Keewassee

Infobox Person


image_size =
caption =
birth_name = Keewassee
birth_date = prior to 1832
birth_place = Potowatomi village near Ottawa
death_date = c. 1834
death_place =
nationality = Potowatomi
occupation = War chief

Keewassee (prior to 1832 – c. 1834) was a member of the Potawatomi and leader of the group of Potawatomi warriors responsible for the Indian Creek Massacre, one of several events leading up to the Black Hawk War.

Biography

Early life

Keewassee is first recorded living in a large Potawatomi village along Big Indian Creek, roughly convert|20|mi|km from present-day Ottawa, Illinois, during the early 1830s. By April 1832, the local Potowatomi began having difficulty catching fish whose upstream migration was being blocked by a nearby dam recently built by settler William Davis to power his saw mill. As the Potawatomi were solely dependent on fishing for their food, they complained to Davis about the dam but he was unwilling to shut down his sawmill. Keewassee, then a young warrior, attempted to destroy the dam; however, he was caught by Davis and severely beaten with a hickory rod. Although the Potowatomi took no further action against the dam, the tribe quietly prepared to attack the Davis homestead. [ Trask, Kerry A. "Black Hawk: The Battle for the Heart of America". New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2006. (pg. 200-201) ISBN 0-8050-7758-8 ]

Role in the massacre

Following the Battle of Stillman's Run, Potowatomi chieftain Shabbona rode on horseback from his village near Paw-Paw Grove to warn settlers living above the Illinois River of a possible uprising of the Sauk. Although a number of settlers heeded the warning and fled to Ottawa, Davis was able to persuade a number of his neighbors to gather at his home. On the afternoon of May 21, Keewassee led a group of 20 heavily armed Potowatomi warriors into the Davis homestead climbing over the fence and proceeded to storm the cabin. Although one man was shot and killed attempting to close the door to the cabin, the settlers were surprised by their sudden appearance and were unable to prevent the Potowatomi from entering the cabin where the warriors executed the 10 women and children left in the house including Davis's wife. Four more men, including William Davis, were killed trying to get to the cabin while six others including two of Davis's sons were able to escape traveling overland to Ottawa.

The following day, the settlers mutilated remains were found by a mounted company which had been dispatched from Chicago to scout the area between Chicago and Ottawa. After burying the settlers, they continued on to Ottawa. [ cite web |url=http://www.ledgersentinel.com/article.asp?a=6258 |title=U.S Army, cholera mark end of Black Hawk War |accessdate= |author=Matile, Roger |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2007-06-14 |format=article |publisher=Ledger-Sentinel |pages= 1|language=english ]

Although two young girls had been captured during the raid and brought back to Black Hawk, the two were eventually released in part to the efforts of Chief Wabaunsee, Ho-Chunk and U.S. Indian agent Henry Gratiot. Following the end of the Black Hawk War, warrants were issued at the LaSalle County Courthouse in Ottawa for the arrest of Keewassee and two other warriors Ta-quawee and Comee. However, the charges were dropped in 1834 when neither Sylvia or Rachel Hall could identify them as the war paint they had used had apparently disguised their features. [ cite web |url=http://www.ledgersentinel.com/article.asp?a=6216 |title=The Black Hawk War: Massacre at Indian Creek |accessdate= |author=Matile, Roger |date=2007-05-31 |publisher=Ledger-Sentinel |pages=1 |language=english |format = article ]

References