St. Clair and Wayne 33 



tion everywhere who felt much sense of identity with 

 the frontiersmen, and sympathized with them. The 

 fathers or grandfathers of these peoples had them- 

 selves been frontiersmen, and they were still under 

 the influences of the traditions which told of a con- 

 stant march westward through the vast forests, and 

 a no less constant warfare with a hostile savagery. 

 Moreover, in many of the communities there were 

 people whose kinsmen or friends had gone to the 

 border; and the welfare of these adventurers was 

 a matter of more or less interest to those who had 

 stayed behind. Finally, and most important of all, 

 though the nation might be lukewarm originally, and 

 might wish to prevent the settlers from trespassing 

 on the Indian lands or entering into an Indian war, 

 yet when the war had become of real moment and 

 when victory was doubtful, the national power was 

 sure to be used in favor of the hard-pressed pio- 

 neers. At first the authorities at the national capi- 

 tal would blame the whites, and try to temporize 

 and make new treaties, or even threaten to drive 

 back the settlers with a strong hand; but when the 

 ravages of the Indians had become serious, when the 

 bloody details were sent to homes in every part of 

 the Union by letter after letter from the border, 

 when the little newspapers began to publish accounts 

 of the worst atrocities, when the county lieutenants 

 of the frontier counties were clamoring for help, 

 when the Congressmen from the frontier districts 

 were appealing to Congress, and the governors of 

 the States whose frontiers were molested were ap- 



