Black Partridge or
Black Pheasant (
PotawatomiPotawatomi is a Central Algonquian language and is spoken around the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Kansas in the United States, and in southern Ontario in Canada, by fewer than 50 Potawatomi people, all elderly...
:
Mucketeypokee,
Mucktypoke,
Mka-da-puk-ke,
Muccutay Penay,
Makadebakii,
Makdébki) (fl. 1795-1816) was a 19th century
Peoria LakePeoria Lake is a section of the Illinois River between Peoria in Peoria County, Illinois and East Peoria in Tazewell County, Illinois. The oldest section of Peoria, the largest city on the river, lies at its shores....
Pottawatomie chieftain. Although a participant in the
Northwest Indian WarThe Northwest Indian War , also known as Little Turtle's War and by various other names, was a war fought between the United States and a large confederation of Indians for control of the Northwest Territory, which ended with a decisive U.S. victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794...
and the
Peoria WarThe Peoria War was an armed conflict between the U. S. Army and the Native American tribes of the Potawatomi and the Kickapoo that took place in the Peoria County, Illinois area, near the current location of the city of Peoria, from September 19 to October 21, 1813.The Native American tribe of the...
, he was considered very friendly to early American settlers and was a longtime advocate of peaceful relations with the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Black Partridge or
Black Pheasant (
PotawatomiPotawatomi is a Central Algonquian language and is spoken around the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Kansas in the United States, and in southern Ontario in Canada, by fewer than 50 Potawatomi people, all elderly...
:
Mucketeypokee,
Mucktypoke,
Mka-da-puk-ke,
Muccutay Penay,
Makadebakii,
Makdébki) (fl. 1795-1816) was a 19th century
Peoria LakePeoria Lake is a section of the Illinois River between Peoria in Peoria County, Illinois and East Peoria in Tazewell County, Illinois. The oldest section of Peoria, the largest city on the river, lies at its shores....
Pottawatomie chieftain. Although a participant in the
Northwest Indian WarThe Northwest Indian War , also known as Little Turtle's War and by various other names, was a war fought between the United States and a large confederation of Indians for control of the Northwest Territory, which ended with a decisive U.S. victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794...
and the
Peoria WarThe Peoria War was an armed conflict between the U. S. Army and the Native American tribes of the Potawatomi and the Kickapoo that took place in the Peoria County, Illinois area, near the current location of the city of Peoria, from September 19 to October 21, 1813.The Native American tribe of the...
, he was considered very friendly to early American settlers and was a longtime advocate of peaceful relations with the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He and his brother
Chief WabaunseeChief Wabaunsee was a Native American leader for the Potawatomi...
both attempted to protect settlers during the
Fort Dearborn massacreThe Fort Dearborn massacre occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn, Illinois Territory during the War of 1812. The massacre followed the evacuation of the fort as ordered by the U.S. General William Hull...
when they were unsuccessful in preventing the attack.
A memorial at the site of the massacre in present-day Chicago, Illinois includes a statue of Black Hawk preventing a
tomahawkA tomahawk is a type of axe native to North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft. The name came into the English language in the 17th century as a transliteration of the Virginian Algonquian word....
from hitting a Mrs. Margaret Helm, the wife of one of the defenders at
Fort DearbornFort Dearborn, named in honor of Henry Dearborn, was a United States fort built on the Chicago River in 1803 by troops under Captain John Whistler. It was on the site of the present-day city of Chicago...
. Black Partridge Woods, a state park in
Cook County, IllinoisCook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. According to 2008 US Census Bureau estimates, the county has 5,294,664 residents, which is larger than the populations of 29 individual U.S. states, the...
, as well as
Partridge TownshipPartridge Township is located in Woodford County, Illinois. The population was 511 at the 2000 census.- External links :***...
in
Woodford County, IllinoisWoodford County is a county located in the state of Illinois, USA. In 2000, the population was 35,469. Its county seat is Eureka.Woodford County is part of the Peoria, Illinois, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:According to the U.S...
are also named in his honor.
Biography
Black Partridge is first recorded during the
Northwest Indian WarThe Northwest Indian War , also known as Little Turtle's War and by various other names, was a war fought between the United States and a large confederation of Indians for control of the Northwest Territory, which ended with a decisive U.S. victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794...
as a war chief under Matchekewis at the
Battle of Fallen TimbersThe Battle of Fallen Timbers was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy and the United States for control of the Northwest Territory...
. He was later awarded a silver medal, with an engraving of President
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
, from General
"Mad" Anthony WayneAnthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of "Mad Anthony".-Early...
at the signing of the
Treaty of GreenvilleThe Treaty of Greenville was signed at Fort Greenville , on August 2, 1795, between a coalition of Native Americans known as the Western Confederacy and the United States following the Native American loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It put an end to the Northwest Indian War...
on August 3, 1795; another account claims the medal was presented to him by General
William Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States, an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office...
at the Treaty of Fort Wayne on September 30, 1809 and had the engraving of President
James MadisonJames Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the fourth President of the United States , and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....
. He wore the medal for several years afterwards to symbolize the Pottowatomie's friendship with American settlers. One of the Pottawatomie chieftains wishing to remain neutral during
Tecumseh's WarTecumseh's War or Tecumseh's Rebellion are terms sometimes used to describe a conflict in the Old Northwest between the United States and an American Indian confederacy led by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh...
