A History of Oregon, 1792-1849. Gray William Henry

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СКАЧАТЬ for her firmness and decision of character in whatever she or her husband undertook. She never appeared to be alarmed or excited at any difficulty, dispute, or alarms common to the Indian life around her. She was considered by the Indian men as a brave, fearless woman, and was respected and esteemed by all. Though she was frequently left for days alone, her husband being absent on business, but a single attempted insult was ever offered her. Understanding their language, her cool, quick perception of the design enabled her to give so complete and thorough a rebuff to the attempted insult, that, to hide his disgrace, the Indian offering it fled from the tribe, not venturing to remain among them. In fact, a majority of the tribe were in favor of hanging the Indian who offered the insult, but Mrs. Spalding requested that they would allow him to live, that he might repent of his evil designs and do better in future. In this short sketch of Mrs. Spalding the reader is carried through a series of years. We shall have occasion, as we progress in our sketches, to refer to these two ladies. They are not fictitious characters, – they lived; came over the Rocky Mountains in 1836; they are dead and buried, Mrs. Spalding near the Callapooya, in the Wallamet Valley. Mrs. Whitman’s remains, such portions of them as could be found, are buried not far from the place of her labors among the Cayuses. The last time we passed the ground not even a common board marked the place. We noticed a hollow in the ground, said to be the place where the very Rev. Mr. Brouillet, vicar-general of Wallawalla, says “the bodies were all deposited in a common grave which had been dug the day previous by Joseph Stanfield, and, before leaving, I saw that they were covered with earth, but I have since learned that the graves, not having been soon enough inclosed, had been molested by the wolves, and that some of the corpses had been devoured by them.” Bear this statement in mind, reader, as we proceed. We will tell you just how much he knows of the why and wherefore such things occurred in those early times. A part of the facts are already in history.

      Messrs. Whitman and Spalding, with their wives, and a reinforcement for the Pawnee mission, made their way to Liberty Landing, on the Missouri River. At that place they were joined by a young man by the name of W. H. Gray, from Utica, New York, who was solicited by the agents of the American Board to join this expedition as its secular agent.

      CHAPTER XIV

      Missionary outfit. – On the way. – No roads. – An English nobleman. – A wagon taken along. – Health of Mrs. Spalding. – Meeting mountain men and Indians. – A feast to the Indians.

      The mission party had brought with them a full supply of all the supposed et cæteras for a life and residence two thousand miles from any possible chance to renew those supplies when exhausted, having the material for a blacksmith shop, a plow, and all sorts of seeds, clothing, etc., to last for two years. Gray found his hands full in making calculations for the transportation of this large amount of baggage, or goods, as the trader would say. In a few days wagons, teams, pack-mules, horses, and cows, were all purchased in the county of Liberty, Missouri, the goods all overhauled, repacked, loaded into the two mission wagons, and an extra team hired to go as far as Fort Leavenworth. Spalding and Gray started with the train, three wagons, eight mules, twelve horses, and sixteen cows, two men, two Indian boys, and the man with the extra team. Dr. Whitman, having the ladies in charge, was to come up the Missouri River in the first boat, and await the arrival of the train having the greater portion of the goods with it. Boats on the Missouri River not being so numerous as at the present time, the Doctor and party did not reach Leavenworth till the train had arrived. They rearranged their goods, discharged the extra team, held a consultation, and concluded that the Doctor and ladies would keep the boat to Council Bluffs, the point from which the American Fur Company’s caravan was to start that year. Learning that the company was to start in six days, the conclusion was that the cattle and goods had better proceed as fast as possible.

