in in his seat, and when the council was opened, he arose and said,
"My father, you inquired yesterday, "who is Black Hawk? why does he sit
among the chiefs?" I will tell you who I am. I am a Sac, my father was a
Sac--I am a warrior and so was my father. Ask those young men, who have
followed me to battle, and they will tell you who Black Hawk is--provoke
our people to war, and you will learn who Black Hawk is." He then sat
down, and nothing more was said on the subject. The result of this
conference was, that Black Hawk refused to leave his village, and that
General Gaines informed him and his party, if they were not on the West
side of the Mississippi within a few days, he should be compelled to
remove them by force. The General anxious, if possible, to effect the
object without bloodshed, deemed it expedient to increase his forces,
that the Indians might be intimidated, and thus induced to submit; or,
in case of a resort to hostile measures, that he might be fully
prepared to act with efficiency. He accordingly called upon the Governor
of Illinois for some militia, to co-operate with the United States'
troops under his command. On the 25th of June, Governor Reynolds, and
General Joseph Duncan with 1600 mounted militiamen, principally
volunteers, reached Rock river. On the morning of the 26th, General
Gaines with his combined forces, took possession of the Sac village
without firing a gun or finding an Indian; the whole party, with their
wives and children, having crossed over the Mississippi the previous
night. On the following day they were found on the west bank of that
stream, encamped under the protection of a white flag.

On the 30th of June, General Gaines and Governor Reynolds signed a
treaty of capitulation and peace, with Black Hawk, Pa-she-pa-how,
Wee-sheat, Kah-ke-ka-mah, and other chiefs and head men of the British
band of Sac Indians, and their old allies of the Winnebago, Pottawatamie
and Kickapoo nations. The preamble to this treaty is worthy of
preservation. It is in these words.

"Whereas, the British Band of Sac Indians, have in violation of the
several treaties, entered into between the United States and the Sac and
Fox nations, in the year 1804, 1816 and 1825, continued to remain upon
and to cultivate the lands on Rock river, ceded to the United States by
said treaties, after the said lands had been sold by the United States,
to individual citizens of Illinois and other states: and whereas the
sa