Quashquame
Encyclopedia
Quashquame (ca. 1764-ca. 1832) was a Sauk chief; he was the principal signer of the 1804 treaty that ceded Sauk land to the United States
government. He maintained two large villages of Sauk and Meskwaki
in the early 19th century near the modern towns of Nauvoo, Illinois
and Montrose, Iowa
, and a village or camp in Cooper County, Missouri
.
. This treaty was disputed, as the Sauk argued the delegation was not authorized to sign treaties and the delegates did not understand what they were signing. Black Hawk
, a frequent visitor to Quashquame's village, lamented this treaty in his autobiography. The Sauk and Meskwaki delegation had been sent to surrender a murder suspect and make amends for the killing, not to conduct land treaties. The treaty was a primary cause of Sauk displeasure with the U.S. government and caused many Sauk, including Black Hawk, to side with the British during the War of 1812
.
-Black Hawk (1833) Autobiography (1882 edition)
, where we was later known to have a temporary village. Quashuame was back along the Mississippi by 1809, Quashquame attended several meetings with the U.S. Army at Fort Madison during the turbulent period leading up to the War of 1812
. Quashquame and his band of Sauk remained neutral during the war.
In the Spring of 1809 several Sauk, possibly led by Black Hawk, attempted to storm Fort Madison. They were held at bay by threat of cannon fire. The next day Quashquame and two other Sauk leaders attempted to restore relations with the United States Army
, telling the commander, Alpha Kingsley, that the offending parties were acting on their own and had left the region. Kingsley demonstrated the might of the Army, firing a canister of shot from a six-pounder cannon. The Sauk were astonished and “put their hands to their mouths with an exclamation that that shot would have killed half of them.”
Quashquamie attempted to placate Gen. William Clark during a meeting in 1810 or 1811 in St. Louis, telling Clark, "My father, I left my home to see my great-grandfather, the president of the United States, but as I cannot proceed to see him, I give you my hand as to himself. I have no father to whom I have paid any attention but yourself. If you hear anything, I hope that you will let me know, and I will do the same. I have been advised several times to raise the tomahawk. Since the last war we have looked upon the Americans as friends, and I shall hold you fast by the hand. The Great Spirit has not put us on the earth to war with the whites. We have never struck a white man. If we go to war it is with the red flesh. Other nations send belts among us, and urge us to war. They say that if we do not, the Americans will encroach upon us, and drive us off our lands." About 1810, Quashquamie maintained a camp or temporary village along Moniteau Creek in the south part of Cooper County, Missouri
, perhaps near Rocheport
.
Quashquame was left in charge of the non-warrior members of the Sauk during the War of 1812. Black Hawk wrote:
“... all the children and old men and women belonging to the warriors who had joined the British were left with them to provide for. A council had been called which agreed that Quashquame, the Lance, and other chiefs, with the old men, women and children, and such others as chose to accompany them, should descend the Mississippi to St. Louis, and place themselves under the American chief stationed there. They accordingly went down to St. Louis, were received as the friendly band of our nation, were sent up the Missouri and provided for, while their friends were assisting the British!”
In 1815 Quashquame was part of a large delegation that signed a treaty confirming a split between the Sauk along the Missouri River with the Sauk that lived along the Rock River at Saukenuk. The Rock River group of Sauk was commonly known as the British Band, which formed the core of Indians participating in the Black Hawk War
.
until it was combined with an older village on the west side of the Mississippi near Montrose, Iowa
. While living at the eastern village, Quashquame helped mediate retibution for the murder of a Sauk by a white trader near Bear Creek in 1818. About 1824 Captain James White purchased the eastern village from Quashquame. White gave Quashquame “a little sku-ti-apo [liquor] and two thousand bushels of corn” for the land. Quashquame's village moved to the west bank of the river, merging with an existing Sauk village near what is now Montrose, Iowa
. This western village was also called Cut Nose’s Village, Wapello’s Village, or the Lowest Sauk Village, and was located at the head of the Des Moines Rapids
, a strategic bottleneck in Mississippi trade. Historical accounts suggest the village was occupied from the 1780s until the 1840s. This village was visited by Zebulon Pike
in 1805 and in 1829 by Caleb Atwater
.
-Caleb Atwater (1829) Remarks Made of A Tour to Prairie du Chien: Thence to Washington City (published 1831, pp. 60–62)
(Tama). Because of his role in the disputed 1804 treaty, Quashquame was reduced from a principal leader of the Sauk to a minor chief. "Quasquawma, was chief of this tribe once, but being cheated out of the mineral country, as the Indians allege, he was denigrated from his rank and his son-in-law Tiama elected in his stead."
