Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
OregonTrail Emigration Map
- Thread starter Gypsy Heart
- Start date
Thanks Gypsy. I've several maps but not that one.
Still trying to find more info locally on the trails, There is one just a few miles from me and I've
permission to hunt several spots along the trail.
Winter has arrived, so now it's research time.
Still trying to find more info locally on the trails, There is one just a few miles from me and I've
permission to hunt several spots along the trail.
Winter has arrived, so now it's research time.
The Oregon Trail migration spanned several years. Primarily Kansas City was the initial starting point. As years progressed the pioneers were looking to find easier places to ford Big Mo. There are numerous trails that were tried and used. When the grass and firewood was depleted they moved the trail.
The one that is near me is the Fort Kearney-Nebraska City cutoff. It saved days from traveling all the way up to Omaha to follow the Platte. It connected with the Oregon Trail near Grand Island. In later years it was a major travel route, until the highway system and railroads were well established.
The one that is near me is the Fort Kearney-Nebraska City cutoff. It saved days from traveling all the way up to Omaha to follow the Platte. It connected with the Oregon Trail near Grand Island. In later years it was a major travel route, until the highway system and railroads were well established.
OP
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Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
- Thread starter
- #6
DIARIES AND JOURNALS OF NARCISSA WHITMAN 1836
Narcissa Whitman was (along with Eliza Spaulding) the first white woman to travel the Oregon Trail. Her letters and journal cover March-December 1836
http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/00.ar.whitman1.html
Mr. Stephen Prentice, Angelica, Allegheny Co., New York. ON BOARD STEAMBOAT CHARITON Thursday, March 31, 1836. Dear Sister Jane: We did not leave last night as expected, and the day being very pleasant, gave me an opportunity of visiting the city. Received a call from our old acquaintance, Rev. Milton Kimball, and with him visited the cathedral. It was high-mass day.
We left the cathedral, after staying about an hour; called and made some purchases, then returned to the boat, and found that Mr. Lovejoy had called, to give us an invitation to dinner with him. Felt regret very much that I did not see him. My husband saw him. he wished to know when we were married, because he designed to publish it in the Observer. He still continues to edit his paper in St. Louis.
We left St. Louis immediately after dinner. Passed many delightful residences in Missouri, on the banks of the Mississippi, just as we leave the city. Dwellings situated upon mounds, and many remaining ones yet to be occupied - natural mounds, in appearance like that at Amity, only much larger. One of them is the situation of a female academy, now building. My curiosity was Uncle Sam's toothpullers - two huge-looking boats lying to. They fearlessly run into danger, search out difficulties, and remove them. I should like to see them in operation, but shall not expect to now. Twilight had nearly gone when we entered the waters of the great Missouri, but the moon shone in her brightness. It was a beautiful evening. My husband and myself went upon the top of the boat, to take a more commanding view of the scenery. How majestic, how grand, was the scene! the meeting of two such great waters. "Surely, how admirable are thy works, O Lord of Hosts." I could have dwelt upon the scene still longer with pleasure, but Brother Spalding called us to prayers, and we left beholding the works of God for his immediate worship.
April 1st. - Nothing of much importance occurred to-day. My eyes are satiated with the same beautiful scenery all along the coasts of this mighty river, so peculiar to this western country. One year ago to-day since my husband first arrived in St. Louis on his exploring route to the mountains. We are one week earlier passing up the river this spring than he was last year. While the boat stopped to take in wood we went on shore, found some rushes, picked a branch of cedar, went to a spring for clear water (the river water is very rily at all times), and rambled considerably in pursuit of new objects. One of these circumstances I must mention, which was quite diverting to us. On the rocks near the river we found a great quantity of the prickly pear. Husband knew from experience the effects of handling them, and cautioned me against them, but I thought I could just take one and put it in my india-rubber apron pocket, and carry it to the boat. I did so, but after rambling a little I thought to take it out, and behold, my pocket was filled with its needles, just like a caterpillar's bristles. I became considerably annoyed with them; they covered my hands, and I have scarcely got rid of them yet. My husband would have laughed at me a little, were it not for his own misfortune. He thought to discover what kind of mucilage it was by tasting it - cut one in two, bit it, and covered his lips completely. We then had to sympathize with each other, and were glad to render mutual assistance in a case of extermination.