      The third day, in the morning, some forty miles from Fort Leavenworth, as we were about starting, a white boy, about sixteen years old, came into camp, having on an old torn straw hat, an old ragged fustian coat, scarcely half a shirt, with buckskin pants, badly worn, but one moccasin, a powder-horn with no powder in it, and an old rifle. He had light flaxen hair, light blue eyes, was thin and spare, yet appeared in good health and spirits. He said he had started for the Rocky Mountains; he was from some place in Iowa; he had been without food for two days; he asked for some ammunition; thought he could kill some game to get along; the rain the night previous had wet him quite effectually; he was really cold, wet, nearly naked, and hungry. He was soon supplied from our stores with all he wanted, and advised to return to his friends in Iowa. To this he objected, and said if we would allow him he would go with us to Council Bluffs, and then go with the fur company to the mountains. He agreed to assist all he could in getting along. He was furnished a horse, and made an excellent hand while he remained with the party, which he did till he reached Fort Hall, on Snake River. There he joined a party that went with the Bannock Indians, and became a member of that tribe, and, as near as we can learn, married a native woman (some say three), and is using his influence to keep the tribe at war with the United States. Of this we have no positive knowledge, though if such is the fact he may have been a deserter from Fort Leavenworth. His name was Miles Goodyear.

      Within thirty miles of Council Bluffs a messenger overtook the missionary caravan, and stated that Mrs. Satterley, of the Pawnee mission, was dead; that Dr. Whitman and ladies were left at Fort Leavenworth; that they were coming on as fast as possible, with extra teams, to overtake us. Our party went into camp at once; the two wagons with horse teams started back to meet and bring up the balance of the party; wait two days at Omaha; fix one of the wagon boxes for a ferry-boat; Doctor and party arrive; cross all safe; get to camp late in the night. There was a slight jar in the feelings of some on account of haste, and slowness of movement, in others. However, as the fur company, with whom the mission party was to travel, was to start on a certain day, haste was absolutely necessary, and no time to be lost. Useless baggage overhauled and thrown away, cows started, mules and wagons loaded; Gray in charge of mules and cows, Spalding driver for a two-horse light wagon, Whitman the four-horse farm wagon. On goes the caravan; in two hours a message goes forward to Gray that Spalding has driven his wagon into a mud stream and broken his axletree; Gray goes back; soon repairs axletree by a new one; on Platte River; rains as it only can on that river, cold and almost sleet; nothing but a skin boat, that could carry but two trunks and one lady at a time; all day swimming by the side of the boat to get goods over; swim cattle, mules, and horses all over safe to north side.

      Overhaul and lighten our baggage; Rev. Mr. Dunbar for pilot, three men, and two Indian boys, we hasten on to overtake fur company’s caravan. Second day, met one hundred Pawnee warriors on their way to Council Bluff agency. Mr. Dunbar being the missionary of the Pawnees, and understanding their language, we had no difficulty with them. Traveling early and late, we came up to the fur company at the Pawnee village, some two hours after their caravan had arrived and camped.

      At this point the missionary menagerie was first exhibited, not that they attempted to make any display, or posted any handbills, or charged any fee for exhibiting, but the strange appearance of two white ladies in a caravan consisting of rough American hunters, Canadian packers with Indian women, with all the paraphernalia of a wild mountain expedition, drew the attention of all. The mission party had with them some fine cows, good horses and mules, and were tolerably well fitted out for their expedition, except a superabundance of useless things, causing much perplexity and hard labor to transport over the rough plains in 1836.

      It will be borne in mind that at that early time there was no road, – not even a trail or track, except that of the buffalo; and those made by them were invariably from the river, or watering-places, into the hills or bluffs. Their trails being generally deep, from long use by the animal, made it quite severe and straining upon our teams, wagons, and the nineteen carts the fur company carried their goods in that year. The caravan altogether consisted of nineteen carts, with two mules to each, one in the shafts and one ahead, one light Dearborn wagon, two mules and two wagons belonging to an English nobleman, his titles all on, Sir William Drummond, K. B., who had come to the United States to allow his fortune to recuperate during his absence. He had been spending his winters in New Orleans with the Southern bloods, and his bankers in England complained СКАЧАТЬ