Yes, his autobiography (or one translation of it) is online here.   

Apparently Black Hawk was with Tecumseh at the Battle for Detroit, consulted with his brother "The Prophet" before Stillman's Run. What's encouraging is to see the change in attitude toward him and his people over the last century. Compare, say, your own comments above, Rapaire, with this account by JA Atwood dated 1904:

The story of the battle of Stillman's Run, fought at Stillman Valley, May 14, 1832, between a detachment of 275 Illinois soldiers under the command of Major Stillman, and a band of bloodthirsty savages led by Black Hawk, the intrepid Indian chieftain, makes a thrilling page in American history; and the brave men who sacrificed their lives in that engagement are as worthy of the honors due to heroes as any who ever fell in a holy cause.

They were not banded together to win honor, or fame, led on by the inspiring strains of martial music and the shouts and cheers of the populace. They did not enlist because of their love for the "old flag," determined to carry it to victory against a foreign foe, but they did rally at the call of Governor Reynolds for volunteers to defend their homes and all they held dear, and to "coerce into submission" the organized bands of Indians who had left the reservation and were roaming up and down the Rock River Valley, terrorizing the early settlers of Illinois, and murdering men, women and children in their humble homes.

I have thought it not inappropriate in passing to briefly review some of the incidents that led up to the opening of hostilities betwen the Whites and Redskins, and the cause of the conflict known in history as the Black Hawk War.


Redskins? Savages? Murdering? Even "terrorizing"? It's good these biased attitudes are a thing of the past, but it seems we still have such a LONG way to go, folks. This is part of Black Hawk's account of the "Crane Dance" - his people's traditional ceremony to honour warriors, taken from the autobiography posted above;


"All our wars are predicated by the relatives of those killed or by aggressions upon our hunting grounds....

A warrior enters the square, keeping time with the music. He shows the manner he started on a war party-how he approached the enemy-he strikes, and describes the way he killed him. All join in applause. He then leaves the square, and another enters and takes his place. Such of our young men have not been out in war parties, and killed an enemy, stand back ashamed-not being able to enter the square.

I remember that I was ashamed to look where our young women stood, before I could take my stand in the square as a warrior. What pleasure it is to an old warrior, to see his son come forward and relate his exploits - it makes him feel young, and induces him to enter the square, and "fight his battles o'er again." This national dance makes our warriors.

When I was traveling last summer, on a steam-boat, on a large river, going from New York to Albany, I was shown the place where the American dance their national dance [West Point] ; where the old warriors recount to their young men, what they have done, to stimulate them to go and do likewise. This surprised me, as I did not think the whites understood our way of making braves."

Well, the "reasons" for making war haven't changed much - if at all -in 200 years, have they? Difference is of course, the wars against Tecumseh and Black Hawk, horrific as they were at the time, were NOT fought with WMD.

As a species, we can no longer afford to resolve differences, avenge relatives and incursions upon our "hunting grounds" via armed conflict - not if we expect to continue living on this planet much longer, anyway. We're ripe for a change. It would be wonderful if George Bush et al would catch up with the needs of the 21st Century, and make that change ASAP!

(How naive :-/)