Black Hawk (Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak)
A leader of the Sauk Indian Nation, noted
for his struggle against the westward movement of the white man.
Refusing to leave his beloved homeland, he and a band of his warriors,
women, and children moved back into lands vacated by treaty to
the U.S. government. The Black Hawk War ensued, ending with the
"Battle of Bad Axe", about 3 miles north of here. Black
Hawk surrendered in Prairie du Chien and was briefly imprisoned
at Fort Crawford. The bars from his prison cell window are on
dislay on the grounds yet today. A historic marker commemorating
Black Hawk's surrender is also on the grounds. History later treated
Black Hawk as a man of great integrity and honesty.
