should have required a campaign of three months in
which to accomplish that object. The defeat of Stillman and the attack
upon the fort at Buffalo Grove, may be claimed by Black Hawk and his
band, to have been as honorable to their arms, as were the victories of
the Wisconsin and the Bad-axe to those of the United States.

But whatever may be the ultimate opinion in regard to him, either as a
warrior or a man, his career for good and for evil, is now ended. The
war-banner has passed from his hand--his seat in the council-house is
vacant--the fire of his lodge is nearly extinguished: the autumn of life
is upon him--and, in a little while the autumn leaves will rustle over
the lone grave of Black Hawk.

CHAPTER IX.

Black Hawk at the capture of Fort Erie--At the battle of the Thames--His
account of the death of Tecumthe--His residence and mode of life after
his last visit to the east--His Fourth of July speech at Fort
Madison--His death and burial.

Since the three first editions of this work were published, the death of
Black Hawk has occurred; and a few additional particulars of his life
have been collected. These, it is proposed to embody in a new chapter.

In the course of the preceding pages, the difficulty of procuring full,
and always exact information, in regard to the lives of a people having
neither records nor historians, has been alluded to. This difficulty
will be encountered by any one who may attempt to chronicle the annals
of the aborigines in their aggregate condition, or to portray their
individual history. In the compilation of this volume, much pains were
taken to obtain all the prominent events in the life of Black Hawk, and,
it is supposed, as much success attended the effort, as is usual in
similar cases. Since its publication, however, it appears that all his
military movements have not been narrated, and we proceed to supply the
omission.

At page 82 of this volume, it is stated that Black Hawk was only in two
engagements in the late war with Great Britain, and that the last of
these was the assault upon Fort Stephenson, in August 1813, then under
the command of Major Groghan. It is true that he and his band were with
the British army in the attack upon this post, but his connection with
that army did not cease until after the capture of Fort Erie. The
authority for this fact is to be found in the "Book of the Indians,"
page 145. The author of that work, in narrating the incid