Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-02-04

| He and Messico were chums. In the
! Black Hawk war Capt. Clark ST. led
| n company of soldiers against the
| Sacs and Foxes and was the first to
| engage them at the battle of Wiscon-
sin Heigi. While the warriors were
| maneuve-inS to cover the retreat Of
their children and squaws Capt Clark
shot Messico. After the battle he ap-
preached the Indian and found that
four bullets had penetrated his body
The wounds were fatal and the news
of his death was one of the saddest
messages that the younger Clark ever
received.
When the Clark family lived on
what is now Sylvan water in the vi,
entity of the Cable residence the Sacs
and Foxes in the fail before starting
out on their hunting expeditions
would take their canoes around from
Rock river and filling them with stones
sink them in the slough near the cab
in This was done to hide them so
that the Winnebagos, whom the cap
tain describes as thieving tribe,
could not find them and take them
away. The canoes were usually made
of walnut logs followed out with fire.
Occasionally birch bark canoe from
the north was found among them.
Were Thrifty Tribe.
The Sacs and Foxes were indus
trious. for Indians. and unusually
provident. From the Clark cabin TO
tie mouth of Rock river was cult
waited field in which the squaws raised
'squaw" corn, beans, etc. Until few
years ago in the unbroken pastures
Capt. Clark stated he could find the
hills in which the corn was planted,
the ground being ridged up in working
il. When the tribe went away on a
hunt the greatest precautions were
taken To- prevent the WinneOagos from
getting the corn and beans that had
been harvested. To save this precious
supply ii was placed in sacks woven
from the bark of the linn or Eastwood
tree. Then holes four or five feet deep
We're dug in the ground. leaves were
placed in the bottom and the sacks |
were put in. This was then covered |
with more leaves. brush and grass 10
keep the water from reaching the
grain. then a thin layer of earth was
placed ON it and more, leaves were
scattered. the natural appearance OF
the surface being artificially produced
with such nicely that the pTyinS eyes
of the Winnebagos were deceived.
Il have seen the Winnebagos armed |
with muskrat spears, long. sharp in
struments of their OWE make that they |
used to- prod in muskrat houses and
kill the animals. going about poklnS |
into the ground where they thought |
they might find buried grain, said
the captain in telling OF it. Some
times they would find what they were
looking for and then when the Sacs
and Foxes came back they found all
their trouble had been for nothing.
The method that the Indians used IN
keeping track of the location of their
own stores were not considered re-
markable in the woodcraft Of those
days"
Probably the narrowest escape that
Capt. Clark had in all his dealings with
the Indians was purely an accident
He carries the scar TO this day, dent
in his head. He and some Indian boys
were competing in jumping Moses
kcokuk was among them and he had /
heavy "squaw" hoe used in cultivat-l
ing crops Just as young Clark jump
ed keokuk was bringing down the hoe
10 mark the place where he expected
the white boy would land The back