Ohio History Journal

LOGAN AND THE LOGAN LEM *

BY DR. HOWARD JONES

I have been asked to tell you something about this

piece of land upon which we have assembled today and

what this meeting commemorates. This is easy and

yet difficult; easy because the subject is replete with in-

teresting history; difficult because the time allotted is

too short to treat the subject in a very comprehensive

or even an understandable manner.

It was in 1911 that I made the proposal to Mrs.

Wallace to purchase this site and give it to the State of

Ohio as a public park to memorialize the name and fame

of a great Indian and to protect the giant elm which

bears his name as long as it may live. For nearly one

hundred years this land was owned by some member

of the Boggs family. Major John Boggs obtained a

title for it in the year 1798, this being the date he came

here with his father, Captain John Boggs from Wheel-

ing, Virginia. John Boggs, Sr., moved to Wheeling

from Pennsylvania in 1771 and he was familiar with

the events of the Dunmore war. He knew personally

many of the men who were here and at Camp Charlotte

at the time of the treaty and John Boggs, Jr., received

from his father the historical facts which cling to this

day about this land and elm. Major John Boggs was

the father of James Boggs and he built the brick house,

which you can see across the field, in the year 1816 and

he died there in 1862. He told his son James of the

* An address delivered under the branches of the Logan Elm,

October 2, 1922.

(315)

316     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

events connected with his land, and James, who died in

1888, left to this generation the words of his grand-

father. Since 1798 the tree has been protected by some

member of the Boggs family. A fence was built around

it many years ago, and the pioneers as well as succeed-

ing generations called the tree "The Logan Elm."

After the death of James Boggs the land passed by

sale to Mrs. Wallace of Chillicothe, and later she sold

four and six-tenths acres now known as Logan Elm

Park, to Mrs. Howard Jones and myself, with the

understanding that the traditions of the spot be pre-

served by the final presentation of the land to the State

of Ohio. Miss Elizabeth Ruggles of Circleville furnished

the money for the purchase. It was mutually under-

stood that the land, the tree and the Boggs monument

were to be held in perpetuity by the State as a memorial

to Logan, the Mingo Chief, and his famous speech,

while at the same time preserving the elm as long as it

may live.

Mrs. Howard Jones and myself deeded the land ob-

tained from Mrs. Wallace and paid for by Miss Ruggles,

to the Ohio State Archaeological Society according to

arrangement. The deed transferring the land to the

State says in part: "It is understood between the parties

hereto that the said conveyance is for the purpose of

preserving the said real estate herein conveyed to the

State of Ohio and the citizens thereof as an historical

site, and it is mutually agreed between the parties hereto,

* * * if at any time hereafter the land should not be

so preserved or used for any other purpose than the

aforesaid, then the grantors shall have the right" * * *

to purchase it back at the sale price of $1.00 paid by the

State.

Logan and the Logan Elm         317

As one of the parties to the conveyance, and having

personally talked freely with the representatives of the

Archaeological Society at the time of the acceptance of

the land by said Society, I know there was no misunder-

standing or doubt for what historical purpose the land

was being preserved. Unfortunately the deed is not as

specific as it might have been, and yet it is specific

enough, because it is evident that the land was not given

to memorialize some person or some event never alluded

to by any of the parties to the transaction. Since ac-

cepting the land the State has done somewhat to im-

prove and beautify the place and also somewhat to mar

and divert the use to which it: was dedicated.

Undoubtedly there should be a monument to Corn-

stalk, the intelligent chief of the Shawnees, who lived

on Scippo creek a few hundred yards east of the Circle-

ville and Columbus pike. Also one to his sister, the

Grenadier Squaw, who controlled her tribe with ability

in the village on the opposite side of the creek. At Camp

Charlotte, where Lord Dunmore and his army camped,

there should also be a marker, for the treaty of peace

signed by him and the Indians is an historical event of

the first magnitude.

But this particular site upon which we stand should

memorialize none of these men or events. It was set

aside solely to the memory of Logan and his speech.

