“ charge, designed for this period--By a Letter of yours to our friend Mr Page your mode of resisting it, is known to me. Let me do my duty, by notifying to you, the existence of a document, w ^ch. in my estimate, will be greatly serviceable.

"S ^t. George Tucker is here attend ^g in his official character, as Judge of this District: Conversing with him, he authorises me, to communicate to you, that he thinks he possesses a paper Contemporary with the facts alluded to, w ^ch details them, as your Virginia notes do: if he should have it not, his recollection of having read such detail, in such paper, within a short time, is thoroughly vivid--If the possession of such paper or his Certificate can be beneficial to you, at your notification thereof, he will transmit them or either of them to you. It is unnecessary for me to add, that my services are at your disposal.

"In the above conduct my motives cannot be scanned. I am determined to devote my life to the cause of equality, Justice & mankind & thus my duty is, that the votaries of such principles should always be enabled to shield their characters & exhibit their genuine features.”

Jefferson replied on May 9: “ I am much obliged by your friendly letter of the 4 ^th. inst. as soon as I saw the first of m ( ^~ r) Martin’s letters, I turned to the newspapers of the day & found Logan’s speech as translated by a common Indian interpreter. the version I had used had been made by Gen ^l. Gibson. finding from m ( ^~ r) Martin’s stile that his object was not merely truth, but to gratify party passions, I never read another of his letters. I determined to do my duty by searching into the truth & publishing it to the world, whatever it should be. this I shall do at a proper season. I am much indebted to many persons who without any acquaintance with me have voluntarily sent me information on the subject . . . ”

Between 1798 and 1800 Jefferson collected through various friends the depositions he subsequently printed in the Appendix to the Notes on Virginia.

Amongst the deponents was Judge Harry Innes of Danville, Kentucky, with whom Jefferson had considerable correspondence on the subject.

On March 2, 1799, Judge Innes wrote from Kentucky (Near Frankfort) to Jefferson: “The other day being in the county of Shelby I was shewn a letter from Doctor Sam ^l. Brown of Lexington to Doctor Knight, requesting information respecting the murder of some Indians at Yellow Creek on the Ohio in the Spring of 1774, supposed to have been committed by Col ^o. Cresap which caused the Indian War of that year. Doctor Brown in his letter stated that he wished to collect facts respecting the murder & the Speech of Logan as written in your Notes of Virginia, to transmit them to you in order to justify your charge against Cresap, as you had been caled upon so to do by Luther Martin Esq ^r. of Maryland.

"My respect for both your public & private character induced me to make some enquiry into the circumstances (of the person in whose hands I saw the letter) relative to the above facts, the result of which appears to be this; That about the month of April 1774 from eight to twelve Indians, men, women & children were kiled at the mouth of Yellow creek at the house of one Joshua Baker who kept a Tavern at that place; the women & children were in the house, their shreiks & cries reached the ears of some Indian men on the opposite shore of the Ohio who came over in canoes, the men were kiled as soon as they had landed; this murder was committed by a certain Daniel Greathouse & others, in the perpetration of which Cresap had no part, neither was he present.

"About the same time Col ^o. Cresap with fourteen or fifteen men were asscending the Ohio & fell in with three Indian men between Wheeling & Buffaloe creeks who he murdered.

"I received this information from Jacob Newland of Shelby county who lived at the time on the Bank of the Ohio below the mouth of Buffaloe, a man of integrity who was informed of the fact by Cresap & his party, but he cannot recollect the reason (if any) assigned in justification of the murder. ”