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. The incident began the Cayuse War. It took place in present-day southeastern Washington, near the town of Walla Walla, and was one of the most notorious episodes in the U.S. settlement of the Pacific Northwest. The event 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. Image File history File links MarcusWhitman. ... Image File history File links MarcusWhitman. ... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... 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). ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Jason Lee The Oregon missionaries were collectively the religious-minded pioneers who settled in the Oregon Country of North America starting in the 1830s with the intent of coverting local Native Americans to Christianity. ... Marcus Whitman Narcissa Whitman Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802–November 29, 1847) was an American physician and missionary in the Oregon Country. ... Narcissa Whitman (March 14, 1808 – November 29, 1847), born Narcissa Prentiss in Prattsburgh, New York in the Genesee Valley. ... For other uses, see Cayuse (disambiguation). ... Categories: Native American tribes | Stub ... 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. ... “Washington State” redirects here. ... The Pacific Northwest from space This page is about the region that includes parts of Canada and the United States. ... For the TV show, see Wagon Train. ... The Ox Team or the Old Oregon Trail 1852-1906 by Ezra Meeker. ... Native Americans, the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. ...

The killings are usually ascribed in part to a clash of cultures and in part to the inability of Dr. Whitman, a physician, to halt the spread of measles among the Native Americans, who then held Whitman responsible for subsequent deaths. The incident remains controversial to this day: the Whitmans are regarded by some as pioneer heroes; others see them as white settlers who attempted to impose their religion on the Native Americans and otherwise unjustly intrude. See Cayuse War Causes for more on the culture clash theory. The Doctor by Samuel Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, one type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor. ... 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. ...

Causes

In 1836, Marcus Whitman, Rev. Henry Spalding, and their wives crossed the Rockies, Eliza Hart Spalding and Narcissa Whitman being the first white 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 site of the present day city of Walla Walla, Washington. Henry Harmon Spalding (1803 - 1874), and his wife Eliza Hart Spalding were prominent Presbyterian missionaries and educators working primarily with the Nez Perce in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. ... Confectionary Company, see Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. ... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... John McLoughlin (NSHC statue) Dr. John McLoughlin (pronounced mc-lock-lin, October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857), the Father of Oregon, was a fur trader and early settler in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest. ... Fort Walla Walla is a fort located in Walla Walla, Washington. ... Walla Walla is both the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, USA, and the countys largest city. ...

The Cayuse and Umatilla involved in the incident had previously lived at Waiilatpu, the mission founded by the Whitmans. Among the many new white arrivals at Waiilatpu in 1847 was Joe Lewis. Bitter from what he perceived to be maltreatment received in the East, Lewis 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 treat them during a measles epidemic for which they lacked immunity, was, in fact, not trying to save them but instead was deliberately poisoning them. A common practice among the Columbia Plateau tribes was that the doctor, or shaman, could be killed in retribution if patients died. It is probable that the Cayuse and Umatilla held Dr. Whitman responsible for the numerous deaths and therefore felt justification to take his life as per their custom. For other uses, see Cayuse (disambiguation). ... 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...

Narcissa Whitman

Other factors that may have contributed to the massacre were outbreaks of cholera, conflict between the Protestant missionaries and local Catholic priests, the contempt shown by 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. It was also claimed by anti-catholic ministers, including Henry Spalding, that Roman Catholic priests may have told the Cayuse that Whitman was the cause of the disease and incited the Cayuse to attack. Their motivation was portrayed as a desire to take over his Protestant station, which he had refused to sell to them. Priests named in various versions of this theory include Pierre Jean de Smet, John Baptist Brouillet and Joseph Cataldo. Image File history File links NarcissaWhitman. ... Image File history File links NarcissaWhitman. ... Cholera (frequently called Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is a severe diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ... Walla Walla is a Native American group that lives on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

One complaint given by the Cayuse as a factor was a previous bad experience with whites in California. John Sutter had recruited a group of them to come to Sacramento for military service fighting the Mexicans, with the promise of regular army payment afterwards. When receipts were given instead, intended to be paid off after federally sanctioned (which did happen 12 years after the fact), the Cayuse were enraged at Sutter and resorted to raiding livestock on their way back to Oregon^[1]. This does not cite its references or sources. ... Nickname: River City Location of Sacramento in California County Sacramento Government  - Mayor Heather Fargo Area  - City  99. ...

