king war on the
settlers. The Governor has called for volunteers to defend the State."

"What has led to this new outbreak?" said Jasper, although few knew the
cause better than he.

"Oh, sentiment--Indian sentiment. Black Hawk wants the old Indian town
on the bluff again. He says it is sacred to his race; that his
ancestors are buried there, and that there is no place like it on earth,
or none that can take its place in his soul. He claims that the chiefs
had been made drunk by the white men when they signed the treaty that
gave up the town; that he never sold his fathers' graves. His heart is
full of revenge, and he and all his tribe cling to that old Sac village
with the grasp of death."

"The trouble has been gathering long?"

"Yes. The settlers came up, under the treaty, to occupy the best lands
around the Sac town and compel the Indians to live west of the
Mississippi. Then the Indians and settlers began to dispute and quarrel.
The settlers brought whisky, and Black Hawk demanded that it should not
be sold to his people. He violently entered a settler's claim, and stove
in a barrel of whisky before the man's eyes. Then the Indians went over
the Mississippi sullenly, and left their cabins and corn-fields. But
hard weather came, and the women would come back to the old corn-fields,
which they had planted the year before, to steal corn. They said that
the corn was theirs, and that they were starving for their own food.
Some of them were killed by the settlers. Black Hawk had become enraged
again. He has been trying to get the Indian tribes to unite and kill all
of the whites. He has violated the old Indian treaty, and is murdering
people on every hand, and the Governor has asked for volunteers to
protect the lives and property of the settlers. He had to do it. Either
the whites or the Indians must perish. The settlers came here under a
legal treaty; they must be protected. It is no time for sentiment now."

"Are nearly all of the men of New Salem here?" said Jasper.

"Yes; Abraham Lincoln was the first to enlist, and he is our leader. He
ought to be a good Indian fighter. His grandfather was killed by the
Indians."

"So I have heard."

"But Lincoln himself is not a hard man; there's nothing revengeful about
him. He would be more likely to do a good act to an Indian than a
harmful one, if he could. His purpose is not to kill Indians, but to
protect the State and save the lives of peaceful, inoffensive people.