Tragic Consequences of Manifest Destiny

In the 1840s the Native Americans were becoming more fearful of losing their homelands and missionaries were doing little to calm those fears.  Instead of helping them adjust to Americans, Catholics and Protestants were fighting over their souls with warnings of hell should they make the wrong choice - either Catholic or Protestant. 

Marcus Whitman, a medical missionary was killed in November 1847 after preaching for 11 years among the Cayuse Indians in Oregon.  White men were crowding Oregon country and the last migration brought measles which decimated the Cayuse.  Although Whitman tried to help, they saw him as a sorcerer who was secretly poisoning them to get their land. 

November 29 brought more bad news. Three more Indians had died.  One daughter belonged to the  Chief Tiloukaikt, who had already lost two others to the sickness.  After a funeral held by Whitman, Tilukaikt and other Indians entered the mission kitchen.  While the chief engaged Whitman in conversation, a warrior, Tomahas, struck the missionary from behind using a tomahawk.  Niloukaikt hacked at Whitman's face, a third Indian shot him in the neck.  After the slaughter was over, 13 whites were dead, including Whitman's wife, who rushed in after her husband had already been wounded.

This is just one instance of the tragic consequences of man's ruthless need for land, to the exclusion of all else standing in his way.  In the white man's attempt to "Christianize" the natives, he caused untold horrific events like this one. 

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Today in Pioneer History: "On March 20, 1823, Ned Buntline, the "dime millionaire" and discoverer of Buffalo Bill Cody, was born in Stamford, New York.

On the Trail from Dawn to Dusk

May 1843, Independence, Missouri - 1,000 pioneers set out for Oregon Country led by Jesse Applegate, who would go on to be instrumental in the building of a government for Oregon's statehood in later years.  He wrote about the journey and here is his story as it is preserved for history.  Maybe you can become part of his story.  This is "Morning", in his words...

"It's 4 o'clock in the morning.  The sentinels on duty have discharged their rifles - the signal that the hours of sleep are over, and from every wagon and tent are pouring out tenants. Slow-kindling smoke begins largely to rise and float away on the morning air.  Sixty men ride out from the corral, spreading as they ride through the vast herd of cattle and horses that form a semi-circle around the encampment, the most distant perhaps maybe two miles away.

By 7 o'clock the herder begin to contract the great moving circle, and the well-trained animals move slowly toward camp, clipping grass on the way.  In about an hour, 5000 animals are close up to the encampment and the teamsters are busy selecting their teams and driving them inside the corral to be yoked. 

From six to seven o'clock is a busy time - breakfast to be eaten, tents struck, the wagons loaded and the teams yoked and brought up in readiness to be attached to their respective wagons. It is on the stroke of seven that the rushing to and fro, the cracking of the whips, the loud confusion of the last few minutes is over.  Everyone has been found and every teamster is at his post.  The clear notes of the trumpet sound from the front, the pilot and his guards mount their horses and the leading divisions of wagons move out of the encampment in the line of march as the rest fall into place with precision of clockwork, until the spot, so lately full of life, sinks back into that solitude that seems to reign over this broad plain. 

Feel it?  You must be a pioneer at heart!

Next time...All in the day's journey
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Today in Pioneer History: On February 6, 1891, the Dalton Gang commits their first in a long line of train robberies.

Jesuits Among the Indians

In the spring of 1841, six black-robed Jesuits left Westport, Missouri, with a westbound fur caravan.  The leader was a burly Belgian-born, Pierre de Smet.  He had spent a year in the Rockies and was returning by invitation from the Flathead Indians to establish a mission.  The first mission in Bitterroot Valley was a success from the start.  The Indians were eager students.

When they set off on their late fall buffalo hunt, the Flathead wanted a "Black Robe" to accompany them to continue religious instruction.  Father Nicholas Point was chosen and for five months he stayed with them on the trail in winter camp, living their life and sharing their hardship.  Point, an artist of sorts, kept a pictorial record of his experiences.  In all, he spent six years with the Flathead, making numerous converts.  Point regarded them as "modest, frank, courageous, good and generous."

Jovial De Smet had equal success, and by 1847 there were three Jesuit missions in Oregon Country.  The Jesuit success, contrasted sharply with that of the Protestants.  It might have been the colorful Catholic symbolism that appealed to the Indians, or it may have been that the Jesuits were better trained.  They were not there to colonize, so were more sympathetic to the people.  Whatever the reason De Smet and his Jesuit priests were a welcome addition to the Oregon Flathead for a time.

