Winnebago Indian Chiefs and Leaders

     <p><b>       <a>Red        Bird</a></b>       (Wanig<i>-suchka). </i>A Winnebago        war chief, so named, according to one authority, because he habitually       wore a red coat and called        himself English, and by another        because he wore on each shoulder,        "to supply the place of an        epaulette, a preserved red-bird." He       was born about 1788 and was the leading        spirit in the Winnebago outbreak of 1827.        He was friendly with the settlers of        Prairie du Chien, Wis., who regarded        him as a protector until two Winnebago,        who had been arrested for the murder of        a family of maple-sugar makers, were        erroneously reported to have been turned        over to the Chippewa by the military        authorities at Ft Snelling and clubbed to death while running the        gauntlet. The Winnebago chiefs,        on the receipt of this news, met in council and determined       upon retaliation, selecting Red Bird to       carry out their decree.        With this purpose in view he, with two companions,        after visiting the house of Lockwood, a        trader at Prairie du Chien, proceeded to the house of Registre Gagnier,        who with his hired man they shot        down after being hospitably        entertained by them. An        infant was torn from the mother (who       made her escape), and was stabbed and       left for dead, though subsequently restored.       Red Bird and his companions       proceeded the same day, June 26,        1827, to the rendezvous of his band, consisting       of 37 warriors with their wives and        children, at the mouth of Bad Axe        River, Minn.        A day or two later they attacked a        boat on the Mississippi, killing        4 and wounding 2 of the crew, and        losing a third of their own number.       When the troops arrived        and prepared to attack the Winnebago,       Red Bird and his accomplices gave        themselves up and were tried and        convicted, but sentence was        deferred until the last day of        the general court, and then, for        some unknown cause, was not pronounced.       With his companions Red        Bird was remanded to prison to await       sentence, where he died, Feb.        16, 1828. The others were        condemned to death, but were        pardoned by President John Quincy Adams, in Nov. 1828, at the        instance of Nawkaw, who, with a        deputation of his tribesmen,        visited Washington in their        behalf.</p>         <p> </p>       <p>         <a>Neokautah</a> (Four Legs). The       Menominee name of a Winnebago chief whose village, commonly known as        Four Legs Village, was situated at the point where Fox river leaves Lake        Winnebago, on the site of the present Neenah, Winnebago County, Wis.        According to Draper (Wis. Hist. Soc. Coll., x, 114,         18881), while living here Neokautah for a time claimed tribute          from Americans who passed his village. With Dekaury and other Winnebago         chiefs he joined in the war against the United States in 1812-13,       reaching the seat of hostilities in time to join        <a href="https://accessgenealogy.com/native/shawnee-indian-chiefs-and-leaders.htm">Tecumseh</a> in the        lighting at Ft Meigs, Ohio, and later engaged in the attack on Ft       Sandusky, so ably defended by Croghan (Grignon's        Recollections in Wis. Hist. Soc. Coll., iii, 269, 1857).        Neokautah was one of the representatives of his people at the peace         conference at Mackinaw, Mich., June 3. 1815, and was a signer of the        treaty of Prairie du Chien, Wis., Aug. 19, 1825. under the French name          "Les quatres jambes," as leading representative of his tribe. His       Winnebago name is given as Hootshoapkau, but it seems to have been          seldom used.</p>                 <table><tr><td>             <img src="https://accessgenealogy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/wabokieshiek21.jpg" /></td>             <td>             <p><b><a>Wabokieshiek</a></b></p>             <p>Wabokieshiek ('The Light.' or White Cloud') A              medicine-man also known as The Prophet, the friend and adviser of              Black hawk. He was born about 1794, and presided over a village              known as "prophet's Village," on Rock river, about 35 miles above              its mouth, on the site of the present Prophetstown, Ill. Half              Winnebago and half <a href="https://accessgenealogy.com/native/sauk-tribe.htm">Sauk</a>, he bad              great influence with both  tribes, and was noted for cruelty              and his hostility toward Americans. When Black Hawk's </p></td>           </tr><tr><td colspan="2">lieutenant, Neapope, went to Malden,              Canada, to consult with the British authorities in regard to the              right of the Indians to retain their lands on Rock river, he stopped              on his return at the Prophet's village, where he remained during the              winter, and told Wabokieshiek of his mission. The Prophet, always              ready for mischief and delighted at this opportunity to make trouble              for the whites, is said to have performed some incantations, had              several visions, and prophesied that if Black Hawk would move              against the whites he would be joined by the "Great Spirit" and a              large army which would enable him to overcome the whites and regain              possession of his old village. These predictions, added to Neapope's              false reports from the British, induced Black Hawk to continue the              war which bears his name. Keokuk is said to have blamed the Prophet              for all the trouble. After the defeat of the Indians at Bad Axe in              1832, Black hawk and the Prophet made their escape, but were              captured by Chaetar and One-Eyed Dekaury, two Winnebago Indians, in              an attempt to reach Prairie La Crosse, where they expected<br />             to cross the Mississippi and be safe. They were delivered to Gen.              