Black Partridge

Black Partridge or Black Pheasant (Potawatomi: Mucketeypokee, Mucktypoke, Mka-da-puk-ke, Muccutay Penay, Makadebakii, Mkadébki) (fl. 1795–1816) was a 19th-century Peoria Lake Potawatomi chieftain. Although a participant in the Northwest Indian War and the War of 1812, he was a friend to early American settlers and an advocate for peaceful relations with the United States. He and his brother Waubonsie both attempted to protect settlers during the Battle of Fort Dearborn after they were unsuccessful in preventing the attack.

A memorial at the site of the massacre in present-day Chicago, Illinois once included a statue of Black Partridge preventing a tomahawk from hitting Margaret Helm, the wife of one of the defenders at Fort Dearborn. Black Partridge Woods, a state park in Cook County, Illinois, as well as Partridge Township in Woodford County, Illinois are also named in his honor.

Biography Black Partridge is first recorded during the Northwest Indian War as a war chief under Matchekewis at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. He was later awarded a silver medal, with an engraving of President George Washington, from General "Mad" Anthony Wayne at the signing of the Treaty of Greenville on August 3, 1795; another account claims the medal was presented to him by General William Henry Harrison at the Treaty of Fort Wayne on September 30, 1809, and had the engraving of President James Madison. 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, he and Gomo refused to ally with Shawnee chieftain Tecumseh when approached by him during the summer of 1810. Black Partridge said to Tecumseh,

During the ensuing Battle of Fort Dearborn, he and his brother Waubonsie 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, by holding her underwater under the appearance of drowning her in Lake Michigan. 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 at Kankakee. Delivering the ransom on behalf of U.S. Indian Agent Thomas Forsyth, he voluntarily offered his pony, rifle and a gold ring along with the original written order for $100 signed by General George Rogers Clark. Among those massacred at the village were his daughter and grandchild. Taking 200 warriors from nearby villages, as well as 100 from Shequenebec and another 100 from Mittitass, He was one of the 13 chieftains escorted by Colonel George Davenport 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.

In popular culture He is portrayed in several historical and dime novels including:

Myrtle Reed's The Shadow of Victory: A Romance of Fort Dearborn (1903) Randall Parrish'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)