Whitman's
Ride Through Savage Lands
[Illustration: OLIVER WOODSON NIXON. M. D., LL. D.]
Whitman's
Ride Through Savage Lands
with
Sketches of Indian Life
O. W. Nixon, M.D., LL.D.
Author of "How Marcus Whitman Saved Oregon," "The Mountain
Meadows," Etc.
Introduction by
James G. K. McClure, D.D., LL.D.
Profusely Illustrated
Published by
The Winona Publishing Company
1905
COPYRIGHT, 1905, BY
THE WINONA PUBLISHING COMPANY
PREFACE
_I respond with pleasure to the invitation to write a series of
sketches of pioneer missionary history of early Oregon for young
people. Its romantic beginnings, of the Indian's demand for "the
white man's book of heaven," and especially to mark the heroic act of
one who, in obedience to a power higher than man, made the most
perilous journey through savage lands recorded in history. The same
leading facts of history I have before used in my larger work, "How
Marcus Whitman Saved Oregon." In this I have simplified the story by
omitting all discussions with critics and historians, stated only as
much of historic conditions as would make clear the surroundings, and
have interwoven with all, real incidents from wilderness and savage
life. They are not only the experiences of the heroic characters, but
some of my own when the West was wild more than a half a century
ago._
_O. W. N._
_Biloxi, Miss., January, 1905._
INTRODUCTION
No character in Sir Walter Scott's tales appeals more directly to my
heart than "Old Mortality." He had a high and noble mission, to make
live again the old-time worthies, and to keep in remembrance the
brave deeds of the past. Any man who follows in his footsteps, and
makes the world see in vivid light the heroes of another day, is to
me a public benefactor. When, then, Dr. Nixon writes of "Whitman's
Ride Through Savage Lands," and shows the force, wisdom, and
unselfishness of Dr. Marcus Whitman and his accomplished wife, I feel
like doing everything within my power to express my gratitude and to
secure the reading of his book.
The tale, as he tells it, is very interesting. It is a tale that has
been often in the mind of the American public of late years, but it
cannot be too often told nor too often pondered. It has in it the
very elements that nurture bravery and patriotism. Dr. Nixon tells it
well. In simple, straightforward language he gives us the whole story
of Dr. Whitman's life-career, indicating the forces that inspired
him and the results that attended his efforts. Dr. Nixon sees in the
events of the story the guiding and determining hand of Providence.
With a wisdom justified by the needs of the ordinary human mind he
calls attention to the part God himself had in the career of his
hero, and thus he gives to his story an uplifting significance which
a thoughtless reader might fail to note.
It is the glory of our American life that every part of our land has
its splendid heroes. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts are one in
having been the scenes where courage and devotion have expressed
themselves. The earlier years of our national history brought into
recognition the deeds of greatness done in the East. These later
years are being used to make manifest the endurance and manliness
that marked so much of settlement and progress in the West. Plymouth
deserves its monument to the Pilgrims. So does Walla Walla deserve
its monument to Dr. Marcus Whitman. From boundary to boundary of our
wide domain we have had heroes, the stories of whose lives tend to
make devotion to duty and allegiance to God transcendently beautiful.
Among such stories this of Dr. Whitman has high place. The
personality of the author of it comes often to the front in his
pages, but none too often. His own experiences serve to heighten the
effect of the story, and give deeper impression to the facts
narrated.
I look forward to the influence of this book with pleasure. I see
boys and girls rising from the reading of it with clearer views of
self-sacrifice, and with a more determined purpose to make their
lives daring for the good.
The book carries with it a conviction of the worth of the best
things, that is most healthy. It teaches important lessons concerning
missionary helpfulness, that the reader accepts without being aware
of the author's purpose.
A nation to have the lion's heart must be fed on lion's food. The
story of Dr. Whitman is such food as may well nourish the lion heart
in all youth, and develop in our American homes the noblest and most
attractive Christian virtues.
JAMES G. K. MCCLURE.
LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
THE LEWIS AND CLARK CENTENARY EXPOSITION
IN PORTLAND--THE GREAT CAPTAINS--THEIR
GUIDES, CHABONNEAU AND SACAJAWEA (THE
BIRD-WOMAN) 13
CHAPTER II
THE VISIT OF THE FLATHEAD INDIAN CHIEFS TO
ST. LOUIS--IS THE STORY AUTHENTIC?--INCIDENTS--DEATH
OF TWO CHIEFS--THE BANQUET
SPEECH--SKETCHES OF INDIAN LIFE 22
CHAPTER III
THE EFFECT OF THE BANQUET SPEECH--HOW IT
MOVED CHRISTIAN PEOPLE--THE AMERICAN
BOARD SENDS DRS. PARKER AND WHITMAN
TO INVESTIGATE--WHITMAN'S INDIAN BOYS--HIS
MARRIAGE AND SECOND JOURNEY 36
CHAPTER IV
OLD CLICK-CLICK-CLACKETY-CLACKETY, THE
HISTORIC WAGON--CAMPING AND INCIDENTS,
AND THE END OF THE JOURNEY 61
CHAPTER V
THE HOME-COMING--THE BEGINNING OF MISSIONARY
LIFE--CLARISSA--THE LITTLE WHITE
CAYUSE QUEEN--HER DEATH--SKETCHES OF
DAILY EVENTS 74
CHAPTER VI
BRIEF SKETCH OF DISCOVERY AND HISTORY OF THE
OREGON COUNTRY--WHO OWNED--BY WHAT
TITLE--THE VARIOUS TREATIES--THE FINAL
CONTEST 89
CHAPTER VII
WHY THE UNITED STATES DICKERED WITH ENGLAND
FOR HALF A CENTURY BEFORE ASSERTING
HER RIGHTS--AMERICAN STATESMEN HAD A
SMALL APPRECIATION OF THE VALUE OF OREGON,
AND WERE OPPOSED TO EXPANSION 96
CHAPTER VIII
THE CONDITIONS OF OREGON IN 1842--THE ARRIVAL
OF AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS AT WHITMAN'S
MISSION--THE NEWS THEY BROUGHT--WHITMAN'S
GREAT WINTER RIDE TO WASHINGTON--INCIDENTS
OF THE JOURNEY--REACHES
THE CAPITAL 104
CHAPTER IX
WHITMAN IN WASHINGTON--HIS CONFERENCE
WITH PRESIDENT TYLER, SECRETARY WEBSTER,
AND SECRETARY OF WAR PORTER--VISITS
GREELEY IN NEW YORK, AND THE AMERICAN
BOARD--RESTS, AND RETURNS TO THE FRONTIER 129
CHAPTER X
WHITMAN JOINS THE GREAT EMIGRATING COLUMN--NEWS
OF ITS SAFE ARRIVAL IN OREGON
REACHES WASHINGTON IN 1844--ITS EFFECT
UPON THE PEOPLE, AND OREGON'S IMPORTANCE
ACKNOWLEDGED--THE POLITICAL CONTEST--THE
MASSACRE AT WAIILATPUAN 148
CHAPTER XI
THE MEMORIALS TO WHITMAN--WHY DELAYED--WHY
HISTORY WAS NOT SOONER WRITTEN--WHITMAN
COLLEGE THE GRAND MONUMENT 172
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
OLIVER WOODSON NIXON _Frontispiece_
SACAJAWEA (the Bird-Woman) 16
CASCADES OF THE COLUMBIA (B. H. Gifford,
Photo.) 22
STRANGE VISITORS IN OLD ST. LOUIS 28
AN INDIAN WELCOME 40
PACIFIC SPRINGS, JULY 4, 1835 57
THE TOILSOME TRAIL TO OREGON 64
MT. TACOMA, FROM LONGMIRE SPRINGS (the
home of Nekahni) 80
LAKE CHELAN, FIRST VIEW OF THE SNOWY
PEAKS 100
LOST IN THE ROCKIES 118
WHITMAN CROSSING GRAND RIVER 132
MARMADUKE ISLAND (B. H. Gifford, Photo.) 140
THE ASSASSINATION OF DR. WHITMAN 152
DR. D. K. PEARSONS 164
MEMORIAL HALL, WHITMAN COLLEGE 176
YOUNG MEN'S DORMITORY, WHITMAN COLLEGE 176
REV. S. B. L. PENROSE, PRESIDENT OF WHITMAN
COLLEGE 182
CHAPTER I
_The Lewis and Clark Centenary Exposition in Portland. The Great
Captains. Their Guides, Hoe Noo Chee and Sacajawea (The
Bird-Woman)._
A great Exposition of the arts and industries of the whole wide world
is to be held this summer in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon.
