Ohio History Journal

THE McGUFFEY SOCIETY AT THE LOGAN ELM

The McGuffey Society of Columbus was organized

to perpetuate the memory of Dr. William H. McGuffey.

He was one of Ohio's greatest educators, but his place

in history and in the affections of thousands is fixed by

his famous series of Readers familiar to the present

and last two generations.  The officers of this Society

conceived the original and unique idea of a gathering

of its members and guests beneath the shadowing

boughs of the historic Logan Elm, near Circleville in

Pickaway County, and there with other exercises,

formally read the Indian Chief Logan's speech, one of

the striking features of McGuffey's Fourth Reader, of

the edition of 1853. This eloquent and tragic expres-

sion of savage oratory was made imperishable in Amer-

ican history by Thomas Jefferson's Notes on Virginia,

and its subsequent repetition in the McGuffey's school

books.  So on June 24th, there assembled three hun-

dred people to commemorate one of the most dramatic

incidents of American history.     From  Columbus,

Circleville, Chillicothe, and the surrounding country

came the visitors to hear the program of the occasion.

It was a faultless day, reminding one of Lowell's lines:

"And what is so rare as a day in June,

Then, if ever, come perfect days;

When Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,

And over it softly her warm ear lays."

The old Elm is still in the full vigor of robust age,

for it was ancient one hundred and forty-eight years

(355)

The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm      357

3. "Speech of Logan," reading by John R. Horst, of the

McGuffey Society, from McGuffey's Fourth Reader, Edition

of 1853.

4. Singing of Songs from the McGuffey Readers by mem-

bers of the Society.

5. Short talks by residents of vicinity.

6. Picnic dinner, followed by toasts and responses from

the McGuffey readers.

Mr. John F. Carlisle, the president of the McGuffey

Society, in an appropriate address explained the pur-

pose of the organization, and the object of the day's

celebration, after which he introduced Judge E. E.

Corn of Ironton, a member of the Society, to preside

over the program   as given.   The exercises were com-

menced with an historical address by Hon. Daniel J.

Ryan of Columbus, on

THE SCIOTO VALLEY

"Mr. Chairman, Members of the McGuffey Society, Ladies and

Gentlemen:

"I want to congratulate the McGuffey Society on its pur-

pose today, and to express my admiration of its vision in pre-

serving for this and coming generations the memory of the

labors and influence of the most eminent of Ohio's educators-

William H. McGuffey. If I were an orderly and obedient orator

I should here proceed to commence my address on 'The Scioto

Valley,' but I am loath to leave the subject of McGuffey and

his work. Do you know why? The men and women here of

the older generation know why; it is because the very name

recalls the tenderest and most charming recollections of our

lives. To us who are living in the afternoon, and who see the

lengthening shadows of the departing day, how full of meaning

are the words 'McGuffey's Readers!' They first came into my

life over fifty years ago, and the impression they made lasts to

this day. You know they were first published in 1836, and for

seventy-five years were in general use in the schools of the

West and South. They were more than a mere part of the

school curriculum. They were an American institution. Their

contents were not simply reading exercises, but they were a

potential incentive to love of country, integrity, industry, tem-

358       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

perance and politeness. Millions of men and women of this

and former generations can ascribe to them lasting lessons in

morals and patriotism. I know I received from their pages my

first appetite for literary study, for they contained the best, the

most attractive and the most permanent examples of the prose

and poetry of American and English literature.

"As my mind recurs to them today they bring up a flood

of youthful memories. Every lesson contained a moral or gave

valuable knowledge. The First Reader told of Peter Pindar

the story teller; of the dogs and monks of St. Bernard; of the

chimney sweep who stole a watch, but returned it and was re-

warded with an education by its owner. In the Second Reader

was the story of the boys who tied the grass to trip the milk-

maid but upset the messenger who was running for a doctor

for their father; there was the story of Washington and his

hatchet, as well as that of the seeds planted by his father so as

to make his name, by which his father proved to him the exist-

ence of God. When we reached the Third Reader we read

the 'Conflagration of the Amphitheater at Rome' by Croly; 'How

Big Was Alexander, Pa?' Woodworth's 'Old Oaken Bucket,'

Scott's 'Bonaparte Crossing the Alps,' and stories about Indians

and bears. Gradually leading the student to a higher class of

literature, the Fourth Reader gave us William Wirt's 'Descrip-

tion of the Blind Preacher'; Phillip's 'Character of Napoleon';

Bacon's 'Essay on Studies'; Nott's 'Sermon on the Death of

Alexander Hamilton'; Irving's 'Alhambra'; Rogers' 'Genevra';

Montgomery's 'Make Way for Liberty', and Addison's 'West-

minster Abbey.' I give these subjects to illustrate the general

character of the readers which advanced in style and excellence

as each grade was reached. Thus through these lessons the

pupils got the masterpieces of English literature and uncon-

sciously were impressed with moral ideals, beautiful language

and an incentive to pursue good living. I firmly believe that,

next to the Bible, no compilation of literature of its time has

had such a beneficent influence on the American youth.

"It was a happy combination of ideas that prompted the

blending of historic events in this celebration.  The great

educator's work is reviewed today; through him every Amer-

ican boy and girl for a full half century became familiar with

Logan and his speech. What is more practically sentimental

than to meet on this spot to freshen our recollections of both?

We are in a region where history was made, where from look-

ing through the misty past we can see the shadowy but heroic

characters of a time long ago. Let me review and tell you what

I mean.

360       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

"There is not in all Ohio an area more fraught with his-

toric interest than the Scioto Valley. For centuries it has been

the living place of divers races of men. Our knowledge of its

history goes back to the age of fables, to the dim past of the

Mound Builders, of whose existence we have a blended notion

of fact and fancy. We only know from their remains that they

lived. Our cognate knowledge of them is as unreliable as that

of the inhabitants of Mars. But we do know that this Scioto

Valley was populated by them, and was the seat of their cities,

camping places, fortifications and altars.. Attracted to this val-

ley by its magnificent soil, beautiful scenery, natural resources

both of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, they filled it in great

numbers until driven away or scattered by the more modern

American Indian. There is every reason for the conclusion that

they were of the same race as their successors. Beyond this all

else is conjecture or alluring speculation. They have left be-

hind them, however, a series of remains that are at once gigantic

in their construction and mysterious in their purpose.

