Thunders Speak

Nine intimate portraits of notable Native Americans caught in the devastating clash between European and tribal cultures in the American West. Subjects of the biographies include: Shabni, the Paul Revere of Illinois. He Has Pawed Through was of mixed Ottawa and French parentage and fought for the British as an aid to Tecumseh during the War of 1812. Following Tecumseh’s death at the Battle of the Thames, Shabni swore off violence against his white neighbors and became known as a peace-keeper in the Old Northwest. Shabni’s nickname was earned during Black Hawk’s War for his daring ride across the Illinois frontier to warn white settlers of an impending attack by warriors of the hostile Sac tribe. Shabni’s actions were motivated by his desire to maintain peaceful relations between whites and Native Americans. Makesit. Big Foot is now a virtual unknown in the history of the Great Lakes region, a leader amongst the Potawatomi whose unfounded trust in the treaties offered by the United States cost him and his people their village overlooking beautiful Lake Geneva, now present-day William’s Bay, Wisconsin. Captain Billy Caldwell. The son of a Mohawk woman and an Irish soldier in the British Army, Billy Caldwell is a historically misunderstood figure whose true character has been ignored and forgotten in favor of folktales and anecdotes. Often painted as a “noble savage,” Billy was a failed entrepreneur and political opportunist reluctant to acknowledge his Native heritage until it could be used to his advantage in securing a job as an agent in the negotiation of the Treaty of Chicago with the Potawatomi tribe. This section was contributed by Dr. James A. Clifton. Brave Bear. This young Sioux will be forever remembered for his involvement in the notorious “Brave Bear Murder Case.” He was a killer, a thief, allegedly a procurer of women, and a prison escapee whose life ended at the end of a hangman’s rope. Was he a cold-blooded criminal or a man unable to adapt to the imposition of the white man’s law on the Lakota Sioux? Other chapters describe the following: Starr Wilkenson, the Idaho Giant of mixed Cherokee and African descent; Totuya, last of the Yosemites; White Cloud, the Winnebago prophet of disaster; and Wabansi, the Potawatomi warrior chief known as First Light. The text is enriched by excellent period photographs, extensive notes and a full-name plus subject index.