Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-08-23
RY GEORGE NJ. BAXTER.


Copyrighted, 1896, by S. S. Mcclure Co.
To one man are the people Of the
United States indebted for the posses
sion of the rich region which now com
prises the states of Oregon, Idaho and
Washington and part of Wyoming.
That man was Marcus Whitman,
who, nearly sixty years ago, went as a
volunteer missionary to the Indians OF
the Far Northwest. By his daring and
perilous journey 1000 miles across the
continent 10 the city OF Washington, IN
the midst of a severe winter, through
pr.meval forests, across high mountains
and over untraveled plains, filed with
wild beasts and wilder men, he saved to
the nation the vast territory then known
under the generous name Of Oregon.
SEEKING LIGHT.
One hot, suitry day in the latter part
of the thirties. there arrived in ST. Louis
then a border city, marking the last
considerable settlement toward the
Rocy mountains-fou Flathead In
dams. They were all chiefs, men Of
great importance in their tribe, and
were worn and outwearied with their
march Of thousands Of miles n order TO
reach the abode of the whites.
I'VE have come from our homes to-
wards the setting SUM- explained the
spokesman, through heat and hard
ships such as few men have known. We
have come to see the White Mans Book
of Life and TO hear from the lips Of
the pale face the story of his God. Our
people are in darkness, and they would
known the truth. Where shall we find
the book that tells of the white mans
heayen"
THIS pathetic appeal went out all over
the country.
WHITMAN AS A VOLUNTEER.
Among those who quickly responded
was Marcus Whitman, a man OF sincere
convictions and indOmitable spirit, tnen
resident near the village OF Elmira,
\. Y. In company with his young wife
and a handful of hardy pioneers, Whit
man sailed down the Ohio, and up the
mississippi and Missouri rivers on
raft. carrying with him, besides other
necessities. q ,four-wheel wagon, which
the bordermen told him would be i'm
possible 10 get across the mountains.
But he did get it across. and a few years
l9er we find him at Waiilatpu., a set
tlement near Fort Walla Walla, COM
posed nearly altogether of fur traders
and trappers.
At this time 0S42) the boundary line
between the British and United States
possessions in the Northwest was still
an unsettled question. Under the treaty
OF 1S1S-1S2S il was commonly held that
this country was open for settlement to
the first people which went thither in
sufficient numbers to hold Il and organ
lie a government The entire region
claimed by England because of Van
couver's exploration of the Columbia
river. and the fact that English fur COM
panies had done much to develop the
wealth Of the section.
NATIONAL INDIFFERENCE.
The United States on the other hand,
claimed that Captain Robert Gray, a
Bostonian was the first to discover the
Columbian river, in 1892; and, further,
that the immense tract belonged to
them by subsequent purchase and treat
les with Spain.
Notwithstanding the validity Of our
claims. American statesmen did not be-
lieve the region was of the slightest
value, and took no pains to secure it.
Daniel Webster declared that i was a
bleak and barren waste, unfit for the
habitatiou Of man or beast, and not
worth the ownership of any nation.
Other leading statesmen agreed with
him. and Senator Benton said in
speech that the Rocky mountains form
ed the natural western boundary Of
the United States, and upon their high
est peak should be set the statue Of the
tabled god Terminus" Meanwhile,
however the impression still prevailed
among both English and Americans
that under the terms of the treaty Of
1S1S-1S2S. the region would belong to
the first nation that settled it n great
est numbers.
A BRITISH BOAST.
This was the condition of affairs when
in 1912 the missionary Whitman rode
from his home at Waiilapu. TO Fort
Walla Walla to attend dinner rendered
10 some recent arrivals from England.
About a score of prominent English
traders were present on this occasion,
and the talk as TO the ownership of the
country ran high-the Englishmen
taunting DR.. Whitman about the ignOr-