"The Scioto Valley is a treasure house of the work of this

unknown people. Commencing at Portsmouth, at the mouth of

the Scioto and on each side of the river north to Columbus,

their works abound in great number, greater, indeed, than in

any other part of Ohio.

"It is not within my province today to enter into a discus-

sion of the details of the archaeological remains of the Scioto

Valley, but I cannot refrain from referring to these works, be-

cause they are a most fascinating feature of this territory.

Whether we examine the mounds at Portsmouth, or at Baum

Village on Paint Creek, or the Gartner Mound, six miles

north of Chillicothe, or any of the other more recent in-

vestigations, we are deeply impressed with the idea that they are

evidences of a former barbaric life, which adds interest to this

valley. Herein is to be found Serpent Mound, the huge earthen

bas-relief representing a serpent resting his curving folds upon

the summit of a bluff that rises one hundred feet above Brush

Creek in Adams County. The late E. O. Randall, who made a

special study of this subject of wonder, and doubtless of wor-

ship, thus describes it:

"'The Serpent, beginning with its tip end starts in a triple coil of the

tail on the most marked elevation of the ridge and extends along down

the lowering crest in beautiful folds, curving gracefully to left and right

and swerving deftly over a depression in the center of his path and wind-

ing in easy and natural convolutions down in the narrowing ledge with

head and neck stretched out serpent-like and pointed to the west; the head

is apparently turned upon its right side with the great mouth wide open,

the extremities of the jaws, the upper or northern one being the longer,

The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm              361

united by a concave bank immediately in front of which is a large oval or

egg-shaped hollow eighty-six feet long and thirty feet wide at its greatest

inside transverse, formed by the artificial embankment from two to three

feet high, and about twenty feet wide at its base. The head of the serpent

across the point of union of the jaws is thirty feet wide, the jaws and con-

necting crescent are five feet high. The entire length of the serpent, fol-

lowing the convolutions, is thirteen hundred and thirty-five feet. Its width

at the largest portion of the body is twenty feet. At the tail the width is

no more than three feet. Here the height is from three to four feet,

which increases towards the center of the body to a height of five or six

feet. Such is the size of the enormous earthen reptile as it has lain, bask-

ing in the suns or shivering in the snows of many centuries.'

"If this were the only remains of the Mound Builders in

the world, today it would make the Scioto Valley famous. Here

truly is a great mystery of that race. We know from ethnolog-

ical researches that man in his early days worshiped the trees,

the sun and the stars; we know, that as he advanced he wor-

shiped animal forms of nature, and we have gathered from

the remains of Egypt and other civilizations that the serpent

was to him always an object of mystery as well as fear. It has

been incorporated into Genesis, and finds a place in the folk

lore of all nations. It is evident that the Mound Builders had

some such religious belief, which they exhibited corporeally in

the great relic in Adams County.

"In the absence of any real knowledge concerning the lives

and existence of the Mound Builders, they do not come within

the scope of the study and investigations common to historians,

but I am referring to this subject because of its connection with

the Scioto Valley. Nor can I let the subject pass without referring

to the work in this valley of the Ohio Archaeological and Histori-

cal Society, of which ex-Governor Campbell is president. For

years the society through its curator, Mr. W. C. Mills, has been

persistent in bringing to light the hidden secrets of the mounds,

the hilltop forts, the lowland enclosures, and the village sites of

the Scioto Valley. The work of his able assistant, Mr. H. C.

Shetrone, has been evidenced by his scholarly writings on this

subject, the last of which 'The Culture Problem in Ohio Arch-

aeology,' published in the American Anthropologist for April-

June, 1920, reflects credit upon his spirit of research, careful

analysis and sound conclusion. The historical section, embrac-

ing the library, editorship of the Society's publications and the

secretarial duties, are in charge of Mr. C. B. Galbreath, former

State Librarian. He is a fitting successor to E. O. Randall,

bringing to his labors the accomplishments of a scholar and a

historian. If you would see the work of this Society, and the

result of the industrious and intelligent labors of its representa-

362       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

tives, you will find them in its building on the University Campus

at Columbus in the form of a well organized museum and library

which, by reason of their comprehensiveness and scientific ar-

rangement should be the pride of our state.

"The reason the Mound Builders have been thought a

mysterious race is owing to the fact that we have no access to

known facts concerning their existence, and this is due to the

reason that they occupied this territory before the advent of the

white man, and that therefore there were no witnesses to record

the facts and history of their existence. Therefore, the history

of the Scioto Valley commences with our knowledge of the In-

dian occupation.

"From time immemorial- that is, so far as the white man's

knowledge goes - the Scioto Valley was the favored ground of

the Shawnee Indians. They were famed for their bravery and

numbers, and occupied for perhaps centuries the land along the

Scioto river in their populous towns. Thus located between the

Miami tribes settled on the rivers of that name, and the Dela-

wares on the rivers of Eastern Ohio, they held sway over a

little empire of their own. At first their Long House, or capitol,

was situated on the west bank of the Scioto river at its con-

fluence with the Ohio, but they were driven by floods to locate

this council house directly opposite, in Kentucky. The Shawnees

were of Algonquin stock; the Iroquois called them Satanas; the

French called them Chaouanons; they were known to the Eng-

lish as Shawanos and Shawnees. They were ferocious, and in

the sixteen hundreds they were scattered all over the country.

