Main Poc - Early Years

Early Years

With the Treaty of Greenville (July 1795) peace returned east of the Mississippi River. In Spanish-controlled St. Louis, however, officials had urged the various Indian groups to wage war upon the Osage in 1793. The Potawatomi had been among those to accept the offer, but though incidents of violence did take place, the Lieutenant-Governor of Spanish Illinois summed up the lackluster efforts of his various allies by stating that they "merely pretend to make effective their promises, while even showing the willingness to make peace, in order to frighten us and to attract immense presents..." By the turn of the century the few notable, trans-Mississippi raids that did take place were attributed to only two particular Potawatomi leaders: Turkey Foot of the Tippecanoe and Main Poc of the Kankakee. White settlers in eastern Missouri and southern Illinois were particularly incensed by these forays as raiding parties often pilfered horses and livestock as well as killed a number of homesteaders and travelers .

By 1805, Main Poc had became the sole documented leader of such forays. In the autumn of that year, the United States brokered a treaty with the Osage, promising to protect them from such incursions. Less than a month later, Main Poc carried out his most audacious raid yet, capturing over sixty Osage prisoners. Responding to Osage pressure, the United States did its best to purchase and recover as many of the captives as possible, most of whom had been sold to the Sauk and Mesquakies along the Mississippi in northwestern Illinois. Following the raid, Main Poc's influence in the region greatly increased. Both village chiefs and U.S. officials alike courted him in an attempt to further their own political ends. Able to support his followers upon their largess, Main Poc refrained from raiding for almost five years.