(Painted May, 1846.) "The former residence of the Sacs was on the banks of the St. Lawrence, where they were driven by the Six Nations, with whom they carried on a long and bloody war. As they retired toward the west, they became embroiled with the Wyandots, and were driven farther and farther along the shores of the lakes, until they found a temporary resting-place at Green Bay. There they were joined by the Musquakees, (Foxes,) who, having been so reduced by war as to be unable to maintain themselves as a separate people, sought refuge among their kindred. They subsequently removed to Illinois on Rock River; where, surrounded by the choicest beauties of nature, it would seem that a taste for the picturesque, a sense of enjoyment of home and comfort, and an ardent love of country would have been implanted and fostered. But we find no such results--and the Sacs of Illinois presented the same character half a century ago which they now exhibit. They are savages as little ameliorated by place or circumstance as the Comanches--or other of the wild Prairie tribes. In early life he distinguished himself by killing a Sioux warrior with a spear, under circumstances which rendered the exploit conspicuous. . . . Keokuk is in all respects a magnificent savage. Bold, enterprising, and impulsive, he is also politic, and possesses an intimate knowledge of human nature. . . . " [Pp. 35-37.]
Portraits of North American Indians, with Sketches of Scenery, etc., painted by J.M. Stanley. Deposited with the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. December, 1852.