When John Smith landed on the banks of the James, he was

met by the Shawnees; when LaSalle came into this country in

1669 they were on the upper Ohio. About 1680 the Five Nations

drove them to the Scioto Valley, and in this elysium of natural

bliss they wrested from bounteous nature all that the forest and

chase could yield. The very beauty and richness of the land

made them guard it with such jealous spirit that when Nathaniel

Massie entered it, it was a great and expansive territory of

danger and death to the white man. They were a restless crowd,

averse to the pursuits of agriculture and given entirely to war

and the chase. They were courageous, powerful and faithless.

They had a great idea of their own importance, and in their

egotism they gave themselves a prominence not only over other

tribes but also over the whites. Listen to what a Shawnee chief

said at a treaty convention held at Ft. Wayne in 1803:

"'The Master of Life,' said he, 'who was himself an Indian, made

the Shawnees before any other of the human race; and they sprang from

his brain; he gave them all the knowledge he himself possessed, and placed

The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm        363

them upon the great island, and all the other red people are descended

from the Shawnees. After he made the Shawnees he made the French

and English out of his breast, the Dutch out of his feet, and the Amer-

icans out of his hands. All these inferior races of men he made white

and placed them beyond the stinking lake.'

"The historian must concede that the estimate which the

Shawnees placed upon themselves was, in a large measure,

justified by the bold part they played in the Scioto Valley. Corn-

stalk, the chief leader of the Dunmore War, was a Shawnee.

He fought heroically at Point Pleasant and made a masterly

retreat to the Pickaway Plains to conclude a Treaty of Peace

near where we are now assembled. Logan, the hero of today,

was a Shawnee, and chief of the subordinate tribe of Mingoes.

Blue Jacket was another Shawnee warrior of dignity and

bravery, and was present at the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.

"When Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, both

Shawnees, commenced their hostile operations against the United

States, Black Hoof resisted all their conspiracies until finally

he was swept into the mighty conflict. The High Horn, gen-

erally known as Captain Logan, not the Mingo chief, was also

a Shawnee chief, who was always friendly with the whites, and

in the War of 1812 rendered substantial assistance to the Amer-

icans. The name of the Shawnees will be forever perpetuated

by the two greatest characters of that tribe, Tecumseh and the

Prophet. The latter led the Indians of the Northwest with great

ferocity against the Americans, only to be defeated by General

William Henry Harrison at Tippecanoe. His brother, Tecumseh,

likewise led his people against the Americans in the War of

1812 at the Battle of the Thames, where he met his death.

"This was the formidable inhabitant of the Scioto Valley

when the white man first penetrated its beautiful territory. The

men who first came to the Scioto Valley were a wandering set,

representing nothing but themselves, and few in number. They

were traders, they came to deal with the Indians, and were only

tolerated because they had something to arouse or allay either

the Indian appetite or curiosity. These traders, the lawless set,

came partly from Virginia, but mainly from Pennsylvania. In a

letter dated May 21, 1753, Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia,

wrote to Governor Hamilton of Pennsylvania: 'They appear to

me to be in general a set of abandoned wretches.' Hamilton's

idea of the traders was the same, for he replied to this letter

by saying: 'I concur with you in opinion that they are a very

licentious people.' Some of these traders located at the mouth

of the Scioto at what was known as Lower Shawneetown.

Others were at Old Chillicothe, not the present town, but where

364      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

subsequently Westfall was located, in what used to be known

as Darby Plains. It is proper to say, however, that there were

among this class some men of high character, who did much to

promote peace between the white men and the Indians, as well

as to give us a great amount of information concerning their

conditions of life. Among these may be mentioned Christopher

Gist, William Trent and George Crogan.

"Thus in the middle of the seventeenth century we find the

Scioto Valley in control of the Shawnee Indians, and a few

traders here and there located among them. Then came the

struggle between English and French as to sovereignty over the

great western country; to determine which should rule--the

Gaul or Saxon. These traders, worthless as they were, were

the innocent cause of the settlement of this question. They were

all English, and their presence soon came to the knowledge of

the French at Quebec. France claimed the territory in which

the English traders were planting the seeds of discontent among

the Indians, and who were, in an innocent way, representing

English sovereignty. At this time the Marquis de La Galis-

soniere ruled over Canada. He thought something must be done

to assert France's sovereignty, to drive back the intruders and

to protect French rights in the valley of Ohio. Therefore in

the summer of 1749 the Governor sent Celeron de Bienville to

take possession of the territory of the Ohio in the name of his

king. He did this in a distinctly dramatic and Latin way.

Traveling from Canada to the head of the Ohio, he proceeded

down the Ohio river and stopped at the mouth of each of the

rivers emptying into it; at all of these places, with the exception

of the Scioto, he distributed gifts among the Indians, buried

a leaden plate asserting the sovereignty of Louis XV, King of

France, and then proceeded to the next river mouth. He did

this at the mouth of Wheeling Creek and also at the Muskingum,

and at the mouth of the Great Kanawha. On the 22nd of

August he approached the mouth of the Scioto, which they called

St. Yotock or Sinyoto. Here they found a large Shawnee town

and met with resistance. When they came near the mouth of

the Scioto, the Indians swarmed to the shore. 'They fired,' says

Celeron; 'there were a thousand shots; for the English gave

them powder for nothing.' He was reluctantly received by the

Indians, who, he learned, had secretly planned to destroy him

and his followers. He notified them that he knew of the plot

and was ready to give battle. His stern attitude overawed them,

and they resorted to diplomacy and apologetic words which

scarcely concealed their hostile designs. There was, therefore,

one spot in his long meanderings that manifested a disposition

The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm       365

to refuse acknowledgment of the French king, and that was the

entrance to the Scioto Valley.

