The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-10-20
This Mornings Issue OF the Record
Herald Contains an Interesting
One Written by William
e. Curtis.
TELLS OF HIS LIFE
Was an Important Figure In Many
of the Wars and Was a Sue
cessful Leader at All
Times.

In todays issue of the Chicago Rec
ord-Herald, William E. Curtis, HIS a
lengthy and interesting article con-
corning the Indians, telling of the won
derful deeds of White Cloud and Keo-
kuk and dealing with the different
tribes and the relics left by them.
Concerning Chief Keoknk he has the
following to say:
Keokuk was continually involved in
intrigue Standing always in the
background, he secretly played one
faction against another. In time he
became the leading councillor In the
Sac assembly and enjoyed great popu-
larity among his people. But the stu
alton assumed different aspect when
the troubled period of the Black
Hawk war arrived. The immediate
cause of this conflict grew out of an
agreement first entered into between
the government and small band OF
Sacs, who, under their leader, Kwask-
wanna, were in winter camp near the
trading post of st. Louis. BY this
compact the Sacs were to give up the
Rock River Valley in Illinois. AS
soon as the agreement became noised
abroad among all the Sacs there was
strong opposition, particularly to the
| form in which it had been made.
Throughout the affair Keokuk as
sumed SO passive an attitude that he
lust at once his political prestige.
| Those of the Sac nation who favored
an appeal to arms then turned to a
famous warrior Of the Thunder clan,
known to the whites as Black Hawk,
and he became their leader. Just at
| this critical period the feeble bond of
political union between the Sacs and
| the Foxes was broken. This was due
| largely to internal dissensions brought
on by the intrigues of Keokuk, who,
with following of unpatriotic Sacs,
sought and obtained protection from
/ the Foxes under their chief, Paweshik.
! The fighting began before Black Hawk
was ready. and he was forced to take
the field with but small number OF
those on whose support he had de-
pended. With his depleted forces he
could not successfully contend against
the Illinois militia and their Indian
allies.
Keokuk doomed as diplomat dur.
! ing the final negotiations growing out
of the war. and played so deftly into
the hands of the government officials
that he was made chief of the Sacs
1t is said that the announcement of his
/ elevation to supreme power, made In
! open council so aroused the anger and
contempt of Black Hawk that he whip
| ped off his clout and slapped Keokuk
across the face with it. The act of
creating Keokuk chief Of the Sacs has
always been regarded with ridicule by
both the Sacs and the Foxes, for the
reason that he was not of the ruling
clan But the one great occasion for
which both the Sacs and the Foxes
honor Keokuk was when, in the City
4 of Washington, in debate with the rep
4 resentatives of the Sioux and other
! tribes before government officials. he
established the claim of the Sacs and
Foxes to the territory comprised n
what is now the State of Iowa.
On his death, in 1S4S, in Kansas
whittier he had moved three years be-
fore, the chieftianship, with it's I'M
savory associations, went to his son.
Moses Keokuk (Wunagisa, He leaps
up quickly from his lair''), who dis
played many of the mental character
istics of the father