McClure\'s Magazine, January, 1896, Vol. VI. No. 2 written by Various

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[Illustration: WHIRLING THUNDER.

From a photograph made for this Magazine.

After a painting by R.M. Sully in the collection of the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin, and here reproduced through the
courtesy of the secretary, Mr. Reuben G. Thwaites. Black Hawk had
two sons; the elder was the Whirling Thunder, the younger the Roaring
Thunder; both were in the war, and both were taken prisoners with
their father, and were with him at Jefferson Barracks and at Fortress
Monroe and on the trip through the Atlantic cities. At Jefferson
Barracks Catlin painted them, and the pictures are in the National
Museum. While at Fortress Monroe the above picture of Whirling Thunder
was painted. A pretty anecdote is told of the Whirling Thunder. While
on their tour through the East the Indians were invited to various
gatherings and much done for their entertainment. On one of these
occasions a young lady sang a ballad. Whirling Thunder listened
intently, and when she ended he plucked an eagle's feather from his
head-dress, and giving it to a white friend, said: "Take that to your
mocking-bird squaw." Black Hawk's sons remained with him until his
death in 1838, and then removed with the Sacs and Foxes to Kansas.]

Lincoln's comments in his circular on two other subjects on which
all candidates of the day expressed themselves are amusing in their
simplicity. The practice of loaning money at exorbitant rates was then
a great evil in the West. Lincoln proposed a law fixing the limits of
usury, and he closed his paragraph on the subject with these words,
which sound strange enough from a man who in later life showed so
profound a reverence for law:

"In cases of extreme necessity, there could always be means
found to cheat the law; while in all other cases it would have
its intended effect. I would favor the passage of a law on
this subject which might not be very easily evaded. Let it be
such that the labor and difficulty of evading it could only be
justified in cases of greatest necessity."

A change in the laws of the State was also a topic which he felt
required a word. "Considering the great probability," he said, "that
the framers of those laws were wiser than myself, I should prefer not
meddling with them, unless they were attacked by others; in which case
I should feel it both a privilege and a duty to take that stand which,
in my view, might tend most to the advancement of justice."

[Illustration: WHITE CLOUD, THE PROPHET.

From a photograph made for this Magazine.

After a painting in the collection of the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin, and here reproduced through the courtesy of the secretary,
Mr. Reuben G. Thwaites. The chief of an Indian village on the Rock
River, White Cloud was half Winnebago, half Sac. He was false and
crafty, and it was largely his counsels which induced Black Hawk to
recross the Mississippi in 1832. He was captured with Black Hawk, was
a prisoner at both Jefferson Barracks and Fortress Monroe, and made
the tour of the Atlantic cities with his friends. The above portrait
was made at Fortress Monroe by R.M. Sully. Catlin also painted White
Cloud at Jefferson Barracks in 1832. He describes him as about forty
years old at that time, "nearly six feet high, stout and athletic." He
said he let his hair grow out to please the whites. Catlin's picture
shows him with a very heavy head of hair. The prophet, after his
return from the East, remained among his people until his death in
1840 or 1841.]

[Illustration: BLACK HAWK.

From a photograph made for this Magazine.

After an improved replica of the original portrait painted by R.M.
Sully at Fortress Monroe in 1833, and now in the museum of the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin, at Madison. It is reproduced through
the courtesy of the secretary of the society, Mr. Reuben G. Thwaites.]

[Illustration: LINCOLN IN 1860

From a photograph loaned by H.W. Fay of DeKalb, Illinois. After
Lincoln's nomination for the presidency, Alex Hesler of Chicago
published a portrait he had made of Lincoln in 1857. (See McCLURE'S
MAGAZINE for December, p. 13.) At the same time he put out a portrait
of Douglas. The contrast was so great between the two, and in the
opinion of the politicians so much in Douglas's favor, that they
told Hesler he must suppress Lincoln's picture; accordingly the
photographer wrote to Springfield requesting Lincoln to call and sit
again. Lincoln replied that his friends had decided that he remain
in Springfield during the canvass, but that if Hesler would come to
Springfield he would be "dressed up" and give him all the time he
wanted. Hesler went to Springfield and made at least four negatives,
three of which are supposed to have been destroyed in the Chicago
fire. The fourth is owned by Mr. George Ayers of Philadelphia. The
above photograph is a print from one of the lost negatives.]