Next time...America's First Mobile Home
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On January 30, 1835, Andrew Jackson becomes the first American president to experience an assassination attempt. Richard Lawrence, an unemployed house painter, approached Jackson as he left a congressional funeral held in the House chamber of the Capitol building and shot at him, but his gun misfired. A furious 67-year-old Jackson confronted his attacker, clubbing Lawrence several times with his walking cane.

Fever for Oregon

Jason Lee as we have seen was establishing the Willamette Valley.  Other men of God were turning their eyes to Oregon as well, among them a young physician from New York, Marcus Whitman.  In 1834 he petitioned the Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions to finance his trip to Oregon as a doctor and teacher.  They proposed that 55 year old Rev. Samuel Parker, who had volunteered for missionary service earlier,  accompany Whitman to determine if Oregon was suitable for God's work.

Whitman and Parker set out with a pack train heading for the fur trapper's yearly rendezvous in the Rockies.  The Rev. Parker was not given a warm welcome among the rowdy trappers, but Whitman gained a somewhat grudging respect when he removed an arrowhead from the back of Jim Bridger.  Whitman told Bridger that was surprising that no infection had been found in his back, Bridger replied, "Meat don't spoil in the Rockies!"

Whitman and Parker parted company after the Rendezvous.  Whitman went back east, where he was determined, despite his ignorance of Oregon Country, to convince his eastern superiors that new missions were desperately needed and that women and wagons could easily travel the long, dangerous route over the mountains to the Pacific Northwest.

While back East, Whitman married Narcissa Prentiss who shared his religious dedication and in 1836, the two set out again for Oregon, this time accompanied by the dour and difficult Rev. Henry Spaulding and his wife.  Narcissa proved to be an able and tough pioneer through the difficult journey. 

For a time, the party was joined by Hudson Bay trappers who were headed for Fort Vancouver, but the lack of fresh meat, difficult terrain, and Whitman's unyielding determination caused considerable grief.  Eventually they abandoned the wagons and made the trip by horseback.  Whitman was still convinced that with a large party, willing to put forth the effort, could bring wagons over the Oregon Trail. 

Next time...Settling in Oregon
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Today in Pioneer History: "On January 19,  1883,  heavy fog in the North Sea causes the collision of two steamers and the death of 357 people on this day in 1883.The Cimbria  collided with The Sultan.

The Great Reinforcement

Jason Lee's early attempts to recruit immigrants to Oregon County was strictly of a religious nature.  In early 1835 he wrote to the Methodist Board of Mission requesting recruits to aid in soul-saving.  Two years passed and a ship appeared at the mouth of the Columbia River with 13 men, women and children on board who were dispatched by the board in response to Lee's request.  One became Lee's wife in 1837 - the first Christian wedding ceremony to take place in Oregon.

The settlers were becoming anxious for the protection of the American flag.  In 1838, Lee traveled from Oregon overland to the East to get the settler's case before the US Congress, to find money, and also new recruits.  He failed of course to make Oregon a territory yet, but 50 people were willing (and eager) to travel west and establish themselves in Lee's area.

On October 9, 1839, these would-be "Oregonians" set sail from New York, arriving at the mouth of the Columbia River seven mouth later.  "The Great Reinforcement" as it became known, firmly established American presence in Oregon Country.  Jason Lee (religion), Nathaniel Wyeth (business), and Hall Jackson Kelley (expansionism) were the seeds to the development of America in the Pacific Northwest.

As a side note- here is a description of a neighbor of Jason Lee, building a home.  They start by living in a tent...

"The rainy season is fast approaching and a house to shelter is needed.  Our house advances slowly - caught in a violent storm drenching our tent, a poor protection.  In a few weeks, all the time hard at it, and the roof was completed, a good chimney, made of sticks and clay, a fireplace at one end.  Floors laid of plank split from the fir, and hewn on the upper side, door procured in the same way and hung on wooden hinges.  Then table, stools, and finally the luxury of chairs added to our self-made comforts.  Our mansion was built of logs 20-30 feet and lighted by four small windows.  The sashes partly made by Mr. Jason Lee with his jack-knife." 

Next time - Thomas Nuttall - Science Explorer
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On this Day in Pioneer History: "On January 5, 1846,  the U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution calling for an end to British-American sharing of the Oregon region. The United States, one congressman asserted, had “the right of our manifest destiny to spread over our whole continent.”

