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The Blackhawk War BY HENRY LITTLE, 1875
As he strode up and down that long line of ten or a dozen newly pledged soldiers, the very earth trembled beneath the majestic tread of his ponderous feet. He spoke great swelling words, like one having authority; hear him, — "Front face—close up on the left—no talking in the ranks—present arms. " At that juncture Isaac Barnes appeared in front of the battalion, and read a letter which purported to be from Dr. David E. Brown, of Prairie Ronde, which letter stated that the Indians in northwestern Illinois, or somewhere in that distant region had taken up the hatchet and were on the war path, murdering all the white inhabitants and devastating everything before them, and it was feared, at the time of that writing, that those savage monsters might be somewhere in or near Berrien county in this territory, and requested the said Barnes to collect all the able-bodied men on Gull Prairie, and to produce them with their arms, etc., without delay, at the general rendezvous at the big island on Big Prairie Ronde.
For the time being there was a general quietus in regard to sectional or sectarian discussions. It was then of no consequence whether neighbor so and so believed in original sin or not, nor whether he believed in the doctrine of predestination, nor whether he believed that Gull Prairie would always be a purely and exclusive Presbyterian settlement or not. The great and all absorbing question then before the house was what should be done; they wanted more light. • All were acquainted with Dr. Brown, and knew all about Prairie Ronde, and its big island, but they did not know how Dr. Brown obtained his information, nor by what authority he was then acting, nor how much ground there was for the fears which he expressed.
Michigan
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