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VOL. XIX.
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SALEM, OREGON, FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 1887.
NO. 4.
OREGON PIONEER HISTORY.
aKETcnEa of early days. men and
TIMES IN THE FORTIES
J JY B. A CLARKE. , v i
' Copyright applied for. All rlihti referred.
The Whitman Massacre
. Tho journal of Rov. Elkannh Walker,
covering this incident of their mission
history, will bo of interest, Undor data
of Soptembor20, 1842, ho says: "Just
as wo woro about to eit down to break
fast tho long-lookod-for express camo to
hand with somo loiters for tho doctor
(Whitman) and from Mr. Groen (secre
tary of tho mission board). It was stat
od in Mr. Grcon's loiter that it was de
cided that tho Bouthorn part of this mis
sion was to bo given up and all tho mis
sionaries called homo oxcopt tho doctor,
and ho was to bo connected with tho
northern branch. Tho doctor requested
us to como down immediately. Mr.
Gray had loft to pick out a placo for
himsolf and family. Wo folt that wo
ought to go and our wives urgod us on."
Monday, September 20, was after thoy
reached Whitman's station, and tho
journal continues thus: "Did nothing
of business until ovoning, when wo had
rather a hot sossion, discussing Mr.
Gray's case."
Wednesday, Sept. 28. " Roo this
morning with determination to loavo,
and found Mr. Spalding had tho snmo
viow, as ho folt that nothing could bo
dono. After breakfast tho doctor lot
out what was his plan in viow of tho ex
isting Btato of affairs. Wo persuaded
tho.diflerent members to got together
again and talk1 matters over, and it was
thon that tho quostion was submitted to
us of tho doctor's going home. Wo folt
that it was ono of too much importanco
to be decided in a momont, but finally
camo to tho conclusion that if ho could
put things at that station in such a 'etato
that it would bo safo wo would consent
to his going, and with that loft them
and mado a start for homo."
A. B. Smith was ono of their party in
crossing tho plains, and ho and his wifo
undertook to start and sustain a mission
station at Kamiah. Thoy were not ade
quate to this important work, as very
fowaro. Thoy bocomo disgusted and
left that station in 18-10. Whitman and
Spalding woro only successful by sorious
means and hard work, as well as by do
vising methods to interest. Thoy secured
a printing press and had published part
of tho Now Testament in tho Nez Perco
tongue. Thoy both understood it well
nnd by such means had madn very suc
cessful progress. Tho Indians appreci
ated their cflorts to learn tho language,
and to bo ablo to read tho word of God
in their own language was an incontivo
to loarn to road. In viow of all theso
circumstances, the determination of tho
homo board to discontinue thoso mis
sions seemed the greatest of unwisdom.
What wero tho influences that worked
thorn to that conclusion? Here is a
question that boars on all Whitman's
career and led to that much debated
"mid-winter journey." In viow of this,
I shall givo facts as I found them. "Hew
to the line, lot the chips fall where they
may," must be a rule for all accurate
writers of history.
Tho disturbing dement must bo
found in connection with three persons
"who had been moro or less connected
with these missions. Ono was Hall, a
printer from the Sandwich Islands, who
brought the pioneer printing prew to
Oregon, and remained awhile to instruct
others to use it. What his impression
might be no one knows, or if he gave
voice or utterance to them. Mr. Gray
was not satisfied, neither was Mr. A. 1).
Smith. The causo of trouble lay be
tween those three, and there is little
reason to doubt that Mr. Gray was most
active in expressing his dissatisfaction.
Mrs. Walker nnd her sons express the
kindest regard for Mr. Gray; the writer
has only the friendliest feeling towards
hiaa, and we sustain xery pleasant rela
tions, but I must givo this mattor an
airing, oven though it may be somowhnt
unpleasant to do so. All happened so
long ago that it could be forgotten, only
that it bears a closo rolation to n vory
interesting fact of our oarly history and
tho memory and acts of Walkor and
Whitman aro somewhat involved. I
hnvo no intention at this timo to discuss
in detail what tho critics havo spent so
much timo and ink and paper to provo
or disprove, but I shall givo tho facts
that camo to mo by conversing with Mrs.
Walker, and that aro dorived from ex
amination of tho papers of tho lato Mr.
Walker, kindly furnished by his family.
