The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the northwestern United States between 1848 and 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local white settlers. Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Cayuse (disambiguation). ... The government of the United States, established by the United States Constitution, is a federal republic of 50 states, a few territories and some protectorates. ...

Causes: Culture Clash and the Whitman Massacre

In 1836, two missionaries named Marcus and Narcissa Whitman founded a mission among the Cayuse Indians at Waiilatpu, six miles west of present-day Walla Walla, Washington. In addition to evangelizing, the missionaries established schools and grist mills and introduced crop irrigation. Their work advanced slowly until in 1842, Marcus Whitman convinced the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to provide support. Returning the following year, he joined approximately 1,000 settlers traveling to Oregon Territory. Year 1836 (MDCCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... A missionary is traditionally defined as a propagator of religion who works to convert those outside that community; someone who proselytizes. ... Marcus Whitman Narcissa Whitman Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802–November 29, 1847) was an American physician and missionary in the Oregon Country. ... Walla Walla is both the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, USA, and the countys largest city. ... Students in Rome, Italy. ... A grist mill is a place where grains are ground into flour. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. ... Official language(s) None Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ...

The sudden influx of white settlers led to an escalation of tension between natives and settlers, which owed much to cultural misunderstandings and mutual hostilities. For instance, the Cayuse believed that to plow the ground was to desecrate the spirit of the Earth. The settlers, as agriculturalists, naturally did not accept this. The Cayuse expected payment from wagon trains passing through their territory and eating the wild food on which the tribespeople depended; the settlers did not understand this and instead drove away the men sent to exact payment, in the belief that they were merely "beggars".

The new settlers brought diseases with them. In 1847 an epidemic of measles killed half the Cayuse. The Cayuse suspected that Marcus Whitman — a practicing physician and religious leader, hence a shaman — was responsible for the deaths of their families, causing the disaster to make way for new immigrants. Seeking revenge, Cayuse tribesmen attacked the Whitman Mission on 29 November 1847. Fourteen settlers were killed, including Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. Most of the buildings at Waiilatpu were destroyed. The site is now a National Historic Site. For several weeks, 53 women and children were held captive before eventually being released. 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Marcus Whitman Narcissa Whitman Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802–November 29, 1847) was an American physician and missionary in the Oregon Country. ... The shaman is an intellectual and spiritual figure who is regarded as possessing power and influence on other peoples in the tribe and performs several functions, primarily that of a healer ( medicine man). The shaman provides medical care, and serves other community needs during crisis times, via supernatural means (means... Whitman Mission National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located just west of Walla Walla, Washington, at the site of the massacre of the family of Dr. Marcus Whitman by the Cayuse on November 29, 1847. ... November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Narcissa Whitman (March 14, 1808 – November 29, 1847), born Narcissa Prentiss in Prattsburgh, New York in the Genesee Valley. ... National Historic Site is a designation for a protected area of historic significance. ...

This event, which became known as the Whitman Massacre, started the Cayuse War. Marcus Whitman The Whitman massacre (also known as the Walla Walla massacre and the Whitman Incident) was the murder in the Oregon Country on November 29, 1847 of U.S. missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa Whitman, along with twelve others, by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. ...

Ensuing Violence

In 1848 a force of over 500 militiamen, led by fundamentalist clergyman Cornelius Gilliam and supported by the United States Army, marched against the Cayuse and other native inhabitants of central Oregon. The Cayuse initially refused to make peace and raided isolated settlements. However, they were unable to put up an effective opposition to the firepower of their opponents and were driven into hiding in the Blue Mountains. Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Fundamentalism is a movement to maintain strict adherence to founding principles. ... The United States Army is one of the armed forces of the United States and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The Blue Mountains The Blue Mountains are a mountain range located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington in the United States. ...

In 1850, the tribe handed over five members (Tiloukaikt, Tomahas, Klokamas, Isaiachalkis, and Kimasumpkin) to be tried for the murder of the Whitmans. All five Cayuse were convicted by a military commission and hanged on 3 June 1850. The hanging was conducted by U.S. Marshal Joseph L. Meek.^[1] Kimasumpkin's final statement: 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... Joseph Lafayette Joe Meek (1810–1875) was born in Washington County, Virginia, United States, near the Cumberland Gap. ...

"I was up the river at the time of the massacre, and did not arrive until next day. I was riding on horse back; a white woman came running from the house, she held out her hands and told me not to kill her. I put my hand upon her hand and told her not to be afraid. There were plenty of Indians all about. She with the other women and children went to Wallawalla to Mr. Ogden's. I was not present at the murder nor was I any way concerned in it. - I am innocent - it hurts me to talk about dying for nothing. Our chief told me to come down and tell all about it. - Those who committed the murder are killed and dead. The priest say I must die tomorrow, if they kill me I am innocent…My Young Chief told me I was to come here to tell what I know concerning the murderers. I did not come as one of the murderers, for I am innocent. - I never made any declaration to any one that I was guilty. This is the last time that I may speak."^[2]

This did not end the conflict, though, and sporadic bloodshed considered for another five years until the Cayuse were finally defeated in 1855. 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Aftermath

As a result of their defeat the Cayuse, with their numbers much reduced and most of their tribal lands confiscated, were subsequently placed on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation with the Umatilla and Walla Walla peoples. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (often called the Umatilla Indian Reservation) is an Indian reservation in eastern Oregon in the United States. ... Categories: Native American tribes | Stub ... Walla Walla is a Native American group that lives on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. ...

The war had significant long-term consequences for the region. It opened the Cayuse territories to white settlement, but wrecked relations between whites and the native tribes and set the scene for a series of fresh wars over the following 40 years.

References

1. ^ Brown, J. Henry (1892). Political History of Oregon: Provisional Government. The Lewis & Dryden Printing Co.: Portland. p. 114
2. ^ Washington State History Museum

• Timeline: Native Americans in the Inland Northwest: Wars and Treaties
• "Sacajawea's Dual Legacy: Heroine In Discovery, Catalyst In Conquest", The Oregonian, July 23, 1993
• The Cayuse War (Early Indian Wars of Oregon, Vol. One), by Frances Fuller Victor. Taxus Baccata: 2006.

See also

• Yakima War
• Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War
• Okanagan Trail
• Fraser Canyon War

The mid-nineteenth century found the Yakama Indians living along the Columbia and Yakima Rivers on the plateau in central Washington Territory, on land in the path of white settlement. ... The Spokane-Coeur dAlene-Paloos War (also known as the Coeur dAlene War, and the second phase of the Yakima War) was a series of encounters between the Coeur d’Alenes, Spokanes, Palouses and Northern Paiute tribes and US forces in the Washington and Idaho areas during 1858. ... Route of the Okanagan Trail. ... The Fraser Canyon War, also known as the Canyon War or the Fraser River War, took place in the fall of 1858 during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in the newly-declared Colony of British Columbia, which would later become a province of Canada. ...

External links

• Whitman Mission National Historical Site