n aroused and in a few minutes, expired. Black Hawk remained by
his body during the night, and next day buried it upon the peak of the
bluff. Shocked at the cruel fate of his adopted son, and deeply touched
by the mournful death of his old comrade, he was roused to vengeance
against the Americans, and after remaining a few days at the village,
and raising a band of braves, prepared for offensive operations upon the
frontiers.

Having narrated to his band the murder of his adopted son, they began to
thirst for blood, and agreed to follow Black Hawk wheresoever he might
lead. The party consisted of about thirty. They descended the
Mississippi in canoes to the place where Fort Madison had stood, but
found it abandoned by the American troops and burnt. They continued
their course down the river and landed near Cap au Gris, on the 10th of
May, where they killed one of the United States Rangers, named Bernard,
but were driven off by Lieutenant Massey, with a detachment from Fort
Howard. The Indians, however, rallied in the woods, and on the 24th of
May, a severe battle and of a character somewhat novel, was fought
between the troops at Fort Howard, under Lieutenant Drakeford of the U.
S. Rangers, and Black Hawk and his party. The former, in his official
report of this engagement, says,

"Yesterday, about twelve o'clock, five of our men went out to some
cabins on the bluff, about one quarter of a mile below the fort, to
bring a grind-stone. The backwater of the Mississippi, rendered it so
they went in a canoe. On their return they were attacked by a party of
Indians, supposed to be about fifty in number; they killed and
tomahawked three and wounded one mortally. While about this mischief, we
gave them as good a fire from a little below the fort, as the breadth of
the backwater would permit. Captain Craig and myself with about forty
men, waded across the water and pursued them: in going about half a
mile, we came on them and commenced a fire which continued about one
hour, part of which time at a distance of forty steps, and no part of
the time further than a hundred and fifty steps: shortly after the
commencement of the battle, we were reinforced by Captain Musick and
twenty of his men; the enemy now ran; some made their escape, and others
made to a sink-hole that is in the battle ground, and from there they
returned a most rapid fire; it being very dangerous, to approach nearer
than fifty steps of the sink, we at length erec