by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, 1793-1864.

See previous entry: Logan, Part 3 -- His Changing World.

The death of Chief Shikellamy, according to the Iroquois system of descent, did not mean that his son, Logan, would automatically become a chief. In the troublesome times that soon occurred, Shikellamy's family and children disappeared from notice. It is not until about seventeen years after his father's death, that Logan reappears, and he then comes to notice as an active hunter on the beautiful banks of the Juniata River -- a tributary of the Susquehannah on its western borders, and not very remote (for Indian life) from the site of his birth.

Logan emerges as a tall, active man, of noble appearance and humane sentiments, and as one who entertained a kind and peaceful character worthy of his father. The first encounter of the settlers with him was accidental. Juniata River bursts through a deep ravine in Jack's Mountain, and displays on its banks some of the most attractive scenery for which the region is celebrated. It had previously been settled by some daring pioneers who were, however, driven from their homes by the Indian wars, but who returned to them some time between the years 1765 and 1769.

In 1769, as two of these pioneers were admiring the beautiful locations in the valley, they saw a bear, and being armed with rifles, immediately gave chase and wounded it. While unsuccessfully pursuing the animal, and exhausted with the chase, they suddenly came to a crystal spring bursting from the side of a hill, and, in exhausted, threw themselves down beside it to drink. They had leaned their rifles against a tree. As one of them bent over the clear, mirror-like surface of the water for a drink, he saw the reflected shadow of a stately Indian, armed with a rifle. He sprang with instant energy to his feet, while the Indian yelled. The settler had no idea whether it was a sound of peace or war, and seized his rifle to face his foe. In an instant the Indian dashed open the pan of his gun, spilling out the powder, and at the same instant held his open hand, palm upwards, in token of friendship. The sign was recognized, and the two grasped hands in friendship. The Indian was Logan. Logan was then on his way to the west. Enjoying each others' company, the settlers accompanied Logan for a week, hunting and camping as Logan made his way over the Allegheny Mountains.

Logan's residence in the Juniata Valley had endeared him to its early inhabitants; and he is favorably remembered in the traditions of that valley, where there are many anecdotes related of his honorable dealing, just character, and kind and affectionate feelings. [Brantz Mayer's Discourse before the Maryland History Society, p. 28.]

During his residence in the Juniata Valley, there were several incidents that revealed his character and honesty. On one occasion he entered into a wager of shooting skills with a frontiersman, at a dollar a shot, at the locality of a noted spring in that valley which still bears his name. Logan lost four or five shots, which he acknowledged, however humiliating it may have been, with gracious composure. When the contest ended, and the white men were about to leave, Logan stepped into his lodge and immediately returned with as many deer-skins as he had lost shots. The victor (a Mr. M'Clay) declined taking them, stating that he and his companions had been Logan's guests, and that the match had been merely a trial of skill and nerve, and not undertaken for gain. "No," said Logan, with dignity, "I wagered to make you do your best in shooting. My word is true. Had you lost, I should have taken your dollars, but as I have lost, you shall take my skins." [A dollar a skin for undressed deer-skins was then the standing price.]

On another occasion, Logan came from his forest home to purchase some grain. He brought dressed buck-skins to a tailor, and took his pay in wheat. When the wheat was examined later by the miller who was to grind it, it was found to be adulterated by some mixture resembling wheat. Logan had obviously been defrauded. Logan complained to the magistrate of the district (a Mr. Brown). The magistrate determined that Logan had been "cheated," and the situation was promptly righted.

On another occasion, the young daughter of a Mrs. Brown attracted Logan's attention. The little girl was just beginning to walk, and he had overheard the mother express her regret that she could not afford a pair of shoes for her baby. Logan said nothing. But when he was ready to return to his wigwam, which was located nearby at a spring, Logan came and asked the mother to let him take the child with him. Confident in his known character, she consented, with mingled feelings of trust and anxiety. It was morning when this incident occurred, and the day wore away, with many yearnings in the mother's heart, at the long absence of her child. Just before sunset, Logan re-appeared, leading the little girl, exhibiting, on her tiny feet, a pair of beautifully crafted and decorated moccasins -- the triumph of forest-skills from Logan's own hands.

