The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1897-12-10
Within an and Other Pioneers

ed mucn aCl6ntlOn, we puDilSn an
extract from the occasional ad-
dress delivered by Judge Burnett,
of this city, before the pioneer IS
sociation of Oregon last june,
bearing ON the question of Whit
mans services, as well as that Of
other pioneers: 80
Passing from this early histori
cal sketch and the scenes therein
depicted, to those tran,piring at a
later date i'll Ores ora, we find the
pioneer missionaries, Jason Lee,
Daniel Lee, p. L. Edwards, Cyrus
Shepard, Mr.. Spaulding and DR..
Whitman, and their wives, labor
ing in the interests oi' their. coun
try, and obeying the divine com
mand of their Divine Master to
spread the knowledge OF the gos
pei among the heather. They YER
the men who could each truth!ully
say to polished orators and learn
ed statesmen, AS C:ssius Marius
said to the Reman senators. II
come not to you with eloquent
words; you speak well OF great
actions, but l have donethe deeds
which so oxalt the Roman names3
lDr. Whitman was an extraordi-
nary man, and whether ne beIlevs
the claim just or not that has
been asserted for him, to wit:
That he saved Oregon to the Uni.
ted States, we cannot but admire
his bravery and indomitable per-
severencc and place his name
high upon the rolls of honored
pioneers, for his brave winter
Tourney in 1S42, as we'll as other
noble deeds.
i The TACT that the Ashburton
ltreaty was signed In 1912 does not
'tpro that DR.. Whitman was not
Honestly of the opinion in October
OF that year that he might be .oi
great benefit in securing Oregon
to America, for the only news ehe
could then get was brought by the
j, emigration of 1912, which he re-
ceived in September of that year,
, and that was TO the effect that
J Lord Ashburton had come ITO
, Washington to negotiate treaty
He could not have known i'll tho:e
days that the treaty was made be
fore he left Oregon, and nothing
!, , but a high resolve and strong con
viction, such as come only to mas
ter minds, Of the necessity, oi
such a trip, could have induced
him to undertake such a Hercu.
lean task.
Thi, winter ride across the
, American continent has beeoms
r classic, and is worthy to be sung
} by an epic poet. The masculine and
heoric traits of Whitman's char.
acter came grandly out ia thu
story of his grim death struggles
! with the forces Of nature. Agar
and again he Was worstcd in the
, encounter, but never defeated
, Each accumulation of difficulties
s.Fit.aad dangers served only tossfimu
Hate his courage. and sdetermnla
]tion, until one might almost say
that the SHOWS melted before the
fire of his purpose, and the passes
; OF the mountains opened at the
summens of his undaunted will:
Hon. Elwood Evans, in his ad
dress to the Oregon pioneer asso
citation in 1877, said of him, 's Al
Oregon audience neeIs no assur-
ance that DIR. Whitman and hi.
devoted companion were among
the very best of their race; that
their hospitality and kindness
have been of the utmost service
to the weary elnigrant en- route to
the Willamette. Pages could be
. devoted to the praise oil .theil
many good works. They were
philanthrnpists, practical devoted
christians, who literally obeyed
! the divine injunction, '.Go ye into
all the world andAprrach' the gos
pei to every creature" )" nA1lwear.
ing the image of their Maker
shared their sympathy. They
labored with devotion unceasine
and a, zeal most disinterested te
christianize tho Indian, te confer
upon him the habits of civiliza
ton. The Indian never had q
more sincere and earnest friend
yet the ungrateful wretches, fol
whose benefit DR.. Whitman spent
long years of arduous toll and suf.
fered great privations, rewarded
him with cold bloodcd murder and
mutilation. He fell in, the very
act of bestowing mercfnl charity
to his assallants. One Indian was
iii front of him attracting his at
tention by receiving medicine for
his sick children, while confed-
crate stealthily approaching him
from the rear, sent temahawk
crashing through his brain.", The
great emigration to Oregon be-
tween the years 1910 and 1916 by
their numbers and character final
lily determined the question of oc-
cupancy, and brought into Oregon
some of the brightest and strong
est names that adorn pioneer his.
tory. The formation of the pro-
visional government shows that
our pioneers were not only home
builders, but that they were gov