"The action of the French attracted the attention of the

English, and in September, 1750, Christopher Gist was sent out

into this territory 'to search out and discover lands.' Gist has

left behind a journal, very thorough and intelligent. He arrived

at the mouth of the Scioto river on Tuesday, January 29, 1751,

and here is what he says concerning this place: 'The land

about the mouth of the Sciodoe creek is rich, but broken; fine

bottoms up the river and creek. The Shanonah Town is situated

upon both sides of tht river Ohio just below the mouth of the

Sciodoe creek, and contains about three hundred men. There

are about 40 houses on the south side of the river and about

100 on the north side, with a kind of state house of about ninety

feet long, with sides covered with bark, in which they hold their

councils.' Gist was very successful in dealing with the Indians.

He remained here until the 12th of February, thoroughly ob-

served their lives, and gives in his journal interesting details

concerning their customs and habits. He says that notwithstand-

ing the Celeron expedition had ordered all traders to depart,

they were still there and English control was asserted with that

success which subsequent history records.

"For nearly half a century after this the Scioto valley re-

mained the happy hunting grounds of the Shawnees. The visits

of the white man were infrequent, and it was not until the

creation of the American Republic that it really became open to

settlement. For many years it was a part of the great domain

reserved by Virginia for the use and settlement of her loyal

sons that served in the War for Independence. Chillicothe, the

town that we know today, was the point that attracted emigra-

tion from Virginia. The influx of settlers commenced as soon

as the town was laid out, and even before the winter of 1796

it had a tavern and stores and shops and mechanics. The in-

fluence of civilized life soon began to prevail, and within a few

years it was a substantial town in full operation with a popula-

tion of one thousand. In the spring of 1798 there came to

Chillicothe from Berkeley County, Virginia, one whose life and

actions influenced the history of Ohio in a greater degree than

that of any other man. This was Edward Tiffin. He brought

with him  a flattering letter fom  George Washington, dated

January 4, 1798, and addressed to Governor St. Clair. From

his entrance into the valley there dates a new and potent in-

fluence in the history of Ohio. It would take too long to recite

it here. The conversion of a wilderness into a garden; the in-

vasion of the Virginians; the overthrow of the great Arthur St.

366       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Clair; the struggle for statehood; the victory of the people over

the political aristocracy; the framing of a constitution for a

people without their consent; were all events that form a back-

ground of a picture that has no parallel in American history,

and all these scenes were enacted in the Scioto Valley. The only

weapons were tongues and pens, but they were directed by men

who for brains and bravery were worthy of every honor and

respect that the people of Ohio can bestow upon them.

"A study of the history of the Scioto Valley from a political

standpoint forces one to the conclusion that the men who settled

it, and who were active in its affairs for half a century after,

exercised more influence upon Ohio than any other class of

immigrants in her history. I am fully aware of the intelligent

influence of the settlers of the Western Reserve, and desire to

give full credit to the patriotic pioneers of Marietta, but all

these men were passive settlers. They seemed to give their whole

attention to developing themselves and their own localities. But

the Virginians who came into the Scioto Valley in 1798 and the

years following, brought with them the principles of Jeffer-

sonian democracy which they were not content to conserve for

their own practice and advantage, but they insisted upon giving

these principles to the people at large. Marietta was naturally

conservative, and opposed to statehood. The Western Reserve

did the same thing. Indeed, they went so far as to claim, even

after Ohio was erected into a territory that their loyalty was not

to Ohio but to Connecticut, and many of their leaders insisted

that they should have a representative in the Connecticut Gen-

eral Court, and not in the Territorial General Assembly. That

Ohio took her place in the sisterhood of the states is due to the

influence and the power of the Virginians of the Scioto Valley;

that the common school system of Ohio was established is due

to the fertile brain and untiring efforts of Caleb Atwater, of

Circleville, who struggled for years to secure from the General

Assembly of Ohio the legislation necessary to establish our pres-

ent school system.

"I close as I began, with the statement that there is not in

all Ohio a territory more fraught with historic interest than this

valley. If we want to study its romance and mystery, we have

but to turn to the era of the Mound Builders; if we would know

its thrilling past we can find it in the history of the Shawnees;

or where can a lesson be found that appeals more to one's sense

of the great tragedies of history than the conflict between

France and Great Britain for this territory; and the climax of

human endeavor is reached when we think of the struggle and

The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm              367

accomplishments of the Americans who came here, and out of

a wilderness carved a commonwealth!"

Following this came the illuminative and interesting

address by former Governor James E. Campbell, Presi-

dent of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical

Society, entitled:

LOGAN AND THE LOGAN ELM

"Ladies and Gentlemen:

"Logan, whose Indian name was Tah-gah-jute, was the

chief of the small tribe of Indians known as the Mingos.* In

his early life, before he succumbed to the excessive use of the

fire-water of the palefaces, he was unusually handsome and

attractive. He stood well over six feet; had a dignified bearing,

a benign countenance and a fine disposition; and was especially

noted for his friendly relations with white people. In April,

1774, a party of white men, headed by Michael Cresap, started

out with the avowed intention of attacking Logan and his family.

On the way, however, Cresap, who felt that Logan was not

guilty of the offense for which they were about to punish him,

persuaded his command to return to their homes. A few days

* Robert Thackleton in his Book of Philadelphia says in regard to

"Stenton," the old colonial house just below Wayne Junction and its owner

James Logan:

"Stenton, a mansion put up about 1728 by James Logan, a scholar, a

philosopher, a man of affairs, the secretary of William Penn, and after-

wards personal representative of Penn himself and the Penn family, and

Chief Justice of the Colony. A very important man indeed was Logan,

and liked and trusted by all who knew him. He was a friend of Franklin."

Here follows a description of the house. He continues:

"A great chief came eastward from the Ohio country, Wingohocking,

and he visited here the powerful Logan, Secretary of the Colony and

known to be a friend of the Indians; and Logan and he, in Indian fashion,

exchanged names, that of Logan being given to the stripling son of Wingo-

hocking, and the name of Wingohocking being given to a little stream

near Stenton, with the idea that, as Logan expressed it, 'Long after we

have passed away it shall still flow and bear thy name.' The name is still

known in Germantown as that of the little stream and that of a railroad

station; and as to the stripling, henceforth known as Logan, he rose to

great fame in the region of the Ohio, as both statesman and warrior, and

a speech which he delivered at a council has been rated by no less an

authority than Thomas Jefferson, as among the great speeches of the

world."