Outbreak of violence

On November 29, Tiloukaikt, Tomahas, Kiamsumpkin, Iaiachalakis, and Klokomas, enraged by the talk of Joe Lewis, attacked Waiilatpu. Henry and Eliza 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. Narcissa was shot in the chest by Joe Lewis, but died from multiple gunshot wounds after she had been coaxed to leave the house. Besides Whitman and his wife, those killed included Andrew Rogers, Jacob Hoffman, L. W. Saunders, Walter Marsh, John Sager, Francisco Sager, Nathan Kimball, Isaac Gilliland, James Young, Crocket Bewley and Amos Sales. Peter Hall, a carpenter who had been working on the house, managed to escape the massacre and get to Fort Walla Walla to raise the alarm and get help. From there he attempted to get to Fort Vancouver, however he never made it. It is speculated that he drowned in the Columbia River or was caught and killed. November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Tiloukaikt and Tomahas, Cayuse chiefs Tiloukaikt (also Tilokaikt or Teelonkike) (unknown - 1849) was a Native American leader of the Cayuse tribe in the northwestern United States. ... Peter Skein Ogden (1774 - September 17, 1854) (his middle name was most commonly spelled Skene) was the son of Chief Justice Isaac Ogden of Quebec. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC; Compagnie de la Baie dHudson in French) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

Another 54 women and children were captured and held for ransom, including the daughter of Jim Bridger and the girls of the Sager orphans. Several of the prisoners died in captivity, including Helen Mar Meek and Louise Sager, usually from illness such as the measles. One month following the massacre, on December 29, on orders from Chief Factor James Douglas, 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 now 49 surviving prisoners. The Hudson 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. Jim Bridger Jim Bridger (right) is honored along with Pony Express founder Alexander Majors (left) and Kansas City founder John Calvin McCoy at Pioneer Square in Westport in Kansas City. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

Aftermath

Tiloukaikt and Tomahas, Cayuse chiefs

A few years later, after further violence in what would become known as the Cayuse War, some of the settlers insisted that the matter was still unresolved. The new governor, General Mitchell Lambertsen, took a group to go back to the Cayuse and demanded the surrender of those who carried out the Whitman mission killings. The head chief attempted to explain why they had killed the whites, and that the war that followed (the Cayuse War) had resulted in a greater loss of his own people than the number killed at the mission. ImageMetadata File history File links Tiloukaikt_and_Tomahas. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Tiloukaikt_and_Tomahas. ... 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. ... 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. ...

The explanation was not accepted. Eventually, tribal leaders Tiloukaikt and Tomahas, who had been present at the original incident, and three additional Cayuse men consented to go to Oregon City (then capital of Oregon), to be tried for murder. In the lengthy trial by newly appointed Territorial Marshall Joseph Meek, seeking revenge for the death of his daughter Helen, the Native Americans were found guilty. The decision was controversial because it was suspected that the witnesses in the trial had not actually been present at the Whitman massacre. On June 3, 1850, Tiloukaikt, Tomahas, Kiamasumpkin, Iaiachalakis, and Klokomas were publicly hanged for their involvement in the massacre. Isaac Keele served as the hangman. Tiloukaikt and Tomahas, Cayuse chiefs Tiloukaikt (also Tilokaikt or Teelonkike) (unknown - 1849) was a Native American leader of the Cayuse tribe in the northwestern United States. ... Municipal Elevator in Oregon City Oregon City is the first city in the United States incorporated west of the Rockies. ... Joseph Lafayette Meek (1810–1875) was born in Washington County, Virginia, near the Cumberland Gap. ... June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... Year 1850 (MDCCCL) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The story of the 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. The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and Britain, as well as to the organized U.S. territory formed from it that existed between 1848 and 1859. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 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). ...

Footnotes

References

• "Sequel to the Walla Walla Massacre", Army and Navy Journal 1 Nov 1879, cited on p.407 of Helen Hunt Jackson, A Century of Dishonor, 1887, LCCN 02-15270.
• William Henry Gray, A History of Oregon, 1792-1849, drawn from personal observation and authentic information..., Harris and Holman: 1870, pp.464 [1]
• Albert Hurtado, Indian Survival on the California Frontier (Yale Western Americana Series), Vail-Ballou Press: 1988, p.71 (ISBN 0-300-04798-3).

Helen Maria Hunt Jackson (October 18, 1831-August 12, 1885) was an American writer. ...

External links

• National Parks Service, Whitman Massacre
• The Whitman Massacre
• The Whitman Massacre Trial: A Clash of Cultures Oregon State Archives
• Mary Marsh Cason's - survivor account
• Elam Young's account
• Walla Walla Treaty Council, 1855