Fulton provided this epitaph: "Qashquame died opposite Clarksville, Missouri, about the beginning of 1830. In person he was short, but heavily formed. He was not considered great intellectually, and was regarded as deficient in the traits of a noble warrior. His influence among his people was limited, and his character not free from tarnish. Black Hawk did not hesitate to censure him in the most bitter terms for the part he took in the treaty of 1804." The 1830 date of death is not supported by historical accounts of Quashquame attending a conference at Fort Armstrong
in the fall of 1831.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government. He maintained two large villages of Sauk and Meskwaki
Meskwaki
The Meskwaki are a Native American people often known to outsiders as the Fox tribe. They have often been closely linked to the Sauk people. In their own language, the Meskwaki call themselves Meshkwahkihaki, which means "the Red-Earths." Historically their homelands were in the Great Lakes region...
in the early 19th century near the modern towns of Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
and Montrose, Iowa
Montrose, Iowa
Montrose is a city in Lee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 957 at the 2000 census. The town is located on the Mississippi River. It is part of the Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA-MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, and a village or camp in Cooper County, Missouri
Cooper County, Missouri
Cooper County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. In 2010, the population was 17,601. Its county seat is Boonville. The county was organized in 1818 and is named for Sarshall Cooper, a frontier settler who was killed by Indians near Arrow Rock in 1814.-Geography:According to the 2000...
.
1804 Treaty of St. Louis
Quashquame is best known as the leader of the 1804 delegation to St. Louis that ceded lands in western Illinois and northeast Missouri to the U.S. government under the supervision of William Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
. This treaty was disputed, as the Sauk argued the delegation was not authorized to sign treaties and the delegates did not understand what they were signing. Black Hawk
Black Hawk (chief)
Black Hawk was a leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the United States. Although he had inherited an important historic medicine bundle, he was not one of the Sauk's hereditary civil chiefs...
, a frequent visitor to Quashquame's village, lamented this treaty in his autobiography. The Sauk and Meskwaki delegation had been sent to surrender a murder suspect and make amends for the killing, not to conduct land treaties. The treaty was a primary cause of Sauk displeasure with the U.S. government and caused many Sauk, including Black Hawk, to side with the British during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
-Black Hawk (1833) Autobiography (1882 edition)
Fort Madison and the War of 1812
Zebulon Pike noted rumors that Quashquame was leading a large group of 500 Sauk, Meskwaki, and Ioway near the Missouri River west of St. Louis in 1806. This village might have been at Moniteau Creek in the south part of Cooper County, MissouriCooper County, Missouri
Cooper County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. In 2010, the population was 17,601. Its county seat is Boonville. The county was organized in 1818 and is named for Sarshall Cooper, a frontier settler who was killed by Indians near Arrow Rock in 1814.-Geography:According to the 2000...
, where we was later known to have a temporary village. Quashuame was back along the Mississippi by 1809, Quashquame attended several meetings with the U.S. Army at Fort Madison during the turbulent period leading up to the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. Quashquame and his band of Sauk remained neutral during the war.
In the Spring of 1809 several Sauk, possibly led by Black Hawk, attempted to storm Fort Madison. They were held at bay by threat of cannon fire. The next day Quashquame and two other Sauk leaders attempted to restore relations with the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, telling the commander, Alpha Kingsley, that the offending parties were acting on their own and had left the region. Kingsley demonstrated the might of the Army, firing a canister of shot from a six-pounder cannon. The Sauk were astonished and “put their hands to their mouths with an exclamation that that shot would have killed half of them.”
Quashquamie attempted to placate Gen. William Clark during a meeting in 1810 or 1811 in St. Louis, telling Clark, "My father, I left my home to see my great-grandfather, the president of the United States, but as I cannot proceed to see him, I give you my hand as to himself. I have no father to whom I have paid any attention but yourself. If you hear anything, I hope that you will let me know, and I will do the same. I have been advised several times to raise the tomahawk. Since the last war we have looked upon the Americans as friends, and I shall hold you fast by the hand. The Great Spirit has not put us on the earth to war with the whites. We have never struck a white man. If we go to war it is with the red flesh. Other nations send belts among us, and urge us to war. They say that if we do not, the Americans will encroach upon us, and drive us off our lands." About 1810, Quashquamie maintained a camp or temporary village along Moniteau Creek in the south part of Cooper County, Missouri
Cooper County, Missouri
Cooper County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. In 2010, the population was 17,601. Its county seat is Boonville. The county was organized in 1818 and is named for Sarshall Cooper, a frontier settler who was killed by Indians near Arrow Rock in 1814.-Geography:According to the 2000...