, he and
GomoChief Gomo was a 19th century Pottawatomie chieftain. He and his brother Senachwine were among the more prominent war chiefs to fight alongside Black Partridge during the Peoria War.-Biography:...
refused to ally with
ShawneeThe Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are a people native to North America. They originally inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
chieftain
TecumsehTecumseh also Tecumtha or Tekamthi, was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy that opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
when approached by him during the summer of 1810. Black Partridge said to Tecumseh,
Although he was a strong supporter of peace, he was unable to control the younger tribal members and warriors eager to join Tecumseh's fight. He unsuccessfully tried to dissuade the Pottawatomie from joining the attack at
Fort DearbornFort Dearborn, named in honor of Henry Dearborn, was a United States fort built on the Chicago River in 1803 by troops under Captain John Whistler. It was on the site of the present-day city of Chicago...
and, on the evening of August 14, 1812, he rode ahead of the main force arriving at Dearborn to return the medal to the fort commandant, Captain
Nathan HealdNathan Heald was an officer in the United States Army during the War of 1812...
.
During the ensuing
Fort Dearborn massacreThe Fort Dearborn massacre occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn, Illinois Territory during the War of 1812. The massacre followed the evacuation of the fort as ordered by the U.S. General William Hull...
, he and his brother Wabaunsee tried to protect the settlers from the atrocities being carried out by the attackers. Black Partridge apparently saved the life of a Mrs. Margaret Helm, the wife of Lieutenant Lenai T. Helm and stepdaughter of Indian trader
John KinzieJohn Kinzie is known as Chicago’s first permanent white settler. Kinzie Street in Chicago is named after him....
, by holding her underwater under the appearance of drowning her in
Lake MichiganLake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The second largest of the Great Lakes by volume The third largest of the Great Lakes by surface area , it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S. states of Wisconsin,...
. He later had her taken to a nearby Indian camp where her wounds were dressed by a squaw-mother. Black Partridge also helped free her husband who was being held captive by the Red Head Chief at Kankakee. Delivering the ransom on behalf on U.S. Indian Agent
Thomas ForsythMajor Thomas Forsyth was a 19th century American frontiersman and trader who served as a U.S. Indian agent to the Sauk and Fox during the 1820s and was replaced by Felix St. Vrain prior to the Black Hawk War...
, he voluntarily offered his pony, rifle and a gold ring along with the original written order for $100 signed by General George Rodgers Clark.
Returning to his village on
Peoria LakePeoria Lake is a section of the Illinois River between Peoria in Peoria County, Illinois and East Peoria in Tazewell County, Illinois. The oldest section of Peoria, the largest city on the river, lies at its shores....
however, he found his village had been burned by the Illinois Rangers from
EdwardsvilleEdwardsville is the name of several places in the United States:*Edwardsville, Alabama*Edwardsville, Illinois*Edwardsville, Indiana*Edwardsville, Kansas*Edwardsville, Pennsylvania...
under orders from Governor
Ninian EdwardsNinian Edwards was a U.S. political figure.Born in 1775 in Montgomery County, Maryland, Edwards served as the only governor of Illinois Territory between 1809 and 1818 and again as governor of Illinois from 1826 until 1830. He served as a U.S...
. Among the massacred villages included his daughter and his grandchild. Taking 200 warriors from nearby villages, as well as 100 from Shequenebec and another 100 from Mittitass, he joined in the attack against Fort Clark on September 19, 1813 although this attack was repulsed by the fort's defenders.
Black Hawk-People:* Black Hawk , a Sauk and Fox leader of the 19th century** The Black Hawk War, named after him.* Black Hawk , a Sans Arc Lakota artist of the 19th century* Antonga Black Hawk, a Ute leader known to whites as "Black Hawk"...
, then a young warrior, was also present at the attack. Black Partridge and his band eventually surrendered after being driven back to Fort Clark by General
Henry DodgeHenry Dodge was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Black Hawk War. His son was Augustus C. Dodge with whom he served in the U.S. Senate, the first, and so far only, father-son pair to serve concurrently....
and Major
Zachary TaylorZachary Taylor was an American military leader and the 12th President of the United States.Known as "Old Rough and Ready," Taylor had a 40-year military career in the U.S. Army, serving in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, and Second Seminole War before achieving fame leading U.S...
He was one of the 13 chieftains escorted by Colonel
George DavenportColonel George Davenport was a 19th-century American frontiersman, trader and US Army officer. A prominent and well-known settler in the Iowa Territory, he was one of the earliest settlers in Rock Island and spent much of his life involved in the early settlement of the Mississippi Valley and the...
to St. Louis where peace was signed between the Pottawatomie and the United States. He was a later signatory of several treaties between the Pottawatomie and the United States government.
In popular culture
He is portrayed in several historical and dime novels including:
- Myrtle Reed
Myrtle Reed was an American author, poet, and journalist, the daughter of Elizabeth Armstrong Reed and the preacher Hiram von Reed. She wrote a number of bestsellers and even published a series of cookbooks under the pseudonym Olive Green.She was born in Illinois and graduated from the West...
's The Shadow of Victory: A Romance of Fort Dearborn (1903)
- Randall Parrish
Randall Parrish was an American author of dime novels, including Wolves of the Sea .GEORGE RANDALL PARRISHThe city of Kewanee is known as the home of George Randall Parrish, and every resident in the...
's When Wilderness was King: A Tale of the Illinois Country (1904)
- H.R. Gordon
Edward Sylvester Ellis was an American author who was born in Ohio and died at Cliff Island, Maine.Ellis was a teacher, school administrator, and journalist, but his most notable work was that that he performed as author of hundreds of dime novels that he produced under his name and a number of...
's Black Partridge, or the Fall of Fort Dearborn (1906)
- Julia Cooley Altrocchi's Wolves Against the Moon (1957)
- Jerry Crimmins's Fort Dearborn: A Novel (2006)