Black Partridge or Black Pheasant (

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

: ''Mucketeypokee'', ''Mucktypoke'', ''Mka-da-puk-ke'', ''Muccutay Penay'', ''Makadebakii'', ''Mkadébki'') ( fl. 1795–1816) was a 19th-century

Peoria Lake Peoria Lake is a section of the Illinois River between Peoria in Peoria County, Illinois and East Peoria in Tazewell County, Illinois. The oldest section of Peoria, the largest city on the river, lies at its shores. The lake is formed by a bro ...

chieftain. Although a participant in the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), 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 American nations known today as the Northwestern ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, 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 ''Waban ...

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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

once included a statue of Black Partridge preventing a

tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...

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

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

. Black Partridge Woods, a state park in

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

, as well as Partridge Township in

Woodford County, Illinois Woodford County is a county located in the state of Illinois. The 2010 United States Census listed its population at 38,664. Its county seat is Eureka. Woodford County is part of the Peoria, IL, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its name comes fro ...

are also named in his honor.

Biography

Black Partridge is first recorded during the

as a war chief under

Matchekewis Matchekewis (c.1735 – July 1805), also known as Madjeckewiss, Mash-i-pi-nash-i-wish or Bad Bird, was a respected Ojibwe war chief in present-day northern Michigan. He became famous for his role in the 1763 capture of Fort Michilimackinac from t ...

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 Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United States ...

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

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, from General "Mad" Anthony Wayne at the signing of the

Treaty of Greenville The Treaty of Greenville, formally titled Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., was a 1795 treaty between the United States and indigenous nations of the Northwest Territory (now Midwestern United States), including the Wyandot and Delaware peoples, ...

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 an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

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

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

. 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 Har ...

, he and

Gomo GoMo is an online-only mobile telephone flanker brand currently operating in Ireland and Switzerland, owned by Xavier Niel's Iliad SA. GoMo was first launched in Ireland on 15 October 2019, using the Eir mobile network. and has over 250,000 mobil ...

refused to ally with

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

chieftain

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

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 ...

, 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 the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. 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 (colour), orange and opposite Violet (color), violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the ...

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 surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...

.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 state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockford ...

from Edwardsville under orders from Governor

Ninian Edwards Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was a founding political figure of the State of Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to until the territory was dissolved in 1818. He was then one of ...

. Among the massacred villages included his daughter and his 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 a Democratic member to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Black Hawk War. His son, Augustus C. Dodge, served a ...

and Major

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

. 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 (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

dime novels The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. 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 forms, r ...

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 George Randall Parrish (1858–1923) was an American lawyer, journalist, and writer - in particular, author of dime novels, including ''Wolves of the Sea (Being a Tale of the Colonies from the Manuscript of One Geoffry Carlyle, Seaman, Narrating ...

'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) Potawatomi people Native American leaders 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