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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

ow Marcus Whitman
Saved Oregon.

A TRUE ROMANCE OF PATRIOTIC HEROISM,
CHRISTIAN DEVOTION AND
FINAL MARTYRDOM 

WITH SKETCHES OF
Life on the Plains and Mountains in Pioneer Daus
BY
OLIVER W. NIXON, M.D., LL.D.,
For Seventeen Years President and Literary Editor
of the Chicago Inter Ocean.

INTRODUCTION BY
Rev. Frank W. Gunsaulus, D.D., LL.D*

FIFTH EDITION  ILLUSTRATED,

CHICAGO,
STAR PUBLISHING COMPANY
1896.

Copyrighted, 1895, by Oliver W. Nixon.
(All rights reserved.)

Cv23.Z'j( t

DEDICATION.
TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS OF THE
Little Log School House on the Willamette,
NOW THE GRAY HAIRED MEN AND WOMEN OF OREGON,
WASHINGTON, IDAHO AND CALIFORNIA, TO WHOM I
AM INDEBTED FOR A MULTITUDE OF PLEASING
MEMORIES WHICH HAVE BEEN UNDIMMED
BY YEARS AND DISTANCE, I GRATE
FULLY DEDICATE THIS VOLUME.

O^WM*

PREFACE.

This little volume is not intended to be a history
of Oregon missions or even a complete biography
of Dr. Whitman. Its aim is simply to bring out,
prominently, in a series of sketches, the heroism
and Christian patriotism of the man who rendered
great and distinguished service to his country,
which has never been fully appreciated or recog
nized. In my historical facts I have tried to be correct
and to give credit to authorities where I could. I
expect some of my critics will ask, as they have in
the past : "Who is your authority for this fact and
that?" I only answer, I don't know unless I am
authority. In 1850 'and 1851 1 was a teacher of the
young men and maidens, and bright-eyed boys and
girls of the old pioneers of Oregon.
Many years' ago I told the story of that school
to Hezekiah Butterworth, who made it famous in
his idyllic romance, "The Log School House on the
Columbia." It was a time when history was being
made. The great tragedy at Waiilatpui was fresh
in the minds of the people. With such surround
ings one comes in touch with the spirit of history.

6 PREFACE.
Later on, I was purser upon the Lot Whitcomb,
the first steamer ever built in Oregon, and came in
contact with all classes of people. If I have failed
to interpret the history correctly, it is because I
failed to understand it. The sketches have been
written in hours snatched from pressing duties,
and no claim is made of high literary excellence.
But if they aid the public, even in a small degree,
to better understand and appreciate the grand
man whose remains rest in his martyr's grave at
Waiilatpui, unhonored by any monument, I shall
be amply compensated. O. W. N.

CONTENTS.

Pages.
Introduction  11-14
CHAPTER I.
The Title of the United States to Oregon— The Hudson
Bay Company — The Louisiana Purchase  15-37
CHAPTER II.
English and American Opinion of the Value of the
Northwest Territory — The Neglect of American
Statesmen  38-49
CHAPTER III.
The Romance of the Oregon Mission  50-62
CHAPTER IV.
The Wedding Journey Across the Plains  63-82
CHAPTER V.
Mission Life at Waiilatpui  83-98
CHAPTER VI.
The Ride to Save Oregon  99-123
CHAPTER VII.
Whitman in the Presence of President Tyler and Secre
tary of State Daniel Webster — The Return to
Oregon  124-164
CHAPTER VIII.
A Backward Look at Results  165-185

8 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
Change in Public Sentiment  186-200
CHAPTER X.
The Failure of Modern History to do Justice to Dr.
Whitman  201-216
CHAPTER XI.
The Massacre at Waiilatpui  217-237
CHAPTER XII.
Biographical— Dr. Whitman— Dr. McLoughlin  238-249
CHAPTER XIII.
Whitman Seminary and College  250-262
CHAPTER XIV.
Oregon Then, and Oregon, Washington and Idaho Now. 263-276
CHAPTER XV.
Life on the Great Plains in Pioneer Days  277-304
Appendix  305-339

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.
1. Whitman Leaving Home on His Ride to Save
Oregon  Frontispiece.
2. Falls of the Willamette  32
3. Map of Early Oregon and the West, Showing Whit
man's Route, etc  41
4. Steamer Lot Whitcomb  56
5. Dr. Marcus Whitman  72
6. Mission Station at Waiilatpui  88
7. Whitman Pleading for Oregon before President Tyler
and Secretary Webster  128
8. Rev. H. H. Spalding  144
9. Rev. Cushing Eells, D. D  160

10 ILLUSTRATIONS. Page.
10. Whitman College  176
11. Whitman's Grave  224
12. Dr. John McLoughlin  248
13. Dr. Daniel K. Pearsons  264
14. Rev. S. B. L. Penrose, President of Whitman College. 272
15. The Log School House on the Willamette  280
16. A. J. Anderson, Ph. D  296
17. Rev. James F. Eaton, D. D  296
18. Portraits of Flathead Indians Who Visited St. Louis. 313

INTRODUCTION BY
REV. FRANK W. GUNSAULUS, D. D„
Pastor of Plymouth Church, and President of Armour Institute,
Chicago.
Among the efforts at description which will as
sociate themselves with either our ignorance pr
our intelligence as to our own country, the follow
ing words by our greatest orator, will always
have their place:
"What do we want with the vast, worthless area, this region
of savages and wild beasts, of deserts, of shifting sands and
whirlwinds of dust, of cactus and prairie dogs? To what use
could we ever hope to put these great deserts, or these endless
mountain ranges, impenetrable, and covered to their base with
eternal snow ? What can we ever hope to do with the Western
coast, a coast of three thousand miles, rock-bound, cheerless,
and uninviting, and not a harbor on it? What use have we
for such a country? Mr. President, I will never vote one cent
from the public treasury to place the Pacific coast one inch
nearer to Boston than it is now."
Perhaps no words uttered in the United States
Senate were ever more certainly wide of their
mark than these of Daniel Webster. In their pres
ence, the name of Marcus Whitman is a bright
streak of light penetrating a vague cloud-land.
Washington, with finer prevision, had said: "I
shall not be contented until I have explored the
Western country." Even the Father of his
Country did not understand the vast realm to
which he referred, nor had his mind any bounda
ries sufficiently great to inclose that portion of the

12 INTRODUCTION.
country which Marcus Whitman preserved to the
United States.
An interesting series of splendid happenings
has united the ages of history in heroic deeds, and
this volume is a fitting testimonial of the immense
significance of one heroic deed in one heroic life.
The conservatism, which is always respectable
and respected, had its utterance in the copious elo
quence of Daniel Webster; the radicalism, which
always goes to the root of every question, had its
expression in the answer which Whitman made
to the great New Englander.
Even Daniel Webster,^ at a moment like this,
seems less grand of proportion than does the plain
and poor missionary, with "a half pint of seed
wheat" in his hand, and words upon his lips which
are an enduring part of our history. Only a really
illumined man, at that hour, could fitly answer
Senator McDuffie, when he said: "Do you think
your honest farmers in Pennsylvania, New York,
or even Ohio and Missouri, would abandon their
farms and go upon any such enterprise as this?"
Whitman made answer by breaking the barrier
of the Rockies with his own courage and faith.
It may well be hoped that such a memorial as
this may be adopted in home and public library
as a chapter in Americanism and its advance,
worthy to minister to the imagination and ideal
ism of our whole people. The heroism of the .days
to come, which we need, must grow out of the
heroism of the days that have been. The impulse
to do and dare noble things to-morrow, will grow
strong from contemplating the memory of such
yesterdays. This volume has suggested such a picture as

INTRODUCTION. 13
will sometime be made as a tribute to genius and
the embodiment of highest art by some great
painter. The picture will represent the room in
which the old heroic missionary, having traveled
over mountains and through deserts until his
clothing of fur was well-nigh worn from him, and
his frame bowed by anxiety and exposure, at that
instant when the great Secretary and orator said
to him: "There cannot be made a wagon road
over the mountains; Sir George Simpson says so,"
whereat the intrepid pioneer replied: "There is
a wagon road, for I have made it."
What could be a more fitting memorial for such
a man as this than a Christian college called Whit
man College? He was more to the ulterior North
west than John Harvard has ever been to the
Northeast of our common country. Nothing but
such an institution may represent all the ideas and
inspirations which were the wealth of such a
man's brain and heart and his gift to the Re
public. He was an arant courier of the truths on
which alone republics and democracies may
endure. Whitman not only conducted the expedition of
men and wagons to Oregon, after President
Tyler had made his promise that the bargain,
which Daniel Webster proposed, should not be
made, but he led an expedition of ideas and senti
ments which have made the names Oregon, Wash
ington and Idaho synonymous with human prog
ress, good government and civilization. When the
soldier-statesman of the Civil War, Col. Baker,
mentioned the name and memory of Marcus Whit
man to Abraham Lincoln, he did it with the ut
most reverence for one of the founders of that

14 INTRODUCTION.
civilization which, in the far Northwest, has
spread its influence over so vast a territory to make
the mines of California the resources of freedom,
and to bind the forests and plains with the destiny
of the Union.
When Thomas Starr King was most eloquent in
his efforts to keep California true to liberty and
union, in that struggle of debate before the Civil
War opened, he worked upon the basis, made
larger and sounder by the fearless ambassador of
Christian civilization. In an hour when the mind
of progress grows tired of the perpetual presence
of Napoleon, again clad in all his theatrical
glamour before the eyes of youth, we may well be
grateful for this sketch of a sober far-seeing man
of loyal devotion to the great public ends; whose
unselfishness made him seem, even then, a -start
ling figure at the nation's capital; whose noble
bearing, great faith, supreme courage, and vision
of the future, mark him as a genuine and typical
American. These hopes and inspirations are all enshrined
in the educational enterprise known as Whitman
College. Every student of history must be glad to
recognize the fact that the history of which this
book is the chronicle, is also a prophecy, and that
whatever may be the fate of men's names or men's
schemes in the flight of time, this college will be a
beacon, shining with the light of Marcus Whit
man's heroism and devotion.

CHAPTER I.

THE TITLE OF THE UNITED STATES TO OREGON— THE
HUDSON BAY COMPANY— THE LOUISIANA
PURCHASE.

The home of civilization was originally in the
far East, but its journeys have forever been west
ward. The history of the world is a great pano
rama, with its pictures constantly shifting and
changing. The desire for change and new fields
early asserted itself. The human family divided
up under the law of selection and affinities, shaped
themselves into bands and nationalities, and
started upon their journey to people the world.
Two branches of the original stock remained
as fixtures in Asia, while half a dozen branches
deployed and reached out for the then distant and
unexplored lands of the West. They reached
Europe. The Gaul and the Celt, the Teuton and
Slav, ever onward in their march, reached and
were checked by the Atlantic that washed the
present English, German and Spanish coasts. The
Latin, Greek and Illyrian were alike checked by

16 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the Mediterranean. For a long period it seemed
as if their journey westward was ended; that they
had reached their Ultima Thule; that the western
limit had been found.
For many centuries the millions rested in that
belief, until the great discoveries of 1492 awak
ened them to new dreams of western possibilities.
At once and under new incentives the westward
march began again. The States of the Atlantic
were settled and the wilderness subdued. No
sooner was this but partially accomplished than
the same spirit, "the western fever," seized upon
the people.
It seems to have been engrafted in the nature
of man, as it is in the nature of birds, to migrate.
In caravan after caravan they pushed their way
over the Allegheny Mountains, invaded the rich
valleys, floated down the great rivers, gave battle
to the savage inhabitants and in perils many, and
with discouragements sufficient to defeat less
heroic characters, they took possession of the now
great States of the Middle West. The country
to be settled was so vast as to seem to our fa
thers limitless. They had but little desire as a
nation for further expansion.
Up to the date of 1792, the Far West was an
unexplored region. The United States made no
claim to any lands bordering upon the Pacific, and
the discovery made in the year 1792 was more

GRAY DISCOVERS THE COLUMBIA. 17
accidental than intentional, as far as the nation
was concerned.
Captain Robert Gray, who made the discovery,
was born in Tiverton, R. I., 1755, and died at
Charleston, S. C„ in 1806. He was a famous sailor,
and was the first citizen who ever carried the
American flag around the globe. His vessel, The
Columbia, was fitted out by a syndicate of Boston
merchants, with articles for barter for the natives
in Pacific ports. In his second great voyage in
1792 he discovered the mouth of the Columbia
river. There had been rumors of such a great
river through Spanish sources, and the old Ameri
can captain probably, mainly for the sake of bar
ter and to get fresh supplies, had his nautical eyes
open. Men see through a glass darkly and a wiser,
higher power than man may have guided the old
explorer in safety over the dangerous bar, into
the great river he discovered and named. He was
struck by the grandeur and magnificence of the
river as well as by the beauty of the country. He
at once christened it "The Columbia," the name
of his good ship which had already carried the
American flag around the globe. He sailed sev
eral miles up the river, landed and took possession
in the name of the United States.
It is a singular coincidence that both Spain
and England had vessels just at this time on this

18 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
coast, hunting for the same river, and so near to
gether as to be in hailing distance of each other.
Captain Gray only a few days before had met Cap
tain Vancouver, the Englishman, and had spoken
to him. Captain Vancouver had sailed over the
very ground passed over soon after by Gray, but
failed to find the river. He had noted, too, a
change in the color of the waters, but it did not
sufficiently impress him to cause an investigation.
After Captain Gray had finished his explora
tion and gone to sea, he again fell in with Van
couver and reported the result of his discoveries.
Vancouver immediately turned about, found the
mouth of the river, sailed up the Columbia to the
rapids and up the Willamette to near the falls.
In the conference between the English and
Americans in 1827, which resulted in the renewal
of the treaty of 1818, while the British commis
sioners acknowledged that Gray was first to dis
cover and enter the Columbia river, yet they de
manded that "he should equally share the honor
with Captain Vancouver." They claimed that
while Gray discovered the mouth of the river, he
only sailed up it a few miles, while "Captain Van
couver made a full and complete discovery." One
of the authorities stated concisely that, "Captain
Gray's claim is limited to the mouth of the river."
This limit was in plain violation of the rules
regulating all such events, and no country knew

CLAIMS OF THE UNITED STATES TO OREGON. 19
it better than England. Besides, it was Captain
Gray's discovery, told to the English commander
Vancouver, which made him turn back on his
course to rediscover the same river. The claim
that the English made, that "Captain Gray made
but a single step in the progress of discovery," in
the light of these facts, marks their claims as re
markably weak. The right of discovery was then
the first claim made by the United States upon
Oregon. The second was by the Louisiana purchase
from France in 1803. This was the same territory
ceded from France to Spain in 1762 and returned
to France in 1800, and sold to the United States
for $15,000,000 in 1803, "with all its rights and ap
purtenances, as fully and in the same manner as
they were acquired by the French Republic."
There has always been a dispute as to how far
into the region of the northwest this claim of the
French extended. In the sale no parallels were
given; but it was claimed that their rights
reached to the Pacific Ocean. Dr. Barrows says,
"If, however, the claims of France failed to reach
the Pacific on the parallel of 49 degrees, it must
have been because they encountered the old
claims of Spain, that preceded the Nootka treaty
and were tacitly conceded by England. Between
the French claims and the Spanish claims there
was left no territory for England to base a claim

20 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
on. If the United States did not acquire through
to the Pacific in the Louisiana purchase, it was
because Spain was owner of the territory prior
to the first, second and third transfers. It is dif
ficult to perceive standing ground for the English
in either of the claims mentioned.
The claim of England that the Nootka treaty
of 1790 abrogated the rights of Spain to the terri
tory of Oregon, which she then held, is untenable,
from the fact that no right of sovereignty or juris
diction was conveyed by that treaty. Whatever
right Spain had prior to that treaty was not dis
turbed, and all legal rights vested in Spain were
still in force when she ceded the territory to
France in 1800, and also when France ceded the
same to the United States in 1803.
The third claim of the United States was by the
commission sent out by Jefferson in 1803, when
Lewis and Clarke and their fellow voyagers struck
the headwaters of the Columbia and followed it
to its mouth and up its tributary rivers.
The fourth was the actual settlement of the
Astor Fur Company at Astoria in 1811. True it
was a private enterprise, but was given the sanc
tion of the United States and a U. S. naval officer
was allowed to command the leading vessel in
Astor's enterprise, thus placing the seal of nation
ality upon it. True the town was captured and
the effects confiscated in 1812 by the British

CLAIMS OF THE UNITED STATES TO OREGON. 21
squadron of the Pacific, commanded by Captain
Hillyar, but the fact of actual settlement by
Americans at Astoria, even for a short time, had
its value in the later argument. In the treaty of
Ghent with England in 1814, Astoria, with all its
rights, was ordered to be restored to its original
owners, but even this was not consummated until
1846. America's fifth claim was in her treaty with
Spain in 1818, when Spain relinquished any and
all claims to the territory in dispute to the United
States. The sixth and last claim was from Mexico, by
a treaty in 1828, by which the United States ac
quired all interest Mexico claimed, formerly in
common with Spain, but now under her own gov
ernment. Such is a brief statement, but I trust a sufficient
one, lor an intelligent understanding of the ques
tions of ownership.
It will be seen that the United States was vested
in all the rights held over Oregon by every other
power except one, that of Great Britain. Her
claim rested, as we have seen, in the fact that
"Captain Gray only discovered the mouth of the
river," but did not survey it to the extent that the
English Captain Vancouver did, after being told by
Gray of his discovery. They also made claims of
settlement by their Fur Company, just as the

22 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
United States did by the settlement made by Astor
and others. As the Hudson Bay Company and the
Northwest Fur Company of Montreal figure so ex
tensively in the contest for English ownership of
Oregon, it is well to have a clear idea of their ori
gin and power.
The Hudson Bay Company was organized in
1670 by Charles II., with Prince Rupert, the King's
cousin, at its head, with other favorites of his
Court. They were invested with remarkable pow
ers, such as had never before, nor have since, been
granted to a corporation. They were granted ab
solute proprietorship, with subordinate sover
eignty, over all that country known by name of
"Rupert's Land" including all regions "discovered
or undiscovered within the entrance to Hudson
Strait." It was by far the largest of all English de
pendencies at that time.
For more than a century the company confined
its active operations to a coast traffic.
The original stock of this company was $50,820.
During the first fifty years the capital stock was
increased to $457,000 wholly out of the profits, be
sides paying dividends.
During the last half of the 17th century the
Northwest Fur Company became a formidable
opponent to the Hudson Bay Company, and the
rivalry and great wealth of both companies served

THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY. 23
to stimulate them to reach out toward the Rocky
Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
After Canada had become an English depend
ency and the competition had grown into such
proportions as to interfere with the great monop
oly, in the year 1821, there was a coalition between
the Northwest and the Hudson Bay Companies
on a basis of equal value, and the consolidated
stock was marked at $1,916,000, every dollar of
which was profits, as was shown at the time, ex
cept the original stock of both companies, which
amounted to about $135,000. And yet during all
this period there had been made an unusual divi
dend to stockholders of 10 per cent.
Single vessels from headquarters carried furs to
London valued at from three to four hundred
thousand dollars. .It is not at all strange that a
company which was so rolling in wealth and
which was in supreme control of a territory reach
ing through seventy-five degrees of longitude,
from Davis Strait to Mt. Saint Elias, and through
twenty-eight degrees of latitude, from the mouth
of the Mackenzie to the California border, should
hold tenaciously to its privileges.
It was a grand monopoly, but it must be said
of it that no kingly power ever ruled over savage
subjects with such wisdom and discretion. Of
necessity, they treated their savage workmen
kindly, but they managed to make them fill the

24 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
coffers of the Hudson Bay Company with a wealth
of riches, as the years came and went. Their lives
and safety and profits all depended upon keeping
their dependents in a good humor and binding
them to themselves. The leading men of the com
pany were men of great business tact and shrewd
ness, and one of their chief requisites was to thor
oughly understand Indian character.
They managed year by year so to gain con
trol of the savage tribes that the factor of a trad
ing post had more power over a fractious band,
than could have been exerted by an army of men
with guns and bayonets. If, now and then, a chief
grew sullen and belligerent, he was at once quietly
bought up by a judicious present, and the company
got it all back many times over from the tribe,
when their furs were marketed.
It was the refusal of the missionaries of Oregon
to condone crime and wink at savage methods, as
the Hudson Bay Company did, which first brought
about misunderstanding and unpleasantness, as
we shall see in another place.
It was this power and controlling influence
which met the pioneer fur traders and mission
aries, upon entering Oregon. They controlled the
savage life and the white men there were wholly
dependent upon them.
In 1811 an American fur company at Astoria
undertook to open business upon what they re-

THE TREATY OF 1818. 25
garded as American soil. They had scarcely set
tled down to work when the war of 1812, began
and they were speedily routed.
In 1818 a treaty was made, which said, "It is
agreed that any country that may be claimed by
either party on the Northwest coast of America
westward of the Stony Mountains shall, together
with its harbors, bays, creeks and the navigation
of all rivers within the same, be free and open for
ten years from the date of the signature of the
present convention, to the vessels, citizens, and
subjects of the two powers; it being well under
stood that the agreement is not to be construed to
the prejudice of any claim which either of the two
high contracting parties may have to any part of
said country; nor shall it be taken to affect the
claims of any other power or state to any of said
country; the only object of the high contracting
parties in that respect being to prevent disputes
and differences among themselves."
That looked fair and friendly enough. But
how did the Hudson Bay Company carry it out?
They went on just as they had done before, gov
erning to suit their own selfish interests. They
froze out and starved out every American fur
company that dared to settle in any portion of
their territory. They fixed the price of every com
modity, and had such a hold on the various tribes

26 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
that a foreign company had no chance to live and
prosper. It so continued until the ten-year limit was
nearly up, when in 1827 the commission repre
senting the two powers met and re-enacted the
treaty of 1818, which went into effect in 1828. It
was a giant monopoly, but dealing as it did with
savage life, and gathering its wealth from sources
which had never before contributed to the world's
commerce, it was allowed to run its course until it
came in contact with the advancing civilization of
the United States, and was worsted in the conflict.
With the adoption of the Ashburton treaty the
Hudson Bay Company was shorn of much of its
kingly power and old time grandeur. But it re
mained a money-making organization. Under the
terms of the treaty the great corporation was fully
protected. This Ashburton treaty was written in
England and from English standpoints, and every
property and possessory right of this powerful
company was strictly guarded. The interests of
the company were made English interests.
Under this treaty the United States agreed to
pay all valuations upon Hudson Bay Company
property south of forty-nine degrees; while Eng
land was to make a settlement for all above that
line. The company promptly sent in a bill to the
United States for $3,882,036.27, while their de
pendent company, the Puget Sound Agricultural

CLAIMS OF THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY. 27
Company, sent in a more modest demand for
$1,168,000. These bills were in a state of liquida
tion until 1864, when the United States made a
final settlement, and paid the Hudson Bay Com
pany $450,000 and the Puget Sound Company
$200,000. They also, at the time of presenting bills to the
United States, presented one to England for
$4,990,036.07. In 1869 the English government
settled the claim by paying $1,500,000. This
amount was paid from the treasury of the Do
minion of Canada, and all the vast territory north
of 49 degrees came under the government of the
Dominion. It was, however, stipulated and agreed
that the company should retain all its forts, with
ten acres of ground surrounding each, together
with one-twentieth of all the land from the Red
river to the Rocky Mountains, besides valuable
blocks of land to which it laid special claim.
The company goes on trading as of old; its or
ganization is still complete; it still makes large
dividends of about $400,000 per year, and has un
told prospective wealth in its lands, which are the
best in the Dominion.
Among the most interesting facts connected
with our title to Oregon are those in connection
with the Louisiana purchase by the United States
from France in 1803. Many readers of current his
tory have overlooked the fact, that it was wholly

28 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
due to England, and her overweening ambition,
that the United States was enabled to buy this
great domain. Letters, which have recently been
published, written by those closest to the high con
tracting parties, have revealed the romance, and
the inside facts of this great deal, perhaps the
most important the United States ever made, and
made so speedily as to dazzle the Nation.
Few take in the fact that the "Louisiana Pur
chase" meant not only the rich state at the mouth
of our great river, but also, Arkansas, Missouri,
Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana,
Idaho, Oregon, with probably the two Dakotas.
Roughly estimated it was a claim by a foreign
power upon our continent to territory of over 900,-
000 square miles.
At the time, but little was thought of its value
save and except the getting possession of the rich
soil of Louisiana for the purposes of the Southern
planter, and being able to own and control the
mouth of our great river upon which, at that time,
all the states of the North and West were wholly
dependent for their commerce.
While Napoleon and the French Government
were upon the most friendly terms with the United
States, and conceded to our commerce the widest
facilities, yet there was a lurking fear that such
conditions might at any time change. The desira
bility of obtaining such possession had often been

THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. 29
canvassed, with scarcely a ray of hope for its con
summation. The United States was poor, and
while the South and the West were deeply inter
ested, the East, which held the balance of power,
was determinedly set against it. The same nar
row statesmanship existed then, which later on
undervalued all our possessions beyond the Stony
Mountains, and was willing and even anxious that
they should pass into the possession of a foreign
power. France acquired this vast property from Spain
in 1800. In March, 1802, there was a great treaty
entered into between France on one side and
Great Britain, Spain and the Batavian Republic
on the other. It was known as "The Amiens
Treaty." It was a short-lived treaty which was
hopelessly ruptured in 1803.
England, foreseeing the rupture, had not de
layed to get ready for the event. Then as now, she
was, "Mistress upon the high seas," and set about
arranging to seize everything afloat that carried
the French flag. Her policy was soon made plain,
and that was to first make war upon all French de
pendencies. No man knew better than Napoleon how power
less he would be to make any successful defense.
His treasury was well-nigh bankrupt and he must
have money for home defense as soon as the victo
rious army of the enemy should return from the

30 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
Mississippi campaign, which he foresaw. While
the treaty of Amiens was not really abrogated
until May, 1803, yet upon January 1, 1803, the
whole matter was well understood by Napoleon
and his advisers.
Early in that month the government received
disquieting news from Admiral Villeneuve who
was in command of the French fleet in West India
waters. It plainly stated that it was undoubtedly
the fact that the first blow of the English would
be made at New Orleans.
This knowledge was promptly conveyed to the
American Minister Monroe, well knowing that the
United States was almost as much interested in
the matter as France was, as it would stop all traf
fic from all the States along the Ohio and Missis
sippi rivers, and be a death blow to American
prosperity for an indefinite period. The recently
published letters, already referred to, say of the
conference between Minister Monroe and Bona
parte: "Unfortunately Mr. Monroe at this time did not
understand the French language well enough to
follow a speaker who talked as rapidly as did Bona
parte, and the intervention of an interpreter was
necessary. 'We are not able alone to defend the
colony of Louisiana,' the First Consul began.
'Your new regions of the southwest are nearly as
deeply interested in its remaining in friendly

INTERVIEW WITH NAPOLEON. 31
hands as we are in holding it. Our fleet is not
equal to the needs of the French Nation. Can you
not help us to defend the mouth of the Mississippi
river?' " 'We could not take such a step without a
treaty, offensive and defensive,' the American
answered. 'Our Senate really is the treaty-mak
ing power. It is against us. The President, Mr.
Jefferson, is my friend, as well as my superior
officer. Tell me, General, what you have in your
mind.' "Bonaparte walked the room, a small private
consulting cabinet adjoining the Salles des Am-
bassadeurs. He had his hands clasped behind
him, his head bent forward — his usual position
when in deep thought. 'I acquired the great ter
ritory to which the Mississippi mouth is the en
trance,' he finally began, 'and I have the right to
dispose of my own. France is not able now to hold
it. Rather than see it in England's hands, I do
nate it to America. Why will your country not
buy it from France?' There Bonaparte stopped.
Mr. Monroe's face was like a flame. What a diplo
matic feat it would be for him! What a triumph
for the administration of Jefferson to add such a
territory to the national domain !
"No man living was a better judge of his fellows
than Bonaparte. He read the thoughts of the man
before him as though they were on a written scroll.

32 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
He saw the emotions of his soul. 'Well, what do
you think of it?' said General Bonaparte.
" 'The matter is so vast in its direct relations to
my country and what may result from it, that it
dazes me,' the American answered. 'But the idea
is magnificent. It deserves to emanate from a
mind like yours.' The First Consul bowed low.
Monroe never flattered, and the look of truth was
in his eyes, its ring in his voice. 'I must send a
special communication at once touching this
matter to President Jefferson. My messenger
must take the first safe passage to America.'
" 'The Blonde, the fastest ship in our navy,
leaves Brest at once with orders for the West
Indian fleet, I will detain her thirty-six hours, till
your dispatches are ready,' the First Consul said.
'Your messenger shall go on our ship.'
" 'How much shall I say the territory will cost
us?' The great Corsican — who was just ending
the audience, which had been full two hours long
— came up to the American Minister. After a
moment he spoke again. 'Between nations who
are really friends there need be no chaffering.
Could I defend this territory, ndt all the gold in
the world would buy it. But I am giving to a friend
what I am unable to keep. I need 100,000,000
francs in coin or its equivalent. Whatever action
we take must be speedy. Above all, let there be
absolute silence and secrecy,' and Bonaparte

FALLS OF THE WILLAMETTE.

THE PURCHASE MADE. 33
bowed our minister out. The audience was ended.
The protracted audience between Napoleon and
the American Minister was such as to arouse gos
sip, but the secret was safe in the hands of the two
men, both of whom were statesmen and diplomats
who knew the value of secrecy in such an emer
gency. "The profoundly astonishing dispatches reached
President Jefferson promptly. He kept it a secret
until he could sound a majority of the Senators
and be assured of the standing of such a proposi
tion. "The main difficulty that was found would be in
raising the 75,000,000 francs it was proposed to
give. In those days, with a depleted treasury, it
was a large sum of money. The United States had
millions of unoccupied acres, but had few millions
in cash in its treasury. But our statesmen, to their
great honor, proved equal to the emergency.
Through the agency of Stephen Girard as finan
cier in chief, the loan necessary was negotiated
through the Dutch House of Hapes in Amsterdam,
and the money paid to France, and the United
States entered into possession of the vast estate."
This much of the well-nigh forgotten history we
have thought appropriate to note in this connec
tion; first, because of the new light given to it
from the recent disclosures made; and, second, to
call attention to the fact that a second time, forty-

34 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
three years later, it served a valiant purpose in
thwarting English ambition and serving Ameri
ca's highest interests.
Estimated from the standpoint of money and
material values, it was a great transaction, espe
cially notable in view of existing conditions, but
from the standpoint of State and National gran
deur, carrying with it peace and hope and happi
ness to millions, and continuous rule of the Re
public from ocean to ocean, it assumes a greatness
never surpassed in a single transaction, and not
easily over-estimated, and never in the history of
the English people did a single transaction, with
dates so widely separated, arise, and so effectually
check their imperious demands.
The American Republic may well remember
with deep gratitude President Jefferson, and the
far-seeing statesmen who rallied to his call and
consummated the grand work. They can at the
same time see the foresight and wisdom of Jeffer
son in, at once, the very next year, sending the ex
pedition of Lewis and Clarke to the headwaters
of the Columbia River, and" causing a complete
survey to be made to its mouth. It was a com
plete refutation of the claim of the English Com
missioners, in 1837, that while "Captain Gray only
discovered the mouth of the river, Captain Van
couver made a complete survey." The American
mistake was, not in the purchase and active work

CONFLICTS WITH HUDSON BAY COMPANY. 35
then done, but the lassitude and inexcusable neg
lect in the forty subsequent years which imperiled
every interest the Republic held in the territory
beyond the Rocky Mountains.
When the treaty of 1846 was signed, it was
hoped that the questions at issue were settled for
ever; but the Hudson Bay Company was slow to
surrender its grasp on any of the territory it could
hold, and especially one so rich in all materials
that constituted its wealth and power.
The treaty of 1846 between the United States
and Great Britain read:
"From the point on the 49th parallel to the mid
dle of the channel which separates the continent
from Vancouver's Island and thence southerly
through the middle of said channel and of the
Fuca Straits, to the Pacific Ocean, provided, how
ever, that the navigation of such channel and
straits south of the latitude 49 degrees remain free
and open to both parties."
This led to after trouble and much ill feeling.
The passage referred to in the treaty is about
seven miles wide, between the archipelago and
Vancouver Island. The archipelago is made
up of half a dozen principal islands, and many
smaller ones. The largest island, San Juan, con
tained about 50,000 acres, and the Hudson Bay
Company, knowing something of its value, had
taken possession, and proposed to hold it. The

36 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
legislature of Oregon, however, included it in
Island County by an act of 1852, which passed to
the Territory of Washington in 1853 by the divi
sion of Oregon. In 1854 the Collector of Customs
for the Puget Sound came in conflict with the
Hudson Bay authorities and a lively row was
raised. The Hudson Bay Company raised the English
flag and the collector as promptly landed and
raised the Stars and Stripes. There was a con
stant contention between the United States and
State authorities, and the Hudson Bay people,
in which the latter were worsted, until in 1856-7,
after much correspondence, both governments ap
pointed a commission to settle the difficulty. Then
followed years of discussion which grew from
time to time warlike, but there was no settlement
of the points in dispute.
In December, 1860, the British Government
tired of the contest, proposed arbitration by one
of the European powers and named either the
Swiss Republic, Denmark or Belgium. Then fol
lowed the war of the Rebellion and America had
no time to reach the case until 1868-9, when the
whole matter was referred to two commissioners
from each government and the boundary to be de
termined by the President of the General Council
of the Swiss Republic.
This proposition was defeated and afterward

THE END OF THE DISPUTE. 37
in 1871 the whole matter was left to the decision of
the Emperor of Germany. He made the award to
the United States on all points of dispute in Octo
ber, 1872, and thus ended the long contest over the
boundary line between the two countries, after
more than half a century's bickering.

CHAPTER II.

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN OPINION OF THE VALUE OF
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY— THE NEGLECT
OF AMERICAN STATESMEN.

The history briefly- recited in the previous chap
ter, fully reveals the status of the United States
as to ownership of Oregon. Prior to the date to
which our story more specifically relates, the
United States had gone on perfecting her titles by
the various means already described. For the
Nation's interest, it was a great good fortune at
this early period that a broad-minded, far-seeing
man like Thomas Jefferson was President. It was
his wisdom and discretion and statesmanship that
enabled the country to overcome all difficulties
and to make the Louisiana purchase.
Looking deeper into the years of the future than
his contemporaries, he organized the expedition of
Lewis and Clarke and surveyed the Columbia
River from its source to its mouth. It was re
garded by many at the time as a needless and un
justifiable expense; and their report did not

LEWIS AND CLARKE. 39
create a ripple of applause, and it was an even
nine years after the completion of the expedition,
and after the death of one of the explorers, before
the report was printed and given to the public.
But no reader of history will fail to see how
important the expedition was as a link in our
chain of evidence. The great misfortune of that
time was, that there were not more Jeffersons.
True, it did not people Oregon, nor was it followed
by any legislation protecting any interest the
United States held in the great territory.
There were Congressmen and Senators, who,
from time to time, made efforts to second the work
of Jefferson. Floyd, of Virginia, as early as 1820,
made an eloquent plea for the occupation of the
territory and a formal recognition of our rights as
rulers. In 1824 a bill passed the lower house of
Congress embodying the idea of Floyd stated
four years previously, but upon reaching the Sen
ate it fell on dull ears. When the question was
before the Senate in 1828, renewing the treaty of
1818 with England, Floyd again attempted to
have a bill passed to give land to actual settlers
who would emigrate to Oregon, and as usual,
failed. In February, 1838, Senator Linn, of Missouri,
always the friend of Oregon, introduced a bill with
the main features of the House bill which passed
that body in 1824, but again failed in the Senate.

40 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
The Government, however, was moved to send a
special commissioner to Oregon to discover its
real conditions and report. But nothing practical
resulted. It is not a pleasant thing to turn the pages of
history made by American statesmen during the
first third of the century, and even nearly to the
end of its first half. There is a lack of wisdom and
foresight and broad-mindedness, which shatters
our ideals of the mental grandeur of the builders
of the Republic.
Diplomatically they had laid strong claim to
the now known grand country beyond "the Stony
Mountains." They had never lost an opportunity
by treaty to hold their interests; and yet from
year to year and from decade to decade, they had
seen a foreign power, led by a great corporation,
ruling all the territory with a mailed hand.
While they made but feeble protest in the way we
have mentioned, they did even worse, they turned
their shafts of oratory and wit and denunciation
loose against the country itself and all its inter
ests. Turn for a brief review of the political record of
that period. Among the ablest men of that day
was Senator Benton. He, in his speech of 1825,
said, that "The ridge of the Rocky Mountains may
be named as a convenient, natural and everlast
ing boundary. Along this ridge the western lim-

MAP SHOWING OREGON IN 1842, WHITMAN'S RIDE, THE RETURN TRIP TO OREGON. THE SPANISH POSSESSIONS AND THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE.

SENATOR BENTON'S SPEECH. 41
its of the Republic should be drawn, and the
statue of the fabled God Terminus should be
erected on its highest peak, never to be thrown
down." In quoting Senator Benton of 1825, it is
always but fair to say he had long before the day
of Whitman's arrival in Washington greatly
modified his views.
But Senators equally intelligent and influential
— such as Winthrop, of Massachusetts, as late as
1844, quoted this sentence from Benton and com
mended its wisdom and statesmanship. It' was in
this discussion and while the treaty adopted in
1846 was being considered, that General Jackson
is on record as saying, that, "Our safety lay in a
compact government."
One of the remarkable speeches in the discus
sion of the Ashburton- Webster Treaty was that
made by Senator McDuffie. Nothing could better
show the educating power of the Hudson Bay
Company in the United States, and the ignorance
of our statesmen, as to extent and value of the
territory. McDuffie said: "What is the character of this
country?" (referring to Oregon). "As I understand
it there are seven hundred miles this side of the
Rocky Mountains that are uninhabitable; where
rain never falls; mountains wholly impassable,
except through gaps and depressions, to be
reached only by going hundreds of miles out of the

42 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
direct course. Well, now, what are you going to
do in such a case? How are you going to apply
steam? Have you made an estimate of the cost of
a railroad to the mouth of the Columbia? Why
the wealth of the Indies would be insufficient. Of
what use would it be for agricultural purposes?
I would not, for that purpose, give a pinch of snuff
for the whole territory. I wish the Rocky Moun
tains were an impassable barrier. If there was
an embankment of even five feet to be removed I
would not consent to expend five dollars to re
move it and enable our population to go there. I
thank God for his mercy in placing the Rocky
Mountains there."
Will the reader' please take notice that the
speech was delivered on the 25th day of January,
1843, just about the time that Whitman, in the
ever-memorable ride, was floundering through the
snow drifts of the Wasatch and Uintah Moun
tains, deserted by his guide and surrounded by
discouragements that would have appalled any
man not inspired by heroic purpose.
It was at this same session of 1843, prior to the
visit of Whitman, that Linn, of Missouri, had
offered a bill which made specific legal provisions
for Oregon, and he succeeded in passing the bill,
which went to the House and as usual was de
feated. The prevailing idea was that which was
expressed by General Jackson to President Mon-

OREGON A DESERT. 43
roe, and before referred to, in which Jackson says,
"It should be our policy to concentrate our popu
lation and confine our frontier to proper limits
until our country, in those limits, is filled with a
dense population. It is the denseness of our popu
lation that gives strength and security to our fron
tier." That "interminable desert," those "arid
plains," those "impassable mountains," and "the
impossibility of a wagon road from the United
States," were the burdens of many speeches from
the statesmen of that time. And then they em
phasized the whole with the clincher that, after
overcoming these terrible obstacles that inter
vened, we reached a land that was "worthless," not
even worth a "pinch of snuff."
Senator Dayton, of New Jersey, in 1844, in the
discussion of the Oregon boundary question,
said: "With the exception of land along the Wil
lamette and strips along other water courses, the
whole country is as irreclaimable and barren a
waste as the Desert of Sahara. Nok is this the
worst; the climate is so unfriendly to human life
that the native population has dwindled away
under the ravages of malaria."
The National Intelligencer, about the same date,
republished from the Louisville Journal and sanc
tioned the sentiments, as follows :
"Of all the countries upon the face of the earth
Oregon is one of the least favored by heaven. It

44 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
is the mere riddlings of creation. It is almost as
barren as Sahara and quite as unhealthy as the
Campagna of Italy. Russia has her Siberia and
England has her Botany Bay and if the United
States should ever need a country to which to ban
ish her rogues and scoundrels, the utility of such
a region as Oregon would be demonstrated. Until
then, we are perfectly willing to leave this mag
nificent country to the Indians, trappers and buf
falo hunters that roam over its sand banks."
In furtherance of the Jackson sentiment of "a
dense population," Senator Dayton said: "I have
no faith in the unlimited extensions of this gov
ernment. We have already conflicting interests,
more than enough, and God forbid that the time
should ever come when a state on the shores of
the Pacific, with its interests and tendencies of
trade all looking toward Asiatic nations of the
east, shall add its jarring claims to our already
distracted and over-burdened confederacy. We
are nearer to the remote nations of Europe than
to Oregon."
The Hudson Bay Company had done its edu
cating work well. If they had graduated Ameri
can statesmen in a full course of Hudson Bay
training and argument and literature, they could
not have made them more efficient. Our states
men did not doubt that the honest title of the prop
erty was vested in the United States; for they had

JASON LEE. 45
gone on from time to time perfecting this title;
yet they had no idea of its value and seemed to
hold it only for diplomatic purposes or for pros
pective barter.
The United States had no contestant for the
property except England, but in 1818 she was not
ready to make any assertion of her rights. In
1828 she still postponed making any demand and
renewed the treaty, well knowing that the little
island many thousands of miles across the Atlan
tic, was the supreme ruler of all the vast territory.
Again, when the Ashburton Treaty was at is
sue, and the question of boundary which had been
for forty-eight years a bone of contention, the
government again ignored Oregon, and was satis-
'fied with settling the boundaries between a few
farms up in Maine.
But it requires no argument in view of this long
continued series of acts, to reach the conclusion
that American interests in Oregon were endan
gered most of all from the apathy and ignorance
of our own statesmen.
That loyal old pioneer, Rev. Jason Lee, the
chief of the Methodist Mission in Oregon, visited
Washington in 1838 and presented the conditions
of the country and its dangers forcibly. With
funds contributed by generous friends he suc
ceeded in taking back with him quite a delega-

46 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
tion of actual settlers for Oregon. But neither
Congress nor the people were aroused.
For all practical purposes Oregon was treated
as a "foreign land." There was not even a show
of a protectorate over the few Americam immi
grants who had gathered there. The "American
Board," which sent missionaries only to foreign
lands, had charge of the mission fields, and care
fully secured passports for their missionaries be
fore starting them upon their long journey. The
Rev. Myron Eells in his interestinig volume en
titled "Father Eells," gives a copy of the passport
issued to his father. It records —
"The Rev. Gushing Eells, Missionary and
Teacher of the American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions to the tribes west of the
Rocky Mountains, having signified to this depart
ment his desire to pass through the Indian Coun
try to the Columbia River, and requested the per
mission required by law to enable him so to do,
such permission is hereby granted; and he is
commended to the friendly attention of civil and
military agents and officers and of citizens, if at
any time it shall be necessary to his protection.
Given under my hand and the seal of the War
Department this 27th day of February, 1838.
"J. R. POINSETT, "Secretary of War."

ENGLISH OPINION. 47
It is a truth so plain as to need no argument,
that during all these earlier years the whole effort
of the fur traders had been to deceive all nation
alities as to the value of the Northwestern country.
In their selfishness they had deceived England as
well as America. Their idea and hope was to
keep out emigration. But England had been
better informed than the United States, for the
reason that all the commerce was with England,
and English capitalists who had large interests
in the Hudson Bay Company, very naturally were
better informed, but even they were not anxious
for English colonization and an interference with
their bonanza.
They controlled the English press, and so late as
1840 we read in the "British and Foreign Review,"
that "upon the whole, therefore, the Oregon coun
try holds out no great promise as an agricultural
field." The London Examiner in 1843 wonders that
"Ignorant Americans" were "disposed to quarrel
over a country, the whole in dispute not being
worth to either party twenty thousand pounds."
The Edinburgh Review, generally fair, said:
"Only a very small portion of the land is capable
of cultivation. It is a case in which the Ameri
can people have been misled as to climate and soil.
In a few years all that gives life to the country,
both the hunter and his prey will be extinct, and

48 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
their places wTill be supplied by a thin white and
half-breed population scattered along the fertile
valleys supported by pastures instead of the chase,
and gradually degenerating into barbarism, far
more offensive than backwoodsmen." Our Eng
lish friends, it may be observed, had long had a
poor opinion of "backwoodsmen."
The Edinburgh Review, in 1843, says: "How
ever the political question between England and
the United States as to their claim on Oregon
shall be determined, Oregon will never be colo
nized overland from the United States. The world
must assume a new phase before the American
wagons make a jplain road to the Columbia River."
In this educating work of the English press, we
can easily understand how public opinion was
molded, and how our statesmen were misinformed
and misdirected. It was, no doubt, largely due to
the shrewd work of the great monopoly in Oregon
backed up by the English Government. Its first
object was to keep it unsettled as long as possi
ble, for on that depended the millions for the Hud
son Bay Company's treasury, but beyond that, the
government plainly depended upon the powerful
organization to hold all the land as a British pos
session. In the war of 1812, one of the first moves was
to dispatch a fleet to the Columbia, with orders,

THE OUTLOOK GLOOMY. 49
as the record shows, "to take and destroy every
thing American on the northwest coast."
The prosperous people of Oregon, Washington
and Idaho are in a position now to enjoy such
prophetic fulminations, but they can easily see the
dangers that were escaped. It was a double dan
ger, danger from abroad and at home, and of the
latter most of all. The Nation had been deceived.
It must be undeceived.
The outlook was not hopeful. The year 1843
had been ushered in. The long-looked-for and
talked-of treaty had been signed, and Oregon
again ignored. There was scarcely a shadow cast
of coming events to give hope to the friends of
far-away Oregon.
Suppose some watchman from the dome of the
Capitol casting his eyes westward in 1843, could
have seen that little caravan winding through val
leys and over the hills and hurrying eastward, but
who would dream that its leader was "a man of
destiny," bearing messages to a nation soon to be
aroused? Of how little or how much importance
was this messenger or his message, turn to "The
Ride to Save Oregon" and judge. But certain
it is, a great change, bordering on revolution, was
portending.

