Detroit was surrendered on the morning of August 16. On the same day and at the same hour Fort Dearborn at Chicago was being burned by an Indian war-party, after the members of its garrison had been massacred. Two weeks earlier Hull had sent an order to Captain Heald, commander of the fort, to evacuate it if practicable. The Indian runner reached Fort Dearborn on August 9 with this message and with the news of the fall of Fort Mackinac, the receipt of which had been the occasion of Hull’s decision in regard to Chicago. It had taken the Indian messenger a suspiciously long time to make the journey, and as Indians from a distance began to gather about the fort it was surmised that he had in some way learned the contents of the message, and in particular the clause which directed that Captain Heald deliver up to the Indians all the public property of the garrison, and had told the news along the way. Accounts differ as to what Captain Heald promised to the Indians. According to the story of Mr. Kinzie, a trader in the fort, Captain Heald held a council with them, at which he agreed to divide among them the public property at the fort on condition that they should furnish him with a friendly escort. Unfortunately the two things that the Indians most wanted were ammunition and liquor. These the white men considered it an act of madness to put into their hands, and under cover of night knocked in the heads of the barrels and poured the whiskey into the river, threw powder, bags of shot, and cartridges into the river, and breaking to pieces the muskets and pistols they could not take with them, dropped them into a well. An unknown writer, who was present at the time, distinctly states that Heald objected to this act and argued that it was a bad thing to lie to an Indian. The watchful Indians found out what had been done, and from that time on the older chiefs were unable to restrain the anger of their young men. So many Indians had gathered that the officers became convinced that the tribes had been notified by the messenger from Detroit as he made his trip of the distribution of gifts that was to take place. The supply of blankets, paints, calicoes, and trinkets that were given out did not satisfy the warriors.