Pioneer Mother by Hillary Brown

Author:Hillary Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: history, native american, pioneers, pioneer women, esther short, esther clark short, pacfic northwest, us grant, phillip sheridan, marcus whitman, narcissa whitman
Publisher: Hillary Brown

CHAPTER 13

Sometime after Spring thaw, Marcus Whitman visited the McLoughlin's at Oregon City. There were problems at the Mission. The Cayuse were increasingly uneasy after a period of relative peace. More settlers had come in 1846. Not only did they have to deal with the Whitman’s, their hunting and fishing grounds were becoming overused. Cultural misunderstandings had led to problems with the settlers that Whitman was asked to help with. Whitman made decisions out of bias. He had totally abandoned his work with the Cayuse to help the settlers. Local Indians had been stealing out of necessity since their food supplies were dwindling. Whitman was troubled when settlers were robbed or lost their lives but didn‘t see how he could help.

Many families were robbed between the Umatilla and The Dalles. Mrs. Geer came near being killed at the crossing of Des Chutes by an Indian. Four families were robbed near the John Day river with their wagons. While the men of the party were looking for stolen cattle, the women had everything taken from them. Including every bit of clothing. The women had managed to hide a bolt of muslin so they were covered. They were also able to build a fire on the sand to keep warm as they sat through a frosty September night. It was over twenty four hours before they were rescued.

By Whitman’s visit to the McLoughlin’s, blood had already been spilled. At The Dalles a robbery had ended in murder. A Mr. Shepard from St. Louis was killed, and two others wounded during the robbery. The survivors appealed to Rev. A. F. Waller, who advised them to take some Indian horses and hold them until the property was restored. This brought on an attack, with death on both sides.

It was no secret the Cayuse considered war against the settlers of the Willamette Valley for the killing of Elijah Hedding, the son of Klickitat Chief Peu-peu-mox-mox, in California. (Elijah had been murdered by an American after attending church at Sutter‘s Mill#. ) California settlers had made things worse by calling the local tribes “dogs” and “thieves” #Epidemics had only fed mounting anger. # The Cayuse had watched their families die of typhus, small pox and measles, the children choke to death with whooping cough. The food they ate was taken by settlers who hated them. They didn’t object to faith-just to the Whitman’s. The chiefs had told Dr. Whitman to leave but he scorned them.Dr. McLoughlin too, advised Whitman once more to pack it all up and leave for a few years, predicting the Cayuse would forget their grievances and welcome them back later. Whitman was stubborn. He had help in his work and could not leave his dream behind. The Catholics were exerting influence on the Cayuse that he did not like. Father Blanchet had requested permission to build his own Mission on Cayuse land. He had been in Oregon many years and was well known. The Cayuse agreed that they would allow him there.

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