The further details of this war will be briefly noted. Black Hawk retreated up Rock river into Wisconsin, and was hotly pursued. The army trail, made in following Black Hawk's band to the head-waters of the Rock, passed through the First ward of Rockford. Stephen Mack was the guide. This trail met the river bank above the city at the dry run which is now bridged on North Second street, near the residence of H. H. Hamilton. In July Black Hawk determined to try to save himself by crossing the Mississippi river. He was overtaken at Blue Mounds, on Wisconsin river, by General Henry's division. A battle ensued on the 21st, in which the Sac chief lost fifty warriors while crossing the river.

Black Hawk continued his retreat after the battle until he was again overtaken August 2, near the mouth of the Bad Axe river, in Wisconsin. In the battle which followed nearly the entire remnant of Black Hawk's army was killed or drowned in attempting to cross the river. Black Hawk fled to Prairie La Cross, a Winnebago village, where he surrendered to Chaetar and One-eyed Decora, two Winnebago chiefs, who delivered him to General Street, the Indian agent at Prairie du Chien, August 27. The campaign had lasted seventy-nine days.

The speech of Black Hawk, addressed to General Street, at Prairie du Chien, after his defeat at the battle of the Bad Axe, is a splendid specimen of Indian eloquence, and reveals a patriotism unsurpassed by the "noblest Roman." Eloquence is born of strong passion, and is never a trick of rhetoric nor a mere intellectual feat. The following, from this humiliated savage, is worthy of Burke or Webster:

"You have taken me prisoner with all my warriors. . I fought hard. But your guns were well aimed. The bullets flew like birds in the air, and whizzed by our ears like the wind through the trees in the winter. My warriors fell around me; it began to look dismal. I saw my evil day at hand. The sun rose dim on us in the morning, and at night it sunk in a dark eloud, and looked like a ball of fire. That was the last sun that shone on Black Hawk. His heart is dead and no longer beats quick in his bosom. He is now a prisoner to the white men; they will do with him as they wish. But he can stand torture, and is not afraid of death. He is no coward. Black Hawk is an Indian. . . Farewell, my nation! Black Hawk tried to save you, and avenge your wrongs. He drank the blood of some of the whites. He has been taken prisoner, and

DEATH OF BLACK HAWK.

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his plans are stopped. He can do no more. He is near his end. His sun is setting, and he will rise no more. Farewell to Black Hawk!"

On the 10th of September the Indian prisoners were taken to Jefferson Barracks, below St. Louis. From there Black Hawk was sent to Washington, where he was presented to President Andrew Jackson. April 26, 1833, he was sent to Fortress Monroe, where he remained until the 4th of June, when he was permitted to return to his people. Upon his return he was restored to his tribe as a chief subordinate to Keokuk. Black Hawk died October 3, 1838, at the age of seventy-one years. He was dressed for burial in a uniform presented to him when in Washington by the president. The body was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture, on a seat constructed for this purpose. On his left side, the cane given him by Henry Clay, was placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it. Many of the old warrior's trophies were placed in the grave.

Black Hawk was free from many of the vices that others of his race contracted from their association with the white people. He never used intoxicants to excess. As a warrior he knew no fear, and on the field of battle his feats of personal prowess stamped him as the "bravest of the brave." In social relations he was affable and true. His devotion to his wife, with whom he lived more than forty years, was strong and manly. In the home he was an affectionate husband and father.

The Black Hawk war made no military reputations; but Zachary Taylor and Abraham Lincoln bore an humble part. Mr. Lincoln never alluded to it as anything more than an interesting episode in his life. In satirizing the military pretensions of another, he said: "Do you know, Mr. Speaker, I too am a military hero? . . I fought, bled and came away. If he saw any live fighting Indians, it was more than I did; but I had a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes."

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CHAPTER V.

STEPHEN MACK.—JOHN PHELPS.—JOSEPH KEMP.

TEPHEN MACK was the first white man who made a permanent settlement in Winnebago county. The exact date is unknown, but it was probably about 1829. It is also quite certain that he was the first settler in the Rock river valley. The student of local history is indebted to Edson I. Carr, who has given in his History of Rockton the best information concerning this adventurer; and the author is indebted to Mr. Carr for many of the facts given in this chapter.

