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Account of Meeting, 23 May 1844

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Account of Meeting, 23 May 1844

Source Note

Account of Meeting, [, Hancock Co., IL, 23 May 1844]. Featured version copied [ca. 23 May 1844] in JS, Journal, 1842–1844, bk. 4, pp. [128]–[129]; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. Includes use marks. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS, Journal, 1842–1844.

Historical Introduction

On 23 May 1844, JS held a council in , Illinois, with a delegation from the Sauk and Meskwaki nations, an account of which was recorded by . These tribes, which the government referred to as the Sac and Fox, had established political ties with each other in the eighteenth century after a protracted war with the French nearly destroyed the Fox. At the turn of the nineteenth century, the Sac and Fox were living in present-day , , , and . American expansion into these lands led to conflict between the United States and the two tribes. Hoping to avoid full-scale war, a delegation of Sac and Fox leaders made an agreement in 1804 with territorial governor William Henry Harrison to cede part of their land in exchange for the return of an American Indian prisoner. Harrison evidently did not reveal the full extent of the cession, however, which included southwestern Wisconsin, parts of eastern Missouri, and most of western Illinois (including the land on which Nauvoo was later located). Resentment over the treaty appears to have been a key factor behind the 1832 Black Hawk War, which resulted in the tribes being forced to cede to the United States 1.25 million acres of land in present-day Iowa. The remainder of the Sac and Fox land in Iowa was sold to the government in 1842, although the tribes were permitted to continue living on the western portion of this cession until 1845.
members had a special affinity toward American Indians, believing them to be descendants of a people known in the Book of Mormon as the . The Saints believed that they would build the , or city of Zion, together with converted Indians and that the Indians would play a key role in the calamities preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ. Indian delegations periodically visited to meet with JS. A group from the Sac and Fox briefly stopped in Nauvoo in 1841, while groups of Potawatomi came on several occasions in 1843 as well as in April 1844.
The 1841 Sac and Fox delegation consisted of “about 100 Chiefs and Braves of those tribes with their families.” Among these were , the head of the Sac and Fox; , a chief of the Sac; and Kish ku kash, a member of the Fox. On that occasion, JS “instructed them in many things which the Lord had revealed . . . concerning their Fathers, and the promises that were made concerning them in the Book of Mormon; and advised them to cease killing each other and warring with other tribes, and keep peace with the whites.” Keokuk responded to JS, saying that he had a Book of Mormon that he claimed JS had given him years before. Keokuk stated that JS was “a great and good man” and asserted that while he himself might “look rough,” he was also “a Son of the Great Spirit.” He then told JS that they intended to follow his advice and stop fighting. The meeting concluded with a feast and the Sac and Fox “entertained the spectators with a specimen of their dancing.”
On 22 May 1844, a second delegation of about forty Sac and Fox arrived in , among whom were Kish ku kash—the Fox who visited JS in 1841—and a brother of the celebrated Sac leader Black Hawk. This group may have represented a faction opposed to ’s policy of accommodation with the or his manner of distributing government annuities. The group was initially unable to meet with JS, because he was in hiding to avoid law officers from , Illinois. The next day, however, JS met the delegation in the ’s “back kitchen” from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
The Sac and Fox representatives apparently spoke first, focusing their remarks on their history in western , the common humanity they shared with white men, the adverse effects of losing their lands, and their desire to have JS be their “big chi[e]f.” JS then addressed the delegation, acknowledging that the tribes had been wronged when they were forced off their land while affirming that the Latter-day Saints had legally purchased the land on which was built. He advised them to stop selling their land and to live peacefully with others. JS then told the delegation about the Book of Mormon, which he said informed them about their forefathers. Finally, he instructed them to send messengers to other tribes to request that they live in peace.
Once the council concluded, the Sac and Fox group continued their visit in front of JS’s old . There they performed what was described as a “war dance” for roughly two hours, and then Kish ku kash addressed those in attendance. Besides acting as spectators, some of the Saints played music, fired off artillery, and gathered money to give to the delegation for food.
made draft notes for the account of JS’s meeting with the Sac and Fox. He apparently used these rough notes to create the account in JS’s journal. Because the original notes were likely intended for use in the journal, the journal version is featured here.

Footnotes

  1. Jung, Black Hawk War of 1832, 11–32, 190–202; White, Middle Ground, 469–517; Eby, “That Disgraceful Affair,” 37–63, 262–295.

    Jung, Patrick J. The Black Hawk War of 1832. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.