CHAPTER III.

THE ROMANCE OF THE OREGON MISSION.

These pages are mainly designed to show in
brief the historical and political environments of
Oregon in pioneer days, and the patriotic services
rendered the nation by Dr. Marcus Whitman. But
to attempt to picture this life and omit the mis
sionary, would be like reciting the play of Ham
let and omitting Hamlet.
The mission work to the Oregon Indians began
in a romance and ended in a great tragedy. The
city of St. Louis in that day was so near the border
of civilization that it was accustomed to see much
of the rugged and wild life of the plains; yet in
1832 the people beheld even to them the odd sight
of four Flathead Indians in Indian dress and
equipment parading their principal streets.
General Clarke, who commanded the military
post of that city, was promptly notified and took
the strangers in charge. He had been an Indian

THE WHITE MAN'S BOOK OF LIFE. 51
commissioner for many years in the far West,
knew the tribe well and could easily communi
cate with them. With it all he was a good friend
to the Indians and at once made arrangements at
the fort to make them comfortable. They in
formed him that they were all chiefs of the tribe
and had spent the entire Summer and Fall upon
their long journey. Their wearied manner and
wasted appearance told the fact impressively,
even had the general not known the locality
where they belonged.
For a while they were reticent regarding their
mission, as is usual with Indians ; but in due time
their story was fully revealed. They had heard of
"The White Man's Book of Life," and had come "to
hunt for it" and "to ask for teachers to be sent" to
their tribe.
To Gen. Clarke this was a novel proposition to
come in that way from wild Indians. Gen. Clarke
was a devoted Catholic and treated his guests as
a humane and hospitable man. After they were
rested up he piloted them to every place which he
thought would entertain and interest them. Fre
quent visits were made to Catholic churches, and
to theaters and shows of every kind. And so they
spent the balance of the Winter.
During this time, two of the Indians, from the
long journey and possibly from over-eating rich
food, to which they were unaccustomed, were

52 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
taken sick and died, and were given honored
burial by the soldiers. When the early Spring
sun began to shine, the two remaining Indians
commenced their preparations for return home.
Gen. Clarke proposed to give them a banquet
upon the last evening of their sojourn, and start
them upon their way loaded with all the comforts
he could give. At this banquet one of the Indians
made a speech. It was that speech, brimming
over with Indian eloquence, which fired the Chris
tian hearts of the Nation into a new life. The
speech was translated into English and thus
doubtless loses much of its charm.
The chief said : "I come to you over the trail of
many moons from the setting sun. You were the
friends of my fathers, who have all gone the long
way. I came with an eye partly open for my peo
ple, who sit in darkness. I go back with both eyes
closed. How can I go back blind, to my blind peo
ple? I made my way to you with strong arms
through many enemies and strange lands that I
might carry back much to them. I go back with
both arms broken and empty. Two fathers came
with us, they were the braves of many winters and
wars. We leave them asleep here by your great
water and wigwams. They were tired in many
moons and their moccasins wore out.
"My people sent me to get the "White Man's
Book of Heaven." You took me to where you al-

THE INDIAN'S SPEECH. 53
low your women to dance as we do not ours, and
the book was not there. You took me to where
they worship the Great Spirit with candles and
the book was not there. You showed me images
of the good spirits and the pictures of the good
land beyond, but the book was not among them to
tell us the way. I am going back the long and sad
trail to my people in the dark land. You make
my feet heavy with gifts and my moccasins will
grow old in carrying them, yet the book is not
among them. When I tell my poor blind people
after one more snow, in the big council, that I did
not bring the book, no word will be spoken by our
old men or by our young braves. One by one they
will rise up and go out in silence. My people will
die in darkness, and they will go a long path to
other hunting grounds. No white man will go
with them, and no White Man's Book to make the
way plain. I have no more words."
When this speech was translated and sent East
it was published in the Christian Advocate in
March, 1833, with a ringing editorial froni Presi
dent Fisk of Wilbraham College. "Who will re
spond to go beyond the Rocky Mountains and
carry the Book of Heaven?" It made a profound
impression. It was a Macedonian cry of "Come
over and help us," not to be resisted. Old men and
women who read this call, and attended the meet
ings at that time, are still living, and can attest

54 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
to its power. It stirred the church as it has sel
dom been stirred into activity.
This incident of the appearance in St. Louis and
demand of the four Flathead Indians has been
so fully verified in history as to need no addi
tional proof to silence modern sceptics who have
ridiculed it. All the earlier histories such as
"Gray's History of Oregon," "Reed's Mission of the
Methodist Church," Governor Simpson's narrative,
Barrow's "Oregon," Parkman's "Oregon Trail,"
with the correspondence of the Lees, verified the
truth of the occurrence.
Bancroft, in his thirty-eight-volume history, in
volume 1, page 579, says, "Hearing of the Chris
tians and how heaven favors them, four Flathead
Indian chiefs, in 1832, went to St. Louis and asked
for teachers," etc. As this latter testimony is from
a source which discredited missionary work, as we
shall show in another chapter, it is good testimony
upon the point. Some modern doubters have also
ridiculed the speech reported to have been made
by the Indian chief. Those who know Indians
best will bear testimony to its genuineness.
Almost every tribe of Indians has its orator and
story-teller, and some of them as famous in their
wTay as the Beechers and Phillipses and Depews,
among the whites, or the Douglasses and Lang-
stons among the negroes.
In 1851 the writer of this book was purser upon

AN INCIDENT IN OREGON. 55
the steamer Lot Whitcomb, which ran between
Milwaukee and Astoria, Oregon. One beautiful
morning I wandered a mile or more down the
beach and was seated upon the sand, watching
the great combers as they rolled in from the Pa
cific, wThich, after a storm, is an especially grand
sight; when suddenly, as if he had arisen from the
ground, an Indian appeared near by and accosted
me. He was a fine specimen of a savage, clean
and well dressed. He evidently knew who I was
and my position on the steamer and had followed
me to make his plea. With a toss of his arm and
a motion of his body he threw the fold of his
blanket across his left shoulder as gracefully as a
Roman Senator could have done, and began his
speech. "Hy-iu hyas kloshe Boston, Boston hy-iu
steamboat hy-iu cuitan. Indian halo steamboat,
halo cuitan." It was a rare mixture of English
words with the Chinook, which I easily understood.
The burthen of his speech was, the greatness
and richness and goodness of white men; (they
called all white men Boston men) ; they owned all
the steamboats and horses; that the Indians were
very poor; that his squaw and pappoose were away
up the Willamette river, so far away that his moc
casins would be worn out before he could reach
their wigwam; that he had no money and wanted
to ride.
I have heard the great orators of the nation in

56 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the pulpit and halls of legislation, but I never lis
tened to a more eloquent plea, or saw gestures
more graceful than were those of that wild Wasco
Indian, of which I alone was the audience.
Another interesting historical scrap of the ro
mantic history of these Flathead chiefs is fur
nished in the fact that the celebrated Indian artist,
George Catlin, was on one of his tours in the West
taking sketches in the spring of 1833. Soon after
their leaving St. Louis he dropped in with the two
Indians on their return journey and traveled with
them for some days, taking pictures of both, and
they are now numbers 207 and 208 in his great col
lection. Upon his return east he read the Indian speech,
and of the excitement it had caused, and not hav
ing been told by the Indians of the cause of their
journey, and wishing to be assured that he had ac
cidentally struck a great historic prize in securing
the pictures, he sat down and wrote Gen. Clarke
at St. Louis, asking him if the speech was true
and the story correct. Gen. Clarke promptly re
plied, "The story is true; that was the only ob
ject of their visit." Taken in connection with the
after history, no two pictures in any collection
have a deeper or grander significance.
We may add here that within a month after
leaving St. Louis, one of the Indians was taken



THE LOT WHITCOMB.
The first Steamboat built in Oregon.

THE FLATHEADS. 57
sick and died, and but one reached his home in
safety. When I reached Oregon in 1850, the first tribe
of Indians I visited in their home was the Flat-
heads. But whether the story is true in all its
minutiae or not, it matters but little. It was be
lieved true, and produced grand results. It can
hardly be said, from the standpoint of the Chris
tian missionary, that the work in Oregon was a
grand success. And yet, never were missionaries
more heroic, or that labored in any field with
greater fidelity for the true interests of the Indian
savages to whom they were sent.
They were great, warm-hearted, intelligent, edu
cated, earnest men and women, who endured pri
vation, isolation and discomfort with cheerfulness,
that they might teach Christianity and save souls.
There was no failure from any incompetency of
the teachers, but from complications and sur
roundings hopelessly beyond their power to
change. They brought with them over their long, weary
journey the Bible, Christianity and civilization,
and the school. They were met at first with a cor
dial reception by the Indians, but a great corpora
tion, dependent upon the steel trap and continu
ous savage life, soon showed its hand. It was a
foreign un-American opposition. It had met every
American company that had attempted to share in

58 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the business promoted by savage life, and routed
them. The missionaries were wide-awake men and
were quick to see the drift of affairs.
Dr. Whitman early foresaw what was to hap
pen. He saw the possibilities of the country and
that the first battle was between the schoolhouse
and civilization, and the tepee and savager}-. He
resolved to do everything possible for the Indian
before it began. In a letter to his father-in-law,
dated May 16, 1844, from Waiilatpui, he says:
"It does not concern me so much what is to be
come of any particular set of Indians, as to give
them the offer of salvation through the Gospel,
and the opportunity of civilization, and then I am
content to do good to all men as I have opportu
nity. I have no doubt our greatest work is to be
to aid the white settlement of this country and
help to found its religious institutions. Provi
dence has its full share in all those events. Al
though the Indians have made, and are making
rapid advance in religious knowledge and civiliza
tion, yet it cannot be hoped that time will be al
lowed to mature the work of Christianization or
civilization before white settlers will demand the
soil and the removal both of the Indians and the
Missions. "What Americans desire of this kind they al
ways effect, and it is useless to oppose or desire it
otherwise. To guide as far as can be done, and di-

WHITMAN'S LETTER. 59
rect these tendencies for the best, is evidently the
part of wisdom. Indeed, I am fully convinced
that when people refuse or neglect to fill the de
sign of Providence, they ought not to complain at
the results, and so it is equally useless for Chris
tians to be over-anxious on their account.
"The Indians have in no case obeyed the com
mand to multiply and replenish the earth, and
they cannot stand in the way of others doing so.
A place will be left them to do this as fully as their
ability to obey will permit, and the more we do
for them the more fully will this be realized. No
exclusiveness can be asked for any portion of the
human family. The exercise of his rights are all
that can be desired. In order for this to be un
derstood to its proper extent, in regard to the In
dians, it is necessary that they seek to preserve
their rights by peaceable means only. Any viola
tion of this rule will be visited with only evil re
sults to themselves."
This letter from Dr. Whitman to his wife's
father, dated about seven months after his return
from his memorable "Ride to Save Oregon," is for
the first time made public in the published trans
actions of the State Historical Society of Oregon
in 1893. It is important from the fact that it gives
a complete key to the life and acts of this silent
man and his motives for the part he took in the
great historic drama, in which the statesmen of

60 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the two nations were to be the actors, with mil
lions of people the interested audience.
In another place we will show how Whitman
has been misrepresented by modern historians,
and an attempt made to deprive him of all honor,
and call attention to the above record, all the more
valuable because never intended for the public eye
when written.
In the same letter Whitman says, "As I hold the
settlement of this country by Americans, rather
than by English colonists, most important, I am
happy to have been the means of landing so large
an immigration on the shores of the Columbia
with their wagons, families and stock, all in
safety." Such sentiments reveal only the broad-minded,
far-seeing Christian man, who, though many thou
sand miles away from its protecting influence, still
loved "The banner of beauty and glory." He had
gone to Oregon with only a desire to teach savages
Christianity; but saw in the near future the in
evitable, and, without lessening his interest in his
savage pupils, he entered the broader field.
Who can doubt that both were calls from a
power higher than man? Or who can point to an
instance upon historic pages where the great work
assigned was prosecuted with greater fidelity?
Having accomplished a feat unparalleled for its
heroism and without a break in its grand success,

NOT AN ACCIDENT. 61
he makes no report of it to any state or national
organization, but while he talked freely with his
friends of his work it is only now, after he has
rested for forty-seven and more years, that this
modest letter written to his wife's father at the
time, strongly reveals his motives.
Having accomplished his great undertaking, he
was still the missionary and friend of the Indians,
and at once dropped back to his work, and the
drudgery of his Indian mission.
Again we find him enlarging his field of work,
teaching his savage friends, not only Christianity,
but how to sow, and plant, and reap, and build
houses, and prepare for civilization. He took no
part in the new political life which he had made
possible. He was a stranger to all things except
those which concerned the work he was called to
do. In his letter he speaks of earnestly desiring
to return East and bring out the second company
of immigrants the coming Spring, but the needs
of his mission, his wasted fields, and his mill
burned during his absence, seemed to demand his
presence at home.
The world speaks of this event and that, as "It
so happened." They will refer to the advent of
the Flathead Indians in St. Louis in 1832, as "It
so happened." The more thoughtful readers of
history find fewer things "accidental." In this
great historic romance the Flathead Indians were

62 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
not an accident. The American Board, the Meth
odist Board, Dr. Whitman and Jason Lee, and
their co-workers, were not accidents. They were
all men inspired to a specific work, and having
entered upon it, the field widened into dimensions
of unforeseen grandeur, whose benefits the, Nation
has never yet befittingly acknowledged.

CHAPTER IV.

THE WEDDING JOURNEY ACROSS THE PLAINS.

The romance of the Oregon Mission did not end
with the call of the Flathead Indians. This was
savage romance, that of civilization followed.
The Methodists sent the Lees in 1834, and the
American Board tried to get the right men for the
work to accompany them, but failed. But in 1835
they sent Dr. Marcus Whitman and the Rev. Sam
uel Parker to Oregon upon a trip of discovery, to
find out the real conditions, present and prospec
tive. They got an early start in 1835 and reached
Green River, where they met large bodies of In
dians and Indian traders, and were made fully ac
quainted with the situation. The Indians gave
large promises, and the field seemed wide and in
viting. Upon consultation it was agreed that Dr.
Whitman should return to the States and report to
the American Board, while Dr. Parker should go
on to the Columbia. Two Indian boys from the
Pacific Coast, Richard and John, volunteered to

64 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
return with Dr. Whitman and come back with him
the following year.
The Doctor and his Indian boys reached his
home in Rushville, New York, late on Saturday
night in November, and not making known the
event to his family, astonished the congregation
in his church by walking up the aisle with his In
dians, and calling out an audible exclamation
from his good old mother, "Well, there is Marcus
Whitman." Upon the report of Dr. Whitman the American
Board resolved to at once occupy the field. Dr.
Whitman had long been engaged to be mar
ried to Miss Narcissa Prentice, the daughter of
Judge Prentice, of Prattsburg, New York, who
was as much of an enthusiast in the Oregon Indian
Mission work as the Doctor himself. The Ameri
can Board thought it unwise to send the young
couple alone on so distant a journey, and at once
began the search for company. The wedding day,
which had been fixed, was postponed, and valuable
time was passing, and no suitable parties would
volunteer for the work, when its trials and dan
gers were explained.
The Board had received word that the Rev. H.
H. Spalding, who had recently married, was then
with his wife on his way to the Osage Mission to
enter upon a new field of work. It was in January
and Whitman took to the road in his sleigh in pur-

MRS. SPALDING'S DECISION. 65
suit of the traveling missionaries. He overtook
them near the village of Hudson and hailed them
in his cheery way:
"Ship ahoy, you are wanted for the Oregon
Mission)" After a short colloquy they drove on to the hotel
of the little village. There the. subject was can
vassed and none of its dangers hidden. Mr. Spald
ing promptly made up his mind, and said:
"My dear, I do not think it your duty to go, but
we will leave it to you after we have prayed."
Mrs. Spalding asked to be left alone, and in ten
minutes she appeared with a beaming face and
said : "I have made up my mind to go."
"But your health, my dear?"
"I like the command just as it stands," says Mrs.
Spalding, "Go ye into all the world and preach the
Gospel, with no exceptions for poor health."
Others referred to the hardships and dangers
and terrors of the journey, but Dr. Spalding says:
"They all did not move her an iota."
Such was the party for the wedding journey. It
did look like a dangerous journey for a woman who
had been many months an invalid, but events
proved Mrs. Spalding a real heroine, with a cour
age and pluck scarcely equaled, and under the
circumstances never excelled. Having turned her
face toward Oregon she never looked back and.
never was heard to murmur or regret her decision.

66 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
This difficulty being removed, the day was again
set for the marriage of Dr. Whitman and Miss
Prentice, which took place in February, 1836. All
authorities mark Narcissa Prentice as a woman of
great force of character.
She was the adored daughter of a refined Chris
tian home and had the love of a wide circle of
friends. She was the soprano singer in the choir of
the village church of which she and her family
were members.
In the volume of the magazine of American His
tory for 1884, the editor, the late Miss Martha J.
Lamb, says:
"The voice of Miss Prentice was of remarkable
sweetness. She was a graceful blonde, stately and
dignified in her bearing, without a particle of af
fectation." Says Miss Lamb: "When preparing
to leave for Oregon the church held a farewell
service and the minister gave out the well-known
hymn :
'Yes, my native land I love thee,
All thy scenes I love them well;
Friends, connection, happy country,
Can I bid you all farewell?'
"The whole congregation joined heartily in the
singing, but before the hymn was half through,
one by one they ceased singing and audible sobs
were heard in every part of the great audience.
The last stanza was sung by the sweet voice of

LEAVING HOME. 67
Mrs. Whitman alone, clear, musical and unwav
ering." One of the pleasant things since it was an
nounced that these sketches would be written, is
the number of people, that before were unknown,
who have volunteered charming personal sketches
of Dr. and Mrs. Whitman.
A venerable friend who often, he fears, attended
church more for the songs of Miss Prentice than
for the sermons, was also at their wedding. The
venerable J. S. Seeley, of Aurora, Illinois, writes:
"It was just fifty-nine years ago this March since
I drove Dr. and Mrs. Whitman from Elmira, N. Y.,
to Hollidaysburg, Pa., in my sleigh. This place
was at the foot of the Allegheny Mountains (east
side) on the Pennsylvania canal. The canal boats
were built in two sections and were taken over
the mountains on a railroad.
"They expected to find the canal open on the
Avest side and thus reach the Ohio River on the
way to Oregon. I was with them some seven days.
Dr. Whitman impressed me as a man of strong-
sterling character and lots of push, but he was
not a great talker. Mrs. Whitman was of medium
size and impressed me as a woman of great resolu
tion." A younger sister of the bride, Mrs. H. P. Jack
son, of Oberlin, Ohio, writes: "Mrs. Whitman
was the mentor of her younger sisters in the

68 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
home. She joined the church when eleven years
old, and from her early years expressed a desire
to be a missionary. . The wedding occurred in the
church at Angelica, N. Y., to which place my
father had removed, and the ceremony was per
formed by the Rev. Everett Hull. I recollect how
deeply interested the two Indian boys were in
the ceremony, and how their faces brightened
when the doctor told them that Mrs. Whitman
would go back with them to Oregon. We all had
the greatest faith and trust in Dr. Whitman, and
in all our letters from our dear sister there was
never a word of regret or repining at the life she
had chosen."
The two Indian boys were placed in school and
learned to read and speak English during the
Winter. The journey down the Ohio and up the Missis
sippi and Missouri Rivers was tedious, but un
eventful. Those who navigated the Missouri River, fifty
years ago, have not forgotten its snags and sand
bars, which caused a constant chattering of the
bells in the engineer's room from morning until
evening, and all through the night, unless the pru
dent captain tied up to the shore. The man and his
"lead line" was constantly on the prow singing
out "twelve feet," "quarter past twain," then sud
denly "six feet," when the bells would ring out as

LEFT BEHIND. 69
the boat's nose would bury in the concealed sand
bar. But the party safely reached its destination, and
was landed with all its effects, wagons, stock and
outfit. The company was made up of Dr. and Mrs. Whit
man, Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Spalding, H. H. Gray, two
teamsters and the two Indian boys.
The American Fur Company, which was send
ing out a convoy to their port in Oregon, had
promised to start from Council Bluffs upon a given
date, and make them welcome members of the
company. It was a large company made up of
two hundred men and six hundred animals. On
the journey in from Oregon, in 1835, cholera had
attacked the company, and Dr. Whitman had ren
dered such faithful and efficient service that they
felt under obligations to him. But they had heard
there were to be women along and the old moun
taineers did not want to be bothered with women
upon such a journey, and they moved out
promptly without waiting for the doctor's party,
which had been delayed.
When Dr. Whitman reached Council Bluffs and
found them gone, he was greatly disturbed. There
was nothing to do but make forced marches and
catch the train before it reached the more danger
ous Indian country. Dr. Spalding would have
liked to have found it an excuse to return home,

70 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
but Mrs. Spalding remarked: "I have started to
the Rocky Mountains and I expect to go there."
Spalding in a dressing gown in his study, or
in a city pulpit, would have been in his element,
but he was not especially marked for an Indian
missionary. Early in the campaign a Missouri
cow kicked him off the ferryboat into the river.
The ague racked every bone in his body, and a
Kansas tornado at one time lifted both his tent and
his blanket and left him helpless. He seemed to
catch every disaster that came along. A man may
have excellent points in his make-up, as Dr. Spald
ing had, and yet not be a good pioneer.
He and his noble wife made a grand success,
however, when they got into the field of work. It
was Mrs. Spalding who first translated Bible
truths and Christian songs into the Indian dialect.
It seemed a discouraging start for the little
company when compelled to pull out upon the
boundless plains alone. But led by Whitman, they
persevered and caught the convoy late in May.
The doctor's boys now proved of good service.
They were patient and untiring and at home on
the trail. They took charge of all the loose stock.
The cows they were taking along would be of great
value upon reaching their destination, and they
proved to be of value along the journey as well, as
milk suppliers for the little party.
The first part of the journey Mrs. Whitman rode

TRIALS OF THE JOURNEY. 71
mainly in the wagon with Mrs. Spalding, who was
not strong enough for horseback riding. But
soon she took to her pony and liked it so much bet
ter, that she rode nearly all the way on horseback.
They were soon initiated into the trials and dan
gers of the journey.
On May 9th Mrs. Whitman writes in her diary:
"We had great difficulty to-day. Husband be
came so completely exhausted with swimming the
river, that it was with difficulty he made the shore
the last time. We had but one canoe, made of
skins, and that was partly eaten by the dogs the
night before."
She speaks of "meeting large bodies of Pawnee
Indians," and says:
"They seemed very much surprised and pleased
to see white women. They were noble looking In
dians. "We attempted, by a hard march, to reach Loup
Fork. The wagons got there at eleven at night,
but husband and I rode with the Indian boys until
nine o'clock, when Richard proposed that we go
on and they would stay with the loose cattle upon
the prairie, and drive them in early in the morn
ing. We did not like to leave them and concluded
to stay. Husband had a cup tied to his saddle,
and in this he milked what we wanted to drink;
this was our supper. Our saddle-blankets with
our rubber-cloaks were our beds. Having offered

72 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
thanksgiving for the blessings of the day, and
seeking protection for the night, we committed
ourselves to rest. We awoke refreshed and rode
into camp before breakfast."
Here they caught up with the Fur Company
caravan, after nearly a month's traveling. These
brave women, with their kindness and tact, soon
won the good-will and friendship of the old plains
men, and every vestige of opposition to having
women in the train disappeared and every possi
ble civility and courtesy was extended to them.
One far-seeing old American trader, who had felt
the iron heel of the English Company beyond the
Stony Mountains, pointing to the little missionary
band, prophetically remarked: "There is some
thing that the Honorable Hudson Bay Company
cannot drive out of Oregon."
In her diary of the journey, Mrs. Whitman never
expresses a fear, and yet remembering my own
sensations upon the same journey, I can scarcely
conceive that two delicately nurtured women
would not be subjected to great anxieties.
The Platte River, in that day, was but little un
derstood and looked much worse than it really
was. Where forded it was a mile wide, and not
often more than breast deep to the horses. Two
men, on the best horses, rode fifty yards in advance
of the wagons, zig-zagging up and down, while the
head-driver kept an eye open for the shallowest

DR. MARCUS WHITMAN.

No picture of Dr. "Whitman is in existence. The abov<j portrait is mad*' from
the basis of n photograph of Rev. Mnrcus Whitman Montgomery, who resembled
Dr. Whitman very closely. Changes have been liiailc under the supervision of the
family, who now pronounce this a very correct liki'in-ss

THE PLATTE. 73
water and kept upon the bar. In doing this a train
would sometimes have to travel nearly twice the
distance of the width of the river to get across.
The bed of the river is made of shifting sand, and
a team is not allowed to stop for a moment, or it
will steadily settle down and go out of sight.
A balky team or a break in the harness requires
prompt relief or all will be lost. But after all the
Platte River is remembered by all old plainsmen
with a blessing. For three hundred miles it ad
ministered to the comfort of the pioneers.
It is even doubtful whether they could have
gone the journey had it not been for the Platte,
as it rolls its sands down into the Missouri. The
water is turbid with sand at all times, as the winds
in their wide sweep across sandy plains perpetu
ally add to its supply. But the water when dipped
up over night and the sand allowed to settle, 'is
clear and pure and refreshing.
The pioneers, however, took the Platte water as
it ran, often remarking: "In this country a fellow
needs sand and the Platte was built to furnish it."
In June Mrs. Whitman writes: "We are now in
the buffalo country and my husband and I relish
it; he has a different way of cooking every part
of the animal."
Mrs. Whitman makes the following entry in her
diary, for the benefit of her young sisters:
"Now, H. and E., you must not think it very

74 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
hard to have to get up so early after sleeping on
the soft ground, when you find it hard work to
open your eyes at seven o'clock. Just think of
me every morning. At the word 'Arise!' we all
spring. While the horses are feeding we get break
fast in a hurry and eat it. By that time the words
'Catch up, catch up,' ring throughout the camp for
moving. We are ready to start usually at six,
travel until eleven, encamp, rest and feed, and
start again at two and travel till six and if we
come to a good tavern, camp for the night."
A certain number of men were set apart for
hunters each day and they were expected to bring-
in four mule loads of meat to supply the daily de
mands. While in the buffalo country this was an
easy task; when it came to deer, antelope and
birds, it was much more difficult work.
The antelope is a great delicacy, but he is the
fleetest footed runner upon the plains and has to
be captured, generally, by strategy. He has an
inordinate curiosity. The hunter lies down and
waves a red handkerchief on the end of his ram
rod and the whole herd seems to have the greatest
desire to know what it is. They gallop around, trot
high and snort and keep coming nearer, until
within gun shot they pay dearly for their curiosity.
To avoid danger and failure of meat supplies
before leaving the buffalo country, the company
stopped and laid in a good supply of jerked buffalo

THE BILL OF FARE. 75
meat. It was well they did, for it was about all
they had for a long distance. As Mrs. Whitman
says in her diary:
"Dried buffalo meat and tea for breakfast, and
tea and dried buffalo meat for supper," but jok
ingly adds: "The doctor gives it variety by cook
ing every part of the animal in a different way."
But after all it was a novel menu for a bridal trip.
By a strange miscalculation they ran out of flour
before the journey was half ended. But, says Mrs.
Whitman, "My health continues good, but sister
Spalding has been made sick by the diet."
On July 22d, she writes:
"Had a tedious ride until four p. m. I thought
of my mother's bread as a child would, but did not
find it. I should relish it extremely well. But we
feel that the good Father has blessed us beyond
our most sanguine expectations. It is good to feel
that He is all I want and if I had ten thousand
lives I would give them all to Him."
The road discovered by the pioneers through
the South Pass seems to have been made by na
ture on purpose to unite the Pacific with the At
lantic slope by an easy wagon road. The Wind
River and Rocky Mountains appear to have run
out of material, or spread out to make it an easy
climb. So gentle is the ascent the bulk of the way
that the traveler is scarcely aware of the fact that
he is climbing the great "Stony Mountains."

76 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
Fremont discovered the pass in 1842 and went
through it again in 1843, and Stanbury in 1849,
but it is well to remember that upon this notable
bridal tour, these Christian ladies passed over the
same route six years before "The Pathfinder," or
the engineer corps of the United States, ever
saw it.
It is always an object of interest to know when
the top has been reached and to see the famous
spring from which the water divides and runs
both ways. Our missionary band, accustomed to
have regular worship on the plains, when they
reached the dividing of the waters held an espe
cially interesting service. The Rev. Dr. Jonathan
Edwards graphically describes it. He says:
"There is a scene connected with their journey
which demands extraordinary attention in view
of its great significance. It is one that arouses all
that is good within us, and has been pronounced
as hardly paralleled in American records for his
toric grandeur and far-reaching consequence. It
is sublimely beautiful and inspiring in its effects,
and would baffle the genius of a true poet to
describe it with adequate fitness. They were yet
high on the Rocky Mountains, with the great ex
panse of the Pacific slope opening before them like
a magnificent panorama. Their hearts were pro
foundly moved as they witnessed the landscape
unfolding its delightful scenes, and as they viewed

THE SUMMIT OF THE CONTINENT. 77
the vast empire given them to win for King Eman
uel. "There we find the little group of five mission
aries, and the two Nez Perces boys that Whitman
took with him to New York selecting a spot where
the bunch grass grows high and thick. Their
hearts go out to God in joyful adoration for His
protecting- care over them thus far, especially so,
because they felt the greatest difficulties had been
overcome and they now entered the country for
the people of which they had devoted their lives.
The sky is bright above them, the sun shines se
renely and the atmosphere is light and invigorat
ing. The sun continues his course and illuminates
the western horizon like a flame of Are, as if striv
ing to give them a temporary glimpse of the vast
domain between them and the Pacific Ocean. They
spread their blankets carefully on the grass, and
lifted the American flag to wave gracefully in the
breeze, and with the Bible in the center, they knelt,
and with prayer and praise on their lips, they take
possession of the western side of the American
continent in His name who proclaimed "Peace on
earth and good will toward men." How strongly
it evidences their faith in their mission and the
conquering power of the King of Peace. What a
soul-inspiring scene."
Continuing her diary, Mrs. Whitman says: "I
have been in a peaceful state of mind all day."

78 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
July 25th she writes: "The ride has been very
mountainous, paths only winding along the sides
of steep mountains, in many places so narrow that
the animal would scarcely find room to place his
foot." It is upon this date that she again mourns over
the doctor's persistence in hauling along his his
toric wagon. Even the good wife in full sympathy
with her husband failed to see it as he did; it was
the pioneer chariot, loaded with a richness that no
wagon before or since contained.
On July 25th: "Husband has had a tedious
time with the wagon to-day. It got stuck in the
creek, and on the mountain side, so steep that the
horses could scarcely climb, it was upset twice.
It was a wonder that it was not turning somer
saults continually. It is not grateful to my feel
ings to see him wearing himself out with excessive
fatigue. All the most difficult portions of the way
he has walked, in a laborious attempt to take the
wagon." Those who have gone over the same
road and remember the hard pulls at the end of
long ropes, where there was plenty of help, will
wonder most that he succeeded.
The company arrived at Fort Hall on August
1st. Here they succeeded in buying a little rice,
which was regarded a valuable addition to their
slender stock of eatables. They had gone beyond
the buffalo range and had to live upon the dried

THAT FAMOUS WAGON. 79
meat, venison and wild ducks or fish, all of which
were scarce and in limited supply.
Speaking of crossing Snake River Mrs. Whit
man says : "We put the packs on the tallest horses,
the highest being selected for Mrs. Spalding and
myself. "The river where we crossed is divided into
three branches, by islands. The last branch is half
a mile wide and so deep as to come up to the
horses' sides, and a very strong current. The
wagon turned upside down in the current, and
the mules were entangled in the harness. I once
thought of the terrors of the rivers, but now I
cross the most difficult streams without a fear."
Among the novel ferries she speaks of was a
dried elk skin with two ropes attached. The party
to be ferried lies flat down on the skin and two
Indian women swimming, holding the ropes in
their mouths, pull it across the stream.
One of the notable qualities of Dr. Whitman was
his observance of the small things in every-day
life. Many a man who reaches after grand results
overlooks and neglects the little events. Mrs.
Whitman says:
"For weeks and weeks our camping places have
been upon open plains with not a tree in sight,
but even here we find rest and comfort. My hus
band, the best the world ever produced, is always
ready to provide a comfortable shade from the

80 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
noonday sun when we stop. With one of our sad
dle-blankets stretched across the sage brush or
upheld by sticks, our saddle blankets and fisha-
mores placed on the ground, our resting is delight
ful." Among the notable events of the journey was
when the party reached Green River, the place
of annual meeting of the Indians and the traders.
It was this place that Dr. Whitman had reached
the year previous. The Green is one of the large
branches of the Colorado, which heads among the
snow banks of Fremont's Peak, a thousand miles
away. In its picturesque rugged beauty few sec
tions excel the scenery along the river, and now
the whole scene, alive with frontier and savage
life, was one to impress itself indelibly upon the
memories of our travelers.
There were about two hundred traders and two
thousand Indians, representatives of tribes lo
cated many hundreds of miles distant. The
Cayuse and Nez Perces, who expected Dr. Whit
man and his delegation, were present to honor the
occasion, and meet the boys, John and Richard,
who had accompanied the doctor from this place
the year before. The Indians expressed great de
light over the successful journey; but most of all
they were delighted with the noble white squaws
who had come over the long trail. They were dem
onstrative and scoured the mountains for delica-

AT FORT HALL. 81
cies in game from the woods and brought trout
from the river, and seemed constantly to fear that
they were neglecting some courtesy expected of
them. They finally got up a war tournament, and six
hundred armed and mounted Indians, in their
war paint, with savage yells bore down toward the
tents of the ladies, and it was almost too realistic
of savage life to be enjoyed.
Here the brides were permitted to rest for ten
days, and until their tired animals could recuper
ate. The scenery along the last three hundred
miles was most charming, and almost made the
travelers forget the precipitous climbs and the
steep descents. The days sped past, and the
wagon being left behind to be sent for later on,
the wedding party marched more rapidly. They
reached Walla Walla River, eight miles from the
fort, the last day of August, and on September 1st
they made an early start and galloped into the
fort. The party was hospitably received.
Says Mrs. Whitman: "They were just eating
breakfast when we arrived, and soon we were
seated at the table and treated to fresh salmon,
potatoes, tea, bread and butter. What a variety,
thought I. You cannot imagine what an appetite
these rides in the mountains give a person."
We have preferred to let Mrs. Whitman tell in
her own way the story of this memorable wedding

82 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
journey. The reader will look in vain for any
mourning or disquietude. Two noble women
started in to be the helpmeets of two good men,
and what a grand success they made of it. There
is nowhere any spirit of grumbling, but on the
contrary, a joyousness and exhilaration. True
womanhood of all time is honored in the lives of
such women. It was but the coming of the first
white women who ever crossed the Rocky Moun
tains and notable as an heroic wedding journey,
but to the world it was not only exalted heroism,
but a great historic event, the building of an em
pire whose wide-reaching good cannot easily be
overestimated. It was an event unparalleled in real or roman
tic literature, and so pure and exalted in its mo
tives, and prosecuted so unostentatiously, as to
honor true womanhood for all time to come.

CHAPTER V.

MISSION LIFE IN WAIILATPUI.

Most writers speak of the Mission at Waiilatpui,
as "The Presbyterian Mission." While it does not
much matter whether it was Presbyterian or Con
gregational, it is well to have the history correct.
The two great churches at that time were united
in their foreign missionary work, and their mis
sionaries were taken from both denominations.
A year or more ago I asked the late Professor
Marcus Whitman Montgomery, of the Chicago
Theological Seminary (a namesake of Dr. Whit
man), to go over Dr. Whitman's church record
while in Boston. He sends me the following,
which may be regarded as authentic:
Ravenswood, Chicago, Jan. 5, 1894.
Dr. O. W. Nixon:
Dear Sir — The record of Dr. Whitman's church
membership is as follows: Converted during a re
vival in the Congregational Church at Plainfield,
Mass., in 1819, Rev. Moses Hallock, pastor. His

84 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
first joining of a church was at Rushville, Yates
County, N. Y., where he joined the Congregational
Church in 1824, Rev. David Page, pastor. He
was a member of this church for nine years, then
he removed to Wheeler Center, Steuben County,
N. Y. There being no Congregational Church
there he joined the Presbyterian Church of
Wheeler Center, Rev. James T. Hotchkiss, pas
tor. He was a member of this Presbyterian
Church for three years, then he went to the Pacific
Coast. This mission church was Presbyterian in
name and Congregational in practice, while Whit
man and the other missionaries were supported by
the American Board. The American Board was
always Congregational, but, at that time, the Pres
byterians were co-operating- with the American
Board. These are the bottom facts as I have every rea
son to believe. Very truly yours, •
MARCUS WHITMAN MONTGOMERY.
The Rev. H. H. Spalding was a Presbyterian,
and the Mission Church was Presbyterian in name,
but was Congregational in practice, and had a
confession of faith and covenant of its own. While
the record shows Whitman to have been a Congre-
gationalist, it also shows that he united with the
Presbyterian Church when he settled at Wheeler
Center, N. Y., where there was no Congregational

ON THE GROUND. 85
Church. But the fact remains that his memory
and the acts of his grand life are amply sufficient
to interest both these great denominations.
Mrs. Whitman joined the Presbyterian Church
when a young girl of eleven.
Dr. Whitman was born at Rushville, N. Y., Sep
tember 4, 1802, and was thirty-three years old
when he entered upon his work in Oregon. When
first converted he resolved to study for the minis
try, but a chain of circumstances changed his
plans and he studied medicine. The early hard
ships and privations educated him into an ad
mirable fitness for the chosen work of his life.
Picture that little missionary band as they stood
together at Fort Walla Walla in September, 1836,
and consulted about the great problems to solve.
It was all new. There were no precedents to guide
them. They easily understood that the first thing
to do was to consult the ruling powers of Oregon — ¦
the Hudson Bay Company officials at Fort Van
couver. This would require another journey of
three hundred miles, but as it could be made in
boats, and the Indians were capital oarsmen, they
resolved to take their wives with them, and thus
complete the wedding journey.
The gallant Dr. McLoughlin, Chief Factor of
the Hudson Bay Company, was a keen judge of
human nature, and read men and women as schol
ars read books, and he was captivated with the

86 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
open, manly ways of Dr. Whitman and the woman
ly accomplishments of the fair young wife, who
had braved the perils of an overland journey with
wholly unselfish purposes. Whitman soon devel
oped to Dr. McLoughlin all his plans and his hopes.
Perhaps there was a professional free masonry be
tween the men that brought them closer together,
but, by nature, they were both men endowed
richly with the best manly characters.
Dr. McLoughlin resolved to do the best thing
possible for them, while he still protected the in
terests of his great monopoly. Dr. Whitman's
idea, was to build one mission at the Dalles so
as to be convenient to shipping; McLoughlin at
once saw it would not do. He had already pushed
the Methodist Mission far up the Willamette out
of the way of the fort and its work, and argued
with Whitman that it would be best for him to
go to the Walla Walla country, three hundred
miles away, and Spalding, one hundred and twen
ty-five miles farther on.
He argued that the river Indians were far less
hopeful subjects to deal with, and that the bunch
grass Indians, the Cayuse and Nez Perces, had ex
pressed a great anxiety for teachers. This ar
rangement had been partially agreed to by Mr.
Parker the year before. After a full canvass of
the entire subject, Dr. McLoughlin promised all

AN OREGON FOREST. 87
the aid in his power to give them a comfortable
start. At his earnest petition, Mrs. Whitman and Mrs.
Spalding remained at Vancouver while their hus
bands went back to erect houses that would shel
ter them from the coming winter. To make Mrs.
Whitman feel at ease, and that she was not tax
ing the generosity of their new friends, Dr. Mc
Loughlin placed his daughter under her instruc
tion, both in her class work and music. Every effort
was made to interest and entertain the guests;
the afternoons were given to excursions on the
water, or on horseback, or in rambles through the
great fir forests, still as wild as nature made them.
There is a grandeur in the great forest beyond
the Stony Mountains unequaled in any portion of
the world. In our Northern latitudes the under
growth is so thick as to make comfortable travel
ing impossible, but in the fir woods and in the pine
and redwood forests of Oregon, there are compara
tively few of such obstructions. The great giants
ten or twelve feet in diameter, two hundred and
seventy feet high, and one hundred feet without a
limb, hide the sun, and upon a summer day make
jaunts through the forest delightful to a lover of
nature. It was a grand rest and a pleasing finale to the
hardships of the wedding journey for these heroic
women, and Mrs. Whitman, in her diary, never a

88 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
day neglects to remember her kind benefactors.
They rested here for about one and a half months,
when Mr. Spalding came after them and reported
the houses so far advanced/ as to give them shelter.
We read the following note in Mrs. Whitman's
diary, 1836:
"December 26th. Where are we now, and who
are we, that we should be thus blessed of the Lord?
I can scarcely realize that we are thus comforta
bly fixed and keeping house so soon after our mar
riage, when considering what was then before us.
"We arrived here on the 10th, distance twenty-
five miles from Fort Walla Walla. Found a
house reared and the lean-to enclosed, a good
chimney and fireplace and the floor laid. No
windows or doors, except blankets. My heart
truly leaped for joy as I lighted from my
horse, entered and seated myself before a pleas
ant fire (for it was now night). It occurred to me
that my dear parents had made a similar begin
ning and perhaps a more difficult one than ours.
"We had neither straw, bedstead or table, nor
anything to make them of except green cotton-
wood. All our boards are sawed by hand. Here
my husband and his laborers (two Owyhees from
Vancouver, and a man who crossed the mountains
with us), and Mr. Gray had been encamped in a
tent since the 19th of October, toiling excessively

"('•

MISSION STATION AT WAIILATPUI.

