Whitman Mission

In 1836, Dr. Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, the Reverend Henry and Eliza Spalding, and William H. Gray crossed the North American continent from New York state to a remote and largely unknown land called Oregon. They journeyed to Oregon in order to establish missions and to teach the Indians of the area about Christianity. Dr. Whitman established his mission among the Cayuse Indians at Waiilatpu, and the Reverend Spalding began his work among the Nez Perce at Lapwai, near Lewiston, Idaho. The trail the Whitmans followed across the continent, in part, had been established years earlier by Indians and fur traders. The primary route later became known as the Oregon Trail.

Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding were the first Euro-American women to cross the entire continent, and the Whitmans' baby, Alice Clarissa, was the first child born of United States citizens in the Pacific Northwest. These two events inspired many families to follow, for these acts proved that families and homes could be successfully established in Oregon, a land not yet belonging to the United States.

In the fall of 1842 two important events occurred:

1. The first large group of emigrants to travel to the Oregon country stopped at Whitman Mission for rest and supplies. (Wagons had been taken as far as Fort Hall in Idaho, then, belongings were repacked on horses and the travelers continued to the Willamette Valley on horse and foot.)
   
   

2. The American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions received reports of dissension among the missionaries. This dissension, as well as lack of money caused the American Board to order the Waiilatpu and Lapwai Missions closed. In a desperate attempt to save the missions from closure, Dr. Whitman rode from Whitman Mission all the way back to New York to plead that the missions remain open and active. Dr. Whitman was successful, and the missions remained open.

On his return to Oregon in 1843, Dr. Whitman successfully helped guide the first wagon train of emigrants to the Columbia River. This event provided the final thrust for the western expansion of the United States. Throughout the rest of its existence, the Whitman Mission was a haven for the weary or sick overland traveler. Those who made the journey to the mission from the main Oregon Trail (the Umatilla Cutoff) could get medical care, rest and supplies. Dr. Whitman and several others from teh mission typically went south in September - October to the main route of the Oregon Trail to sell emigrants food and fresh supplies.

The Whitmans worked among the Cayuse and Walla Walla Indians for 11 years. The Whitmans attempted to teach the Indians principles of Christianity and the rudiments of agriculture, and Dr. Whitman also provided medical services. Dr. Whitman's success as a missionary however, was limited. Even though many of the Indians liked and respected him, some threatened the missionaries and destroyed mission property. Despite setbacks and occasional hostility, the Whitmans refused to abandon the mission. Their best efforts failed to prevent distrust and unrest among the Indians, and, on November 29, 1847, the mission effort ended in an outbreak of violence.

Several causes led to the rising Indian resentment. Increasing numbers of emigrants entering their country and stories of settlers taking Indian land elsewhere convinced the Cayuse that their way of life was in danger. Their fears grew as, in 1847, a measles epidemic spread rapidly among the Indians. The Cayuse had no natural resistance to the new disease, and within a short time over half the tribe had contracted the measles and had died. When Whitman's medicine seemed to help the white children but not their own, many Cayuse believed that they were being poisoned to make way for more whites.

In a tragic and bloody attack, born of deep misunderstandings and grievances, a small group of Cayuse attacked the mission and killed Marcus Whitman, his wife Narcissa, and 11 others. The massacre ended American Board missionary work among the Oregon Indians. It also led to a war against the Cayuse, waged by settlers from the Willamette and lower Columbia Valleys.

In 1848, Joe Meek carried news of the tragedy, along with petitions from the settlers, to Washington, D.C. The killings spurred Congress into creating the Oregon Territory in August of that year, thus forming the first territorial government west of the Rocky Mountains.

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Last modified on: January 31, 2004