April 2nd, evening, ten o'clock. - We have come on well since we left St. Louis. Sailed all night last night, which is a rare thing on this river, on account of snags and sandbars. We are now at Jefferson City, about half way to Liberty from St. Louis. How long we stop here I do not know - perhaps all night.
Monday, 4th. - We passed the wreck of the Steamboat Siam to-day about noon. It is indeed a melancholy sight. She was not quite a year old. She ran upon a snag and sank, last winter. No lives lost. We stopped to-day at Chariton, about an hour. We went on shore and visited a steam sawmill. It was quite a curiosity, as well as the great engine that propels the boat upon the mighty waters.
Thursday, 7th. - Very pleasant, but cold. This morning the thermometer stood at 24 at nine o-clock. I have not seen any snow since we left the Allegheny mountains, before the 15th of March. I should like to know about the snow in New York. Is it all gone? How did it go, and the consequences? Mary, we have had a sick one with us all the way since we joined Dr. Satterlee. Mrs. Satterlee has had a very bad cough and cold, which has kept her feeble. She is now recovering, and is as well as can be expected. The rest of us have been very well, except feeling the effects of drinking the river water. I am in exception, however. My health was never better than since I have been on the river. I was weighed last week, and came up to 136 pounds. I think I shall endure the journey well - perhaps better than any of the rest of us. Mrs. Spalding does not look nor feel quite healthy enough for our enterprise. Riding affects her differently from what it does me. Everyone who sees me compliments me as being the best able to endure the journey over the mountains. Sister S. is very resolute - no shrinking with her. She possesses much fortitude. I like her very much. She wears well upon acquaintance. She is very suitable person for Mr. Spalding - has the right temperment to match him. I think we shall get along very well together; we have so far. I have such a good place to shelter - under my husband's wings. He is so excellent. I love to confide in his judgment, and act under him, for it gives me a chance to improve. Jane, if you want to be happy get as good a husband as I have got, and be a missionary. Mary, I wish you were with us. You would be happy, as I am. The way looks pleasant, notwithstanding we are so near encountering the difficulties of an unheard-of journey for females. I think it would do your health good, as well as Lyman and Brother J.G., too.
This letter is free plunder. Jane, I will write to you again. What I say to one, I say to all. I should like to write to each of you, separately, but I wish to write so many ways that my time is so occupied that I cannot write as much I want to. Since we have been here we have made our tent. It is made of bedticking, in a conical form, large enough for us all to sleep under - viz.: Mr. Spalding and wife, Dr. Whitman and wife, Mr. Gray, Richard Tak-ah-too-ah-tis, and John Altz; quite a little family - raised with a centerpole and fastened down with pegs, covering a large circle. Here we shall live, eat and sleep for the summer to come, at least - perhaps longer. Mary, you inquired concerning my beds and bedding. I will tell you. We five spread our India-rubber cloth on the ground, then our blankets, and encamp for the night. We take plenty of Mackinaw blankets, which answer for our bed and bedding, and when we journey place them over our saddles and ride on them. I wish you could see our outfit.
I had made for me, in Brother Augustus' shoe store, in Rushville, a pair of gentlemen's boots, and from him we supplied ourselves with what shoes we wanted. We have each of us a life-preserver, so that if we fall into the water we shall not drown. They are made of India-rubber cloth, air-tight, and when filled with air and placed under the arm will prevent one from sinking. Each of us take a plate, knife and fork and a tin cup. Mary, when we are under way I will describe the whole proceeding to you. When I see it before my eyes I can give a better description, for I shall have a better understanding of it. Husband has got me an excellent sidesaddle, and a very easy horse. He made me a present of a mule to ride, the other day, so I do not know which I shall like best - I have not tried the latter, Richard says "That's very bad mule - can't catch buffaloes." That is the test with him. An animal's speed makes him good, in his eye. I shall write you from Council Bluffs and at every opportunity, especially when Mr. Parker returns. We have lately received a letter from Mrs. Parker. O, what a spirit it breathed! When we were there she said if we could not get a minister to go with us we might keep Mr. Parker until one came, if we would only go on, and even now she has given permission for him to stay a year longer, and visit another tribe to the south. I wish I could show you her letter. You say Brother J.G. and his wife have been to Ithaca. Why did he not go when I was there? I had a good visit with Deacon and Mrs. Rolla, and a piece of a song, too, but not half enough. He sent me the "Missionary's Farewell," by Dr. Satterlee; music, by himself. Alas! my husband don't come to-night; the wind has blown so hard that I expect he has not been able to cross the river. Brother Gray is with him. I shall not feel so anxious about him on that account, so adieu for to-night. It is almost ten o'clock, and the family have all gone to rest.
