A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 Part 61

"_S. N. Castle, Esq._:

"SIR,--It is with feelings indescribably painful that I hasten to communicate to you, _for the information of the Board of Missions_, intelligence of a disastrous event which lately occurred at the mission station of Wailatpu. Our esteemed friend Dr. Whitman, his amiable and accomplished lady, and nine men and youths in the mission employ, were murdered on the 29th ultimo by the Cayuse Indians, with circ.u.mstances of the most revolting cruelty. The lives of the women and children, with the exception of the lamented lady already mentioned, were spared. The mission being situated in the Cayuse country, they had a peculiar interest in protecting it from harm, in grat.i.tude for past favors, and for the blessings of religious instruction so a.s.siduously dispensed to them and to their families; yet those very people, the objects of so much solicitude, _were alone concerned in effecting the destruction of the establishment_ founded solely for their benefit.

"The Cayuses are the most treacherous and untractable of all the Indian tribes in this country [contradicted by Mr. Ogden], and had on many former occasions alarmed the inmates of the mission by their tumultuous proceedings and ferocious threats; but, unfortunately, these evidences of a brutal disposition were disregarded by their admirable pastor, and served only to arm him with a firmer resolution to do them good. He hoped that time and instruction would produce a change of mind,--a better state of feeling toward the mission,--and might have lived to see his hopes realized [had not the Hudson's Bay Company and the Roman priests determined otherwise], had not the measles and dysentery, following in the train of emigration from the United States, made fearful ravages this year in the upper country, many Indians having been carried off through the violence of the disease, and others through their own imprudence.

"The Cayuse Indians of Wailatpu being sufferers in the general calamity, were incensed against Dr. Whitman, [by the tales of Joe Lewis, Stanfield, and the very Rev. Mr. Brouillet, who afterward found a vial of white powder and called it poison, and ordered the Indians to bury it, as per evidence in the case] for not exerting his supposed supernatural power in saving their lives. They carried this absurdity beyond that point of folly.

"Their superst.i.tious minds became possessed with the horrible superst.i.tion that he was giving poison to the sick instead of wholesome medicine, with the view of working the destruction of the tribe; their former cruelty probably adding strength to their suspicions. Still some of the more reflecting had confidence in Dr.

Whitman's integrity, and it was agreed to test the effect of the medicine he had furnished on three of their people, one of whom was said to be in perfect health."

The absurdity of this statement is so palpable, and so perfectly improbable in every respect, that, with all my study of Indian character, I am unable to understand why this statement is repeated by any of the parties concerned in bringing about that ma.s.sacre. It can only be believed by the most stupid, as it has not the plausibility of truth in it; and Mr. Douglas showed a debas.e.m.e.nt of mind beyond comprehension in quoting it to his friend. We quote this whole letter, that it may be seen how low Sir James felt himself obliged to descend, to make an absurdity appear reasonable. The idea is started by Brouillet, increased by McBean, and completed by Douglas, who would give such accounts to the public to make others equally false appear probable. He continues:--

"_They unfortunately died, and from that moment it was resolved to destroy the mission._"

But we have positive testimony that the destruction of that mission, with Mr. Spalding's, was determined upon, and so stated by McBean before an Indian was known to be sick in the tribe or at the station. Mr.

Douglas says:--

"It was immediately after burying the remains of these three persons, that they repaired to the mission one after another, with their arms hid under their blankets. The Doctor was at the school with the children, the others were cutting up an ox which they had just killed. When the Indians were numerous enough to effect their object, they fell upon the poor victims, some with guns and others with hatchets, and their blood was soon streaming on all sides.

"Some of the Indians turned their attention toward the Doctor; he received a pistol-shot in the breast from one, and a blow on the head from another. He had still strength enough to reach a sofa, where he threw himself down and expired. Mrs. Whitman was dragged from the garret and mercilessly butchered at the door. Mr. Rogers was shot after his life had been granted to him.

"The women and children were also going to be murdered, when a voice was raised to ask for mercy in favor of those whom they thought innocent, and their lives were spared.

"It is reported that a kind of deposition made by Mr. Rogers incensed the fury of this savage mob. Mr. Rogers was seized, was made to sit down, and then told that his life would be spared if he made a full discovery of Dr. Whitman's supposed treachery. That person then told the Indians that the Doctor intended to poison them; that one night, when Mr. Spalding was at Wailatpu, he heard them say that the Indians ought to be poisoned, in order that the Americans might take possession of their lands; that the Doctor wished to poison them all at once, but Mr. Spalding advised him to do it gradually. Mr. Rogers, after this deposition, was spared, but an Indian, who was not present, having seen him, fired at and killed him.