[This note was received from Mrs. 0. D. Dryer. - ED.]

368       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

later another band of whites, led by a man named Greathouse,

cruelly massacred some Indians, men, women and children, near

the mouth of Yellow Creek at a point on the south bank of the

Ohio River opposite Logan's home. Only one person, a baby,

was spared in this treacherous attack. One of the murdered

women was the sister of Logan. He resented this outrage and

started out to obtain revenge. His whole nature was changed;

he became vicious and blood-thirsty and wreaked indiscriminate

vengeance upon the whites. It is said that he caused the death

of thirty whites. A letter from Arthur St. Clair (afterwards

the first Governor of the Northwest Territory) written on June

22 states that Logan had returned with one prisoner and thirteen

scalps. In July he saved the life of a white man named Robin-

son and, a few days after, brought Robinson a piece of paper.

He made a black fluid of water and gunpowder and commanded

Robinson to write a note upon the paper which read as follows:

"'Captain Cresap,

'What did you kill my people on Yellow Creek for? The white

people killed my kin at Conestoga, a great while ago, and I thought nothing

of that. But you killed my kin again on Yellow Creek, and took my cousin

prisoner. Then I thought I must kill too; and I have been three times to

war since; but the Indians are not angry, only myself.

'Captain John Logan.

'July 21st, 1774.'"

"Every member of the family of a white man, named John

Roberts, was cruelly assassinated soon after. A war club was

deposited in the house of this family, and the foregoing note

was attached to it. It was the first deliberate complaint made

by Logan against Michael Cresap. Michael Cresap had nothing

whatever to do with the massacre in which Logan's sister was

killed, but Logan believed him to be guilty and disseminated

that belief far and wide. So thoroughly was it inculcated among

the Indians that, when an Indian woman wished to quiet her

child, she threatentd it with Cresap.

"Six months after the Yellow Creek massacre Logan gave

utterance to his famous speech which will be referred to later in

this address. During these six months much had occurred

which it is necessary to know in order to understand the situa-

tion, and which will here be briefly recited. The Indian tribes

in Ohio and the western part of Pennsylvania and Virginia, at

the instigation of Cornstalk, an able, aggressive and valiant chief

of the Shawnees, had formed a great confederation for the pur-

pose of exterminating or driving out the white settlers. At that

time the Earl of Dunmore, a very arbitrary, stubborn and high-

handed ruler, had long been the royal Governor of the Colony

370       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

join him. Lewis, however, was on the track of Cornstalk and

intended to fight him. He was a true American, a noted and

experienced soldier and ready to fight either the Indians or the

British, or both, whenever it became necessary. He evaded the

order from Dunmore and fought Cornstalk at Point Pleasant.

Virginia. He won a great victory in the bloodiest, fiercest and

most important battle in the annals of Indian warfare. Randall

and Ryan in their History of Ohio, say that

"'The battle of Point Pleasant was the most extensive, the most bit-

terly contested, and fought with the most potent results of any Indian

battle in American history. At the time it occurred it aroused world-wide

interest. Not only English papers in the mother country but French and

German newspapers published extensive articles descriptive of the battle.'

"Colonel John Stuart, in his Historical Memoirs says: 'This

battle was, in fact, the beginning of the Revolutionary war.'

Theodore Roosevelt, in the Winning of the West, says of this

war that

"'It was of the greatest advantage to the American cause; for it kept

the northwestern Indians off our hands for the first two years of the

Revolutionary struggle.'

"Randall and Ryan also say most cogently:

"'The fate of the Northwest Territory was at stake in that battle

though no British soldier participated therein. Surely America has no

more historic soil than the ground of the Kanawha and Ohio point red-

dened that October day by the blood of savage warriors and frontier

woodsmen.'

"Immediately after the battle Lewis marched his army up

into the Scioto region against the desire of Dunmore who was

then engaged in an attempt to negotiate a treaty with the In-

dians. Logan was not present at the battle of Point Pleasant

but Michael Cresap was. Although Cresap was not a Virginian

but a citizen of Maryland, he was appointed a captain by Dun-

more who solicited him to serve with the Virginia troops be-

cause of his high reputation as a soldier. Soon after this battle

Cresap returned to his home, but the next spring he raised and

commanded the first company which was sent from the South

to join General Washington at Cambridge. He stood high in

the councils of Washington and was promoted to Colonel. He

died in the service, and his remains lie in Trinity churchyard

at New York amid those of many other revolutionary patriots.

Dunmore, soon after the battle, moved his army to Camp

Charlotte, a few miles from where we are now assembled. He

had already notified Lewis through two messengers; one was

the celebrated fighter, Simon Kenton, and the other was the

The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm             371

notorious Simon Girty who afterwards deserted to the Indians

and became the most detestable renegade known to the settle-

ments of this state. Dunmore succeeded in persuading Corn-

stalk and all of his associated chiefs, except Logan, to meet him

and enter into a treaty of peace. The treaty was taken back,

in Dunmore's saddlebags, to Williamsburg, then the capital of

Virginia; but the Revolutionary war was impending and Dun-

more was engaged in a controversy with the Virginia patriots

which ended in his expulsion from the country. In this turmoil

the treaty was mislaid.

"Dunmore had been very anxious to include Logan in the

signatories to the treaty and sent General Gibson to try to per-

suade him to appear at the council. Gibson was the reputed

father of the baby saved at the massacre of Yellow Creek, and

it was thought that he might be able to influence him. Logan

refused to attend the meeting and, in an explosion of grief and

anger, burst into tears and uttered the following piece of im-

passioned eloquence which has become so famous:

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

hungry and he gave him not meat; if he ever 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 the white man." I had even thought to have lived

with you but for injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, last spring, in cold

blood and unprovoked, murdered all relations of Logan, not even sparing

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

any living creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I

have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country I

rejoice at the beams of peace; but do not harbor a 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.'