I should like to tell you how the western people talk, if I had room. Their language is so singular that I could scarcely understand them, yet it was very amusing. In speaking of quantity, they say "heap of man, heap of water, she is heap sick", etc. If you ask, "How does your wife today?" "O, she is smartly better, I reckon, but she is powerful weak; she has been mighty bad. What's the matter with your eye?"
PLATTE RIVER, JUST
Narcissa Whitman was (along with Eliza Spaulding) the first white woman to travel the Oregon Trail. Her letters and journal cover March-December 1836
http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/00.ar.whitman1.html
Mr. Stephen Prentice, Angelica, Allegheny Co., New York. ON BOARD STEAMBOAT CHARITON Thursday, March 31, 1836. Dear Sister Jane: We did not leave last night as expected, and the day being very pleasant, gave me an opportunity of visiting the city. Received a call from our old acquaintance, Rev. Milton Kimball, and with him visited the cathedral. It was high-mass day.
We left the cathedral, after staying about an hour; called and made some purchases, then returned to the boat, and found that Mr. Lovejoy had called, to give us an invitation to dinner with him. Felt regret very much that I did not see him. My husband saw him. he wished to know when we were married, because he designed to publish it in the Observer. He still continues to edit his paper in St. Louis.
We left St. Louis immediately after dinner. Passed many delightful residences in Missouri, on the banks of the Mississippi, just as we leave the city. Dwellings situated upon mounds, and many remaining ones yet to be occupied - natural mounds, in appearance like that at Amity, only much larger. One of them is the situation of a female academy, now building. My curiosity was Uncle Sam's toothpullers - two huge-looking boats lying to. They fearlessly run into danger, search out difficulties, and remove them. I should like to see them in operation, but shall not expect to now. Twilight had nearly gone when we entered the waters of the great Missouri, but the moon shone in her brightness. It was a beautiful evening. My husband and myself went upon the top of the boat, to take a more commanding view of the scenery. How majestic, how grand, was the scene! the meeting of two such great waters. "Surely, how admirable are thy works, O Lord of Hosts." I could have dwelt upon the scene still longer with pleasure, but Brother Spalding called us to prayers, and we left beholding the works of God for his immediate worship.
April 1st. - Nothing of much importance occurred to-day. My eyes are satiated with the same beautiful scenery all along the coasts of this mighty river, so peculiar to this western country. One year ago to-day since my husband first arrived in St. Louis on his exploring route to the mountains. We are one week earlier passing up the river this spring than he was last year. While the boat stopped to take in wood we went on shore, found some rushes, picked a branch of cedar, went to a spring for clear water (the river water is very rily at all times), and rambled considerably in pursuit of new objects. One of these circumstances I must mention, which was quite diverting to us. On the rocks near the river we found a great quantity of the prickly pear. Husband knew from experience the effects of handling them, and cautioned me against them, but I thought I could just take one and put it in my india-rubber apron pocket, and carry it to the boat. I did so, but after rambling a little I thought to take it out, and behold, my pocket was filled with its needles, just like a caterpillar's bristles. I became considerably annoyed with them; they covered my hands, and I have scarcely got rid of them yet. My husband would have laughed at me a little, were it not for his own misfortune. He thought to discover what kind of mucilage it was by tasting it - cut one in two, bit it, and covered his lips completely. We then had to sympathize with each other, and were glad to render mutual assistance in a case of extermination.
April 2nd, evening, ten o'clock. - We have come on well since we left St. Louis. Sailed all night last night, which is a rare thing on this river, on account of snags and sandbars. We are now at Jefferson City, about half way to Liberty from St. Louis. How long we stop here I do not know - perhaps all night.
Monday, 4th. - We passed the wreck of the Steamboat Siam to-day about noon. It is indeed a melancholy sight. She was not quite a year old. She ran upon a snag and sank, last winter. No lives lost. We stopped to-day at Chariton, about an hour. We went on shore and visited a steam sawmill. It was quite a curiosity, as well as the great engine that propels the boat upon the mighty waters.