    White, Richard. The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

    Eby, Cecil. ‘That Disgraceful Affair,’ the Black Hawk War. New York: W. W. Norton, 1973.

  2. “Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon”; Ashurst-McGee, “Zion Rising,” chap. 4; Book of Mormon, 1840 ed., 30, 57, 474, 482–483, 486–487 [1 Nephi 13:12–15; 22:7; 3 Nephi 16:15; 20:15–17; 21:12, 23]; Micah 5:8; Pratt, Mormonism Unveiled, 13–15; Pratt, Voice of Warning, 188–192; Underwood, Millenarian World of Early Mormonism, 79–82.

    Ashurst-McGee, Mark. “Zion Rising: Joseph Smith’s Early Social and Political Thought.” PhD diss., Arizona State University, 2008.

    Pratt, Parley P. Mormonism Unveiled: Zion’s Watchman Unmasked, and its Editor, Mr. L. R. Sunderland, Exposed: Truth Vindicated: The Devil Mad, and Priestcraft in Danger! New York: O. Pratt & E. Fordham, 1838.

    Pratt, Parley P. A Voice of Warning and Instruction to All People, Containing a Declaration of the Faith and Doctrine of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, Commonly Called Mormons. New York: W. Sanford, 1837.

    Underwood, Grant. The Millenarian World of Early Mormonism. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1993.

  3. Neibaur, Journal, 12 Aug. 1841; George A. Smith, Journal, 12 and 14 Aug. 1841; “Keokuk’s Visit to Nauvoo,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 25 Aug. 1841, [2]; JS, Journal, 18 Apr. 1843; JS, Journal, 28 Aug. 1843; Woodruff, Journal, 26 June 1843; Clayton, Journal, 18 Apr. 1843; 26 and 28 Aug. 1843; Henry King, Keokuk, Iowa Territory, to John Chambers, Burlington, Iowa Territory, 14 July 1843, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, “Miscellaneous,” in Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, reel 56; Letter to Paicouchaiby and Other Potawatomi, 28 Aug. 1843; Council of Fifty, “Record,” 4 Apr. 1844.

    Neibaur, Alexander. Journal, 1841–1862. CHL. MS 1674.

    Smith, George A. Journal, 22 Feb. 1841–10 Mar. 1845. George Albert Smith, Papers, 1834–1877. CHL. MS 1322, box 2, fd. 4.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Territorial Papers of the United States, the Territory of Iowa, 1838–1846. National Archives Microfilm Publications, microcopy M325. 102 reels. Washington DC: National Ar- chives and Records Service, 1979.

  4. Keokuk was appointed to this position by the United States government in the aftermath of the Black Hawk War. His appointment was controversial among the Sac and Fox. (Green, “Mesquakie (Fox) Separatism,” 132–133; Treaty, 21 Oct. 1837, in Kappler, Indian Affairs, 2:496; McKenney and Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 63.)

    Green, Michael D. “‘We Dance in Opposite Directions’: Mesquakie (Fox) Separatism from the Sac and Fox Tribe.” Ethnohistory 30, no. 3 (Summer 1983): 129–140.

    Kappler, Charles J., comp. and ed. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. 7 vols. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.

    McKenney, Thomas L., and James Hall. History of the Indian Tribes of North America, with Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of the Principal Chiefs. . . . Philadelphia: E. C. Biddle, 1836–1844.

  5. Green, “Mesquakie (Fox) Separatism,” 133; Treaty, 11 Oct. 1842, in Kappler, Indian Affairs, 2:548.

    Green, Michael D. “‘We Dance in Opposite Directions’: Mesquakie (Fox) Separatism from the Sac and Fox Tribe.” Ethnohistory 30, no. 3 (Summer 1983): 129–140.

    Kappler, Charles J., comp. and ed. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. 7 vols. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.

  6. There are various spellings of this name, including Kish ku kash, Kishkekosh, and Kish-ku-Kosh. The spelling used in this introduction is that used by the Nauvoo Neighbor’s article describing the 23 May 1844 visit with the Sac and Fox. (“A Word from the Redman,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 29 May 1844, [2]; McKenney and Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 49–50; JS History, vol. C-1 Addenda, 10.)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    McKenney, Thomas L., and James Hall. History of the Indian Tribes of North America, with Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of the Principal Chiefs. . . . Philadelphia: E. C. Biddle, 1836–1844.

