nd had participated in a massacre. British arms
had been successful, and the close of the war found British prestige
very high.

The Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814, closed the war; and Article IX
of that treaty provided that the United States should make peace with
the Indian tribes and restore to them the "possessions, rights and
privileges" which they had enjoyed before hostilities.[33] President
Madison accordingly appointed William Clark, Ninian Edwards, and Auguste
Chouteau as commissioners to enter into treaties of peace with the
warring tribes of the upper Mississippi and the upper Missouri. Only
with extreme difficulty was word of the negotiations sent to the tribes.
The hostility of the Indians living about the mouth of the Rock River
made it necessary that the messenger proceed to Prairie du Chien
by way of the Missouri River, and then across country.[34]

Although treaties were concluded with those who did come to the council,
none were eager to negotiate. The Chippewas, Menominees, and Winnebagoes
even refused to send delegations; and the Sacs of Rock River not only
refused to attend, but also showed their contempt by continually
harassing the frontier settlements during the time of the
negotiations.[35] This opposition, the commissioners reported, was due
to the presence of an unusual number of British traders among the
Indians. The report closed with the opinion that "the exertion of the
military power of the Government will be necessary to secure the peace
and safety of this country."[36]

For some years it had been customary for the British authorities to send
presents to the Indians on the Mississippi, and Robert Dickson had
promised the natives that the practice would be continued. But with the
coming of peace this custom was not allowed by the Americans.
Accordingly, in June, 1815, word was sent to the river tribes, that all
who came to the British headquarters at Drummond Island in Lake Huron,
would be supplied. By June 19th of the next year four hundred Indians
had arrived at the post--mainly Sioux. To sympathetic ears they reported
that they feared that the Americans were planning their extinction, and
a confederation was being formed to resist the building of American
forts on the Indian lands. As late as 1825, of the four thousand
Indians in the habit of visiting Drummond Island, three thousand came
from the region west and southwest of Lake Huron--that is from American
territory.[37] Th