Thursday, 7th. - Very pleasant, but cold. This morning the thermometer stood at 24 at nine o-clock. I have not seen any snow since we left the Allegheny mountains, before the 15th of March. I should like to know about the snow in New York. Is it all gone? How did it go, and the consequences? Mary, we have had a sick one with us all the way since we joined Dr. Satterlee. Mrs. Satterlee has had a very bad cough and cold, which has kept her feeble. She is now recovering, and is as well as can be expected. The rest of us have been very well, except feeling the effects of drinking the river water. I am in exception, however. My health was never better than since I have been on the river. I was weighed last week, and came up to 136 pounds. I think I shall endure the journey well - perhaps better than any of the rest of us. Mrs. Spalding does not look nor feel quite healthy enough for our enterprise. Riding affects her differently from what it does me. Everyone who sees me compliments me as being the best able to endure the journey over the mountains. Sister S. is very resolute - no shrinking with her. She possesses much fortitude. I like her very much. She wears well upon acquaintance. She is very suitable person for Mr. Spalding - has the right temperment to match him. I think we shall get along very well together; we have so far. I have such a good place to shelter - under my husband's wings. He is so excellent. I love to confide in his judgment, and act under him, for it gives me a chance to improve. Jane, if you want to be happy get as good a husband as I have got, and be a missionary. Mary, I wish you were with us. You would be happy, as I am. The way looks pleasant, notwithstanding we are so near encountering the difficulties of an unheard-of journey for females. I think it would do your health good, as well as Lyman and Brother J.G., too.
This letter is free plunder. Jane, I will write to you again. What I say to one, I say to all. I should like to write to each of you, separately, but I wish to write so many ways that my time is so occupied that I cannot write as much I want to. Since we have been here we have made our tent. It is made of bedticking, in a conical form, large enough for us all to sleep under - viz.: Mr. Spalding and wife, Dr. Whitman and wife, Mr. Gray, Richard Tak-ah-too-ah-tis, and John Altz; quite a little family - raised with a centerpole and fastened down with pegs, covering a large circle. Here we shall live, eat and sleep for the summer to come, at least - perhaps longer. Mary, you inquired concerning my beds and bedding. I will tell you. We five spread our India-rubber cloth on the ground, then our blankets, and encamp for the night. We take plenty of Mackinaw blankets, which answer for our bed and bedding, and when we journey place them over our saddles and ride on them. I wish you could see our outfit.
I had made for me, in Brother Augustus' shoe store, in Rushville, a pair of gentlemen's boots, and from him we supplied ourselves with what shoes we wanted. We have each of us a life-preserver, so that if we fall into the water we shall not drown. They are made of India-rubber cloth, air-tight, and when filled with air and placed under the arm will prevent one from sinking. Each of us take a plate, knife and fork and a tin cup. Mary, when we are under way I will describe the whole proceeding to you. When I see it before my eyes I can give a better description, for I shall have a better understanding of it. Husband has got me an excellent sidesaddle, and a very easy horse. He made me a present of a mule to ride, the other day, so I do not know which I shall like best - I have not tried the latter, Richard says "That's very bad mule - can't catch buffaloes." That is the test with him. An animal's speed makes him good, in his eye. I shall write you from Council Bluffs and at every opportunity, especially when Mr. Parker returns. We have lately received a letter from Mrs. Parker. O, what a spirit it breathed! When we were there she said if we could not get a minister to go with us we might keep Mr. Parker until one came, if we would only go on, and even now she has given permission for him to stay a year longer, and visit another tribe to the south. I wish I could show you her letter. You say Brother J.G. and his wife have been to Ithaca. Why did he not go when I was there? I had a good visit with Deacon and Mrs. Rolla, and a piece of a song, too, but not half enough. He sent me the "Missionary's Farewell," by Dr. Satterlee; music, by himself. Alas! my husband don't come to-night; the wind has blown so hard that I expect he has not been able to cross the river. Brother Gray is with him. I shall not feel so anxious about him on that account, so adieu for to-night. It is almost ten o'clock, and the family have all gone to rest.
I should like to tell you how the western people talk, if I had room. Their language is so singular that I could scarcely understand them, yet it was very amusing. In speaking of quantity, they say "heap of man, heap of water, she is heap sick", etc. If you ask, "How does your wife today?" "O, she is smartly better, I reckon, but she is powerful weak; she has been mighty bad. What's the matter with your eye?"
PLATTE RIVER, JUST
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Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
- Thread starter
- #7
Fourteen die in the Whitman Massacre at Waiilatpu on November 29, 1847.
