Suddenly, Watchekee and her three children were homeless. They once had known security in their cabin in Bourbonnais Grove, located near the Kankakee River in Illinois. Watchekee was unaware that a "shapelin'" would complicate her life and that she would have to endure the 1837 Potawatomi Removal. Although the Removal was filled with many hardships and much misery, Watchekee viewed it as a means to find her father, Zaakenē (=Shabonee), who had gone west in 1836. During the Removal, Watchekee's life crossed with Noel LeVasseur, the man who had thrown her out. The birth of their baby while on the "Long Walk" from Chicago did little to reconcile their relationship. During the dangerous crossing of the flooded Chariton River in Missouri, Watchekee finally felt that her broken marriage could be repaired. Was she going to find certainty or once again face unhappiness when the Removal reached its destination?