"Logan spoke excellent English, and spoke it readily; and

Gibson declared that he committed Logan's exact language to

paper immediately thereafter; that he delivered it to Lord Dun-

more and that the copy published in Jefferson's Notes on Vir-

ginia was true and accurate. Archibald Loudon, in his Narra-

tives of Indians and Their Wars, says:

"'It was known to the camp where it was delivered; was given out

by Lord Dunmore and his officers; ran through the public papers of the

states; was rehearsed as an exercise at school; published in the papers

and periodical works of Europe, and all this a dozen years before it was

copied in the Notes on Virginia.

"These facts, however, did not deter Luther Martin, a son-

in-law of Michael Cresap, from charging that Jefferson forged

the speech in order to besmirch Cresap. This accusation was

372       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

made because Martin was a Federalist and Jefferson a Demo-

crat - such was the unparalleled malignity of partisan warfare

in that day. Luther Martin was the greatest lawyer of his time

and the only extenuation for his conduct is that he was not only

devoted to law but also to the spirits--the kind that, at the

present time, are under a cloud owing to the provisions of the

Volstead Law.

"Logan's speech contains many misstatements. Cresap did

not murder any of Logan's family. Nobody murdered his chil-

dren because he never had any. It was not true that none of

his blood ran in any living creature, for he met his death many

years after at the hands of his nephew. To the marvelous

eloquence of this utterance too much praise cannot be given.

Logan was an untutored savage, and yet this specimen of his

oratory has immortalized him. It has been the subject of the

highest commendation. 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 this speech of Logan, a Mingo

chief.'

"Roosevelt pronounced this speech to be one

"'Which will always retain its place as perhaps the finest outburst of

savage eloquence of which we have any authentic record.'

"Randall and Ryan's History quotes the following from the

pen of Alfred Lee:

"'Taken in connection with the circumstances which are said to have

inspired it, this is one of the most pathetic deliverances in all literature.

In brevity, simplicity and directness of appeal, as well as in the immortality

of its thought, it bears a striking resemblence to Abraham Lincoln's dedica-

tory address at Gettysburg.'

"The names of twenty white men who participated in Dun-

more's treaty appear upon the tablet here. Much credit is due

to Mr. Frank Tallmadge for his research in ascertaining so

many names at the time the tablet was erected.     Since then

Thwaits and Kellogg have published The Documentary History

of Dunmore's War and their labor has resulted in securing the

names of forty-one more who were present. The following is

an alphabetical list of entire sixty-one: Barret, Col. L.; Bonney,

Lewis; Bowman, Joseph; Brinton, Henry; Brinton, James;

Brown, Colman; Caldwell, John; Caldwell, William; Clark, Gen.

George R.; Cox, Lieut. Gabriel; Cox, George; Crawford, Col.

William; Cresap, Daniel, Jr.; Cresap, Capt. Michael; Cresap,

Lieut. J.; Cresap, Lieut. Michael, Jr.; Drennon, Jacob; Gibson,

The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm          373

Gen. John; Girty, Simon; Haggerty, Patrick; Hardin, John, Jr.;

Harrison, Lieut. John; Harrod, Capt. William; Heath, Lieut.

William; Hedges, Silas; Henshaw, Capt. William; Helm,

Leonard; Helphinstone, Capt. Peter; Hoagland, Henry; Hoff-

man, John; Johnson, Capt.; Kenton, Simon; Linn, William;

McNeill, Daniel; Mitchell, Captain; Moody, John; Morgan,

Daniel; Morris, William; Murphy, Capt.; Neaville, John; Nea-

ville, Joseph; Ogle, William; Parchment, Peter; Parsons, Capt.

James; Ravenscroft, Thomas; Rogers, David; Scott, Capt.

David; Stephenson, Capt. Hugh; Sullivan, James; Tomlinson,

Benjamin; Trabeu, Lieut. James; Vallandigham, George; Wells,

Samuel; Wetzel, John; Wetzel, Martin; Williams, Isaac; Wil-

liamson, Capt. David; Wilson, Col. Benjamin; Wilson, Capt.

John; Wood, Governor James; Zane, Ebenezer.

"This tree has been known for one hundred and fifty years

as 'The Logan Elm' and so it will be known until its decay. Let

us hope that unavoidable consummation may be long delayed.

It may be of interest to read here the following appropriate

tribute which was written by an unknown visitor upon the fly

leaf of the register kept in the little shelter house yonder, on

June 9, 1921.

"'The Logan Elm looked better, foliage greener and apparently in

better shape than it has been for years. Withstood the storm of June 3,

1921, when its limbs whipped the ground and when it seemed that every

minute it would go over, but nature did its work so well that I am more

confident than ever that it will, with continued care, remain in all its

splendor to greet future generations.

" 'And may it stand as a monument to those who through tireless

efforts and persistence have brought it from a wilderness to surroundings

of beauty where we, the masses may come to worship the Dean of the

forest.'

"A fitting conclusion for these remarks are the following

lines from Joyce Kilmer:

"'I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree;

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

374      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.'"

After the formal reading of Logan's Speech by

John R. Horst from McGuffey's Fourth Reader (edi-

tion of 1853), informal addresses were made by J. W.

Johnson of Circleville, editor of the Democrat and

Watchman, Professor C. C. Miller of Lancaster and

Mrs. Orson D. Dryer of Shepard, Ohio. Mrs. Dryer's

contribution to the day's celebration was extremely

valuable from an historical standpoint, and as the sole

representative present of the Colonial troops which ac-

companied Lord Dunmore's army, the story of her dis-

tinguished ancestor was full of historical information.