, perhaps near Rocheport
Rocheport, Missouri
Rocheport is a city in Boone County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 208 at the 2000 census...
.
Quashquame was left in charge of the non-warrior members of the Sauk during the War of 1812. Black Hawk wrote:
“... all the children and old men and women belonging to the warriors who had joined the British were left with them to provide for. A council had been called which agreed that Quashquame, the Lance, and other chiefs, with the old men, women and children, and such others as chose to accompany them, should descend the Mississippi to St. Louis, and place themselves under the American chief stationed there. They accordingly went down to St. Louis, were received as the friendly band of our nation, were sent up the Missouri and provided for, while their friends were assisting the British!”
In 1815 Quashquame was part of a large delegation that signed a treaty confirming a split between the Sauk along the Missouri River with the Sauk that lived along the Rock River at Saukenuk. The Rock River group of Sauk was commonly known as the British Band, which formed the core of Indians participating in the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
.
Villages
Quashquame maintained a village near what is now Nauvoo, IllinoisNauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
until it was combined with an older village on the west side of the Mississippi near Montrose, Iowa
Montrose, Iowa
Montrose is a city in Lee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 957 at the 2000 census. The town is located on the Mississippi River. It is part of the Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA-MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. While living at the eastern village, Quashquame helped mediate retibution for the murder of a Sauk by a white trader near Bear Creek in 1818. About 1824 Captain James White purchased the eastern village from Quashquame. White gave Quashquame “a little sku-ti-apo [liquor] and two thousand bushels of corn” for the land. Quashquame's village moved to the west bank of the river, merging with an existing Sauk village near what is now Montrose, Iowa
Montrose, Iowa
Montrose is a city in Lee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 957 at the 2000 census. The town is located on the Mississippi River. It is part of the Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA-MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. This western village was also called Cut Nose’s Village, Wapello’s Village, or the Lowest Sauk Village, and was located at the head of the Des Moines Rapids
Des Moines Rapids
The Des Moines Rapids between Nauvoo, Illinois and Keokuk, Iowa-Hamilton, Illinois is one of two major rapids on the Mississippi River that limited Steamboat traffic on the river through the early 19th century....
, a strategic bottleneck in Mississippi trade. Historical accounts suggest the village was occupied from the 1780s until the 1840s. This village was visited by Zebulon Pike
Zebulon Pike
Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr. was an American officer and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. As a United States Army captain in 1806-1807, he led the Pike Expedition to explore and document the southern portion of the Louisiana Purchase and to find the headwaters of the Red River,...
in 1805 and in 1829 by Caleb Atwater
Caleb Atwater
Caleb Atwater was an American archaeologist, historian, and politician whose career is associated with the state of Ohio.-Early years:...
.
Atwater interview of 1829
Caleb Atwater visited Quashquame in 1829, Atwater's interview provided the most detailed description of Quashquame and his village near Montrose, and revealed that Quashquame was a skilled artist:-Caleb Atwater (1829) Remarks Made of A Tour to Prairie du Chien: Thence to Washington City (published 1831, pp. 60–62)
Personal
Atwater estimated Quashquame's age to be about 65, which means he may have been born about 1764. Quashquame was the father-in-law of famed Meskwaki chief TaimahTaimah
Taimah was an early 19th century Meskwaki leader. Often called Chief Tama in historical accounts.-Life:...
(Tama). Because of his role in the disputed 1804 treaty, Quashquame was reduced from a principal leader of the Sauk to a minor chief. "Quasquawma, was chief of this tribe once, but being cheated out of the mineral country, as the Indians allege, he was denigrated from his rank and his son-in-law Tiama elected in his stead."
Fulton provided this epitaph: "Qashquame died opposite Clarksville, Missouri, about the beginning of 1830. In person he was short, but heavily formed. He was not considered great intellectually, and was regarded as deficient in the traits of a noble warrior. His influence among his people was limited, and his character not free from tarnish. Black Hawk did not hesitate to censure him in the most bitter terms for the part he took in the treaty of 1804." The 1830 date of death is not supported by historical accounts of Quashquame attending a conference at Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong , was one of a chain of western frontier defenses which the United States erected after the War of 1812. It was located at the foot of Rock Island, Illinois, in the Mississippi River between present-day Illinois and Iowa. It was five miles from the principal Sac and Fox village on...
in the fall of 1831.