THE SITE OF THE MISSION. 89
hard to accomplish this much for -our comfortable
residence during the remainder of the winter.
"It is, indeed, a lovely situation. We are on a
beautiful level peninsula formed by the branches
of the Walla Walla River, upon the base of which
our house stands, on the southeast corner, near
the shore of the main river. To run a fence across
to the opposite river on the north from our house
— this, with the river, would enclose three hun
dred acres of good land for cultivation, all directly
under the eye.
"The rivers are barely skirted with timber.
This is all the woodland we can see. Beyond
them, as far as the eye can reach, plains and moun
tains appear. On the east, a few rods from the
house, is a range of small hills covered with bunch
grass, very excellent food for animals and upon
which they subsist during winter, even digging
it from under the snow."
This section is now reported as among the most
fertile and beautiful places in Washington.
Looking away in a southeasterly direction, the
scenic beauty is grandly impressive. The Indians
named the place Wai-i-lat-pui (the place of rye
grass). For twenty miles there is a level reach
of fertile soil through which flows like a silver
thread the Walla Walla River, while in the dis
tance loom up toward the clouds as a background
the picturesque Blue Mountains. The greatest

90 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
drawback was the long distance to any timber
suitable for making boards, and the almost entire
lack of helpers.
The Cayuse Indians seemed delighted with the
prospect of a Mission church and school, but they
thought it disgraceful for them to work. The
doctor had to go from nine to fifteen miles to get
his timber for boards, and then hew or sawT them
out by hand. It was not, therefore, strange, as
Mrs. Whitman writes in her diary, December 26th:
"No doors or windows." From the day he entered
upon his work, Dr. Whitman was well-nigh an
incessant toiler. Every year he built an addition
to his house.
T. J. Furnham, who wrote a book of "Travels
Across the Great Western Prairies and Rocky
Mountains," visited the Whitman Mission in Sep
tember, 1839. He says: "I found 250 acres en
closed and 200 acres under good cultivation. I
found forty or fifty Indian children between the
ages of seven and eighteen years in school, and
Mrs. Whitman an indefatigable instructor. One
building was in course of construction and a small
grist mill in running order."
He says again: "It appeared to me quite re
markable that the doctor could have made so
many improvements since the year 1836; but the
industry which crowded every hour of the day,
his untiring energy of character, and the, very

WHITMAN'S INDUSTRY. 91
efficient aid of his wife in relieving him in a great
degree from the labors of the school, enabled him,.
without funds for such purposes, and without
other aid than that of a fellow missionary for
short intervals, to fence, plow, build, plant an
orchard, and do all the other laborious acts of
opening a plantation on the face of that distant
wilderness, learn an Indian language, and do the
duties, meanwhile, of a physician to the associate
stations on the Clearwater and Spokane."
People who give their money for missionary
work can easily see that in the case in hand they
received faithful service. This is no prejudiced
report, but facts based upon the knowledge of a
stranger, who had no reason to misrepresent or
exaggerate. v
One of the first efforts of Dr. Whitman was to
induce his Indians to build permanent homes, to
plow, plant and sow. This the Hudson Bay Com
pany had always discouraged. They wanted
their savage aids as nomads and hunters, ready
to move hundreds and hundreds of miles away
in search of furs. They had never been encour
aged to raise either grain or fruit, cattle or sheep.
Dr. Jonathan Edwards says, in speaking of
The Whitman Mission in 1842: "The Indians were
cultivating from one-fourth to four acres of land,
had seventy head of cattle, and some of them a
few sheep." The same author gives a graphic

92 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
description of the painstaking work of Dr. and
Mrs. Whitman, not only in the school room, but in
the Indian home, to show them the comforts and
benefits of civilization. Every Indian who will
plant is furnished the seed.
He also describes the orderly Sunday at the
Mission. Up to the year 1838 the principal meat
used as food by the Mission was horse flesh. The
cattle were too few to be sacrificed in that way.
In 1837 Mrs. Whitman writes in her diary: "We
have had but little venison furnished by the In
dians, but to supply our men and visitors we have
bought of the Indians and eaten ten wild horses."
In 1841 their stock of hogs and cattle had so
increased that they were able to make a partial
change of diet.
Another witness to the value of Dr. Whitman's
missionary work is Joseph Drayton, of Commo
dore Wilkes' exploring expedition of 1841.
He says of the Mission: "All the premises
looked comfortable, the garden especially fine,
vegetables and melons in great variety. The
wheat in the fields was seven feet high and nearly
ripe, and the corn nine feet in the tassel." He
marks the drawbacks of the Mission: "The roving
of the Indians, rarely staying at home more than
three months at a time." "They are off after buf
falo," and "again off after the salmon," and "not

/

DEATH OF THEIR CHILD. 93
more than fifty or sixty remain during the win
ter." These Cayuse Indians were not a numerous
band, but they were born traders, were wealthy,
and had a great influence over other tribes.
Their wealth consisted mainly in horses; va single
Indian Chief owned two thousand head. One of
their good qualities Mrs.Whitman speaks of, is,
"there are no thieves among them." She has to
keep nothing locked out of fear from thieves; but
they had one trying habit of which Mrs. Whit
man had great trouble to break them — that was,
they thought they had a right to go into every
room in the house, and seemed to think that some
thing was wrong when deprived of visiting the
bedrooms of the family.
In June, 1839, a great sorrow came. to Dr. and
Mrs. Whitman. They had but one child, a little girl
of two years and three months old. In their isolated
condition one can easily imagine what a large
place a bright and attractive child would have in
the heart of father and mother in such a home.
In the pursuance of his duties the doctor was ab
sent night after night, and some of his more dis
tant patients occupied him frequently many days.
It was at such times that Mrs. Whitman found
great comfort and happiness in her little daugh
ter. The child had learned the Indian language
and spoke it fluently, to the delight of the Indians,

94 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
and had learned all the songs sung in the Nez
Perces dialect, having inherited the musical tal
ent of her mother. It was in September, 1839,
that she was accidentally drowned in the Walla
Walla River. In her diary Mrs. Whitman writes
to her mother:
"I cannot describe what our feelings were when
night came and our dear child a corpse in the next
room. We went to bed, but not to sleep, for sleep
had departed from our eyes. The morning came,
we arose, but our child slept on. I prepared a
shroud for her during the day; we kept her four
days; it was a great blessing and comfort to me
so long as she looked natural and was so sweet I
could caress her. But when her visage began to
change I felt it a great privilege that I could put
her in so safe a resting place as the grave, to see
her no more until the resurrection morning.
"Although her grave is in sight every time I
step out of the door, my thoughts seldom wander
there to find her. I look above with unspeakable
delight, and contemplate her as enjoying the full
delights of that bright world where her joys are
perfect." One seldom reads a more pathetic story than
this recorded by Mrs. Whitman, and yet, the al
most heartbroken mother in her anguish never
murmurs or rebels. On the morning of the day
she was drowned, Mrs. Whitman writes, the little

MRS. WHITMAN'S RESIGNATION. 95
daughter was permitted to select a hymn for the
family worship. She made a selection of the old-
time favorite: "ROCK OF AGES."
"While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyelids close in death;
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold Thee on Thy Throne;
Rock of ages cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee."
When the Indians came in for the afternoon
service Dr. Whitman turned to the same hymn
and the baby girl again with her sweet voice
joined in the singing. Says Mrs. Whitman:
"This was the last we heard her sing. Little
did we think that her young life was so fleeting
or that those sparkling eyes would so soon be
closed in death, and her spirit rise to worlds un
known to behold on His Throne of glory Him who
said: 'I will be a God to thee and thy seed after
thee.' "
They got water for the household use from the
running river, and the two little tin cups were
found on the edge of the water. An old Indian
dived in and soon brought out the body, but life
was extinct.
The profoundly Christian character of the
mother is revealed in every note of the sad event.
She writes: "Lord, it is right; it is right. She
is not mine, but thine; she was only lent to me

96 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
to comfort me for a little season, and now, dear
Savior, Thou hast the best right to her. Thy will,
not mine, be done." Perils and hardships had
long been theirs, but this was their great sorrow.
But it only seemed to excite them to greater
achievements in the work before them. Not a
single interest was neglected.
The sudden death of "The Little White Cay
use," as the Indians called her, seemed to estrange
the Indians from the Mission. They almost wor
shiped her, and came almost daily to see her and
hear her sing the Cayuse songs. The old Chief
had many times said: "When I die I give every
thing I have to the 'Little White Cayuse.' " From
this time on the Indians frequently showed a bad
spirit. They saw the flocks and herds of the
Mission increasing, and the fields of waving grain,
and began to grow jealous and make demands
that would have overtaxed and caused fear in
almost any other man than a Whitman.
Both before and after his memorable ride to
Washington, his good friend, Dr. McLoughlin,
many times begged him to leave the Mission for
a while, until the Indians got in a better frame of
mind. No man knew the Indians so well as Mc
Loughlin, and he saw the impending danger; but
no entreaties moved Whitman. Here was his life
work and here, he would remain.
In these sketches there is no effort to tell the

DID THE OREGON MISSION PAY? 97
complete Oregon Mission story, but only so much
of it as will make clear the heroic and patriotic
services of Dr. and Mrs. Whitman. The reader
will find a most careful study of the whole broad
field of pioneer mission work upon the Pacific
Coast in the Rev. Myron Eells' two books, the
"History of Indian Missions," and the "Biography
of Rev. Cushing Eells."
How much or how little the work of the Oregon
Missionaries benefited the Indians eternity alone
will reveal. They simply obeyed the call "to
preach the gospel to every creature."
A train of circumstances, a series of evolutions
in national history which they neither originated
nor could stop, were portending. But that the
Missionaries first of all saw the drift of coming
events, and wisely guided them to the peace and
lasting good of the nation is as plain as any page
of written history.
With the light of that time, with the terrible
massacre at Waiilatpui in sight, it is not strange
that good people felt that there had been great
sacrifice with small good results. All the years
since have been correcting such false estimates.
The American Board and the Christian people of
the land have made their greatest mistake in not
rallying to the defense of their martyr heroes.
No "forty thousand dollars" ever spent by that
organization before or since has been so prolific in

98 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
good. The argument to sustain this assertion
will be found in other sketches.
The United States Government could well af
ford to give a million dollars every year to the
American Board for fifty years to come, and to
endow WThitman College magnificently, and then
not pay a moiety for the benefit it has received as a
nation, and never acknowledged.
The best possible answer of the church and of
the friends of missions to those who sneeringly
ask, What good has resulted to the world for all
the millions spent on missions? is to point to that
neglected grave at Waiilatpui, and recite the story
of heroism and patriotism of Dr. Marcus Whit
man.

CHAPTER VI.

THE RIDE TO SAVE OREGON.

The world loves a hero, and the pioneer history
of our several States furnishes as interesting
characters as are anywhere recorded. In view of
the facts and conditions already recited, the old
Missionaries were anxious and restless, and yet
felt in a measure powerless to avert the danger
threatened. They believed fully that under the
terms of the treaty of 1818, re-affirmed in 1828,
whichever nationality settled and organized the
territory, that nation would hold it.
This was not directly affirmed in the terms of
that treaty, but was so interpreted by the Amer
icans and English' in Oregon, and was greatly
strengthened by the fact that leading statesmen
in Congress had for nearly half a century wholly
neglected Oregon, and time and again gone upon
record as declaring it worthless and undesirable.
In their conferences the Missionaries from time
to time had gone over the whole question, and did

100 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
everything in their power to encourage immigra
tion. Their glowing accounts of the fertility of the
soil, the balmy climate, the towering forests, the
indications of richness in minerals, had each year
induced a limited number of more daring Amer
icans to immigrate.
In this work of the Missionaries Jason Lee, the
chief of the Methodist Missions, was, up to the
date of the incident we are to narrate, the most
successful of all. He was a man of great strength
of character. Like Whitman, he was also a man
of great physical strength, fearless, and, with it
all, wise and brainy. No other man among the
pioneers, for his untiring energy in courting im
migration, can l^e So nearly classed with Whit
man. They were all men, who, though in Oregon to
convert Indian savages to Christianity, yet were
intensely American. They thought it no abuse
of their Christianity to carry the banner of the
Cross in one hand and the banner of their coun
try in the other. Missionaries as they were, thou
sands of miles from home, neglected by the Gov
ernment, yet the love of country seemed to shine
with constantly increasing luster.
In addition to the Missionaries, at the time of
which we write, there was quite a population of
agriculturists and traders in the near vicinity of

ARRIVAL OF LOVEJOY. 101
each mission. These heartily cooperated with
the Missionaries and shared their anxieties. In
1S40-'41 many of them met and canvassed the sub
ject whether they should make an attempt to or
ganize a government under the Stars and Stripes;
but they easily saw that they were outnumbered
by the English, who were already organized and
were the real autocrats of the country.
So the time passed until the fall of 1842, when
Elijah White, an Indian agent for the Govern
ment in the Northwest, brought a party of Amer
icans, men, women and children, numbering one
hundred and twenty, safely through to Waiilat
pui. In this company was a more than usually
intelligent, well-informed Christian gentleman,
destined to fill an important place in our story,
General Amos L. Lovejoy. He was thoroughly
posted in national affairs, and gave Dr. Whitman
his first intimation of the probability that the
Ashburton Treaty would likely come to a crisis
before Congress adjourned in March, 1843. This
related, as it was supposed, to the entire boundary
between the United States and the English pos
sessions. The question had been raised in 1794, "Where
is 'the angle of Nova Scotia,' and where are the
'highlands between the angle and the northwest
head of the Connecticut River?'" Time and
again it had been before commissioners, and dip-

102 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
lomats had many times growm eloquent in ex
plaining, but heretofore nothing had come of it.
Much was made of it, and yet it was only a dis
pute as to who owned some twelve thousand and
twenty acres of land, much of which was of little
value. Looking back now one wonders at the short
sightedness of statesmen who quarreled for forty-
eight years over this garden patch of rocky land in
Maine, when three great states were quietly slip
ping away with scarcely a protest. But /this ar
rival of recruits, and this knowledge of the polit
ical situation revealed by General Lovejoy, at once
settled Dr. Whitman upon his line of duty])
To Mrs. Whitman he at once explained the situ
ation, and said (he felt impelled to go to Washing
ton^ She was a missionary's wife, a courageous,
true'hearted, patriotic woman, who loved and
believed in her husband, and at once consented.
Under the rules the local members of the Mission
had to be consulted, and runners were at once
dispatched to the several stations, and all re
sponded promptly, as the demand was for their
immediate presence.
There was a second rule governing such cases
of leave of absence, and that was the sanction,
from headquarters, of the American Board in
Boston. But in this emergency Dr. Whitman
preferred to take all the responsibility and cut

WHITMAN'S RESOLVE. 103
the red tape. Dr. Eells, one of the noblest of the
old Missionaries, writes an account of that con
ference, and it is all the more valuable from the
fact that he was opposed to the enterprise.
Dr. Eells says: "The purpose of Dr. Whitman
was fixed. In his estimation the saving of Ore
gon to the United States was of paramount im
portance, and he would make the attempt to do
so, even if he had to withdraw from the Mission
in order to accomplish his purpose. In reply to
considerations intended to hold Dr. Whitman to
his assigned work, he said: 'I am not expatriated
by becoming a missionary.'
"The idea of his withdrawal could not be en
tertained. Therefore, to retain him in the Mis
sion, a vote to approve of his making this perilous
endeavor prevailed."
In addition to this the Doctor undoubtedly in
tended to visit the American Board and explain
the mission work and its needs, and protest
against some of its orders. But in this there was
no need of such haste as to cause the mid-winter
journey. In this note of Dr. Eells the explana
tion is doubtless correct.
Dr. Spalding says: "Dr. Whitman's last re
marks were, as he mounted his horse for the long
journey: 'If the Board dismisses me, I will do
what I can to save Oregon to the country. My

104 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
life is of but little worth if I can save this country
to the American people.' "
They all regarded it a most perilous under
taking. They knew well of the hardships of such
a journey in the summer season, when grass could
be found to feed the stock, and men live in com
fort in the open air. But to all their pleadings
and specifications of danger, Dr. Whitman had but
one reply, "I must go." As Dr. Eells says: —
"They finally all yielded when he said, 'I will go,
even if I have to break my connection with the
American Board.' " They all loved him, and he
was too valuable a man for them to allow that.
Besides, they became thoroughly convinced that
the man and the missionary had received a call
from a higher source than an earthly one, and a
missionary board should not stand in the way. It
was resolved that he must not be allowed to make
such a journey alone. A call was at once made,
"Who will volunteer to go with him?" Again the
unseen powTer was experienced when General
Lovejoy said: "I will go with Dr. Whitman."
The man seems to have been sent for just such a
purpose. Aside from the fact that he was tired
out with the long five months' ride upon the
plains, and had not been fully rested, no better
man could have been chosen. He was an edu
cated, Christian gentleman, full of cheerfulness,
brave, cautious, and a true friend.

THE DINNER AT THE FORT. 105
Mrs. Whitman, in her diary, dwells upon this
with loving thoughtfulness, and her soul breaks
forth in thanksgiving to the good Father above,
who has sent so good and true a companion for
the long and dangerous journey. She refers to
it again and again that he will have a friend in
his hours of peril and danger, and not have to de
pend entirely upon the savages for his society.
The conference passed a resolution, as stated,
giving leave of absence and fixed the time for his
starting in "five days" from that day. It was not
often they had such an opportunity for letter-
carriers, and each began a voluminous cor
respondence. The Doctor set about his active preparations,
arranging his outfit and seeing that everything
was in order. The next day he had a call to see a
sick man at old Fort Walla Walla, and as he
needed many articles for his journey which could
be had there, he went with this double purpose.
He found at the Fort a score or more of traders,
clerks and leading men of the Hudson Bay Com
pany, assembled there. They were nearly all
Englishmen, and the discussion soon turned upon
the treaty, and the outlook, and as might be in
ferred, was not cheering to Whitman. But his
object was to gain information and not to argue.
The dinner was soon announced and the Doc
tor sat down to a royal banquet with his jovial

106 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
English friends. For no man was more highly
esteemed by all than was Whitman. The chief
factor at Vancouver, Dr. McLoughlin, from the
very outset of their acquaintance, took a liking
to both the Doctor and Mrs. Whitman, and in hun
dreds of cases showed them marked and fatherly
kindness. Mrs. Whitman, in her diary, recently
published in the proceedings of the Oregon State
Historical Society, mainly in the years 1891 and
1893, often refers to the fatherly kindness of the
good old man whose home she shared for weeks
and months, and he begged her when first reach
ing Oregon to stop all winter and wait until her
own humble home could be made comfortable.
But while the company were enjoying their
repast, an express messenger of the company ar
rived from Fort Colville, three hundred and fifty
miles up the Columbia, and electrified his audi
ence by the announcement that a colony of one
hundred and forty Englishmen and Canadians
were on the road.
In such a company it is easy to see such an
announcement was exciting news. One young
priest threw his cap in the air and shouted,
"Hurrah for Oregon — America is too late, we
have got the country."
Dr. Whitman carefully concealed all his inten
tions — in fact, this was enjoined upon all the mis
sionary band, as publicity would likely defeat any

THE START. 107
hope of good results. Those who will take the
pains to read Mrs. Whitman's diary will notice
how she avoids saying anything to excite com
ment regarding the purposes of his winter visit to
Washington. In her letter to her father and
mother she simply says: "I expect my dear hus
band will be so full of his great work that he will
forget to tell you of our life in Oregon. He can
explain what it is," etc.
It is said "Women cannot keep a secret," but
here is an instance of one that did. In his ab
sence she visited Fort Vancouver, Astoria, Oregon
City, and other points. She is painstaking in
keeping a regular record of every-day events.
But the secret of his mission to the States was per
fectly safe with the good wife.
As soon as the Doctor could with politeness
excuse himself, he mounted his pony and galloped
away home, pondering the news he had received.
By the time he reached Waiilatpui he resolved
there must be no tarrying for "five days." On
the morning of the third day after the conference
the spirit was upon him, and he took such mes
sages as were ready, and on October 3d, 1842, bade
a long good-bye to his wife and home, and the two
men, their guide, and three pack mules, began
that ever memorable journey — escorted for a long
distance by many Cayuse braves.
Intelligent readers of all classes can easily mark

108 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the heroism of such an undertaking under such
circumstances, but the old plainsman and the
mountaineer who know the terrors of the journey,
will point to it as without a parallel in all history.
It was surmised by most that it was "A ride down
to the valley of the shadow of death."
It is comforting and assuring of that power
which sustains a believing soul, to turn the pages
of the diary of Mrs. Whitman, as day by day she
follows the little caravan with thought and
prayer, and see with what confidence she ex
presses the belief that an Almighty Arm is guid
ing her loved one in safety through all perils.
It is easy to surmise the feelings of the Mis
sionary band when they sent in their letters and
messages and learned that the Doctor was far on
his journey and had not waited the required limit
of "five days."
The echo of dissatisfaction was heard even for
years after, very much to the disturbance of the
good wife. And she in her diary expresses pro
found thankfulness when, years after, the last
vestige of criticism ceased and the old cordiality
was restored.
As for Dr. Whitman, with his whole being im
pressed with the importance of his work and the
need for haste, it is doubtful whether he even re
membered the "five days" limit.
The great thought with him was, I must reach

ATTEMPT TO STOP WHITMAN. 109
Washington before Congress adjourns, or all may
be lost. The after disclosures convinced the ag
grieved Missionaries that Whitman was right, and
they deeply regretted some of the sharp criticisms
they made and wrote East.
With horses fresh, the little company made a
rapid ride, reaching Fort Hall in eleven days.
The road thus far was plain and familiar to every
member of the party. Prior to leaving home
there had been rumors that the Blackfoot Indians
had suddenly grown hostile, and would make the
journey dangerous along the regular line of travel.
Upon reaching Fort Hall, Captain Grant, who
seems to have been placed at that point solely
to discourage and defeat immigration, set about
his task in the usual way. Without knowing, he
shrewdly suspected that the old Missionary had
business of importance on hand which it would
be well to thwart. He had before had many a
tilt with Whitman and knew something of his
determination. It was Grant who had almost
compelled every incoming settler to forsake his
wagon at Fort Hall, sacrifice his goods, and force
women and children to ride on horseback or go on
foot the balance of the journey.
Six years before he had plead with Whitman
to do this, and had failed, and Whitman had thus
taken the first wagon into Oregon that ever
crossed the Rockies. Now he set about to defeat

110 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
his journey to the States. He told of the hope
lessness of a journey oVer the Rocky Mountains,
with snow already twenty feet deep. He also in
formed him that from recent advices the Sioux
and Pawnee Indians were at war, and it would be
almost certain death to the party to undertake to
pass through their country.
This, all told for a single purpose, was partly
true and partly false. The writer, a few years
after, when war broke out between the Cheyennes
and the Pawnees, passed entirely through the
Cheyenne country and was treated with the ut
most courtesy and kindness by the Cheyenne
braves. But Captain Grant's argument had more effect
upon Whitman than upon a former occasion. The
Captain even began to hope that he had effectually
blocked the way. But he was dealing with a man
of great grit, not easily discouraged, and, we may
say it reverently, an inspired man. He had
started to go to the States and he would continue
his journey.
Captain Grant was at his wits' end. He had no
authority to stop Whitman and his party; he car
ried with him a permit signed by "Lewis Cass, Sec
retary of War," commanding all in authority to
protect, aid, etc.
The American Board was as careful in having
all Oregon missionaries armed with such creden-

TERRIBLE SNOW STORMS. Ill

tials as if sending them to a foreign land, and, in
fact, there was no vestige of American government
in Oregon in that day. The Hudson Bay Company,
wholly English, ruled over everything, whether
whites or Indians.
Much to Captain Grant's chagrin, Whitman, in
stead of turning backward, set out southeast to
discover a new route to the States. He knew in a
general way the lay of the mountain ranges, but
he had never heard that a white man's foot had
passed that way. First east and south from Fort
Hall, in the direction of the now present site of
Salt Lake City, from thence to Fort Uintah and
Fort Uncompahgra, then to Taos, Santa Fe, to
Bent's Fort, and St. Louis. This course led them
over some very rough mountainous country.
In his diary Gen. Lovejoy says: "From Fort
Hall to Fort Uintah we met with terribly severe
weather. The deep snow caused us to lose much
time. Here we took a new guide to Fort Uncom
pahgra on Grand River in Spanish country, which
we safely reached and employed a new guide there.
Passing over a high mountain on our way to Taos
we encountered a terrible snow storm, which com
pelled us to seek shelter in a dark defile, and al
though we made several attempts to press on, we
were detained some ten days. When we got upon
the mountain again we met with another violent
snow storm, which almost blinded man and

112 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
beast. The pelting snow and cold made the dumb
brutes well-nigh unmanageable."
Finally the guide stopped and acknowledged he
was lost and would go no farther, and they re
solved to return to their camp in the sheltered ra
vine. But the drifting snow had obliterated every
sign of the path by which they had come, and the
guide acknowledged that he could not direct the
way. In this dire dilemma, says Gen. Lovejoy,
"Dr. Whitman dismounted and upon his knees
in the snow commended himself, his distant wife,
his missionary companions and work, and his
Oregon, to the Infinite One for guidance and pro
tection. "The lead mule left to himself by the guide,
turning his long ears this way and that, finally
started plunging through the snow drifts, his
Mexican guide and all the party following instead
of guiding, the old guide remarking: 'This mule
will find the camp if he can live long enough to
reach it.' And he did." As woodsmen well know
this knowledge of directions in dumb brutes is
far superior often to the wisest judgment of men.
The writer well remembers a terrible experi
ence when lost in the great forests of Arkansas,
covered with the back water from the Mississippi
River, which was rapidly rising. Two of us rode
for hours. The water would grow deeper in one
direction; we would try another and find it no bet-

A HORSE AS GUIDE. 113
ter; we were hopelessly lost. My companion
was an experienced woodsman and claimed that
he was going in the right direction, so I followed
until in despair I called to him, and showed him
the high water mark upon the trees ten feet above
our heads as we sat upon our horses.
I remarked: "I have followed you; now you
follow me. I am going to let my old horse find
the way out." I gave him the rein; he seemed
to understand it. He raised his head, took an
observation, turned at right angles from the way
we had insisted was our course, wound around logs
and past marshes, and in two hours brought us
safely to camp."
This incident of Dr. Whitman's mule, as well
as all such, educates one in kindness to all dumb
animal life.
Reaching camp the guide at once announced
that, "I will go no farther; the way is impossi
ble." "This," says Gen. Lovejoy, "was a terrible
blow to Dr. Whitman. He had already lost more
than ten days of valuable time." But it would be
impossible to move without a guide. Whitman
was a man who knew no such word as fail. His
order was: "I must go on."
There was but one thing to do. He said to Gen.
Lovejoy: "You stay in camp and recuperate and
feed the stock, and I will return with the guide to
Fort Uncompahgra, and get a new man."

114 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
And so Lovejoy began "recuperation," and re
cuperated his dumb animals by collecting the
brush and inner bark of the willows upon which
they fed. It is astonishing how a mule or horse
on the plains can find food enough to live on, under
such conditions.
The writer had a pet mule in one of his journeys
over the great plains, which he would tie to a sage
bush near the tent when not a vestige of grass was
anywhere in sight, and yet waking up in the night
at any hour I would hear Ben pawing and chew
ing. He would paw up the tender roots of the sage
and in the morning look as plump and full as if
he had feasted on good No. 2 corn.
"The doctor," says Lovejoy, "was gone just one
week, when he again reached our camp in the ra
vine with a new guide."
The storm abated and they passed over the
mountain and made good progress toward Taos.
Their most severe experience was on reaching
Grand River. People who know, mark this as one
of the most dangerous and treacherous rivers in
the West. Its rapid, deep, cold current, even in
the Summer, is very much dreaded. Hundreds of
people have lost their lives in it. Where they
struck the Grand it was about six hundred feet
wide. Two hundred feet upon each shore was solid
ice, while a rushing torrent two hundred feet wide
was between.

SWIMMING THE GRAND RIVER. 115
The guide studied it, and said: "It is too dan
gerous to attempt to cross." "We must cross, and
at once," said Whitman. He got down from his
horse, cut a willow pole eight feet long, put it upon
his shoulder, and after remounting, said: "Now
you shove me off." Lovejoy and the guide did as
ordered, and the General says: "Both horse and
rider temporarily went out of sight, but soon ap
peared, swimming. The- horse struck the rocky
bottom and waded toward the shore where the
doctor, dismounting, broke the ice with his pole
and helped his horse out. Wood was plentiful
and he soon had a roaring fire. As readers well
know, in a wild country where the lead animal
has gone ahead, the rest are eager to follow, re
gardless of danger, and the General and his guide,
after breaking the ice, had no difficulty in per
suading their horses and pack-mules to make the
plunge into the icy flood. They all landed in safety
and spent the clay in thoroughly drying out.
"Is the route passable?" asked Napoleon of his
engineer. "Barely possible, sire," replied the engi
neer. "Then let the column move at once," said
the Great Commander. The reader, in the inci
dent of the Grand and on the mountains, sees the
same hero who refused to believe the "impossible"
of Captain Grant, at Fort Hall, and took that "his
toric wagon" to Oregon. It looked like a small

116 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
event to take a wagon to Oregon, shattered and
battered by the rocks and besetments of the long-
three thousand mile journey. The good wife many
times mourned that the doctor should "Wear him
self out in getting that wagon through." "Yes
terday," she says, "it was overset in the river and
he was wet from head to foot getting it out; to
day it was upset on the mountain side, and it was
hard work to save it." The dear woman did not
know it was an inspired wagon, the very imple
ment upon which the fate of Oregon would turn.
Small events are sometimes portentous, and the
wagon that Whitman wheeled into Oregon, as we
shall soon see, was of this character.
One of the Providential events was, that the lit
tle company had been turned aside from the at
tempt to make the journey over the direct route
and sent over this unexplored course, fully one
thousand miles longer. The winter of 1842-43 was
very cold, and the snow throughout the West was
heavy. From many of these storms they were
protected by the ranges of high mountains, and
what was of great value, had plenty of firewood;
while on the other route for a thousand miles they
would have had to depend mainly upon buffalo
chips for fire, which it would have been impossi
ble to find when the ground was covered with
snow. To the traveler good fires in camp are a
great comfort.

OUT OF PROVISIONS. 117
Even as it was, they suffered from the cold, all
of them being severely frosted. Dr. Whitman,
when he reached Washington, was suffering from
frozen feet, hands and ears, although he had taken
every precaution to protect himself and his com
panions. The many vexatious delays had caused not only
the loss of valuable time, but they had run out of
provisions. A dog had accompanied the party
and they ate him ; a mule came next, and that kept
them until they came to Santa Fe, where there
was plenty. Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities
upon the continent occupied by English-speaking
people. The doctor, anxious for news, could find
little there, and only stopped long enough to re
cruit his supplies. He was in no mood to enjoy the
antiquities of this favorite resort of all the heroes
of the plains.
Pushing on over the treeless prairies, they made
good headway toward Bent's Fort on the head
waters of the Arkansas. The grass for the horses
was plentiful. That is one of the prime requisites
of the campaigner upon the plains. Had there
been time for hunting, all along their route they
could have captured any amount of wild game,
but as it was, they attempted nothing except it
came directly in the way. They even went hun
gry rather than lose an hour in the chase.

118 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
There was one little incident which may seem
very small, but the old campaigner will see that it
was big with importance. They lost their axe. It
was after a long tedious day crossing a bleak
prairie, when they reached one of the tributaries
of the Arkansas River. On the opposite side was
wood in great plenty. On their side there was
none. The river was frozen over with smooth,
clear ice, scarcely thick enough to bear a man.
They must have wood.
The doctor seized the axe, lay down on the ice
and snaked himself across on the thin crust. He
cut loads of wood and pushed it before him or
skated it across and returned in. safety ; but un
fortunately split the axe helve. This they soon
remedied by binding it with a fresh deer skin
thong. But as it lay in the edge of the tent that
night, a thieving wolf wanting the deer skin, took
the axe and all, and they could find no trace of it.
The great good fortune was, that such a catastro
phe did not occur a thousand miles back. It is
barely possible it might have defeated the enter
prise. "When within about four days' journey of
Bent's Fort," says Gen. Lovejoy, "we met George
Bent, a brother of Gen. Bent, with a caravan on
his way to Taos. He told us that a party of moun
tain men would leave Bent's Fort in a few days

DR. WHITMAN LOST. 119
for St. Louis, but said we could not reach the fort
with our pack animals in time to join the party.
"The doctor being very anxious to join it, and
push on to Washington, concluded to leave myself
and guide with the packs, and he himself taking
the best animal, with some bedding and a small
allowance of provisions, started on alone, hoping
by rapid traveling to reach the fort before the
party left. But to do so he would have to travel
upon the Sabbath, something we had not done be
fore. "Myself and guide traveled slowly and reached
the fort in four days, but imagine my astonish
ment when told the doctor had not arrived nor
been heard from. As this portion of the journey
was infested by gangs of gray wolves, that had
been half starved during the snows and cold
weather, our anxiety for the doctor's safety was
greatly increased. Every night our camp would
be surrounded by them coming even to the door of
the tent, and everything eatable had to be care
fully stored and our animals picketed where we
could defend them with our rifles; when a wolf
fell he would instantly be devoured by his fellows.
"If not killed we knew the doctor was lost.
Being furnished by the gentlemen of the fort with
a good guide I started to search for him and trav
eled up the river about one hundred miles. I
learned by the Indians that a man who was lost

120 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
had been there and he was trying to find Bent's
Fort. They said they had directed him down the
river and how to find the fort. I knew from their
description that it was the doctor, and I returned
as rapidly as possible; but he had not arrived.
"Late in the afternoon he came in much fatigued
and almost desponding. He said that God had
hindered him for traveling on the Holy Sabbath."
Says General Lovejoy: "This was the only time I
ever knew him to travel on Sunday."
The party which the doctor was to accompany
to St. Louis had already started, but was kindly
stopped by a runner, and it was in camp waiting
his coming. Tired as he was, he tarried but a sin
gle night at Fort Bent, and again with a guide
hurried on to overtake the caravan. This was a
dangerous part of the journey. Savage beasts and
savage men were both to be feared.
In pioneer days the borders of civilization were
always infested by the worst class of people, both
whites and Indians. This made the doctor more
anxious for an escort. Gen. Lovejoy remained at
the fort until he entirely recovered from his
fatigue, and went on with the next caravan pass
ing eastward to St. Louis. In a letter to Dr. Atkin
son, published in full in the appendix to this vol
ume, Gen. Lovejoy recites many interesting inci
dents of this journey. Before reaching St. Louis,

PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WHITMAN. 121
Gen. Lovejoy immediately began to advertise the
emigration for the following May.
Dr. Barrows, in his fine volume, "Oregon — the
Struggle for Possession," says: "Upon the arrival
of Dr. Whitman in St. Louis it was my good for
tune that he should be quartered as a guest under
the same roof and at the same table with me."
Those interested in the news from the plains, the
trappers and traders in furs and Indian goods,
gathered about him and beset him with a multi
tude of questions. Answering them courteously
he in turn asked about Congress. Whether the
Ashburton Treaty had been concluded? and
whether it covered the Northwest Territory? The
treaty he learned had been signed August 9th, long
before he left Oregon, and had been confirmed by
the Senate and signed by the President on Novem
ber 10th, while he was floundering in the snow
upon the mountains."
But the Oregon question was still open, and only
the few acres up in Maine had been fixed. The
question he was eager to have answered was: "Is
the Oregon question still pending, and can I get
there before Congress adjourns?" The river was
frozen, and he had to depend upon the stage, and
even from St. Louis a journey to Washington in
midwinter at that time, was no small matter. But
to a man like Whitman with muscles trained, and

122 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
a brain which never seemed to tire, it was counted
as nothing.
Dr. Barrows says: "Marcus Whitman once seen,
and in our family circle, telling of his business, he
had but one, was a man not to be forgotten by the
writer. He was of medium height, more compact
than spare, a stout shoulder, and large head not
much above it, covered with stiff iron gray hair,
while his face carried all the moustache and
whiskers that four months had been able to put
on it. He carried himself awkwardly, though per
haps courteously enough for trappers, Indians,
mules and grizzlies, his principal company for six
years. He seemed built as a man for whom more
stock had been furnished than worked in symmet
rically and gracefully.
"There was nothing quick in his motion or
speech, and no trace of a fanatic; but under con
trol of a thorough knowledge of his business, and
with deep, ardent convictions about it, he was a
profound enthusiast. A willful resolution and a
tenacious earnestness would impress you as mark
ing the man.
"He wore coarse fur garments with buckskin
breeches. He had a buffalo overcoat, with a head
hood for emergencies, with fur leggins and boot
moccasins. His legs and feet fitted his Mexican
stirrups. If my memory is not at fault his entire

REACHES THE CAPITAL. 123
dress when on the street did not show one inch
of woven fabric."
One can easily see that a dress of such kind and
upon such a man would attract attention at the
National Capital. But the history of the event
nowhere hints that the old pioneer suffered in any
quarter from his lack of fashionable garments. It
was before the day of interviewing newspapers,
but the men in authority in Washington soon
learned of his coming and showed him every cour
tesy and kindness. He would have been lionized
had he encouraged it. But he had not imperiled
life for any such purpose. He was, after a four
thousand miles ride, there upon a great mission
and for business, and time was precious.
Almost in despair he had prayed that he might
be enabled to reach the Capital of the Nation and
make his plea for his land, Oregon, before it was
too late. And here he was. Would he be given an
audience? Would he be believed? Would he suc
ceed? These were the questions uppermost in his
mind.

CHAPTER VII.

WHITMAN IN THE PRESENCE OF PRESIDENT TYLER
AND SECRETARY OF STATE DANIEL . WEBSTER,
AND THE RETURN TO OREGON.

It has been an American boast that the Presi
dent of the United States is within the reach of the
humblest subject. This was truer years ago than
now, and possibly with some reason for it. Unfor
tunately the historian has no recorded account of
the interview between the President, his Secretary
of State and Whitman. Whitman worked for pos
terity, but did not write for it.
For his long journey over the plains in 1836 and
the many entertaining and exciting events wTe,are
wholly dependent upon Mrs. Whitman, and for
the narrative of the perilous ride to save Oregon,
we are dependent upon the brief notes made by
Gen. Lovejoy, and from personal talks with many
friends. Whitman always seemed too busy to use

WHITMAN BEFORE THE PRESIDENT. 125
pencil or pen, and yet when he did write, as a few
recorded specimens show, he was remarkably
clear, precise and forcible. But while we have no
written statement of the celebrated interview, Dr.
Whitman, in many private conversations with
friends in Oregon said enough to give a fair and
clear account of it.
It will require no stretch of imagination in any
intelligent reader to suppose, that a man who had
undergone the hardships and perils he had, would
be at a loss how to present his case in the most
forcible and best possible method. He was an edu
cated man, a profound thinker; and he knew every
phase of the questions he had to present, and no
man of discernment could look into his honest eyes
and upon his manly bearing, without acknowledg
ing that they were in the presence of the very best
specimen of American Christian manhood.
Both President Tyler and Secretary of State
Daniel Webster, speedily granted him an audi
ence. Some time in the future some great artist
will paint a picture of this historic event. The old
pioneer, in his leather breeches and worn and torn
fur garments, and with frozen limbs, just in from
a four thousand mile ride, is a picture by himself,
but standing in the presence of the President and
his great Secretary, to plead for Oregon and the
old flag, the subject for a painter is second to none
in American history.

1J6 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
Some writers have said that Whitman "had a
chilling reception from Secretary Webster." Of
this there is not a shadow of proof. It has also
been asserted that Whitman assailed the Ashbur
ton- Webster Treaty. This much only is true, that
Whitman regarded the issues settled as compara
tively insignificant to those involved in the pos
session and boundaries of Oregon; but he was
profoundly grateful that in the treaty, Oregon had
in no way been sacrificed, as he had feared.
Gen. Lovejoy says: "Dr. Whitman often related
to me during our homeward journey the incidents
of his reception by the President and his Secre
tary. He had several interviews with both of
them, as well as with many of the leading senators
and members of Congress." The burden of his
speech in all these, says Gen. Lovejoy, was to "im
mediately terminate the treaty of 1818 and 1828,
and extend the laws of the United States over
Oregon." It takes a most credulous reader to
doubt that.
For months prior to Whitman's visit to Wash
ington in diplomatic circles it was well understood
that there were negotiations on foot to trade Amer
ican interests in Oregon for the fisheries of New
foundland. Dr. Whitman soon heard of it, and
heard it given as a reason why the boundary line
between Oregon and the British possessions had

PLEADING FOR OREGON. 127
been left open and only the little dispute in Maine
adjusted. According to all reports we can gather from the
Doctor's conversations, there was only one time in
the several conferences iii which he and Secre
tary Webster got warm and crossed swords. Sec
retary Webster had received castigation from
political leaders, and sharp criticism from his own
party over the Ashburton Treaty, and was ready
to resent every remote allusion to it, as a give
away of American interests. In defense of Sec
retary Webster it has been asserted that "he had
no intention of making such an exchange." But
his well-known previous views, held in common by
the leading statesmen of the day, already referred
to, and openly expressed in Congress and upon
the rostrum, that "Oregon was a barren worthless
country, fit only for wild beasts and wild men,
gave the air of truth to the reported negotiation."
This he emphasized by the interruption of Whit
man in one of his glowing descriptions of Oregon,
by saying in effect that "Oregon was shut off by
impassable mountains and a great desert, which
made a wagon road impossible."
Then, says Whitman, I replied: "Mr. Secretary,
that is the grand mistake that has been made by
listening to the enemies of American interests in
Oregon. Six years ago I was told there was no
wagon road to Oregon, and it was impossible to

128 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
take a wagon there, and yet in despite of plead
ings and almost threats, I took a wagon over the
road, and have it now." This was the historic
wagon. It knocked all the argument out .of the
great Secretary. Facts are stubborn things to
meet, and wmen told by a man like Whitman it is
not difficult to imagine their effect.
He assured the Secretary that the possibilities
of the territory beyond the Rockies were bound
less, that under the poorest cultivation everything
would grow ; that he had tested a variety of crops
and the soil made a wonderful yield. That not
only is the soil fertile, the climate healthful and
delightful, but there is every evidence of the hills
and mountains being rich in ores; while the great
forests are second to none in the world. But it
was the battered old wagon that was the clinch
ing argument that could not be overcome. No
four-wheeled, vehicle ever before in history per
formed such notable service. The real fact was,
the Doctor took it into Oregon on two wheels, but
he carefully hauled the other two wheels inside as
precious treasures. He seems to have had a
prophetic view of the value of the first incoming
wagon from the United States. The events show
his wisdom.
Proceeding with his argument, Dr. Whitman
said : "Mr. Secretary, you had better give all New

WHITMAN PLEADING FOR OREGON BEFORE PRESIDENT TYLER AND SECRETARY WEBSTER.

WHITMAN GAINS HIS POINT. 129
England for the cod and mackerel fisheries of New
Foundland than to barter away Oregon."
From the outset, and at every audience granted,
President Tyler treated Dr. Whitman with the
greatest deference. He was a new character in
the experience of both these polished and
experienced politicians. Never before had they
listened to a man who so eloquently plead
for the cause of his country, with no self
ish aim in sight. He asked for no money,
or bonds, or land, or office, or anything, ex
cept that which would add to the nation's wealth,
the glory and honor of the flag, and the benefit of
the hardy pioneer of that far-off land, that the na
tion had for more than a third of the century
wholly neglected. It was a powerful appeal to the
manly heart of President Tyler, and as the facts
show, was not lost on Secretary Webster.
The Rev. H. H. Spalding, Whitman's early as
sociate in the Oregon work, had many confer
ences with Whitman after his return to Oregon.
Spalding says, speaking of the conference: "Web
ster's interest lay too near to Cape Cod to see
things as Whitman did, while he conceded sincer
ity to the missionary, but he was loth to admit that
a six years' residence there gave Whitman a wider
knowledge of the country than that possessed by
Governor Simpson, who had explored every part
of it and represented it as a sandy desert, cut off

130 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
from the United States by impassable mountains,
and fit only for wild animals and savage men."
With the light we now have upon the subject
the greater wonder is that a brainy man like Web
ster could be so over-reached by an interested
party such as Governor Simpson was; well know
ing as he did, that he was the chief of the greatest
monopoly existing upon either continent — the
Hudson Bay Company. AH Dr. Whitman de
manded was that if it were true, as asserted by Mr.
Webster himself, in his instructions to Edward
Everett in 1840, then Minister to England, that
"The ownership of Oregon is very likel}r to follow
the greater settlement and larger amount of popu
lation;" then "All I ask is that you won't barter
away Oregon, or allow English interference until
I can lead a band of stalwart American settlers
across the plains: for this I will try to do."
President Tyler promptly and positively stated:
"Dr. Whitman, your long ride and frozen limbs
speak for your courage and patriotism; your mis
sionary credentials are good vouchers for your
character." And he promptly granted his request.
Such promise was all that Whitman required. He
firmly believed, as all the pioneers of Oregon at
that time believed, that the treaty of 1818, while
not sa,ying in direct terms that the nationality set
tling the country should hold it, yet that that was
the real meaning. Both countries claimed the ter-

SECRETARY OF WAR PROMISES AID. 131
ritory, and England with the smallest rightful
claim had, through the Hudson Bay Company,
been the supreme autocratic ruler for a full third
of a century.
More than half a dozen fur companies, attracted
to Oregon by the wealth flowing into the coffers
of the English company, had attempted, as we
have before shown, to open up business on what
they claimed was American soil; but, in every
instance, they were starved out or bought out
by the English company. The Indians obeyed its
orders, and even the American missionaries set
tled in just the localities they were ordered to by
the English monopoly. In another connection we
have more fully explained this treaty of 1818, but,
suffice it to say, these conditions led Whitman to
believe that the only hope of saving Oregon was in
American immigration. It was for this that he
plead with President Tyler and Secretary Web
ster and the members of Congress he met.
From the President he went to the Hon. James
M. Porter, Secretary of War, and by him was re
ceived with the greatest kindness, and he eagerly
heard the whole story. He promised Dr. Whit
man all the aid in his power in his scheme of im
migration. He promised that Captain Fremont,
with a company of troops, should act as escort to
the caravan which Whitman was positive he could
organize upon the frontier. The Secretary of War

132 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
also inquired in what way he and the Government
could aid the pioneers in the new country, and
asked Dr. Whitman, at his leisure, to write out his
views, and forward them to him. Dr. WThitman
did this, and the State Historical Society of Ore
gon did excellent service, recently, in publishing
Whitman's proposed "Oregon Organization,"
found among the official papers of the War De
partment, a copy of which will be found in the ap
pendix of this volume.
In a Senate document, December 31st, viz., the
41st Cong., February 9th, 1871, wTe read: "There
is no doubt but that the arrival of Dr. Whitman,
in 1843, was opportune. The President was sat
isfied that the territory was worth the effort to
win it. The delay incident to a transfer of negotia
tions to London was fortunate, for there is rea
son to believe that if former negotiations had
been renewed in Washington, and that, for
the sake of a settlement of the protracted con
troversy and the only remaining unadjudicated
cause of difference between the two Governments,
the offer had been renewed of the 49th parallel to
the Columbia and thence down the river to the
racific Ocean, it would have been accepted. The
visit of Whitman committed the President against
any such action." This is a clear statement, sum
marizing the great historic event, and forever si
lencing effectually the slanderous tongues that

RECEPTION BY THE AMERICAN BOARD. 133
have, in modern times, attempted to deprive the
old Hero of his great and deserving tribute.
We will -do Secretary Webster the justice to
say here, that in his later years, he justly acknowl
edged the obligations of the nation to Dr. Whit
man. In the New York Independent, for January,
1870, it is stated: "A personal friend of Mr. Web
ster, a legal gentleman, and with whom he con
versed on the subject several times, remarked to
the writer of this article: 'It is safe to assert that
our country owes it to Dr. Whitman and his as
sociate missionaries that all the territory west of
the Rocky Mountains and south as far as the Co
lumbia River, is not now owned by England and
held by the Hudson Bay Company.' "
Having transacted his business and succeeded
even beyond his expectations, Whitman hurried
to Boston to report to the headquarters of the
American Board. His enemies have often made
sport over their version of his "cool reception by
the American Board." If there was a severe rep
rimand, as reported, both the officers of the Board
and Dr. Whitman failed to make record of it. But
enough of the facts leaked out in the years after
to show that it was not altogether a harmonious
meeting. It is not to be wondered at.
The American Board was a religious organi
zation working under fixed rules, and expected
every member in every field to obey those rules.

