ley, acted entirely on the defensive, and no doubt checked the
raids of the Indians at that point. They seem to have been watching
him from the hilltops all the time, and any rashness on his part would
probably have brought disaster upon him. After his force had been
withdrawn, the Indians again attacked and burned Gnadenhutten.

The chain of forts, at first seventeen, afterwards increased to fifty,
built by the Assembly on the Pennsylvania frontier was a good plan so
far as it went, but it was merely defensive and by no means completely
defensive, since Indian raiding parties could pass between the forts.
They served chiefly as refuges for neighboring settlers. The colonial
troops or militia, after manning the fifty forts and sending their quota
to the operations against Canada by way of New England and New York,
were not numerous enough to attack the Indians. They could only act on
the defensive as Franklin's command had done. As for the rangers, as
the small bands of frontiersmen acting without any authority of either
governor or legislature were called, they were very efficient as
individuals but they accomplished very little because they acted at
widely isolated spots. What was needed was a well organized force which
could pursue the Indians on their own ground so far westward that the
settlers on the frontier would be safe. The only troops which could
do this were the British regulars with the assistance of the colonial
militia.

Two energetic efforts to end the war without aid from abroad were made,
however, one by the pacific Quakers and the other by the combatant
portion of the people. Both of these were successful so far as they
went, but had little effect on the general situation. In the summer
of 1756, the Quakers made a very earnest effort to persuade the two
principal Pennsylvania tribes, the Delawares and Shawanoes, to withdraw
from the French alliance and return to their old friends. These two
tribes possessed a knowledge of the country which enabled them greatly
to assist the French designs on Pennsylvania. Chiefs of these tribes
were brought under safe conducts to Philadelphia, where they were
entertained as equals in the Quaker homes. Such progress, indeed, was
made that by the end of July a treaty of peace was concluded at Easton
eliminating those two tribes from the war. This has sometimes been
sneered at as mere Quaker pacifism; but it was certainly successful in
lessening the numbers and effectiv