The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1936-08-20

portunity of escape presented itself.
w. p. Garfield, though wounded,
made his way TO LApwai 70 give
the alarm.
A Catholic priest Father Brouil-
let heard a tie atrocities and went
on November 30th, TO Waiilatpu to
bury the first days victims. He had
been with Spalding md Was ex.
pecting him to return to Waiilatpu
so went out TO meet him December
!.
News q the massacre reached
Vancouver b. December q and
Peter Skene Ogden. oe the HudsonS
Bay Company, started out immed-
lately for Fort Walla Walla 70 ran
som the captves. He feared that
aroused white settlers IN the VIII
liamette were raising an expedition
airy force to punish the offenders
The Spalding family were held
captive ut Lapwai Is the others
were 1t Waiilatpu Walker and
Eells were not disturbed 1t their
mission among the SpokaneA and
later made their way to Fort Col
vile. From there they were escort
ed to The Dalles In the spring by
q company of Oregon Volunteers.
Ogden's efforts were successful
On January 2, he loaded dfty-seven
men, women and children on boats
and sent them down the Columbia.
Behind ut Fort Walla Wal1a the
SaRer girls, twice-orphaned. and
Mary Ann Bridger, left their little
foster brother, David Malin. For the
safety Of the survivors of the Whit
man Massacre, the Hudson's Bay
Company had paid sixty-two blan-
kets, sixty-three cotton shirts.
twelve guns, six hundred loads OF
ammunition, and thirty seven
pounds Of tobacco.
As the boat passed down the river.
. band of Cayuse warriors rode
into the fort demanding Spalding.
They had just heard that already
an avenging army had reached The
Dalles.
This expedition was not very sue.
many horses and knew the country
well. always eluding their persuers.
Once some Of the murderers escaped
by q clever trick, with the assist
ance Of tribal brothers who had
taken no part In the actual massacre.
Pretending to be friendly. the In
dams asked the soldiers to let them
cut out their horses from those Of
the criminals, 80 that the innocent
would not be made to suffer Tor
what the guilty had done. In the
excitement Of the roundup all goS
safely away.
Some time after the massacre. the
mission buildings were burned and
the orchard destroyed. Indian wars
ragged, and when the territorial
government was formed In 1919 :
military proclamation was issued
that no American settlers shoulc
go into the region. Coyotes nae
dug up the bodies OF the Whitmans
and nine others hastily buried n
a shallow grave. When tne oregon
Volunteers camped at the site OF the
ruined mission, they dug q deeper
crave for the remains and put
wagon beds over it. =.
r. was not unit. the spring OF
1850 that five Cayuses, including
Til-au-kait and Tam-a-has gave
themselves up. A trial was held in
Oregon City and they were hanged
On June 3, 1850. Joe Lewis, whom
MANY believe to have been the
most to blame never was caught
For years the Whitmans slept in
lonely, unmarked grave. But
their lives and their martyrdom
were not to be forever forgotten.
Surviving were many who had
known and loved them.
(NEXT: Monuments to the Name
of Whitman; The Grave; Whitman
College; The Monument at VAIL
atpu; Plans for Reconstruction of
the Mission Site)