Whitman loft tho mission for his jour
noy East sovcral days boforo ho expected
to, and missed carrying with him letters
written by his associates, which reached
his placo after his doparturo. Among
Mr. Walkor's papers I found tho draft of
a letter to tho mission board dated Jan
uary 20, 1813, addrcssod to Mr. Grcon,
tho secretary, from which I quoto as fol
lows: "That Mr. Gray hnd dlfforoncos
with Spalding I do not doubt. Ho must
hnvo been a singular man not to havo
had, and that is nothing moro than tho
rost of tho members havo had. Thcro
was not a member of tho roinforcomont
that was willing to bo associated with
him on arriving in tho country. I -do
not know what would havo bcon dono if
Mr. Spalding had not consented to bo as
sociated with him. After A. I). Smith
and Gray had professed to bo reconciled
it was proposed to havo him associated
a short timo with Mr. Smith until soino
now arrangement could bo mado. Mr.
Smith would not consont on any condi
tions and urged his past difToroncos with
him. If I am not mistakon, thoso aro
tho two who hnvo said moro about tho
bad conduct of tho mombcrs of tho mis
sion and its discouragements, than any
ono olso, or all tho rest put together, and
whoso communications did moro to in
duco the commissioners to dooido to
abandon tho south branch of tho mis
sions. And whoro aro thoy now? Aro
thoy in tho field laboring for tho pros
perity of tho missions? Aro thoy not,
rather, doing all they can to destroy the
mlssioh, both by procopt nnd oxamplo?
I leave it to tho world to judge whoso
conduct ovinces tho strongest ovidonco
of a good, dovotod missionary, tholrs, or
thoso thoy would run from tho fioldt"
This letter seems to explain tho ob
struction that caused the board 's action
in resolving to discontinue the south
ern missions, though it docs not ox
plain why these two ox-membors of the
mission were desirious of having tho
mission work curtailed and tho two most
activo and successful, as well as impor
tunt,stations discontinued. To follow out,
tho conclusions natural to our subject
wo deduce the uction of tho board from
tho causo stated by Mr. Walker.' To
counteract this resolution and save the
missions, Dr. Whitman dotermincd to
go east, and did make the famous mid
winter journey. Leave tho matter to
rest there and it poscsses moro second
ary importance and does not Bolve tho
motives claimed by Whitman's friends
and associates, that he had a nccular
motive that beemed to him of groator
importance than to correct the false
views that the mission board had enter
tained and acted upon.
It has been proved, beyond a reasona
ble doubt, that Whitman had become
greatly interested in preserving Oregon
as American soil a portion of tho United
States. I cannot and need not recite
all the facts that bear upon this point
I prefer to introduce something new,
or at least with a fresh look.
Mrs. Walker tells me it was under
stood among the missionaries that Dr.
Whitman went east to bring out an im
migration to occupy Oregon on the
part of the United States, as well as to
prevent the breaking up of the missions.
The doctor always urged that he could
bring wagons tlirough ; he was contin
ually arguing that question. That was
what Mr. Walkor meant by his prayor
for Whitman all tho timo of his absenco
for Mrs. Walker says that her husband
during all that timo introduced into
family prayer n petition bearing on Dr.
Whitman and used tho following ex
pression: That if ho was not doing
what was right and best, "may his way
bo hedged up t but if ho 1b in tho path
of duty, may ho bo preserved and pros
pered." At tho council of missionaries, hold
in Soptombor, Whitman explained hiB
viows to his associates, nnd thoy know
how Interested ho was, in tho political
future of Oregon. Ho mado an oxcuso
to go east to explain tho valuo of
tho southern missions, but his
great incontivo was to reach tho states
in timo to work for an emigration tho
following year, in which ho succeeded.
A joint, or unltod appeal by Whitman,
Spalding, Walker and Eolls and othors
would havo satisfied tho homo board of
missions as to tho valuo of tho stations
on tho south. Evon if thoy doomed it
oxpediont to sond on a mombor of tho
mission, it would havo answered all
noods had ho gono in February or
March, or oven later in tho spring of '13
but Whitman had this secular inattor
at heart, and his associates, as honora
ble mon as livo, wrlto to say so now,
moro than forty years after. Mrs.
Walkor says for herself : "It was well
understood that Mr. Whitman wont
East to bring out an immigration, etc.,"
as I quoto awhilo back. That an immi
gration would havo como that spring is
beyond a doubt, but ho must havo great
ly added to its dimensions by his per
sonal appoals.
Tho dlssontions, or at loast dlffor
oncos, existing among (Mio later arrivals
of the missionaries, including Mr. Gray,
while thoy caused tho board of missions
to misnprohond facts and to tako wrong
action, causing tho troublos we havo re
cited, resulted in groat good from tho
success of Whitman's momorable jour
ney in informing tho government at
Washington of tho valuo of our country
to tho Union and by his success in swell
tho tido of emigration towards tho Co
lumbia river. "It's an ill wind that
blows nobody good." Whllo wo note
tho diflbronco of tho members of tlm
missions and show thoir results, wo do
not know tho motives that actuated
them or tho light in which mat tors then
appeared to them.
