69

pursued even here, he withdrew to the Wisconsin River. Even

here. he was unable to stay, since General Henry with his army

and Major Dodge were following him as fast as they could. An

encounter took place in the neighborhood of Prairie du Sac on

the Wisconsin River. Black Hawk, who with his redskins had
been clever enough to gain the 300 foot high southern bank,
defended himself here very skillfully against a significantly
superior | force long enough for most of the women and children
and other noncombatants to reach the opposite bank, to which

he himself fled at nightfall along with the majority of his

warriors. Of a group of fleeing Indians who tried to save

themselves by traveling upstream, most were shot -down by the
enemy, who held the bank.

Black Hawk had attempted to open negotiations with his
enemies, but these attempts had failed due to a lack of
interpreters. Thus disappointed, he contacted the leaders of
the Winnebagos, who then conducted him into the interior of
the country, where he hoped to be safe. But his pursuers
were now only three days' march behind him and would be able

to catch up with him in a few days. Black Hawk and his

caravan were a sorry sight; lacking provisions, they had to

live on the flesh of their emaciated ponies and on tree bark,

and not infrequently their pursuers found dead and severely
wounded Indians lying on the path they had taken. On August
1, he and his piteous train reached the Mississippi near Bad

Ax; here he was only able to get hold of a few boats to make