134 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
But here was a man, whose salary had been paid
by the Board for special work, away from his field
of labor without the consent from headquarters.
It is not at all unlikely that he was severely repri
manded. The officers of the American Board had
no reason to know, as Christian people can see
now, that Whitman was an inspired man, and a
man about his Father's business. It is even re
ported, but not vouched for, that they ordered
him to promptly repair to his post of duty, and
dismissed him with his pockets so empty, that,
when starting upon his ever-memorable return
journey across the plains, "He had but money
enough to buy only a single ham for his supplies."
One of his old associates who had frequent con
ferences with Whitman — Dr. Gray — says: "In
stead of being treated by the American Board as
his labors justly deserved, he met the cold, calcu
lating rebuke for unreasonable expenses, and for
dangers incurred without orders or instructions
or permission from headquarters. Thus, for eco
nomical, prudential reasons, the Board received
him coldly, and rebuked him for his presence be
fore them, causing a chill in his warm and gener
ous heart, and a sense of unmerited rebuke from
those who should have been most willing to lis
ten to all his statements, and been most cordial
and ready to sustain him in his herculean labors."
We leave intelligent readers to answer for them-

RECEPTION BY THE AMERICAN BOARD. 135
selves, whether this attitude of this great and in
fluential and excellent organization has not been,
in a measure, responsible for the neglect of this
Hero, who served it and the Christian world with
all faithfulness and honesty, until he and his noble
wife dropped into their martyr graves? If they say
yea, we raise the question whether the time has
not been reached to make amends?
Dr. Barrows says, in his "Oregon and the Strug
gle for Possession," "It should be said in apology
for both parties at this late day that, at that time,
the Oregon Mission and its managing board were
widely asunder geographically, and as widely sep
arated in knowledge of the condition of affairs."
Dr. Whitman seems to have assumed that his
seven years' residence on the Northwest Coast
would gain him a trustful hearing. But his knowl
edge gave him the disadvantage of a position and
plans too advanced — not an uncommon mishap to
eminent leaders. As said by Coleridge of Milton,
"He strode so far before his contemporaries as to
dwarf himself by the distance."
He adds that:
"Years after only, it was discovered by one of
the officers of the American Board," that "It was
not simply an American question then settled, but
¦at the same time a Protestant question." He also
refers to a recent work, "The Ety Volume," in
which is discussed the question, "Instances where

136 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the direct influence of missionaries has controlled
and hopefully shaped the destinies of communi
ties and states," and illustrates by saying, "Per
haps no event in the history of missions will bet
ter illustrate this than the way in which Oregon
and our whole Northwest Pacific Coast was saved
to the United States."
This covered directly the Whitman idea. It
was, as he before stated, a union of banners — the
banner of the cross, and the banner of the coun
try he loved. It took the spirit and love of both to
sustain a man and to enable him to undergo the
hardships and dangers and discouragements that
he met, from the beginning to the end.
From Boston, with an aching heart, and yet
doubtless serene over an accomplished duty, which
he had faith to believe time would reveal in its
real light, Dr. Whitman passed on to make a fly
ing visit to his own and his wife's relations. From
letters of Mrs. Whitman, it is easy to see that her
prophecy was true; "He would be too full of his
great work on hand, to tell much of the home in
Oregon." His visit was hurried over and seemed
more the necessity of a great duty than a pleasure.
But the Doctor's mind was westward. He had
learned from Gen. Lovejoy that already there was
gathering upon the frontier a goodly number of
immigrants and the prospect was excellent for a
large caravan. In the absence of Dr. Whitman,
Gen. Lovejoy had neglected no opportunity to pub-

THE IMMIGRATION OF 1843. 137
lish far and wide that Dr. Whitman and himself
would, early in the Spring, pilot across the plains
to Oregon, a body of immigrants. A rendezvous
was appointed, not far from where Kansas City
now stands, at the little town of Weston. But
they were in various camps at Fort Leavenworth
and other points, waiting both for their guide and
for the growing spring grass — a necessity for the
emigrant. Certain modern historians have undertaken to
rob WThitman of his great services in 1843, by
gathering affidavits of people who emigrated to
Oregon in that year, declaring, "We never saw
Marcus Whitman," and "We were not persuaded
to immigrate to Oregon by him," etc. Doubtless
there were such upon the wide plains, scattered as
they may have been, hundreds of miles apart. But
it is just as certain that the large immigration to
Oregon that year was incited by the movements of
Whitman and Lovejoy, as any fact could be.
There is no other method of explaining it. That
he directly influenced every immigrant of that
year, no one has claimed.
True, old Elijah White had paved the way, the
year before, by leading in the first large band of
agriculturist settlers; but men of families, under
taking a two thousand mile journey, with their
families and their stock, were certainly desirous
of an experienced guide. They may, as some of

138 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
them say, never have met Whitman. He was not
one of the free and easy kind that made himself
popular with the masses.
Then, besides all that, fifty years ago plains life
was an odd life. I have journeyed with men for
weeks, and even after months of acquaintance
have not known their names, except that of Buck
eye, Sucker, Missouri, Cass County Bill, Bob, etc.
Little bands would travel by themselves for days
and weeks and then, under the sense of danger
that would be passed along the line, and for de
fense against depredations of some dangerous
tribe of Indians, they would gather into larger
bands soon again to fall apart. Some of these
would often follow many days behind the head
of the column, but always have the benefit of its
guidance. That year grass was late, and they did not get
fully under way until the first week in June. Whit
man remained behind and did not overtake the
advance of the column until it reached the Platte
River. He knew the way, he had three times been
over it. He was ahead arranging for camping
places for those in his immediate company, or in
the rear looking after the sick and discouraged.
If some failed to know him by name, there were
many who did, and all shared in all the knowledge
of the country and road which he, better than any
other, knew.
In answer to historical critics of modern times

TROUBLE AGAIN AT FORT HALL. 139
we quote Dr. H. H. Spalding, who says, in speak
ing of the immigration of 1843 :
"And through that whole summer Dr. Whitman
was everywhere present; the ministering angel
to the sick, helping the weary, encouraging the
wavering, cheering the tired mothers, setting
broken bones and mending wagons. He was in
the front, in the center and in the rear. He was in
the river hunting out fords through the quick
sand; in the desert places looking for water and
grass; among the mountains hunting for passes,
never before trodden by white men; at noontide
and at midnight he was on the alert as if the whole
line was his own family, and as if all the flocks
and herds were his own. For all this he neither
asked nor expected a dollar from any source, and
especially did he feel repaid at the end, when,
standing at his mission home, hundreds of his fel
low pilgrims took him by the hand and thanked
him with tears in their eyes for all that he had
done." The head of the column arrived at Fort Hall
and there waited for the stragglers to come up.
Dr. Whitman knew that here he would meet 'Cap
tain Johnny Grant, and the old story, "You can't
take a wagon into Oregon," would be dinned into
the ears of the head of every family. He had
heard it over and over again six years before. Fort
Hall was thirteen hundred and twenty -three miles

\

140 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
from the Missouri River at Kansas City. Here
the Doctor expected trouble and found it. Johnny
Grant was at Fort Hall to make trouble and dis
courage immigration. He was working under the
pay of the Fur Company and earned his money.
The Fur Company did not desire farmers in settle
ments in Oregon.
Captain Grant at once began to tell them the
terrors of the mountain journey and the impossi
bility of hauling their wagons further. Then he
showed them, to prove it, a corral full of fine
wagons, with agricultural tools, and thousands
of things greatly needed in Oregon, that immi
grants had been forced to leave when they took to
their pack-saddles. The men were ready, as had
been others before, to give up and sacrifice the
comforts of their families and rob themselves at
the command of the oily advocate.
But here comes Whitman. Johnny Grant
knows he now has his master. Dr. Whitman says:
"Men, I have guided you thus far in safety. Be
lieve nothing you hear about not being able to get
your wagons through; every one of you stick to
your wagons and your goods. They will be invalu
able to you when you reach the end of your jour
ney. I took a wagon through to Oregon six years
ago." (Again we see the historic wagon.) The
men believed him. They refused to obey Captain
Grant's touching appeal and almost a command

A HARD ROAD. 141
to leave their wagons behind. Never did an order,
than the one Whitman made, add more to the com
fort and actual value of a band of travelers.
One of a former company tells of a packing ex
perience, after submitting to Captain Grant's
orders. He says : "There were lively times around
old Fort Hall when the patient old oxen and mules
were taken from the wagons to be left behind and
the loads of bedding, pots and pans were tied on
to their backs. They were unused to such meth
ods. There would first be a shying, then a fright
and a stampede, and bellowing oxen and braying
mules and the air would be full of flying kettles
and camp fixtures, while women and children cry
ing and the men SAvearing, made up a picture to
live in the memory."
No one better than Whitman knew the toil and
danger attending the last six hundred miles of the
journey to Oregon. Col. George B. Curry, in an ad
dress before the Pioneer Society of Oregon in 1887,
gives a graphic sketch, wonderfully realistic, of
the immigrant train in 1853. He says : "From the
South Pass the nature of our journeying changed,
and assumed the character of a retreat, a disas
trous, ruinous retreat. Oxen and horses began
to perish in large numbers; often falling dead
in their yokes in the road. The heat-dried wagon,
striking on the rocks or banks would fall to
pieces. As the beasts of burden grew weaker, and

142 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the wagon more rickety, teams began to be
doubled and wagons abandoned. The approach
ing storms of autumn, which, on the high moun
tains at the last end of our journey, meant impas
sable snow, admitted of no delay. Whatever of
strength remained of the jaded cattle must be
forced out. Every thing of weight not absolutely
necessary must be abandoned.
"There was no time to pause and recruit the
hungry stock, nor dare we allow them much free
dom to hunt the withered herbage, for a maraud
ing enemy hung upon the rear, hovering on either
flank, and skulked in ambuscade in the front, the
horizon was a panorama of mountains, the grand.
est and most desolate on the continent. The road
was strewn with dead cattle, abandoned wagons,
discarded cooking utensils, ox-yokes, harness,
chairs, mess chests, log chains, books, heirlooms,
and family keepsakes. The inexorable surround
ings of the struggling mass permitted no hesita
tion or sentiment.
"The failing strength of the team was a demand
that must be complied with. Clothing not abso
lutely required at present was left on the bare
rocks of the rugged canyons. Wagons were
coupled shorter that a few extra pounds might be
saved from the wagon beds. One set of wheels
was left and a cart constructed. Men, women and

SUFFERINGS OF THE SETTLERS. 143
children walked beside the enfeebled teams,
ready to give an assisting push up a steep pitch.
"The fierce summer's heat beat upon this slow
west rolling column. The herbage was dry and
crisp, the rivulets had become but lines in the
burning sand; the sun glared from a sky of brass;
the stony mountain sides glared with the garnered
heat of a cloudless Summer. The dusky brambles
of the scraggy sage brush seemed to catch the
fiery rays of heat and shiver them into choking
dust, that rose like a tormenting plague and hung
like a demon of destruction over the panting oxen
and thirsty people.
"Thus day after day, for weeks and months, the
slow but urgent retreat continued, each day de
manding fresh sacrifices. An ox or a horse would
fall, brave men would lift the useless yoke from his
limp and lifeless neck in silence. If there was
another to take his place he was brought from
the loose band, yoked up and the journey resumed.
When the stock of oxen became exhausted, cows
were brought under the yoke, other wagons left,
and the lessening store once more inspected; if
possible, another pound would be dispensed with.
"Deeper and deeper into the flinty mountains
the forlorn mass drives its weary way. Each
morning the weakened team has to commence a
struggle Avith yet greater difficulties. It is plain
the journey will not be completed within the an-

144 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
ticipated time, and the dread of hunger joins the
ranks of the tormentors. The stench of carrion
fills the air in many places; a watering place is
reached to find the putrid carcass of a dead animal
in the spring. The Indians hover in the rear, im
patiently waiting for the train to move on that
the abandoned trinkets may be gathered up.
Whether these are gathering strength for a gen
eral attack we cannot tell. There is but one thing
to do — press on. The retreat cannot hasten into
rout, for the distance to safety is too great. Slower
and slower is daily progress.
"I do not pretend to be versed in all the horrors
that have made men groan on earth, but I have fol
lowed the "Flight of Tartar Tribes," under the
focal light of DeQuincy's genius, the retreat of
the ten thousand under Xenophon, but as far as I
am able to judge, in heroism, endurance, patience,
and suffering, the annual retreat of immigrants
from the Black Hills to the Dalles surpasses
either. The theater of their sufferings and suc
cess, for scenic grandeur, has no superior.
"The patient endurance of these men and wo
men for sublime pathos may challenge the world.
Men were impoverished and women reduced to
beggary and absolute want, and no weakling's
murmur of complaint escaped their lips. It is
true, when women saw their patient oxen or faith
ful horses fall by the roadside and die, they wept

REV. H. H. SPALDING.

CROSSING THE SNAKE RIVER. 145
piteously, and men stood in all the 'silent manli
ness of grief in the camp of their desolation, for
the immigrants were men and women with hearts
to feel and tears to flow."
This, it will be observed, was a train upon the
road ten years later than Dr. Whitman's memora
ble journey. He was a wise guide, and his train
met with fewer disasters. The Hon. S. A. Clarke
in his address tells how Whitman moved his train
across Snake River.
He says: "When the immigrants reached the
Snake, Dr. Whitman proceeded to fasten wagons
together in one long string, the strongest in the
lead. As soon as the teams were in position, Dr.
Whitman tied a rope around his waist and start
ing his horse into the current swam over. He
called to others to follow him, and when they had
force enough to pull at the rope the lead team was
started in and all were drawn over in safety. As
soon as the leading teams were able to get foot
hold on the bottom all was safe; as they, aided
by the strong arms of the men pulling at the rope,
pulled the weaker ones along."
The Snake River at the ford is divided into three
rivers by islands, the last stream on the Oregon
side is a deep and rapid current, and fully half a
mile wide. To get so many wagons, pulled by
jaded teams, and all the thousand men, women
and children, and the loose stock across in safety,
showed wise generalship.

146 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
We here copy "A Day with the Cow Column in
1843," by the Hon. Jesse Applegate, a late hon
ored citizen of Oregon, who was one of Dr. Whit
man's company in 1843. It is a clear, graphic
description of a sample day's journey on the
famous trip, and was an address published in the
transactions of the Pioneer Oregon Association
in 1876.
The migration of a large body of men, women
and children across the Continent to Oregon was,
in the year 1843, strictly an experiment, not only
in respect to the numbers, but to the outfit of the
migrating party.
Before that date two or three missionaries had
performed the journey on horseback, driving a few
cows with them. Three or four wagons drawn by
oxen had reached Fort Hall on Snake River, but
it was the honest opinion of most of those who
had traveled the route down Snake River that no
large number of cattle could be subsisted on its
scanty pasturage, or wagons taken over a route
so rugged and mountainous.
The emigrants were also assured that the Sioux
would be much opposed to the passage of so large
a body through their country, and would probably
resist it on account of the emigrants destroying
and frightening away the buffaloes, Avhich were
then diminishing in numbers. The migrating

THE COLUMN DIVIDED. 147
body numbered over one thousand souls, with
about one hundred and twenty wagons, drawn by
ox teams, averaging about six yokes to the team,
and several thousand loose horses and cattle.
The emigrants first organized and attempted to
travel in one body, but it was soon found that no
progress could be made with a body so cumbrous,
and as yet, so averse to all discipline. And at the
crossing of the "Big Blue," it divided into two col
umns, which traveled in supporting distance of
each other as far as Independence Rock, on the
Sweetwater. From this point, all danger from Indians being-
over, the emigrants separated into small parties
better suited to the narrow mountain paths and
small pastures in their front.
Before the division on the Blue River there was
some just cause for discontent in respect to loose
cattle. Some of the emigrants had only their
teams, while others had large herds in addition,
which must share the pastures and be driven by
the whole body.
This discontent had its effect in the division on
the Blue, those not encumbered with or having
but few loose cattle attached themselves to the
light column, those having- more than four or five
cows had of necessity to join the heavy or cow
column. Hence, the cow column, being much
larger than the other and encumbered with its

148 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
large herds, had to use greater exertion and ob
serve a more rigid discipline to keep pace with
the more agile consort.
It is with the cow or more clumsy column that
I propose to journey with the reader for a single
day. It is four o'clock a. m., the sentinels on duty
have discharged their rifles, the signal that the
hours of sleep are over; and every wagon or tent
is pouring forth its night tenants, and slow kind
ling smokes begin to rise and float away on the
morning- air. Sixty men start from the corral,
spreading as they make through the vast herd of
cattle and horses that form a semi-circle around
the encampment, the most distant, perhaps, two
miles away.
The herders pass to the extreme verge and
carefully examine for trails beyond, to see that
none of the animals have been stolen or strayed
during the night. This morning no trails lead
beyond the outside animals in sight, and by five
o'clock the herders begin to contract the great
moving circle, and the well-trained animals move
slowly toward camp, clipping here and there a
thistle or tempting bunch of grass on the way.
In about an hour 5,000 animals are close up to
the encampment, and the teamsters are busy
selecting their teams, and driving them inside the
"corral" to be yoked. The corral is a circle

THE MORNING START. 149
one hundred yards deep, formed with wagons con
nected strongly with each other, the wagon in the
rear being connected with the wagon in front by
its tongue aud ox chains. It is a strong barrier
that the most vicious ox cannot break, and in case
of an attack by the Sioux, would be no con
temptible entrenchment.
From six to seven o'clock is a busy time; break
fast to be eaten, the tents struck, the wagons
loaded, and the teams yoked and brought up in
readiness to be attached to their respective
wagons. All know, when at seven o'clock the
signal to march sounds, that those not ready to
take their proper places in the line of march must
fall into the dusty rear for the day.
There are sixty wagons. They have been
divided into sixteen divisions, or platoons of four
wagons each, and each platoon is entitled to lead
in its turn. The leading platoon of to-day will be
the rear one to-morrow, and will bring up the rear,
unless some teamster, through indolence or negli
gence, has lost his place in the line, and is con
demned to that uncomfortable post. It is within
ten minutes of seven ; the corral, but now a strong
barricade, is everywhere broken, the teams being
attached to the wagons. The women and children
have taken their places in them. The pilot (a
borderer who has passed his life on the verge of
civilization, and has been chosen to the post of

150 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
leader from his knowledge of the savage and his
experience in travel through roadless wastes)
stands ready, in the midst of his pioneers and
aides, to mount and lead the way.
Ten or fifteen young men," not to lead to-day,
form another cluster. They are ready to start on
a buffalo hunt, are well mounted and well armed,
as they need to be, for the unfriendly Sioux have
driven the buffalo out of the Platte, and the
hunters must ride fifteen or twenty miles to reach
them. The cow-drivers are hastening, as they get
ready, to the rear of their charge, to collect and
prepare them for the day's march.
It is on the stroke of seven ; the rushing to and
fro, the cracking of whips, the loud command to
oxen, and what seemed to be the inextricable con
fusion of the last ten minutes has ceased. For
tunately, every one has been found, and every
teamster is at his post. The clear notes of a
trumpet sound in the front; the pilot and his
guards mount their horses; the leading division of
wagons move out of the encampment and take up
the line of march; the rest fall into their places
with the precision of clock-work, until the post, so
lately full of life, sinks back into that solitude
that seems to reign over the broad plain and
rushing river, as the caravan draws its lazy length
toward the distant El Dorado.
It is with the hunters we will briskly canter

THE WONDERFUL PANORAMA. 151
toward the bold but smooth and grassy bluffs
that bound the broad valley, for we are not yet in
sight of the grander, but less beautiful, scenery
(of the Chimney Rock, Court House, and other
bluffs so nearly resembling giant castles and
palaces) made by the passage of the Platte
through the Highlands near Laramie. We have
been traveling briskly for more than an hour.
We have reached the top of the bluff, and now
have turned to view the wonderful panorama
spread before us.
To those who have not been on the Platte, my
powers of description are wholly inadequate to
convey an idea of the vast extent and grandeur of
the picture, and the rare beauty and distinctness
of its detail. No haze or fog obscures objects in
the pure and transparent atmosphere of this lofty
region. To those accustomed to only the murky
air of the sea-board, no correct judgment of dis
tance can be formed by sight, and objects which
they think they can reach in a two hours' walk,
may be a day's travel away; and though the even
ing air is a better conductor of sound, on the high
plain during the day the report of the loudest
rifle sounds little louder than the bursting of a
cap; and while the report can be heard but a few
hundred yards, the smoke of the discharge may be
seen for miles.
So extended is the view from the bluff on which

152 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the hunters stand, that the broad river, glowing
under the morning sun like a sheet of silver, and
the broader emerald valley that borders it, stretch
away in the distance until they narrow at almost
two points in the horizon, and when first seen, the
vast pile of the Wind River mountains, though
hundreds of miles away, looks clear and distinct
as a white cottage on the plain.
We are full six miles away from the line of
march ; though everything is dwarfed by distance,
it is seen distinctly. The caravan has been about
two hours in motion, and is now extended as
widely as a prudent regard for safety will permit.
First, near the bank of the shining river, is a com
pany of horsemen; they seem to have found an
obstruction, for the main body has halted, while
three or four ride rapidly along the bank of a creek
or slough. They are hunting a favorable crossing
for the wagons; while we look they have suc
ceeded; it has apparently required no work to
make it possible, while all but one of the party
have passed on, and he has raised a flag, no doubt a
signal to the wagons to steer their course to where
he stands.
The leading teamster sees him, though he is yet
two miles off, and steers his course directly
towards him, all the wagons following in his track.
They (the wagons) form a line three-quarters of a
mile in length; some of the teamsters ride upon

ON THE MARCH. 153
the front of their wagons, some march beside their
teams; scattered along the line companies of
women and children are taking exercise on foot;
they gather bouquets of rare and beautiful flowers
that line the way; near them stalks a stately grey
hound or an Irish wolf dog, apparently proud of
keeping watch and ward over his master's wife
and children.
Next comes a band of horses ; two or three men
or boys follow them, the docile and sagacious
animals scarcely needing this attention, for they
have learned to follow in the rear of the wagons,
and know that at noon they will be allowed to
graze and rest. Their knowledge of time seems as
accurate as of the place they are to occupy in the
line, and even a full-blown thistle will scarce
tempt them to straggle or halt until the dinner
hour is arrived.
Not so with the large herd of horned beasts that
bring up the rear; lazy, selfish and unsocial, it has
been a task to get them in motion, the strong
always ready to domineer over the weak, halt in
the front and forbid the weaker to pass them.
They seem to move only in fear of the driver's
whip; though in the morning full to repletion,
they have not been driven an hour, before their
hunger and thirst seem to indicate a fast of days'
duration. Through all the clay long their greed is
never sated nor their thirst quenched, nor is there

154 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
a moment of relaxation of the tedious and vexa
tious labors of their drivers, although to all others
the march furnishes some reason of relaxation or
enjoyment. For the cow-drivers, there is none.
But from the standpoint of the hunters the
vexations are not apparent; the crack of whip and
loud objurgations are lost in the distance.
Nothing of the moving panorama, smooth and
orderly as it appears, has more attraction for the
eye than that vast square column in which all
colors are mingled, moving here slowly and there
briskly as impelled by horsemen riding furiously
in front and rear.
But the picture, in its grandeur, its wonderful
mingling of colors and distinctness of detail, is
forgotten in contemplation of the singular people
who give it life and animation. No other race of
men, with the means at their command, would un
dertake so great a journey; none save these could
successfully perform it, with no previous prepara
tion, relying only on the fertility of their invention
to devise the means to overcome each danger and
difficulty as it arose.
They have undertaken to perform with slow-
moving oxen, a journey of two thousand miles.
The way lies over trackless wastes, wide and deep
rivers, rugged and lofty mountains, and it is beset
with hostile savages. Yet, whether it were a
deep river with no tree upon its banks, a rugged

THE HUNTING PARTY. 155
defile wThere even a loose horse could not pass, a
hill too steep for him to climb, or a threatened
attack of an enemy, they are always found ready
and equal to the occasion, and always conquerors.
May we not call them men of destiny? They are
people changed in no essential particulars from
their ancestors, who have followed closely on the
footsteps of the receding savage, from the Atlantic
sea-board to the great valley of the Mississippi.
But while we have been gazing at the picture in
the valley, the hunters have been examining the
high plain in the other direction. Some dark
moving objects have been discovered in the dis
tance, and all are closely watching them to dis
cover what they are, for in the atmosphere of the
plains a flock of crows marching miles away, or a
band of buffaloes or Indians at ten times the dis
tance look alike, and many ludicrous mistakes
occur. But these are buffaloes, for two have
struck their heads together, and are alternately
pushing each other back. The hunters mount and
away in pursuit, and I, a poor cow-driver, must
hurry back to my daily toil, and take a scolding
from my fellow-herders for so long playing truant.
The pilot, by measuring the ground and timing
the speed of the wagons and the walk of his horses,
has determined the rate of each, so as to enable
him to select the nooning- place, as nearly as the
requisite grass and water can be had at the end of

156 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
five hours' travel of the wagons. To-day, the
ground being favorable, little time has been lost
in preparing the road, so that he and his pioneers
are at the nooning place an hour in advance of the
wagons, which time is spent in preparing con
venient watering places for the animals, and
digging- little wells near the bank of the Platte.
As the teams are not unyoked, but simply
turned loose from their wagons, a corral is not
formed at noon, but the wagons are drawn up in
columns, four abreast, the leading wagon of each
platoon on the left — the platoons being formed
with that view. This brings friends together at
noon as well as at night.
To-day, an extra session of the Council is being
held, to settle a dispute that does not admit of de
lay, between a proprietor and a young man who
has undertaken to do a man's service on the jour-
nev for bed and board. Manv such encasements
exist, and much interest is taken in the manner
this high court, from which there is no appeal,
will define the rights of each party in such engage
ments. The Council was a high court in a most exalted
sense. It was a Senate, composed of the ablest
and most respected fathers of the emigration. It
exercised both legislative and judicial powers, and
its laws and decisions proved it equal and worthy
the high trust reposed in it. Its sessions were

A NOVEL COURT. 157
usually held on days when the caravan was not
moving. It first took the state of the little com
monwealth into consideration; revised or repealed
rules defective or obsolete, and enacted such others
as the exigencies seemed to require. The common
weal being cared for, it next resolved itself into a
court to hear and settle private disputes and
grievances. The offender and the aggrieved appeared before
it; witnesses were examined and the parties
were heard by themselves and sometimes by coun
sel. The judges thus being made fully acquainted
with the case, and being in no way influenced or
cramped by technicalities, decided all cases
according to their merits. There was but little
use for lawyers before this court, for no plea was
entertained which was calculated to hinder or de
feat the ends of justice.
Many of these Judges have since won honors in
higher spheres. They have aided to establish on
the broad basis of right and universal liberty two
of the pillars of our Great Republic in the Occident.
Some of the young men who appeared before them
as advocates have themselves sat upon the highest
judicial tribunal, commanded armies, been Gov
ernors of States, and taken high positions in the
Senate of the Nation.
It is now one o'clock; the bugle has sounded,
and the caravan has resumed its westward jour-

158 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
ney. It is in the same order, but the evening is far
less animated than the morning march; a drowsi
ness has fallen apparently on man and beast;
teamsters drop asleep on their perches and even
when walking by their teams, and the words of
command are now addressed to the slowly-creep
ing oxen in the softened tenor of a woman or the
piping treble of children, while the snores of team
sters make a droning accompaniment.
But a little incident breaks the monotony of the
march. An emigrant's wife, whose state of health
has caused Dr. Whitman to travel near the
wagon for the clay, is now taken with violent
illness. The Doctor has had the wagon driven out
of the line, a tent pitched and a fire kindled.
Many conjectures are hazarded in regard to this
mysterious proceeding, and as to why this lone
wagon is to be left behind.
And we, too, must leave it, hasten to the front
and note the proceedings, for the sun is now
getting low in the west, and at length the pains
taking pilot is standing ready to conduct the train
in the circle which he had previously measured
and marked out, which is to form the invariable
fortification for the night.
The leading wagons follow him so nearly round
the circle, that but a wagon length separates them.
Each wagon follows in its track, the rear closing
on the front until its tongue and ox-chains w^l

THE ENCAMPMENT. 159
perfectly reach from one to the other, and so
accurate the measurement and perfect the prac
tice, that the hindmost wagon of the train always
precisely closes the gateway. As each wagon is
brought into position, it is dropped from its team
(the teams being inside the circle), the team un
yoked, and the yokes and chains are used to con
nect the wagon strongly with that in its front.
Within ten minutes from the time the leading-
wagon halted the barricade is formed, the teams
unyoked and driven out to pasture. Every one is
busy preparing fires of buffalo chips to cook the
evening meal, pitching tents and otherwise pre
paring for the night.
There are anxious watchers for the absent
wagon, for there are many matrons who may be
afflicted like its inmate before the journey is over,
and they fear the strange and startling practice of
this Oregon doctor will be dangerous. But as the
sun goes down, the absent wagon rolls into camp,
the bright, speaking face and cheery look of the
doctor, who rides in advance, declare without
words that all is well, and that both mother and
child are comfortable.
I would fain now and here pay a passing tribute
to that noble and devoted man, Dr. Whitman. I
will obtrude no other name upon the reader, nor
would I his, were he of our party or even living,
but his stay with us was transient, though the

160 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
good he did was permanent, and he has long since
died at his post.
From the time he joined us on the Platte, until
he left us at Fort Hall, his great experience and in
domitable energy was of priceless value to the mi
grating column. His constant advice, which we
knew was based upon a knowledge of the road be
fore us, was "travel, travel, travel — nothing else
will take you to the end of your journey; nothing is
wise that does not help you along; nothing is good
for you that causes a moment's delay."
His great authority as a physician and complete
success in the case above referred to, saved us
many prolonged and perhaps ruinous delays from
similar causes, and it is no disparagement to others
to say that to no other individual are the immi
grants of 1843 so much indebted for the success
ful conclusion of their journey, as to Dr. Marcus
Whitman. All able to bear arms in the party had been
formed into three companies, and each of these
into four watches; every third night it is the duty
of one of these companies to keep watch and ward
over the camp, and it is so arranged that each
watch takes its turn of guard duty through the
different watches of the night. Those forming the
first watch to-night, will be second on duty, then
third and fourth, which brings them all through

REV. CUSHING EELLS, D. D.
Founder of Whitman College.

CAMP RECREATIONS. 161
the watches of the night. They begin at eight
o'clock p. m. and end at four o'clock a. m.
It is not yet eight o'clock when the first watch
is to be set; the evening meal is just over, and the
corral now free from the intrusion of horses or cat
tle, groups of children are scattered over it. The
larger are taking a game of romps ; "the wee, tod
dling things" are being taught that great achieve
ment which distinguishes men from the lower ani
mals. Before a tent near the river, a violin makes
lively music and some youths and maidens have
improvised a dance upon the green; in another
quarter a flute gives its mellow and melancholy
notes to the still night air, which, as they float
away over the quiet river, seem a lament for the
past rather than for a hope of the future.
It has been a prosperous day ; more than twenty
miles have been accomplished of the great jour
ney. The encampment is a good one; one of the
causes that threatened much future delay has just
been removed by the skill and energy of "that good
angel" of the emigrants, Dr. Whitman, and it has
lifted a load from the hearts of the elders. Many
of these are assembled around the good doctor at
the tent of the pilot (which is his home for the
time being), and are giving grave attention to his
wise and energetic counsel. The care-worn pilot
sits aloof quietly smoking his pipe, for he knows
the grave Doctor is "strength in his hands."

162 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
But time passes, the watch is set for the night,
the council of good men has been broken up and
each has returned to his own quarters. The flute
has whispered its last lament to the deepening
night. The violin is silent and the dancers have
dispersed. Enamored youths have whispered a
tender "good night" in the ear of blushing maid
ens, or stolen a kiss from the lips of some future
bride; for Cupid, here as elsewhere, has been busy
bringing together congenial hearts, and among
these simple people, he alone is consulted in form
ing the marriage tie. Even the Doctor and the
pilot have finished their confidential interview and
have separated for the night. All is hushed and
repose from the fatigues of the day, save the vigi
lant guard, and the wakeful leader who still ha::.
cares upon his mind that forbid sleep.
He hears the ten o'clock relief taking post, and
the "all well" report of the returned guard; the
night deepens, yet he seeks not the needed repose.
At length a sentinel hurries to him with the wel
come report that a party is approaching, as yet too
far away for its character to be determined, and
he instantly hurries out in the direction seen.
This he does both from inclination and duty, for,
in times past, the camp has been unnecessarily
alarmed by timid or inexperienced sentinels, caus
ing much confusion and fright amongst women
and children, and it had been made a rule that all

A NIGHT ALARM. 163
extraordinary incidents of the night should be re
ported directly to the pilot, who alone had author
ity to call out the military strength of the column,
or so much of it as was, in his judgment, necessary
to prevent a stampede or repel an enemy.
To-night he is at no loss to determine that the
approaching party are our missing hunters, and
that they have met with success, and he only waits
until, by some further signal, he can know that no
ill has happened to them. This is not long want
ing; he does not even wait their arrival, but the
last care of the day being removed and the last
duties performed, he, too, seeks the rest that will
enable him to go through the same routine to-mor
row. But here I leave him, for my task is also
done, and, unlike his, it is to be repeated no more.
After passing through such trials and dangers,
nothing .could have been more cheering to these
tired immigrants than the band of Cayuse and
Nez Perces Indians, with pack mules loaded
with supplies, meeting the Doctor upon the moun
tains with a glad welcome. From them he learned
that in his absence his mill had been burned, but
the Rev. H. H. Spalding, anticipating the needs of
the caravan, had furnished flour from his mill, and
nothing was ever more joyously received.
Dr. Whitman also received letters urging him to
hurry on to his mission. He selected one of his
most trusty Cayuse Indian guides, Istikus, and

164 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
placed the company under his lead. He was no
longer a necessity for its comfort and safety. The
most notable event in pioneer history is reaching
its culmination. That long train of canvas-cov
ered wagons moving across the plains, those two
hundred campfires at night, with shouts and
laughter and singing of children, were all new
and strange to these solitudes. As simple facts in
history, to an American they are profoundly in
teresting, but to the thoughtful student who views
results, they assume proportions whose grandeur
is not easily over-estimated.
But the little band has come safely across the
Rockies; has forded and swam many intervening
rivers; the dreary plains, with saleratus dust and
buffalo gnats, had been left behind, and here they
stand upon a slope of the farthest western range
of mountains, with the fertile foot hills and beau
tiful green meadows reaching as far away as the
eye can see. The wagons are well bunched. For
weeks they have been eager to see the land of
promise. It is a goodly sight to see, as they file
down the mountain side, one hundred and twenty-
five wagons, one thousand head of loose stock, cat
tle, horses and sheep, and about one thousand men,
women and children, and Oregon is saved to the
Union. Who did it?
We leave every thoughtful, honest reader to
answer the query.

CHAPTER VIII.

A BACKWARD LOOK AT RESULTS.

The reader of history is often moved to admira
tion at the dash and courage of some bold hero,
even when he has failed in the work he set out to
accomplish. The genius to invent, with the cour
age to prosecute, has often failed in reaching the
hoped-for results. The pages of history of all time
are burdened with the plaintive cry, "Oh, for night
or Blucher." It is the timeliness of great events
that marks real genius, and the largest wisdom.
Of Whitman it was a leading characteristic. He
did the right thing just at the right time. His faith
was equal to his courage and when his duty was
made clear to his mind, there was no impediment
that he would not attempt to overcome. Now we
are to study the results of his heroic ride, and will
see how dangerous would have been any delay.
We have noted Webster's letter to the English
Minister, dated in 1840, in which he said, "The
ownership of the whole country (referring to Ore
gon) will likely follow the greater settlement and

166 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
larger amount of population," and this we may say
was the common sentiment of our early statesmen,
and not peculiar to Mr. Webster. But Whitman
had started a new train of thought and given a
new direction to the policy of the administration.
The President believed in the truthful report of
the hero with his frozen limbs, who had ridden
four thousand miles in midwinter without pay or
hope of reward, to plead for Oregon. Immediately
upon the close of the conference the record shows
that Secretary Webster wrote to Minister Everett
and said: "The Government of the United'
States has never offered any line south of forty-
nine and never will, and England must not expect
anything south of the forty-ninth degree."
That is a wonderful change. Upon receipt of
the news that Dr. Whitman, in June, "Had started
to Oregon with a great, caravan numbering nearly
one thousand souls," another letter was sent to
the English Minister, still more pointed and im
pressive. The- President and his Secretary at once began
to arrange terms for a treaty with England re
garding the boundary line, and negotiations were
speedily begun. It did not look to be a hopeful
task when the Ashburton-Webster Treaty, just
signed in 1842, had been a bone of contention for
forty-eight years. Still more did it look discourag
ing from the fact that diplomats the year before

&

FIFTY-FOUR FORTY OR FIGHT. 167
had resolved to leave the Oregon boundary out of
the case, as it was said, "Otherwise it would likely
defeat the whole treaty."
But suddenly new blood had been injected into
American veins in and about Washington. They
saAV a great fertile country, thirty times as large
as Massachusetts, which was rightfully theirs and
yet claimed by a power many thousand miles sepa
rated from it. The national blood Avas aroused.
A great political party, not satisfied with Secre
tary Webster's modest "latitude of forty-nine de
grees" emblazoned on its banners, "Oregon and
fifty-four forty or fight."
The spirit of '76 and 1812 seemed to have sud
denly been aroused throughout the Nation. Peo
ple did not stop to ask, who has done it, or how it
all happened; but no intelligent or thoughtful
student of history can doubt how it all happened,
or Avho was its author. It was also easy to see
that it AVas to be no forty-eight year campaign be
fore the question must be adjudicated.
The Hon. Elwood Evans, in a speech in 1871,
well said: "The arrival of Dr. Whitman in 1843
Avas opportune. The President was satisfied the
territory was worth preserving." He continues:
"If the offer had been made in the Ashburton
Treaty of the forty-ninth parallel to the Columbia
River and thence down the Columbia to the Pacific
Ocean, it would have been accepted, but the visit

168 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
of Whitman committed the President against any
such settlement."
The offer was not made by English diplomats,
because they intended to have a much larger slice.
Captain Johnny Grant and the English Hudson
Bay officials made their greatest blunder in allow
ing Whitman to make his perilous Winter ride.
They were not prepared for the sudden change in
American sentiment. In any enthusiasm for our
hero, we would not willingly make any exagger
ated claim for his services. Prior to the arrival of
Whitman, President Tyler had shown thoughtful
interest in the Oregon question, and in his message
in 1842 he said: "In advance of the acquirement
of individual rights to those lands, sound policy
dictates that every effort should be resorted to by
the two Governments to settle their respective
claims." Fifteen days before the arrival of Wmitman,
Senator Linn, always a firm friend of Oregon, in a
resolution called for information, "Why Oregon
was not included in the Ashburton-Webster
Treaty." This resolution passed the Senate, but
was defeated in the House. Neither the President,
Senators, or Congressmen had the data upon
which to base clear, intelligent action, and Whit
man's arrival just when Congress was closing up
its business gave no opportunity for the wider dis
cussion which would have followed then and there.

THE COUNTRY AWAKES. 169
It was, however, another evidence of timeliness,
which we wish to keep well to the front in all of
Whitman's work.
All can see how fortunate it was that the Ore
gon boundary question was not included in the
Ashburton Treaty in 1S42, and that it had waited
for later adjudication. During the summer of 1843
the people of the entire country had heard of the
great overland emigration to Oregon, and on the
8th day of January, 1S44, Congress was noti
fied that the Whitman immigration to Oregon was
a grand success, and upon the very day of the ar
rival of this news, a resolution was offered in the
Senate which called for the instructions to our
Minister in England, and all correspondence upon
the subject. But the conservative Senate was not
quite ready for such a move, and the resolution
was defeated by a close vote. But two days after
a similar resolution was passed by the House.
Urged to do so by Whitman, the Lees, Lovejoy,
Spalding, Eells and others, scores of intelligent
emigrants flooded their Congressmen with letters
giving glowing descriptions of the beauty of the
country, the fertility of the land, and the mildness
and healthfulness of the climate. Even Senator
Winthrop, who at one time declared that "Neither
the West nor the country at large had any real
interest in retaining Oregon; that we would not
be straitened for elbow room in the West for a

170 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
thousand years," was aroused to something of en
thusiasm, and said in his place in the Senate: "For
myself, certainly, I believe that we have a good
title to the whole twelve degrees of latitude up to
fifty-four, forty."
Senator Benton had long since materially
changed his views from those he held when he had
said that "The ridge of the Rocky Mountains may
be named as the convenient, natural and everlast
ing boundary." Fremont, not Whitman, had con
verted him. Benton was aggressive and intelli
gent. In the discussion of 1844, he said: "Let the
emigrants go on and carry their rifles. We want
thirty thousand rifles in the valley of the Oregon.
The war, if it come, will not be topical; it will not
be confined to Oregon, but will embrace the pos
sessions of the two powers throughout the Globe."
In the discussion, which took a Avide turn, many
of the eminent statesmen at that time took a part.
Prominent among them was Calhoun, Linn, Ben
ton, Choate, Berrien and Rives. Many of them tried
the most persuasive words of peace, yet no one
who reads the speeches and the proceedings, but
will perceive the wonderful changes in public sen
timent during a single year. The year 1844 ended
with the struggle growing every day more intense.
The English people had awakened to the fact that
they had to meet the issue and there would not be
any repetition of the old dallying with the Maine

THE STRUGGLE INCREASES IN INTENSITY. 171
boundary. They sent to this country Minister
Packenham as Minister Plenipotentiary to nego
tiate the treaty. Mr. Buchanan acted for the
United States.
It was talk and counter-talk. Buchanan was
one of the leading spirits in the demand for fifty-
four forty, and his position was well understood
both by the people of the United States and by
England. President Tyler, in his final message,
earnestly recommended the extension of the
United States laws over the Territory of Oregon.
In this connection it will be remembered that
Dr. Whitman, only a feAv months before the great
massacre, in which he and his noble wife lost their
lives, rode all the Avay to Oregon City to urge
Judge Thornton to go to Washington and beg, on
the part of the people of Oregon, for a "Provisional
Government." Judge Thornton believed in Dr.
Whitman's wisdom, and when the doctor declared
that which seemed to be a prophecy, "Unless this
is done, nothing will save even my mission from
murder," the Judge said, "If Governor Aber-
nethy will furnish me a letter to the President, I
will go." The Governor promptly furnished the
required letter and Judge Thornton resigned his
position as Supreme Judge. All know of the fatal
events at the Whitman Mission in less than two
months after Judge Thornton's departure.
But the boundary question lapped over into Mr.

