Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak; Or, Black Hawk, and Scenes in the West. a National Poem: in Six Cantos

New York: Published by the Author, 1849. Second Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 12mo, 299 pages, original embossed black cloth, extra-gilt spine, tips of spine worn, tight, minor foxing.

'Embracing an account of the life and exploits of this celebrated chieftain; the Black Hawk war; a legend of the Illinois Tribe of Indians, showing the manner in which they became extinct; a succinct description of the Wisconsin and Lake Superior Countries, and their rich minerals; the Massacre of Chicago, and other deeply interesting scenes in The West.' - Sabin 82462. Lathrop Harper noted it was the first work of verse by a Wisconsin writer. [Brinley 6896 Field 1001]. Handsome chromolithographed frontispiece portrait of Black Hawk, and of Gen. Zachary Taylor (not included in the 1848 edition). "This comprehensive treatise portrays things as they were in the early settlement of Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, when civilization first dawned upon the beautiful forests and prairies, and the cultivation of the beautiful soil commenced...." - Preface. Smith was a Milwaukee school teacher, and an historian of the Black Hawk War. He became a celebrity poet and moved to New York City after this poem became a nationwide bestseller.