The audacity of a young man in his position presenting himself as a
candidate for the legislature is fully equalled by the humility of the
closing paragraphs of his announcement:

"But, fellow-citizens, I shall conclude. Considering the great
degree of modesty which should always attend youth, it is
probable I have already been more presuming than becomes me.
However, upon the subjects of which I have treated, I have
spoken as I have thought. I may be wrong in regard to any or
all of them; but, holding it a sound maxim that it is better
only sometimes to be right than at all times to be wrong, so
soon as I discover my opinions to be erroneous, I shall be
ready to renounce them.

"Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it
be true or not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so
great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow-men by
rendering myself worthy of their esteem. How far I shall
succeed in gratifying this ambition is yet to be developed.
I am young, and unknown to many of you. I was born, and have
ever remained, in the most humble walks of life. I have no
wealthy or popular relations or friends to recommend me. My
case is thrown exclusively upon the independent voters of the
county; and, if elected, they will have conferred a favor
upon me for which I shall be unremitting in my labors to
compensate. But, if the good people in their wisdom shall see
fit to keep me in the background, I have been too familiar
with disappointments to be very much chagrined."

[Illustration: BLACK HAWK WAR RELICS.

Tomahawk. Indian Pipe. Powder-horn. Flintlock Rifle. Indian Flute.
Indian Knife.

From a photograph made for this Magazine.

This group of relics of the Black Hawk War was selected for us from
the collection in the museum of the Wisconsin Historical Society by
the Secretary, Mr. Reuben G. Thwaites. The coat and chapeau belonged
to General Dodge, an important leader in the war. The Indian relics
are a tomahawk, a Winnebago pipe, a Winnebago flute, and a knife. The
powder-horn and the flintlock rifle are the only volunteer articles.
One of the survivors of the war, Mr. Elijah Herring of Stockton,
Illinois, says of the flintlock rifles used by the Illinois
volunteers: "They were constructed like the old-fashioned rifle, only
in place of a nipple for a cap they had a pan in which was fixed an
oil flint which the hammer struck when it came down, instead of the
modern cap. The pan was filled with powder grains, enough to catch the
spark and communicate it to the load in the gun. These guns were all
right, and rarely missed fire on a dry, clear day; but unless they
were covered well, the dews of evening would dampen the powder, and
very often we were compelled to withdraw the charge and load them over
again. We had a gunsmith with us, whose business it was to look after
the guns for the whole regiment; and when a gun was found to be damp,
it was his duty to get his tools and 'draw' the load. At that time the
Cramer lock and triggers had just been put on the market, and my
rifle was equipped with these improvements, a fact of which I was very
proud. Instead of one trigger my rifle had two, one set behind the
other--the hind one to cock the gun, and the front one to shoot it.
The man Cramer sold his lock and triggers in St. Louis, and I was one
of the first to use them."]

Very soon after Lincoln had distributed his handbills, enthusiasm
on the subject of the opening of the Sangamon rose to a fever.
The "Talisman" actually came up the river; scores of men went to
Beardstown to meet her, among them Lincoln, of course; and to him was
given the honor of piloting her--an honor which made him remembered by
many a man who saw him that day for the first time. The trip was
made with all the wild demonstrations which always attended the first
steamboat. On either bank a long procession of men and boys on foot or
horse accompanied the boat. Cannons and volleys of musketry were
fired as settlements were passed. At every stop speeches were made,
congratulations offered, toasts drunk, flowers presented. It was
one long hurrah from Beardstown to Springfield, and foremost in
the jubilation was Lincoln, the pilot. The "Talisman" went as near
Springfield as the river did, and there tied up for a week. When
she went back Lincoln again had a conspicuous position as pilot. The
notoriety this gave him was quite as valuable politically, probably,
as was the forty dollars he received for his service financially.

[Illustration: MAJOR ROBERT ANDERSON.

From a photograph in the war collection of Robert A. Coster.

Born in Kentucky in 1805. In 1825 graduated at West Point. Anderson
was on duty at the St. Louis Arsenal when the Black Hawk war broke
out. He asked permission to join General Atkinson, who commanded the
expedition against the Indians; was placed on his staff as Assistant
Inspector General, and was with him until the end of the war. Anderson
twice mustered Lincoln out of the service and in again. When General
Scott was sent to take Atkinson's place, Anderson was ordered to
report to the former for duty, and was sent by him to take charge of
the Indians captured at Bad Axe. It was Anderson who conducted Black
Hawk to Jefferson Barracks. His adjutant in this task was Lieutenant
Jefferson Davis. From 1835-37 Anderson was an instructor at West
Point. He served in the Florida War in 1837-38, and was wounded at
Molino del Rey in the Mexican War. In 1857 he was appointed Major of
the First Artillery. On November 20, 1860, Anderson assumed command
of the troops in Charleston Harbor. On April 14 he surrendered
Fort Sumter, marching out with the honors of war. He was made
brigadier-general by Lincoln for his service. On account of failing
health he was relieved from duty in October, 1861. In 1865 he was
brevetted major-general. He died in France in 1871.]

