Chapter 1 Blood on the Land

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FOR AL ZUCKERMAN

Friend, Mentor, Agent, Shaman of Letters

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Acknowledgments

I'm most grateful for the help given me by Paul Brickman, Julie Garriott, David Hickey, the Illinois Historical Society, Jim and Paula Pettorini, George Weinard, Timothy J. Wheeler, and the Wisconsin Historical Society. And a special word of thanks to my bonnie wife, Yvonne Shea, who, having a sharp eye for a fine old book, brought Thomas Ford's History of Illinois into our home.

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"Rock River was beautiful country. I loved my towns, my cornfields and the home of my people. I fought for them."

-Black Hawk

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BOOK 1