Street on Aug.27,1832. Arriving at Jefferson Barracks, 10 miles              below St Louis, they were put in irons, to their extreme              mortification and of which they complained bitterly. In April of the              following year they were taken to Washington, where they were              permitted to see president Jackson, to whom Wabokieshiek appealed              for their freedom; instead, they, were sent to Fortress Monroe, Va.,              where they remained until June 4, when they were released. Having              lost his prestige as a prophet, Wabokieshiek lived in obscurity              among the Sauk in Iowa until their removal to Kansas, and died among              the Winnebago about 1841. He is described as being six ft tall,              stout and athletic of figure, with a countenance in keeping with his              militant disposition. <br />      At variance with accounts of his depravity is a              statement by Maj. Thomas Forsythe, for years the agent of the Sauk              and Foxes, in which he says of Wabokieshiek: "Many a good meal has              the Prophet given to the people traveling past his village, and very              many stray horses has he recovered from the Indians and restored              them to their rightful owners, without asking any recompense              whatever." It is also said that during the progress of the Black              Hawk war, Col. Gratiot, agent for the Winnebago, who on account of              his humane and honorable treatment of the Indians was considered              most likely to influence them, was selected to visit the hostile              camp and induce the Prophet to turn the British band back to its              Iowa reservation. On reaching the Prophet's village, Gratiot and his              party were surrounded by the hostiles and made prisoners, despite              their flag of truce, and he would have lost his life had not the              Prophet come to his rescue. He was taken to Wabokieshiek's house and              allowed to explain the object of his mission, but could not dissuade              the Indians from their purpose. Although the warriors clamored for              Gratiot's life, Wabokieshiek was determined to save him, and after              keeping him for several days found an opportunity to allow him to              escape. <br />      While in Jefferson Barracks Wabokieshiek's portrait was              painted by Catlin, and is now in the National Museum; another              portrait, by R. M. Sully, made while the Prophet was a prisoner at              Fortress Monroe.<br />      Consult Fulton, Red Men of Iowa, 1882;              Stevens, Black Hawk War, 1903; Wis. Hist. Soc. Coll., X, 1888.             </td>           </tr></table>                                 <ul><li>                                        <p>                                         <b>Additional Winnebago Indian Resources</b></p><ul><li>                                        <p>                                         <b><a href="https://accessgenealogy.com/native/winnebago-tribe.htm">Winnebago                                       Indian History</a></b></p></li>                                         <li>                                        <p>                                         <b><a href="https://accessgenealogy.com/native/winnebago-indian-religion.htm">                                        Winnebago Indian Religion</a></b></p>                                       </li>                                       <li>                                        <p>                                         <b><a href="https://accessgenealogy.com/native/winnebago-indian-social-organization.htm">                                        Winnebago Indian Social Organization</a></b></p>                                        </li>                                       <li>                                        <p>                                         <b><a href="https://accessgenealogy.com/native/winnebago-indian-chiefs-and-leaders.htm">                                        Winnebago Indian Chiefs and Leaders</a></b></p>                                         </li>                                   </ul></li>                                  </ul>                                       The books presented are for their                                       historical value only and are not the                                       opinions of the Webmasters of the site.                                                                                                                                                        <em>Handbook                                        of American Indians, 1906</em> <p><b><a href="/">                                   Index of Tribes or Nations</a></b></p>