Whitman Massacre
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The Whitman Massacre was the murder in the Oregon Country on November 29, 1847 of U.S. missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa, along with 15 others, by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. The incident, which took in present-day southwestern Washington, was one of the most notorious episodes in the U.S. settlement of the Pacific Northwest. The incident was the climax of a several years of complex interaction between the Whitmans, who had led the first wagon train along the Oregon Trail, and the local Native Americans. The killings are usually ascribed to the inability of Dr. Whitman, a physician, to halt the spread of measles among the Native Americans, who held Whitman responsible. The incident remains controversial to this day, with the Whitmans regarded by some as pioneer heroes, but by others as intruding white settlers who attempted to impose their own religion on the Native Americans.
History
In 1836, Marcus Whitman, Rev. Henry Spalding, and their wives crossed the Rockies, Elizabeth Spalding and Narcissa Whitman being the first American women in Oregon Country. With the help of Dr. John McLoughlin (but against his advice), they settled at Waiilatpu, near Fort Walla Walla, only six miles from the present day city of Walla Walla, Washington.
The Cayuse and Umatilla involved in the massacre had previously lived at Waiilatpu, the mission founded by the Whitmans. Among the many new arrivals at Waiilatpu in 1847 was Joe Lewis. Bitter from what he perceived to be maltreatment that he had received in the East, he attempted to spread discontent among the local Cayuse, hoping to create a situation in which he could ransack the Whitman Mission. He told the Cayuse that Dr. Whitman, who was attempting to save them from a measles epidemic (for which they lacked immunity) was, in fact, not trying to save them but instead was deliberately poisoning them. Indians often killed their medicine man, or shaman, if patients died. It is probable that the Cayuse and Umatilla held Dr. Whitman responsible for the numerous deaths.
Other factors that may have contributed to the possibility of the massacre were outbreaks of cholera, the contempt shown by Mrs. Narcissa Whitman toward the Indians and their way of life, resentment over missionaries' attempts to transform the Indians' lifestyle and the killing of a Walla Walla chief's son.
On November 29, Tilaukait, Tomahas, Kiamsumpkin, Iaiachalakis, and Klokomas, enraged by the talk of Joe Lewis, attacked Waiilatpu. Elizabeth Spalding's daughter was staying at Waiilatpu when the massacre occurred. Luckily, Eliza was returned to her parents by Peter Skein Ogden, an official of Hudson's Bay Company. Dr. Whitman was dismembered and mangled beyond recognition. Although fatally wounded, he lived for several hours after the attack, mostly unconscious. Besides Whitman and his wife, those killed included Andrew Rogers, Jacob Hoffman, L. W. Sanders, Mr. Marsh, John Sager, Nathan Kimball, Isaac Gilliland, James Young, Frank Sager, Crockett Blewley and Amos Sales.
Another 54 women and children were captured and held for ransom, including the daughter of Jim Bridger and the Sager orphans. Peter Ogden arranged for an exchange of sixty-two blankets, sixty-three cotton shirts, twelve Hudson Bay rifles, six hundred loads of ammunition, seven pounds of tobacco and twelve flints for the return of the prisoners. The Hudson's Bay Company never billed the American settlers for the ransom, nor was payment ever offered. Chief "Beardy" tried in vain to stop the massacre, but did not succeed. He was found crying while riding towards the Waiilatpu Mission.
On June 3, 1850, Tilaukait, Tomahas, Kiamasumpkin, Iaiachalakis, and Klokomas were hanged for their roles in the massacre after a lengthy trial by newly appointed Territorial Marshall Joseph Meek. This massacre shocked the U.S. Congress into action concerning the future territorial status of the Oregon Country. The Oregon Territory was finally established on August 14, 1848.
External link
The Whitman Massacre (http://www.oregonpioneers.com/whitman.htm)