A Seed is Planted

Hall Jackson Kelley's propaganda had planted a seed in the American mind that would eventually blossom into the great western migration of the 1800s.  The seed took root in the mind of Nathaniel Wyeth of Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Wyeth was in the ice business and one of Kelley's earliest supporters.  A young man of energy and determination, he though he might reap a fortune in the vast Oregon wilderness.

By 1831, Wyeth had formed a stock company with 30 others who shared his vision. He gathered a group of men for the expedition to Oregon Country across land, while a supply ship would sail around Cape Horn and meet them on the Pacific Coast.  No specific purpose for the venture was outlined, but they intended to find "opportunities."

In the spring of 1832, Wyeth's party of 24, reached Independence, Missouri.  In October they arrived at Fort Vancouver - the first party of westbound Americans to travel what would become known as "the Oregon Trail".

The news upon arrival was not good.  The supply ship was lost.  The rest of Wyeth's party, dissolved the stock firm and most of them went back home to Massachusetts and were never heard from again.  One man, John Bell, decided to remain in the Oregon Country to teach Indian wives and children of French Canadian trappers.  Two other men, Solomon Smith and Charles Tibbets became farmers in the Willamette Valley, joining a small group of retired Hudson Bay employees. These men were the first American "residents" in Oregon Country.

Wyeth, meanwhile, still dreamed of wealth.  He organized a second expedition which also ended in failure, but it bore fruit.  Several missionaries who were with Wyeth in 1834, believed they were answering a call, not only from God, but from the Indians themselves.

The story goes...back in 1831, three Nez Perce and one Flathead Indian had accompanied a fur caravan to St. Louis.  People had never seen Indians like these before and it created quite a stir.  Rumors started that the Indians had come to recruit missionaries for the salvation of their people's souls.  It was published in the national Methodist magazine and read from 100s of pulpits, generating 1000s of dollars for missions to the Northwest to save Indian souls!

Next time - Jason Lee hears the call
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Today in Pioneer History:  On December 30, 1853, for the price of $15 million, later reduced to $10 million, the United States acquired approximately 30,000 square miles of land in what is now southern New Mexico and Arizona thereby establishing the southern US boundary.

Two Opposites in Oregon

Two Quebec born agents of the Hudson Bay Company were pioneers in the Oregon Territory of the early 1800s.  John McLoughlin was the stereotypical dour, righteous Scotsman.  At 6 feet 4 inches tall, he was a powerful man.  McLoughlin entered the service of the North West Company (later merged with the Hudson Bay Company) in 1803 as a 19 year old clerk.  Because he was trained in medicine, he also doubled as the company physician, but John's genius was in trading furs with temperamental Indians.  His flowing white locks earned the name "white headed Eagle" and his wife was part Indian as well.

McLoughlin was given control of the western region for Hudson Bay and set up his headquarters at Fort Vancouver where he built a large farm, sawmill, flour mill, and shipyard.  He ruled this self-sufficient domain as a benevolent aristocrat, directing clerks, trappers and French Canadian travelers wanting beaver pelts.

McLoughlin treated the Indians fairly and firmly which earned him their respect and loyalty, and he maintained the peace among hostile tribes.  His goodwill policy toward American settlers in Oregon Country, whether they needed seed or livestock or protection, was not appreciated by his associates and superiors.  John was kind to missionaries, farmers, even those whose interest conflicted with his. 

He resigned from Hudson Bay in 1846, applied for American citizenship and claimed a huge tract of land on the Willamette River.  Congress disallowed his claim, however, and McLoughlin died a bitterly disappointed man in 1857.

Peter Skene Ogden was the son of Tories who had fled from the US to Canada.  He studied law until 1811 (age 17) then ran off to join the North West Company.  Ogden was short, stocky, but powerful and had a taste for violence.  He was sent to Oregon Country to escape prosecution for the murder of a Hudson Bay employee. 

In Oregon he learned Indian diplomacy.  He was in charge of trapping operations for the Snake River area and during this period explored parts of Utah, Idaho, California and Oregon.  Ogden mellowed with age and replaced McLoughlin when he resigned  in the Northwest area.  Ogden helped transfer Oregon Country from Britain to the United States. 

In 1847 Ogden used his influence to rescue survivors of the Marcus Whitman Mission massacre. He is seldom mentioned in history books but left behind a city, a valley, a mountain and a river in Utah to remember him by.

Next time ...Oregon is Paradise
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Today in Pioneer History:  On December 19, 1732,  Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia first published Poor Richard’s Almanack. The book, filled with proverbs preaching industry and prudence, was published continuously for 25 years and became one of the most popular publications in colonial America, selling an average of 10,000 copies a year.