While the country had been dreaming of wealth through the opening of
the Sangamon, and Lincoln had been doing his best to prove that
the dream was possible, the store in which he clerked was "petering
out"--to use his own expression. The owner, Denton Offutt, had proved
more ambitious than wise, and Lincoln saw that an early closing by
the sheriff was probable. But before the store was fairly closed, and
while the "Talisman" was yet exciting the country, an event occurred
which interrupted all of Lincoln's plans.

THE BLACK HAWK WAR.

One morning in April a messenger from the governor of the State rode
into New Salem scattering a circular. It was an address from Governor
Reynolds to the militia of the northwest section of the State,
announcing that the British band of Sacs and other hostile Indians,
headed by Black Hawk, had invaded the Rock River country, to the great
terror of the frontier inhabitants; and calling on the citizens who
were willing to aid in repelling them, to rendezvous at Beardstown
within a week.

[Illustration: MONUMENT AT KELLOGG'S GROVE.

On June 24, 1832, Black Hawk attacked Apple River Fort, fourteen miles
east of Galena, Illinois, but was unable to drive out the inmates. The
next day he attacked a spy battalion of one hundred and fifty men
at Kellogg's Grove, sixteen miles further east. A detachment of
volunteers relieved the battalion, and drove off the savages, about
fifteen of whom were killed. The whites lost five men, who were buried
at various points in the grove. During the summer of 1886 the remains
of these men were collected and, with those of five or six other
victims of the war, were placed together under the monument here
represented.--See "The Black Hawk War," by Reuben G. Thwaites, Vol.
XII. in Wisconsin Historical Collections. This account of the Black
Hawk War is the most trustworthy, complete, and interesting which has
been made.]

The name of Black Hawk was familiar to the people of Illinois. He
was an old enemy of the settlers, and had been a tried friend of the
British. The land his people had once owned in the northwest of the
present State of Illinois had been sold in 1804 to the government of
the United States, but with the provision that the Indians should
hunt and raise corn there until it was surveyed and sold to settlers.

[Illustration: JOHN REYNOLDS, GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS 1831-1834.

After a steel engraving in the Governor's office, Springfield,
Illinois. John Reynolds, Governor of Illinois from 1831 to 1834, was
born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, February 26, 1788. He was
of Irish parentage. When he was six months old his parents moved to
Tennessee. In 1800 they removed to Illinois. When twenty years old,
John Reynolds went to Knoxville, Tennessee, to college, where he spent
two years. He was admitted to the bar at Kaskaskia in 1812. In the war
of 1812 he rendered distinguished service, earning the title of "the
Old Ranger." He began the practice of law in the spring of 1814. In
1818 he was made an associate justice of the Supreme Court; in 1826 he
was elected a member of the legislature; and in 1830, after a stirring
campaign, he was chosen Governor of Illinois. The most important event
of his administration was the Black Hawk War. He was prompt in calling
out the militia to subdue the Black Hawk, and went upon the field
in person. In November, 1834, just before the close of his term as
Governor, he resigned to become a member of Congress. In 1837, aided
by others, he built the first railroad in the State--a short line of
six miles from his coal mine in the Mississippi bluff to the bank of
the river opposite St. Louis. It was operated by horse power. He again
became a member of the legislature in 1846 and 1852, during the latter
term being Speaker of the House. In 1860, in his seventy-third year,
he was an anti-Douglas delegate to the Charleston convention,
and received the most distinguished attentions from the Southern
delegates. After the October elections, when it became apparent that
Lincoln would be elected, he issued an address advising the support
of Douglas. His sympathies were with the South, though in 1832 he
strongly supported President Jackson in the suppression of the South
Carolina nullifiers. He died in Belleville in May, 1865. Governor
Reynolds was a quaint and forceful character. He was a man of much
learning; but in conversation (and he talked much) he rarely rose
above the odd Western vernacular, of which he was so complete a
master. He was the author of two books--one an autobiography, and the
other "The Pioneer History of Illinois."]