172 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
Polk's administration in 1845 with a promise of
lively times. President Polk, in December, 1845,
made it the leading question in his message. He
covers the whole question in dispute and says:
"The proposition of compromise which has been
made and rejected, was by my order withdrawn,
and our title to the whole of Oregon asserted, and,
as it is believed, maintained by irrefragable facts
and arguments." The President recommended that
the joint occupation treaty of 1818-1828 be termi
nated by the stipulated notice, and that the civil
and criminal laws of the United States be ex
tended over the whole of Oregon, and that a line of
military posts be established along the route from
the States to the Pacific.
If the reader will take the pains to read the
paper Avhich Dr. Whitman by request sent to the
Secretary of War in 1843, republished in the ap
pendix of this volume, he Avill find in it just the
recommendations now two years later made by
the President. The great misfortune was that it
was not complied with promptly. War upon a
grand scale seemed imminent. A leading Senator
announced that "War may now be looked for al
most inevitably."
The whole tone of public sentiment, in Congress
and out, was that the United States owned Ore
gon, not only up to forty-nine degrees, but up to
54 degrees, 40 minutes." It was thought that

WEBSTER SPEAKS. 173
the resolution of notice for the termination of the
treaty would cause a declaration of war. For
forty days the question was pending before the
House and finally passed by the strong vote of 163
for to 54 against. In the Senate the resolution
covered a still wider range and a longer time. But
little else was thought or talked about. Business
throughout the land was at a standstill in the sus
pense, or was hurrying to prepare for a great emer
gency. The wisest, coolest-headed Senators still
regarded the question at issue open for peaceful
settlement. They dwelt upon the horrors of a war,
that would cost the Nation five hundred millions
in treasure, besides the loss of life.
Webster, who had been so soundly abused for
his Ashburton Treaty, had held aloof from this dis
cussion. But there came a time when he could no
longer remain silent, and he put himself on the
record in a single sentence: "It is my opinion that
it is not the judgment of this country, or that of the
Senate, that the Government of the United States
should run the hazard of a war for Oregon, by re
nouncing as no longer fit for consideration, the
proposition of adjustment made by the Govern
ment thirty years ago, and repeated in the face of
the world."
Calhoun, than whom no Senator was more influ
ential, urged continued peaceful methods. He
said: "A question of greater moment never has
been presented to Congress." Others counseled a

174 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
continuance of things as they were and letting im
migration after the bold Whitman plan settle it.
Suffice it here to say that both Nations, after the
wide discussion and threats, saw war as a costly
experiment. In the last of April the terms of
treaty were agreed upon, and on July 17th, 1846,
both Governments had signed a treaty fixing the
boundary line at forty-nine degrees.
Now here again comes in the timeliness of Whit
man's memorable ride. It had taken every day of
exciting contest in Congress since that eA^ent, up to
April, 1846, to agree upon the boundary and for
America to get her Oregon. On the 13th day of
May, 1846, Congress declared war against Mexico,
and California was at stake. Suppose England
could have foreseen that event, would she not have
declared in favor of a longer wait? Who that
knows England does not know that she would?
With England still holding to her rights in Ore
gon how easy it would have been to take sides with
Mexico and to have helped her hold California.
But we won not only California and New Mex
ico, but won riches. In the year 1848 gold was dis
covered in California. And now suppose England
could have foreseen that, as she would have known
it had she prolonged the negotiations, would she
ever have signed away any possessions like that
rolled in gold? When did the great and powerful

WHITMAN'S ACTION TIMELY. 175
Kingdom of Great Britain ever do anything of the
kind? It Avould not have done for Whitman to have
waited for next year and warm weather as his
friends demanded. "I must go," and "uoav," and at
this day it is easy to see from the light of history
hoAV God rules in the minds and hearts of men, as
he rules nations. They, as men and nations, turn
aside from His commands, but a man like Marcus
Whitman obeys.
Go still farther. From the time gold was dis
covered in California up to the outbreak of the
War of the Rebellion, nine hundred millions of
gold were dug from the mines of California and
Oregon. Where did it go? The great bulk of it
went into storehouses and manufactories and
vaults of the North. The South was sparsely rep
resented in California and Oregon in the early
days. WTe repeat that when the war broke out, the
great bulk of the yellow metal was behind the
Union army. WTho don't recognize that it was a
great power? even more than that, it was a con
trolling power. The Nation was to be tried as
never before. Human slavery was the prize for
which the South contended, while human freedom
soon asserted itself, despite all opposition, as a con
tending force in the North. But the wisest were
in doubt as to results. They could not see how it
was possible that "the sum of all villainies" could

176 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
be obliterated. In the East and the North and the
West, the boys in blue flocked to the standard, and
bayonets gleamed everywhere. The plow was left
in the furrow, and the hum of the machine shop
was not heard. The fires in the furnaces and forges
went out, and multitudes were in despair over the
mighty struggle at hand. The Union might have
been saved without the wealth of gold of Califor
nia and Oregon; it might haA^e proved victorious,
even if the two great loyal States of the Pacific
had been in the hands of strangers or enemies, but
they were behind the loyal Union army. And the
men marched and fought and sung —
"In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom, that transfigures you and me;
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on,"
as they marched, leaving graves upon every moun
tain side and in every valley. Appomattox was
reached, and lo, the chains dropped from the limbs
of six million slaves, and "The flag of beauty and
glory" floated from Lake to Gulf and from Ocean
to Ocean, in truth as in song —
"O'er the land of the free,
And the home of the brave."
Again, older readers will remember with what
fear and trembling they opened their morning
papers for many months, fearing to read that Eng-

WHITMAN COLLEGE, WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON.

SOME OF THE RESULTS. 177
land had accorded "belligerent rights" to the Con
federacy. They will have a vivid recollection of
the eloquent orator, Henry Ward Beecher, as he
plead, as no other man could, the cause of the
Union in English cities. He Avas backed up by old
John Bright, the descendants of Penn, Gurney and
Wilberforce, and the old-time enemies of human
slavery. But it took them all to stem the tide. At
one time it even seemed that they had won over
Gladstone to their interests.
While the great masses of the English people
were in sympathy Avith the Union cause, the
moneyed men and commerce sided Avith the Con
federacy: "Cotton was King." They had been
struck in a tender place — their pockets and bank
accounts. But suppose England had owned Ore
gon and its great interests, who don't see that all
the danger would have been multiplied, and our
interests endangered? There is in this no extrav
agant claim made that all this Avas done by Marcus
Whitman. The Ruler of the Universe uses men,
not a man, for its direction and government.
Going back upon the pages of history, the stu
dent sees Whittier in his study, and listens to his
singing ; he sees Mrs. Stowe educating with Uncle
Tom in his cabin; he notes Garrison forging
thunderbolts in his Liberator; he sees old Gam
aliel Bailey with his National Era; he sees Sum
ner fall by a bludgeon in the Senate ; he hears the

178 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
eloquent thunderings of Hale and bluff old Ben
Wade and Giddings and Julian and Chase; he
sees Lovejoy fall by the hands of his assassin; he
hears the guns of the old "fanatic" John Brown,
as he began "marching on;" he sees a great army
marshaled for the contest which led up to the
election of the "Martyr President," and the crown
ing- victories which redeemed the grandest nation
upon which the sun shines from the curse of
human slavery. Giving due credit to all, detract
ing no single honor from any one in all the dis
tinguished galaxy of honored names, and yet the
thoughtful student can reach but one conclusion,
and that is, that in the timeliness of his acts, in the
heroism with which they were carried out, in the
unselfishness which marked everj^ step of the way,
and in the wide-reaching effects of his work, Dr.
Marcus Whitman, as a man and patriot and na
tional benefactor, was excelled by none.
Such unselfish devotion, such obedience to the
call of duty, such love of "the flag that makes you
free," such heroism, which never even once had an
outcropping of personal benefit, will forever stand,
when 'fully understood, as among the brightest
and most inspiring pages of American history.
The young American loves to read of Paul Re
vere. He dwells with thrilling interest upon the
ride of the boy Archie Gillespie, who saw the great
dam breaking, and at the risk of his life rode down

A SUBJECT FOR A GREAT PAINTING. 179
the valley of the Conemaugh to Johnstown, shout
ing, "Flee for your lives, the flood, the flood!" The
people fled and two minutes behind the boy rolled
the mighty flood of annihilation. How painter,
and poet, and patriot, lingers over the ride of the
gallant Sheridan "from Winchester, twenty miles
away." All the honor is deserved; he saved an
army and turned a defeat into victory.
But how do all these compare Avith the ride of
Whitman? It, too, was a ride for life or death.
Over snow-capped mountains, along ravines, trav
eled only by savage beasts and savage men. It
was a plunge through icy rivers, tired, hungry,
cold, and yet he rode on and on, until he stood be
fore the President, four thousand miles away!
Let us hope and believe that the time will come
when Whitman, standing before President Tyler
and Secretary Webster, in his buckskin breeches
and a dress as we have shoAvn, which was never
woven in loom, will be the subject of some great
painting. It would be grandly historical and tell
a story that a patriotic people should never forget.
Alice Wellington Rollins wrote the following-
poem, which Avas published in the New York In
dependent, and widely copied. The Cassell Pub
lishing Company made it one of their gems in their
elegant volume, "Representative Poems of Living-
Poets," and kindly consent to its use in this vol
ume:

180 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
WHITMAN'S RIDE.
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of a hero's ride that saved a State.
A midnight ride? Nay, child, for a year
He rode with a message that could not wait.
Eighteen hundred and forty-two;
No railroad then had gone crashing through
To the Western coast; not a telegraph wire
Had guided there the electric fire;
But a fire burned in one strong man's breast
For a beacon light. You shall hear the rest.
He said to his wife; "At the Fort to-day,
At Walla Walla, I heard them say
That a hundred British men had crossed
The mountains; and one young, ardent priest
Shouted, 'Hurrah for Oregon,!
The Yankees are late by a year at least!'
They must know this at once at Washington.
Another year, and all would be lost.
Someone must ride, to give the alarm
Across the Continent; untold harm
In an hour's delay, and only I
Can make them understand how or why
The United States must keep Oregon!"
Twenty-four hours he stopped to think,
To think! Nay then, if he thought at all,
He thought as he tightened his saddle-girth.
One tried companion, who would not shrink
From the worst to come, with a mule or two
To carry arms and supplies, would do.
With a guide as far as Fort Bent. And she,
The woman of proud, heroic worth,
Who must part from him, if she wept at all,
Wept as she gathered whatever he
Might need for the outfit on his way.

WHITMAN'S RIDE. 181
Fame for the man who rode that day
Into the wilds at his Country's call;
And for her who waited for him a year
On that wild Pacific coast, a tear!
Then he said "Good-bye!" and with firm -set lips
Silently rode from his cabin door
Just as the sun rose over the tips
Of the phantom mountain that loomed before
The woman there in the cabin door,
With a dread at her heart she had not known
When she, with him, had dared to cross
The Great Divide. None better than she
Knew what the terrible ride would cost
As he rode, and she waited, each alone.
Whether all were gained or all were lost,
No message of either gain or loss
Could reach her; never a greeting stir
Her heart with sorrow or gladness; he
In another year would come back to her
If all went well; and if all went ill —
Ah, God! could even her courage still
The pain at her heart? If the blinding snow
Were his winding-sheet, she would never know;
If the Indian arrow pierced his side,
She would never know where he lay and died;
If the icy mountain torrents drowned
His cry for help, she would hear no sound!
Nay, none would hear, save God, who knew
What she had to bear, and he had to do.
The clattering hoof-beats died away
On the Walla Walla. Ah! had she known
They would echo in history still to-day
As they echoed then from her heart of stone!
He had left the valley. The mountains mock
His coming. Behind him, broad and deep,
The Columbia meets the Pacific tides;
Before him — four thousand miles before—

182 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
Four thousand miles from his cabin door,
The Potomac meets the Atlantic. On
Over the trail grown rough and steep,
Now soft on the snow, now loud on the rock,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.
The United States must keep Oregon.
It was October when he left
The Walla Walla, though little heed
Paid he to the season. Nay, indeed,
In the lonely canyons just ahead,
Little mattered it what the almanac said.
He heard the coyotes bark; but they
Are harmless creatures. No need to fear
A deadly rattlesnake coiled too near.
No rattlesnake ever was so bereft
Of sense as to creep out such a day
In the frost. Nay, scarce would a grizzly care
For a sniff at him. Only a man would dare
The bitter cold, in whose heart and brain
Burned the quenchless flame of a great desire;
A man with nothing himself to gain
From success, but whose heart-blood kept its fire
While with freezing face he rode on and on.
The United States must keep Oregon.
It was November when they came
To the icy stream. Would he hesitate?
Not he, the man who carried a State
At his saddle bow. They have made the leap;
Horse and rider have plunged below
The icy current that could not tame
Their proud life-current's fiercer flow.
They swim for it, reach it, clutch the shore,
Climb the river bank, cold and steep,
Mount, and ride the rest of that day,
Cased in an armor close and fine
As ever an ancient warrior wore;
Armor of ice that dared to shine

WHITMAN'S RIDE. 183
Back at a sunbeam's dazzling ray,
Fearless as plated steel of old
Before that slender lance of gold.
It is December as they ride
Slowly across the Great Divide;
The blinding storm turns day to night,
And clogs their feet; the snowflakes roll
The winding sheet about them; sight
Is darkened; faint the despairing soul.
No trail before or behind them. Spur
His horse? Nay, child, it were death to stir!
Motionless horse and rider stand,
Turning to stone; till one poor mule,
Pricking his ears as if to say
If they gave him rein he would find the way,
Found it and led them back, poor fool,
To last night's camp in that lonely land.
It was February when he rode
Into St. Louis. The gaping crowd
Gathered about him with questions loud
And eager. He raised one frozen hand
With a gesture of silent, proud command;
"I am here to ask, not answer! Tell
Me quick, is the Treaty signed?" "Why yes!
In August, six months ago or less!"
Six months ago! Two months before
The gay young priest at the fortress showed
The English hand! Two months before,
Four months ago at his cabin door,
He had saddled his horse! Too late then. "Well,
But Oregon? Have they signed the State
Away?" "Of course not. Nobody cares
About Oregon." He in silence bares
His head. "Thank God! I am not too late."
It was March when he rode at last
Into the streets of Washington.

184 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
The warning questions came thick and fast;
"Do you know that the British will colonize,
If you wait another year, Oregon
And the Northwest, thirty-six times the size
Of Massachusetts?" A courteous stare,
And the Government murmurs: "Ah, indeed!
Pray, why do you think that we should care?
With Indian arrows and mountain snow
Between us, we never can colonize
The wild Northwest from the East you know,
If you doubt it, why, we will let you read
The London Examiner; proofs enough
The Northwest is worth just a pinch of snuff."
And the Board of Missions that sent him out,
Gazed at the word, and weary man
With stern displeasure. "Pray, sir, who
Gave you orders to undertake
This journey hither, or to incur
Without due cause, such great expense
To the Board? Do you suppose we can
Overlook so grave an offense?
And the Indian converts? What about
The little flock, for whose precious sake
We sent you West? Can it be that you
Left them without a shepherd? Most
Extraordinary conduct, sir,
Thus to desert your chosen post."
Ah, well! What mattered it! He had dared
A hundred deaths, in his eager pride,
To bring to his Country at AVashington
A message, for which, then, no one cared!
But Whitman could act as well as ride.
The United States must keeep the Northwest.
He — whatever might say the rest —
Cared, and would colonize Oregon!
It was October, forty-two,
When the clattering hoof-beats died away

WHITMAN'S RIDE. 185
On the Walla Walla, that fateful day.
It was September, forty-three —
Little less than a year, you see —
When the woman who waited thought she heard
The clatter of foot-beats that she knew
On the Walla Walla again. "What word
From Whitman?" Whitman himself! And see!
What do her glad eyes look upon?
The first of two hundred wagons rolls
Into the valley before her. He
Who, a year ago, had left her side,
Had brought them over the Great Divide —
Men, women and children, a thousand souls —
The army to occupy Oregon.
You know the rest. In the books you have read
That the British were not a year ahead.
The United States have kept Oregon,
Because of one Marcus Whitman. He
Rode eight thousand miles, and was not too late!
In a single hand, not a Nation's fate,
Perhaps; but a gift for the Nation, she
Would hardly part with it to-day, if we
May believe what the papers say upon
This great Northwest, that was Oregon.

And Whitman? Ah! my children, he
And his wife sleep now in a martyr's grave!
Murdered! Murdered, both he and she,
By the Indian souls they went West to save!

CHAPTER IX.

THE CHANGE IN PUBLIC SENTIMENT.

The reader of history seldom sees a more nota
ble instance of a changed public sentiment, than
he can find in the authentic records dating from
March, 1843, to July, 1846. If the epitome sketch
made in another chapter has been studied the con
ditions now to be observed are phenomenal.
Statesman after statesman puts himself on record.
You hear no more of "No wagon road to Oregon,"
"That weary, desert road," those "Impassable
mountains;" nor does Mr. McDuffie jump up to
"Thank God for His mercy, for the impassable bar
rier of the Rocky Mountains." No Mr. Benton
arises and asks that "The statue of the fabled God
Terminus should be erected on the highest peak,
never to be thrown down." Nor does Mr. Jackson
appeal for "A compact Government."
Before the man clothed in buckskin left the Na
tional Capital, a message was on the way to our
Minister to England proclaiming "The United

THE UPRISING OF THE PEOPLE. 187
States Avill consent to give nothing below the lati
tude of forty-nine degrees." When it was known
that a great caravan of two hundred wagons and
one thousand Americans had started for Oregon,
a second message went to Minister Everett still
more pointed and positive, "The United States will
neyer consent that the boundary line to the Pacific
Ocean shall move one foot below the latitude of
forty-nine degrees." It is a historical fact that
one hundred and twenty-five of the wagons went
through. The whole people began to talk, as well as to
think and act. They had suddenly waked up to
a great peril, and were casting about how to meet
it. A political party painted upon its banners,
"Oregon, fifty-four forty, or fight." Multitudes of
those now living remember this great uprising of
the people. How was it done? Who did it?
Was it a spontaneous move without a reason?
Intelligent readers can scan the facts of history
and judge for themselves. But it is an historical
fact there was a remarkably sudden change.
President Tyler, and his great Secretary, Web
ster, during the balance of his administration,
used all the arts of diplomacy, and seemed to make
but little progress, except a promise of a Minister
Plenipotentiary to treat with the United States.
At any time prior to the arrival of Marcus Whit
man in Washington, or any time during the con-

188 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
ference upon the Ashburton Treaty, had the Eng
lish diplomats proposed to run the boundary line
upon forty-nine degrees until it struck the Colum
bia River, and down that river to the ocean, there
is multiplied evidence that the United States
would have accepted it at once.
But England did not want a part, she wanted
ail. During the negotiations in 1827 as to the
renewal of the Treaty of 1818, her commissioners
stated the case diplomatically, thus: "Great
Britain claims no exclusive sovereignty over any
portion of that territory. Her present claim is not
in respect to any part, but to the whole and is lim
ited to a right of joint occupancy in common with
other States, leaving the right of exclusive domin
ion in abeyance."
Some have urged that this was a give-away and
a quit claim on the part of England, but at most,
it is only the language of diplomacy, to be inter
preted by the acts of the party in contest. Those
who met and know the men in power in Oregon in
those pioneer days, can fully attest the assertion
of the Edinburgh Review in an article published
in 1843, after Whitman's visit to Washington. It
says: "They are chiefly Scotchmen, and a greater
proportion of shrewdness, daring and commercial
activity is probably not to be found in the same
number of heads in the world." They made their
grand mistake, however, that while being true

THE MISTAKE OF THE HUDSON BAY CO. 189
Britons, they were Hudson Bay Company men
first and foremost, and were anxious to keep out
all immigration. None better knew the value of
Oregon lands for the purposes of the agriculturist,
than those "shrewd old Scotchmen" did.
About every trading post they had cleared
farms, planted orchards and vineyards, and tested
all kinds of grains. Mrs. Whitman, in her diary
of September 14th, 1836, speaking of her visit to
Fort Vancouver, says, "We were invited to see the
farm. We rode for fifteen miles during the after
noon and visited the farms and stock, etc. They
estimate their wheat crop this year at four thou
sand bushels, peas the same, oats and barley fif
teen and seventeen hundred bushels each. The
potato and turnip fields are large and fine. Their
cattle are large and fine and estimated at one
thousand head. They have swine in abundance,
also sheep and goats, but the sheep are of an in
ferior quality. We also find hens, . turkeys and
pigeons, but no geese. Every day we have some
thing new. The store-houses are filled from top to
bottom with unbroken bales of goods, made up
of every article of comfort."
She tells of "A "new and improved method of
raising cream" for butter-making, and "The
abundant supply of the best cheese."
In another note she gives the menu for dinner.
"First, we are treated to soup, which is very good,

190 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
made of all kinds of vegetables, with a little rice.
Tomatoes are a prominent vegetable. After soup
the dishes are removed and roast duck, pork,
tripe, fish, salmon or sturgeon, with other things
too tedious to mention. When these are removed
a rice pudding or apple pie is served with musk
melons, cheese, biscuits and wine."
ShreAvd Scotsmen ! And yet this is the country
which for years thereafter American statesmen
declared "A desert waste," "Unfit for the habita
tion of civilized society," and from which our ora
tors thanked Heaven they were "separated by in
surmountable barriers of mountains," and "im
passable deserts." We repeat, none better knew
the ATalue of Oregon soil for the purposes of agri
culture, than did these princely retainers of Eng
land, and they well knew, that when agriculture
and civilization gained a foothold, both they and
their savage retainers would be compelled to movo
on. They held a bonanza of Avealth in their hands,
in a land of Arcadia, which they ruled to suit them
selves. It is not at all strange that they made the fight
they did; they had in 1836 feared the advent of
Dr. Whitman's old wagon, more than an army
with banners. They had tried in every way in
their power, except by absolute force, to arrest its
progress. They foresaw that every turn of its
wheels upon Oregon soil endangered fur. Those

THE PERILS MAGNIFIED. 191
in command at Fort Hall and Fort Boise Avere
Avarned to be more watchful. The consequence
was that not another wheel was permitted to go
beyond those forts, from 1836 to 1843. Dr. Ed
wards, however, reports that "Dr. Robert Newell
brought three wagons through to Walla Walla in
1840." But the fact remains that wagon after wagon
was abandoned at those points and the things
necessary fcr the comfort of the immigrant were
sacrificed, and men, women and children were
compelled to take to the pack-saddle, or journey
the balance of the weary way on foot. Great
stress was laid at these points of entrance, upon
the clangers of the route to Oregon, and the com
parative ease and comfort of the journey to Cali
fornia. Hundreds were thus induced to give up
the journey to Oregon, in making which they
would be forced to abandon their wagons and
goods, and they turned their faces toward Cali
fornia. General Palmer, in speaking of this, says:
"While at Fort Hall in 1842, the perils of the way
to Oregon were so magnified as to make us suppose
the journey thither was impossible. They repre
sented the clangers in passing over Snake River
and the Columbia as very great. That but little
stock had ever crossed those streams in safety.
And more and worst of all, they represented that

192 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
three or four tribes of Indians along the route had
combined to resist all immigration." They repre
sented that, "Famine and the snows of Winter
would overtake all with destruction, before they
could reach Oregon."
They did succeed in scaring this band of one
hundred and thirty-seven men, women and chil
dren in 1842 into leaving all their wagons behind,
but they went on to Oregon on pack-saddles.
In the meantime they ran a literary bureau
for all it was worth, in the disparagement of Ore
gon for all purposes except those of the fur trader.
The English press was mainly depended upon for
this work, but the best means in reach were used
that all these statements should reach the ruling
powers and reading people of the United States.
The effect of this literary bureau upon Ameri
can statesmen and the most intelligent class of
readers prior to the Spring of 1843, is easily seen
by the sentiments quoted, and by their published
acts, in refusing to legislate for Oregon. Modern
historians have said that, "The Hudson Bay Com
pany and the English never at any time claimed
anything south of the Columbia River." Such a
statement can nowhere be proved from any of
ficial record; on the contrary, there are multiplied
expressions and acts proving the opposite.
As early as the year 1828, the Hudson Bay Com
pany saw the value of the Falls of the Willamette

GOVERNOR SIMPSON'S PLAN. 193
at Oregon City for manufacturing purposes, and
took possession of the same; as Governor Simp
son in command of the Company said, "To estab
lish a British Colony of their retired servants."
"Governor Simpson," says Dr. Eells in his "History
of Indian Missions," "said in 1841 that the colonists
in the Willamette Valley were British subjects,
and that the English had no rivals on the coast
but Russia, and that the United States will never
possess more than a nominal jurisdiction, nor Avill
long possess even that, on the west side of the
Rocky Mountains." And he added, "Supposing
the country to be divided to-morrow to the entire
satisfaction of the most unscrupulous patriot in
the Union, I challenge conquest to bring my pre
diction and its own power to the test by imposing
the Atlantic tariff on the ports of the Pacific."
Such sentiments from the Governor, the man
then in supreme power, who moulded and directed
English sentiments, is of deep significance. A
man only second in influence to Governor Simp
son and even a much broader and brainier man,
Dr. John McLoughlin, Factor of the Company,
"said to me in 1842," says Dr. Eells, "that in fifty
years the whole country will be filled with the de
scendants of the Hudson Bay Company." But
while they believed, just as the American immi
grants did, that as a result of the Treaty of 1818-
28, the country would belong to the nationality set-

194 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
tling it; yet they had so long held supreme power
that they were slow to think that such power was
soon to pass from them.
That the diplomacy of the home Government,
the bold methods and "The shrewdness, daring
and commercial activity in the heads" of the Rul
ers, that the Edinburgh Review pictures, were
all to be thwarted and that speedily, had not en
tered into their calculations, and they did not
awake to a sense of the real danger until those
hundred and twenty-five wagons, loaded with live
Americans and their household goods, rolled down
the mountain sides and into the Valley of the Wil
lamette on that memorable October day, 1813.
It was America's protest, made in an American
fashion. It settled the question of American in
terests as far as Americans could settle it under
the terms of the Treaty of 1818, as they under
stood it.
Under the full belief that Whitman would
bring with him a large delegation, the Americans
met and organized before he reached Oregon.
And when the Whitman caravan arrived, they out
numbered the English and Canadian forces three
to one; and the Stars and Stripes were run up,
never again to be hauled down by any foreign
power in all the wide domain of Oregon.
True, there was yet a battle to be fought. The
interests at stake were too grand for the party

PRESIDENT POLK'S MESSAGE. 195
who held supreme power so long to yield without a
contest. But there were rugged, brave, intelli
gent American citizens now in Oregon, and there
to stay. They had flooded home people with letters
describing the salubrity of the climate and the
fertility of the soil. Statesmen heard of it.
Sudden conversions sometimes make unrea
sonable converts. The very men who had rung
the changes upon "worthless," "barren," "cut off
by impassable deserts," now turned and not only
claimed the legitimate territory up to forty-nine
degrees, but made demands which were heard
across the Atlantic. We will have "Oregon and
fifty-four forty, or fight."
In a lengthy message in December, 1845, Presi
dent Polk devotes nearly one-fifth of his space to
the discussion of the Oregon question, and re
hearses the discussion pro and con between the
two governments and acknoAvledges, that thus
far there has been absolute failure. He tells Con
gress that "The proposition of compromise, which
was made and rejected, was, by my order, subse
quently withdrawn, and our title up to 54 degrees
40 minutes asserted, and, as it is believed, main
tained by irrefragable facts and arguments." In
that message, President Polk argued in faAror of
terminating the joint occupancy by giving the
stipulated notice, and that the jurisdiction of the
United States be extended over the entire terri-

196 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
tory, with a line of military posts along the entire
frontier to the Pacific.
It all seemed warlike. The withdraAving of "the
joint occupancy," many statesmen believed would
precipitate a war. Senator Crittenden and others
believed such to be the case. WTar seemed inevi
table. Even Senator McDuffie, whom we have be
fore quoted, as unwilling to "GiATe a pinch of snuff
for all the territory beyond the Rockies," now is
on record saying, "Rather make that territory the
grave of Americans, and color the soil with their
blood, than to surrender one inch." While it was
generally conceded that we would have a war, yet
there were wise, cool-headed men in the Halls of
National Legislation, determined to avert such
disaster if possible, Avithout sacrificing National
honor. The debate on giving legal notice to cancel the
Treaty of 1818, as to joint occupancy, was the ab
sorbing theme of Congress, and lasted for forty
days before reaching a vote, and then passed by
the great majdrity of 109.
But the Senate was more conservative, and con
tinued the debate after the measure had passed
the House by such an overwhelming majority,
They saw the whole Country already in a half
paralyzed condition. Its business had decreased,
its capital was withdrawn from active participa
tion in business, and its vessels stood empty at the

THE DEBATE IN THE SENATE. 197
wharves of ports of entry. Such statesmen as
Crittenden and others who had not hurried to get
in front of the excited people, now saw the neces
sity for decided action to avert war and secure
peace. To brave public opinion and antagonize
the Lower House of Congress required the largest
courage. Mr. Crittenden said, "I believe yet, a majority
is still in favor of preserving the peace, if it can
be done without dishonor. They favor the set
tling of the questions in dispute peaceably and
honorably, to compromise by negotiations and ar
bitration, or some other mode known and recog
nized among nations as suitable and proper and
honorable." Mr. Webster had been too severely chastised by
both friends and enemies for his part in the Ash
burton Treaty, to make him anxious to be promi
nent in the discussion in the earlier weeks, but
when he did speak he pointed out the very road
which the Nation would travel in its way for
peace, viz. : a compromise upon latitude forty-nine.
Webster said, "In my opinion it is not the judg
ment of this country, nor the judgment of the Sen
ate, that the Government of the United States
should run the hazard of a war for Oregon by re
nouncing, as no longer fit for consideration, the
proposition of adjustment made by this Govern
ment thirty years ago and repeated in the face of

198 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the world." His great speech, which extended
through the sessions of two days, was a masterly
defense and explanation of the Ashburton-Web
ster Treaty, which was signed three years before.
No American statesman of the time had so full
and complete a knowledge of the questions at issue
as had Webster. He had canvassed every one of
them in all their bearings with the shrewdest Eng
lish diplomats and had nothing to learn. His
great speech can be marked as the turning point
in the discussion, and the friends of peace took
fresh courage.
The first and ablest aid Mr. Webster received
was from Calhoun, then second to none in his in
fluence. In his speech he said, "What has trans
pired here and in England within the last three
months must, I think, show that the public opinion
in both countries is coming to a conclusion that
this controversy ought to be settled, and is not
very diverse in the one country or the other, as to
the general basis of such settlement. That basis
is the offer made by the United States to England
in 1826."
It may here be observed that President Monroe
offered to compromise on forty-nine degrees. Presi
dent Adams did the same in 1826, while President
Tyler, in the year of Whitman's visit (1843), again
offered the same compromise, and England had

THE SENATE ACTS. 199
rejected each and all. She expected a much
larger slice.
(Jen. Cass folloAved Calhoun in a fiery Avar
speech, which called out the applause of the multi
tude, in Avhich he claimed that the United States
owned the territory up to the Russian line of 54
degrees 40 minutes and he "Would press the claim
at the peril of Avar."
Dayton and other Senators asked that present
conditions be maintained, and that "The people
of the United States meet Great Britain by a prac
tical adoption of her own doctrine, that the title
of the country should pass to those who occupied
it." This latter view was the pioneer view of the
situation, and which was so fully believed as to
cause the memorable ride of Whitman in mid-win
ter from Oregon to Washington. The resolution
of notice to the English Government, as we have
seen, passed the House Feb. 9, 1846, and came to a
vote and passed the Senate April 23d, by 42 to 10.
It, however, contained two important amendments
to the House resolution, both suggestive of com
promise. And as the President was allowed "At
his discretion to serve the notice," the act was
shorn of much of its warlike meaning.
When it is remembered that the President's
message and recommendations were made on the
2d of December, 1845, and the question had ab-

200 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
sorbed the attention of Congress until April 23,
1846, before final action, it can be marked as one
of the most memorable discussions that has ever
occurred in our Halls of National Legislation.
It had now been three years since Whitman had
made his protest to President Tyler and his Secre
tary; and while Congress had debated and the
whole Nation was at a white heat of interest, the
old pioneers had gone on settling the question in
their own way by taking, possession of the land,
building themselves homes, erecting a State
House, and, although four thousand miles distant
from the National Capital, enacting laws, in keep
ing with American teachings, and demeaning
themselves as became good citizens. Love of coun
try, with sacrifices made to do honor to the flag,
has seldom had a more beautiful and impressive
illustration than that given by the old pioneers of
Oregon during the years of their neglect by the
home Government, which even seemed so far dis
tant that it had lost all interest in their welfare.

CHAPTER X.

THE FAILURE OF MODERN HISTORY TO DO JUSTICE
TO DR. WHITMAN.

Says an old author: "History is a river increas
ing in volume with every mile of its length, and the
tributaries that join it nearer and nearer the sea
are taken up and swept onward by a current that
grows ever mightier." Napoleon said: "History
is a fable agreed upon." If Napoleon could have
looked downward to the closing years of this cen
tury and seen the genius of the literary world
striving to do him honor, he would perhaps have
modified the sentiment.
History, at its best, is a collection of biographies
of the world's great leaders, and is best studied
in biography. To be of value, it must be accu
rate. Scarcely has any great leader escaped from
the stings of history, but it is well to knoAV and
believe that time will correct the wrong. The
case of Dr. Whitman is peculiar in the fact that
all his contemporaries united in doing him honor,

202 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
save and except one, Bishop Brouillet. The men
who knew the value of his work and his eminent
seiwices, such as Gray, Reed, Simpson, Barrows,
and Parkman; the correspondence of Spalding,
Lovejoy, Eells, and the Lees, have made the record
clear. It has been reserved for modern historians of
that class who have just discovered the "Mistakes
of Moses," and that Shakespeare neArer wrote
Shakespeare's plays, to indulge in sneers and scoffs
and to falsify the record. It is not the intention
to attempt to reply to all these, but we shall notice
the fallacies of two or three. In a recent edition
of the history of the Lewis and Clarke Expedition,
published by F. P. Harper, New York, and edited
by Dr. Elliott Coues, a most entertaining volume,
and yet wholly misleading as to the final issue
which resulted in Oregon becoming a part of the
Republic, Dr. Coues in his dedication of the vol
ume says:
"To the people of the great West: Jefferson
gave you the country. Lewis and Clarke showed
you the way. The rest is your own course of em
pire. Honor the statesman who foresaw your
West. Honor the brave men who first saw your
West. May the memory of their glorious achieAre-
ment be your precious heritage. Accept from my
heart this undying record of the beginning of all
your greatness. ELLIOTT COUES."

LEWIS AND CLARKE NOT DISCOVERERS. 203
All honor to Jefferson, the far-sighted states
man; and a like honor to the courageous explor
ers, Lewis and Clarke; but the writer of history
should be true to facts. Lewis and Clarke were
not "The first men who saAV your West." They
were not the discoverers of Oregon. Old Captain
Gray did that a dozen years prior to the visit of
Lewis and Clarke. A writer of true history should
not have blinded his eyes to that fact on his
dedicatory page. Captain Gray sailed into the
mouth of the Columbia River on his good ship
Columbia, from Boston, on May 7th, 1792. The
great river was named for his vessel. This, to
gether with the title gained by the Louisiana pur
chase in 1803, and the treaty with Spain and
Mexico, more fully recited in another chapter,
made the claim of the United States to ownership
in the soil of Oregon.
The mission of Lewis and Clarke was not that of
discoverers, but to spy out and report upon the
value of the discovery already made. Their work
required rare courage, and' was accomplished with
such intelligence as to make them heroes, and both
were rewarded with fat offices; one as the Gov-
ernor of Louisiana, and the other as General Com
missioner of Indian Affairs; and both were given
large land grants. We have not been able to see
in any of Dr. Coues' full notes any explanation of
such facts, but even if he has given such explana-

204 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
tion, he had no right, as a truthful chronicler of
history, to mislead the reader by his highly ornate
dedicatory: "Jefferson gave you the country,
Lewis and Clarke showed you the way."
President Jefferson was much more of a seer
and statesman than were his compeers. The
Louisiana purchase, to him, was much more than
gaining possession of the State at the mouth of
the Mississippi River, with its rich acres for the
use of slaATe-owners of the South. In his later
years he said : "I looked f orward with gratification
to the time when the descendants of the settlers of
Oregon would spread themselves through the
whole length of the coast, covering it with free,
independent Americans, unconnected with us but
by the ties of blood and interest, and enjoying,
like us, the rights of self-government."
If the old statesman could view the scene and
the condition noAV, how much grander would be
the view! It would be unjust to question the in
terest of President Jefferson in the Northwest
Territory; the great misfortune was, that the
statesmen of his day were almost wholly oblivious
to his appeals. The report made by the LeAvis
and Clarke expedition was stuffed into a pigeon
hole, and was not even published until eight years
after the exploration, and after one of the explor
ers was dead. It was not received with a single
ripple of enthusiasm by Congress or the people of

WHITMAN'S DEFAMERS. 205
the Nation. The Government, on the contrary,
fourteen years after the advent of Lewis and Clarke
in Oregon, entered into a treaty Avith England,
which virtually gave the English people the con
trol of the entire country for more than the first
third of the century. The most that can be said
of Lewis and Clarke is that they were faithful ex
plorers, who blazed the way which Americans
failed to travel, until, in the fullness of time, a
man appeared who led the way and millions fol
lowed. Among the most pointed defamers of Dr. Whit
man is Mrs. Frances F. Victor, of Oregon, author
of "The River of the West," who seldom loses an
opportunity to attempt to belittle the man and
his work. In a communication to the Chicago
Inter Ocean, she openly charges that his journey
to Washington in the winter of 1842 and '43 was
wholly for selfish interests. She charges that he
was about to be removed from his Mission and
wanted to present his case before the American
Board. That he wanted his Mission as "A stop
ping place for immigrants." In other words, it
was for personal and pecuniary gain that he made
the perilous ride. We quote her exact language:
"That there was considerable practical self-
interest in his desire to be left to manage the Mis
sion as he thought best, there can be no question.
It was not for the Indians, altogether, he Avished

206 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
to remain. He foresaw the wealth and impor
tance of the country and that his place must be
come a supply station to the annual emigrations.
Instead of making high-comedy speeches to the
President and Secretary of State, he talked with
them about the Indians, and what would, in his
opinion, be the best thing to be done for them and
for the white settlers. His visit was owing to
the necessity that existed of explaining to the
Board better than he could by letter, and more
quickly, his reasons for wishing to remain at his
station, and to convince them it was for the best."'
Says Mrs. Victor: "The Missionaries all believed
that the United States would finally secure a title
to at least that portion of Oregon south of the
Columbia River, out of whose rich lands they
would be given large tracts by the Government,
and that was reason enough for the loyalty exhib
ited." She openly charges that "Dr. Whitman acted
deceitfully toward all the other members of the
Mission." If such were true, is it not strange that
in all the years that followed every man and wo
man among them were his staunchest and truest
friends and most valiant defenders? She pro
ceeds to call Whitman "Ignorant and conceited to
belieA^e that he influenced Secretary Webster."
That the story of his suffering, frost-bitten condi
tion was false. "He was not frost-bitten, or he

WHITMAN'S DEFAMERS. 207
would have been incapacitated to travel," etc.
Mrs. Victor makes a grave charge against Whit
man. She says: "He got well-to-do by sellings
flour and grain and vegetables to immigrants at/
high prices." Noav, let us allow Dr. Spalding to
answer this calumny. He knew Whitman and his
work as well, or better than any other man. Dr.
Spalding says:
"Immigrants, by hundreds and thousands,
reached the Mission, way-worn, hungry, sick, and
destitute, but he cared for all. Seven children
of one family were left upon the hands of Dr. and
Mrs. Whitman — one a babe four months old — and
they cared for them all, giving food, clothing, and
medicine without pay. Frequently, the Doctor
would give away his entire food supply, and have
to send to me for grain to get through the Winter."
She pointedly denies that Dr. Whitman went
to Washington or the States with the expectation
of bringing out settlers to Oregon.
The letters recently published by the State His
torical Society of Oregon, quoted in another chap
ter, were written by Dr. Whitman the year follow
ing his famous journey. In them he clearly
reveals the reasons for the ride to Washington.
The reader can believe Dr. Whitman or believe
Mrs. Victor, but both cannot be believed.
In addition to these letters, Ave have the clear
testimony of General Lovejoy, who went with

208 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
him; of Rev. Mr. Spalding, of Elkanah Walker,
Dr. Gray, Rev. Gushing Eells, P. B. Whitman,
who accompanied him on his return trip; Mr. Hin-
man, Dr. S. J. Parker, of Ithaca, N. Y., and the
Rev. William Barrows, who had frequent conver
sations AArith him in St. Louis. In an interview
Avith Dr. William Geiger, published in the New
York Sun, January 17th, 1885, he says: "I was at
Fort Walla Walla, and associated directly with
Dr. Whitman when he started East to save Ore
gon. I Avas there when he returned, and I am,
perhaps, the only living person Avho distinctly
recollects all the facts. He left, not to go to St.
Louis or to Boston, but for the distinct purpose
of going to Washington to saATe Oregon; and yet
he had to be very discreet about it."
Will the honest reader of history reject such
testimony as worthless, and mark that of these
modern skeptics Araluable?
Mrs. Victor's charges, that selfishness and per
sonal aggrandizement accounted for all the sacri
fices made by Whitman, are preposterous in the
light of testimony, and made utterly untenable
by the environments of the Missionary. There
was no time in all the years that Dr. and Mrs.
Whitman lived in Oregon that they could not have
packed all their worldly goods upon the backs of
two mules. The American Board made no bribe
of money to the men and women they sent out to

BANCROFT INCONSISTENT. 209
Oregon and elsewhere. If the great farm he
opened at Waiilatpui, and the buildings he erected
by his patient toil, had grown to be worth a mil
lion, it Avould not have added a single dollar to
Whitman's wealth. Even the physician's fees
given him by grateful sufferers, under the rules of
the Board, were reported and counted as a part of
his meager salary.
The idea that a man should leaAre Avife and
home, and endure the perils of a mid- winter
journey to the States, to persuade Congress "To
buy sheep" and "make his Mission a stopping
place," or the American Board to alloAV him to
work sixteen hours a day for the Cayuse Indians,
is a heavy task on credulity, and is so far-fetched
as to make Whitman's maligners only ridiculous.
But it is Hubert Howe Bancroft, the author of
the thirty-eight volume History of the Pacific
States, who is the offender-in-chief. As a collector
and historian, Bancroft necessarily required many
co-workers. It was in his failure to get them into
harmony and tell the straight connected truth, in
which he made his stupendous blunders. Chapter
is arrayed against chapter, and volume against
volume. One tells history, and another denies it.
In Volume I, page 379, he refers to the incident,
already fully recited in another chapter, of the
visit of the Flathead Indians to St. Louis, aud does
not once doubt its historic accuracy; but in Vol-

210 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
ume XXIII, another of his literary army works
up the same historic incident, and says:
"The Presbyterians Avere never very expert in
improvising ProA'idences. Therefore, when Gray,
the great Untruthful, and whilom Christian Mis
sion builder, undertakes to appropriate to the
Unseen PoAvers of his sect the sending of four na-
tiA^e delegates to St. Louis in 1832, begging saviors
for trausmontain castaAvavs, it is, as most of
Gray's affairs are, a failure. The Catholics man
age such things better."
On page 584, Volume I, "Chronicles of the
Builders," Mr. Bancroft says: "The Missionaries
and Pioneers of Oregon did much to assure the
country to the United States. Had there been
no movement of the kind, England would have
extended her claim over the whole territory, with
a fair prospect of making it her own."
In another place says Mr. Bancroft: "The Mis
sionary, Dr. Whitman, was no ordinary man. I
do not know which to admire most in him, his cool
ness or his courage. His nerves Avere of steel,
his patience Avas excelled only by his fearlessness.
In the mighty calm of his nature he was a Caesar
for Christ."
In the same volume another of his literary co
workers proceeds to glorify John Jacob Astor, and
to give him all the honors for saving Oregon to
the Union. Mr. Bancroft says:

A FALSE CHARGE. 211
"The American flag was raised none too soon
at Fort Astoria to secure the great Oregon coun
try to the United States, for already the men of
Montreal Avere hastening thither to seize the prize;
but they Avere too late. It is safe to say that had
not Mr. Astor moved in this matter as he did, had
his plans been frustrated or his purposes delayed,
the northern boundary of the United States might
to-day be the 42d parallel of latitude. Thus we
see the momentous significance of the movement."
The author proceeds to picture Astor and make
him the hero in saving Oregon. In another chap
ter we have given the full force and effect of Mr.
Astor's settlement at Astoria. A careful reading
will only show the exaggerated importance of the
act, when compared with other acts which the
historian only passes with a sneer or in silence.
John Jacob Astor Avas in Oregon to make money
and for no other purpose.
In Volume I, page 579, "Chronicle of the Build
ers," Mr. Bancroft allows Mrs. Victor, his author
ity, to dip her pen deep in slander. He refers to
both the Methodist Missions on the Willamette
and the Congregational and Presbyterian Missions
of the Walla Walla, and writes:
"But missionary work did not pay, however,
either Avith the white men or the red, whereupon
the apostles of this region began to attend more
to their own affairs than to the saving of savage

212 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
souls. They broke up their establishments in
1844, and thenceforth became a political clique,
whose chief aim was to acquire other men's prop
erty." Please note the charges. Here are Christian
men and women who have for years deprived
themselves of all the benefits of civilization, and
endured the hardships and dangers of frontier life,
professedly that they might preach the gospel to
savage people, but says Mr. Bancroft:
"Missionary work did not pay." In the sense
of money making, when did Missionary work ever
pay? This history of the Pacific States is a his
tory for the generations to come. It is to go into
Christian homes and upon the shelves of Christian
libraries. If it is true, Christianity stands dis
graced and Christian Missionaries stand dishon
ored. Mr. Bancroft says: "They broke up their estab
lishments in 1844 and became a political clique,
whose chief aim was to acquire other men's prop
erty." As usual, another one of the historian's
valuable aides comes upon the stage in the succeed
ing volume, and gives a horrifying account of "The
great massacre at Dr. Whitman's Mission, on Noa^.
29th, 1847." He tells .us "There were at the time
seventy souls at the Mission" and "Fourteen per
sons were killed and forty-seven taken captives."
Does this prove the historian's truthfulness who

WHITMAN NOT A POLITICIAN. 213
had before told his readers that "They broke up
their establishments in 1S44 and thenceforth be
came a political clique, whose aim Avas to acquire
other men's property?" There is no possible ex
cuse for the historian to allow his aides to lead him
into such blunders as we have pointed out.
The real facts were in reach. Here Avere men
and women educated, cultivated, exiles from
home, engaged in the great work of civilizing and
Christianizing savages, and without a fact to sus
tain the charge, it is openly asserted that they gave
up their work and entered upon the race for polit
ical power and for wealth. Instead of the Mis
sions of the American Board being "closed in
1844," they were at no time in a more prosperous
condition; as the record of Dr. Eells, Dr. Spalding
and Dr. Whitman all show.
There is not a particle of evidence that Dr.
Whitman ever took any part in any political move
ment in Oregon; save and except as his great
effort to bring in settlers to secure the country
to the United States may be called political. As
soon as he could leave the emigrants, he hurried
home to his Mission, and at once took up his heavy
work which he had laid aside eleven months be
fore. He went on building and planting, and sow
ing and teaching; the busiest of busy men up to
the very date of the massacre. In his young man
hood he sacrificed ease in a civilized home, and he

214 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
and his equally noble wife dedicated themselves
and their lives to the Missionary service. At all
times they were the same patient, quiet, uncom
plaining toilers.
Why should the great historian of the Pacific
States stand above their martyr graves and at
tempt to discredit their lives and dishonor their
memories? Dr. Whitman exhibited as much
patriotism and performed as grand an act of
heroism as any man of this century, and yet,
Mr. Bancroft deA^otes half a dozen volumes to
"The Chronicle of the Builders," in which he pre
sents handsome photographs and clear, well-
written sketches of hundreds of men, but they are
mainly millionaires and politicians. The histo
rian seems to have had no room for a Missionary
or a poor Doctor. They were only pretending "to
save savage souls." And that "did not pay," and
"they broke up their settlements in 1844 and
thenceforth became a political clique" whose
"chief aim was to acquire other men's property."
It is a slander of the basest class, not backed
up by a single credible fact, Avholly dishonorable
to the author, and discredits his entire history.
An old poet says:
"And ever the right comes uppermost,
And ever is justice done!"
The Christian and patriotic people who believe
in honest dealing will, in the years to come, com-

TRUTH WILL PREVAIL. 215
pel all such histories to be re-written and their
malice expunged, or they will cease to find an
honored place in the best libraries.
It is by such history that the modern public has
been blinded, and the real heroes relegated to the
rear to make room for favorites. But facts are
stubborn things, "The truth is mighty and will
prevail." The great public is honest and loves
justice and honesty; and it will not permit such a
record to stand. The awakening has already be
gun. The time is coming when the martyred he
roes in their unhonored graves at Waiilatpui, will
receive the reward due for their patriotic and
heroic service.
It is also gratifying to be able to observe that
this malevolence is limited to narrow bounds. It
has originated and has lived only in the fertile
brains of two or three boasters of historic knowl
edge, who have made up in noise for all lack of
principle and justice. They seem to have desired
to gain notoriety for themselves and imagined
that the world would admire their courage. It
was Mr. Bancroft's great misfortune that this little
coterie in Oregon were entrusted with the task of
writing the most notable history of modern times,
and his great work and his honored name will
have to bear the odium of it until his volumes are
called in and the grievous wrong is righted. It

216 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
will be done. Mr. E. C. Ross, of Prescott, says in
the Oregonian in 1884:
"Time will vindicate Dr. Whitman, and when
all calumnies, and their inventors, shall have been
forgotten, his name, and that of his devoted, noble
wife, will stand forth in history as martyrs to the
cause of God and their Country."
Let the loyal, patriotic men and women of Amer
ica resolve that the time to do this is now.