"An American made a similar deposition, adding that Mrs. Whitman was an accomplice, and she deserved death as well as her husband.

"It appears that he concluded by saying that he would take the side of the Indians, and that he detested the Americans. An Indian then put a pistol into his hand, and said to him, 'If you tell the truth, you must prove it by shooting that young American;' and this wretched apostate from his country fired upon the young man shown to him, and laid him dead at his feet.

"It was upon the evidence of that _American_ that Mrs. Whitman was murdered, or she might have shared in the mercy extended to the other females and children.

"_Such are the details, as far as known, of that disastrous event, and the causes which led to it._

"Mr. Rogers' reported deposition, if correct, is unworthy of belief, having been drawn from him by the fear of instant death.

The other American, who shed the blood of his own friend, must be a villain of the darkest dye, and ought to suffer for his aggravated crime."

There is no evidence that Sir James Douglas ever exerted the least influence to arrest or punish one of those murderers; on the contrary, there is evidence that the Hudson's Bay Company a.s.sisted them and facilitated their escape from justice, and supplied the Indians with arms and ammunition to carry on the war that followed. Particulars of the whole truth, are given in another chapter. This letter of Sir James Douglas continues:--

"On the 7th instant, Mr. Ogden proceeded toward Wallawalla with a strong party of the Hudson's Bay Company's servants, to endeavor to prevent further evil.

"Accompanying, you will receive a copy of a letter which I addressed to Governor Abernethy immediately after the arrival of the melancholy intelligence at this place.

"All that can be collected will be considered important by the friends of Doctor and Mrs. Whitman in the United States, who will be anxious to learn every particular concerning their tragic fate.

It will be a satisfaction for them to know that these eminent servants of G.o.d were faithful in their lives, though we have to deplore the melancholy circ.u.mstances which accompanied their departure from this world of trial.

"I am, sir, your obedient servant,

"JAMES DOUGLAS."

We now have before us the statements of all the parties concerned in the most inhuman and disgraceful tragedy that has darkened the pages of our history. The crime itself was most inhuman and brutal, but, being mixed with religious prejudice and sectarian hate, guided and brought about by foreign commercial influences under the direction of a British monopoly, it demands a national investigation.

That Sir James Douglas knew more of the inception and ultimate designs of that transaction is evident from the prompt and careful manner in which he answered Mr. Ogden's remark, that it was brought about from religious causes; he affirmed that "_there might be other causes_;" and when he had read the dispatches, he said, "_We must consider the poor man was in great perplexity, and might not know what to do._" These two expressions of Sir James Douglas to Mr. Ogden and Mr. Hinman are the key that unlocks the whole mystery in this desperate arrangement to hold this whole country for the exclusive benefit of that monopoly.

As to the morality of the transaction, the great sympathy of Sir James and his conclave of bishops and priests, the church a.s.sumes all. The baptizing of three Indian children was of more importance to the church than all the suffering widows and orphans at that missionary settlement.

The particular account, as given by Sir James, was of more importance than punis.h.i.+ng the murderers, or even casting a suspicion, such as Mr.

Ogden, his a.s.sociate, had done, upon his accomplices in crime.

These two letters show his duplicity, and the unblus.h.i.+ng manner in which he gives one statement to Governor Abernethy, for Oregon, and another for the Board of Missions, and how careful he is to state circ.u.mstances and false impressions as to the facts he pretends to give with so much sympathy and apparent interest in the fate of the murdered dead.

There are but two other persons who have given us any information of this tragedy, on the part of the priests and the Hudson's Bay Company.

One of those was, at the time, in charge of Fort Nez Perces. His account was sent to Sir James,--mutilated, and not as carefully prepared for the people of Oregon as was this one for the great world beyond. The other is prepared by the very Rev. Mr. Brouillet, vicar-general of Wallawalla, and given to the world to form an "_interesting and authentic chapter in the history of Protestant missions_," and contains all the imaginary circ.u.mstantial statements of the ma.s.sacre, as given over the name of James Douglas, and officially in the report of J. Ross Browne, December 4, 1859.

If these statements had first appeared, as they now do, over the name and by the authority or affirmation of the very Rev. Mr. Brouillet, etc., all the world, as J. Ross Browne did, would have adopted the idea of Mr. Ogden, and said truly this was the result of _opposition in religion_. But Sir James Douglas proves, by his own statements and letters, and subsequent conduct all through the war that followed, that it was not "_opposition in religion_ alone." It was a predetermined arrangement of the "_powerful company, the practical monopoly of the fur trade_," which, in 1865, he affirmed this company held over the country in 1846. The profits of that business were not to be lost to his powerful company by any missionary settlement in it.

