moved into the territory of the Winnebagoes, to meet the Indian forces under Black Hawk, then said to have occupied a strongly fortified position near the four lakes, with a determination to decide the fate of war by a general battle. The troops, all of whom were totally unacquainted with the nature of the country they were to enter, and unable to gather information with regard to it, since it was not deemed advisable to trust to the statements of the Winnebagoes, known to be much disposed to join Black Hawk, proceeded slowly and very cautiously through the country: and having passed through Turtle village, marched up along the Rock river to Burnt village, a considerable town of the Winnebagoes. On their arrival thither, news was brought of the discovery of the main trail of the Indians. Preparations were made to examine and follow it the next day. At an early hour of the morning, two soldiers, who had gone to the river, flowing at the distance of 150 yards from the camp, were shot by two Indians from the opposite bank, on being notified of which, Gen. Atkinson questioned some of the Winnebagoes, who followed the camp: being informed by them, that the opposite bank was a large island, on which Black Hawk's entire war-party was fortified, he resolved first to send a detachment on the main trail, and afterwards to cross over to the island, where Black Hawk was reported to have entrenched himself. Part of the volunteers went, accordingly, in search of the trail, and after a most toilsome and arduous march over the so-called “trembling lands," which are large tracts of turf, about a foot in thickness, resting upon water and beds of quicksand, having exerted themselves in vain to discover the trail, were obliged to return to Burnt village. Neither had the companies, who had crossed over to the island, and overrun it in every direction, been able to discover any vestige of Indians, save of the two, who had shot the two soldiers.

Dissatisfaction soon became general among the volunteers, few of whom, before enlisting, had duly reflected upon the fatigue, drudgery, and great hardships of an Indian war, in an entirely unknown country; and many of them either succumbed to the privations imposed upon them, or left the service altogether, while of the regular soldiery not a single man had been lost. Those of the volunteers, who remained, had been so wasteful with their provisions, that, only four days' rations remaining in the hands of the commissioner, Gen. At

kinson found it necessary to disperse the troops to obtain provisions, sending Gens. Henry, Dodge, and Alexander, to Fort Winnebago, between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, whilst he himself, with the regular soldiers, went to Lake Kushkonong to erect a fort, where he could await the return of the volunteers with supplies.

The volunteer generals reached Fort Winnebago within three days, and spent two more in obtaining provisions. Having been informed, on the second day, by the Winnebago chiefs, that Black Hawk, with his war-party, was encamped on Rock river, at the Manitou village, 35 miles north of Gen. Atkinson, they resolved at once to advance upon the enemy; but in the execution of their design, they met with opposition on the part of their officers and men. The officers of Gen. Henry handed to him a written protest, but he, who never wanted presence of mind, even in the most critical situations, ordering the officers to be arrested and escorted to Gen. Atkinson, they at once resumed their duty, and were ever afterwards scrupulous in performing it. Whilst Gen. Alexander, whose men were on the point of mutiny, fell back to Gen. Atkinson, Gen. Henry, who had the chief command of the residue of the troops, marched, on the 15th of July, with two Winnebago guides, in pursuit of the Indians, reaching Rock river after a three days' journey; where three Winnebagoes informed him, that Black Hawk was encamped further up the river. Hoping to be able to overtake the enemy, he despatched two messengers, with an Indian guide, to Gen. Atkinson, to notify him of his intended expedition. After travelling for eight miles, these messengers discovered the fresh trail of the main body of the Indians, and immediately returned. Their Indian guide, who had got the start of them, arrived in the camp a little before them, and was just in the act of communicating the discovery to his treacherous countrymen, who, thunderstruck, attempted to leave, when all of them were arrested and marched off to Gen. Henry, whom, to avoid instant death, they minutely advised of Black Hawk's doings.

On the next morning, July 19th, the troops were ordered to commence their march, leaving their impediments and baggage in the rear. After having made 50 miles, they were overtaken by a terrible thunderstorm, which lasted all night, rendering it impossible for the men to cook a warm supper, or to sleep on dry ground. Nothing

cooled, however, in their courage and zeal, they marched again 50 miles the next day, encamping this time near the place where the Indians had encamped the night before. Hurrying along as fast as they could, the infantry keeping up an equal pace with the mounted force, the troops, on the morning of the 21st of July, crossed a river connecting two of the four lakes, by which the Indians had been endeavoring to escape. Finding, on their way, the ground strewn with kettles and articles of baggage, which the hurry of their retreat had obliged the Indians to throw away, the troops, inspired with new ardor, advanced so rapidly, that at noon of the same day they fell in with the rearguard of the Indians, which rallied several times, exchanging shots with the vanguard of the troops, in order to afford the main body of the Indians time enough to escape.. The troops, who closely pursued them, were saluted with a sudden fire of musketry, by a body of Indians, who had concealed themselves in the high grass of the prairie. A line of battle being immediately formed, and the centre, which was led on by Gen. Henry himself, having just come up, a most energetic charge was made upon the Indians, who, unable to resist, retreated obliquely, in order to outflank the volunteers on the right. But the latter, reinforced by a detachment sent to their assistance, charged the Indians in their ambush, and expelling them from their thickets at the point of the bayonet, dispersed them along the Wisconsin river. Night having set in, the battle ended, having cost the Indians 68 of their bravest men, whilst the entire loss of the Illinoisians amounted to but 1 killed and 8 wounded.