CHAPTER XL

THE MASSACRE AT WAIILATPUI.

In all the years since the terrible tragedy at
Waiilatpui, historians have been seeking to find
the cause of that great crime.
Some have traced it to religious jealousies, but
have, in a great measure, failed to back such
charges with substantial facts. It seems rather
to have been a combination of causes working to
gether for a common purpose.
For nearly half a century, as we have seen in
the history of Oregon, the Indians and the Hudson
Bay Company had been working harmoniously to
gether. It was a case in which civilization had
accommodated itself to the desires of savage life.
The Company plainly showed the Indians that
they did not wish their lands, or to deprive them
of their homes. It only wanted their labor, and in
return it would pay the Indians in many luxuries
and comforts. The Indians were averse to manual
labor, and the great Company had not seen fit to

218 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
encourage it. They did not desire to see them
plant or sow, raise cattle, or build houses for them
selves and their families. That would directly
interfere with their work as fur gatherers, and
break in upon the source of wealth to the Com
pany. To keep them at the steel trap, and in*
the chase, was the aim of the Hudson Bay policy,
and such was congenial to the Indian, and just
what he desired.
The Jesuit priests who were attached to the
Hudson Bay Company, seconded the interest of
the Company, and attempted to teach religion to
the Indian and still leave him a savage. Upon
the coming of the Protestant Missionaries, the In
dians welcomed them and expressed great delight
at the prospect of being taught. They gave their
choice locations to the Missions, and most solemn
promise to co-operate in the work. But neither
they nor their fathers had used the hoe or the
plow, or built permanent houses in which to live.
They were by nature opposed to manual labor.
SquaAvs were made to do all the work, while Indian
men hunted and did the fighting. The Mission
aries could see but little hope of Christianizing,
unless they could induce them to adopt civilized
customs. It Avas right there that the breach between the
Indians and the Missionaries began to widen.
They were willing to accept a religion which did

CAUSES OF THE MASSACRE. 219
not interfere with savage customs, Avhich had be
come a part of their lives. It was the custom of
the Hudson Bay Company, by giving modest
bribes, to win over any unruly chief. It was the
best way to hold poAver; but the Missionaries held
the tribes which they'served up to a higher stand
ard of morals.
The Cayuse Indians made a foray upon a weaker
tribe, and levied on their stock in payment for
some imaginary debt. Dr. Whitman gaA^e the
Chiefs a reprimand, and called it thieving, and
demanded that they send back everything they
had taken. The Indians grew very angry in being
thus reminded of their sins.
We mention these little incidents as illustra
tions of the strained conditions which speedily
made their appearance in the government of the
Indians, and made it easy work for the mischief-
makers and criminals, later on. It was the boast
of English authors that "The English people got
along with Indians much better than Americans."
This seems to be true, and it comes from the fact
that they did not antagonize savage customs. As
long as their saA^age subjects filled the treasury of
the Hudson Bay Company, they cared little for
aught else. As a matter of policy and self defense,
they treated them honestly and fairly in all busi
ness transactions. They were in full sympathy
with the Indians in their demand to keep out white

220 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
immigration, and keep the entire land for fur-
bearing animals and savage life.
Dr. AVhitman's famous ride to the States in the
Winter of 1842-43, and his piloting the large im
migration of American settlers in 1843, made him
a marked man, both with the Indians and the Hud
son Bay Company. When the Treaty was signed
in 1846, and England lost Oregon, Whitman was
doubtless from that hour a doomed man. Both
the Hudson Bay Company and the Indians well
kneAv who was responsible.
First, "The great white-haired Chief," Dr. Mc
Loughlin, was sacrificed because he was a friend
of Whitman and the Missionaries. There was no
other reason. If Dr. McLoughlin could have been
induced to treat the Protestant Missionaries as
he treated the American fur traders, his English
Company would have been delighted to have re
tained him as Chief Factor for life. But with
them it was a crime to show kindness to a Protest
ant Missionary, and thus foster American inter
ests. If McLoughlin had not resigned and got out
of the way, he would doubtless have lost his life by
the hands of an assassin.
The Treaty was signed and proclaimed August
6th, 1846, and the massacre did not occur until the
29th of November, 1847. In those clays the news
moved slowly and the results, and the knowledge
that England and the Hudson Bay Company had

ENGLISH INTRIGUES. • 221
lost all, did not reach the outposts along the Co
lumbia until late in the Spring of 18-17. If the
English and Hudson Bay Company had nothing to
do in fanning the flame of Indian anger, it was be
cause they had changed and reformed their meth
ods. How much or hoAV little they worked
through the cunning and duplicity of Jesuit
priests has never been demonstrated. After the
Revolutionary War, England never lost an oppor
tunity to incite the Indians upon our Northern
frontier to make savage assaults. Her humane
statesmen denounced her work as uncivilized and
unchristian. General Washington, in a published letter to
John Jay, in 1794, said: "There does not remain
a doubt in the mind of any well-informed per
son in this country, not shut against conviction,
that all the difficulties we encounter with the In
dians, their hostilities, the murders of helpless
women and children along our frontiers, result
from the conduct of the agents of Great Britain
in this country."
At no time then had the English as much reason
for anger at American success and prosperity
as in the case of Oregon, where a great organiza
tion, which has been for well-nigh half a century
in supreme control, was now compelled to move
on. To have shown no resentment would have

222 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
been unlike the representatives of England in the
days of Washington.
Undoubtedly the sickness of the Indians, that
year, and the charge that the Americans had in
troduced the disease to kill the Indians off and get
their land, was a powerful agent in winning over
to the murderers many who Avere still friendly to
the Missionaries. The Indians had fallen from
their high mark of honesty of which Mrs. Whit
man in her diary, years before, boasted, and had
invaded the melon patch and stolen melons, so
that the Indians who ate them were temporarily
made sick. With their superstitious ideas they
called it "conjuring the melon," and the incident
was used effectually to excite hostilities.
There is no evidence that white men directly
instigated the massacre or took a part in its hor
rors. While there is evidence of a bitter animos
ity existing among the Jesuit priests toward the
Protestant Missionaries, and their defense of the
open charges made against them is lame; yet the
historical facts are not sufficient to lay the blame
upon them.
Nor is it necessary to hold the leading officials
of the Hudson Bay Company responsible for the
crime as co-conspirators. There are always hang
ers-on and irresponsible parties who stand ready
to do the villain's Avork.
The leader of the massacre was the half-breed,

JOE LEWIS. 223
Joe Lewis, whose greatest accomplishment was
lying. He seems to have brought the conspiracy
up to the killing point by his falsehoods. He was
a half Canadian and came to Oregon in company
Avith a band of priests, and strangely enough,
dropped down upon Dr. Whitman and by him Avas
clothed and fed for many months. The Doctor
soon learned his real character and how he was
trying to breed distrust among the Indians. Dr.
Whitman got him the position of teamster in a
wagon train for the Willamette, and expressed a
hope that he was clear of him. But Joe deserted
his post and returned to Waiilatpui, and as events
showed, was guided by some unseen power in the
carrying out of the plans of the murderers.
To believe that he conceived it, or that the in
centives to the execution of the diabolism rested
alone with the Indians, is to tax even the credu
lous. They were simply the direct agents, and
were, doubtless, as has been said, wrought up to
the crime through superstitions in regard to Dr.
Whitman's responsibility for the prevailing sick
ness, which had caused many deaths among the
Indians. For all the years to come, the readers of
history will weigh the facts for themselves, and
continue to place the responsibility upon this and
that cause; but, for a safe standing point, will
always have to drop back upon the fact that it
was the "irrepressible conflict" between civiliza-

224 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
tion and savagery, between Christianity and
heathenism, backed up by national antagonisms,
which had many times before engendered bad
spirit. It has been the history of the first settlement
of every State of the Union, more or less, from the
landing upon Plymouth Rock up to the tragedy at
Waiilatpui. Only it seems in the case of the mas
sacre at the Whitman Mission, to be more cold
blooded and atrocious, in the fact that those killed
had spent the best years of their lives in the ser
vice of the murderers.
Those who had received the largest favors and
the most kindness from the Doctor and his good
wife, were active leaders in the great crime. The
Rev. H. H. Spalding, in a letter to the parents of
Mrs. Whitman, dated April 6, 1848, gives a clear,
concise account of the great tragedy.
He says: "They were inhumanly butchered by
their own, up to the last moment, beloved Indians,
for whom their warm Christian hearts had prayed
for eleven years, and their unwearied hands had
administered to their every want in sickness and
distress, and had bestowed unnumbered blessings;
who claimed to be, and were considered, in a high
state of civilization and Christianity. Some of
them Avere members of our Church; others, candi
dates for admission; some of them adherents of
the Catholic Church ; all praying Indians.
"They were, doubtless, urged on to the dread-

WHITMAN'S GRAVE.

THE MASSACRE. 225
ful deed by foreign influences, which Ave have felt
coming in upon us like a devastating flood for the
last three or four years; and we have begged the
authors, with tears in our eyes, to desist, not so
much on account of our own lives and property,
but for the sake of those coming, and the safety
of those already in the country. But the authors
thought none would be injured but the hated Mis
sionaries — the devoted heretics; and the work of
Hell was urged on, and has ended, not only in the
death of three Missionaries, the ruin of our Mission,.
but in a bloody war with the settlements, which
may end in the massacre of every adult.
"The massacre took place on the fatal 29th of
November last, commencing at half-past one.
Fourteen persons were murdered first and last;
nine the first day. Five men escaped from the
Station, three in a most wonderful manner, one of
whom was the trembling writer, with Avhoin, I
knoAV, you will unite in praising God for deliver
ing even one.
"The names and places of the slain are as fol
lows: The two precious names already given —
my hand refuses to write them again ; Mr. Rogers,
young man, teacher of our Mission School in the
Winter of '46, who since then has been aiding us
in our Mission work, and studying for the minis
try, with a view to be ordained and join our Mis
sion; John and Francis Sager, the two eldest of

226 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the orphan family, ages 17 and 15; Mr. Kimball,
of Laporte, Indiana, killed the second day, left a
widow and five children; Mr. Saunders, of Oska-
loosa, Iowa, left a widoAv and five children; Mr.
Hall, of Missouri, escaped to Fort Walla W7alla,
was refused protection, put over the Columbia
River, killed by the Walla Wallas, left a widow
and five children; Mr. Marsh, of Missouri, left a
son grown and young daughter; Mr. Hoffman, of
Elmira, New York; Mr. Gillan, of Oskaloosa, Iowa;
Mr. Sails, of the latter place; Mr. Bewley, of Mis
souri. The two last were dragged from their sick
beds, eight days after the first massacre, and
butchered; Mr. Young, killed the second day. The
last five were unmarried men.
"Forty women and children fell captives into
the hands of the murderers, among them my own
beloved daughter, Eliza, ten years old. Three of
the captive children soon died, left without pa
rental care, two of them your dear Narcissa's
adopted children. The young women were
dragged from the house by night, and beastly
treated. Three of them were forced to become
wives of the murderers of their parents, who often
boasted of the deed, to taunt their victims."
Continuing the narrative Mr. Spalding says:
"Monday morning the Doctor assisted in bury
ing an Indian; returned to the house and avus
reading; several Indians, as usual, were in the

THE MASSACRE. 227
house; one sat down by him to attract his atten
tion by asking for medicine-; another came be
hind him with a tomahawk concealed under his
blanket and with two blows in the back of the
head, brought him to the floor senseless, probably,
but not lifeless; soon after Telaukaikt, a candidate
for admission in our Church, and who was receiv
ing unnumbered favors every day from Brother
and Sister Whitman, came in and took particular
pains to cut and beat his face and cut his throat;
but he still lingered till near night.
"As soon as the firing commenced at the differ
ent places, Mrs. Hayes ran in and assisted Sister
Whitman in taking the Doctor from the kitchen
to the sitting-room and placed him upon the set
tee. This was before his face was cut. His dear
wife bent over him and mingled her flowing tears
with his precious blood. It was all she could do.
They were her last tears. To whatever she said,
he would reply 'no' in a whisper, probably not sen
sible. ^John Sager, who was sitting by the Doctor
when he received the first blow, drew his pistol,
but his arm was seized, the room filling with In
dians, and his head was cut to pieces. He lin
gered till near night. Mr. Rogers, attacked at the
water, escaped with a broken arm and wound in
the head, and rushing into the house, shut the door.
The Indians seemed to have left the house now

228 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
to assist in murdering others. Mr. Kimball, with
a broken arm, rusheel in ; both secreted themselves
upstairs. "Sister Whitman in anguish, now bending over
her dying husband and now over the sick; now
comforting the flying, screaming children, was
passing by the window, when she received the first
shot in her right breast, and fell to the floor. She
immediately arose and kneeled by the settee on
which lay her bleeding husband, and in humble
prayer commended her soul to God, and prayed
for her dear children who were about to be made
a second time orphans and to fall into the hands
of her direct murderers. I am certain she prayed
for her murderers, too. She now went into the
chamber Avith Mrs. Hayes, Miss BeAvley, Catha
rine, and the sick children. They remained till
near night.
"In the meantime the doors and windows were
broken in and the Indians entered and commenced
plundering, but they feared to go into the cham
ber. They called for Sister Whitman and Brother
Rogers to come down and promised they should
not be hurt. This promise was often repeated,
and they came down. Mrs. Whitman, faint with
the loss of blood, was carried on a settee to the
door by Brother Rogers and Miss Be'wley.
"Every corner of the room was crowded with
Indians haying their guns ready to fire. The chil-

THE MASSACRE. 229
dren had been brought down and huddled together
to be shot. Eliza was one. Here they had stood
for a long time surrounded by guns pointed at
their breasts. She often heard the cry, "Shall we
shoot?" and her blood became cold, she says, and
she fell upon the floor. But noAV the order Avas
given, "Do not shoot the children," as the settee
passed by the children, over the bleeding, dying-
body of John.
"Fatal moment! The settee advanced about
its length from the door, when the guns were
discharged from without and within, the poAvder
actually burning the faces of the children.
Brother Rogers raised his hand and cried, "My
God," and fell upon his face, pierced with many
balls. But he fell not alone. An equal number
of the deadly weapons Avere leveled at the settee
and the discharge had been deadly. She
groaned, and lingered for some time in great
agony. "Two of the humane Indians threw their blank
ets over the little children huddled together in
the corner of the room, and shut out the sight as
they beat their dying victims with whips, and cut
their faces with knives. It was Joe Lewis, the
Canadian half-breed, that first shot Mrs. WThit-
man, but it was Tamtsaky who took her scalp as
a trophy." An old Oregon friend of the author, Samuel

230 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
Campbell, now living in Moscow, Idaho, spent the
Winter of '46 and '47 at the Whitman Mission,
and never wearied in telling of the grandly
Christian character of Mrs. Whitman, of her kind
ness and patience to all, whites and Indians alike.
EArery evening she delighted all with her singing.
Her voice, after all her hard life, had lost none of
its sweetness, nor had her environments in any
sense soured her toward any of the little pleas
antries of every-day life.
Says Mr. Campbell, "You can imagine my hor
ror in 1849, when at Grand Ronde, old Tamtsaky
acknowledged to me that he scalped Mrs. Whit
man and told of her long, beautiful, silky hair."
Soon after the United States Government, by or
der of General Lane, sent officers to arrest the mur
derers. Old Tamtsaky was killed at the time of
the arrest and escaped the hangman's rope, AA'hich
was given to five of the leaders, after trial in Ore
gon City, May, 1850. The names of the murderers
hanged were Tilwkait, Tahamas, Quiahmarsum,
Klvakamus and Siahsalucus.
The Rev. Cushing Eells says, "The day before the
massacre, Istikus, a firm friend of Dr. Whitman,
told him of the threads against his life, and ad
vised him to 'go away until my people have better
hearts.' He reached home from the lodge of
Istikus late in the night, but visited his sick before
retiring. Then he told Mrs. Whitman the words

THE FATAL TOMAHAWK. 231
of Istikus. Knowing hoAv true a friend Istikus
was, and his great courage, the situation became
more perilous in the estimation of both, than eArer
before. Mrs. Whitman was so affected by it that
she remained in her room, and one of the children,
who took her breakfast up to her room, found her
weeping. The Doctor went about his work as
usual, but told some of his associates that if it were
possible to do so, he would remove all the family
to a place of safety. It is the first time he ever
seems to have been alarmed, or thought it possi
ble that his Indians would attempt such a crime."
Rev. Mr. Eells gives a detailed account of the
massacre and its horrors, but in this connection
we only desire to give the reader a clear view
Avithout dAvelling upon its atrocities. "The toma
hawk with which Dr. Whitman was killed, was
presented to the Cayuse Indians by the Black-
feet upon some great occasion, and was preserved
by the Cayuse as a memorable relic long after the
hanging of the Chiefs. In the Yakima War it
passed to another tribe, and the Chief who owned
it was killed; an Indian agent, Logan, got pos
session of it and presented it to the Sanitary So
ciety during the Civil War. A subscription of one
hundred dollars was raised and it was presented
to the Legislature of Oregon, and is presented
among the archives of the State."
This narrative would be incomplete without re-

232 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
cording the prompt action of the Hudson Bay
Company officers in coming to the relief of the
captive women and children. As soon as Chief
Factor Ogden heard of it, he lost no time in re
pairing to the scene, reaching Walla Walla De
cember 12th. In about two weeks he succeeded
in ransoming all the captives for blankets, shirts,
guns, ammunition and tobacco, and at an expense
of $500. No other man in the Territory, and no
army that could have been mustered could have
done it.
The Americans in Oregon promptly mustered
and attacked the Indians, who retreated to the
territory of a different tribe. But the murderers
and leaders among the Indians were not arrested
until nearly two years after the crime.
While some have charged that the officials of
the Hudson Bay Company could have averted the
massacre, this is only an opinion. Their humane
and prompt act in releasing the captive women
and children from worse than death, was worthy
of it, and has received the strongest words of
praise. Thus was ended disastrously the work of the
American Board which had given such large
promise for eleven years. While its greatest
achievement was not in saving savage souls, but
in being largely instrumental in peacefully sav
ing three great States to the American Union, yet

A FEW FAITHFUL ONES. 233
there is good evidence, years after the massacre,
that the labors of the Missionaries had not been
in vain. After the Treaty of 1855, seven years
after the massacre, General Joel Palmer, who Avas
one of the Council, says, "Forty-five Cayuse and
one thousand Nez Perces have kept up regular
family and public worship, singing from the Nez
Perces Hymn Book and reading the Gospel of
Matthew, translated into Nez Perces, the work of
Dr. and Mrs. Spalding."
Says General Barloe, "Many of them showed
surprising evidences of piety, esjiecially Timothy,
who was their regular and faithful preacher dur
ing all these years. Among the Cayuse, old
Istikus, as long as he lived, rang his bell every
Sabbath and called his little band together for
worship." Twelve years after leaving his Mission, Rev. Mr.
Spalding returned to his people and found the
Tribe had kept up the form of worship all the years
since. Upon opening a school, it Avas at once
crowded with children, and even old men and
women, with failing eyesight, insisted upon being-
taught; and the interest did not flag until the
failing health of Mr. Spalding forced him to give
up his work. The Rev. Dr. Eells' experience Avas
much the same; all going to prove that the early
work of the American Board was not fruitless in
good, and emphasizing the fact that good words

234 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
and work are never wholly lost, and their power
only will be known when the final summing up is
made. There have been few great men that have not
felt the stings of criticism and misrepresentation.
The wholly unselfish life of Dr. Marcus Whitman,
from his young manhood to the day of his death,
it would seem, ought to have shielded him from
this class, but it did not. In justice to his con
temporaries, however, it is due to say, every one of
them, of all. denominations except one, was his
friend and defender.
That one man was a French Jesuit priest, by
the name of J. B. A. Brouillett. He was Acting
Bishop among the Indians, of a tribe near to the
Cayuse, where Dr. Whitman had labored for
eleven years, and where he perished in 1847. After
the massacre, there were some grave charges
made against Brouillett, and in 1853 he wrote a
pamphlet, entitled, "Protestantism in Oregon," in
which he made a vicious attack upon the dead
Whitman, and the living Dr. Spalding, and the
other Protestant Missionaries of the American
Board. It naturally called out some very pointed re
joinders, yet attracted but little attention from
the Christian world. Patriotic American' Catho
lics took but little stock in the clamor of the
French priest, and the matter was in a fair way

A JESUIT SLANDER. 235
to be forgotten, when interest was suddenly re
newed in the subject by the appearance of an
executive document, No. 38, 35th Congress, 1st
Session, signed J. Ross Browne, Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, and elated at San Francisco, De
cember 4, 1867, which contained a fe\v sentences
from J. Ross Browne and all of the Brouillett
pamphlet. The idea of getting so slanderous a paper pub
lished as an official public document by the
United States Congress, Avas an unheard-of chal
lenge that called for a reply. And it came prompt
ly and pointedly. From all parts of the country,
Members of Congress were flooded with letters to
find out how such a thing could be accomplished.
None of them seemed able to answer. But the
mischief was done and many of them expressed a
willingness to help undo it.
The Old School and New School, and the United
Presbyterians in their Presbyteries, resented the
outrage, both in the Far West and in the East,
and none more vigorously than did that of the Illi
nois Presbytery at the meeting in Chicago in 1871.
The Methodists and Baptists and Congregational
Conferences in Oregon and Washington, cordially
united in the work, and demanded that an address,
defending- the Missionaries and the American
Board, should be printed just as conspicuously to

236 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the World as had been the falsehoods of Brouil
lett. The Presbyterian General Assembly at Chicago,
May 18, 1871, led by the Rev. F. A. Noble, summed
up the case under seven different counts of false
hoods, and demanded that Congress should, in
simple justice, publish them in vindication of the
Protestant Church. The Oregon Presbytery was
still more positive and aggressive and made their
specifications under tweh7e heads. The Congre-
gationalists and the Methodists in Oregon were
equally pointed and positive. It resulted in "A
Committee on Protestantism in Oregon," drawing
up a reply.
In this they say: "The object of Brouillett's
pamphlet appears to be .to exculpate the real insti
gators of that terrible tragedy, the massacre at
Waiilatpui, and to cast the blame upon the
Protestant Missionaries who Avere the victims."
They go on to declare that the paper "Is full of
glaring and infamous falsehoods," and give their
reasons concisely, and wholly exonerate Dr.
Whitman from all blame.
They close their address thus: "With these
facts before us, we would unite with all lovers of
truth and justice, in earnestly petitioning Con
gress, as far as possible, to rectify the evils which
have resulted from the publication, as a Con
gressional Document, of the slanders of J. Ross

THE CHURCHES AROUSED. 237
Browne, and thus lift the cloud of darkness that
'Hangs over the memory of the righteous dead
and extend equal justice to those who survive.'
The Rev. Dr. Spalding prepared the matter and it
was introduced through Secretary Columbus De
lano, and the Indian Agent, N. B. Meacham, and
passed Congress as "Ex-Document No. 37 of the
41st Congress."
Forty thousand copies were ordered printed,
the same as of Brouillett's pamphlet. It is re
ported that less than fifty copies ever reached the
public. They mysteriously disappeared, and no
one ever learned and made public the manner in
which it was done.
But the incident developed the fact, that the
whole patriotic Christian people unitedly de
fended Whitman from the charges made.

CHAPTER XII.

BIOGRAPHICAL— DR. MARCUS WHITMAN AND DR.
JOHN M'LOUGHLIN.

Dr. Marcus Whitman was a direct descendant
of John Whitman of Weymouth, who came from
England in the ship Confidence, December, 1638.
Of him it is recorded that he feared God, hated
covetousness and did good continually all the days
of a long life.
Of the parents of Dr. Whitman, but little has
been written. His father, Beza Whitman, was
born in Bridgewater, Connecticut, May 13, 1775.
In March, 1797, he married Alice Green, of Mum-
ford, Connecticut. Two years later, Avith all of
their worldly goods packed in an ox-cart, they
moved to Rushville, New York, Mrs. Whitman
making a large part of the tedious journey on foot,
carrying her one-year-old babe in her arms.
Settled in their new home, with Indians for near
neighbors and wilderness all about them, they
began the struggle for life, and though no great
success rewarded their efforts, it is known that

WHITMAN'S BIRTH. 239
their doors always swung open to the needy and
their hands ministered to the sick.
Mr. Whitman died April 7, 1810, at the early
age of 35 years, leaving his young wife to rear their
family of four sons and one daughter. Mrs. Whit
man, though not a professing Christian, Avas a
woman of much energy and great endurance
which, combined with strong Christian principle,
enabled her to look well to the ways of her house
hold. She lived to see every member of it an ac
tive Christian. She died September 6th, 1857,
aged 79, and Avas buried beside her husband near
Rushville, New York.
Dr. Marcus was her second son, and inherited
from her a strong frame and great endurance.
After his father's death he was sent to his pater
nal grandfather, Samuel Whitman, of Plainfield,
Massachusetts, where he remained ten years for
training and education. There he received a lib
eral training in the best schools the place afforded,
supplemented by a thorough course in Latin, and
more advanced studies under the minister of the
place. We know little of the boyhood spent there, as
we should know little of the whole life of Whit
man, had not others lived to tell it, for he neither
told or wrote of it; he was too modest and too busy
for that. But we know it Avas the usual life of the
Yankee boy, to bring the cows and milk then' 1 >

240 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
cut the wood, aud later to plow and sow the fields,
as we afterward find he knew how to do all these
things. The strong, sturdy boy of ceaseless ac
tivity and indomitable will who loved hunting
and exploring, and a touch of wild life, must have
sometimes given his old grandfather a trial of his
mettle, but on the whole, no doubt, he was a great
comfort and help to his declining years.
After the death of his grandfather, he returned
to the home of his mother in Rushville. There
he became a member of the Congregational
Church at the age of nineteen, and it is said was
very desirous of studying for the ministry, but by
a long illness, and the persuasion of friends, was
turned from his purpose to the study of medicine.
He took a three years' course, and graduated
at Fairfield, in 1824. He first went to Canada,
Avhere he practiced his profession for four yrears,
then came back to his home, determined again to
take up the study for the ministry, but was again
frustrated in his design, and practiced his profes
sion four years more in Wheeler, N. Y., where he
was a member and an elder in the Presbyterian
Church. lie and a brother also owned a saw-mill
near there, Avhere he assisted in his spare hours,
and so learned another trade that was most use
ful to him in later life. In fact, as we see his envi
ronments in his Mission Station in Oregon, these

WHITMAN'S PROSPERITY ANGERS THE INDIANS. 241
hard lessons of his earlier years seem to have been,
in the best sense of the word, educational.
With but little help, he opened up and culti
vated a great farm, and built a grist-mill and a
saAV-mill, and when his grist-mill Avas burned,
built another, and, at the same time, attended to
his professional duties that covered a wide dis
trict. It was the wonder of every visitor to the
Mission how one man, Avith so few helpers, ac
complished so much. At the time of the massacre,
the main building of the Mission was one hundred
feet in the front, Avith an L running back seventy
feet, and part of it two stories high. Every vis
itor remarked on the cleanliness and comfort and
thrift which everywhere appeared.
There are men who, with great incentives, have
accomplished great things, but were utter failures
when it came to practical, every-day duties. Dr.
Whitman, with a genius to conceive, and the will
and energy to carry out the most difficult and dar
ing undertaking, was just as faithful and efficient
in the little things that made up the comforts of
his Avilderness home. Seeing these grand results
— the commodious house, the increase in the herds
and the stacks of grain — seems to have only an
gered his lazy, thriftless Indians, and they began
to make demands for a division of his wealth.
Dr. Whitman has been accused of holding his
Indians to a too strict moral accountability; that

242 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
it would have been wiser to have been more le
nient, and winked at, rather than denounced, some
of their savage ways. Those who have carefully
studied the man, know how impossible it would
have been for him, in any seeming Avay, to con
done a crime, or to purchase peace with the crimi
nal by a bribe. This was the method of the Hud
son Bay Company, and was doubtless the cheap
way. By a series of events and environments, he
seems to have been trained much as Moses was,
but with wholly different surroundings from those
of the great Lawgiver, whose first training was in
the Royal Court and the schools of Egypt; then
in its army; then an outcast, and as a shepherd,
guiding his flocks, and finding springs and pas
turage in the land where, one day, he Avas to lead
his people.
King David is another man made strong in the
school of preparation. As he watched his flocks
on the Judean hills, he fought the lion and the
bear, and so was not afraid to meet and fight a
giant, who defied the armies of the living God. It
was there, under the stars, that he practiced music
to quiet a mad king, and was educated into a fit
ness to organize the great choirs, and furnish the
grand anthems for the temple Avorship. After
this, in self-defense, he became the commander of

TRAINED FOR HIS WORK. 243
lawless bands of men, and so was trained to com
mand the armies of Israel.
So it has been in our own Nation, with Wash
ington and Lincoln, and Grant and Garfield; they
had to pass through many hardships, and receive
a many-sided training before they were fitted for
the greater work to Avhich they were called. So
it was, this strong, conscientious, somewhat rest
less young man was being trained for the life that
was to follow. The farmer boy, planting and
reaping, the millwright planning and building,
the country doctor on his long, lonely rides, the
religious teacher who must oversee the physical
and spiritual wants of his felloAV church members,
all were needed in the larger life for which he Avas
longing and looking, when the sad appeal for the
"Book of Life" came from the Indian Chiefs who
had come so far, and failed to find it. His im
mediate and hearty response was, "Here am I, send
me!" Dr. Marcus Whitman, judged by his life as a
Missionary, must ever be giA^en due credit; for no
man ever gave evidence of greater devotion to the
work he found to do. He was doubtless excelled
as a teacher of the Indians by many of his co-labor
ers. He was not, perhaps, even eminent as a
teacher. His great reputation and the honor due
him, does not rest upon such a claim, but upon his
wisdom in seeing the future of the Great West,

244 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
and his heroic rescue of the land from a foreign
rule. That he heard a call to the duty from a
higher source than any earthly potentate, none but
the skeptic will doubt. The act stands out clear
and bold and strong, as one of the finest instances
of unselfish patriotism recorded in all history.

DR. JOHN M'LOUGHLIN.
Any sketch of pioneer Oregon would be incom
plete without an honorable mention of Dr. John
McLoughlin. He was the Chief Factor of the
Hudson Bay Company, an organization inimical to
American interests, both for pecuniary and politi
cal reasons, and like Whitman, has been maligned
and misunderstood. As the leading spirit, during
all the stages of pioneer life, his life and acts have
an importance second to none. Nothing could
have been more important for the comfort and
peace of the Missionaries than to have had a man
as Supreme Ruler of Oregon, with so keen a sense
of justice, as had Dr. McLoughlin.
Physically he was a fine specimen of a man. He
was six feet, four inches, and well-proportioned.
His bushy white hair and massive beard, caused
the Indians everywhere to call him, the "Great
White Head Chief."
He was born in 1784, and was eighteen years

DR. M'LOUGHLIN. 245
older than Dr. Whitman. He entered the North-
Avestern Fur Company's service in 1800. He after
ward studied medicine, and for a time practiced
his profession, but his fine business abilities Avere
so apparent, that in 1824 we find him at the head
of affairs in Oregon. His power over the rough
men in the employ of the Company, and the savage
tribes who filled their coffers with wealth, was so
complete as to be phenomenal.
In many of the sketches we have shown that his
kindness to the pioneer Missionaries in another
and a higher sense, proved his manhood. To obey
the orders of his company, and still remain* a hu
mane man, Avas something that required tact that
few men could have brought to bear as Avell as Dr.
McLoughlin. While he did slaughter, financially
speaking, traders and fur gatherers right and left,
and did his best to serve the pecuniary interests
of his great monopoly, he drew the line there, and
was the friend and the helper of the missionaries.
If the reader could glance through Mrs. Whit
man's diary upon the very opening week of her
arrival in Oregon, there would not be found any
thing but words of kindness and gratitude to Dr.
McLoughlin. In justice to his company, to which
he was always loyal, he pushed the Methodist mis
sions far up the Willamette, and those of the Amer
ican Board three hundred miles in another direc
tion. But at the same time he was a friend and

246 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
brother and adviser, and anything he had was at
their service, whether they had money or not.
After the immigration in 1842, and the larger
immigration led by Whitman in 1843, the com
pany in England became alarmed and sent out
spies — Messrs. Park, Vavasaur and Peel, who were
enjoined to find out whether McLoughlin was
loyal to British interests. After many months
spent in studying the situation, their adverse re
port is easily inferred from the fact that Dr. Mc
Loughlin was ordered to report to headquarters.
The full history of that secret investigation has
never yet been revealed, but when it is, the whole
blame will be found resting upon Whitman and
his missionary co-workers, who wrested the land
from English rule, and that Dr. McLoughlin aided'
tbem to success.
When the charge of "Friendship to the mission
aries," was made, the old doctor flared up and re
plied: "What would you have? Would you have
me turn the cold shoulder on the men of God who
came to do that for the Indians which this com
pany has neglected to do? If we had not helped
the immigrants in '42 and '43 and '44, and relieved
their necessities, Fort Vancouver would have
been destroyed and the world would have treated
us as our inhuman conduct deserved; every officer
of the Company, from Governor down, would have

INGRATITUDE OF THE HUDSON BAY CO. 247
been covered with obloquy, and the Company's
business ruined !"
But it all resulted in the resignation of Dr. Mc
Loughlin. The injustice he received at the hands
of Americans afterward, is deeply to be regretted,
and it is greatly to the credit of the thinking peo
ple of the State of Oregon that they have done
their best to remedy the wrong. At many times,
and in a multitude of ways, Dr. McLoughlin, by his
kindness to the missionaries, won for himself the
gratitude of thinking Americans in all the years
to come. With a bad man in his place as Chief Fac
tor, the old missionaries would have found life in
Oregon Avell-nigh unbearable. While true to the
exclusive and selfish interests of the great mo
nopoly he served, he yet refused to resort to any
form of unmanliness.
After his abuse by the English company and his
severance of all connection with it, he settled at
Oregon City' and lived and died an American citi
zen. The tongue of slander was freely wagged
against him, and his declining years were made
miserable by unthinking Americans and revenge
ful Englishmen. His property, of which he had
been deprived, was returned to his heirs, and to
day his memory is cherished as among Oregon's
benefactors. A fine oil painting of Dr. McLough
lin was secured and paid for by the old pioneers
and presented to the State.

248 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
The Hon. John Minto, in making the address at
the hanging of the picture, closed with these
words: "In this sad summary of such a life as Dr. Mc-
Loughlin's, there is a statement that merits our
attention, which, if ever proven true, and no man
who ever knew Dr. McLoughlin will doubt that he
believed it true, namely, that he prevented war
between Great Britain and the United States, will
show that two of the greatest nations on this earth
owe him a debt of gratitude, and that Oregon, in
particular, is doubly bound to him as a public ben
efactor. British state papers may some day prove
all this.
"It is now twenty-six years since the Legislative
Assembly of the State of Oregon, so far as restora-
tion'of property to Dr. McLoughlin's family could
undo the wrong of Oregon's Land Bill, gave glad
ness to the heart of every Oregon pioneer worthy
of the name. All of them yet living, now know
that, good man as they believed him, he was bet
ter than they knew. They see him now, after the
strife and jealousies of race, national, business,
and sectarian interests are allayed, standing in
the center of all these causes of contention — a po
sition in which to please all parties was impossible,
to 'Maintain which, only a good man could bear
with patience' — and they have adopted this means
of conveying their appreciation of this great for-

DR. JOHN MCLOUGHLIN,
Chief Factor of Hudson Bay Co., at Fort Walla Walla.

JUSTICE AT LAST. 249
bearance and patient endurance, combined with
his generous conduct.
"Looking, then, at this line of action in the
light of the merest glimpses of history, knoAvn to
be true by witnesses living, can any honest man
wonder that the pioneers of Oregon, who have
eaten the salt of this man's hospitality, who have
been the eye-witnesses to his brave care for hu
manity, and participators in his generous aid, are
unwilling to go to their graves in silence — which
would imply base ingratitude — a silence which
would be eloquent Avith falsehood?
"Governor and Representatives of Oregon: In
recognition of the Avorthy manner in which Dr.
John McLoughlin filled his trying and responsible
position, in the heartfelt glow of a grateful re
membrance of his humane and noble conduct to
them, the Oregon pioneers leave this portrait with
you, hoping that their descendants will not for
get the friend of their fathers, and trusting that
this gift of the men and women who led the ad
vance which has planted thirty thousand rifles
in the Valley of the Columbia, and three hundred
thousand, when needed, in the National Domain
facing the Pacific Ocean, will be deemed worthy of
a place in your halls."

CHAPTER XIII.

WHITMAN SEMINARY AND COLLEGE.

Many institutions of learning have been erected
and endowed by the generosity of the rich, but
Whitman Seminary and College had its founda
tion laid in faith and prayer. Viewed from a
worldly standpoint, backed only by a poor mission
ary, whose jiossessions could be packed upon the
back of a mule, the outlook did not seem promis
ing. During all the years of his missionary serv
ice in Oregon, none knew better the value of the
patriotic Christian service of Dr. and Mrs. Whit
man, than did the Rev. Dr. Gushing Eells and his
good wife. After the massacre, Dr. Eells, and all
his co-workers were moved under military escort
to the Willamette, but he writes:
"My eyes were constantly turned east of the Cas
cade Range, a region I have given the best years
of my life to."
It was not until 1859 when the country was de
clared open, that he visited Walla Walla, and

DR. CUSHING EELLS. 251
stood at the "Great grave of Dr. Whitman and his
wife." Standing there upon the consecrated spot,
he says:
"I believe that the power of the Highest came
upon me." And there he solemnly vowed that he
would do something to honor the Christian mar
tyrs whose remains rested in that grave. He says :
"I felt as though if Dr. Whitman were alive, he
would prefer a high school for the benefit of both
sexes, rather than a monument of marble."
He pondered the subject and upon reaching
home, sought the advice of the Congregational
Association. The subject was carefully canvassed
by those who well knew all the sad history, and
the following note was entered upon the record:
"In the judgment of this association, the con
templated purpose of Brother C. Eells to remove
to Waiilatpui, to establish a Christian school at
that place, to be called the Whitman Seminary,
in memory of the noble deeds and great works and
the fulfillment of the benevolent plans of the late
lamented Dr. Whitman and his wife: And his
further purpose to act as home missionary in the
Walla Walla Valley, meets our cordial approba
tion and shall receive our earnest support."
Dr. Eells at once resigned from the Tualitin
Academy, where he was then teaching, and in 1859
and '60 obtained the charter for the Whitman
Seminary. Dr. Eells had hoped to be employed by

252 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the Home Missionary Society, but that organiza
tion declined, as its object was not to build semi
naries and colleges, but to establish churches. He
bought from the American Board for $1,000 the
farm of 640 acres where Dr. Whitman had toiled
for eleven years.
It was Dr. Eells' idea to build a seminary di
rectly upon this consecrated ground, and gather
a quiet settlement about the school. But he soon
found that it would be better to locate the semi
nary in the Adllage, at that time made up of five
resident families and about one hundred men. It,
however, was in sight of the "Great grave."
Here the Eells family settled down upon the
farm for hard work to raise the funds necessary
to erect the buildings necessary for the seminary.
He preached without compensation up and down
the valley upon the Sabbath, and like Paul, worked
with his hands during the week. His first Sum
mer's work on the farm brought in $700; enough
nearly to pay three-fourths of its cost; thus year
after year Dr. Eells and his faithful wife labored
on and on. He plowed and reaped, and cut cord
wood, while she made butter, and raised chickens
and saved every dollar for the one grand purpose
of doing honor to their noble friends in the "Great
grave" always in sight.
Rarely in this world has there been a more
beautiful demonstration of loyalty and friendship,

FOUNDING WHITMAN COLLEGE. 253
than of Dr. and Mrs. Eells. They lived and labored
on the farm for ten years, and endured all the pri
vations and isolations common to such a life. An
article in the "Congregationalist" says:
"Mother Eells' churn with which she made four
hundred pounds of butter for sale, ought to be
kept for an honored place in the cabinet of Whit
man College."
It was by such sacrifices that the first $4,000
were raised to begin the buildings. Five yrears had
passed after the charter Avas granted, before the
seminary was located, and then only on paper.
And this Avas seven years before the completion of
the first school building; the dedication of which
occurred on October 13, 1866.
The first principal was the Rev. P. B. Chamber
lain, who also organized and was first pastor of
the Congregational Church at Walla Walla. In
1880, under the new impulse given to the work by
the Rev. Dr. G. H. Atkinson, of Portland, Whit
man Seminary developed into Whitman College.
This was finally accomplished in 1883. During
that year, College Hall was erected at a cost of
$16,000. During 1883 and 1884, in the same spirit
he had at all times exhibited, Dr. Eells felt it his
duty to visit New England in the interest of the
institution. He says:
"It was the hardest year's work I ever did, to
raise that sixteen thousand dollars."

