Shick Shack
Encyclopedia
Shick Shack was a 19th century Potawatomi
chieftain and leader of a band of the Illinois River Potawatomi. He was also involved in several conflicts during the Indian Wars
, particularly during the Peoria
and the Black Hawk War
s. He is best known, however, for providing the tribal history of Potawatomi
and Kickapoo in Illinois prior to and during the early settlement of the region during the 18th and early 19th century. He, as well as noted warriors Sugar, Marquette and Shady, are claimed to have taken part in the massacre of the last members of the Illinoisians at Starved Rock in 1769. One of the highest hills in Illinois, Shick Shack Hill (or Shick-Shack's Nob) in Cass County, Illinois bears his name.
, he took part in the Peoria War
and was one of thirteen chieftains selected to represent the confederacy a peace delegation to St. Louis, Missouri
. Under the escort of George Davenport
, the chieftains arrived in St. Louis in late-December 1813 where a peace treaty was concluded shortly thereafter. Among those in attendance at the signing of the peace treaty included Black Partridge, Senachwine
, Comas
, Crow
and Gomo
.
He and his band, numbering forty men not including women and children, moved north in 1827 using the Indian Trail Farm of Wethersfield Township
to travel to Prophetstown
and then to the Wisconsin hill country; this is the last recorded use of Native Americans to use the old Indian trial.
During the previous winter of 1830-31, he and his tribe were camped at an old hunting ground near Pike Creek
. He and members of his tribe were hunting dear when they encountered Daniel Dimmick, a settler for whom Dimmick's Grove is named after, and related a story of an Ottawa
hunting party which had been attacked a group of Illinoisians
many years ago. Many of them were killed and their war chieftain Chief Pontiac
was wounded. A state of war lasted between the two tribes before the last of the Illinoisians were killed at Starved Rock during the 1760s.
Among the major battles fought along the Illinois River, he recounted a battle fought a Terra Haute, Indiana between him and a rival chieftain, a Chief Sugar. Shick Shack led a force of 300 warriors against him and, although the number of Sugar's army is unknown, only 12 braves (seven Kickapoo/Potatomi and five Miami) survived after a nearly 14-hour battle. Another account claims he was only one of several war chiefs present at the battle between the Potawatomi and Kickapoo against the Miami, placed in what is now Shades State Park
during September 1775, and was one of the survivors. Author and historian Nehemiah Watson, claimed that the battle was thought to be the same conflict of the Biblical hosts Abner
and Joab
which occurred at the Pool of Gibeon and the numbers of the combatants increased from twelve to three hundred to correspond with the legend.
In February 1832, he and Senachwine attended a war council held between the Potawatomi, Winnebago
, Sauk and Fox at Indiantown, a major Potawatomi settlement on the Illinois. He may have remained to the area during the Black Hawk War
and is possibly the same chieftain to have been involved in the capture of Black Hawk
following his defeat at the Battle of Bad Axe
. In 1832, he was sighted at Dixon's Ferry
where he was friendly with the local residents and visited some of his old friends who had been stationed at the post. He reportedly died some years later and buried near Chandlerville, Illinois
, one of them few Potawatomi chieftains to be buried near their native villages.
On September 16, 1873, local towns in LaSalle County, Illinois held an celebration making the two hundred year anniversary of the discovery of Starved Rock. Among those honored were its discoverers, the French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette
, as well as Shick Shack whose story to Daniel Dimmick was retold in a speech entitled "A Legend of Starved Rock" by Perry Armstrong, a noted author of the Black Hawk War and to whom the story was told to him by Shick Shack when he was 9 years old. Armstrong's speech received extensive press coverage and achieved some minor notoriety in its time.
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
chieftain and leader of a band of the Illinois River Potawatomi. He was also involved in several conflicts during the Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
, particularly during the Peoria
Peoria War
During the War of 1812, the Illinois Territory was the scene of fighting between Native Americans and United States soldiers and settlers.Tensions in the Illinois Territory between U.S. settlers and Native Americans were on the rise in the years before the War of 1812...
and the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
s. He is best known, however, for providing the tribal history of Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
and Kickapoo in Illinois prior to and during the early settlement of the region during the 18th and early 19th century. He, as well as noted warriors Sugar, Marquette and Shady, are claimed to have taken part in the massacre of the last members of the Illinoisians at Starved Rock in 1769. One of the highest hills in Illinois, Shick Shack Hill (or Shick-Shack's Nob) in Cass County, Illinois bears his name.
Biography
As a chieftain living on the Illinois RiverIllinois River
The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...
, he took part in the Peoria War
Peoria War
During the War of 1812, the Illinois Territory was the scene of fighting between Native Americans and United States soldiers and settlers.Tensions in the Illinois Territory between U.S. settlers and Native Americans were on the rise in the years before the War of 1812...
and was one of thirteen chieftains selected to represent the confederacy a peace delegation to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Under the escort of George Davenport
George Davenport
Colonel George Davenport was a 19th-century American frontiersman, trader and US Army officer. A prominent and well-known settler in the Iowa Territory, he was one of the earliest settlers in Rock Island and spent much of his life involved in the early settlement of the Mississippi Valley and the...
, the chieftains arrived in St. Louis in late-December 1813 where a peace treaty was concluded shortly thereafter. Among those in attendance at the signing of the peace treaty included Black Partridge, Senachwine
Senachwine
Senachwine or Petchaho was a 19th century Illinois River Potawatomi chieftain...