Whitman loft without waiting for tho
arrival of letters his associates had writ
ton to tho homo Iward. Hnd it bcon his
chief motive to corroct tho wrong infor
mation given to tho board ho would
havo cortainly fortified himself with all
the ovidonco at command, and tho pro
tests and assurances of his associates
would hnvo been invaluable There is
no reason to doubt that ho hurried to
Washington, first taking steps to spread
correct information of Oregon along the
frontier. That ho remained some timo
at Washington boforo going to visit tho
Mission board is probably true, and also
true that his superiors found fault with
his courso in meddling with political
questions at their expense. It is claim
ing enough for Whitman to show how
interested ho was in having Oregon part
of tho Union, and that he acted in the
most practical way to secure that result.
The station at Spokane was near the
famous Spokane house, so prominent in
the early days of the fur companies.
Mrs. Walker soys the officers of the
Hudson's Bay company were sery kind
to them, took the mission people into
their houses and to their homes ; they
sent their children to school ; the wives
of the employes came to them to learn
to cook. She says: "We went with
the whole family to visit them and they
made us welcome. When they returned
our visits they came with tents, servants
and abundant supplies and fed us, in
stead of our feeding them. We tried
hard to keep even. We wrote back and
forth continually and maintained the
most friondly personal relations. When
tho mnssnero of tho Whitman family
occurred wo woro vory tipprchonsivo of
dnngcr. Thoy took us to Fort Oolvillo
and kept us thcro until tho war was over,
when volunteers camo nnd brought us
down to Oregon City. McDonald (Archio)
and Lawis woro both Protestants. Thoy
ofton donounocd Catholicism as being
as bloody now as it over was."
Mrs. Walker gives sjvcrnl instances
of tho danger tho missionaries incurred
by being among tho Indians. Sho tells
of a timo when tho Oayuscs had boon on
tho war path to California, making a
successful raid and capturing a number
of scalps. They camo homo in a savngo
Rtato of mind, liko wild animals that
havo tasted blood. Dr. Whitman ofton
folt that ho was in tho midst of great
danger. Ho submitted to Wnlkor nud
Eclls that ho had best roslgn ; that was
when wo woro all attending yoarly
meetings and tho Indians wero very
suiely. Whitman foarcd thoy might
murder him any momont. Ho tried to
talk with them and thoy woro rudo nnd
savngo. Aitcrwnnis tnoy ocenmo ponco-
fnl.-
Afterwards ono of thoir chiofs died
vory happily in his Christian faith, and
tho Indians woro much impressed by
tho circumstances of his death. This
kept them civil for awhile, but such in
fluences woro off nnd they would rolapso
into savngery again of tho worst sort. It
is certain that Whitman was surround
od by n bad lot of evil minded Cnyuscs
who at limes recognized how much ho
did for thorn, and at other times lupsod
into dangerous nud treacherous ways.
In 1817 tho mcasols was among tho
at Spoknno, but fortunately nono died
who followed tho instructions nnd took
thomcdlclnoprosribcd by tho mission
aries. Had any died tho lives of tho
ml'sionarics might hnvo been tho sacri
fice. This was truo though tho disease
raged tho snmo as at Whitman's.
Mrs. Spalding told hor how ono timo,
when her oldest child wns a babo, tho
Indians got into a difficulty with Mr.
Spalding, Sho sat in her room, tho
child in hor lap, when a chief nnd
othors excitedly camo into hor room.
Sho thought thoy meant murder, nud
very likely thoy wont in to bogin a mas
aero, but tho chief caught sight of tho
sleeping babe on its raothor's lap. This
caught his attention, nnd in an instant
all tho forocious band was looking, Bpoll
bound, at tho innocent child. Madness
disappeared from every face, and after
looksng to their satisfaction thoy quiotly
withdrew. Mr. Spalding thought thcro
was n providonco in this slmplo sight
that inved all thoir livos. ,
"Mr. Spalding himself wns TmpntTonT
and head strong nnd in continunl diffi
culties with tho nntives, nud it was
thought that tho wifu's influence ou the
Nez Pcrces saved his life nt various
timos. In time thoy learned to appro
cluto nnd understand him and became
greatly attached to him.
u On their way to Oregon thoy met
with a prominent gentleman who sur
prised them with his speculations for a
Pacific railroad. She quote from his
journal thus: "At Westport tho gov
ernor of Missouri called to see us. His
nanio is Hoggs. He is said to bo a be
nevolent, public spirited man, nnd
thinks wo will have a railroad over tho
mountains one of thoso days." He said
thoy would live to see it, and some of
them hnvo seen it nnd tried it.
