Biography of Chief Black Fish
Little is known about him, since he only appears in written historical records during the last three years of his life, primarily because of his interactions with the famous American frontiersmen Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton.
When the Shawnees were defeated by Virginia in Dunmore\'s War in 1774 , the resulting peace treaty made the Ohio River the boundary between western Virginia (what is now Kentucky and West Virginia) and American Indian lands in the Ohio Country. Although this treaty was agreed to by Shawnee leaders such as Cornstalk, Blackfish and a number of other leaders refused to acknowledge the loss of their traditional hunting grounds in Kentucky.
Violence along the border escalated with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775. As a result, the Chillicothe Shawnees moved their town on the Scioto River further west to the Little Miami River, near what is now Xenia, Ohio. Encouraged and supplied by British officials in Detroit, Blackfish and others launched raids against American settlers in Kentucky, hoping to drive them out of the region. In revenge for the murder of Cornstalk by American militiamen in November 1777, Blackfish set out on an unexpected winter raid in Kentucky, capturing American frontiersman Daniel Boone and a number of others on the Licking River on February 7, 1778. Boone, respected by the Shawnees for his extraordinary hunting skills, was taken back to Chillicothe and adopted into the tribe. The traditional tale is that Boone was adopted by Blackfish himself, although historian John Sugden suggests that Boone was probably adopted by another family.
Boone escaped in June 1778 when he learned that Blackfish was launching a siege of the Kentucky settlement of Boonesborough, which commenced in September of that year. The siege of Boonesborough was unsuccessful, and the Kentuckians, led by Colonel John Bowman, counterattacked Chillicothe the following spring. This raid was also unsuccessful, but Blackfish was shot in the leg, a wound which became infected and was eventually fatal.
Lineage
1. Chief Black Fish was born in 1725 and died on 12 Oct 1779 in Chillicothe, Shawnee Territory (Ohio), (United States) at age 54. Other names for Black were Chief Blackfish, Chiungulla \"Black Fish,\" Cot-ta-wa-ma-go, Mkah-day-way-may-qua, Chinugalla Blackfish, and Pah-e-a-ta-hea-se-ka Chinugalla.
2. William Jackson \"Captain\" Fish (Son ofBlack Fish Chief) was born about 1760 and died Late Oct 1833 about age 73. Other names for William were Paschal Fish Sr and William Jackson
3. Isaac Fish (Son ofWilliam Jackson \"Captain\", Grandson ofBlack FishChief) was born <1828>, died <26 aug=\"\" 1891=\"\"> in , United States at age 63, and was buried in , United States. Other names for Isaac were Isaac Jackson Fish and Isaac Jackson.This knife was purchased by my husband from an estate sale, in Oklahoma,that directly descended from Isaac Fish. Martha Fish Carson was the estate name who was the grand-daughter of Isaac Fish.In my opinion, given the circumstances, the knife is 100% authentic.
For sale is a very special piece of Native American history, it\'s an original Shawnee Indian dag knife from the family of Chief BlackFish. The blade is an old fur trade blade marked HB. Handle is ash with many silver inlaid pins. Blade is full tang and pinned together with brass pins. The wood shows an incredible patina. Blade has a layered patina on the surface. Excellent condition overall. My husband bought this at an estate sale in Vinita Oklahoma during the mid 1950\'s. This is an adjacent county to Nowata county where Isaac Fish is buried.The knife has been in my husband\'s collection for over 60 years. The knife is 12 1/2 inches long and the blade is 7 1/2 inches long. Heavy construction.I hate to sell this but my husband has long since passed away and I need to sell some of his collection to make ends meet. I just hope this goes to a good home, someone who will appreciate it. Good luck and God bless!