The efforts of interested citizens of Pickaway and Ross

counties have provided a suitable monument for this

park. A monument in granite and bronze, where the

cameo of the Logan Elm and a profile of Logan, to-

gether with his speech to Lord Dunmore will endure

for centuries to come.

History, like science, should consist of a record of

318     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

events and facts. Unfortunately, history is more human

than science and hence less dependable. The history of

the early days of this Ohio country we all know, as it

has been compiled by the white man. From these his-

tories we read that the white man had many virtues

and few vices. How different would be a history of

those early times if written by the Indian! The vocabu-

lary of the Indian was very limited. He never had a

written language. He was a speaker of power, using ges-

tures to emphasize his few but well chosen words. All

authorities agree he was a convincing and logical

speaker. I wish I had the time to repeat to you some of

the numerous speeches made by Indian Chiefs at the

treaty councils. I wish I were able to write the history

of the winning of this country from the viewpoint of an

Indian. I believe it might do the white man good to

read such an history. We have been educated since

childhood to believe that the Indian was a treacherous

SAVAGE spelled in red capitals. But let me tell you

and insist upon it, that the Indian of this Ohio country,

the Indian of the Pickaway Plains, was a very intel-

ligent human being. His virtues were those of his en-

vironment and his necessities. His crimes and vices were

those of the human race since history began to record

them to the present day at Herrin, Illinois. He knew

how to torture and finally sell the scalps to the gentle-

manly Englishman Hamilton, at Detroit. He knew how

to ambush his antagonists and he knew so well the mind

of the white men that he often cheated the wily Eng-

lishman, Frenchman and Virginian, some of whom were

undoubtedly familiar with all the tricks and sharp prac-

tices which sent them to Newgate. But granting all the

charges made against him by the white man, he has

Logan and the Logan Elm         319

been outdone in horrible deeds by the very races which

have written him into history as a cruel and deceitful

savage. The North American Indian was outclassed

for cruel punishments and sports by a long line of

Roman Emperors. The Caesars outdid him, and so did

the kings of merry old England when it came to tortur-

ing enemies, either personal or of State. Artaxerxes

and his spouse could have given the Indian many points

in the game and easily have beaten him for awful and

protracted tortures. The Indian of these plains was a

pigmy in cruelties compared to the Spaniard in Peru.

In fact, the cruelties of the inquisition and the horrors

of the religious crusades would have taxed the ingenuity

of the meanest Indian to despair. The mention of

Salem and witches will suggest the close relationship

between white man and red man. Perhaps the Indian

was right in always addressing the white man as "My

Brother." One hundred and fifty years have passed

since the torturing and burning at the stake, of Colonel

Crawford by the Indians. The practice of burning at

the stake is still in vogue by the white man. The Indian

has abandoned it.

The North American Indian in days past was no

more cruel than mankind the world over. During our

colonial and post revolutionary times he knew he was

between two fires and that his country and his life were

sought by the invaders. He saw 'his chief men kid-

napped by the white man and exhibited as curios before

the kings and queens of Europe. He saw his chief men

made drunk on board the sailing vessels of the invaders

and, with a few gilded gifts, enticed to part with their

country. He saw his chief men that he permitted to be

held as hostages for the faithful performance of con-

Vol. XXXII--21.

320     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

tract, foully murdered pending the performance of the

agreement, as in the case of the eminent Cornstalk who

lived near here on the banks of the Scippo. He saw the

Christianized Moravian Indians, always friendly to the

white settlers, butchered like a lot of chickens. They

were tomahawked and scalped in cold blood by the very

white settlers they were befriending. No more das-

tardly act can be named during the settling of this whole

United States. The Indian felt that from the first he

had been tricked and deceived and that the white man

wanted nothing but his home. And was he not right?

