886 



WABOZO WACAHOOTA 



[B. A. E. 



as The Prophet, the friend and adviser 

 of Black Hawk. He was born about 1794, 

 and presided over a village known as 

 "Prophet's Village," on Rock r., about 

 35 m. above its mouth, on the site of the 

 present Prophetstown, 111. Half Winne- 

 bago and half Sauk, he had great influence 

 with both tribes, and was noted for cru- 

 elty and his hostility toward Americans. 

 When Black Hawk's lieutenant, Nea- 

 pope, went to Maiden, Canada, to consult 

 with the British authorities in regard to 

 the right of the Indians to retain their 

 lands on Rock r., he stopped on his re- 

 turn at the Prophet's village, where he 

 remained during the winter, and told 

 Wabokieshiek of his mission. The 

 Prophet, always ready for mischief and 

 delighted at this opportunity to make 



WABOKIESHIEK (wHITE CLOUd). After a Painting by R. m. 

 Sully m the Wisconsin Historical Society 



trouble for the whites, is said to have per- 

 formed some incantations, had several 

 visions, and prophesied that if Black 

 Hawk would move against the whites he 

 would be joined by the "Great Spirit" 

 and a large army which would enable 

 him to overcome the whites and regain 

 possession of his old village. These pre- 

 dictions, added to Neapope's false reports 

 from the British, induced BlacK Hawk 

 to continue the war which bears his 

 name. Keokuk is said to have blamed 

 the Prophet for all the trouble. After 

 the defeat of the Indians at Bad Axe in 

 1832, Black Hawk and the Prophet made 

 their escape, but were captured by Chae- 

 tar and One-Eyed Dekaury, two Winne- 

 bago Indians, in an attempt to reach 

 Prairie La Crosse, where they expected 



to cross the Mississippi and be safe. 

 They were delivered to Gen. Street on 

 Aug. 27, 1832. Arriving at Jefferson Bar- 

 racks, 10 m. below St Louis, they were 

 put in irons, to their extreme mortifica- 

 tion and of which they complained bit- 

 terly. In April of the following year 

 they were taken to Washington, where 

 they were permitted to see President 

 Jackson, to whom Wabokieshiek ap- 

 pealed for their freedom; instead, they 

 were sent to Fortress Monroe, Va., where 

 they remained until June 4, when they 

 were released. Having lost his prestige 

 as a prophet, Wabokieshiek lived in ob- 

 scurity among the Sauk in Iowa until 

 their removal to Kansas, and died among 

 the Winnebago about 1841. He is de- 

 scribed as being six ft tall, stout and 

 athletic of figure, with a countenance in 

 keeping with his militant disposition. 

 At variance with accounts of his de- 

 pravity is a statement by IMaj. Thomas 

 Forsythe, for years the agent of the Sauk 

 and JFoxes, in which he says of Wabokie- 

 shiek : ' ' Many a good meal has the 

 Prophet given to the people traveling 

 ])ast his village, and very many stray 

 horses has he recovered from the Indians 

 and restored them to their rightful 

 owners, without asking any recompense 

 whatever." It is also said that during 

 the progress of the Black Hawk war, Col. 

 Gratiot, agent for the Winnebago, who 

 on account of his humane and honorable 

 treatment of the Indians was considered 

 most likely to influence them, was se- 

 lected to visit the hostile camp and in- 

 duce the Prophet to turn the British 

 band back to its Iowa reservation. On 

 reaching the Prophet's village, Gratiot 

 and his party were surrounded by the 

 hostiles and made prisoners, despite their 

 flag of truce, and he would have lost his 

 life had not the Prophet come to his 

 rescue. He was taken to Wabokieshiek's 

 house and allowed to explain the object 

 of his mission, but could not dissuade the 

 Indians from their purpose. Although 

 the warriors clamored for Gratiot's life, 

 Wa1)okieshiek was determined to save 

 him, and after keeping him for several 

 days found an opportunity to allow him 

 to escape. 



While in Jefferson Barracks Wabokie- 

 shiek's portrait was painted by Catlin, 

 and is now in the National Museum; 

 another portrait, by R. IM. Sully, made 

 while the Prophet was a prisoner at 

 Fortress Monroe, is here reproduced. 



Consult Fulton, Red Men of Iowa, 1882; 

 Stevens, Black Hawk War, 1903; Wis. 

 Hist. Soc. Coll., X, 1888. (p. s. n.) 



Wabozo ( Wd-bo^-zo, 'rabbit'). A gens 

 of the Potawatomi. — Morgan, Anc. Soc, 

 167, 1877. 



Wacahoota. A former Seminole settle- 