Long before the land was surveyed, however, squatters had invaded
the country, and tried to force the Indians west of the Mississippi.
Particularly envious were these whites of the lands at the mouth of
the Rock River, where the ancient village and burial place of the Sacs
stood, and where they came each year to raise corn. Black Hawk had
resisted their encroachments, and many violent acts had been committed
on both sides.

Finally, however, the squatters, in spite of the fact that the line of
settlement was still fifty miles away, succeeded in evading the real
meaning of the treaty and in securing a survey of the desired land at
the mouth of the river. Black Hawk, exasperated and broken-hearted at
seeing his village violated, persuaded himself that the village had
never been sold--indeed, that land could not be sold:

"My reason teaches me," he wrote, "that land cannot be sold.
The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon, and
cultivate, as far as is necessary for their subsistence; and
so long as they occupy and cultivate it, they have the right
to the soil, but if they voluntarily leave it, then any other
people have a right to settle upon it. Nothing can be sold but
such things as can be carried away."

Supported by this theory, conscious that in some way he did not
understand he had been wronged, and urged on by White Cloud, the
prophet, who ruled a Winnebago village on the Rock River, Black Hawk
crossed the Mississippi in 1831, determined to evict the settlers. A
military demonstration drove him back, and he was persuaded to sign a
treaty never to return east of the Mississippi. "I touched the goose
quill to the treaty, and was determined to live in peace," he wrote
afterward; but hardly had he "touched the goose quill" before his
heart smote him. Longing for his home; resentment at the whites;
obstinacy; brooding over the bad counsels of White Cloud and his
disciple Neapope, an agitating Indian who had recently been East to
visit the British and their Indian allies, and who assured Black Hawk
that the Winnebagoes, Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pottawottomies would
join him in a struggle for his land, and that the British would
send him "guns, ammunition, provisions, and clothing early in the
spring"--all persuaded the Hawk that he would be successful if he made
an effort to drive out the whites. In spite of the persuasion of many
of his friends and of the Indian agent in the country, he crossed the
river on April 6, 1832, and with some five hundred braves, his squaws
and children, marched to the Prophet's town, thirty-five miles up the
Rock River.

As soon as they heard of Black Hawk's invasion, the settlers fled in
a panic to the forts in the vicinity, and they rained petitions for
protection on Governor Reynolds. General Atkinson, who commanded a
company at Fort Armstrong, wrote the governor he must have help;
and accordingly on the 16th of April Governor Reynolds sent out
"influential messengers" with a sonorous summons. It was one of
these messengers riding into New Salem who put an end to Lincoln's
canvassing for the legislature, freed him from Offutt's expiring
grocery, and led him to enlist.

[Illustration: ELIJAH ILES, CAPTAIN OF COMPANY IN WHICH LINCOLN SERVED
AS PRIVATE IN BLACK HAWK WAR.

From a photograph made for this Magazine.

After a painting by the late Mrs. Obed Lewis, niece of Major Iles, and
owned by Mr. Obed Lewis, Springfield, Illinois. Elijah Iles was born
in Kentucky, March 28, 1796, and when young went to Missouri. There he
heard marvellous stories about the Sangamon Valley, and he resolved
to go thither. Springfield had just been staked out in the wilderness,
and he reached the place in time to erect the first building--a rude
hut in which he kept a store. This was in 1821. "In the early days in
Illinois," he wrote in 1883, "it was hard to find good material for
law-makers. I was elected a State Senator in 1826, and again for a
second term. The Senate then comprised thirteen members, and the House
twenty-five." In 1827 he was elected major in the command of Colonel
T. McNeal, intending to fight the Winnebagoes, but no fighting
occurred. In the Black Hawk War of 1832, after his term as a private
in Captain Dawson's company had expired, he was elected captain of a
new company of independent rangers. In this company Lincoln reenlisted
as a private. Major Iles lived at Springfield all his life. He died
September 4, 1883.]

There was no time to waste. The volunteers were ordered to be at
Beardstown, nearly forty miles from New Salem, on April 22d. Horses,
rifles, saddles, blankets were to be secured, a company formed. It was
work of which the settlers were not ignorant. Under the laws of
the State every able-bodied male inhabitant between eighteen and
forty-five was obliged to drill twice a year or pay a fine of one
dollar. "As a dollar was hard to raise," says one of the old settlers,
"everybody drilled."

LINCOLN A CAPTAIN.