  7. JS History, vol. C-1 Addenda, 10–11.

  8. JS’s journal has two different names for Black Hawk’s brother. The 22 May entry has it as Kiskishkee, while the featured account of the 23 May meeting with the Sac and Fox uses Maquisis. (JS, Journal, 22 May 1844; Clayton, Journal, 22 May 1844; “A Word from the Redman,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 29 May 1844, [2].)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  9. Prucha, Sword of the Republic, 214; Green, “Mesquakie (Fox) Separatism,” 133. There is a reference critical of Keokuk in Willard Richards’s draft notes for this meeting, as well as a mention of Hardfish, the leader of the faction opposed to Keokuk. Richards, however, did not capture either of these references in the final entry in JS’s journal, represented here. (Willard Richards, Draft Notes of JS’s Activities, 1842, 1844.)

    Prucha, Francis Paul. The Sword of the Republic: The United States Army on the Frontier, 1783–1846. New York: Macmillan, 1968.

    Green, Michael D. “‘We Dance in Opposite Directions’: Mesquakie (Fox) Separatism from the Sac and Fox Tribe.” Ethnohistory 30, no. 3 (Summer 1983): 129–140.

  10. JS, Journal, 20–22 May 1844; Clayton, Journal, 21–22 May 1844.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  11. The Nauvoo Mansion’s kitchen was located on the ground floor of an addition made to the south wing of the building going east. (Mary Audentia Smith Anderson, “The Memoirs of President Joseph Smith,” Saints’ Herald, 22 Jan. 1935, 110.)

    Saints’ Herald. Independence, MO. 1860–.

  12. Around the end of August 1843, JS and his family had moved into the Nauvoo Mansion, which was located on the northeast corner of Water and Main streets. JS’s “old house” was located diagonally across the intersection on the southwest corner of Water and Main streets. The front of JS’s old home faced the nearby Mississippi River. (JS, Journal, 31 Aug. 1843.)

  13. JS, Journal, 23 May 1844; “A Word from the Redman,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 29 May 1844, [2]. The Nauvoo Neighbor described the war dance as “a specimen of the stage of the forest, . . . with paints, feathers, ribbonds, [and] war clubs.” At the dance’s conclusion, Kish ku kash reportedly said: “Whitemen! The weather is hot; we cannot dance so well, and we have done. You have witnessed us celebrate our bye gone battles, on this sacred land, with a smile of approval, and so has the great Spirit, in yonder sky, looked upon what we have done, with a smile of equal justification: for this is the sacred land, where our nation once worshipped him, and this is the good ground, where rests the dust and bones of our brave fathers, in peace Oohoo!”

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  14. Willard Richards, Draft Notes of JS’s Activities, 1842, 1844.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Account of Meeting, 23 May 1844
Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 4, 1 March–22 June 1844 Appendix 5, Document 4. Draft Notes, 1844 History Draft [1 January–21 June 1844] History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844] “History of Joseph Smith”

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1. P.M. held counsel council with the Indians— sac & fox &c in my back kitchen.
They told me (Joseph) “Your are a big chief, we are sons of <​2 as​> big men. <​and Priests​> as ever inhabited this land You preach a great deal so say great Spirit. you be as great & good as our fathers that will do. Our worship is differe[n]t. but we are good as any other men.—— before our nation were acquaintd with white men. th[e]y were as g[r]eat men as ever lived on th[e] —— now live on . 20 yrs ago. 6000 off us.— now. small nation. 3 towns.—— 2 men not over yesterday— they talk with big spirit we have had possession of this land.—— Neopope is one of our principle men.— we wish frie[n]dship with all men.— our cheefs done wrong in selling our Count[r]y.
Black hawks bro. maquisis— Sac nation worshippd on this piece of of ground.— when our fathe[r]s fir[s]t came here— this was inhabtd [inhabited] by sp[a]nish— spih [Spanish] drivn off fren[c]h came— and th[e]n English & America[n]s talk a great deal with the spirts big spirit.— we differnt colour. no differnc [difference] so we all good men. another said we have seen a great deal of pl[e]asure on these this grouds piece of Land. our fathers worshipped on this pi[e]ce of Land. English were very fri[en]dly. had good— we drove off a nation who was on the river— this is the best country our fathers had seen— Fathe[r]s of the 2 old men were preachers. wantd Joseph to be as [p. [128]]
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Account of Meeting, 23 May 1844
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Footnotes

  1. According to Lee Irwin, a scholar of religious studies, “The Fox-Sauk religious world was based on sacred powers, from the upper sky world and the below world, under the guidance and protection of the peaceful Great Manitou (or Great Spirit).” (Irwin, Coming Down from Above, 214.)

    Irwin, Lee. Coming Down from Above: Prophecy, Resistance, and Renewal in Native American Religions. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008.