In all our histories, patriotism and deeds of valor in

war are lauded, but patriotism and valor in the Indian,

in an effort to save his country and his wigwam, are de-

rided. The British obtained this great tract of land by

an atrocious war from a party who did not inhabit it

and never had a clear title to it. The revolutionists took

it by arms from the British. There never was an honest

ownership of it by the white man, except that kind of

honesty that is made right by might.

My grandfather who came to this Scioto valley in

1798 used to tell me a story when I was a boy illustrat-

ing the fairness with which the white man treated the

Indian in all his dealings with him. He said: "A white

man and an Indian who were friends started hunting

with the agreement that upon their return to camp at

night they would divide the game equally. They each

had poor luck, the Indian killing only a turkey and the

white man only a crow. The white man said to the

Indian, "We have had bad luck but you have done better

than I have so I shall give you the first choice in the

divide. You take the crow and I will take the turkey,

or, I will take the turkey and you take the crow."

Logan and the Logan Elm         321

I may paraphrase some verses written about the time

of the events of which I have been speaking, taken from

Defoe's 'History of the Devil."

Bad as he was, the Indian may be abus'd,

Be fasely charg'd, and recklessly accus'd,

White men unwilling to be blam'd alone,

Shift off those crimes on him which are their own.

The Indians were naturally inclined to be friendly to

the white man and gave away much land to the white

man by persuasion and for gewgaws, but when these

milder methods of obtaining land failed, whiskey, rum,

tomahawk, musket and cannon were resorted to. It was

the Christian civilization of the white man that taught

the Indian to become a drunkard. It now comes with

poor grace for a would be maker of Colonial history to

point his finger with scorn at Logan and call him a

drunken old Indian reeking in human blood. By the

same measure what of George Rodgers Clark? You

read in your history no such degrading words about

him. No. He was a white man after this Ohio Coun-

try. Undoubtedly Clark was a hero, but what would

history say of him if it were written by an Indian of

the time?

Logan's speech to Dunmore, which you have en-

graved upon that imperishable monument, has been

called the "Outburst from a blood-stained savage, ex-

cited as well by the cruelties he had committed as by

liquor." John Gibson said under oath, the great Chief

was in tears when he spoke to him, and certainly his

words carry the anguish of his heart. Do not believe

for one second that the speech is that of a drunken In-

dian. Logan's speech is as well authenticated as any

322     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

piece of history of its time and character. It was sworn

to by John Gibson, the confidential interpreter of Lord

Dunmore and a man of upright character and sterling

honesty. You may believe what Logan said or not; the

Mingo Chief believed he was telling the truth when he

uttered it and he never took back what he said. It is

true he died an outcast and a drunkard some years after

the massacre of his family at Baker's bottom; but no

reproach should ever be cast upon his sobriety and

humanity by white lips. Even if his mind was influenced

by liquor, which I do not believe, when he defied the

treaty council and dictated his regrets to Lord Dun-

more, he but followed in the footsteps of many great

white men in every age of history. When you judge

Logan you must think of him as one who had been

robbed of his country and deprived of his family by

uncalled for assassinations; as one who saw extermina-

tion for his race or conformity to the dictates and cus-

toms of the Englishman.

Logan was born in the state of New York. His

family was a distinguished one among his tribe. When

a young man he moved to Pennsylvania where he was

well known by many of the prominent men of the day.

His friends and acquaintances liked and extolled him

and considered him a kind, intelligent, brave and honest

Indian and well disposed toward the white man. He

had forgiven the brutal treatment accorded his people

in the East in early days and so wrote to Colonel Cresap;

but he could not forgive the unprovoked murder of his

family at Baker's bottom. What Indian, what white

man could have forgiven it? It was so cold blooded in

its conception and carried out in such revolting detail

that even the hardened Indian fighters of the day has-

Logan and the Logan Elm         323

tened to disclaim complicity in it. But the time came

when his trained intelligence told him it was useless to

carry revenge further. It told him that the existence

of the red man in this wonderfully beautiful and fruit-

ful country was doomed. Accordingly, as he saw his

hunting ground taken from his race he raised no ob-

structive protest except by his absence from the treaty

council at Camp Charlotte. When he was sent for by

Lord Dunmore he dictated a message through tears of

anguish, a message from his very soul, which stands

unequalled in any language of any age.

