by James Mcgoffin.

See previous entry: Logan, Part 8 -- Appendix: J. Martin's Account of Meeting James Magoffin and Discovering Col. Sparks Narrative on Logan.

5 November 1852
To: J. MARTIN, Esq., Clifton

DEAR SIR: It may be proper to give you some information regarding Col. Richard Sparks, from whom I received the statement, transmitted to you at your request, respecting the murder of the family of Logan, the distinguished Indian chief, by a party of men under the command of Col. Cresap.

Lieut. Col. Richard Sparks, of the army of the United States, was the commanding officer at Fort Stoddart, on the Tombigbee River, in 1810, then a river of the Mississippi Territory. This fort was a strong stockade, having some mounted cannons, and stood on a considerable bluff on the west side of the river, about ten miles above the line of demarcation between the United States and the territory of Spain, as established by Elliott.

Connected with the regiment of Col. Sparks were Lieut. Edmund P. Gaines, later the distinguished General E. P. Gaines; Reuben Chamberlain, 2nd lieutenant, afterwards distinguished at the defence of Fort Bowyer, under Capt. Lawrence; Capt. James Wilkinson, son of Gen. J. Wilkinson, and son-in-law of the Hon. Harry Toulmin, judge, etc.; Lieuts. Ware, Noah, Mathers, and others.

Col. Sparks resided at the cantonment with the regiment, about one mile west of the fort. This cantonment was built for the health of the troops, at which a number of respectable citizens had their residence, among others the Hon. Judge Toulmin. Lieut. E.P. Gaines had his residence at the fort, at which place a guard from the cantonment was renewed daily.

On my arrival at the fort, bringing with me letters of introduction from Gen. Andrew Jackson, Gen. John Sevier (the father-in-law of Col. Sparks), Gov. Blount of Tennessee, and Judges Emmerson and Hugh L. White of Knoxville, I was requested by the commanding officer to act as sutler to the troops, along with the late Col. B.S. Smoot, who had resigned his post of lieutenant in the regiment, and had received the appointment of sheriff. To the foregoing request was added a polite and friendly invitation from the colonel commanding to make a part of his family, which was thankfully accepted.

The future, highly respectable Gen. Theo. L. Toulmin, of Mobile, was then a youth, living with his father, Judge Toulmin.

Col. Richard Sparks had been in the army of the United States from a young man, and esteemed, as I was informed, in a military point of view: was illiterate, but possessed of a good share of intellectual powers; brave, cool, and determined on all occasions. He never attempted to read a volume of any kind, and with much difficulty made his signature. Mrs. Sparks, a most accomplished lady, was a daughter of the before-mentioned Gen. Sevier, of Tennessee, one of the greatly distinguished heroes of "King's Mountain."

I regularly read the papers to the colonel, penned his communications to the Secretary of War, and read to him those from the War Department. From my becoming a part of his family, the post held by the amiable lady [the role of secretary to Col. Sparks] was turned over to me as long as the colonel remained at the fort. Col. Sparks was respected by the officers around him, as also by citizens who intimately knew him, for a singularly tenacious memory. The common remark of "forgetting nothing" was daily applied to him by even the common soldiery. The extent to which he exhibited the peculiarities of the Indian character was a subject also of common remark, as also his partiality and knowledge of Indian customs and character. In the enjoyment of his "siesta" his favorite place was a buffalo robe or two on the floor; his most agreeable diet, bear-meat, venison, wild turkey, opossum, and so on.

Indian details were a favorite subject of conversation with him, and in which he indulged, especially when Judge Toulmin and Lieutenant Gaines were present, to whose society he was quite partial. Several times he stated the circumstances related to his capture by the Indians, when a child, near Wheeling, on the Ohio River; his being adopted by a chief; their family customs; the treatment he received from the family, who lived near "Plugge's Town," near which place the chief Logan lived. One evening, the Colonel dwelt on the great chief Logan's family, when Judge Toulmin caught the name, and some inquiries by him ended by ascertaining that it was the chief Logan whose speech Mr. Jefferson has handed down in his NOTES ON VIRGINIA. On making this discovery, the judge went into a train of inquiry that eventuated in a detail by the Colonel of the whole catastrophe of the murder of Logan's family by a party of Col. Cresap's force, and the subsequent conduct and speech, delivered at "Plugge's Town," by Logan. Lieutenant Gaines was present.

The judge, after hearing the colonel's detail, asked him if he had ever read Mr. Jefferson's NOTES ON VIRGINIA, to which the colonel replied he had never known any other writing by Mr. Jefferson other than the "Declaration of Independence."

On a subsequent evening, at Lieutenant Gaines's quarters, Colonel Sparks again got on the subject of Logan's speech.... After the colonel had retired, the judge proposed to me to endeavor on a favorable occasion to induce Colonel Sparks to permit me to take down in writing his statement as nearly in his own language as possible; to which Lieutenant Gaines added his request, and to which I assented.

A few days later, the colonel proposed to me to accompany him on a visit to a Dr. Chastang's, a few miles south of the cantonment. Returning, the colonel stated the pleasure it appeared to give Judge Toulmin to "hear Indian stories," "the interest he appeared to take in the Indian character," and so on. "Did you notice the other day how much he was affected by the account I gave him of the murder of Logan's family, and especially by the speech of Logan, made afterwards at Plugge's Town. I have always been astonished how those men of great education and learning can see in the talk of an Indian so much to interest them. I always felt more interested in the manner in which the warriors spoke than at what they said. My friend Gaines has a good deal of the feelings in this way of his father-in-law."

Why colonel (I replied), it is a fact, the judge and Lieutenant Gaines are warm admirers of the character of Logan that you have placed before them, and especially with his address after the murder of his family; and I will candidly say that they would be gratified to have your account of the transaction reduced to writing.

"Why, sir," said the colonel, "I have not the smallest objection to gratify those gentlemen, if you will take the trouble to take it down." I told the colonel I would take it down whenever it was convenient for him, whereupon he said: "Tomorrow evening I will state to you the whole occurrence, as far as my recollection serves me; and I will just say to you that if you ever become an Indian (giving an arch look) you will find that your recollection of occurrences at all interesting during the time will be better remembered through life than any other." The following evening the detail was put down from the lips of Colonel Sparks in the paper, a copy of which you have already. [See Logan, Part 6 -- Sparks's Narrative of Logan's Tragedy.]

A few evenings later, the colonel requested me to read to him the notes I had made; and, after attentively hearing them read, said: "At the time white men were present, who, the Indians said, came over the big water; but I never knew who they were or their business with the chiefs."

I gave a copy of the colonel's statement to Judge Toulmin, and not long after that I moved to St. Stephen's. Some years subsequent I met Judge Toulmin as a member of the Convention that formed the Constitution of this State (Alabama), who, in the presence of Governor Bibb, referred to the papers that passed between a distinguished member of the bar of Maryland, viz., Luther Martin, and Mr. Jefferson -- on the same subject, [and] at the same moment inquiring if I had preserved the account given by Colonel Sparks of the murder of Logan's family, as he had lost the copy I had given him. On my replying that I had it safe, he requested me to state to Governor Bibb, as near as I could, its contents. The last named gentleman warmly pressed me to give it publicity, the honorable judge adding his request. This I have intended to do every year since, but for a variety of causes delayed; but your friendly and forcible remarks and the writing of Mr. Meyer have caused me to do so....

JAMES MAGOFFIN.
Land Office, St. Stephen's, Ala.
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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