37 2 The Winning of the West 



III 

 LOGAN'S SPEECH 



There has been much controversy over the genu- 

 ineness of Logan's speech ; but those who have ques- 

 tioned it have done so with singularly little reason. 

 In fact its authenticity would never have been im- 

 pugned at all had it not (wrongly) blamed Cresap 

 with killing Logan's family. Cresap's defenders, 

 with curious folly, have in consequence thought it 

 necessary to show, not that Logan was mistaken, but 

 that he never delivered the speech at all. 



The truth seems to be that Cresap, without prov- 

 ocation, but after being incited to war by Conolly's 

 letter, murdered some peaceful Indians, among 

 whom there were certainly some friends and pos- 

 sibly some relations of Logan (see testimony of 

 Col. Ebenezer Zane, in Jefferson's Notes, and 

 "American Pioneer," I, 12; also Clark's letter in the 

 Jefferson Papers) ; but that he had no share in the 

 massacre of Logan's family at Yellow Creek by 

 Greathouse and his crew two or three days after- 

 ward. The two massacres occurring so near to- 

 gether, however, produced the impression not only 

 among the Indians but among many whites (as 

 shown in the body of this work), that Cresap had 

 been guilty of both; and this Logan undoubtedly 

 believed, as can be seen by the letter he wrote and 

 left tied to a war club in a murdered settler's house. 

 This was an injustice to Cresap; but it was a very 

 natural mistake on Logan's part. 



