Unsettled Ground
In 1836 Dr. Marcus Whitman -- a Presbyterian minister and physician -- established a mission at Waiilatpu on the Walla Walla River after traveling cross-country with his wife Narcissa. Whitman's goal was to convert Cayuse Indians to Christianity and to teach them how to farm.
The far-flung Cayuse were master horsemen and evinced little interest in becoming settled farmers or adopting a new religion. But additional missionaries were sent from the East, including Elkanah and Mary Walker, who settled among the Spokane Indians and created a mission at Tshimikain. Meanwhile, the Whitman Mission became an important rest stop on the Oregon Trail.
The Cayuse resented the increasing number of immigrants passing through their land, but the breaking point came during a measles epidemic in 1847. Whitman tried to cure stricken Indians, but they lacked all immunity to the virus. More than half the tribe died, while almost all of Whitman's white patients recovered. Believing that Whitman had infected them, some Cayuse retaliated on November 29, 1847, killing 14 settlers and missionaries, including the Whitmans. Public outrage over the attack led to a war of retaliation against the Cayuse and spurred the creation of Oregon Territory.
For further reading on this tragic saga, we highly recommend that you purchase a copy of Unsettled Ground: The Whitman Massacre and Its Shifting Legacy in the American West, written by HistoryLink historian Cassandra Tate, who also wrote many of the articles that we've linked to above. Published by Sasquatch Books, this new and riveting narrative can be purchased online or through your favorite bookstore.
Moving Around
This week marks the incorporation anniversaries of Washington's two largest cities, Seattle and Spokane. Seattle's first town charter was granted in 1865, but was voided two years later in a political backlash. The territorial legislature reincorporated the city on December 2, 1869.
Spokane got its start on November 29, 1881, as Spokane Falls. The tiny community was the seat of Spokane County until armed citizens from Cheney wrested away the title by swiping the county records and its auditor. Fortunately for Spokane Falls residents, the city became an important railroad terminus, and voters made it the county seat again in 1886.
This week also marks the establishment anniversaries of a few Washington counties that were partitioned out of other counties. Whitman County was created on November 29, 1871, carved out of a much larger Stevens County. Twelve years later, on November 28, 1883, portions of Whitman were used to create two new counties, Franklin and Adams. Both of those counties also share a birthday with Douglas County, which was itself partitioned off from Lincoln County, and with Skagit County, which was created from the southern part of Whatcom County.
