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Home , Joseph Meek, Paul Kane

National Park Service Whitman Mission U.S. Department of the Interior National Historic Site Washington

The Mission at Waiilatpu Waiilatpu, meaning, “place of the people The women remained temporarily behind The mission expanded gradually. Other mis- of the rye grass,” is the site of a mission as guests of Chief Factor John McLoughlin. sionaries, including the Rev. and Mrs. Cush- founded in 1836 among the Cayuse Indians ing Eells, and the Rev. and Mrs. Elkanah by Marcus and . As emi- Other mission societies were already active Walker, arrived, and new stations were grants began moving across the continent in Oregon. In 1834, Methodists under Jason established. At Waiilatpu, the large adobe into the Pacific Northwest during the Lee began work in the . house, gristmill, sawmill, and blacksmith 1840’s, the mission also became an impor- Later, Catholic missions were established shop were constructed. William Gray built a tant station on the . along the lower Columbia. house for himself that later served as an “emigrant house” for travelers. Stirred by accounts of explorers and The Whitmans opened their mission among traders, missionaries had become interested the Cayuse at Waiilatpu, and the Spaldings But progress in spiritual matters was slow. in the in the 1820’s, but among the at Lapwai, 110 miles The Indians were indifferent to religious the remoteness of the area discouraged to the east. The missionaries learned the worship, books, and school. In 1842, reports them. In 1833, an article in a New York Indian languages and assigned the words of dissension and the lack of funds caused Methodist publication described the visit to English spellings. Spalding printed books in the Board to order the Waiilatpu and Lap- St. Louis of some western Indians seeking Nez Perce and Spokan on a press brought wai stations closed. Convinced that the mis- teachers and the white man’s “Book of to Lapwai in 1839—the first books pub- sions should remain open, Whitman under- Heaven”— the Bible. Although it was most- lished in the Pacific Northwest. took a remarkable overland journey in mid- ly fictional, the story stimulated missionary winter to plead his case personally with the interest in work among the Native Ameri- For part of each year the Indians went Board. Accompanied by , he left cans in the Oregon country. away to the buffalo country, the camas Waiilatpu on October 3, 1842. Pushing meadows, and the salmon fisheries in through blizzards and fording icy rivers, In 1835, the American Board of Foreign search of food. Whitman realized that the they traveled by way of , Taos, and Missions, representing several Protestant mission could not fulfill its purpose if the Bent’s Fort. Whitman reached St. Louis on churches, sent the Rev. Samuel Parker and Indians remained nomadic. He therefore March 9,1843, and arrived three weeks Dr. to the Oregon country encouraged them to begin farming, but he later at Boston, after stops at Washington, to select mission sites. On the way, the men had little success. D.C., and New York. The Board, moved by talked to some Indians at a fur traders’ ren- his arguments, rescinded its orders. dezvous and became convinced that the prospects were good. To save time, Parker The Oregon Trail. continued on to explore Oregon for sites, Whitman returned to Oregon with a and Whitman returned east to recruit more wagon train in the Great Migration of workers. Soon, the Rev. Henry Spalding and 1843, serving as physician and guide. The his wife, Eliza, William Gray, and Narcissa year before, the first large group of emi- Prentiss, whom Whitman married on Febru- grants passed almost the same way on ary 18, 1836, were headed westward in cov- what became known as the Oregon Trail, ered wagons. and they stopped for rest and supplies at the mission. They had taken wagons as far The journey was a notable one in the story as Fort Hall, where they repacked their of the Oregon Trail. Narcissa Whitman and belongings and traveled the rest of the way Eliza Spalding were the first white women by horse and foot. Whitman led the first to cross the continent overland, and the wagon train all the way to the Columbia missionaries’ wagon, reduced to a cart, was River on his return journey. the first vehicle to travel as far west as Fort Boise. Their successful trek inspired many Although the main trail bypassed the mis- families to follow. sion after 1844, those who were sick and These portraits, thought to be Narcissa and Marcus destitute turned to the mission for shelter The party reached the on Whitman, were painted by Drury Haight. There are and comfort. One such wagon brought the no known photographs of the Whitmans, who September 1, 1836. After a brief visit at Fort were killed before the advent of cameras in the seven Sager children, who had been Vancouver, the Hudson’s Bay Company West. The Haight paintings are based on unidenti- orphaned on the trail. With kindness and headquarters, the men returned up the fied sketches by Paul Kane, who visited the mission compassion, the Whitmans took the chil- in July 1847. Columbia to select their mission stations. The Kane sketches are in the Royal Museum, . dren into their family.

