General Clark, under date of St. Louis, 28 May, 1831, acknowledges the receipt of the above letter, and says, that he had already made every effort in his power, to get all the Indians who had ceded their lands to remove.
On the same day, 28th May, 1831, Governor Reynolds writes to General Gaines, then at St. Louis, that he had received information that Black Hawk and his band had invaded the state of Illinois; and that he had called out seven hundred troops to meet them. General Gaines, on the 29th of May, replies to his Excellency that he had ordered six companies of United States troops from Jefferson Barracks to Rock Island, and that they would be joined by four other companies from Prairie des Chiens, making in all ten companies; a force which he deemed sufficient to repel the invasion and give security to the frontier: That if the residue of the Sacs and Foxes, or other tribes should unite with the band of Black Hawk, he would call on his Excellency for some militia, but did not then deem it necessary.
On the 30th of May, the troops, accompanied by General Gaines, left Jefferson barracks, in a steam boat, for Fort Armstrong; and upon the 7th of June, the commanding general held a council on Rock island, at which Black Hawk and some of his braves were present. Keokuk, Wa-pel-lo and other chiefs from the west side of the Mississippi were also in attendance. When the council was opened, General Gaines rose and stated that the President was displeased with the refusal of the Sacs of Rock river, to go to the right bank of the Mississippi, that their great father wanted only that which was reasonable and right, and insisted that they should remove. Black Hawk replied, in substance, that the Sacs had never sold their lands and were determined to hold on to their village. General Gaines inquired, "who is Black Hawk? Is he a chief? By what right does he appear in council?"
No reply was made; Black Hawk arose, gathered his blanket around him, and stalked out of the council room. On the following morning he was again 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.