How Black Hawk became a chief.

 

The elders of Black Hawk's tribe taught all young Indians that they could prevent a person from entering the spirit world by scalping him. It was an unpardonable sin not to scalp your dead enemy. Leaving his scalp on would allow him to continue the fight in the spirit world.

When Black Hawk was young, he wanted to become a respected member of his tribe. The fastest way to become a Brave was to kill one of your enemies. Black Hawk was a Sauk, and the enemies of the Sauk were the Osage Indians.

During a battle, Black Hawk saw his father kill an Osage and take his scalp. Black Hawk gained strength and courage after seeing his father kill an enemy brave. Fifteen-year-old Black Hawk rushed toward the enemy, struck, and killed an Osage warrior with his tomahawk.

Black Hawk scalped the warrior and showed it to his father. His father said nothing, but he looked pleased. When they returned to their village, the elders allowed Black Hawk to attend the scalp dance for the first time.

Singing Bird was a young Sauk Indian. The women controlled the tribe's lodges and could never be forced out or told to leave. When Black Hawk became a man, he wanted Singing Bird to be his wife.

One night, after Singing Bird had retired, Black Hawk took a lit candle into her lodge. He lies down beside her and places the candle between them. If Singing Bird wants him to stay, she will blow out the candle. If she did not blow out the candle, he would use the light from the candle to find his way out. Singing Bird blew out the candle, and she and Black Hawk remained together for the rest of their lives.

Black Hawk was not a chief. He was a brave warrior and had the respect of his tribe. When the Indian leaders had a powwow with the white chief at the Fort, Black Hawk would sometimes attend.

One day, the white chief presented all the Indian chiefs with a metal to hang around their necks. The commander of the fort also gave Black Hawk a medal. When Black Hawk returned to his village wearing the metal, the other Indians thought the white chief had made Black Hawk a chief. Black Hawk was now a chief in the villagers' minds, but he had no followers.