Excerpt from O-Na-We-Quah: And Other Poems
This little collection of Poems, of obscure birth and humble parentage, has been printed in its present form, for their better preservation, and the gratification of personal friends, who have been so partial in their judgment, as to request it; and is not offered to the public either for sale or criticism. The Author therefore has no apology to make for their appearance or imperfections, and only hopes that they may answer the expectations of those, at whose suggestions they have been thus reproduced.
O-na-we-quaii, the principal Poem of the collection, is founded upon a Legend too familliar to Western readers to require a special notice - and which has been so often repeated, or alluded to, that it has lost its most charming feature, Novelty. It is simply this: - A Tribe of warlike Indians, known only in tradition, once occupied the central portion of the State which has received its name from memory of them, and were the original possessors of the soil. By the encroachment of other Tribes however, from the East and North, who were captivated by the more genial clime, and better hunting grounds of the Grand Prairie, with whom the Illinois became entangled in perpetual warfare - in the process of time, this once powerful Nation became reduced in numbers; and refusing to amalgamate with other Nations, as was customary with fragmentary Tribes, the stronger party determined upon their final extermination.
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