The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-09-13

is as follows:
Yes my native land, I love thee;
All thy scenes 1 love them we'll;
Friends, connections, happy country
Can 1 bid you all farewell?
Can I leave you
Far in heather lands to dWell?"
The whole audience was so affected
that before the hymn was finished they
all began to sob and the last verse was
sung by Mrs. Whitman alone To go
on such an errand at such a time and
under SUCH conditions, was certainly
the dedication of a life to Jesus Christ,
with all that it meant of suffering even
to martyrs death, which in Mr. Whit
mans case was literally true.
Second. The second characteristic
was mis- indomitabe will. When he
saw the danger that the whole region
was likely to be lost to the United
States and to protestant christianity,
he said to his fellow missionaries: II
am going to cross the Rocky mountains
and reach Washington this winter, God
carrying me through, and bring out an
emigration over the mountains next
season, or this country is lost" In this
declaration ne was opposed by two Of
his fellow missionaries. You recall
these memorable words, Il was a man
before 1 became missionary" 1t was
only this tremendous will power that led
aim to surmount obstacles which would
have been too great for the ordinary
man.
Third The third characteristic was
his Christian patriotism. 1t was his
love of his country, united with his
love of Christ that led him to endure
privations almost unparalleled. He wrote
as showing his thought: ut is requisite
that more good, pious men and minis
tiers go to Oregon without delay, as
citizens, or our hope there is greatly
clouded, if not destroyed" The poet
has beautifully expressed the thought
in the poem, the last part of which is:
'T must go on, I must go on,
Whatever lot may fall to me;
On! tits for others sake ride,
For others 1 may never see;
Ic n nixyi1 10
Not for myself, o Walla Walla,
Not for myself, o Washington;
But for thy future, Oregon"
Let us remember that the territory
of Oregon in 1S43 consisted of the pres
ent states of Oregon, Washington, Ida
no and parts of Montana and Wyoming.
In January, 1S43, senator Of the Unit
ed States declared that "he wouldn't
give a pinch of snuff for the whole
territory" the general feeling of that
day was we'll expressed by the words
I'VE wish the Rocky mountains were an
impossible barrier"
have given this hasty outline of
Whitman, his work and his character
istics trying if I might, reverently, to
interpret the work of God in it all and
to see it's significance as related to the
work of the board and to the future Of
the Pacific coast The centre Of mis-
tory is Jesus Christ. He who reads
with that thought omitted has left out
the key. After the frightful massacres
in which Whitman lost his life the feel
ing was widespread that the result
achieved by these missions did not
compensate for the great sacrifice, but
we have revised our estimate in the
light of future events. To quote from
Oliver w. Nixons book, How Marcus
Whitman Saved Oregon" DR.. Nixon
says: mo $4,000 ever spent by that
organization The American Board)
before or since, has been so prolific in
good. The United States gov
eminent could we'll afford to give a
million dollars every year to the
American Board for SO years to come
and to endow Whitman college magnfii
Gently and then not pay a moiety for
the benefit it has received as nation
and never acknowledged. The best
possible answer of the church and to
the friends of missions to those who
sneeringly ask, What good has result
ed from all the millions of dollars spent
on missions?" is to point to that neg
lected grave at Waiilatpu and recite
the story of heroism and patriotism of
DR.. Marcus Whitman.
Not yet 20 years have passed and yet
see what God has wrought. Instead of
the so white men and scattered Indion
tribes, we have these great states with
present population of millions but
yet in their infancy. If we had not had
this northwest country and so many
s,,fo