, Comas
Chief Comas
Chief Comas was a 19th century Potawatomi chieftain who, as one of several leaders of the Illinois River Potawatomi, was a war chieftain during the Peoria War...
, Crow
Chief Crow
Crow was a Sioux chief who gave the opening battle cry at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.-References:*Lafarge, Oliver. . A Pictorial History of the American Indian. Crown Publishers Inc. Page 177....
and Gomo
Chief Gomo
Chief Gomo was a 19th century Potawatomi chieftain. He and his brother Senachwine were among the more prominent war chiefs to fight alongside Black Partridge during the Peoria War.-Biography:...
.
He and his band, numbering forty men not including women and children, moved north in 1827 using the Indian Trail Farm of Wethersfield Township
Wethersfield Township, Henry County, Illinois
Wethersfield Township is one of twenty-four townships in Henry County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 3,845.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Wethersfield Township covers an area of .-Extinct towns:...
to travel to Prophetstown
Prophetstown
Prophetstown may refer toIn Illinois, USA:* Prophetstown, Illinois* Prophetstown Township, Whiteside County, Illinois* Prophetstown State Recreation AreaIn Indiana, USA:...
and then to the Wisconsin hill country; this is the last recorded use of Native Americans to use the old Indian trial.
During the previous winter of 1830-31, he and his tribe were camped at an old hunting ground near Pike Creek
Pike Creek
- Place Name :* Pike Creek, Delaware* Pike Creek, Ontario* Pike Creek Township, Minnesota...
. He and members of his tribe were hunting dear when they encountered Daniel Dimmick, a settler for whom Dimmick's Grove is named after, and related a story of an Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
hunting party which had been attacked a group of Illinoisians
Illiniwek
The Illinois Confederation, sometimes referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were a group of twelve to thirteen Native American tribes in the upper Mississippi River valley of North America...
many years ago. Many of them were killed and their war chieftain Chief Pontiac
Chief Pontiac
Pontiac or Obwandiyag , was an Ottawa leader who became famous for his role in Pontiac's Rebellion , an American Indian struggle against the British military occupation of the Great Lakes region following the British victory in the French and Indian War. Historians disagree about Pontiac's...
was wounded. A state of war lasted between the two tribes before the last of the Illinoisians were killed at Starved Rock during the 1760s.
Among the major battles fought along the Illinois River, he recounted a battle fought a Terra Haute, Indiana between him and a rival chieftain, a Chief Sugar. Shick Shack led a force of 300 warriors against him and, although the number of Sugar's army is unknown, only 12 braves (seven Kickapoo/Potatomi and five Miami) survived after a nearly 14-hour battle. Another account claims he was only one of several war chiefs present at the battle between the Potawatomi and Kickapoo against the Miami, placed in what is now Shades State Park
Shades State Park
Shades State Park is a state park in Montgomery, Parke, and Fountain Counties in Indiana. It is located west-northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana. In the last decades of the 19th century, the area was a resort with a forty-room inn. In the 1930s a man named Joseph Frisz acquired the land in order...
during September 1775, and was one of the survivors. Author and historian Nehemiah Watson, claimed that the battle was thought to be the same conflict of the Biblical hosts Abner
Abner
In the Book of Samuel, Abner , is first cousin to Saul and commander-in-chief of his army...
and Joab
Joab
Joab the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army, according to the Hebrew Bible.- Name :...
which occurred at the Pool of Gibeon and the numbers of the combatants increased from twelve to three hundred to correspond with the legend.
In February 1832, he and Senachwine attended a war council held between the Potawatomi, Winnebago
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
, Sauk and Fox at Indiantown, a major Potawatomi settlement on the Illinois. He may have remained to the area during the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
and is possibly the same chieftain to have been involved in the capture of Black Hawk
Black Hawk (chief)
Black Hawk was a leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the United States. Although he had inherited an important historic medicine bundle, he was not one of the Sauk's hereditary civil chiefs...
following his defeat at the Battle of Bad Axe
Battle of Bad Axe
The Battle of Bad Axe, also known as the Bad Axe Massacre, occurred 1–2 August 1832, between Sauk and Fox Indians and United States Army regulars and militia. This final battle of the Black Hawk War took place near present-day Victory, Wisconsin in the United States...
. In 1832, he was sighted at Dixon's Ferry
Dixon's Ferry
Dixon's Ferry was the former name for Dixon, Illinois, United States. It was located on the bank of the Rock River near present day Illinois Route 26, John Dixon operated a rope ferry service to transport mail from Peoria to Galena. He also established the first post office. The surrounding...
where he was friendly with the local residents and visited some of his old friends who had been stationed at the post. He reportedly died some years later and buried near Chandlerville, Illinois
Chandlerville, Illinois
Chandlerville is a village in Cass County, Illinois, USA. The population was 553 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Chandlerville is located at ....
, one of them few Potawatomi chieftains to be buried near their native villages.
On September 16, 1873, local towns in LaSalle County, Illinois held an celebration making the two hundred year anniversary of the discovery of Starved Rock. Among those honored were its discoverers, the French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette
Jacques Marquette
Father Jacques Marquette S.J. , sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan...
, as well as Shick Shack whose story to Daniel Dimmick was retold in a speech entitled "A Legend of Starved Rock" by Perry Armstrong, a noted author of the Black Hawk War and to whom the story was told to him by Shick Shack when he was 9 years old. Armstrong's speech received extensive press coverage and achieved some minor notoriety in its time.