	Pioneer History of Oregon (1806–1890)
Topics	Oregon Country · Oregon Treaty · Oregon missionaries · Executive Committee · Oregon Trail · Oregon boundary dispute · Pacific Fur Company · Provisional Government of Oregon · Hudson's Bay Company Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Landscape in Oregon Country, by Charles Marion Russell Map of Oregon Country Oregon Country was a region of western North America that originally consisted of the land north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... Map of the lands in dispute The Treaty with Great Britain, in Regard to Limits Westward of the Rocky Mountains, also known as the Oregon Treaty or Treaty of Washington, is a bilateral treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States that was signed... Jason Lee The Oregon missionaries were collectively the religious-minded pioneers who settled in the Oregon Country of North America starting in the 1830s with the intent of coverting local Native Americans to Christianity. ... An Executive Committee was the title of a three-person committee which served as the executive Branch of the Provisional Government of the Oregon Territory. ... The Ox Team or the Old Oregon Trail 1852-1906 by Ezra Meeker. ... The Oregon Country/Columbia District Disputed Area is the main area of dispute, although the whole region was disputed The Oregon boundary dispute (often called the Oregon question) arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Oregon Country, a region of northwestern North America known also... The Pacific Fur Company was founded June 23, 1810, in New York City. ... The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country that was in effect from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC; Compagnie de la Baie dHudson in French) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ...
Events	Treaty of 1818 · Russo-American Treaty · Champoeg Meetings · Whitman massacre · Donation Land Claim Act The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary, and the restoration of slaves between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a treaty signed in 1818 between... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Champoeg Meetings in Oregon Country were the first attempts at governing in the Pacific Northwest by United States European-American pioneers. ... The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known just as the Donation Land Act, was a historic law passed by the Congress of the United States intended to promote homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest (comprising the present-day states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho). ...
Places	Fort Astoria · Oregon Mission · Fort Vancouver · Champoeg, Oregon · Fort William · Barlow Road · Whitman Mission Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Companys primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first permanent U.S. settlement on the Pacific coast. ... Oregon Mission (1831-1846) began as an effort by the Methodist Episcopal Church to convert the native Indians of the far west to Christianity. ... Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudsons Bay Company in the Oregon Country. ... Champoeg, Oregon Champoeg, pronounced sham_POO_ee (SAMPA /ʃæm. ... Fort William was a fur trading outpost built by American Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth in 1834. ... The Barlow Road was the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail before reaching the Willamette Valley. ... 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. ...
People	George Abernethy · Sam Barlow · Tabitha Brown · Abigail Scott Duniway · Philip Foster · Peter French · Joseph Gale · William Gilpin · David Hill · Jason Lee · Asa Lovejoy · John McLoughlin · Joseph Meek · Ezra Meeker · John Minto · Joel Palmer · Sager orphans · Henry H. Spalding · Marcus Whitman · Narcissa Whitman · Ewing Young George Abernethy (1807 - 1877) was a U.S. businessman. ... Samuel Kimbrough Barlow (b. ... Tabitha Moffatt Brown (May 1, 1780 – May 4, 1858) was a pioneer emigrant that traveled the Oregon Trail, and assisted in the founding of Tualatin Academy that would grow to become Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. ... Abigail Scott Duniway (October 22, 1834 _ October 11, 1915) was born Abigail Jane Scott near Groveland, Illinois, to John Tucker Scott and Anne Roelofson. ... Philip Foster (January 29, 1805–March 17, 1884) was one of the first settlers in Oregon, United States. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Joseph Gale (1807-1881) was an American pioneer, trapper, and politican who contributed to the early settlment of the Oregon Country. ... William Gilpin William Gilpin (October 4, 1813–1894) was a 19th century U.S. explorer, politician, land speculator, and futurist writer about the American West. ... David Hill (1809–1850), was a pioneer and settler of what became Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. ... Jason Lee (NSHC statue) Jason Lee (June 28, 1803 – March 12, 1845) an American missionary and pioneer, was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec. ... Asa Lawrence Lovejoy (born 1808 in Massachusetts, died 1882) was an Oregon pioneer and one of the founders of the city of Portland, Oregon. ... John McLoughlin (NSHC statue) Dr. John McLoughlin (pronounced mc-lock-lin, October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857), the Father of Oregon, was a fur trader and early settler in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest. ... Joseph Lafayette Meek (1810–1875) was born in Washington County, Virginia, near the Cumberland Gap. ... Meeker in Kearney, Nebraska, ca. ... John Minto IV (October 10, 1822 - February 25, 1915) was an American pioneer born in Wylam, England. ... General Joel Palmer, October 4, 1810 (Ontario, Canada) – June 9, 1881 (Dayton, Oregon), was an Oregon pioneer, author of a popular immigrant guidebook, co-founder of Dayton, Oregon, a controversial Indian Affairs administrator, and a popular Oregon politician. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Henry Harmon Spalding (1803 - 1874), and his wife Eliza Hart Spalding were prominent Presbyterian missionaries and educators working primarily with the Nez Perce in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. ... Marcus Whitman Narcissa Whitman Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802–November 29, 1847) was an American physician and missionary in the Oregon Country. ... Narcissa Whitman (March 14, 1808 – November 29, 1847), born Narcissa Prentiss in Prattsburgh, New York in the Genesee Valley. ... Ewing Young expeditions to American West Ewing Young (1799 - February 9, 1841) was an American trapper from Tennessee who traveled the western United States before settling in Oregon Country. ...
Oregon History	Native Peoples History · History to 1806 · Pioneer History · Modern History 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. ... Oregon Pioneer History (1806 to 1890) is the time in the European History of Oregon when pioneers and mountain men traveled west to explore and settle the lands west of the Rocky Mountains and north of California. ...