HistoryLink.org Essay 5192
On November 29, 1847, 14 white settlers and missionaries die at the hands of Cayuse tribal members in what will become known as the Whitman Massacre. Waiilatpu is a Christian mission on the Walla Walla River operated by Dr. Marcus Whitman (1802-1847) and his wife Narcissa (Prentiss) Whitman (1808-1847). The mission served as an important rest stop for immigrants on the Oregon Trail. The Cayuse may have acted in retaliation for tribal members killed by whites, in an effort to stop increased white immigration into the Walla Walla Valley, or most likely, out of the belief that Marcus Whitman was an evil shaman using measles to kill people. The physician was unsuccessfully treating the Cayuse, who lacked immunity, and measles was killing them but not the whites. The massacre will lead to the Cayuse War and will spur the U.S. Congress to create Oregon Territory.
The Waiilatpu and Lapwai missions were established in 1836 by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Boston, which believed that the Native Americans of the Oregon country desired conversion to Christianity. Marcus Whitman was a Presbyterian elder trained as a physician, and a lumber mill operator. Waiilatpu was on the Walla Walla River near Fort Walla Walla. The mission converted few Indians, but it served as an important rest stop for immigrants from the United States using the Oregon Trail. Whitman built a farm and a gristmill, which tribal members burned in 1844. Whitman rebuilt the operation 20 miles away and added a sawmill.
By 1847, Waiilatpu had grown to a community of 50 to 75 persons including a number of orphans left with the Whitmans. Word of threats against the settlement reached Whitman, but he refused to evacuate. On November 29, Tilaukait and Tamsuky of the Cayuse called Whitman into his kitchen and killed him with a tomahawk. The Cayuse then embarked on a killing spree catching whites at their places of work. Narcissa Whitman was wounded in the shoulder by a bullet. Narcissa and others barricaded themselves into a second floor room, then surrendered when they were assured that they would be safe. Cayuse warriors renewed the attacks and killed Narcissa and other prisoners. Those whites who did not escape were taken hostage. Some of the wounded hostages were killed later. The hostages were ransomed with blankets, shirts, guns, and ammunition supplied by the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Walla Walla.
Those killed were:
Marcus Whitman, age 44
Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, age 39
John Sager, age 17
Francis "Frank" Sager, age 15
Andrew Rogers, adult
Crocket Bewley, age 18
W. L. Saunders, adult
Peter D. Hall, adult (killed after escaping to Fort Walla Walla and being refused entry)
Nathan Kimball, adult
Walter Marsh, adult
Isaac Gilliland, adult
Jacob Hoffmann, adult
Amos Sales, adult
James Young, 24
In addition, two children, Louise Sager, 6, and Helen Mar Meek, 10, died of measles during captivity.
Ruth Kirk and Carmela Alexander write in Exploring Washington's Past that it was common practice throughout the Columbia Plateau to kill a person believed to be misusing his or her spirit power. In the early 1890s a Nez Perce whose brother lived at Waiilatpu at the time of the massacre told photographer Edward Curtis:
"[A man] was crying because his wife had died of the sickness: she had taken some of the Doctor's medicine, and spots came out on her face .... One of the Indians made himself sick in order to test the Doctor, saying that if the Doctor's medicine killed him they would know he was the cause of the deaths of the others.
"He took the medicine and died. Then the headmen met in council and made an agreement that the Doctor should be killed because two hundred of the people had died after taking his medicine" (Kirk and Alexander).
Retaliation
Settlers in the Willamette Valley responded by raising a force of volunteers. Settler Joe Meek, whose daughter had been taken hostage and had died of measles during captivity, was dispatched overland to Washington, D.C., to plead for assistance. Meek arrived in May 1848 with the story of the massacre. After much debate over the issue of slavery, Congress created Oregon Territory -- without slaves -- on August 13, 1848.
The Oregon Volunteers scattered the Cayuse tribe into the mountains. The other tribes refused to join the violence against the whites. Chief Tilaukait chose five men to surrender themselves to the whites as the principal murderers at Waiilatpu in order to protect the rest of the tribe. On June 3, 1850, the six were convicted of murder and hanged by U.S. Marshal Joe Meek. The Cayuse tribe was removed to the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon and dissolved among other tribes, eventually losing its identity and its language.
