The Whitman Mission

Cranes nesting near the Whitman Mission in Walla Walla, Washington.

Home, sweet home! My back is happy to be in my own bed again. Those hotel beds, I swear, were made of concrete. Not comfy at all. The first night out, Darling thought I should be sleeping with her. Apparently, she didn’t think the beds were that comfortable, either, as she ended up sleeping on top of me half the night. Playing pillow wasn’t what I’d signed up for.

On our trip home, we stopped in Walla Walla where we visited the Whitman Mission. Such a tragic tale! The Whitman’s honeymoon was spent travelling to the west. Narcissa was the first white woman to cross the country; becoming pregnant on the way and giving birth to the first white child in the Oregon Territory.

That child was Alice Clarissa, who wandered away from the dinner table down to the river one afternoon. There’d been several guests, and when the Whitman’s realized she wasn’t there, they frantically went in search of her, only to find two cups floating in the river where she’d gone for water. A Cayuse Indian found her down river and brought the body back to the Whitmans. The Cayuse had been quite enamored with the little girl, as she was born larger than their children and had blond curls. It was the only natural child that Narcissa and Marcus ever had, although they did adopt the Sager children later on.

The Missionary Board wanted to close the missions in the Oregon Territory, but Marcus made a formal protest and was able to keep them open. The Whitmans realized that the Cayuse were not willing to learn the gospel, but they also knew that the flood of emigrants would change the way of life they were leading. Marcus taught them how to plant and irrigate, and how to operate a grist mill so they could grind flour.

The new settlers brought disease. The Cayuse hold the medicine man responsible if he cannot cure them. They saw that Marcus was able to help the whites, but not their own people. They felt he was purposely trying to kill them, not realizing it was a natural immunity that the settlers had. Eventually, they killed the Whitmans and eleven other settlers.

On the day of the massacre, Narcissa pulled her dying husband into the mission, where she was shot. They drug her body outside and shot her eleven more times.

Layout of the mission, marking where both Whitman’s died.

The Great Grave, where Narcissa and Marcus, plus eleven others, are buried.

This is a graveyard that was used by the settlers near the mission. Only two headstones remain; it is unknown how many bodies are buried here.

Sisters buried on the mission site in the settlers graveyard.

Whitman Memorial sits up above the Walla Walla Valley.

When the Cayuse burnt the mission to the ground, they left one structure. It was the grist mill. None of the structures are left today, but the foundations have been clearly marked. If you’re ever near the Walla Walla, Washington area, I highly recommend visiting the memorial.

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I’ll Make Him an Offer He Can’t Refuse…

“Working Boys”
Congratulations, Rachelle!

Go ahead. Try to guess what came home with us in the trunk.

Nope.

Nope again.

As we’re driving along the highway, somewhere between John Day and Pendleton, City Boy shouts out, “Hey! I just saw some fur! Should we go back? Could be there are neat bones, too.” At this point in the trip I had a throbbing headache, so I pretended not to hear him. I didn’t want to go backwards, I just wanted to head to the next hotel where I could unfold myself from the car and take a nice, long bath.

Darling, however, has a sense of adventure. Also, apparently, a need for bones. Before I could protest, the car had made a reverse there in the middle of the highway and we were headed back up the hill in search of fur, and possibly bones.

After about a mile, the fur came into view, and City Boy pulled over onto the shoulder. I opened my door and was greeted by a horse skull, complete with jaw hair and a partial ear. Can we say “Charming”? No, I didn’t think so.

Okay, so my City Boy doesn’t wear a cowboy hat, boots or spurs. He has no problem, however, putting the head of a dead horse into the trunk of our car to bring home. Whatever…as long as I don’t wake up with it in my bed come morning!

A few more Drive By Shootings…

Lake Kachess, on Snoqualmie Pass (this is one that didn’t show up the first day.)

Wild? Probably not. But that’s what they’d look like!

Plenty of scenery like this along the way.

One of many abandoned homes along the way; this one near Fox, Oregon.

Tomorrow I’ll have more photos and the story of the Whitman Mission for you. A very tragic story. The buildings are gone, but the story lives on.

Alice Clarissa Whitman died here, in what used to be a river bed.
She was just two years old, and the first white child born in the region.

View from the Whitman Memorial over the valley.

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