after this he was permitted in company with his father, to join in a war expedition against the Osages. A battle was fought in which the Sauks and their allies were successful and Black Hawk signalised his valor by killing and scalping a warrior. On the return of the party he was permitted for the first time to join in the scalp dance. Having now established a reputation as a brave, he was enabled a few months afterwards, to raise a party of seven young men who went forth with him in search of adven- ture, and falling in with a camp of a hundred Osages, he bodly attacked them, killed one of their warriors, and retreated without losing a man. This exploit gained him so much reputation that when he next offered to lead a war party, 160 braves placed themselves under his command". Thus, to the end of the Black Hawk war in 1832, in successive forays and wars was the prestige of Black Hawk enhanced, as the [most prominent] war chief, of the united Sauk and Musquakee nation.
The story of the rise and fall of this man's power is too long to be more than alluded to here, and will be left to some other time, when the subject can have a more nearly adequate consideration. Was he a chief? The authorities are conflicting. All seem to agree as to his prominence as a leader among his people, some declare his influence was that only of a bloodthirsty mischief-maker, while others see in his efforts the hand of a patriot. The Black Hawk war was a miserable failure from the indians' standpoint, Black Hawk, its instigator and chief was made a prisoner, was taken to Washington and condemned to a term of imprisonment at Fortress Monroe. One of those who took an active part in so subjugating this son of the forest and plain was Jefferson Davis, who in the course of time became himself the chief of a white mans war party against the authorityity of the same country [which] Black Hawk defied. President Davis' war too, failed. He was made a prisoner, condemned and imprisoned at Fortress Monroe.
Is Fortune really fickle or only apparently so? Had our own Revolutionary war failed, would the noble character who became the "father of our Country" have been relegated to the catalog of deluded and unworthy rebels? Perhaps so. A British Biographical Encyclopedia contains the name of John Paul Jones, but it does not name him as one of Americas greatest naval heroes. No, it says he was a "British renegade". The Black Hawk war caused untold anxiety and much blood shed and some of the earlier historians denounce him as a traitor, but a recent au- thority on Black Hawk says of him: "Had his skin been as white as his soul, this indian warrior would have risen high in the service of his country. As it is, although for years history has done him a great wrong, those of the present generation are beginning to see through the haze of prejudice and discern the noble traits of character which belonged to him". (Meese. R.I. Co. Hist. I. P. 618).