254 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
The old pioneer would much rather have cut
cord wood or plowed his fields, if that would have
brought in the money for his loved college. The
Christian who reads Dr. Eells' diary during the
closing years of his life, will easily see how de
voted he was to the work of honoring- the mem
ory of the occupants of the "Great grave." His
diary of May 24, 1890, says:
"The needs of Whitman College cause serious
thought. My convictions have been that my ef
forts in its behalf were in obedience to Divine
Will." June 11, 1890. "During intervals of the night
I was exercised in prayer for Whitman College. I
am persuaded that my prayers are prevailing. In
agony I pray for Whitman College."
October 2d. "Dreamed of Whitman College and
awoke Avith a prayer."
His last entry in his diary was: "I could die for
Whitman College."
The grand old man went to his great reward in
February, 1893. Will the Christian people of the
land allow such a prayer to go unansAvered?
In 1884 Mrs. N. F. Cobleigh did some very effect
ive work in canvassing sections of New England
in behalf of the college, succeeding in raising
$8,000. Dr. Anderson, after his efficient labors of nine
years, with many discouragements, resigned the

THE NEEDS OF THE COLLEGE. 255
Presidency in 1891, and the Rev. James F. Eaton,
another scholarly earnest man, assumed its duties.
In the meantime the struggling village of WTalla
Walla had grown into the "Garden City," and the
demands upon such an institution had increased
a hundred fold in the rapid development of the
country in every direction. The people began to
see the wisdoin of the founder, and cast about for
means to make the college more efficient. The
Union Journal of Walla Walla, said:
"It is our pride. It is the cap sheaf of the edu
cational institutions of Walla Walla, and should
be the pride and boast of every good Walla Wal-
lan. It has a corps of exceptionally good instruct
ors, under the guidance of a man possessing
breadth of intellect, liberal education and an en
thusiastic desire to be successful in his chosen
field of labor, with students who rank in natural
ability with the best product of any land. But it
is deficient in facilities. It lacks room in which to
grow. It lacks library and apparatus, the tools of
education." President Eaton and the faculty saw this need
and the necessity of a great effort. It was under
this pressure, and the united desire of the friends
of the college that the Rev. Stephen B. L. Penrose,
of the "Yale band" assumed the duties of Presi
dent in 1894, and began his plans to raise an en
dowment fund and place the college upon a sound

256 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
financial basis, as well as to increase its educa
tional facilities and requirements.
It was the misfortune of these educators to
enter the field for money at a time of great finan
cial embarrassment, such as has not been experi
enced in many decades; but it was at the same
time their good fortune to enlist the aid of Dr. D.
K. Pearsons of Chicago in the grand work with a
generous gift of $50,000, provided that others
could be induced to add $150,000 to it.
With such a start and with such a man as Dr.
Pearsons, there will be no such word as fail. He is
a man of faith like Dr. Eells and has long been ad
ministering upon his own estate in wise and gen
erous gifts to deserving institutions. With such a
man to encourage other liberal givers, the endow
ment will not stop at $200,000. If Whitman Col
lege is to be the Yale and Harvard and Chicago
University of the Far West, it must meet with a
generous response from liberal givers. Its name
alone ought to be worth a million in money. When
the people are educated in Whitman history, the
money Avill come and the prayers of Dr. Eells will
be answered.
The millions of people love fair play and honest
dealing and can appreciate solid work, and they
will learn to love the memory of the modest hero,
and will be glad to do him honor in so practical
a method. It will soon be half a century since

WHITMAN'S NAME WILL LIVE. 257
Dr. Whitman and his noble Avife fell at their post
of duty at Waiilatpui. Had Dr. Whitman been a
millionaire, a man of noble birth, had he been
a military man or a statesman, his praise would
have been sung upon historic pages as the praise
of others has. But he was only a poor mission
ary doctor, who lost his life in the vain effort to
civilize and Christianize savages, and an army of
modern historians seem to have thought, as Ave
have shown in another chapter, that the world
would sit quietly by and see and applaud while
they robbed him of his richly won honors. In that
they have over-reached themselves. The name of
Dr. Marcus Whitman will be honored and re
vered long after the names of his traducers have
been obliterated and forgotten.
It is a name with a history, which will grow in
honor and importance as the great States he
saved to the Union will groAv into the grandeur
they naturally assume. There is not a clearer
page of history in all the books than that Dr.
Whitman, under the leading of Providence, saved
the States of Oregon, Washington and Idaho to
the Union. There is a possibility that by a long
and destructive war we might have held them as
against the claims of England. There were just
two men who prevented that Avar and those two
men were Drs. Whitman and McLoughlin. The
latter indirectly by his humane and civilized

258 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
treatment of the missionaries when he might have
crushed them, and the former b.v his unparalleled
heroism in his mid-Avinter ride to Washington, and
his wisdom in piloting the immigrations to Oregon
just the year that he did.
History correctly written, will truthfully say,
"When Whitman fell at Waiilatpui, one of the
grandest heroes of this century went to his great
reward." The State of Washington has done Avell
to name a great county to perpetuate his mem
ory; Dr. Eells did a noble act in founding Whit
man Seminary, and the time is coming and is near
at hand, when the young men and women of ithe
country will prize a diploma inscribed with the
magic name of Whitman. Endow the college and
endow it generously. Make it worthy of the man
whose love of country felt that no task was too
difficult and no danger so great as to make him
hesitate. After the endowment is full and complete, a
great College Hall should be erected from a pa
triotic fund, and upon the central pillar should
be inscribed: "Sacred to the memory of Dr.
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. While lifting up
the banner of the cross in one hand to redeem and
saA'e savage souls, they thought it no Avrong to
carry the flag of the country they loved in the
other." There is no such thing as dividing the honors.

EQUAL HONOR DUE DR. AND MRS. WHITMAN. 259
Theyr are simply Whitman honors; they lived and
labored and achieved together; the bride upon
the plains and in the mission home Avas a heroine
scarcely second to the hero Avho swam icy rivers
and climbed the snow-covered mountains in 1842
and 1843, upon his patriotic mission. It is a work
that may well engage the patriotic women of
America; for true womanhood has never had a
more beautiful setting than in the life of Narcissa
Whitman. At the death, by drowning, of her only
child, that she almost idolized, she bowed humbly
and said : "Thy Will be done !" And upon the day
of her death, she was mother to eleven helpless
adopted children, for whose safety she prayed in
her expiring moments.
What an unselfish life she led. In her diary
she says, but in no complaining mood: "Situ
ated as we are, our house is the Missionaries'
tavern, and we must accommodate more or less
all the time. We have no less than seven families
in our two houses; we are in peculiar and some
what trying circumstances; we cannot sell to
them because we are missionaries and not trad
ers." And we see by the record that there were no
less than seA^enty souls in the Whitman family the
day of the massacre.
Emerson says: "Heroism is an obedience to a
secret impulse of individual character, and the

260 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
characteristics of genuine heroism is its persist
ency." Where was it ever more strongly marked than
in Dr. Whitman? We are told that "History re
peats itself." Going back upon the historic pages,
one can find the best illustration of Dr. Whitman
in faithful old Caleb. Their lives seem to run
along similar lines. Both were sent to spy out the
land. Both returned and made true and faith
ful reports. Both were selected for their great
physical fitness, and for their fine mental and
moral worth; and both proved among the finest
specimens of unselfish manhood ever recorded.
Turning to the Sacred Record Ave read that a great
honor was ordered for Caleb; not only that he
was permitted to enter the promised land, but it
was also understood by all, that he should haAre
the choice of all the fair country they were to oc
cupy. His associates sent with him forty years
before were terribly afraid of "the giants," and
now they had reached "The land of promise," and
Joshua had assembled the leaders of Israel to as
sign them their places. Just notice old Caleb.
Standing in view of the meadows and fields and
orchards, loaded with their rich clusters of purple
grapes, everybody expected he would select the
best, for they knew that it was both promised and
he deserved it; but Caleb, lifting up his voice so
that all could hear, said:

A MONUMENT TO THE HEROES. 261
"Lo, I am this day four score and five years old.
As yet I am as strong this day as I Avas in the day
that Moses sent me; as my strength was then,
even so is my strength now for war, both to go out
and to come in. Now, therefore, give me this
mountain whereof the Lord spoke in that day ; for
thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were
there, and that the cities were great and fenced.
If so be, the Lord will be with me, then I shall be
able to drive them out as the Lord said."
Noble, unselfish old Caleb! And how wonder
fully like him was our hero thirty-four and a half
centuries later. It mattered not that he had saved
a great country, twice as large as New York, Penn
sylvania and Illinois combined, or thirty-two times
as large as Massachusetts. It mattered not that
it was accomplished through great peril and trials
and sufferings that no man can over-estimate, he
never once asked a reward. "Give me this moun
tain," and he went back to his mission, and re
sumed his heavy burden, and let others gather
the harvest, and "the clusters of purple grapes."
There he was found at his post of duty, and met
death on that fatal November the 29th, 1847.
When a generous people have made the en
dowment complete, and built the grand Memorial
Hall, they should build a monument at the "Great
Grave" at Waiilatpui. Americans are patriotic.
They build monuments to their men of science, to

262 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
their statesmen and to their soldiers. It is right
to do so. They are grand object lessons, educating
the young in patriotism and virtue and right liv
ing. The monument at no grave in all the land will
more surety teach all these, than will that at the
neglected grave at Waiilatpui. Build the monu
ment and tell your children's children to go and
stand uncovered in its shadow, and receive its les
sons and breathe in its inspirations of patriotism.

CHAPTER XIV.

OREGON THEN, AND OREGON, WASHINGTON AND IDAHO
NOW.

The beginning of a People, a State or a Nation
is always an interesting study, and when the be
ginning has resulted in a grand success, the inter
est increases. It is seldom that in the lifetime of
the multitudes of living actors, so great a trans
formation can be seen as that to-day illustrated in
the Pacific States. Fifty years ago, the immigrant,
after his long journey over arid plains, after SAvim-
ming rivers and climbing three ranges of moun
tains, stood upon the last slope, and beheld
primeval beauty spread out before him. The mil
lions of acres of green meadows had never been
disturbed by a furrow, and in the great forest the
sound of the woodman's ax had neArer been heard.
Coming by way of the great river, as it meets
the incoming waves of the Pacific, the scene is still
more one of grandeur. Astoria, at that time, had
a few straggling huts, and Portland was a village,
with its streets so full of stumps as to require a

264 HOW, MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
good driver to get through with safety, and was
referred to as a town twelve miles beloAV Oregon
City. To the writer nothing has left such an impres
sion of wilderness and solitude as a journey up the
Willamette, forty-five years ago, in a birch-bark
canoe, paddled by two Indian guides. The wild
ducks Avere scarcely disturbed, and dropped to
the water a hundred yards away, and the three-
pronged buck, browsing among the lily pads,
stopped to look at the unusual invasion of his do
main, and went on feeding.
The population of Oregon in that year, 1850,
as shown by census, was 13,294, and that included
all of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, with a part
of Wyoming and Montana.
After years of importunity, Congress had given
Oregon a Territorial Government in 1849. Prior
to that — -from 1843 to 1849 — it was an independent
American government, for the people and by the
people. Notwithstanding the neglect of Oregon
by the General Government, and its entire failure
to foster or protect, the old pioneers were true and
loyal American citizens, and for six years took
such care of themselves as they were able, and
performed the task so well as to merit the best
words of commendation.
The commerce of the country, aside from its
furs, was scarcely worth mentioning. The author,

REV. STEPHEN B. L. PENROSE,
President of Whitman College.

THE SALMON. 265
in 1851, bought what fe\v salted salmon there were
in the market, and shipped them to San Francisco,
but wise and prudent advisers regarded it as a
risky venture. He would have been considered a
wild A'isionary, indeed, had he even hinted of the
shipments of fish now annually made to all parts
of the civilized world.
It was then known that the rivers were filled
with fish. In the spring of the year, the smaller
streams, leading away from the Columbia, were
literally blocked with almost solid masses of fish
on their way to their spawning grounds. The
bears along the Columbia, as well as the Indians,
had an unlimited supply of the finest fish in the
world, with scarcely an effort to take them. An
Indian on the Willamette, at the foot of the falls,
could fill his boat in an hour with salmon weigh
ing from twenty to forty pounds.
In the spring of the year, when the salmon are
running up the Willamette, they begin to jump
from the water a quarter of a mile before reach
ing the falls. One could sit in a boat and see
hundreds of the great fish in the air constantly.
Multitudes of them maimed and killed themselves
jumping against the rocks at the falls.
The Indian did not wait for "a rise" or "a bite."
He had a hook with an eye socket, and a pole ten
feet or more long. The hook he fastened to a deer
thong, about two feet long, attached to the lower

266 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
end of the pole. When ready for fishing the pole
was inserted into the socket of the hook, and he
felt for his fish, and by a sudden jerk caught it in
the belly. The hook was pulled from the pole, and
the fish had a play of the two feet of deer thong.
But the Indian never stops to experiment; he
hauled in his prize.
The great forests and prairies were a very para
dise for the hunters of large game. Up to the date
of 1842-3, of Dr. Whitman's ride, but a single hun
dred Americans had settled in Oregon, and they
seemed to be almost accidental guests. The immi
gration in 1842 swelled the list, and the caravan
of 1843 started the tide, so that in 1850, as we have
seen, the first census showed an American popula
tion of 13,294.
In 1890, in contrast, the population of Wash
ington was 349,390; Oregon, 313,767; Idaho, 84,-
385, and five counties in Southwestern Montana
and one in Wyoming, originally Oregon territory,
had a population of 65,802, making a total of 813,-
404. Considering the difficulties of reaching these
distant States for many years, this change, in less
than half a century, is a wonderful transformation.
The Indians had held undisputed possession of
the land for generations, and yet, as careful a cen
sus as could be made, placed their number at below
75,000. In 1892 the Indian Commissioner marks
the number at 21,057.

OREGON IN 1838. 267
The great changes are seen in the fact that in
183S there were but thirteen settlements by white
men in Oregon, viz.: That at Waiilatpui, at Lap-
wai, at the Dalles and near Salem, and the Hudson
Bay Forts at Walla Walla, Colville, Fort Hall,
Boise, Vancouver, Nisqually, Umpqua, Okanogan
and the settlement at Astoria. The old mission
aries felt thankful when letters reached them
within two years after they were written.
Mrs. Whitman's first letter from home was two
years and six months reaching the mission. The
most sure and safe route was by way of New York
or Montreal to London, around the Horn to the
Sandwich Islands, from which place a vessel sailed
every,year for Columbia. The wildest visionaries
at that time had not dreamed of being bound to
the East by bands of steel, as Senator McDuffie
said: "The wealth of the Indies would be insuffi
cient to connect by steam the Columbia River to
the States of the East." Uncle Sam seems to have
been taking a very sound and peaceful nap. He
did not own California, and was even desirous of
trading Oregon for the cod fisheries of Newfound
land. The debt of gratitude the Americans owe to the
men and women who endured the privations of
that early day, and educated the Nation into the
knowledge of its future .glory and greatness, has
not been fully appreciated. The settlers of no

268 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
other States of the frontier encountered such se
vere tests of courage and loyalty. The Middle
States of the Great West, Avhile they had. their
hardships and trials, were always within reach
of the strong arm of the Government, and felt its
fostering care, and had many comforts which were
wholly beyond the reach of the Oregon pioneers.
Their window glass for years and years was
dressed deer skin; their parlor chairs Avere square
blocks of wood; their center tables were made by
driving down four sticks and sawing boards by
hand for top, the nearest saw mill being four1 hun
dred miles off. A ten-pennyr nail was prized as a
jewel, and until Dr. Whitman built his mill, a
barrel of flour cost him twenty-four dollars, and
in those days that amount of money was equal to
a hundred in our times of to-day.
The plows were all wood, and deer thongs took
the place of iron in binding the parts together. It
was ten years after the}' began to raise wheat
before they had any other implement than the
sickle, and for threshing, the wooden flail. It was
in the year 1839 the first printing jn'ess reached
Oregon. It may be marked as among the pioneer
civilizers of this now great and prosperous Chris
tian land.
That press has a notable history and is to-day
preserved at the State Capital of Oregon as a relic
of by-gone days in printing. Long before the civil-

THE FIRST PRINTING PRESS. 269
ization of Oregon had begun in 1819, the Congre
gational Missionaries to the Sandwich Islands had
imported this press around the Horn from NeAv
England, and from that time up to 1839 it had
served an excellent purpose in furnishing Chris
tian literature to the Kanakas. But the Sandwicli
Islanders had grown beyrond it; and being pre
sented with a finer outfit, the First Native Church
at Honolulu made a present of the press, ink and
paper to the Missions of Waiilatpui, LapAvai and
Walker's Plains.
The whole was valued at $450 at that time.
The press was located at Lapwai, and used to print
portions of Scripture and hymn books in the Nez
Perces language, which books were used in all the
missions of the American Board. Visitors to these
tribes of Indians twenty-five yrears after the mis
sions had been broken up, and the Indians had
been dispersed, found copies of those books still
in use and prized as great treasures.
Another interesting event was the building of
the first steamer, the Lot Whitcomb, in the Colum
bia River Avaters. This steamer Avas built of Ore
gon fir and spruce, and was launched December
26th, 1850, at Milwaukee, then a rival of Portland.
It was a staunch, well-equipped vessel, one hun
dred and sixty feet in length; beam, twenty-four
feet; depth of held, six feet ten inches; breadth
over all, forty-two feet seven inches; diameter of

270 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
wheel, nineteen feet; length of bucket, seven feet;
dip one foot eight inches, and draft three feet two
inches. It was a staunch and elegantly-equipped
little vessel; did good serAdce in the early days,
making three round trips each week, from Mil
waukee to Astoria, touching at Portland and Van-
couver, then the only stopping places. The Whit-
comb was finally7 sent to California, made over,
named Annie Abernethy, and was used upon the
Sacramento River as a pleasure and passenger
boat. These two beginnings, of the printer's art and
the steamer, are all the more interesting when
compared with the richness and show in the same
fields to-day. The palatial ocean traveling steam
ers and the power presses and papers, scarcely
second to any in editorial and news-gathering
ability, best tell the wonderful advance from com
paratively nothing at that time.
The taxable property of Oregon in 1893 was
$168,088,095; in Washington it was $283,110,032;
in Idaho, $34,276,000. The manufactories of Ore
gon in 1893 turned out products to the value of
$245,100,267, and Washington, on fisheries alone,
yielded a product valued at $915,500. There has
been a great falling off, both in Oregon and Wash
ington, in this source of wealth, and the eager
desire to make money will cause the annihilation
of this great traffic, unless there is better legal

OREGON'S WEALTH. 271
protection. Washington, in 1893, reported 227
saw mills and 300 shingle mills and 73 sash and
door mills, and a capital invested in the lumber
trade of $25,000,000. A wonderful change since
Dr. Whitman sawed his boards by hand as late
as 1840.
The acres of forest yet undisturbed in Washing
ton are put down at 23,588,512. During President
Harrison's term a wooded tract in the Cascade
Mountains, thirty-five by forty miles, including
Mount Rainier, was withdrawn from entry, and it
is expected that Congress will reserve it for a Na
tional Park. The statistics relating to wheat, wool
and fruits of all kinds fully justify the claim
made by Dr. Whitman to President Tyler and Sec
retary Webster — that "The United States had bet
ter by far give all NeAv England for the cod fish
eries of Newfoundland than to sacrifice Oregon."
Reading the statistics of Avealth of the States
comprising the original territory of Oregon, their
fisheries, their farm products, their lumber, their
mines, yet scarcely begun to be developed, one
Avonders at the blindness and ignorance of our
statesmen fifty or more years ago, who came so
near losing the whole great territory. If Secre
tary Daniel Webster could have stepped into the
buildings of Washington, Oregon and Idaho that
contained the wonderful exhibit at the World's
Fair, he would doubtless have lifted his thoughts

272 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
with profound gratitude that Dr. Whitman made
his winter ride and saved him from making the
blunder of all the century.
If old Senator McDuffie who averred that "The
wealth of the Indies could not pay for connecting
by steam the Columbia River Avith the States,"
could now take his place in a palace car of some
one of the four great transcontinental lines, and
be whirled over "the inaccessible mountains, and
the intervening desert wastes," he, too, might be
willing to give more than "A pinch of snuff" for
our Pacific possessions.
The original boundaries of Oregon contained
over 300,000 square miles, which included all the
country aboAre latitude 42 degrees and west of the
Rocky Mountains. Its climate is mild and delight
ful, and in great variety, owing to the natural
divisions of great ranges of mountains, and the
AArarm ocean currents which impinge upon its
shores, with a rapid current from the hot seas of
Asia. This causes about seventy per cent of the
winds to blow from the southwest, bringing the
warmth of the tropics to a land many hundreds of
miles north of New York and Boston. It is felt
even at Sitka, nearly 2,000 miles further north
than Boston, where ice cannot be gathered for
summer use, and whose harbor has never yet been
obstructed by ice.
The typical features of the climate of Western

DR. DANIEL K. PEARSONS.

CLIMATE OF OREGON. 273
Oregon are the rains of Winter and a protracted
rainless season in Summer. In other Avords, there
are two distinct seasons in Oregon — wet and dry.
Snows in Winter and rains in Summer are excep
tional. In Eastern Oregon the climate more
nearly approaches conditions in Eastern States.
There are not the same extremes, but there are the
same features of Winter snow, and, in places, of
Summer heat. Southern Oregon is more like
Eastern than Western Oregon.
In Eastern Oregon the temperature is lower in
Winter and higher in Summer than in Western.
The annual rainfall varies from seven to twenty-
inches. The Springs in Oregon are delightful; the Sum
mers very pleasant. They are practically rainless,
and almost always without great extremes of heat.
Fall rains usually begin in October. It is a note
worthy feature of Oregon Summers, that nights
are always cool and refreshing.
The common valley soil of the State is a rich
loam, with a subsoil of clay. Along the streams it
is alluvial. The "beaverdam lands" of this class
are wonderfully fertile. This soil is made through
the work of the beavers who dammed up streams
and created lakes. When the water was drained
away, the detritus covered the ground. The soil
of the uplands is less fertile than that of the bot
toms and valleys, and is a red, brown and black

274 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED. OREGON.
loam. It produces an excellent quality^ of natural
grass, and under careful cultivation, produces good
crops of grain, fruits and vegetables. East of the
Cascade Mountains the soil is a dark loam of great
depth, composed of alluvial deposits and decom
posed lava, overlying a clay subsoil. The constit
uents of this soil adapt the land peculiarly to the
production of wheat.
All the mineral salts which are necessary to the
perfect development of this cereal are abundant,
reproducing themselves constantly as the grad
ual processes of decomposition in this soil of vol
canic origin proceeds. The clods are easily broken
by the plow, and the ground quickly crumbles on
exposure to the atmosphere.
In Northwestern Oregon, adjacent to the Co
lumbia River, although the dry season continues
for months, this light porous land retains and ab
sorbs enough moisture from the atmosphere, after
the particles have been partly disintegrated, to
insure perfect development and full harvests.
In Southeastern Oregon, especially in the vast
areas of fertile lands in Malheur and Snake River
Valleys, the soils are much like those of the North
eastern Oregon region, but there is less moisture.
Except in a very small portion of this region, irri
gation is necessary to successful agriculture. The
water supply is abundant and easily applied.
We have made no attempt to write a complete

THE FLAG OF BEAUTY AND GLORY. 275
history of this great section or its wealth, but only
to outline such facts as will make more impressive
the value to the Avhole people of the distinguished
services of the pioneers who saved this garden
spot of the world to the people of the United
States. "The Flag of Beauty and Glory" waves
over no fairer land, or over no more intelligent,
prosperous and happy people. All this too has
been reached within the memory of multitudes
of living actors; in fact, it can be said the glow of
youth is yet upon the brow of the young States.
The lover of romance in reality will scarcely re
press a sigh of regret, that with Oregon and Wash
ington, the western limit of pioneering has been
reached, after the strides of six thousand years.
The circuit of the globe has been completed and
the curtain dropped upon the farther shores of
Oregon and Washington, with a history as pro
foundly interesting and dramatic as that written
on any section of the world. "The Stars and
Stripes" now wave from ocean to ocean, and from
the Great Lakes to the Gulf. It is a nation of
grand possibilities, w hose history would have been
marred for all time to come, had any foreign power,
however good or great, held possession of the
Pacific States. With China open to the world's
commerce; with the young giant Japan inciting
all the Far East to a ncnv life and energy, the Pa
cific States of the Republic stand in the very gate-

276 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
way of the world's footsteps, and commerce and
wealth. Only when measured in and by the light
of such facts, can we fully estimate the value to
the whole people of the Nation of the midwinter
ride of our hero, and to the brave pioneers of
Oregon.

CHAPTER XV.

LIFE ON THE GREAT PLAINS IN PIONEER DAYS.

Nothing better shows the rapid advance of civ
ilization in this country, than the fact that multi
tudes of the actors of those eA^entful years of pio
neer life in Oregon and California yet live to see
and enjoy the wonderful transformation. In fact,
the pioneer, most of all others, can, in its greatest
fullness, take in and grasp the luxuries of modern
life. Taking his section in a palace car in luxurious
ease, he travels in six days over the same road
which he wearily traveled, forty-five and fifty
years ago, in from one hundred and fifty to one
hundred and ninety days. The fact is not without
interest to him that for more than a thousand miles
of the way on the great central routes, he can
throw a stone from the car window into his old
camping grounds.
The old plainsmen were not bad surveyors.
They may not have been advanced in trigonom
etry or logarithms, but they had keen eyes and

278 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
ripe practical judgment, which enabled them to
master the situation. The trails marked and trav
eled by the old missionaries, nine times in every
ten, proved the best. Many a time did I, and oth
ers, by taking what seemed to be inviting "cut
offs," find out to our sorrow that the old trailers of
ten years before us had been wiser.
I make this a chapter of personal experience, not
for any personal gratification, but because of the
desire to make it real and true in every particular,
and because the data and incidents of travel of the
old missionaries are meager and incomplete.
The experiences in 1836, 1843 and 1850, were
much the same, save and except that in 1850 the
way was more plainly marked than in 1836, which
then Avas nothing more than an Indian trail, and
even that often misleading. Besides that, the pio
neer corps had made passable many danger points,
and had even left ferries over the most dangerous
rivers. From 1846 to 1856 were ten years of great ac
tivity upon the frontier. The starting points for
the journey across the plains were many and scat
tered, from where Kansas City now stands to Fort
LeaATenworth. The time of which I write was 1850. Our little
company of seven chosen friends, all young and in
experienced in any form of wild life, resolved upon
the journey, and began preparations in 1849 and

OUR EQUIPMENT. 279
were ready in March, 1850, to take a steamer at
Cincinnati for Fort Leavenworth. We had con
sulted every authority' within reach as to our out
fit, both for our safety and comfort, and few voy
agers ever started upon the long journey who had
nearer the essential things, and so few that proved
useless. In one thing we violated the recommendations
of all experienced plainsmen, and that was in the
purchase of stock. We were advised to buy only
mustangs and Mexican mules, but chose to buy in
Ohio the largest and finest mules we could find.
Our wagons were selected with great care as to
every piece of timber and steel in their make-up,
and every leather and buckle in the harness was
scrutinized. Instead of a trunk, each carried clothes and val
uables in a two-bushel rubber bag, which could be
made water-tight or air-tight, if required. Extra
shoes were fitted to the feet of each mule and rid
ing horse and one of the number proved to be an
expert shoer. The supply of provisions was made
a careful study7, and we did not have the uncom
fortable experience of Dr. and Mrs. Whitman, and
run out of flour before the journey was half over.
There is nothing that develops the manhood of
a man, or the lack of it, more quickly than life on
the plains. There is many a man surrounded byr
the sustaining influence of the home and of re-

280 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
fined society, who seems very much of a man; and
yet when these influences are removed, he wilts
and dwarfs. I have seen men who had been relig
ious leaders and exemplary in their lives, come
from under all such restraints, and, within two
months, "swear like troopers."
Our little company was fortunate in being made
up of a manly set of young men, who resolved to
stand by each other and each do his part. We soon
joined the Mt. Sterling Mining Company, led by
Major Fellows and Dr. C. P. Schlater, from Mt.
Sterling, Ills. They were an excellent set of men
and our company was then large enough for pro
tection from any danger in the Indian country, and
we kept together without a jar of any kind.
In the year 1850, the Spring upon the frontier
was backward. The grass, a necessity for the cam
paigner upon the plains, was too slow for us, so we
bought an old Government wagon, in addition to
our regular wagons, filled it with corn, and upon
May 1st, struck out through Kansas. It was then
unsettled by white people.
On the 5th day of May, we woke up to find the
earth enveloped in five inches of snow, and matters
looked discouraging, but the sun soon shone out
and the snow disappeared and we began to enter
into the spirit and enjoyment of the wild life be
fore us.
The Indians were plentiful and visited us fre-

THE LOG SCHOOL HOUSE ON THE WILLAMETTE.

TAKING TURNS. 281
quently, but they Avere all friendly that year Avith
the Avhites throughout the border. A war party of
the Cheyenne Indians visited us on their way to
fight their enemy, the Pawnees. They were,
physically7, the finest body of men I ever saw. We
treated them hospitably and they would have
given up their fight and gone with us on a grand
buffalo hunt, had we consented. The chief would
hardly take no for an answer.
One of the great comforts of the plains traveling
in those days, was order and system. Each man
knew his duty each day and each night. One day
a man would drive; another he would cook;
another he would ride on horseback. When we
reached the more dangerous Indian country, our
camp was arranged for defense in case of an at
tack, but we always left our mules picketed out to
grass all night, and never left them without a
guard. About the most trying labor of that journey was
picket duty over the mules at night, especially
when the grass was a long distance from the camp,
as it sometimes was. After a long day's travel it
was a lonesome, tiresome task to keep up all night,
or even half of it. The animals were tethered with
a rope eighteen feet long buckled to the fore leg,
and the other end attached to an iron pin twelve to
eighteen inches long, securely driven into the
ground. As the animals fed they were moved so

282 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
as to keep them upon the best pasture. In spite of
the best care they would occasionally cross and
the mischief would be to jiay, unless promptly re
lieved. Our greatest fear was from the danger of a
stampede, either from Indians or from wild ani
mals. The Indian regards it as a great accomplish
ment to steal a horse from a Avhite man. One day7
a well-dressed and very polite Indian came into
camp where we were laying by for a rest. He
could talk broken English and mapped out the
country in the sand over the route we were to
travel — told us all about good water and plenty of
grass. He informed us that for some days we
would go through the good Indian's country, but
then we came to the mountains; and then he be
gan to paw the air AA7ith his arms and snap an
imaginary whip and shout, "Gee Buck — wo haw,
damn ye!" Then says our good Indian, "Look out
for hoss thieves." Then he got down in the grass
and showed us how the Indian would Aviggle along
in the grass until he found the picket pin and lead
his horse out so slowly that the guard would not
notice the change, until he Avas outside the line,
when he would mount and ride away.
That very night two of the best horses of the Mt.
Sterling Mining Company were stolen in just that
way, and to make the act more grieA7ous, they
were picketed so near to the tents as to seem to the

A SLIPPERY VISITOR. 283
guards to be perfectly7 safe. We may have mis
judged our "good Indian" who came into camp, but
Ave have always believed that he was there to see
whether there were any horses worth stealing, and
then did the stealing himself.
We can bear testimony also, that he was a good
geographer. His map made in the sand and trans
ferred to paper was perfect, and when we came to
the mountains, his "Gee Buck, wo haw, damn ye!"
was heard all up and down that mountain. The
Indian had evidently been there and kneAV Avhat he
was saying. They gave us but little trouble except
to watch our live stock, as the Indian never takes
equal chances. He wants always three chances to
one, in his favor. To show you are afraid, is to lose
the contest with an Indian. I have many times, by
showing a brave front, saved my scalp.
Upon one occasion when I had several loose
mules leading, I allowed myself unthinkingly to
lag for two miles behind the company7 through a
dangerous district. I was hurrying to amend the
wrong by a fast trot, when upon a turn in the
road a vicious-looking Indian, with his bow half
bent and an arrow on the string, stepped from be
hind ja sage bush to the middle of the road and sig
naled me to stop when twenty feet away.
I was unarmed and made up my mind at once
to show no fear. Upon coming within six or eight
feet of him, I drove the spurs into my horse and

' 2S4 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
gave such a yell that the Indian had all he could
do to dodge my horse's feet. He was evidently
astonished and thought, from the boldness of the
move, that I had others near by. My7 horse and
inules went on a dead run and I expected, as I
leaned forward, every moment to feel his arrow.
I glanced back when fifty yards aAvay and he was
anxiously looking back to see Avho else was coming
and I was out of his reach before he had made up
his mind. I Avas never worse frightened.
Upon another occasion I bluffed an Indian just
as effectively. With tAvo companions I went to a
Sioux village to buy a pair of moccasins. They
were at peace and we felt no danger. Most of the
men were absent from the village, leaving only7 a
small guard. I got separated from my compan
ions, but found an Indian making moccasins, and
I stood in the door and pointed to a new pair about
the size I wanted, that hung on the ridge pole, and
showed him a pair of handsome suspenders that I
would give him for them. He assented by a nod
and a grunt, came to the door, took the suspenders
and hung them up, deliberately sat down on the
floor and took off a dirty old pair he was wearing
and threw them to me. I immediately threw them
back, and stepping into the tepee, caught hold of
the moccasins I had bought, but by a quick motion
he snatched them from me.
I then caught hold of the suspenders and

A CLOSE CALL. 285
bounded out of the door. When fifty feet away I
looked back and he had just emerged from his
tepee and began loading his rifle. I had emptied
both barrels of my shotgun at a plover just before
reaching the village and my gun Avas fortunately
unloaded. It gave us equal chances: I stopped
still, threw my gun from the strap and began load
ing. In those days I was something of an expert
and before the Indian withdrew his ramrod, I was
putting caps on both barrels and he bounded in
side his wigwam, and I lost no time in putting a
tepee between us, and finding my friends, when we
hastily took leave.
Our company took great comfort and pride in
our big American mules, trained in civilized Ohio.
A pair of the largest, the wheelers in the six-mule
team, were as good as setter dogs at night. They
neither liked Indians, wolves nor grizzlies; and
their scent was so keen they7 could smell their ene
mies two hundred y7ards away, unless the wind
was too strong.
When on guard, and in a lonesome, dangerous
place, we generally7 kept close to our long-eared
friends, and when they stopped eating and raised
their heads and pointed those ponderous ears in
any direction, we would drop in the grass and hold
ourselves ready for any emergency. They would
never resume their feeding until assured that the
danger had passed.

286 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
And then what.. faithful fellows to pull! At a
word they would plant their feet on a mountain
side and never allow the wagon to give back a sin
gle foot, no matter how precipitous; and again at
the word, they would pull with the precision of a
machine. The off-leader, "Manda," was the handsomest
mule ever harnessed. As everybody remarked,
"She was as beautiful as a picture." She would
pull and stand and hold the wagon as obedient to
command as an animal could be, but she was by
nature wild and vicious. She was the worst kicker
I ever saw. She allowed herself to be shod, seem
ing to understand that this was a necessity. But
no man ever succeeded in riding her. She beat
the trick mules in any circus in jumping and kick
ing. One night we had a stampede, and one of the
flying picket pins struck the mule between the
bones of the hind leg, cutting a deep gash, four
inches or more long; the swelling of the limb caus
ing the wound to gape open fully two inches. She
did not attempt to bear her weight upon the limb,
barely touching it to the ground. The flies were
very bad, and knowing the animal, and while priz
ing her so highly, we were all convinced that we
must leave her. The train pulled out. It was my
duty that morning to bring on the loose stock, and
see that nothing of value was overlooked in camp.

MANDA, THE MULE. 287
I was ready to leave, when I went up to the mule
that had come Avith us all the way7 from home,
nearly three thousand miles, and had been a faith
ful servant, and began petting her, expressing
my pity and sorrow that Ave had to leave her here
for the Indians and the AYolves. As I rubbed her
head and talked to her, the poor dumb brute
seemed to understand every word said.
NeA7er before in all the long journey had the fa
mous six-mrdeteam gone without Manda prancing
as off leader. She rubbed me with her nose and
laid it upon my shoulder, and seemed to beg as
eloquently as a dumb beast can, "Don't leave me
behind." With it all, there was a kindly look in
her eye, I never before had seen. I stood strok
ing her head for some time, then I jiatted her neck
and walked a little back, but constantly on guard.
It was then the animal turned her head and looked
at me, and at the same time held up the wounded
leg. My friend Moore, who had staid back to as
sist, was a little distance off, and I called him.
As he came up, I said to him: "This mule has
had a change of heart." He put a bridle upon her
so that he could hold up her head, and rubbing
her side, I finally ventured to take hold of the
wounded leg. I rubbed it and fondled it without
her showing any7 symptom of resentment.
I got out instruments, sewed the wound up, and
sewed bandages tight about the leg, made a capital

288 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
dressing and we started, leading Manda. She soon
began to bear weight upon the wounded limb, and
had no difficulty in keeping up with the train.
When the bandages would get misplaced, one
could get down in the road with no one to assist,
and adjust them. We took Manda all the way7, and
no handsomer animal ever jonrneyTed across the
plains. She was never known to kick afterward.
People call it "instinct in animals," but the more
men know and study dumb life, the more theyT are
impressed with their reasoning intelligence. Dr.
Whitman's mule, finding camp in the blinding
snow storm on the mountains, when the shrewd
guide was hopelessly lost; my old horse leading
me and my friend in safety through the Mississippi
River back water in the great forest of Arkansas,
as well as this, which I have told without an em
bellishment, all teach impressively the duty of
kindness that we owe to (our dumb friends.
In Mrs. Whitman's diary we frequently find al
lusion to her faithful pony7, and her sympathy Avith
him when the grass is scarce and the work hard,
is but an evidence of true nobility in the woman.
In a long journey like the one made from Ohio to
the Pacific Coast, it is wonderful what an affec
tion grows up between man and his dumb helpers.
And there is no mistaking- the fact that animals
appreciate and reciprocate such kindness. Even
our dog was no exception.

ROVER. 289
As I have started in to introduce my7 dumb as
sociates, it would be a mistake, especially for my
bov readers, to omit Rover. He Avas a vouna dog
when Ave started, but he Avas a dog of thorough
education and large experience before he reached
the end of his journey. He Avas no dog Avith a long-
pedigree of illustrious ancestors, but Avas a mixed
St. Bernard and Newfoundland, and grew up
large, stately and dignified. He was petted, but
never spoiled. When he was tired and wanted to
ride, he knew how to tell the fact and was never
told that he was nothing but a dog.
He was no shirk as a walker, but the hot sal-
eratus dust and sand wore out his feet. We took
the fresh skin of an antelope and made boots for
him, but when no one was looking at him he would
gnaw them off. When the company separated
after reaching the coast, Rover, by unanimous con
sent, went with his favorite master, J. S. Nis
wander, now a gray-haired, honored citizen of Gil-
roy, Cal. A few years ago I visited Niswander and
Dr. J. Doan, who, Avith myself, are the only living
survivors of our company, and he gave me the
history of Rover after I left for Oregon.
Niswander was a famous grizzly bear hunter,
and with Rover as a companion, he made journeys
prospecting for gold, and hunting, long distances
from civilization. When night came the pack
mule was picketed near by7 and a big fire built,

290 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SA\TED OREGON.
with plenty of wood to keep it replenished during
the night. Rover laid himself against his master's
feet, and in case of danger he would always Avaken
him with a low growl close to his ear, and when
this Avas done, he would lope off in the dark and
find out what it was, while Niswander held his
gun and revohTer ready for use. If the dog came
back and lay down he knew at once it Avas a false
alarm and dropped to sleep in perfect security7.
At one time he brought among his provisions a
small firkin of butter, a great luxury at that time.
He took the firkin and set it in the shade of a
great red-wood, tumbled off the rest of his goods,
picketed his mule, and went off prospecting for
gold, telling Rover to take care of the things until
he returned. He was gone all day and returned
late in the evening, and looking around could not
see his firkin of butter. He told me he turned to
the old dog and said: "Rover, I never knew you
to do such a trick before and I am ashamed of
you." The old fellow only hung his head upon being-
scolded. But soon after Mr. N. noticed a suspi
cious pile of leaA-es about the roots of the tree, and
when he had turned them aside he found his firkin
of butter untouched.
The high wind Avhich had arisen had blown the
paper cover from the butter and the dog knew
it ought to be covered, and Avith his feet and nose

HARDSHIPS ON THE PLAINS. 291
had gathered the leaves for more than a rod
around and coA7ered it up.
The Indians finally poisoned the old dog for the
purpose of robbing his master. Said he: "When
Rover died I shed more -tears than I had shed for
years." While reading, as I haA7e, Mrs. Whitman's daily
diary of her journey7 in 1836, I am most astonished
at the lack of all complaints and murmurings. I
know so Avell the perils and discomforts she met
on the way and see her every day, cheerful and
smiling and happy, and filled with thankfulness
for blessings receiATed, that she seems for the
veryT absence of an}- repining, to be a woman of
the most exalted character.
I have traveled for days and weeks through sal-
eratus dust that made lips, face and eyes torment-
ingly sore, while the throat and air tubes seemed
to be raw. She barely mentions them. I have
camped many a time, as she doubtless did, where
the water was poisonous with alkali, and unfit for
man or beast. I haA'e been stung by buffalo fiies
until the sting of a Jersey mosquito would be a
positiATe luxury. She barely mentions the pests.
She does once mildly say: "The mosquitoes Avere
so thick that we could hardly breathe," and that
"the fleas covered all our garments" and made life
a burden until she could get clear of them.
Then there were snakes. As far as I know she

292 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
neA7er once complained of snakes. This makes it
all the more necessary in giA7ing a true picture of
pioneering upon the plains, to give a real experi
ence. There is nothing more hateful than a snake.
We were introduced to the prairie rattler very
early in the journey and some had sport over it.
We all wore high, rattlesnake boots; they Avere
heaA-y and hard on the feet that had been accus
tomed to softer coA-ering.
One of our gallant boys had received a present
of a pair of beautiful embroidered slippers from
a loved friend, and after supper he threw off those
high snake boots and put on his slippers. Just
then he Avas reminded that it was his duty that
night to assist in picketing the mules in fresh
pasture. He got hold of two lariats and started
off singing "The (Jirl I Left Behind Me." About
one hundred and fifty yards off he heard that
ominous rattle near by and he dropped those
lariats and came into camp at a speed that elicited
cheers from the entire crowd.
Early in the journey an old Indian told me how
to keep the snakes from our beds, and that was
to get a lariat made from the hair of a buffalo's
neck and lay it entirely7 around the bed. I got
the lariat and seldom went to sleep Avithout being
inside of its coil. It is a fact that a snake will not
willingly crawl over such a rope. The sharp

A NIGHT OF HORRORS. 293
prickly7 bristles are either uncomfortable to them,
or they expect there is danger.
One night of horrors never to be forgotten was
when I did not have my Indian lariat. Who of my
readers ever had a rattlesnake attempt to make a
nest in his hair? The story may hardly be worth
telling, but I will relate it just as it occurred.
We had camped on the St. Mary's River and
had gone four miles off the road to find good graz
ing for our animals. Supper was over, our bugler
had sounded hisdast note, and we were preparing
for bed when a man came in from a camp a mile
off and reported that they7 had found a man on a
small island, who was very sick and they wanted
a doctor. Dr. Schlater, of the Mt. Sterling Mining Com
pany, at once got ready and went Avith him. Dr.
Schlater was one of the grand specimens of man
hood. He worked with the sick man all night and
at daylight came down and asked me to go up
with him. While we were bathing him the com
pany of Michigan packers, who had found the
stranger, moved off, and left us alone with the sick
man, aa71io was delirious and could give no account
of himself.
We found from papers in his pockets that his
name was West Williams of Bloomington, Iowa,
and he carried a card from the I. O. O. F. of that
place. We made him as comfortable as possible

294 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
and went back to our camp and reported his con
dition. We found the company all ready to movo
out, only waiting for us. The man was too sick
to travel and it would not do to let him remain
there alone, and it was decided that Dr. S. and 1
should remain with him and try and find his
friends or hire some person to take care of him, and
then, by forced marches, we could follow on and
catch the company.
We raised a purse of one hundred dollars and
with such medicines as we needed and other sup
plies, also kept back a light spring- wagon, and
brought the sick man to our camp. I suggested to
the Doctor that he ride over to the road and put up
some written notices, giving the man's name, etc.
He wrote out several and posted them on the trees
where they would attract attention from passers.
While he was doing this, a man with an ox-team
came along and proA7ed to be an old friend of the
sick man right from the same locality7. His name
was Van S. Israel. He at once came Avith the Doc
tor and took charge of Williams, greatly to our
relief. While the Doctor Avas upon the road he Avas
called to prescribe for another sick man by the
name of Mahan, from Missouri. Learning Avhere
Ave Avere located, the Mahans moA7ed down to our
camp. The sick man was accompanied by his
brother, and they had a splendid outfit. We con-

A HUGE RATTLER. 295
eluded to give the entire day to the sick men and
ride across the small desert just ahead during the
night. A tent was erected for Mahan, and he
walked in and laid doAvn.
An hour or so later I went to the tent door and
looking in saw the man lying dead. I spoke to his
brother, who went into the tent convulsed with
grief. I had scarcely reached my tent before I
heard a piercing scream and rushed back, and
upon opening the tent flap was horrified to behold
the largest rattlesnake I had ever seen, coiled on
the opposite side of the dead body and the living
brother crowding as far away as possible on the
other side to be out of his reach.
As soon as I appeared the snake uncoiled and
slipped under the edge of the tent. I caught up a
green cottonwood stick and ran around and he
at once coiled for a fight. I let him strike the stick.
After striking each time he would try to retreat,
but a gentle tap with the stick would arouse his
anger and he would coil and strike again. At
first a full drop of the yellow fluid appeared upon
the stick. This gradually diminished, and with it
the courage of the reptile, which seemed to lose
all fighting propensity. I then killed him.
Just before sunset we were ready to leave our
sad associates, and we rode doAvn to the riA7er to
give our mules a drink. The St. Mary's is a deep
stream running through a level stretch with no

296 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
banks. The mules had often been caA7ed into the
deep Avater and learned to get down on their knees
to drink. For fear of an accident I got off and al-
loAAred my mule to kneel and drink. As he got upon
his feet I swung into the saddle and started on.
I had scarcely7 got firmly seated when, right under
the mule, a rattler sang out. My double-barrel gun
was hanging from my shoulder, muzzle down. As
quick as a flash I slipped my7 arm through the
strap, cocked the gun at the same time, and the
mule shying, brought his snakeship in range, and
just as he was in the act of striking, I shot him
dead. The only good thing about the rattler is that
he always gives the alarm before striking.
It was about three o'clock in the morning when
we got through the desert and reached a cluster
of trees, and resolved to stop and take a little sleep,
and give our mules the feed of grass we had tied
behind our saddles. We found a fallen tree and
tied our animals to the boughs and fed them. A
small company of packers were there asleep with
their heads toward the fallen tree. We passed
them to near the butt of the tree, threw aside some
rotten chunks, spread a blanket, and each rolled
up in another, lay down to rest. My snake-lariat
was with the wagon, but I was too tired to think
much of it. The Doctor being up all the night
before, was asleep in two minutes. I was dozing
off, with rattlesnakes and all the horrors of the

A. J. ANDERSON, Ph.D.,
First President of Whitman College.

REV. JAMES F. EATON, D.D.,
Second President of Whitman College.