Is this not sufficient reason for us assembled here

today to re-dedicate ourselves to the spirit of this great

man; to re-dedicate this tree and this monument to his

memory? And, let us hope, that each year through the

coming centuries there may be performed here some act

which will keep alive the memory of Logan, although

the tree may have gone to dust.

Nearly one hundred and fifty years have passed since

the events transpired upon this land which hurried along

the war of the Revolution. I may truthfully say the

first and last guns were fired on these plains. It is both

useful and desirable that we should frequently recall

these events and keep fresh in our minds the conditions

of that time. The Anglo-Saxon has finally displaced

the red man, as Logan and Cornstalk so plainly saw he

would. It is but another instance of the survival of the

fittest, with all the attendant murder, cruelties, treachery

and deceit. Let us not be too haughty in our victory

for it was not always nobly won. Let us be great enough

to be honest; let us be great enough to admit the weak-

nesses of human nature as they cropped out on each

Logan and the Logan Elm         325

side in the winning of this land of plenty. It is not

necessary to belittle and calumniate the red man in order

to emphasize our own exalted position. The Indian of

these plains was a man of many excellent qualities if

I read his history aright. He was treated in what was

to him an unusual manner by an invading race and it

is coming time when we should make public recognition

of his good qualities and write him in history as he

really was.

Think of this proud Indian Chief living alone at

Westfall, alone in this vast wilderness, separated from

his people because he no longer sought revenge. Yet he

was haughty and true to his Indian blood as he refused

the demand of Lord Dunmore to appear at once at

Camp Charlotte and with the other chiefs sign away the

rights of his tribe to their country. Consider what were

his sorrows as he saw slipping away from his people

forever the land of the Shawnees,

With its wonderful streams and beautiful trees,

With its flowers abloom and the wild perfume,

That floats like a bloom on the evening breeze.

Logan knew what had happened along the Atlantic

country for he had been forced to move from there. He

saw with his prophetic eye what would soon happen

here. The bison, the deer, the bear, the fur-bearing ani-

mals and other wild game would soon be gone and the

Indian would have nowhere to lay his head. I say put

yourself in the place of this man and you can easily

understand the emotions of his mind when he declined

the command of Lord Dunmore and sent him this

message:

326       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

SPEECH OF LOGAN

I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's

cabin hungry and he gave him not meat; if ever he came cold and

naked and he clothed him not. During the course of the last, long

and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate

for peace. Such was my love for the whites that my countrymen

pointed as they passed and said, "Logan is the friend of white

men." I had even thought to live with you but for the injuries

of one man. Colonel Cresap the last spring in cold blood and un-

provoked murdered all the relatives of Logan; not sparing even

his women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in

the veins of any living creature. This called on me for revenge.

I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted by

vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace. Yet

do not harbor the thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan

never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life.

Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one."

But nothing could turn back the white man.

In 1774 this message was copied by the press from

the official reports of Lord Dunmore. Thomas Jeffer-

son stated that he heard it at Lord Dunmore's quarters.

In 1781 Thomas Jefferson said: "I may challenge the

whole orations of Demosthenes and Cicero and of any

more eminent orator, if Europe has furnished any more

eminent, to produce a single passage superior to the

speech of Logan, a Mingo Chief, to Lord Dunmore.

President Roosevelt said of Logan's speech: "It is

one which will always retain a place as perhaps the

finest outburst of savage eloquence of which we have

any authentic record."

Mr. Alfred Lee, secretary to Governor Hayes and

a man of much learning and fairness, says of Logan's

speech: "Taken in connection with the circumstances,

which are said to have inspired it, this is one of the

most pathetic deliverences in all literature. In brevity,

simplicity and directness of appeal, as well as in the im-