At Prairie du Chien, whither the two were
sent for trial, he had opportunities to escape, but he refused to
violate his word by taking advantage of them. Following their
trial, the redskins were condemned to be hanged. Unused to
captivity, however, Red Bird languished and soon died, while his
accomplice was pardoned by President Adams. In 1828 Fort
Winnebago was erected on the site of Red Bird's surrender.
The Winnebagoes now agreed to renounce forever their claims to
the lead mines. Furthermore, in the same year, the site of the
principal Sauk village and burying-ground, on Rock River, three
miles south of the present city of Rock Island, was sold by the
Government, and the Sauk and Foxes resident in the vicinity were
given notice to leave. Under the Sauk chieftain Keokuk most of
the dispossessed warriors withdrew peacefully beyond the
Mississippi, and two years later the tribal representatives
formally yielded all claims to lands east of that stream. Some
members of the tribe, however, established themselves on the high
bluff which has since been known as Black Hawk's Watch Tower and
defied the Government to remove them.
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