In the summer of 1830, Black Hawk began his incursions into the disputed territory of Illinois, which eventually leading to the Black Hawk War. Black Hawk's frequent rival was Keokuk, a Sauk war chief held in high esteem by the U.S. government. Officials believed that he was calm and reasonable, willing to negotiate, unlike Black Hawk. Black Hawk despised Keokuk, and viewed him as cowardly and self-serving, at one point threatening to kill him for not defending Saukenuk. After the Black Hawk War, US officials designated Keokuk as the main Sauk leader and would only deal with him. Last days After his tour of the east, Black Hawk lived with the Sauk along the Iowa River and later the Des Moines River near Iowaville<ref>Andreas Atlas of Iowa", 1903, "Van Buren Co. Early History" and "Davis Co. Early History"</ref> in what is now southeast Iowa. At the end of his life, he tried to reconcile both with American settlers and with his Sauk rivals, including Keokuk. He spent some time in Burlington, Iowa in the home of businessman and legislator Jeremiah Smith, Jr. An attorney with whom he shared a room recalled, "I roomed with Black Hawk for weeks, and observed him carefully and under all circumstances. He was uniformly kind and polite, especially at the table; but often silent, abstracted and melancholy.... He presented the noble spectacle of a warrior chief, conquered and disgraced with his tribe by his conquerors; but, resigned to his fate and covered with the scars of many battles, in the spirit of true heroism, breaking bread with and enjoying the hospitality of his destroyers." In an 1838 address at Fort M. Madison in the year of his death, he said the following: Black Hawk died on October 3, 1838, after two weeks of illness. He was buried on the farm of his friend James Jordan, on the north bank of the Des Moines River in Davis County. In July 1839, his remains were stolen by James Turner, who prepared his skeleton for exhibition. Black Hawk's sons Nashashuk and Gamesett went to Governor Robert Lucas of Iowa Territory, who used his influence to bring the bones to security in his offices in Burlington. With the permission of Black Hawk's sons, the remains were held by the Burlington Geological and Historical Society. When the Society's building burned down in 1855, Black Hawk's remains were destroyed. An alternative