Logan made his camp-fire in the Ohio Valley, on the Mingo Bottom, near where the Big Beaver River enters the Ohio River about thirty miles above Wheeling. This was an old residence of his countrymen; and while living here, he married, and had children by a Shawnee woman. The Mingoes, or western Iroquois, along with the Delawares, then occupied the upper parts of the Ohio Valley. The Shawnees lived on the Scioto River, making Chillicothe their capital. This tribe maintained a deadly hostility against the encroaching frontiers of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky.

The Delawares had, it is believed, from early-European times, been in a state of vassalage to the Iroquois, and were ever ready to receive, entertain, and obey them. Between the Shawnees and Delawares there was an ancient and close relationship. Logan was a welcome guest among these tribes, but he thus placed himself in a position to have his friendship for the whites misunderstood. At the same time, by allying himself to the Shawnees by marriage, he was, in a manner, identified with that tribe.

The white man had a hostile attitude toward the Shawnees. They had been deadly enemies to the colonies. It was the double misfortune of the Delawares to be in union with the Shawnees, while, at the same time, they had the bad reputation (among the English colonies) of being friends and allies of the French. Essentially segregated, as Logan was from the main body of the Iroquois, and having taken refuge among the Shawnees and Delawares, he was constantly confronted with strangers -- both Indian and white settler -- who misunderstood his position of neutrality.

Furthermore, frontiersmen did not always make distinctions of tribe and lineage among different tribes whose general acts, manners, customs, and policy were the same. They often came in angry haste to avenge cruelties and wrongs done to them, and considered any "red skin" as the embodiment of all evil. Such was Logan's position in the beginning of 1774.

In 1772, three years after Logan had been encountered by settlers on the Juniata River, he visited the Rev. Mr. Heckewelder, at the Moravian mission on the Muskingum River. His father, Shikellamy, having been the steadfast friend of the United Brethren at Shamokin, the son was welcomed by Heckewelder. Logan impressed Heckewelder as being a man of high character and extraordinary capacity. Logan made some remarks that impressed the missionary of his reasoning power. He spoke against the use of ardent spirits [alcohol], and denoted a capacity for judging high-minded acts, as compared to the lowly and base acts that had been committed by some of the settlers.

Mr. Heckewelder visited Logan at the mouth of the Beaver River in 1773, and was well received by Logan's family. About this time, Mr. M'Clure, a missionary, visited the Ohio Valley, and saw and conversed with Logan. At that time, the missionary noted Logan's remarkable physical stature and personal appearance. He was "over six feet in height, straight, lithe, athletic, symmetrical in form, and of a firm mind, resolute, and commanding."

See next entry: Logan, Part 5 -- Tragedy, Violence, and the Famous Speech.

See the first entry in this series: Logan, Part 1 -- Table of Contents and Introduction: The Effects of a Great Speech.

This entry is adapted from Henry R. Schoolcraft's massive six-volume work, INDIAN TRIBES OF THE UNITED STATES...., which was published during the 1850s and 1860s. This entry has been reedited extensively for inclusion in the Pierian Press Fulltext eBooks database, and is included on the Stratton House Inn Web site by special permission. This entry is licensed for use ONLY on this Web site. It may not be copied or downloaded, but may be used for educational purposes and personal pleasure under fair-use provisions via this Web site. Please note that this Stratton House Inn iteration of this entry does NOT include the subject headings assigned each chapter for use in the Fulltext eBooks database.

DATABASE: Fulltext eBooks: Copyright (c) 1998 The Pierian Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved
ENTRY NUMBER: EBK30000841

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