The War in the Northwest 201 



protected them against the violence of the borderers, 

 and had written repeated and urgent letters to Con- 

 gress and to his superior officers, asking that some 

 steps might be taken to protect the friendly Christ- 

 ian Indians. 12 In the general weakness and ex- 

 haustion, however, nothing was done ; and as neither 

 the State nor Federal governments took any steps to 

 protect them, and as their missionaries refused to 

 learn wisdom, it was evident that the days of the 

 Moravians were numbered. The failure of the 

 government to protect them was perhaps inevitable, 

 but was certainly discreditable. 



The very day after Gibson sent the Christian 

 Indians back to their homes, several murders were 

 committed near Pittsburg, and many of the fron- 

 tiersmen insisted that they were done with the good 

 will or connivance of the Moravians. The settle- 

 ments had suffered greatly all summer long, and 

 the people clamored savagely against all the Indians, 

 blaming both Gibson and Williamson for not having 

 killed or kept captive their prisoners. The ruffianly 

 and vicious of course clamored louder than any; 

 the mass of people who are always led by others, 

 chimed in, in a somewhat lower key ; and many good 

 men were silent for the reasons given already. In 

 a frontier democracy, military and civil officers are 

 directly dependent upon popular approval, not only 

 for their offices, but for what they are able to ac- 

 complish while filling them. They are therefore 

 generally extremely sensitive to either praise or 



18 Haldimand MSS. Jan. 22, 1780 (intercepted letters). 