In 1936, Congress established the Whitman Mission National Historic Site at Waiilatpu.
http://historyink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5192
HistoryLink.org Essay 5192
On November 29, 1847, 14 white settlers and missionaries die at the hands of Cayuse tribal members in what will become known as the Whitman Massacre. Waiilatpu is a Christian mission on the Walla Walla River operated by Dr. Marcus Whitman (1802-1847) and his wife Narcissa (Prentiss) Whitman (1808-1847). The mission served as an important rest stop for immigrants on the Oregon Trail. The Cayuse may have acted in retaliation for tribal members killed by whites, in an effort to stop increased white immigration into the Walla Walla Valley, or most likely, out of the belief that Marcus Whitman was an evil shaman using measles to kill people. The physician was unsuccessfully treating the Cayuse, who lacked immunity, and measles was killing them but not the whites. The massacre will lead to the Cayuse War and will spur the U.S. Congress to create Oregon Territory.
The Waiilatpu and Lapwai missions were established in 1836 by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Boston, which believed that the Native Americans of the Oregon country desired conversion to Christianity. Marcus Whitman was a Presbyterian elder trained as a physician, and a lumber mill operator. Waiilatpu was on the Walla Walla River near Fort Walla Walla. The mission converted few Indians, but it served as an important rest stop for immigrants from the United States using the Oregon Trail. Whitman built a farm and a gristmill, which tribal members burned in 1844. Whitman rebuilt the operation 20 miles away and added a sawmill.
By 1847, Waiilatpu had grown to a community of 50 to 75 persons including a number of orphans left with the Whitmans. Word of threats against the settlement reached Whitman, but he refused to evacuate. On November 29, Tilaukait and Tamsuky of the Cayuse called Whitman into his kitchen and killed him with a tomahawk. The Cayuse then embarked on a killing spree catching whites at their places of work. Narcissa Whitman was wounded in the shoulder by a bullet. Narcissa and others barricaded themselves into a second floor room, then surrendered when they were assured that they would be safe. Cayuse warriors renewed the attacks and killed Narcissa and other prisoners. Those whites who did not escape were taken hostage. Some of the wounded hostages were killed later. The hostages were ransomed with blankets, shirts, guns, and ammunition supplied by the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Walla Walla.
Those killed were:
Marcus Whitman, age 44
Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, age 39
John Sager, age 17
Francis "Frank" Sager, age 15
Andrew Rogers, adult
Crocket Bewley, age 18
W. L. Saunders, adult
Peter D. Hall, adult (killed after escaping to Fort Walla Walla and being refused entry)
Nathan Kimball, adult
Walter Marsh, adult
Isaac Gilliland, adult
Jacob Hoffmann, adult
Amos Sales, adult
James Young, 24
In addition, two children, Louise Sager, 6, and Helen Mar Meek, 10, died of measles during captivity.
Ruth Kirk and Carmela Alexander write in Exploring Washington's Past that it was common practice throughout the Columbia Plateau to kill a person believed to be misusing his or her spirit power. In the early 1890s a Nez Perce whose brother lived at Waiilatpu at the time of the massacre told photographer Edward Curtis:
"[A man] was crying because his wife had died of the sickness: she had taken some of the Doctor's medicine, and spots came out on her face .... One of the Indians made himself sick in order to test the Doctor, saying that if the Doctor's medicine killed him they would know he was the cause of the deaths of the others.
"He took the medicine and died. Then the headmen met in council and made an agreement that the Doctor should be killed because two hundred of the people had died after taking his medicine" (Kirk and Alexander).
Retaliation
Settlers in the Willamette Valley responded by raising a force of volunteers. Settler Joe Meek, whose daughter had been taken hostage and had died of measles during captivity, was dispatched overland to Washington, D.C., to plead for assistance. Meek arrived in May 1848 with the story of the massacre. After much debate over the issue of slavery, Congress created Oregon Territory -- without slaves -- on August 13, 1848.
The Oregon Volunteers scattered the Cayuse tribe into the mountains. The other tribes refused to join the violence against the whites. Chief Tilaukait chose five men to surrender themselves to the whites as the principal murderers at Waiilatpu in order to protect the rest of the tribe. On June 3, 1850, the six were convicted of murder and hanged by U.S. Marshal Joe Meek. The Cayuse tribe was removed to the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon and dissolved among other tribes, eventually losing its identity and its language.
In 1936, Congress established the Whitman Mission National Historic Site at Waiilatpu.
http://historyink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5192
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