On the day after the battle, the army retired to the Blue Mounds to obtain a fresh supply of provisions. A few friendly Winnebagoes volunteered their services as guides, which being accepted, the wounded men were placed on litters, and the army, after a march of two days, reached the Blue Mounds, where they were joined by the regular forces, under Gen. Atkinson. Indignant, that the militia should earn the entire glory of the war, Gen. Atkinson, when, provisions having been procured, the pursuit of the Indians was resumed by him, placed the regular soldiers in front, and the division of Gen. Henry in the rear. Pursuit being recommenced, the troops toiled through dense forests and deep muddy ground, finding the road strewn with the corpses of Indians, who, from neglect of the wounds they had

received in the Wisconsin river battle, had died on their retreat. The Indians reached the Mississippi some time before Gen. Atkinson's forces came up, but whilst making the necessary arrangements for crossing, happened to fall in with the armed steamboat "Warrior," the commander of which, Capt. Throckmorton, having summoned them in vain to come on board his steamer, greeted them with canister shot, and a brisk fire of musketry, causing the Indians severe losses, and delaying their crossing, so that Gen. Atkinson reached them, before they were able to pass over. Encamped at that time below the Red Axe river, on the Mississippi, the Indians despatched 20 of their men to stop the advance of Gen. Atkinson, and to enable them to gain time for crossing the river. These men concealed themselves in the high grass, opening a sudden fire upon the vanguard of the regular soldiers. Believing that he had the main body of the Indians before him, Gen. Atkinson made a vigorous charge with the regulars upon the concealed Indians, who, giving way at once, were closely pursued by him. But Gen. Henry, on coming up and discovering that the main trail of the enemy was running in a different direction from the one in which Gen. Atkinson pursued them, concluded that Gen. Atkinson had been misled by the wily savages, and resolved to follow up the main trail of the Indians himself. Having left his horses behind him, and formed an advance-guard of eight men to discover the whereabouts of the enemy, he marched forward upon their trail. When these eight men had come within sight of the river, they were suddenly fired upon by some 50 Indians, and five of them killed, the remaining three maintaining their ground, until the main force, under Gen. Henry, had come up, when, in an instant, a line of battle was formed, and the Indians, charged with the bayonet, were obliged to fall back upon their main force, about equal in numbers to Gen. Henry's troops. The battle now became general; the Indians, although taken by surprise, fought with desperate valor, but were furiously assailed by the volunteers with their bayonets, which prevailed in the bloody struggle, cutting many of the Indians to pieces, and driving the rest into the river. Those of the Indians, who escaped being drowned, took refuge on a small island in the river.

On hearing the frequent discharge of musketry, indicating a general engagement, Gen. Atkinson abandoned the pursuit of the twenty

Indians, led by Black Hawk himself, and hurried up as fast as he could to the scene of action, where he arrived too late to take part in the battle. He immediately forded the river with his troops, the water reaching up to their necks, and though not without losing several of his soldiers, who, during the passage of the river, were shot by the Indians from their ambush, effected a landing on the island, where the Indians had secreted themselves. After having once gained a foothold upon the island, the soldiers rushed upon the Indians, killing several of them, taking others prisoners, and chasing the rest into the river, where they were either drowned or shot before reaching the opposite shore. Thus ended the battle, in which the Indian loss amounted to 300 shot, bayoneted, and drowned, besides 50 prisoners, whilst of the soldiers but 17 were killed and 12 wounded.

Black Hawk, with his twenty men, after Gen.

Atkinson had ceased
Desirous of securing

to pursue him, retreated up the Wisconsin river. for themselves the friendship of the whites, whose power they had begun to fear, the Winnebagoes went in pursuit of Black Hawk and his party, and captured and delivered them to Gen. Street, the United States Indian agent. Among the prisoners were also the son of Black Hawk, and the prophet of the tribe, who had been chiefly instrumental in bringing about the war.

Gen. Atkinson, with the soldiers and volunteers, went back to Dixon, where the latter were discharged. Black Hawk, his son, and the prophet, were taken to Jefferson Barracks, where a treaty was concluded, by which the Indians ceded to the United States their lands on the Mississippi, between the Desmoines and Turkey rivers. They were afterwards taken to Washington (D. C.), where Black Hawk is said to have addressed the President as follows: "I am a

man, and you are another. We did not expect to conquer the white people. I took up the hatchet to revenge injuries, which could no longer be borne. Had I borne them longer, my people would have said, ‘Black Hawk is a squaw; he is too old to be a chief. He is no Sac.' This caused me to raise the war-whoop. I say no more of it. All is known to you. Keokuk once was here; you took him by the hand, and when he wanted to return, you sent him back to his nation. Black Hawk expects, that like Keokuk, he will be permitted to