Campfire Stories of Indian Character 503 



Such was the petition of Kanakuk, peace prophet and 

 leader in 1819, when the Kickapoos were ordered to leave 

 the fertile corn lands of their fathers in Illinois and move 

 out into the rugged hills of Missouri, among their tradi- 

 tional enemies, the Osages. 



The effect of the petition was much the same as that 

 which vNaboth sent unto Ahab when that "president" of 

 God's people coveted Naboth's heritage. 



And what had they to charge against Kanakuk or his 

 people? Their claim to the land was unquestioned. Were 

 they objectionable or dangerous as neighbors? Surely not. 

 No one pretended it. The doctrine Kanakuk taught his 

 kindly people was a close parallel of the Ten Command- 

 ments, with the added clauses of non-resistance to violence, 

 and of abstinence from drinking, gambling, and horse- 

 racing. 



Catlin, who visited the Prophet in his new home in 183 1, 

 and erronoeusly supposed the Kickapoo got these teachings 

 from the Bible and the Christian missionaries, says (p. 697) : 



I was singularly struck with the noble efforts of this champion 

 of the mere remnant of a poisoned race, so strenuously laboring 

 to rescue the remainder of his people from the deadly bane that 

 has been brought amongst them by enlightened Christians. 

 How far the efforts of this zealous man have succeeded in Chris- 

 tianizing, I cannot tell; but it is quite certain that his exemplary 

 and constant endeavors have completely abolished the practice 

 of drinking whiskey in his tribe, which alone is a very praise- 

 worthy achievement, and the first and indispensable step toward 

 all other improvements. I was some time amongst those 

 people, and was exceedingly pleased and surprised also to wit- 

 ness tlieir sobriety and their peaceable conduct, not having seen 

 an instance of drunkenness, or seen or heard of any use of spiritu- 

 ous liquors whilst I was among them. — (Catlin, Vol. IT, p. 98.) 



In 1883 there was a great renewal of his teaching among his 

 people, and their kin in the Indian Territory. Their ritual con- 



