The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-11-22

ed states shall have been extended tnat
far On the route, while crossing a
hlgh range, furious storm compels
them to seek refuge in a narrow defle
They are snow bound ten days, ana
then start again and again the blizzard
assails them. They fight valiantly, put
the coruage of the guide soon is eX-
hausted, and he declares he can so no
farther. They turn back to regain their
former refuge, but the snow has wiped
out the trail, and aimless foundering is
the only result. They are lost. Whit
man dismounts, kneels In the snow and
commends his wife, his missionary
associates and Oregon to God. He has
done his best, but apparently to no
avail But the guides mule, left to
himself, startles all three by straighten-
ing his long ears and starting Off
through the snow. Led by new guide,
the pioneers come quickly to the old
camp. Here the Mexican guide says he
will have nothing more to do with such
foolhardy men. The mountains are i'm
passable. He does not propose to risk
his neck for couple of Americanos.
What shall Whitman do? He must
have a guide. The alternative of CIV
ing up never occurs to him you,
Lovejoy,' says Whitman, ''stay here In
camp and regain your strength. will
go back with the guide to Fort Uncom-
pahgre and get a new man" And he
does Tt is seven days later before
Lovejoy sees Whitman again. He has
new guide then. The storm has abat-
ed and they resume their journey.
Soon the Grand river blocks the way.
There is a fringe of hard ice on each
side, and in the center a raging tor
rent 1T Is impossible" says the
guide. But Whitman cuts a pole,
mounts his horse and orders that he be
showed off. In plunge, horse and rider.
The Icy current closes over them an
instant; then they reappear swimming.
The other shore reached, Whitman
breaks the ice with his pole and helps
the horse up. After seeing how it is
done the others follow.
They push on toward Santa Fe. Pro-
visions, however, are growing scarce.
The time has been longer than even
Whitman anticipated. A dog which
had accompanied them on the journey
is killed and eaten. One of the mules
is next disposed of in the same way.
That lasts until Santa Fe is reached.
Thence they hurry to Bent's Fort on
the headwaters of the Arkansas When
| but few days journey from the latter
place they meet a man who informs
them that party is about to leave the
| fort for st. Louis, and Whitman, in or
der to join the company, leaves Love
| joy and hastens ahead alone 1t is
| far safer to have a strong party on this
| last stage of his journey, as the whole
| southwest sWarms with desperate char
| acters. Lovejoy, with the heavy bag
gage, follows more slowly, and four
days later reaches Bent's Fort. To
| his establishment Whitman has not
been heard from. A day later the miss
| ing man comes in. He had been lost
a hundred miles from the fort, on the
Arkansas. The party has already start
ed for St. Louis but Whitman starts out
after them, overtakes them and event
ually arrives at the outskirts of civili-
zation on the Mississippi river. Here
he gets the first news of the day. The
Ashburton treaty has been signed, but
the Oregon question is still open. No
body cares about Oregon anyway. He
takes stage to Washington, reaching
the capital March 8, 1S43.
4 III.
Daniel Webster is secretary of state
| now, and to him and to President Tyler
| Whitman tells his story. They hear
him out with evident increduHty. Ore
gon that vast desert, land of prom
| Use! This poor missionary means well,
but his mind can hardly be right. Has
II 80 No
Bay company assured Secretary Web
ster that the Oregon country is really
not worth disputing about, and certain
ly can never be settled? And does not
Governor Simpson know? Besides, it
u is well nigh impossible to get there
from the states anyway. 1t was a
great deal better to persuade England
to trade the Newfoundland fisheries
for that useless Pacific coast region, if,
indeed, England would make such a
manifestly unequal exchange. Perhaps
Secretary Webster can outwit the Brit
! ishers. But Marcus Whitman never
gives up. He pegs away at the presi-
dent and his secretary Of state, and
this in spite of the frowns of the
American board at Boston. Why, ask
| lHe OllICiotlS VI lIldt organization, mas
Whitman left the Indians? Did he not
go out to preach to them? Why, then,
should he not attend TO business in
stead Of coming back on such wild
goose chase? Who paid his expenses
to Oregon anyway? Still Whitman per-
sists; Oregon must be saved. The
| American board will regret every syl.
liable Of discourag emens spoken to the
brave pioneer. Well what did Whit
man want the president to do? Simply
this-give him authority to lead a band
of immigrants to the Columbia valley
and in the meantime make no treaty
giving up the American right to Ore.
gon. Tyler consents and Oregon is
saved.
VI.
To-day six United States senators
represent the territory which Marcus
Whitman saved to his country Or
the goth Of November in this year OF
our lord 1897, the American board will
hold special services In honor of the
man who saved Oregon and who just
fifty years ago was murdered by the
Indians whose souls he went to save
and to whom he returned after having
prevented John Tyler and Daniel Web
ster from monumental blunder.
4