Mrs. Dryer has been, and is, among the women of

Columbus foremost in religious, civic, and patriotic

work of that city.   She has been active in the affairs

of the League of Women Voters, Young Women's

Christian Association, and is at present Vice-Regent

of the Columbus Chapter of the D. A. R., and President

of the Columbus Presbyterial Society.     Her address

follows:

"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: I am the great-

granddaughter of Colonel Benjamin Wilson, whose name is

graven on yonder bronze tablet, and who was aide-de-camp

to Lord Dunmore in his march to this place against Cornstalk,

the Shawnee. Colonel Wilson was a witness to all that this day

commemorates.

"In order that you may understand my relationship to him,

I will state that I am the daughter of Henrietta Wilson and Wil-

liam C. Maholm; Henrietta Wilson was the daughter of Daniel

Davisson Wilson, who was the son of Colonel Benjamin Wil-

son. Daniel Davisson Wilson, my grandfather, came to Ohio

when my mother was an infant, carrying her in front of him on

The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm        375

horseback. He located on land belonging to his father near

Newark, Ohio. Now a word as to Colonel Wilson's own an-

ccestors, and I will tell you of the part he played in the pioneer

life of this county.

"The Wilson family is traced through Ireland to Scotland,

and the early records show that the name was prominent in the

troublous times in Scotland, nearly two centuries ago. One of

the ancestors of Colonel Benjamin Wilson, named David, took

part in the Scotch Rebellion of 1715, and when it was put down,

he, with many other unfortunates, had to leave his native land,

and fled to the province of Ulster in Ireland. He had a son

William, born in Ireland in 1722, who came to America in 1736,

and after his arrival married Elizabeth Blackburn. Of that

marriage eleven children were born, Benjamin being the oldest,

who was born in Shenandoah County, Virginia, November 30,

1747, living in Virginia all his life. He is buried in Harrison

County, West Virginia, where he lived, and died at the age of

eighty years, on the 2nd of January, 1827. Benjamin Wilson

had the blessing of gentle and Christian parentage, and more

than a fair share of education for those early days. He evinced

strong traits of character, a progressive spirit and love of free-

dom, which left a lasting impression on the history of Virginia.

"He was a soldier of the Virginia militia, and as a captain

he attracted the attention of Lord Dunmore, who attached him

to his staff as aide-de-camp. He was present at the signing

of the treaty, and by reason of his confidential relationship to

his commander, necessarily participated in all the important

events of that occasion, including the reception of Logan's

speech by Lord Dunmore. While here Colonel Wilson took a

branch from this elm, out of which he made a cane, which has

been in possession of our family ever since. After the treaty

was signed, and peace was declared, the two armies, Lord Dun-

more's and Colonel Lewis's, left for home. Lord Dunmore's

troops under Colonel Wilson took the southern route, and on the

journey home a remarkable thing occurred. It will be remem-

bered that at this time the colonies, though not independent,

were tending towards revolution. The Continental Congress was

in session at Philadelphia at the time Colonel Wilson and his

little army of Americans arrived at Fort Gower on the Ohio

River at the mouth of the Hockhocking. This was the 5th of

November, 1774. The soldiers heard of what was going on in

the East. While they were under the command of Lord Dun-

more, a royal Governor, they were not afraid to let the country

know that neither a royal governor nor any one else could swerve

them from their duty as patriots and lovers of liberty. So they

376      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

held a meeting and passed resolutions declaring that while they

were loyal to the king, 'the love of liberty and attachment to the

real interests and just rights of America outweigh every other

consideration; we resolve that we will exert every power within

us for the defense of American liberty, not in any precipitate,

riotous or tumultuous manner, but when regularly called forth

by the unanimous voice of our countrymen.' This resolution

favoring American sovereignty was passed by Virginia militia-

men on Ohio soil nearly eighteen months before the Declaration

of Independence.

"In passing through the Tygart Valley, Colonel Wilson was

so attracted by the great beauty and resources of the section,

that he purchased of several settlers their 'tomahawk rights,'

there making a home between Beverly and Elkins on Wilson

Creek, and there built a fort and a large mill. The strong dam

of walnut logs is still standing, and the homestead has never

been out of the family, the well being still in use.

"Early in the Revolutionary War, Colonel Wilson was ap-

pointed to a captaincy in the Virginia forces, doing duty on

the frontier. On him officially rested the protection of all the

settlers, this being the marauding territory of the Indians, act-

ing under the English and French. The title of Colonel was

conferred upon him in 1781.

"At the age of twenty-three he married Ann Rudell, aged

sixteen, and was living on the Tygart Valley farm in the late

fall of 1777, when he received word that Indians had broken

into a settlement near the Wilson plantation and murdered a

family by the name of Connelly. He with thirty men hurried in

pursuit. Colonel Wilson owned a farm west of the river as

well as a farm east of the river on Wilson's Creek, where his

fort stood, four miles north of Beverly. At the time of the In-

dian raid his family were living in a cabin west of the river,

about two miles distant, temporarily, while the men were busy

gathering their corn crop. When he went up the river in pur-

suit of the Indians he left his wife and three children at the

cabin, with a slave named Rose, a Guinea negress, whom he

had bought. She was born in Africa and brought over in a slave

ship. The three children were Mary aged six, William B. aged

four and Stephen aged two.

"Late in the afternoon while Mrs. Wilson and Rose were

milking the cows, a young horse came dashing up from the range

with wild excitement. Mrs. Wilson cried to to Rose, 'There are

Indians near! The horse has seen them. That is the way he

acts when he sees Indians. Catch him quick, we must fly to the

fort or we will be massacred!' While Rose was catching the

The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm       377

horse Mrs. Wilson with wonderful coolness and presence of

mind, took one of her strong petticoats, tied both ends, put the

two older children in it, with their heads out, and threw the petti-

coat across the horse's back like a saddlebag. Then with the

baby in her arms she mounted the horse bareback and told Rose

to run for her life and cross the river on the foot log. She gave

the rein to the horse which was snorting and prancing as though

it could see or smell the Indians. The horse was apparently as

eager to escape as she was, and went at full speed toward the

fort. The river was past fording on account of rain and melt-

ing snow, but it was a matter of life and death, and she with

her precious burden did not halt, but plunged in and swam the

horse for the other side. When in mid-stream she discovered

the child on the up stream side, Mary, had struggled from the

sack and was bobbing up and down against the horse's side,

held there by the strong current. Mrs. Wilson caught her by

the clothes and brought her safe to shore. Then re-adjusting

the children in the bag, she rode with them to the fort. By this

time the alarm had been given, and several families had arrived.