Preparations were quickly made, and by April 22d the men were at
Beardstown. Here each company elected its own officers, and Lincoln
became a candidate for the captaincy of the company from Sangamon to
which he belonged.

His friend Greene gave another reason than ambition to explain his
desire for the captaincy. One of the "odd jobs" which Lincoln had
taken since coming into Illinois was working in a saw-mill for a man
named Kirkpatrick. In hiring Lincoln, Kirkpatrick had promised to
buy him a cant-hook to move heavy logs. Lincoln had proposed, if
Kirkpatrick would give him two dollars, to move the logs with a common
hand-spike. This the proprietor had agreed to, but when pay day came
he refused to keep his word. When the Sangamon company of volunteers
was formed, Kirkpatrick aspired to the captaincy; and Lincoln, knowing
it, said to Greene: "Bill, I believe I can now pay Kirkpatrick for
that two dollars he owes me on the cant-hook. I'll run against him for
captain;" and he became a candidate. The vote was taken in a field,
by directing the men at the command "march" to assemble around the man
they wanted for captain. When the order was given, three-fourths of
the men gathered around Lincoln.[B] In Lincoln's curious third-person
autobiography he says he was elected "to his own surprise;" and adds,
"He says he has not since had any success in life which gave him so
much satisfaction."

[Illustration: A DISCHARGE FROM SERVICE IN BLACK HAWK WAR SIGNED BY
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, AS CAPTAIN.]

The company was a motley crowd of men. Each had secured for his outfit
what he could get, and no two were equipped alike. Buckskin breeches
prevailed. There was a sprinkling of coon-skin caps, and the blankets
were of the coarsest texture. Flintlock rifles were the usual arm,
though here and there a man had a Cramer. Over the shoulder of each
was slung a powder-horn. The men had, as a rule, as little regard for
discipline as for appearances, and when the new captain gave an order
were as likely to jeer at it as to obey it. To drive the Indians out
was their mission, and any orders which did not bear directly on that
point were little respected. Lincoln himself was not familiar with
military tactics, and made many blunders of which he used to tell
afterwards with relish. One of these was an early experience in
drilling. He was marching with a front of over twenty men across
a field, when he desired to pass through a gateway into the next
inclosure.

"I could not for the life of me," said he, "remember the proper word
of command for getting my company _endwise_, so that it could get
through the gate; so, as we came near the gate, I shouted, 'This
company is dismissed for two minutes, when it will fall in again on
the other side of the gate!'"

Nor was it only his ignorance of the manual which caused him trouble.
He was so unfamiliar with camp discipline that he once had his
sword taken from him for shooting within limits. Another disgrace he
suffered was on account of his disorderly company. The men, unknown to
him, stole a quantity of liquor one night, and the next morning were
too drunk to fall in when the order was given to march. For their
lawlessness Lincoln wore a wooden sword two days.

But none of these small difficulties injured his standing with the
company. Lincoln was tactful, and he joined his men in sports as well
as duties. They soon grew so proud of his quick wit and great strength
that they obeyed him because they admired him. No amount of military
tactics could have secured from the volunteers the cheerful following
he won by his personal qualities.

The men soon learned, too, that he meant what he said, and would
permit no dishonorable performances. A helpless Indian took refuge
in the camp one day; and the men, who were inspired by what Governor
Reynolds calls _Indian ill-will_--that wanton mixture of selfishness,
unreason, and cruelty which seems to seize a frontiersman as soon as
he scents a red man--were determined to kill the refugee. He had a
safe conduct from General Cass; but the men, having come out to kill
Indians and not having succeeded, threatened to take revenge on the
helpless savage. Lincoln boldly took the man's part, and though he
risked his life in doing it, he cowed the company, and saved the
Indian.

[Illustration: MAP OF ILLINOIS IN 1832, PREPARED SPECIALLY FOR
MCCLURE'S MAGAZINE.

[Transcriber's note: The map includes the following legend: The black
line indicates the route Lincoln is supposed to have followed with
the army as far as Whitewater, where he was dismissed. When the
army started from near Ottawa, after the 20th of June, to follow
the Indians up Rock River, Lincoln's battalion was sent towards the
northwest, and joined the main army near Lake Koshkonong early in
July. Soon after he went to Whitewater, where, about the middle of the
month, his battalion was disbanded, and he returned by foot and canoe
to New Salem. The dotted line shows the route he is supposed to have
taken. The towns named on the map are those with which Lincoln was
connected either in his legal or his political life.]

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