About Your Visit Begin your visit at the visitor center, which is open daily except on Thanksgiving, December 25, and January 1. Self-guiding trails lead to the mission site, the grave, and the monu- ment. There is a picnic area, but camping and fires are not permitted. Overnight accommo- dations and meals are available in nearby towns. The site is administered by the Nation- al Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interi- or. Contact: Superintendent, Rt. 2, Box 247, Walla Walla, WA 99362; www.nps.gov/whmi

For Your Safety We want your visit to be a safe one. Please watch your children carefully, especially near the millpond and on the hill.

All areas in the National Park System are cre- ated for the use and enjoyment of the public in such a way that they are left undamaged for future generations. All animal and plant life, as well as other features in the park, are protected by law. Leave the flowers, birds, and park facilities in good condition when you leave. “Here we are, one family alone, a waymark, as it were, or center post, about which mulltitudes will or must gather this winter. And these we must feed and warm to the extent of our powers.” —Narcissa Whitman, 1844

Tragedy at Waiilatpu After 11 years of working with the Indi- time half the tribe died. When Whit- measles. The others were ransomed a ans, the mission effort ended in vio- man’s medicine helped white children month later by of the lence. There were several causes behind but not theirs, many Cayuse believed Hudson’s Bay Company. The killings end- the Indian unrest. Deep cultural differ- they were being poisoned to make way ed Protestant missions in the Oregon ences between the white and Indian for the emigrants. country and led to war against the Cay- ways of life had caused tension and mis- use by settlers from the Willamette and understanding. Increasing numbers of Then, on November 29, 1847, a band of lower Columbia Valleys. emigrants, and stories of settlers taking Cayuse attacked the mission and killed Indian land elsewhere, convinced the Marcus Whitman, his wife, the Sager In 1848 Joseph Meek, carrying news of the Cayuse that their way of life was in dan- boys, and nine others. A few survivors tragedy and petitions from the settlers to ger. A measles epidemic, brought in escaped, but 50, mostly women and chil- Congress, reached Washington, D.C. Con- 1847 by the emigrants, spread rapidly dren, were taken captive. Two young gress created the in Au- among the Cayuse, who had no resis- girls—Louise Sager and Helen Mar gust of that year, the first formal territori- tance to the disease, and within a short Meek—and a small boy died from the al government west of the Rockies.

Nez Perce Indian Covered Wagons on the Oregon Trail Memorial Monument Rabbit-Skin-Leggings (above), a The 2,000 mile long wagon path tion,” waves of covered wagons Built in 1897 on the 50th anniver- Nez Perce chief was a member of from Independence, Missouri, to like the one pictured above sary of the Whitmans’ deaths, this an 1831 Indian delegation to St. the mouth of the Columbia River crossed the plains and the west- monument stands on the hill Nar- Louis. The chiefs sought informa- that became known as the Ore- ern mountain ranges via South cissa used to climb to watch for tion about the white man’s sources gon Trail in the 1840s had been Pass and the Blue Mountains all her husband s return from his trips of power and requested the Bible explored by fur traders earlier in the way to the Columbia. The of mercy. The monument, which is for Native Americans in the Ore- the century. But it was rarely arduous journey took a heavy 27 feet high, overlooks the Walla gon country. paint- used before “Oregon fever” be- toll of lives. By the 1850s wagon Walla Valley. To the east are the ed this chief in 1832. gan sweeping the country in travel had left the road so deep- Blue Mountains, over which the emigrant wagons once rolled on Smithsonian Institution 1842, the year the first large car- ly rutted that it remained visible avan made the long trek. The long after the Oregon Trail had the most difficult part of their next year in the “Great Migra- become a matter of history. journey.

National Park Service National Park Service

Cayuse Indian Tomahas, a Cayuse was unable to help chief, killed Dr. Whit- them. Paul Kane man during the Indi- painted this portrait an uprising at the of the chief from a mission in November sketch he made dur- 1847. A measles epi- ing a visit to the mis- demic drove the Cay- sion a few months use leaders to murder before the killings the doctor after he took place.

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

Missionaries William Henry Gray, was a carpenter and (left) and the Rev. mechanic helped to Henry Harmon Spald- build the station at ing traveled to the Waiilatpu. Spalding Oregon country with and his wife Eliza This tomahawk the Whitmans in 1836 opened the Lapwai belonged to Cayuse as missionaries spon- station among the Chief Tomahas and is sored by the Ameri- Nez Perce in 1836. believed to be the can Board of Foreign National Park Service one used to kill Dr. Missions. Gray who Whitman. Oregon Historical Society Museum