In the spring of 18-18 they removed
from Spokane to Oregon City, and in
l&i!) they settled iiermanently in Wash
ington county, adjoing Forrest Grove.
On our 8th paire to-day will be found
a striking and instructive illustration of
the comparative worth of the various
kinds of baking powders now in tho
market.
Qlntsn la Wheat.
During tho lost two years tho labora
tory of tho United States departmontot
agriculture haa undertaken analysos of
a groat numbor of American wheats
from all parts of tho country, and
grown undor various conditions of ell
mato, soil and culture. Thoso analyses
bIiow that Araoricnn wheat contains loss
albumen than foroign, about tho same
per cont of ash, moro oil and loss vogo
tablo fibre. Tho Btnallor water contents
aro doubtless duo to tho drlor climate.
Though tho avorago of nsh in tho Amer
ican wheats varied but liltlo from that
in foroign, many sorts grown on now and
rich soil contained n largo por cont of
this olomont. Tho American produota
woro richer in oil, though this fact
might havo boon owing to a moro com
plete mothod of extraction. Of collu-
Iobo, owing to tho warmer nnd shorter
Hummor, thoy hold less. Albumen was
in smaller amount than in most foreign
wheats, and in no singlo enso was thoro
ns much ns is found in Russian varieties.
A Dnkotn spring wheat showed tho
highest por cont, 18.03, whllo Russian
wheat has shown a maximum of 24.50
and nvcragos 10.-18. Tho whoat of tho
eastern states is very small nnd poor in
ash and albumen. irom cast to west
thcro 1h n gradual and regular improve
ment, huh on tuo racltio coast, and
in Oregon particularly, whllo tho berries
aro noarlv tho largest grown in the
country, tho albumen contents aro the
lowest.
Tho quostion now comes how muoh
is duo to tho climato, how much to tho
soil and how much to tho variety. It
should bo said hore that spring whoat
holds muoh moro albumen than winter.
It is richer in nitrogen, because., it ha
a shortor season of growth and does ot
storo bo much starch as tho winter
grain. This Is woll instancod by two
vnriotios of Dakota wheat Ono, a win
ter wheat, weighed 3,5111 grains por 100
borrlcH and contnlnod 10.03 por cont
albumon, whllo tho othor. a spring va
riety, weighed 2,765 grains and hold
1-1.53 por cont albumon. Tho experi
ments showed that owing to tho warm
summer and rapid growth, Amorlcan
whoats, ns n wholo must bo riohor in
albumen than thoso grown in tho coolor
continental climates. It may bo said
that tho warm, short season diminishes
tho sizo of tho berry and its colluloso
contents, hut does not havo tho same
rclativo effect on tho albumon. Ih
many parts of tho country it is found
that a wot nnd cold climato Increases
the starch formation considerably, tho
woight of tho berry being greater, but
with rolativo diminution of tho albu
men. In othor regions where the oli-
mnto and othor conditions result in a
largo borry, tho soil nnd water supply
nltrogonous elomonts so that the grain
contains over tho averago amount of al
bumon. As n wholo. howovor. tho nor
cent of this olemont incroasos from oast
to west as docs also tho sizo of tho
borry, showing that tho condition of tho
soil is moro potent than tho climato.
It is vory deslrablo that analyses of
this sort should bo mado in our country.
In this mattor tho interests of mlllors
nd fanners go hand in hand, for the
attor class would preforto raise aglutin
us wheat and roceivo a iroou unco (or
t if thoy know the conditions needful
'or bringing about such a result. Ex.
The snow U rapidly going off in Mon
tana before the blessed chinook.
' Tiik Washington Farm or, nt Yakima,
says that not even Michigan tho great
peach country can show such thrifty
trees as grow in Yakima county. The
alkali keeps away tho yellows and there
is neither discaso or insects. Over in
Wcnctchn valley most luscious peaches
grow as woll as fino sweet potatoes,
grapes and watermelons. Fruit grow
ing in the country cast of the Cas
cades will no doubt become an import
ant industry.
Southern fruit growers pronounca the
lomon ns moro difficult to cultivate and
moro 'extensive to handlo than the
orango crop ; as lemons to be perfect
should bo picked quite green and placed
in a curing house to ripen. They are,
howevor, often brought into hot markets
when still groen, with thick tough skin
and very little juice. The judicious
housekeeper will buy them in this state
and lay them away, when tho skins will
become thin almost as paper and Ike
fruit full of juice.