Black Partridge or Black Pheasant (

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

: ''Mucketeypokee'', ''Mucktypoke'', ''Mka-da-puk-ke'', ''Muccutay Penay'', ''Makadebakii'', ''Mkadébki'') (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1795–1816) was a 19th-century

Peoria Lake Peoria Lake, sometimes called Lower Peoria Lake, is a section of the Illinois River between Peoria, Illinois, Peoria in Peoria County, Illinois and East Peoria, Illinois, East Peoria in Tazewell County, Illinois. The oldest section of Peoria, Illi ...

chieftain. Although a participant in the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1785–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native Americans in the United States, Native American na ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, he was a friend to early American settlers and an advocate for peaceful relations with the United States. He and his brother

Waubonsie Waubonsie (c. 1760 – c. 1848) was a leader of the Potawatomi Native American people. His name has been spelled in a variety of ways, including Wabaunsee, Wah-bahn-se, Waubonsee, ''Waabaanizii'' in the contemporary Ojibwe language, and ''Wabanz ...

both attempted to protect settlers during the

Battle of Fort Dearborn The Battle of Fort Dearborn (sometimes called the Fort Dearborn Massacre) was an engagement between United States troops and Potawatomi Native Americans that occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn in what is now Chicago, Illinois (at that ...

after they were unsuccessful in preventing the attack. A memorial at the site of the massacre in present-day

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

once included a statue of Black Partridge preventing a

tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Native Americans in the United States, Indian peoples and nations of North America, traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. Etymology The name comes from Powhatan langu ...

from hitting a Mrs. Margaret Helm, the wife of one of the defenders at

Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort, first built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by U.S. troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secre ...

. Black Partridge Woods, a state park in

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

, as well as Partridge Township in

Woodford County, Illinois Woodford County is a county located in the state of Illinois. The 2020 United States census listed its population at 38,467. Its county seat is Eureka. Woodford County is part of the Peoria metropolitan area. Its name comes from General Will ...

are also named in his honor.

Biography

Black Partridge is first recorded during the

as a war chief under Matchekewis at the

Battle of Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Indigenous peoples of North America, Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their Kingdom of Gre ...

. He was later awarded a silver medal, with an engraving of President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, from General

"Mad" Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...

at the signing of the

Treaty of Greenville The Treaty of Greenville, also known to Americans as the Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., but formally titled ''A treaty of peace between the United States of America, and the tribes of Indians called the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanees, Ottawas ...

on August 3, 1795; another account claims the medal was presented to him by General

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

at the Treaty of Fort Wayne on September 30, 1809 and had the engraving of President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

. He wore the medal for several years afterwards to symbolize the Potawatomi's friendship with American settlers. One of the Potawatomi chieftains wishing to remain neutral during

Tecumseh's War Tecumseh's War or Tecumseh's Rebellion was a conflict between the United States and Tecumseh's confederacy, led by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh in the Indiana Territory. Although the war is often considered to have climaxed with William Henry Ha ...

, he and

Gomo GoMo (or GOMO) is the name of four independently operated, online-only mobile telephone flanker brands. Although they share the same name and digital-only business model, GoMo services are operated independently under different parent companies ...

refused to ally with

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

chieftain

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

when approached by him during the summer of 1810. Black Partridge said to Tecumseh, Although he advocated peace, he could not prevent the younger tribal members and warriors from joining Tecumseh's fight. He unsuccessfully tried to dissuade the Potawatomi from joining the attack at

and, on the evening of August 14, 1812, he rode ahead of the main force arriving at Dearborn to return the medal to the fort commandant, Captain

Nathan Heald Nathan Heald ( New Ipswich, New Hampshire September 24, 1775 – O'Fallon, Missouri April 27, 1832) was an officer in the U.S. Army, during the War of 1812. He was in command of Fort Dearborn in Chicago during the Battle of Fort Dearborn. Heald ...

. During the ensuing Battle of Fort Dearborn, he and his brother

tried to protect the settlers from the violence being carried out by the attackers. Black Partridge saved the life of a Mrs. Margaret Helm, the wife of Lieutenant Lenai T. Helm and stepdaughter of Indian trader

John Kinzie John Kinzie (December 23, 1763 – June 6, 1828) was a fur trader from Quebec who first operated in Detroit and what became the Northwest Territory of the United States. A partner of William Burnett from Canada, about 1802-1803 Kinzie moved w ...

, by holding her underwater under the appearance of drowning her in

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

. He later removed her to a nearby Indian camp where her wounds were dressed. Black Partridge also helped free her husband who was being held captive by the

Red Head Chief Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

at Kankakee. Delivering the ransom on behalf of U.S. Indian Agent

Thomas Forsyth Thomas Forsyth may refer to: * Thomas Forsyth (footballer) (1892–?), Scottish amateur footballer * Thomas Forsyth (Indian agent) (1771–1833), American frontiersman, trader, and Indian agent * Thomas Forsyth (New Zealand politician) (1868–1941 ...

, he voluntarily offered his pony, rifle and a gold ring along with the original written order for $100 signed by General

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...

.Dye, Eva Emery. ''The Conquest: The True Story of Lewis and Clark''. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Company, 1902. (pg. 367-368) Returning to his village on

however, he found his village had been burned by the

Illinois Rangers Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

from Edwardsville under orders from Governor

Ninian Edwards Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was an American political figure who was prominent in Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to until the territory earned statehood in 1818. He was then ...

. Among those massacred at the village were his daughter and grandchild. Taking 200 warriors from nearby villages, as well as 100 from Shequenebec and another 100 from Mittitass, he joined in the attack against Fort Clark on September 19, 1813, although this attack was repulsed by the fort's defenders. Black Hawk, then a young warrior, was also present at the attack. Black Partridge and his band eventually surrendered after being driven back to Fort Clark by General

Henry Dodge Moses Henry Dodge (October 12, 1782 – June 19, 1867) was an American politician and military officer who was Democratic member to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Bla ...

and Major

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

. He was one of the 13 chieftains escorted by Colonel

George Davenport Colonel George Davenport, born George William King (1783 – July 4, 1845), was a 19th-century English-American sailor, frontiersman, fur trader, merchant, postmaster, US Army soldier, Indian agent, and city planner. A prominent and well-known ...

to St. Louis where peace was signed between the Potawatomi and the United States. He was a later signatory of several treaties between the Potawatomi and the United States government.Peters, Richard. ''The Statutes at Large and Treaties of the United States of America from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845''. Vol. VII. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846. (pg. 123, 147-148)

In popular culture

He is portrayed in several

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

and

dime novels The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century American popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related form ...

including: *

Myrtle Reed Myrtle Reed (September 27, 1874 – August 17, 1911) was an American author, poet, journalist, and philanthropist. She wrote a number of bestsellers and even published a series of cookbooks under the pseudonym Olive Green. Biography She was ...

's ''The Shadow of Victory: A Romance of Fort Dearborn'' (1903) * Randall Parrish's ''When Wilderness was King: A Tale of the Illinois Country'' (1904) * H.R. Gordon's ''Black Partridge, or the Fall of Fort Dearborn'' (1906) * Julia Cooley Altrocchi's ''Wolves Against the Moon'' (1957) * Jerry Crimmins's ''Fort Dearborn: A Novel'' (2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Partridge (chief) Chiefs of the Potawatomi Native American people of the Indian Wars Native Americans of the Northwest Indian War People from Woodford County, Illinois 1740s births 1816 deaths Year of birth uncertain