This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.
James M. Stroud was one of those men who have more ambition than ability. Their efforts at greatness have the opposite effect. But it could well be than in heaven, at last, James Stroud's deeds have gained him an important position.Here's how that might have happened. Stroud was a colonel in the Black Hawk War of 1832. It was a war in name only, hardly the place to become a hero. The Sauk war chief, Black Hawk, and his band of a thousand men, women, and children were fleeing up along the Rock River pursued by Illinois volunteers and federal troops. Black Hawk had violated a promise not to cross the Mississippi from Iowa and return to Illinois.
Several days up the river, Black Hawk realized how precarious his position was, and sent four of his soldiers under a white flag to negotiate a surrender. They met Colonel Stroud, who saw his chance. He shot the four Indians, prolonging the war by several months.
For this act, Colonel Stroud was roundly criticized by George Davenport, who lived on Rock Island as a fur trader and friend of the Sauk, and already a leading citizen in the area, who was about to have the new county seat of Rock Island County named in his honor. Stung by this criticism, Colonel Stroud, by now an Illinois legislator, convinced the legislators to name the new town Stephenson rather than Davenport. The two men remained enemies.
Then, on July 4th, 1845, George Davenport was murdered by robbers at his home on Rock Island. He was buried near the home. A few days later, several Sauk and Meskwaki Indians came to pay their respects. They erected a cedar pole over the grave as a head stone. The Indians informed the Great Spirit that George Davenport was their friend and asked the spirit to open the door to him.
The Indians called upon the Great Spirit to make their enemies serve as waiters to George Davenport in the afterlife.
That's why I'm convinced that James M. Stroud finally has an important position. If the Indians had any pull at all with the Great Spirit, George Davenport has one fine head waiter.
Rock Island Lines with Roald Tweet is underwritten by Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
