by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, 1793-1864.

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

Sparks had been captured at Wheeling by the Shawnees, had been brought up among them, and was present on the Scioto at Upper Chillicothe, when the murder of Logan's family occurred. He heard the story immediately after it occurred, from Logan himself. Sparks's narrative was related, in the presence of witnesses, at Fort Stoddart, Alabama, in November 1812, at a time when he had risen to the rank of a Lt. Col. in the U.S. army. It is as follows:

"Logan said that a part of Cresap's men, who had left Cresap without his orders, had attacked his house, killed and destroyed his family, and two Indian relations who were there, two young men of the Delawares; he knew Cresap's family, his father, and him; he knew that it was not Cresap's fault, but the mad young men who had left Cresap's camp, contrary to his orders, who had committed the depredations.

"He [Logan] was the white man's friend; never had a white man come to his house, but he gave him something to eat; never had he spilt the blood of a white man. They had begun war with him without provocation. From this time forward (raising his tomahawk), I declare war against all white people; and I expect that my warriors will revenge the blood of my family.

"Logan stayed a few days, raised a party, and went and fought at the mouth of Kenawha.

"As soon as Logan arrived at 'Plugge's Town' (now Upper Chillicothe), he called a council, and made the aforesaid speech. The young warriors immediately gave the war-whoop.

"In all the conversations which took place, Cresap was never blamed. It was understood universally by the Indians, and always mentioned by Logan, that it was a party who stole off from Cresap's army, headed by one Askew, [who was] either [an] ensign or lieutenant, that committed the murder.

"In all Logan's conversations with the Indians, previous to starting from 'Plugge's Town,' Logan uniformly adhered to the statement that it was not Cresap's fault; but that, as the whites had murdered his family, he would not make peace with white men while he lived, and hoped his warriors would do the same to revenge the death of his family.

"At the time of the murder, Cresap had been on a scout to Grave Creek and Wheeling, and was returning to Red Stone. (Col. Sparks had a brother with Cresap at the time.) On return from the scout, Cresap intentionally stopped a mile away from Logan's house, and did not camp closer because he was concerned that some of his men might disturb Logan. Cresap told his men that Logan lived nearby, that Logan had always been friendly to the white men, and that the men were not to disturb Logan. Those men who committed the murder slyly slipped off, two or three at a time, pretending to hunt for something to eat. Askew's brother had been killed by the Indians the spring before, and those that crept off sought revenge for this act.

"In a few minutes after the men had gone away, Cresap was about to start to go to Logan's himself, as Mrs. Logan spoke English, and he hoped to speak with her even if Logan was not at home. At that moment Cresap heard the firing, and immediately ran, with the balance of his company to save the lives of the Indians. On coming up, he found them killed, but none scalped. Most of the party had made off. They came after awhile to Cresap's camp, and pretended they had been hunting, except two, who had been caught at Logan's house by Cresap, while they were endeavoring to plunder it. Those men, Cresap confined, and brought to the old fort at Red Stone.

"It was the universal impression in and about 'Plugge's Town,' that Cresap was not at fault. On repeating the story to Richard Sparks' father, on his return to Red Stone, he (Cresap) was much distressed.

"At the time, Col. R. Sparks had been a prisoner among the Indians for several years; spoke their language; knew no other; was fourteen years old, and distinctly recollects every thing that occurred; had all the feelings of an Indian, and was equally impressed as the others with the circumstances of the time."

It is clearly shown in Sparks's narrative, that Captain Michael Cresap, whose name has been associated with this atrocious deed, did not condone it and was completely exonerated from the act. However, Cresap had been, by far, the most distinguished and capable actor in the early Indian conflicts on the Ohio River, in 1773 and 1774, up to this time. As a result, it was logical for Logan, if indeed he had, to assume that every enterprise or aggression against the Indians was headed by him. [In contrast to a person who would condone this act, Cresap is described as: "a humane and just, as well as a brave man; he was a zealous patriot in the opening scenes of the American war.... He had fought to repel aggressions upon the frontier, which came often, like the steps of the cougar, in silence and at midnight, and which, to all experience, rested on a wayward and unreliable sense of justice or wrong."]

See next entry: Logan, Part 7 -- Atrocities Escalate into War -- and End in Sorrow.

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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