hopelessness of their position and sued for
peace.
At length, Lord Dunmore convened a con-
ference at Camp Charlotte, Ohio, in Novem-
ber 1774, to formally conclude hostilities.
Logan was among those cordially invited to
attend, but he flatly rejected any attempts at
conciliation. Instead, he relayed his feelings
to Indian agents John Gibson and Simon
Girty, who translated the speech for the En-
glish dignitaries. “I appeal to any white man to
say, if he ever entered Logan’s cabin hungry,
and he gave him meat not; if he ever came
cold and naked, and he clothed him not,” he
declared. “During the course of the last long
and bloody war Logan remained idle in his
cabin, an advocate of peace. Such was my
love for the whites, that my countrymen
pointed as they passed, and said ‘Logan is a
friend of white men.’ I have even thought to
have lived with you, but for the injuries of one
man [Daniel Greathouse], the last spring, in
cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the
relations of Logan, not even sparing my
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 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!”
In terms of impact and emotion, Logan’s
speech is considered one of the great solilo-
quies of Native American history. No less an
authority than Thomas Jefferson likened it to
the great orators of ancient Greece. “I may
challenge the whole orations of Demosthenes
and Cicero, and of any more eminent orator, if
Europe has furnished more eminent, to pro-
duce a single passage, superior to the speech
of Logan.” Logan’s newfound celebrity was
unexpected but of little consolation. Deeply
embittered, he continued his one-man war of
raiding settlements for several years, support-
ing the British throughout the American Rev-
olution. In 1778, he purportedly spared the
life of noted scout Simon Kenton, but his grief
also forced him to seek refuge in heavy drink-
ing. This, in turn, apparently exacerbated his
harshness, and he gained the reputation of an
abusive bully. Logan was apparently inebri-
ated while on a visit to Detroit in 1780 when
he was murdered by his nephew. The chief’s
passing went unmourned, as he eloquently
predicted, but many years later a statue was
erected in his memory at Fair Hill Cemetery
in Auburn, New York.See also
PontiacBibliography
Auth, Stephen F. The Ten Year’s War: Indian-White Re-
lations in Pennsylvania, 1755–1765.New York:
Garland, 1989; Beauchamp, W. M. “Shikellamy and
His Son, Logan.”American Scenic and Historic
Preservation Society, Annual Report (1916):
599–611; Ellis, Edward S.Logan, the Mingo: A Story
of the Frontier.New York: Dutton, 1902; Heinlein,
James H. Chief Logan: A Narrative Based Upon the
Melancholy Life of a Great Indian Who Tried to
Live with the Advance of the White Man’s Civiliza-
tion.Logan, OH: J. H. Heinlein, 1983; Hurt, R. Dou-
glas. The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old North-
west, 1720–1830.Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 1996; Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of
Virginia.Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 1955; O’Donnell, James H. “Logan’s Oration: A
Case Study in Ethnographic Authentication.” Quar-
terly Journal of Speech65 (1979): 150–156; Sawvel,
Franklin B.Logan the Mingo.Boston: R. G. Badger,
1921; Seeber, Edward D. “Critical Views on Logan’s
Speech.” Journal of American Folklore60 (1947):
130–146; Starkey, Armstrong. European and Native
American Warfare, 1675–1815.Norman: University
of Oklahoma Press, 1998; Wallace, Paul A. “Logan
the Mingo: A Problem of Identification.” Pennsylva-
nia Archaeologist32 (December 1962): 91–96.LOGAN, JAMES