Are we correct in these conclusions? The statements are given by the parties implicated. Were we to allow our personal feelings and sectarian preferences to influence our conclusions, we would join in the general conclusion of Mr. Ogden; but a full knowledge of the facts forces us to believe the statement of Mr. Douglas as being the most correct; nevertheless, we will not abate one iota of the scathing condemnation justly due to the foreign sectarianism brought into the country to effect the object of that corporation, nor of the scorn and infamy due to the immediate controlling actors--Bishop Blanchet and his priests--under the garb of religion.

We wish to keep as distinctly as possible before the mind the separate part each party has performed in this great drama of which we have been writing. As we have before said, there were four distinct parties or influences in the country, and the Indian formed the fifth. The Hudson's Bay Company and the Roman priests combined and formed one; the missionaries with the settlers formed another; and the Indian was between them. For a time, the American influence was the most prominent,--say in 1843, 1844, and 1845. In 1846, Bishop Blanchet was in Europe, making extensive preparations for missionary operations in Oregon, corresponding in extent with those made by the Rev. Jason Lee in 1839-40.

"On August 19, 1847, Bishop Blanchet arrived in the mouth of the Columbia River, in the _Morning Star_, Captain Menes, five and a half months from Brest, with five priests, three Jesuits, three lay brothers, two deacons, and seven nuns." In addition to these, we had, overland, eight priests and two nuns that same year. These, with the priests already in the country, gave us twenty-five of the Roman clerical order and fifteen nuns. This was a powerful and extensive effort to recover the lost foreign influence in the country. How well they succeeded is now a matter of history, and will enable the reader to understand the bold and defiant att.i.tude of Mr. Douglas and his efficient co-laborers, Bishop Blanchet and his priests, among the Indians.

The missionary settlement at Wailatpu was the most important point in the whole upper country. The influence and position of those Indians were such, that special efforts were required to commence and carry on the destruction of all American settlements in the country.

We come now to the letter of Hon. A. Hinman, properly belonging to this chapter.

FORT VANCOUVER, December 4, 1847.

_Mr. George Abernethy_:

DEAR SIR,--A Frenchman, from Wallawalla, arrived at my place on last Sat.u.r.day, and informed me that he was on his way to Vancouver, and wished me to a.s.sist in procuring him a canoe immediately. I was very inquisitive to know if there was any difficulty above. He said four Frenchmen had died recently, and he wished to get others to occupy their places.

I immediately got him a canoe, and concluded to go in company with him, in order to get some medicine for the Indians, as they were dying off with measles and other diseases very fast. I was charged with indifference. They said we were killing in not giving them medicines, and I found if we were not exposing our lives, we were our peace, and consequently I set out for this place. This side of the Cascades I was made acquainted with the horrible ma.s.sacre that took place at Wailatpu last Monday. Horrid to relate! Dr. and Mrs.

Whitman, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Osborn, Mr. Sanders, a school-teacher, the two orphan boys (John and Francis Sager), together with all the men at that place,--eleven in all. Some are living at the saw-mill, which is situated about twenty miles from the Doctor's. A party set out for that place to dispatch them; also a party for Mr.

Spalding's, to dispatch them; and they are not satisfied yet, but a party is said to have started for my place, and has, if true, reached them before this time. Oh! had I known it when I was at home. I can neither sleep nor take any rest, on account of my family and those with them, viz., my wife and child, the Doctor's nephew, Dr. Saffron, and Mr. McKinney and wife. If I had ten men I could defend myself with perfect ease, by occupying the meeting-house, which is very roomy and close. You see my situation, as well as Mr. Spalding's. I have perfect confidence in your doing all you can to get a party to come up and spend the winter there, and likewise to go to the rescue of the women and children, and Mr.

Spalding, if alive, which I think very doubtful.

Delay not a moment in sending a few men for my protection; a few moments may save our lives.

I expect to leave to-morrow for home, and perhaps the first salutation will be a ball. My family is there, and I must return if it costs my life.

We are in the hands of a merciful G.o.d, why should we be alarmed? I will close by saying again, send a small force immediately without the delay of one day. Farewell.

Yours truly, ALANSON HINMAN.

It will be seen that the main facts are given by Mr. Hinman, with the designs of other Indian parties to cut off the Americans at Mr.

Spalding's, the saw-mill, and at the Dalles, which Mr. Douglas omits in his letter to Governor Abernethy, but informs him of the Indians'