The Indians plundered the settlement west of the river, and it

is probable that Mrs. Wilson and her children would have been

murdered in a few minutes had she not made her escape when

she did.

"A few minutes after Mrs. Wilson reached the fort, Rose

put in an appearance carrying a churn of cream on her head

and remarking, 'I did not mean that the Redskins should have

this cream.'

"Ten years later when she was not yet sixteen years old,

Mary Wilson, who so narrowly escaped both from the Indians

and drowning, became the wife of Colonel John Haymond, of

Harrison County, a noted Indian fighter as well as a prominent

business man, who served both in the Assembly and Senate of

Virginia. The marriage of John Haymond and Mary Wilson

was a notable event in the early social affairs of Randolph

County. The groom came from Clarksburg, accompanied by a

cavalcade of young people of both sexes. The first night out

from Clarksburg, there being no houses along the way, the com-

pany camped under a cliff of rocks a short distance east of where

Phillippi now stands.

"The first playground in America was deeded by Colonel

Wilson to the town of Beverly, Virginia (now West Virginia),

and the deed still stands on record in the court house. At one

time the town tried to get possession of this playground to build

the court house upon it, but found that if it was used for any

other purpose than a playground the property would revert to

378      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

the heirs of Colonel Wilson. A very interesting story is told by

the old settlers of how he procured this lot in the heart of

Beverly. A blacksmith shop stood upon this playground, and

when Colonel Wilson was passing one day he stopped to watch

some men pitching horseshoes. They urged him to join them, and

when he refused, the owner of the lot and blacksmith shop, who

was considered the champion horseshoe pitcher, said, if Colonel

Wilson could beat him at the game he would give him the lot.

Thereupon Colonel Wilson played and won. Being a surveyor,

he immediately 'stepped off' the lot, went to the court house and

deeded it to the town of Beverly, forever to be used for a play-

ground. The 'John Hart' Chapter D. A. R. will in time

beautify it.

"Upon the Declaration of Independence, Colonel Benjamin

Wilson became the military commander of the district west of

the Allegheny Mountains, and through him all the military and

civil business was transacted.

"At the first court held in Harrison County, by authority

of the Governor, in 1784, Benjamin Wilson was appointed county

clerk, which office he held for thirty years, and upon retiring he

was succeeded by his son John, who held the office for four-

teen years more. After his removal to his home in Harrison

County, he gave his attention not only to his office and the clear-

ing and developing of his large landed estate, but also engaged

in business transactions of various kinds. He established a

grist and a saw mill, that the people might grind the corn in-

stead of parching and crushing it between stones as formerly,

and sawed timber in place of hewing it with an axe. Then, in

order to use the raw material so abundant, he added to his other

mills a machine for carding wool, so that soon in the pioneer

homes spinning and weaving could be done. The long distance

from the seaboard rendered it very difficult to get cloth for wear-

ing apparel, etc. There was sore need for a factory to make

these goods. He sent to Scotland, the land of his kindred, and

secured Mr. Wiley, a practical factory weaver, and through him

purchased looms and other machinery for making cloth, which

was done at his mill on Simpson Creek, to which place the people

brought their wool where it was converted into cloth, colored,

stretched and ready to use.

"Realizing the need of higher education, Colonel Wilson

and his associates applied to the General Assembly for a charter

for the Randolph Academy, at Clarksburg, which was granted

in 1787. Eight years later the Academy doors were opened

under the auspices of Reverend George Towers, a Presbyterian

minister and graduate of Oxford, England, who was brought

The McGuffey Society at the Logan Elm       379

here by these gentlemen for this purpose. The opening address

was made by Colonel Wilson, which can be found in Colonel

Henry Haymond's History of Harrison County. He was re-

sponsible for Withers' Border Warfare, which was written upon

his solicitation. He went to Alexandria, Virginia, Mr. Withers'

home, and induced the author to undertake this important literary

work, which he did; it was written at Colonel Wilson's in Har-

rison County, where Mr. Withers spent two years.

"Colonel Wilson was not paid for his services in the federal

army, nor for having equipped his own regiment, but for serv-

ices rendered he received a grant of four thousand acres of land

in Licking County, Ohio.

"Attached to his log house he built a vaulted courtroom,

in which was held the first session of court in Harrison County,

he having been appointed justice of the peace by the Governor

of Virginia. At that time the justices of the peace were almost

the only political power. He represented Harrison, Monon-

gahela, and Randolph Counties in the Legislature for several

sessions, and he and his brother John were delegates in the con-

vention of Virginia which ratified the Constitution of the United

States.

"Colonel William Stansbury, an eminent lawyer and

jurist of Ohio, said, in speaking of Colonel Wilson, 'He was the

purest type of the old school Virginia gentlemen, handsome in

appearance, of cultivated speech and manner, and much like

Washington in bearing.' Nor was he unmindful of the claims

of religion. He maintained to the close of his life an irreproach-

able Christian character. He had been married twice, his second

wife being Phoebe Davisson. He had by the two marriages

twenty-eight children, of whom twenty-four were living at the

time of his death, and for all of whom he was enabled to make

a moderate provision. His posterity at the time of his death

besides his twenty-four children was seventy-three grandchil-

dren, thirty-two great-grandchildren and one great-great-grand-

child."

The day's exercises, which were in charge of a com-

mittee consisting of John R. Horst, Miss Bertha Peel-

ing and C. B. Shook, closed with the singing of

America.