In his autobiography Black Hawk recalled that "Few, if any, events of note, transpired within my recollection, until about my fifteenth year." However, that changed when Black Hawk joined his father in a war party against the Osage Indians. Black Hawk described his first kill: "Fired with valor and ambition, I rushed furiously upon another [Osage], smote him to the earth with my tomahawk—run my lance through his body—took off his scalp, and returned in triumph to my father! He said nothing, but looked pleased. This was the first man I killed!" In the years that followed Black Hawk killed several other enemies, and led war parties of his own in battle against enemy groups.
When Black Hawk was nineteen years old, his father died in a battle against the Cherokee. As was the custom among his people, Black Hawk blackened his face with charcoal, put aside all his belongings, and went into a period of mourning (grieving for the dead). According to biographer Maggi Cunningham, "Black Hawk spent five years alone in the forest and on the plains seeking strength and guidance from the Great Spirit.... During that hard and lonely time, Black Hawk learned about the ancient laws of nature, healing powders and herbs, and signs from Mother Earth and Father Sky." When he returned to his people he was the keeper of the medicine bundle and during his twenties and thirties became a famed warrior and leader of his people.
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