This picture of Quakers and Indians is a sketch by James Doyle Penrose which portrays an event at Easton Township in New York's Washington County. In it an Indian chief arrives at a Quaker Meeting where Friends sit in silence. There are no guns with them, nothing they could use for protection. The Indians have noted the quiet, and a little boy turns to gaze at the proud chief with feathered headgear. The account upon which the sketch was based indicates that the Indians were as taken by surprise as the Quakers. But soon the Indians recognize what is going on: in silence the settlers have approached the Great Spirit. According to the story, afterwards the Indians joined the Friends for a meal and when they departed, they placed a white feather on the meeting house: a symbol that these people were their friends. - David Sox, John Woman: Quintessential Quaker