  2. An 1836 treaty with the United States obliged the Sac and Fox to move to a reservation on the Des Moines River. By 1844 many of the Sac and Fox were living near the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers. (History of Lee County, Iowa, 160–161; Treaty, 28 Sept. 1836, in Kappler, Indian Affairs, 2:474–475; Treaty, 28 Sept. 1836, in Kappler, Indian Affairs, 2:476–478; Kurtz, “Economic and Political History of the Sauk and Mesquakie,” 35; Green, “Mesquakie (Fox) Separatism,” 135.)

    The History of Lee County, Iowa, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, &c., a Biographical Directory of Citizens. . . . Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1879.

    Kappler, Charles J., comp. and ed. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. 7 vols. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1904.

    Kurtz, Royce Delbert. “Economic and Political History of the Sauk and Mesquakie: 1780s–1845.” PhD diss., University of Iowa, 1986.

    Green, Michael D. “‘We Dance in Opposite Directions’: Mesquakie (Fox) Separatism from the Sac and Fox Tribe.” Ethnohistory 30, no. 3 (Summer 1983): 129–140.

  3. According to an article in Niles’ National Register, the combined population of the Sac and Fox in 1832 was around eight thousand. By fall 1841 a census reported that their combined population “amounted to just twenty-three hundred.” (“An Indian Treaty-Ground,” Niles’ National Register [Baltimore], 13 Nov. 1841, 169.)

    Niles’ National Register. Washington DC, 1837–1839; Baltimore, 1839–1848; Philadelphia, 1848–1849.

  4. The Indian agent for the Sac and Fox reported in September 1843 that around half of the Sac and part of the Fox were living near the Indian agency on the Des Moines River. The remaining Sac lived about eight miles from the agency and most of the Fox lived on the Skunk River, some fifteen miles from the agency. In July 1844 John C. Calhoun Jr. reported visiting four Sac and Fox villages in Iowa Territory. (Kurtz, “Economic and Political History of the Sauk and Mesquakie,” 35; Cannon, “John C. Calhoun, Jr., Meets the Prophet Joseph Smith,” 777–778.)

    Kurtz, Royce Delbert. “Economic and Political History of the Sauk and Mesquakie: 1780s–1845.” PhD diss., University of Iowa, 1986.

    Cannon, Brian Q. “John C. Calhoun, Jr., Meets the Prophet Joseph Smith Shortly before the Departure for Carthage.” BYU Studies 33, no. 4 (1993): 772–780.

  5. Neopope (also spelled Napope or Neapope) was a Sac civil chief and was previously Black Hawk’s “principal lieutenant.” (Jung, Black Hawk War of 1832, 74; Hagan, Sac and Fox Indians, 138.)

    Jung, Patrick J. The Black Hawk War of 1832. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.

    Hagan, William T. The Sac and Fox Indians. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1958.

  6. Spain, France, Britain, and the United States had all laid claim, in succession, to portions of the upper Mississippi River valley, where the Sac and Fox lived. (Jung, Black Hawk War of 1832, 13.)

    Jung, Patrick J. The Black Hawk War of 1832. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.

  7. The Sac and Fox often allied themselves with the British during the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. These tribes shared a common interest with the British in preventing the United States from expanding. Many Sac and Fox fought with the British against the United States in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. The Sac also frequented British posts in Canada, where they received gifts. In his autobiography, Black Hawk noted that while the Americans “made fair promises, but never fulfilled them . . . the British made but few—but we could always rely upon their word!” (Jung, Black Hawk War of 1832, 14, 27–28; Black Hawk, Life of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak or Black Hawk, 34, italics in original.)

    Jung, Patrick J. The Black Hawk War of 1832. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.

    Black Hawk. Life of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak or Black Hawk. . . . Edited by J. B. Patterson. Boston: J. B. Patterson, 1834.

  8. In his autobiography, Black Hawk reported that the Sac and Fox expelled the Kas-kas-kias from land on the Rock River. They were one of the bands of the Illini nation. (Black Hawk, Life of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak or Black Hawk, 19; Hagan, Sac and Fox Indians, 5; McKenney and Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 64.)

    Black Hawk. Life of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak or Black Hawk. . . . Edited by J. B. Patterson. Boston: J. B. Patterson, 1834.

    Hagan, William T. The Sac and Fox Indians. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1958.

    McKenney, Thomas L., and James Hall. History of the Indian Tribes of North America, with Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of the Principal Chiefs. . . . Philadelphia: E. C. Biddle, 1836–1844.

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