12 Murder ofLogarCs Family. 



and in order to prevent being discovered by the whites, passed on 

 the west side of Wheehng Island, and landed at Pipe Creek, a small 

 stream that empties into the Ohio a few miles below Grave Creek, 

 where they were overtaken by Cresap, with a party of men from 

 Wheeling.* They took one Indian scalp, and had one white man 

 (Big Tarrener) badly wounded. They, I believe, carried him in a 

 litter from Wheeling to Redstone. I saw the party on their return 

 from their victorious campaign. The Indians had for some time be- 

 fore these events, thought themselves intruded upon by the ' Long 

 Knife,' as they at that time called the Virginians, and many of them 

 were for war. However, they called a council, in which Logan 

 acted a conspicuous part. He admitted their grounds of complaint, 

 but at the same time reminded them of some aggressions on the part 

 of the Indians, and that by a war they could but harass and distress 

 the frontier settlements for a short time ; that ' the Long Knife' 

 would come like the trees in the woods, and that ultimately they 

 should be driven from the good lands which they now possessed. 

 He therefore strongly recommended peace. To him they all 

 agreed; grounded the hatchet, and every thing wore a tranquil ap- 

 pearance; when behold, the fugitives arrived from Yellow Creek: 

 and reported that Logan's father, brother, and sister, were murdered ! 

 Three of the nearest and dearest relations of Logan, had been mas- 

 sacred by white men. The consequence was, that this same Logan, 

 who a ievf days before was so pacific, raised the hatchet, with a 

 declaration that he would not ground it until he had taken ten 

 for one; which I believe he completely fulfilled, by taking thirty 

 scalps and prisoners in the summer of 1774. The above has often 

 been related to me by several persons who were at the Indian towns 

 at the time of the council alluded to, and also when the remains 

 of the party came in from Yellow Creek. Thomas Nicholson 

 in particular, has told me the above and much more. Another 

 person (whose name I cannot recollect) informed me that he was 

 at the towns when the Yellow Creek Indians came in, and that 

 there was great lamentation by all the Indians of that place. 



* Cresap did not live at.Wheeling, but happened to be there at that time with a 

 party of naen, who had, with himself, just returned from an exploring expedition 

 down the Ohio, for the purpose of selecting and appropriating lands (called in the 

 West, locating lands) along the river in choice situations ; a practice at that early- 

 day very common, when Virginia claimed both sides of the stream, including what 

 is now the State of Ohio. 



