BOOKMONGER
A new perspective
on a Northwest story
In the 20th century, generations
of schoolchildren were taught a
one-sided version of the Whitman
Massacre, when Dr. Marcus Whit-
man, his wife, Narcissa, and sev-
eral others were killed at the mis-
sion they’d established near the
Walla Walla River to proselytize
among the Cayuse tribe.
More recently, the narrative has
been expanded to include a more
sympathetic portrayal of the peo-
ple whose lands the Whitmans had
invaded.
Now Tom Jiroudek, a longtime
Cannon Beach resident whose
wife, Laurie, is a descendant of
one of the massacre survivors, has
written a new book that centers
on others who were involved in
that deadly event and the incidents
leading up to it. “Eliza” adds new
layers of complexity to the tragedy.
In their 1846 journey, the
Whitmans were accompanied by
another missionary couple, Henry
and Eliza Spalding. Narcissa and
Eliza shared the distinction of
being the first white women to tra-
verse the Rocky Mountains.
The Spaldings settled in Lap-
wai, within present-day Idaho,
to establish their mission among
the Nez Perce tribe. Mrs. Spald-
ing in particular cultivated a good
relationship with the Nimiipuu,
and enthusiastically learned their
Sahaptin language. Eliza, the Spal-
dings’ first child, grew up speaking
both English and Sahaptin fluently.
The Spaldings kept in touch
with the Whitmans and other Prot-
estant missionaries who arrived
later. They depended on one
another for support, but also bick-
ered over how to manage their
affairs. There were also Cath-
olic missionaries in the region,
whom they regarded with mutual
antipathy.
Over the next decade, more
white pioneers traveled along the
Oregon Trail, usurping land that
had been traditional tribal territory
for millennia, and – inadvertently,
but lethally – bringing diseases that
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the native people had little resis-
tance to. Tribal mortality relating
to measles became catastrophic.
Eliza, then 10 years old,
was sent to the Whitman Mis-
sion to attend school just as ten-
sions between the tribes and
white settlers reached a boiling
point. Unlike Eliza’s mother, Nar-
cissa Whitman reviled the Indig-
enous people. Reciprocally, some
in the Cayuse tribe had devel-
oped extreme resentment toward
these haughty and harmful white
interlopers.
This week’s book
‘Eliza’ by Tom Jiroudek
Self-published – 760 pp – $19.95
The massacre at the Whitman
Mission occurred on November
29, 1847. Not only were the Whit-
mans and several others killed, but
more than four dozen women and
children were held captive by tribe
members for weeks, uncertain as
to their fate.
As the only bilingual hostage,
young Eliza was thrust into the
harrowing position of advocating
for the survivors, who eventually
were ransomed by the Hudson’s
Bay Company.
This biographical novel is told
from young Eliza’s point of view
— even, rather unusually, from a
time before she was born, although
the author manages that deftly. Jir-
oudek does an even-handed job
of conveying the grit and ideal-
ism of those early missionaries,
while also considering their folly
and fatal prejudices. “Eliza” is an
exceptionally hefty book, but it’s
also a fairly accessible read.
The Bookmonger is Barbara
Lloyd McMichael, who writes this
weekly column focusing on books,
authors and publishers of the
Pacific Northwest. Contact her at
barbaralmcm@gmail.com.
‘Eliza’ is by Tom Jiroudek.