The fact was that in this unsettled time the bond of Governmental authority was almost as lax among the whites as among the Indians, and the leaders on each side who wished for peace were hopelessly unable to restrain their fellows who did not.

Under such circumstances, the sword, or rather the tomahawk, was ultimately the only possible arbiter.
Treaties with Northwestern Indians.
The treaties entered into with the northwestern Indians failed for precisely the opposite reason.

The treaty at Hopewell promised so much to the Indians that the whites refused to abide by its terms.

In the councils on the Ohio the Americans promised no more than they could and did perform; but the Indians themselves broke the treaties at once, and in all probability never for a moment intended to keep them, merely signing from a greedy desire to get the goods they were given as an earnest.

They were especially anxious for spirits, for they far surpassed even the white borderers in their crazy thirst for strong drink.