By June 23, 1813, he had already sent eight hundred Indians to Detroit and had collected six hundred at Mackinac.[28] The summer of 1813 was spent in operations about Detroit, but in the winter he was again active in the West.[29] Great alarm was felt at St. Louis when rumors came telling of the great force he was collecting.[30] Accordingly, late in the spring of 1814, Governor William Clark of Missouri Territory proceeded up the Mississippi and at Prairie du Chien built a stockade named Fort Shelby. It was garrisoned by about sixty men.[31] News of this movement soon came to Mackinac, and prompted the British commandant to prepare a counter-expedition. On the seventeenth of July the force composed of five hundred and fifty men, of whom four hundred were Indians, arrived outside the post. Immediately a summons to surrender was sent. The American commander at first refused, but two days later agreed to capitulate providing the Indians would be kept in check. The surrender took place on July 20th, and the captor christened the stockade Fort McKay in honor of himself.[32] Thus, the Indians about the Mississippi had been present at the surrender of two posts and 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]