It is to commemorate the grand achievement of a few brave men and one
brave woman, who lived, labored, and conquered a century ago. At the
call of their commander, they exiled themselves from home and
friends; they crossed the wide deserts, climbed through gorges and
peaks of the "great Stony Mountains," struggled through the pathless
forests of giant firs, lived among wild beasts, and wilder men, until
they reached the pathless Pacific Ocean--that was then but a waste of
water, where great whales sported and the seals found abundance of
food amid rocky shores and islands for safe homes. Now teeming
multitudes inhabit the fertile plains; through the rugged mountains
pass the great highways of the world--along the charted coast are
many ports, where white-winged fleets lie at anchor and the great
black freighters load and unload the commerce of many lands. But
Portland still retains many of the old landmarks. The beautiful
Columbia River still flows by it to the sea, forests are not far
away, and "the everlasting hills" are about it, with their
white-capped peaks piercing the sky.
A hundred years ago, a vast and unknown wilderness stretched from the
Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean--it was a land of mystery of unknown
extent. Millions of wild cattle that we call buffaloes roamed over
its plains, wild beasts hid away in its mountain fastnesses, the
beavers and otters built their homes along its rivers, and wild
tribes of savage men made pitiless war upon each other, though not
destitute of many noble traits of character. The young republic of
United States had far more territory east of the Mississippi than
they could manage or protect, so gave small care or thought to what
lay beyond. But one thing they had learned, that, for their own
safety from foreign aggression, and the protection of their commerce,
they must gain possession and control of the great river. Thomas
Jefferson, that wise and far-seeing statesman whose name and fame
grow as the years go on, was President at that memorable time of
great opportunities, and through his influence with Congress induced
them to make the great Louisiana purchase, which gave to our
government the Southern and Gulf states, the control of the
Mississippi River, and, as Jefferson believed and claimed, the whole
country to the Pacific Ocean. He had, perhaps, but little knowledge
of its vastness or its value, but it has been said that his friend,
the great naturalist Audubon, who wandered up and down the world
searching out its wonders and beauties, had told him many things
about the great western country. So he again appealed to Congress for
an appropriation to send out an expedition to learn something of the
nature and value of their new possessions. The pitiful sum of two
thousand five hundred dollars was allowed. Captains Lewis and Clark
of the United States army were selected to lead the expedition, and
with them were sent a botanist, a geologist, an engineer, and some
soldiers, who were required each to make a full report of their
journey, which took three years to accomplish. It is significant of
the indifference of the government in the matter that these reports
were sent to Washington and were laid aside for several years
when--through Jefferson's influence again--the captains' reports were
handed over to Richard Biddle of Philadelphia, who made a brief
abstract of them, constituting one small volume, that passed for many
years as an account of the Lewis and Clark exploration, and it has
not been until within the past three years that any genuine copy of
these reports has ever been published. It is small wonder then that
thirty years later Oregon remained an almost unknown and unclaimed
country. The young captains and their company, full of enthusiasm for
their work, made their preparations and purchased their supplies,
mostly at their own expense, and left the last marks of civilization
at St. Louis in the spring of 1804.
[Illustration: SACAJAWEA (THE BIRD-WOMAN).
Guide of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.]
The heroic little company made its first winter camp at Fort Mandan
on the Upper Missouri, ready for an early start in the spring. The
success of the expedition in a strange land through the long line of
savage tribes was dependent largely upon a good guide and
interpreter. Lewis and Clark had secured Toussaint Chabonneau, a
Frenchman, who had renounced civilized life, married, and settled
among the Indians. He had traveled over wide stretches of country,
and had a small knowledge of the language of several tribes.
Sacajawea, the wife of Chabonneau, was a handsome Indian girl of
seventeen years. She had been captured by the Minitaree Indians when
a small child, from the Shoshone Indians far up in the Rocky Mountain
region, held by them as a slave, and sold to the Frenchman who made
her his wife. Sacajawea was delighted with the prospect of again
journeying toward her old home, but continued to do the menial work
for the company, as is customary for Indian women. Captains Lewis
and Clark, before many weeks upon their journey, saw that their real
guide and interpreter was not Chabonneau, but Sacajawea, his wife.
Their way along the great river proved the identical route which the
captive child had taken from her home into slavery, and with Indian
nature and sagacity, every notable spot remained in her memory. She
told them of the streams in advance that flowed into the great river,
and the tribes through which they were to pass; she told them her
history; she was the daughter of the great chief of the Shoshone
Indians, who were rich in land and horses. They owned large
possessions reaching to the foot of the Rockies, to which they came
during the summer months. It was there where she became a prisoner.