Mack was born in Poultney, Vermont, during the latter part of the last century. He was for a time a student at Dartmouth college, but it does not appear that he was ever graduated. His love of adventure was shown in early life. Soon after the war of 1812 he came to Detroit with his father, who held a position under the government. The younger Mack subsequently joined a government expedition around the lakes from Detroit to Green Bay. While there Mack learned from traders that the Rock river country presented favorable opportunity for a trading post. He accordingly made the journey with an Indian pony, and arrived at a point near the site of Janesville; thence to Turtle Village, near what is now Beloit. While there he learned of an Indian camp to the south, at Bird's Grove, about a mile and a half from the mouth of Pecatonica river, and he started for that point. He lost the trail and descended the Rock until he came to a Pottawatomie village at Grand Detour, where he remained several years. Mack established trade with the Indians, and took their furs in exchange for merchandise. His journey to and from Chicago were made by Indian ponies. During this time Mack married Ho-no-ne-gah, a daughter of the Pottawatomie chief. This alliance, however, did not establish a perpetual bond of friendship between Mack and the tribe. He incurred the enmity of the red men because he refused to sell them whisky and firearms. While on a trip to Chicago a plan was laid to murder him and take his goods. His faithful Indian wife discovered the plot. She mounted a pony, met him a considerable distance from the camp and gave him warning. Together they started for the camp of the Winnebagoes at Bird's Grove. There they were made welcome and given protection, and there they made their home.

CHARACTER OF HO-NO-NE-GAH.

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Ho-no-ne-gah, though born of a savage race, exhibited traits of a more refined womanhood. She was a true wife, and thoroughly devoted to her home and children. Her husband's tribute of devotion was sincere. She was modest and disliked to appear conspicuous. She knew the remedies which the Great Spirit had spread before her in nature, and with these she visited the sick. The needy were also blessed by her gracious ministry. Ho-no-ne-gah always wore the habit of her race. Only once was she known to don the dress of her white sisters. But she felt so ill at ease that she soon cast it aside, and ever afterward appeared in the attire of her tribe. Mrs. Jesse Blinn, who still remembers her, testifies to her excellent taste in dress and to her skill in the use of the needle.

Upon the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, Mack was living at peace with his Winnebago friends. Black Hawk visited this tribe in his flight up Rock river, and attempted to induce the warriors to accompany him into Wisconsin. Mack opposed this alliance, and thereby incurred the displeasure of the Sac chief. The Winnebagoes remained at their old camp, and Black Hawk proceeded without them. But the feeling was so strong against Mack during this visit of Black Hawk that the chief of the Winnebagoes advised him to leave the camp for personal safety. There is a story that he sought seclusion on what is now called Webber's Island, where he was supplied with food by his wife until the storm had passed. It is not certain whether this is history or romance.

Mack foresaw that a speedy settlement of the Rock river valley would follow the Black Hawk war. The Pecatonica was then considered a navigable stream for one hundred miles from its mouth, and Rock river for one hundred and fifty miles into Wisconsin Territory. Mack believed that the bluff at the mouth of Pecatonica river was an available site for a town. Accordingly in the autumn of 1835 he took possession of this tract, upon which he resided until his death. He planted a village, which was called Macktown. The place still retains this name, although the promising settlement of sixty years ago, save the old substantial farm house, has disappeared. Mack had a bold policy of expansion, and valued a corner lot near his store at one thousand dollars. When he was told that his land was too uneven for a town, he replied that "it is far better than Milwaukee."

Mack engaged in various business enterprises. He kept a

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CHAPTER V.

STEPHEN MACK.-JOHN PHELPS.-JOSEPH KEMP.

TEPHEN MACK was the first white man who made a permanent settlement in Winnebago county. The exact date is unknown, but it was probably about 1829. It is also quite certain that he was the first settler in the Rock river valley. The student of local history is indebted to Edson I. Carr, who has given in his History of Rockton the best information concerning this adventurer; and the author is indebted to Mr. Carr for many of the facts given in this chapter.

Mack was born in Poultney, Vermont, during the latter part of the last century. He was for a time a student at Dartmouth college, but it does not appear that he was ever graduated. His love of adventure was shown in early life. Soon after the war of 1812 he came to Detroit with his father, who held a position under the government. The younger Mack subsequently joined a government expedition around the lakes from Detroit to Green Bay. While there Mack learned from traders that the Rock river country presented favorable opportunity for a trading post. He accordingly made the journey with an Indian pony, and arrived at a point near the site of Janesville; thence to Turtle Village, near what is now Beloit. While there he learned of an Indian camp to the south, at Bird's Grove, about a mile and a half from the mouth of Pecatonica river, and he started for that point. He lost the trail and descended the Rock until he came to a Pottawatomie village at Grand Detour, where he remained several years. Mack established trade with the Indians, and took their furs in exchange for merchandise. His journey to and from Chicago were made by Indian ponies. During this time Mack married Ho-no-ne-gah, a daughter of the Pottawatomie chief. This alliance, however, did not establish a perpetual bond of friendship between Mack and the tribe. He incurred the enmity of the red men because he refused to sell them whisky and firearms. While on a trip to Chicago a plan was laid to murder him and take his goods. His faithful Indian wife discovered the plot. She mounted a pony, met him a considerable distance from the camp and gave him warning. Together they started for the camp of the Winnebagoes at Bird's Grove. There they were made welcome and given protection, and there they made their home.