ONLY A TOAD. 297
past day running through my mind, when I was
suddenly aAvakened by something pulling and
working in my long, bushy hair. Barbers were
not plentiful on the plains, and, besides, the
plainsmen wear long hair as a protection. I sup
pose it was only a feAV minutes of suspense, and
yet it seemed an hour, before I became Avide
awake, and reached at once the conclusion that I
had poked my head near the log where his snake-
ship Avas sleeping, and the evening being cool, he
Avas trying to secure warmer quarters. I knew it
would not do to move my head. I quietly7 slipped
my right arm from the blanket, and slowly moved
my hand within six inches of my7 head. I felt the
raking of a harder material, which seemed like a
fang scraping the scalp. This made me almost
frantic. Suddenly I grasped the offender by the
head, jerking hair and all, and, jumping to my feet,
yelled, so that every packer bounced to. his feet,
and seized his gun, thinking we were attacked by7
Indians. This is a round-about way to tell a snake
story, but all the facts had to be recited to reveal
the real conditions.
It was forty-five years ago, and the sensations
of the time are viA7id to this clay; and it doesn't
even matter that the offender was not a rattler,
but only an honest, little, cold-footed tree-toad,
trying to get warmed up. But he frightened me
as badly as the biggest rattler on the St. Mary's

298 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
could, and I helped him to make a hop that beat
the record of Mark Twain's jumping-frog in his
best clays.
But life on the plains Avas not a continued suc
cession of discomforts. The dyspeptic could well
afford to make such a journey to gain the appetite
and the good digestion. The absence of annoy
ing insect life during the night, and the pure, in-
Adgorating air, makes sleep refreshing and health-
giA'ing. For a month at a time we have lain down
to sleep, looking up at the stars, Avithout the fear
of catching cold, or feeling a drop of dew. There
are long dreary7 reaches of plains to pass that are
wearisome to the eye and the body, but the moun
tain scenery is noAA7here more picturesquely beau
tiful. At that time the sportsman could haA7e a sur
feit in all kinds of game, by branching off from
the lines, of travel and taking the chances of los
ing his scalp. Herds of antelope were seen every
day feeding in the valleys, while farther away
there were buffalo by the hundred thousand. The
great butchery of these noble animals had then but
fairly begun. To-day, there still liA'e but three
small herds. Our company did not call it sport
to kill buffalo for amusement. It was not sport
but butchery. A man could ride up by the side of
his victim and kill him with a pistol.

CHARGED BY A BUFFALO BULL. 299
It was among our rules to allow no team ani
mal to be used in the chase. But I forgot myself
once and violated the rule. We were resting that
day in camp. In the distance I saw two hunters
after a huge buffalo bull, coming toward our camp.
I saw by the direction that one could ride around
the spur of a high hill about a mile distant and
intercept him. We had as a saddle horse of one
team an old clay-bank, Avhich was one of the most
solemn horses I have ever seen. His beauty was in
his great strength and his long mane and tail. But
he carried his head on a straight level* with his
back and never was known to put on any7 airs. He
stood picketed handy, and seizing a bridle and my
gun I mounted without a saddle and urged the old
horse into a lope.
As I turned the spur of the hill, the bull came
meeting me fifty yards away. He was a monster;
his tongue protruded, and he was frothing at the
mouth from his long run. He showed no signs of
turning from his road because of my appearance.
Just then, when not more than thirty yards aAvay,
my old horse saAV him and turned so quickly as to
nearly unseat me. He threw up his head until that
great mane of his enveloped me; and he broke for
the camp at a gait no one ever dreamed he pos
sessed. I did no shooting, but I did the fastest rid
ing I ever indulged in before or since. It is a

300 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
fact, that a mad buffalo, plunging toward you is
only pleasant Avhen you can get out of his way.
The slaughter and annihilation of the buffalo
is the most atrocious act ever classed under the
head of sport. A few years ago, Avhile traveling
over the Great Northern Raihvay, I saw at dif
ferent stations ricks of bones from a quarter to a
third of a mile long, piled up as high as the tops
of the cars, awaiting shipment. I asked one of the
experienced and reliable raihvay officials of the
traffic, and he informed me that "Not less than
26,000 car loads of buffalo bones had been
shipped over the Great Northern Railroad to the
bone factories; and not one in a thousand of the
remains had ever been touched." The weight of
a fall-sized buffalo's bones is about sixty pounds.
The traffic is still enormous along these northern
lines. If the Indian had any sentiment it would
likely be called out as he Avan'ders over the plains
and gathers up the dry bones of these well-nigh
extinct wild herds, that fed and clothed his tribe
through so many generations.
I have seen beautiful horses, but never saw any
half so handsome as the wild horses upon the
plains. The tame horse, however Avell groomed,
is despoiled of his grandeur. He compares with
his wild brother as the plebeian compares with
royalty. I saw a beautiful race betAveen two

WILD HORSES. 301
Greasers who Avere chasing a herd of wild horses.
They Avere running parallel Avith the road I was
traveling, and I spurred up and ran by their side
some four hundred yards distant, and had a chance
to study7 them for many miles.
I afterward saAV a handsome stallion that had
just been caught. He was tied and in a corral, but
if one approached he would jump at him and strike
and kick as savagely as possible. His back
showed saddle marks, which proved that he had
not always been the wild savage he had then be
come. The mountains and hills where the wild
horses were then most numerousl Avere covered
with wild oats, which gave the country the ap
pearance of large cultivation.
Among the interesting facts which the traveler
on the great plains learns, and often to his discom
fort, is the deception as to distance. He sees some
thing of interest and resolves "it is but two miles
away," but the chances are that it Avill prove to be
eight or ten miles. The country7 is made up of
great waves. Looking off you see the top of a
wave, and when you get there a valley that y7ou did
not see, stretches away for miles.
We always tried to treat our Indian guests cour
teously, but they were often voted a nuisance.
While cooking our supper they would often form
a circle, twenty or thirty of them sitting on the

302 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
ground, and they looked so longingly at the
bread and ham and coffee, that it almost took
one's appetite away. We could only afford to
give the squaws what was left. To fill up such a
crowd would have soon ended our stock of sup
plies. One of the things that made an Indian grunt,
and even laugh, was to see our cook baking pan
cakes in a long-handled frying pan. To turn the
cake over he tossed it in the air and caught it as
it came down. A cook on the plains that could
not do that was not up in his business.
Except upon the mountains and rocky canyons,
the roads were as good as a turnpike; but some
of the climbs and descents were fearful, while an
occasional canyon, miles long, looked wholly im
passable without breaking the legs of half the
animals and smashing the wagons.
The old plainsmen had a way of setting tires
upon a loose wheel that was novel. Our tires be
came very loose from the long dry reaches. We
took off the tire, tacked a slip of fresh hide entire
ly around the rim, heated the tire, dropped it on
the wheel and quickly chucked it into the water
and had wheels as good as new.
Our company was three nights and two days
and nearly a half in crossing the widest desert.
It was a beautiful firm road until we struck deep

CROSSING A DESERT. 303
sand, Avhich extended out for eleven miles from
Carson River into the desert. Before starting we
emptied our rubber clothes sacks, filled them with
water, hauled hay7, which we had cured, to feed
our mules, and made the trip as pleasantly as if
upon green sod. The lack of water on this Avide
desert had left many7 thousand bones of dead ani
mals bleaching upon its wastes. Many Avells had
been dug in various places and we tested the water
in them and found it intensely salt. The entire
space is evidently the bed of a salt sea.
In the long reaches where no trees of any kind
groAv, the entire dependence of the early pioneer
for fire Avas upon buffalo chips, the animal char
coal of the plains. It makes a good fire and is in
no way offensive. And if no iron horse had in
vaded the plains, buffalo chips would be selling all
along the route to-day at forty dollars per ton.
One of the pleasant historical events in which
our company naturally takes a pride is, that
one night we camped upon a little mountain
stream near where the city of Denver now
stands; the whole land as wild as nature made it.
Many years afterward one of the little band, Frank
Denver, was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Col
orado, and Gen. J. W. Denver was among the
most prominent politicians of the coast, and the
city of DenA-er was named in honor of them. I

304 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
have thus, as concisely as I could, sketched life as
it was in a wagon journey across the plains forty-
five and fifty years ago. It was a memorable ex
perience, and none who took it will fail to have of
it a A'ivid remembrance as long as life lasts. If
its annoyances were many, its novelties and pleas
ing remembrances were so numerous as to make it
the notable journey7 of even the most adventurous
life.

APPENDIX.

NARRATIVE OF THE WINTER TRIP ACROSS THE ROCKY
MOUNTAINS OF DR. MARCUS WHITMAN AND HON.
A. LAWRENCE LOVEJOY, IN 1842, FUR
NISHED BY REQUEST, FROM
MR. LOVEJOY, THE
SURVIVOR.

Oregon City, Feb. 14, 1876.
Dr. Atkinson — Dear Sir: In compliance with
your request, I will endeavor to give y7ou some idea
of the journey of the late Dr. Marcus Whitman
from Oregon to Washington, in the winter of 1842
and '43. True, I was the Doctor's traveling com
panion in that arduous and trying journey, but it
would take volumes to describe the many thrilling
scenes and dangerous hair-breadth escapes we
passed through, traveling, as we did, almost the
entire route through a hostile Indian country, and
enduring much suffering from the intense cold and
snow we had to encounter in passing oA7er the
Rocky Mountains in midwinter. I crossed the

306 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
plains in company with Dr. White and others, and
arrived at Waiilatpui the last of September, 1842.
My party camped some two miles below Dr. Whit
man's place. The day after our arrival Dr. Whit
man called at our camp and asked me to accom
pany him to his house, as he wished me to draAv
up a memorial to Congress to prohibit the sale of
ardent spirits in this country. The Doctor was
alive to the interests of this coast, and manifested
a very warm desire to have it properly represented
at Washington; and after numerous conversa
tions with the Doctor touching the future prosper
ity of Oregon, he asked me one day in a very7 anx
ious manner, if I thought it would be possible for
him to cross the mountains at that time of the year.
I told him I thought he could. He next asked:
"Will you accompany me?" After a little reflec
tion, I told him I would. His arrangements were
rapidly made. Through the kindness of Mr. Mc-
Kinly, then stationed at Fort Walla Walla, Mrs.
Whitman was provided with suitable escorts to
the Willamette Valley, where she was to remain
with her missionary friends until the Doctor's re
turn. We left Waiilatpui, October 3, 1842, trav
eled rapidly, reached Fort Hall in eleven days, re
mained two days to recruit and make a few pur
chases. The Doctor engaged a guide and we left
for Fort Uintah. We changed from a direct route

LOVEJOY'S NARRATIVE. 307
to one more southern, through the Spanish coun
try via Salt Lake, Taos and Santa Fe. On our way
from Fort Hall to Fort Uintah, Ave had terribly-
severe weather. The snows retarded our progress
and blinded the trail so we lost much time. After
arriving at Fort Uintah and making some pur
chases for our trip, we took a new guide and
started for Fort Uncompahgra, situated on the
waters of Grand River, in the Spanish country.
Here our stay was very short.
We took a new guide and started for Taos.
After being out some four or five days we encoun
tered a terrible snow storm, Avhich forced us to
seek shelter in a deep ravine, Avhere we remained
snowed in for four days, at which time the storm
had somewhat abated, and we attempted to make
our way out upon the high lands, but the snow
was so deep and the winds so piercing and cold we
were compelled to return to camp and Avait a feAV
days for a change of weather.
Our next effort to reach the high lands was more
successful; but after spending several days Avan-
dering around in the snow without making much
headAvay, our guide tblcl us that the deep snow had
so changed the face of the country that he was
completely lost and could take us no farther.
This Avas a terrible blow to the Doctor, but he was
determined not to give it up without another ef-

308 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
fort. We at once agreed that the Doctor should
take the guide and return to Fort Uncompahgra
and get a new guide, and I remain in camp with
the animals until he could return; which he did
in seven day7s with our new guide, and we were
now on our route again. Nothing- of much im
portance occurred but hard and show traveling
through deep snow until we reached Grand River,
which was frozen on either side about one-third
across. Although so intensely cold, the current
was so very rapid, about one-third of the river in
the center was not frozen. Our guide thought it
would be dangerous to attempt to cross the river
in its present condition, but the Doctor, nothing
daunted, was the first to take the water. He
mounted his horse and the guide and myself
shoved the Doctor and his horse off the ice into the
foaming stream. Away he went completely under
water, horse and all, but directly came up, and
after buffeting the rapid, foaming current he
reached the ice on the opposite shore a long way
down the stream. He leaped from his horse upon
the ice and soon had his noble animal byT his side.
The guide and myself forced in the pack animals
and followed the Doctor's example, and were soon
on the opposite shore drying our frozen clothes
by a comfortable fire. We reached Taos in about
thirty days, suffering greatly from cold and

LOVEJOY'S NARRATIVE. 309
scarcity of provisions. We were compelled to use
mule meat, dogs and such other animals as came
in our reach. We remained at Taos a few days
only, and started for Bent's and Savory's Fort, on
the headAvaters of the Arkansas River. When we
had been out some fifteen or twenty days, Ave met
George Bent, a brother of Gov. Bent, on his Avay
to Taos. He told us that a party7 of mountain men
would leave Bent's Fort in a feAv days for St.
Louis, but said we would not reach the fort with
our pack animals in time to join the party. The
Doctor being very anxious to join the party so he
could push on as rapidly as possible to Washing
ton, concluded to leave myself and guide with the
animals, and he himself, taking the best animal,
with some bedding and a small allowance of pro
vision, started alone, hoping by7 rapid travel to
reach the fort in time to join the St. Louis part}',
but to do so he would have to traA'el on the Sab
bath, something we had not clone before. M,yself
and guide traveled on slowly and reached the fort
in four days, but imagine our astonishment, when
on making inquiry about the Doctor, we were told
that he had not arrived nor had he been heard of.
I learned that the party for St. Louis Avas
camped at the Big Cottonwood, forty miles from
the fort, and at my request, Mr. Savery sent an ex
press telling the party not to proceed any further

310 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
until we learned something of Dr. Whitman's
whereabouts, as he wished to accompany them to
St. Louis. Being furnished by the gentlemen of
the fort with a suitable guide, I started in search
of the Doctor, and traveled up the river about one
hundred miles. I learned from the Indians that a
man had been there, who was lost, and was try
ing to find Bent's Fort. They7 said they had di
rected him to go down the river, and hoAv to find
the fort. I knew from their description it was the
Doctor. I returned to the fort as rapidly as possi
ble, but the Doctor had not arrived. We had all
become very anxious about him.
' Late in the afternoon he came in very much
fatigued and desponding; said that he knew that
God had bewildered him to punish him for travel
ing on the Sabbath. During the whole trip he was
very regular in his morning and evening devotions,
and that was the only time I ever knew him to
travel on the Sabbath.
The Doctor remained all night at the fort, start
ing early on the following morning to join the St.
Louis party. Here we parted. The Doctor pro
ceeded to Washington. I remained at Bent's Fort
until Spring, and joined the Doctor the following
July, near Fort Laramie, on his way to Oregon, in
company with a train of emigrants. He often ex
pressed himself to me about the remainder of his

LOVEJOY'S NARRATIVE. 311
journey, and the manner in Avhich he was received
at Washington, and by the Board for Foreign Mis
sions at Boston. He had several interviews with
President Tyler, Secretary Webster, and a good
many members of Congress — Congress being in
session at that time. He urged the immediate ter
mination of the treaty with Great Britain relative
to this country, and begged them to extend the
laws of the United States over Oregon, and asked
for liberal inducements to emigrants to come to
this coast. He was very cordially and kindly re
ceived by the President and members of Congress,
and, without doubt, the Doctor's interviews re
sulted greatly to the benefit of Oregon and to
this coast. But his reception at the Board for For
eign Missions was not so cordial. The Board was
inclined to censure him for leaving his post. The
Doctor came to the frontier settlement, urging the
citizens to emigrate to the Pacific. He left Inde
pendence, Mo., in the month of May, 1843, with an
emigrant train of about one thousand souls for
Oregon. With his energy and knowledge of the
country, he rendered them great assistance in
fording the many dangerous and rapid streams
they had to cross, and in finding a wagon road
through many of the narrow rugged passes of the
mountains. He arrived at Waiilatpui about one
y7ear from the time he left, to find his home sadly

312 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
dilapidated, his flouring mill burned. The Indians
were very hostile to the Doctor for leaving them,
and without doubt, owing to his absence, the seeds
of assassination were sown by those haughty7 Cay
use Indians which resulted in his and Mrs. Whit
man's death, with many others, although it did not
take place until four years later.
I remain with great respect,
A. LAWRENCE LOVEJOY.

THE NEZ PERCES CHIEFS.

313

HEE-OH-KS-TE-KIN.— The Rabbit's Skin Leggins.
(Drawn by George Catlin.)
The only one of five Nez Perces Chiefs (some say there were
only four) who visited St. Louis in 1832, that lived to
return to his people to tell the story.

314 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.

HCO-A-HCO-A-HCOTES-MIN— No Horns on His Head.
This one died on his return journey near the mouth of
Yellowstone River.

This is what Catlin says himself: "These two men when I
painted them, were in beautiful Sioux dresses, which had been
presented to them in a talk with the Sioux, who treated them
very kindly, while passing through the Sioux country. These
two men were part of a delegation that came across the Rocky
Mountains to St. Louis, a few years since, to inquire for the
Iruth of a representation which they said some white man had
made among them, "That our religion was better than theirs,
and that they would be all lost if they did not embrace it."
Two old and venerable men of this party died in St. Louis, and
I traveled two thousand miles, companions with these two fel
lows, toward their own country, and became much pleased
with their manners and dispositions. When I first heard the
report of the object of this extraordinary mission across the
mountains, I could scarcely believe it; but, on conversing with
Gen. Clark, on a future occasion, I was fully convinced of the
fact." See Catlin's Eight Years, and Smithsonian Report for 1885,
2nd part.

DR. WHITMAN'S LETTER.

TO THE HON. JAMES M. PORTER, SECRETARY OF WAR,
WITH A BILL TO BE LAID BEFORE CONGRESS,
FOR ORGANIZATION OF OREGON.

The Rev. Myron Eells obtained from the original
files of the office of the Secretary of War two val
uable papers. They bear this endorsement:
"Marcus Whitman inclosing synopsis of a bill,
with his views in reference to importance of the
Oregon Territory, War. 382 — rec. June 22, 1844.
To the Hon. James M. Porter, Secretary of War :
Sir — In compliance with the request you did me
the honor to make last Winter, while in Wash
ington, I herewith transmit to you the synopsis
of a bill which, if it could be adopted, would, ac
cording to my experience and observation, prove
highly conducive to the best interests of the United
States, generally, to Oregon, where I have resided
for more than seven years as a missionary, and to
the Indian tribes that inhabit the immediate coun
try. The Government will now doubtless for the

316 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
first time be apprised through you, or by7 means
of this communication, of the immense immigra
tion of families to Oregon which has taken place
this year. I have, since our interview, been instru
mental in piloting across the route described in the
accompanying bill, and which is the only eligible
wagon road, no less than three hundred families,
consisting of one thousand persons of both sexes,
with their wagons, amounting to one hundred and
twenty, six hundred and ninety-four oxen, and
seven hundred and seventy-three loose cattle.
The emigrants are from different States, but
principally from Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and
New York. The majority of them are farmers,
lured by the prospect of bounty in lands, by the
reported fertility of the soil, and by the desire to
be first among those who are planting our insti
tutions on the Pacific Coast. Among them are ar
tisans of every trade, comprising, with farmers,
the very best material for a new colony. As pio
neers, these people have undergone incredible
hardships, and having now safely passed the Blue
Mountain Range with their wagons and effects,
have established a durable road from Missouri to
Oregon, which will serve to mark permanently the
route for larger numbers, each succeeding year,
while they have practically demonstrated that
wagons drawn by horses or oxen can cross the
Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River, contrary

DR. WHITMAN'S LETTER. 317
to all the sinister assertions of all those Avho pre
tended it to be impossible.
In their slow progress, these persons have en
countered, as in all former instances, and as all
succeeding emigrants must, if this or some similar
bill be not passed by Congress, the continual fear of
Indian aggression, the actual loss through them of
horses, cattle and other property, and the great
labor of transporting an adequate amount of pro
visions for so long a journey. The bill herewith
proposed would, in a great measure, lessen these
inconveniences by7 the establishment of posts,
which, while having the possessed power to keej)
the Indians in check, thus doing away with the
necessity of military vigilance on the part of the
traveler by day and night, would be able to fur
nish them in transit with fresh supplies of pro
visions, diminishing the original burdens of the
emigrants, and finding thus a ready and profitable
market for their produce — a market that would,
in my opinion, more than suffice to defray all the
current expenses of such post. The present party-
is supposed to have expended no less than
$2,000 at Laramie's and Bridger's Forts, and as
much more at Fort Hall and Fort Boise, two of
the Hudson. Bay Company's stations. These are
at present the only stopping places in a journey
of 2,200 miles, and the only place Avhere additional
supplies can be obtained, even at the enormous

318 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
rate of charge, called mountain prices, i. e., $50 the
hundred for flour, and $50 the hundred for coffee;
the same for sugar, powder, etc.
Many cases of sickness and some deaths took
place among those who accomplished the journey
this season, owing, in a great measure, to the unin
terrupted use of meat, salt and fresh, with flour,
which constitute the chief articles of food they are
able to convey on their wagons, and this could be
obviated by the vegetable productions which the
posts in contemplation could very profitably af
ford them. Those Avho rely on hunting as an auxil
iary support, are at present unable to have their
arms repaired when out of order; horses and oxen
become tender-footed and require to be shod on
this long journey, sometimes repeatedly, and the
wagons repaired in a variety of ways. I mention
these as valuable incidents to the proposed meas
ure, as it will also be found to tend in many other
incidental wa,ys to benefit the migratory popula
tion of the United States choosing to take this di
rection, and on these accounts, as well as for the
immediate use of the posts themselves, they ought
to be provided with the necessary shops and me
chanics, which would at the same time exhibit the
several branches of civilized art to the Indians.
The outlay in the first instance would be but
trifling. Forts like those of the Hudson Bay Com
pany's surrounded by walls enclosing all the

DR. WHITMAN'S LETTER. 319
buildings, and constructed almost entirely of
adobe, or sun-dried bricks, Avith stone foundations
only, can be easily and cheaply erected.
There are very eligible places for as many of
these as the Government Avill find necessary, at
suitable distances, not further than one or two
hundred miles apart, at the main crossing of the
principal streams that now form impediments to
the journey, and consequently well supplied with
water, having alluvial bottom lands of a rich
quality, and generally well wooded. If I might
be allowed to suggest, the best sites for said posts,
my personal knowledge and observation enable me
to recommend first, the main crossing of the Kan
sas River, where a ferry would be very convenient
to the traveler, and profitable to the station having
it in charge; next, and about eighty miles distant,
the crossing of the Blue River, where in times of
unusual freshet, a ferry would be in like manner
useful; next and distant from one hundred to one
hundred and fifty miles from the last mentioned,
the Little Blue, or Republican Fork of the Kansas;
next, and from sixty to one hundred miles distant
from the last mentioned, the point of intersection
of the Platte River; next, and from one hundred
to one hundred and fifty miles distant from the last
mentioned, crossing of the South Fork of the Platte
River; next, and about one hundred and eighty or
two hundred miles distant from the last mentioned,

320 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
Horseshoe Creek, which is about forty miles west
of Laramie's Fork in the Black Hills. Here is a fine
creek for mills and irrigation, good land for culti
vation, fine pasturage, timber and stone for build
ing. Other locations may be had along the Platte
and Sweetwater, on the Green River, or Black's
Forks of the Bear River, near the great Soda
Springs, near Fort Hall, and at suitable places
down to the Columbia. These localities are all of
the best description, so situated as to hold a ready
intercourse with the Indians in their passage to
and from the ordinary buffalo hunting grounds,
and in themselves so well situated in all other re
spects as to be desirable to private enterprise if
the usual advantage of trade existed. Any of the
farms above indicated would be deemed extremely
valuable in the States.
The Government cannot long overlook the im
portance of superintending the savages that en
danger this line of travel, and that are not yet in
treaty with it. Some of these are already well
known to be led by desperate white men and mon
grels, who form bandits in the most difficult
passes, and are at all times ready to cut off some
lagging emigrant in the rear of the party, or some
adventurous one who may proceed a few miles in
advance, or at night to make a descent upon the
sleeping camp and carry aAvay or kill horses and
cattle. This is the case even now in the com-

DR. WHITMAN'S LETTER. 321
mencement of our western immigration, and when
it conies to be more generally known that large
quantities of valuable property and considerable
sums of money are yearly carried OA7er this deso
late region, it is feared that an organized banditti
will be instituted. The posts in contemplation
would effectually counteract this. For the pur
pose they need not, or ought not, to be military
establishments. The trading posts in this coun
try have never been of such a character, and yet
with very few men in them, have for years kept
the surrounding Indians in the most pacific dis
position, so that the traveler feels secure from mo
lestation upon approaching Fort Laramie, Bridg
ets Fort, Fort Hall, etc., etc. The same can be ob
tained without any7 considerable expenditure by
the Government, while by investing the officers in
charge with competent authority, all evil-disposed
white men, refugees from justice, or discharged
vagabonds from trading posts might be easily re
moved from among the Indians and sent to the
appropriate States for trial. The Hudson Bay7
Company's system of reAvards among the savages
would soon enable the posts to root out these des
peradoes. A direct and friendly intercourse with
all the tribes, even to the Pacific, might be thus
maintained; the Government would become more
intimately acquainted with them, and they with
the Government, and instead of sending to the

322 HOAV MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
State courts a manifestly guilty Indian to be ar
raigned before a distant tribunal and acquitted for
the want of testimony, by the technicalities of law
yers and of the law unknoAvn to them, and sent
back into the wilderness loaded with presents as
an inducement to further crime, the post should
be enabled to execute summary justice, as if the
criminal had been already condemned by7 his tribe,
because the tribe will be sure to deliver up none
but the party whom they know to be guilty. They
will in that way receh7e the trial of their peers,
and secure within themselves to all intents and
purposes, if not technically the trial by jury7, y7et
the spirit of that trial. There are many powers
which ought to reside in some person on this ex
tended route for the convenience and eA7en neces
sity of the public.
In this the emigrant and the people of Oregon
are no more interested than the resident inhabi
tants of the States. At present no person is author
ized to administer an oath, or legally attest a fact,
from the western line of Missouri to the Pacific.
The immigrant cannot dispose of his property at
home, although an opportunity7 ever so advan
tageous to him should occur after he passes the
western border of Missouri. No one can here make
a legal demand and protest of a promissory note
or bill of exchange. No one can secure the
valuable testimony of a mountaineer, or an immi-

DR. WHITMAN'S LETTER. 323
grating witness after he has entered this, at pres
ent, lawless country. Causes do exist-and will con
tinually arise, in which the jirivate rights of citi
zens are, and will be, seriously prejudiced by such
an utter absence of legal authority. A contraband
trade from Mexico, the introduction from that
country of liquors to be sold among the Indians
west of the Kansas River, is already carried on
with the mountain trappers, and very soon the
teas, silks, nankeens, spices, camphor and opium
of the East Indies will find their way, duty free,
through Oregon, across the mountains and into
the States, unless Custom House officers along this
line find an interest in intercepting them.
Your familiarity Avith the Government policy,
duties and interest renders it unnecessary for me
to more than hint at the several objects intended
by the enclosed bill, and any enlargement upon
the topics here suggested as inducements to its
adoption would be quite superfluous, if not im
pertinent. The very existence of such a system
as the one above recommended suggests the util
ity of postoffices and mail arrangements, which
it is the wish of all who now live in Oregon to
have granted them; and I need only add that con
tracts for this purpose will be readily taken at
reasonable rates for transporting the mail across
from Missouri to the mouth of the Columbia in
forty days, with fresh horses at each of the con-

324 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
templated posts. The ruling policy proposed re
gards the Indians as the police of the country, who
are to be relied upon to keep the peace, not only
for themselves, but to repel lawless white men and
prevent banditti, under the solitary guidance of
the superintendents of the several postsv aided by
a well directed system to induce the punishment
of crime. It will only be after the failure of these
means to procure the delivery7 or punishment of
violent, lawless and savage acts of aggression, that
a band or tribe should be regarded as conspirators
against the peace, or punished accordingly by
force of arms.
Hoping that these suggestions may meet your
approbation, and conduce to the future interest of
our growing country, I have the honor to be, Hon
orable Sir, Your obedient servant,
MARCUS WHITMAN.

PROPOSED BILL. 325

COPY OF PROPOSED BILL PREPARED BY DR. MARCUS
WHITMAN IN 1843 AND SENT TO THE
SECRETARY OF WAR.
A bill to promote safe intercourse with the Ter
ritory of Oregon, to suppress violent acts of aggres
sion on the part of certain Indian tribes west of
the Indian Territory, Neocho, better protect the
revenue, for the transportation of the mail and
for other purposes.
, SYNOPSIS OF THE ACT.
Section 1. — To be enacted by the Senate and
House of Representatives of the United States of
America, in Congress assembled, that from and
after the passage of this act, there shall be estab
lished at suitable distances, and in convenient and
proper places, to be selected by the President, a
chain of agricultural posts or farming stations, ex
tending at intervals from the present most usual
crossing, of the Kansas River, west of the western
boundary of the State of Missouri, thence ascend
ing the Platte River on the southern border, thence
through the valley of the Sweetwater River to Fort
Hall, and thence to settlements of the Willamette
in the Territory7 of Oregon. Which said posts will
have for their object to set examples of civilized in-

326 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
dustry to the several Indian tribes, to keep them in
proper subjection to the laws of the United States,
to suppress violent and laAAdess acts along the said
line of the frontier, to facilitate the passage of
troops and munitions of war into and out of the
said Territory of Oregon, and the transportation
of the mail as hereinafter provided.
Section 2. — And be it further enacted, that there
shall reside at each of said posts, one superintend
ent having charge thereof, with full power to carry7
into effect the provisions of this act, subject always
to such instructions as the President may impose;
one deputy superintendent to act in like manner
in case of death, removal or absence of the superin
tendent, and such artificers and laborers, not ex
ceeding twenty in number, as the said superintend
ent may deem necessary7 for the conduct and safety
of said posts, all of whom shall be subject to ap
pointment and liable to removal.
Section 3. — And be it further enacted, that it
shall be the duty of the President to cause to be
erected, at each of the said posts, buildings suit
able for the purpose herein contemplated, to-wit,
one main dwelling house, one storehouse, one
blacksmith's and one gunsmith's shop, one car
penter shop, with such and so many other build
ings, for storing the products and supplies of said
posts as he from time to time may deem expedi
ent. To supply the same with all necessary me-

PROPOSED BILL. 327
chanical and agricultural implements, to perform
the labor incident thereto, and with all other arti
cles he may judge requisite and proper for the
safety, comfort and defense thereof.
To cause said posts in his discretion to be visited
by detachments of troops stationed on the western
frontier, to suppress through said posts the sale
of munitions of war to the Indian tribes in case of
hostilities, and annually to lay before Congress,
at its general session, full returns, verified by the
oaths of the several superintendents, of the several
acts by them performed and of the condition of
said posts, with the income and expenditures
growing out of the same respectively.
Section 4. — And be it further enacted, that the
said superintendents shall be appointed by7 the
President by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate for the term of four years, with a sal
ary7 of two hundred dollars payable out of any
moneyrs in the treasury not otherwise appropri
ated; that they shall respectively take an oath
before the District Judge of the United States for
the Western District of Missouri, faithfully to dis
charge the duties imposed on them in and by
the provisions of this act, and give a bond to the
President of the United States and to his succes
sors in office and assigns, and Avith sufficient se
curity to be approved by the said judge in at least
the penalty of twen-ty-fiwe thousand dollars, to in-

328 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
demnifv the President or his successors or assigns
for any unlawful acts by them performed, or in
juries committed by virtue of their offices, which
said bonds may at any time be assigned for prose
cution against the said respective superintendents
and their sureties upon application to the said
judge at the instance of the United States Dis
trict Attorney or of any private party aggrieved.
Section 5. — And be it further enacted, that it
shall be the duty of said superintendents to cause
the soil adjacent to said posts, in extent not ex
ceeding 640 acres, to be cultivated in a farmer-like
manner and to produce such articles of culture as
in their judgment shall be deemed the most profit
able and available for the maintenance of said
posts, for the supply of troops and other Govern
ment agents which may from time to time re
sort thereto, and to render the products aforesaid
adequate to defraying all the expenses of labor in
and about said posts, and the salary of the said
deputy superintendent, without resort to the
Treasury of the United States, remitting to the
Secretary of the Treasury yearly a sworn state
ment of the same, Avith the surplus moneys, if any
there shall be.
Section 6. — Ahd be it further enacted, that the
said several superintendents of posts shall, ex-
officia, be Superintendents of Indian Affairs Avest
of the Indian Territory7, Neocho, subordinate to

PROPOSED BILL. 329
and under the full control of the Commissioner-
General of Indian affairs at Washington. That
they shall by virtue of their offices, be conservators
of the peace, Avith full powers to the extent here
inafter prescribed, in all cases of crimes and mis
demeanors, whether committed by citizens of the
United States or by Indians within the frontier
line aforesaid. That they shall have power to
administer oaths, to be valid in the several courts
of the United States, to perpetuate testimony to be
used in said courts, to take acknowledgments of
deeds and other specialties in writing, to take pro
bate of wills and the testaments executed upon the
said frontier, of which the testators shall have
died in transit between the State of Missouri and
the Territory of Oregon, and to do and certify all
notarial acts, and to perform the ceremony of
marriage, with as legal effect as if the said several
acts above enumerated had been performed by the
magistrates of any of the States having power to
perform the service. That they7 shall have poAver
to arrest and remove from the line aforesaid all
disorderly white persons, and all persons exciting
the Indians to hostilities, and to surrender up all
fugitives from justice upon the requisition of the
Governor of any of the States; that they shall have
power to demand of the several tribes within the
said frontier line, the surrender of any7 Indian or
Indians committing acts in contradiction of the

330 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
laws of the United States, and in case of such sur
render, to inflict punishment thereon according to
the tenor and effect of said laws, without further
trial, presuming such offending Indian or Indians
to have received the trial and condemnation of the
tribe to which, he or they may belong; to intercept
and seize all articles of contraband trade, whether
introduced into their jurisdiction in violation of
the acts imposing duties on imports, or of the acts
to regulate trade and intercourse with the several
Indian tribes, to transmit the same to the Marshal
of the Western District of Missouri, together with
the proofs necessary7 for the confiscation thereof,
and in every such case the Superintendent shall
be entitled to receive one-half the sale value of
the said confiscated articles, and the other half
be disposed of as in like cases arising under the
existing revenue laws.
Section 7. — And be it further enacted, that the
several Superintendents shall have and keep at
their several Posts, seals of office for the legal
authentication of their public acts herein enumer
ated, and that the said seals shall have as a deA7ice
the spread-eagle, with the words, "U. S. Superin-
tendency of the Frontier," engraved thereon.
Section 8. — And be it further enacted, that the
said Superintendents shall be entitled, in addition
to the salary hereinbefore granted, the following
perquisites and fees of office, to-wit: For the ac-

PROPOSED BILL. 331
knowledgment of all deeds and specialties, the
sum of one dollar; for the administration of all
oaths, twenty-five cents; for the authentication
.of all copies of written instruments, one dollar;
for the perpetuation of all testimony7 to be used
in the United States courts, by the folio, fifty
cents; for the probate of all wills and testaments,
by the folio, fifty cents; for all other writing clone,
by the folio, fifty cents; for solemnizing mar
riages, two dollars, including the certificate to be
given to the parties ; for the surrender of fugitives
from justice, in addition to the necessary costs and
expenses of arrest and detention, which shall be
verified to the demanding Governor by the affi
davit of the Superintendent, ten dollars.
Section 9. — And be it further enacted, that the
said Superintendents shall, by virtue of their
offices, be postmasters at the several stations for
which they were appointed, and as such, shall be
required to facilitate the transportation of mail
to and from the Territory of Oregon and the near
est postoffice within the State of Missouri, sub
ject to all the regulations of the Postoffice Depart
ment, and with all the immunities and privileges
of the postmasters in the several States, except
that no additional compensation shall be allowed
for such services; and it is hereby made the duty
of the Postmaster General to cause proposals to
be issued for the transportation of the mail along

332 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
the line of said Posts to and from said Territory
within six months after the passage of this Act.
Section 10. — And be it further enacted, that the
sum of  thousand dollars be, and the same,
is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the
treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the pur
pose of carrying into effect the several provisions
of this act.

DR. WHITMAN'S SUGGESTIONS TO THE SECRETARY
OF WAR, AND TO THE COMMISSIONERS ON INDIAN
AFFAIRS AND OREGON, IN THE U. S. SENATE
AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DATED
OCTOBER 16, 1847.
Perhaps the last work or writing of a public
character done by Dr. Whitman, bears the date
of Waiilatpui, October 16th, 1847. It was only
one month before the massacre, and addressed as
follows: To the Honorable the Secretary of War, to the
Committees on Indian Affairs and Oregon, in
the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States, the following suggestions are
respectfully submitted :
1st. That all Stations of the United States for
troops be kept upon the borders of some State
or Territory, when designed for the protection
and regulation of Indian territory.

SUGGESTIONS TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 333
2nd. That a line of Posts be established along
the traveled route to Oregon, at a distance, so
far as practicable, of not more than 50 miles. That
these Posts be located so as to afford the best
' opportunity for agriculture and grazing, to facili
tate the production of provisions, and the care
of horses and cattle, for the use and support of
said Posts, and to furnish supplies to all passers
through Indian territory, especially to mail-car
riers and troops.
These Posts should be placed wherever a bridge
or ferry would be required to facilitate the trans
port of the mail, and travel of troops or immi
grants through the country.
In all fertile places, these Posts would support
themselves,, arid give facilities for the several ob
jects just named in transit. The other Posts, sit
uated where the soil would not admit of cultiva
tion, would still be useful, as they would afford
the means of taking care of horses, and other
facilities of transporting the mails.
These Posts could be supplied with provisions
from others in the vicinity. A few large Posts in
the more fertile regions could supply those more
in the mountains.
On the other hand, military Posts can only be
well supplied when near the settlements. In this
way all transports for the supply of interior mil
itary Posts would be superseded.

334 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
The number of men at these Posts might vary
from five to twenty-five.
In the interior the buildings may be built with
adobes, that is, large, unburnt bricks; and in
form and size should much resemble the common
Indian Trading Posts, with outer walls and bas
tions. They would thus afford the same protection in
any part of the territory as the common Trading
Posts. If provided with a small amount of goods, such
goods could be bartered with the Indians for nec
essary supplies, as well as, on proper occasions,
given to chiefs as a reward for punishing those
who disturb or offend against the peace of the
territory. By these means the Indians would become the
protectors of those Stations.
At the same time by being under one General
Superintendent, subject to the inspection of the
Government, the Indians may be concentrated
under one general influence.
By such a superintendence the Indians would
be prevented from fleeing from one place to an
other to secrete themselves from justice. By this
simple arrangement all the need of troops in the
interior would be obviated, unless in some in
stance when the Indians fail to co-operate with

SUGGESTIONS TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 335
the Superintendent of the Post or Posts, for the
promotion of peace.
When troops shall be called for, to visit the
interior, the farming Posts will be able to furnish
them with supplies in passing* so as to make their
movements speedy and efficient.
A code of laws for the Indian territory might
constitute as civil magistrates the first, or second,
in command of these Posts.
The same arrangement would be equally well
adapted for the respective routes to California
and New Mexico.
Many reasons may be urged for the establish
ment of these Posts, among which are the follow
ing: 1st. By means of such Posts, all acts of the
Indians would be under a full and complete in
spection. All cases of murder, theft, or other out
rage would be brought to light and the proper
punishment inflicted.
2nd. In most cases this may be done by giving
the Chiefs a small fee that they may either pun
ish the offenders themselves, or deliver them up
to the commander of the Post. In such cases it
should be held that their peers have adjudged
them guilty before punishment is inflicted.
3rd. By means of these Posts it will become
safe and easy for the smallest number to pass
and repass from Oregon to the States; and with a

336 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
civil magistrate at each Station, all idle wander
ing white men without passports can be sent out
of the territory.
4th. In this way all banditti for robbing the
mails or travelers would be prevented, as well
as all vagabonds removed from among the In
dians. 5th. Immigrants now lose horses and other
stock by the Indians, commencing from the bor
der of the States to the Willamette. It is much
to the praise of our countrymen that they bear
so long with the Indians when our Government
has done so little to enable them to pass in safety.
For one man to lose five or six horses is not
a rare occurrence, which loss is felt heavily, when
most of the family are compelled to walk, to favor
a reduced and failing team.
6th. The Indians along the line take courage
from the forbearance of the immigrants. The
timid Indians on the Columbia have this year in
open day attacked several parties of wagons, num
bering from two to seven, and robbed them, being
armed with guns, bows and arrows, knives and
axes. Mr. Glenday from St. Charles, Mo., the
bearer of this communication to the States, with
Mr. Bear, his companion, rescued seven wagons
from being plundered, and the people from gross
insults, rescuing one woman, when the Indians
were in the act of taking all the clothes from her

SUGGESTIONS TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 337
person. The men were mostly stripped of their
shirts and pantaloons at the time.
7th. The occasional supplies to passing immi
grants, as well as the aid which may be afforded to
the sick and needy, are not the least of the im
portant results to follow from these establish
ments. A profitable exchange to the Posts and immi
grants, as also to others journeying through the
country, can be made by exchanging worn-out
horses and cattle for fresh ones.
8th. It scarcely need be mentioned what ad
vantage the Government will derive by a similar
exchange for the transport of the mail, as also
for the use of troops passing through.
9th. To suppress the use of ardent spirits
among the Indians it will be requisite to regard
the giving or furnishing of it in any manner as
a breach of the laws and peace of the territory.
All Superintendents of Posts, traders, and re
sponsible persons, should be charged on oath,
that they will not sell, give or furnish in any
manner, ardent spirits to the Indians.
10th. Traders should be regarded by reason
of the license they have to trade in the territory,
as receiving a privilege, and therefore should be
required to give and maintain good credentials
of character. For this reason they may7 be re
quired to send in the testimony of all their clerks

338 HOW MARCUS WHITMAN SAVED OREGON.
and assistants of all ranks, to show under the
solemnity of an oath, that the laws in this re
spect have not been violated or evaded. If at
any time it became apparent to the Superintend
ent of any Post that the laws have been violated,
he might be required to make full inquiry of all
in any way connected with or assisting in the
trade, to ascertain whether the laws were broken
or their breach connived at. This will avail for
the regular licensed trader.
11th. For illicit traders and smugglers it will
suffice to instruct Commanders of Posts to offer
a reward to the Indians for the safe delivery of
any and all such persons as bring liquors among
them, together with the liquors thus brought.
It is only on the borders of the respective States
and Territories that any interruption will be
found in the operation of these principles.
12th. Here also a modification of the same prin
ciple enacted by the several States and Territo
ries might produce equally happy results.
13th. The mail may, with a change of horses
every fifty miles, be carried at the rate of one
hundred to one hundred and fifty miles in twenty-
four hours.
14th. The leading reason in favor of adopting
the aforesaid regulations would be, that by this
means the Indians would become our faithful
allies. In fact, they will be the best possible police

SUGGESTIONS TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 339
for such a territory. This police can safely be
relied upon when under a good supervision.
Troops will only be required to correct their faults
in cases of extreme misconduct.
15th. In closing, I would remark that I have
conversed with many of the principal fur-traders
of the American and Hudson Bay Companies, all
of whom agree that the several regulations sug
gested in this communication will accomplish the
object proposed, were suitable men appointed for
its management and execution.
Respectfully yours, MARCUS WHITMAN.
»Waiilatpui, Oct. 16th, 1847.

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