When they reached the place she ran like a child and pointed out the
spot in the bushes where she hid to escape her enemies.
Captain Lewis said: "Our hope now is to find these Shoshones and
their horses. Here we must leave our boats and prepare for mountain
and land travel." Sacajawea explained the habits of her tribe the
best she could, but it was a vast wilderness by which the company was
surrounded. Both Captains Lewis and Clark with their best men scoured
the country, and finally succeeded in finding the Shoshones, who had
fled from their supposed enemies. They were led before the great
chief Cameahowait. There they told of Sacajawea as best they could,
which at once aroused attention. The chief ordered horses and
provisions, and with many friends of the lost princess they went with
Captain Lewis and his men to camp. Sacajawea recognized her brother,
now head chief of the tribe, and as well the playmates of her
childhood, and with tears in her eyes, and dancing with joy, she
embraced them. The talk was long, for the Indian girl had to learn
the fate of her family and friends. Had she desired she might have
remained and resumed an easy life with her tribe.
Nothing now was too good for the white men, for they were brothers
and friends. Sacajawea was their interpreter, and they received
everything they needed for comfort, such as provisions and horses,
for the journey to the Pacific and the return.
In meeting the many savage tribes and asking favors and permission to
travel in safety through their domains, it was not the flag nor the
guns they carried, but Sacajawea with the papoose upon her back and
her wise diplomacy that opened the way and made them welcome. Upon
the home journey the little Indian girl rode ahead with the captains,
having richly earned her honors and the love of all. When the
journey came to an end, Captains Lewis and Clark begged that
Sacajawea and her husband accompany them to Washington, but
Chabonneau preferred the wild life he had chosen, and the brave
little woman dropped from civilized history.
Well may the women of beautiful Oregon in the coming Centennial take
an honest pride in commemoration of the deeds of Sacajawea. It is
most appropriate that the beautiful bronze to be then erected to her
memory has been designed and executed by an American woman, Miss
Alice Cooper, of Denver.
We copy these stanzas of a poem by Bert Hoffman, who epitomizes
admirably the reasons for Sacajawea's honored place in this
Centennial history:
_Sacajawea._
"The wreath of Triumph give to her;
She led the conquering captains West;
She charted first the trails that led
The hosts across yon mountain crest!
Barefoot she toiled the forest paths,
Where now the course of Empire speeds;
Can you forget, loved Western land,
The glory of her deathless deeds?
"In yonder city, glory crowned,
Where art will vie with art to keep
The memories of those heroes green--
The flush of conscious pride should leap
To see her fair memorial stand
Among the honored names that be--
Her face toward the sunset, still--
Her finger lifted toward the sea!
"Beside you on Fame's pedestal,
Be hers the glorious fate to stand--
Bronzed, barefoot, yet a patron saint,
The keys of empire in her hand!
The mountain gates that closed to you
Swung open, as she led the way,--
So let her lead that hero host
When comes their glad memorial day!"
The heroic explorers of a century ago richly earned the honors they
are now to receive, and wherever and whenever the names of Lewis and
Clark are spoken or written in honor there also should be the name of
Sacajawea, the Indian girl of the wilderness.
Thus the crowning success of the great expedition which gave the
United States its second strong legal claim to the whole grand Oregon
country was shared by the brave, true, diplomatic Sacajawea ("the
bird-woman"). Readers of the complete story to follow will not need
to be reminded that the heroes and heroines who thirty years later
braved danger and death to save beautiful Oregon to the Union were
only making sure the grand work thus inaugurated.
In course of time vessels on voyages of discovery drifted around Cape
Horn, sailed up the long coast line of the Americas, always
searching for that which would bring them wealth. Finding the immense
quantities of furs gathered by Indians in the Oregon country, both
the Americans and the English established trading-posts on the coast.
The great Astor fortune that still remains in the family had its
origin there. But the English had more money, more men, and more
ships than the Americans, and before many years they ruled alone and
the great "Hudson Bay Company" ruled the land. They established
trading-posts eastward, and fleets of vessels carried the rich spoils
of forest and ocean to all the countries of the world. At the time of
the beginning of our story Dr. John McLoughlin was chief factor of
the "Hudson Bay Company" and virtual king of the country. He was a
noble old Scotchman, who had married an Indian wife to whom he was
loyal and true all his life. He was kind and just to red men as well
as white, and always ready to hold out a helping hand to all who came
to him. But he served the English government and was always careful
that no rivalry to the company he served should be allowed in the
territory they claimed.