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Show ELMO SCOTT WATSON Sauganash.White Man's Friend ONE of the districts in the forest preserve system of Cook county, Illinois, bears the name of Sauganash and that is virtually the only memorial to an Indian chieftain whom Chicago has good reason to remember with gratitude. Sauganash, or Billy Caldwell, Cald-well, was born in Canada in 1780, the son of an Irish officer in the British army and a woman of the Pottawatomie Pottawato-mie tribe, among whom he became a leader.. On the day of the Fort Dearborn massacre in 1S12, a little group of terror-stricken women was gathered in the home of John Kinzie, the trader, not knowing how soon their fate would be the same as that of members of the garrison who had marched to their deaths among the sand dunes along Lake Michigan that morning. Three friendly Pottawatomies, Black-Partridge, Black-Partridge, Wau-ban-see and Kee-po-tah, were on guard outside the door but a group of Pottawatomies from the Wabash river country, who had arrived too late for the massacre, had entered the house and their sullen countenances were a threat of trouble to come. Suddenly another party of Indians appeared and Black Partridge met the leader with the demand "Who are you?" "I am a Sauganash (Englishman)" (English-man)" was the reply and this told Black Partridge that his tribesman came as a friend. If he had replied "I am a Pottawatomie" it would have meant that he intended to stand by his Indian brethren no matter what they did. "Then hurry to the house," exclaimed ex-claimed Black Partridge, "Tour friend, Shawnee-aw-kee ('Silver Man' John Kinzie) is in danger and you alone can save him." So Sauganash entered the little house, threw down his weapons and greeted the lowering tribesmen : "How now, my friends! I was told enemies were here but I am glad to find only friends. Why have you blackened your faces? Is it that you mourn for friends you have lost in battle? Or is it that you are fasting? If so, ask our friend here and he will give you to eat. He is the Indian's friend and never yet refused them what they had need of." The savages were taken aback at Sauganash's cool daring and his reference refer-ence to Kinzie's friendship for the Indians In-dians made them ashamed to acknowledge ac-knowledge their real purpose. They hastily declared that they had come only to obtain from Kinzie some cloth in which to wrap their dead before burying them and as soon as this and some other presents were given them they filed silently out of the house. So the courage or diplomacy of the half-breed half-breed chieftain saved the massacre of the Kinzie family from being added to the horrors of Fort Dearborn that day. His Sacrifice Was in Vain RICHARD SOMERS was his name and he was a lieutenant undar Commodore Preble in the expedition against Tripoli in 1S04 one of those youthful officers whom that irascible old sea dog had characterized as a "d d parcel of schoolboys" when they reported for duty to him at Gibraltar. But without exception those schoolboys showed themselves to be men size fighters and finally when it seemed that the attempt to capture the city of Tripoli must fail, unless the large number of enemy vessels which lay at anchor in the harbor under the guns of the town could be destroyed, it was Somers who went to Preble with a daring scheme. His plan was to fit up as a fire ship the ketch. Intrepid, take it into the harbor and explode it among the Tripolitan fleet. To make this floating float-ing "infernal machine" a success It was necessary to pour a hundred barrels bar-rels of gunpowder Into her hold. Besides Be-sides this the Intrepid carried a large stock of splintered wood and about two hundred shells with prepared fuses to lay on her deck. Treble hesitated. hesi-tated. But Somers was insistent and finally final-ly Preble consented. On the night of September 4 Somers, accompanied by two officers and ten picked men, took the Intrepid into the harbor under the cover of darkness. Outside the remainder re-mainder of the fleet were watching intently in-tently the black shadow of the ketch as she crept In among the rocks. Slid denly one of them cried out "Look ! See the light!" For a bright spot, like a lantern, was seen to move across the Intrepld's deck. The next moment a roar shook the harbor and rocked the ships at their moorings. A red glare Illumined the sea and the Americans saw timbers and sails of the Intrepid rise up in the burning air for a moment mo-ment and then plunge hissing into the water. The cause of the explosion is still a mystery. Whether Somers blew the ship up too soon or whether the pow dor was accidentally ignited has never been learned. The next morning tliir teen blackened bodies floated ashore at Tripoli. Not the slightest damage bad been done to the Tripolitan ships or forts, so Somers' sacrifice bad been in vain P.nt in the records of the navy there is written afler Ins name and the names of he other twelve thif entry "Iiied. with honor, in the service September -I. ISO-t." (Cc) l!l:U Western Newsfciuor t'nlon. |