noon
The turmoil and excitement over the Indian outbreak increased during the day . A constant stream of refugees , mostly old men , women and children , poured into Lafayette from regions west of the Wabash . By nightfall fully three hundred of them were being cared for by the people of the town , and more were coming . Shortly after noon a mounted scout rode in from Warren County with the word that the militia of his county was preparing to start off at once to meet the advancing hordes ; he brought in the report that farther north the frontier was being abandoned by the settlers and that massacres already had occurred . There was also a well-supported rumour that a portion of the Illinois militia , some two hundred and fifty men in all , had been routed on Hickory Creek by Black Hawk 's invincible warriors , with appalling losses to the whites . He bore a stirring message from his commanding officer , urging the men of Tippecanoe to rouse themselves and join Warren County troops in an immediate movement to repel or at least to check the Sacs and Miamis and Pottawattomies who were swarming over the prairies like locusts . The appearance of this messenger , worn and spent after his long ride , created a profound sensation .