The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-01-11
heap NOT WORK
John ShabbonR, Descendant of
Famous Indian Chief.
Days Pass Much the Same i'm
Mayetta.
Mn lNrMRN 10 FACT NnlNn
OLD AGENCY IS FAST GOING
Nadeau to Be Abolished by
Government Order.
Dissolution of P0ttaWat0mie
Tribe Is at Hand.

Heap not work" they say of John
Shabbona in Mayetta. And shake
their heads.
John walks into the little restaura Mt
in Mayetta. numbering. awkward, stol-
i'd, wooden, heavy of foot. His should
ers are slightly stopped. The IounS-
ers smile. extensively.
Bowl chilli" says John, and sits
upon a stool, inert, behind his copper
mask.
The waiter sings the order, doubt
fully. John Shabbora rises clumsily,
silently, ambles to cuspidor, expec-
torates, returns, pauses before he SITS
down. Click Somebody lifts the latch.
There is a flash of shoulders. 1t would
shame a streak of lightning Centuries
ago the forebears of John Shabbona
heard a twig snap in the WOODS IL Is
the instinct of race.
John Shabbona sucks up the chill,
dawdles to the punching bag, drops
nickel in the slot, waits an uncon-
scionable while. Crash!
UGH" says John, pointing to the
quivering dial. Nine hundred pounds!
Centuries ago a tornahawk flashed
across wide open space, swift as
light. John Shabbona's ancestors
threw it.
John Shabbona fishes into the deep
pockets of his trousers. fumbles, finds
a coin, drops it in the slot. Whir!
Click The percentage is with the
house. 1t is the influence of civiliza-
ton, the device of the paleface.
And thus the day passes for John
Shabbona, who, they say, heap not
work.
Made Trip for Whisky.
Except-one day twelve years ago,
cago. They found him far up Little
Soldier Creek, and he agreed to so to
Chicago for half pint of whisky. The
occasion was the unwilling of great
r. he
grave OF John Shabbona's grandfath-
er at Morris, Ill. 1t was of his grand
father, the great chief of the Potta-
watomies that the Shabbona Memorial
association said: His deeds are
worthy of imitation by men and an
gels" and His name ought to be writ
ten among the mortal heroes of the
world
Death hung like mist over the pio-
neers of Northern Illinois in the
spring of 1882. The Sank chief, Black
Hawk, at a war dance, urged Shah |
bona to unite his tribes with the
Sauks in a war of determination
against the white settlers of the from !
.fshabbona," urged Black Hawk. eff
you will permit your young men TO
unite with mine, will have an army /
like the trees of the forest, and will |
drive the palefaces before me like !
autumn leaves before an angry wind" |
aye" replied Shabbona, laying his |
right hand upon Black Hawks left |
shoulder, but the palefaces soon will |
bring an army like the leaves on the |
trees and sweep you into the ocean be /
meath the setting SUM-.
He Became White Mans Friend.
And so it was that Shabbona be-
came the ally and the friend of the
white pioneers.
Before he gave his answer to Black
Hawk, Shabbona himself had a record
for massacre. Second in command to
Tecumseh at the Battle OF the Thames,
Shabbona was by his side when he fell |
and ordered the retreat. 1t was after
the battle that Shabbona declared:
at then became satisfied that the
white man was fully the equal of the
red man in courage and strength, and
greatly his superior in knowledge of
war and war implements, and being
sorely pressed on all sides and my
escape appearing almost impossible, I
made a VOW to the Great Spirit if he
would lead me to the path of safety,
would never again take VI, the tona-
hawk against the pa1efaces."
1t was a vow Shabbona kept. Near
midnight, the chief of the Pottawato-
mics withdrew surreptitiously from
Black Hawks war dance, and mount
ing his favorite pony, started on his
perilous mission of mercy to warn the
white settlers OF their impending fate.
The distance he travelled to warn them
was nearly hundred miles as the
crow flies, but the white pioneers were
distance to be covered was almost two
miles. His Oldest son, Pyps
or Pepper, Joined him in the desperate
Taking their bearings
by the Indian cornpass-the stars
they struck out on their long, hazard
Gus journey-Shabhona to the east
and Pyps to the west. over treacherous
trails, through swamp and forest,
pursued for miles by keen-eyed Sank
spies. who followed with the instinct
Of the sleuth hound. Two horses were
ridden to death by Shabbona on his
mission of mercy. But the lives of
hundreds of white settlers were saved.
For this and other evidences of his
devotion to humanity. Shabbona, judi
cial and commercial chief of the Pot
Ottawas and Chippewas,
was found guilty of aiding and abettirg
the enemies of his people, was re-
duced to the ranks, and was ever after
looked upon as q traitor to his tribe
and race.
He Died in Poverty. :
Republics are ungrateful and Shah