What think you, kind reader, of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s kindness and generosity to the American settler, when this same company held this old faithful servant of theirs individually responsible for every dollar, principal and profits, of the supplies his generous heart, claiming to be humane, was induced to advance to the early settler in the hour of his greatest need?
Will you vote and pay a tax to pay claims of such a company, when one of the managing partners is still base enough to say, “It was a neglect of the company’s agent, after Dr. McLaughlin’s decease, that they did not present their accounts for payment to the doctor’s heirs or administrator before the year’s notice was up. It was now too late, and it was lost to the company unless they could get it allowed by the United States government?”
We justly deprecate piracy, slavery, highway robbery, and Indian massacres. In what light shall we hold a company and government, who have pursued a course directly and indirectly calculated to produce all these, and with the uplifted hand say they are entitled to pay for such conduct?
But we must still refer to Dr. McLaughlin as representing the Hudson’s Bay Company, as we proceed with our history of events, agencies, men, and things occurring in 1843.
Dr. Whitman is on his way back to Oregon with eight hundred and seventy-five persons, with all their equipments and cattle. Simpson is foiled and disappointed at Washington. Hines and Dr. White are among the Upper Columbia Indians. Dr. McLaughlin and the French-Canadians and priests are in commotion about the effort to organize the settlement into a provisional government, and the influence the Americans appear to be gaining over the Indians. Piopiomoxmox (Yellow Serpent) has returned and reported to the Cayuses the result of his visit to Dr. McLaughlin, and the determination of the company that, in case of a war with the Americans, “they would not aid the Americans, but let them take care of themselves.” The old Indian chiefs had advised the young men to wait and see what the future designs of the Americans were; while the Jesuits had been careful to impress upon the savage mind their peculiar sectarian notions and prejudices, as illustrated by the religious instructions given by the priests to the Cayuses.
The Rev. H. K. W. Perkins called at Young Chief’s (Tawatowe) lodge, and was informed on entering, that they had not yet had their morning prayer. The chief caused a bell to be rung, at the sound of which all his band came together for devotion. Tawatowe then said to Mr. Perkins: “We are Catholics, and our worship is different from yours.” He then fell upon his knees, all the rest kneeling and facing him. The chief had a long string of beads on his neck to which was attached a brass cross. After all were knelt, they devoutly crossed themselves, and commenced their prayer as follows: “We are poor, we are poor,” repeating it ten times, and then closing with “Good Father, good Son, good Spirit,” and then the chief would slip a bead on the string. This was continued until all the beads were removed from one part of the string to the other. When this mock devotion closed, Tawatowe said: “This is the way in which the priest taught us to worship God;” but Elijah (a boy that had been educated at the Methodist Indian school) said that “Tawatowe and his band prayed from the head, but we [meaning his own Wallawalla tribe] pray from the heart.”
Since writing the above, we have found in the Missionary Herald of December, 1866, page 371, a letter from Rev. C. Eells, formerly of the Spokan Mission. In speaking of Dr. Whitman’s visit to the States, he says: “Mr. Walker and myself were decidedly opposed, and we yielded only when it became evident that he would go, even if he became disconnected with the mission in order to do so. According to the understanding of the members of the mission, the single object of Dr. Whitman in attempting to cross the continent in the winter of 1842-43, amid mighty perils and sufferings, was to make a desperate effort to save this country to the United States.”
We are not much surprised at Mr. Eells’ ignorance of influences operating in this country. His fears and caution have made him unreasonably timid. He is always so fearful that he will do or say something wrong, that the saving of this country to our government, and an attempt on the part of his associates to counteract Roman Catholic superstitions and maintain the influence of the Protestant religion on our western coast, are opposed by him and his equally timid associate. He has not the frankness or courage to state the whole truth in the case, as developed in Mr. Treat’s remarks, who, after giving Mr. Eells’ letter, says: “It was not simply an American question, however;” it was at the same time a Protestant question. He [Dr. Whitman] was fully alive to the efforts which the Roman Catholics were making to gain the mastery on the Pacific coast, and he was firmly persuaded that they were working in the interests of the Hudson’s Bay Company, with a view to this very end. The danger from this quarter [which Messrs. Eells and Walker could never see, or, if they did, were too timid to speak or act] had made a profound impression upon his mind. Under date of April 1, 1847, he said: “In the autumn of 1842, I pointed out to our mission the arrangements of the Papists to settle in our vicinity, and that it only required that those arrangements should be completed to close our operations.”
It is in reference to the facts above quoted from Dr. Whitman’s letter—made in our presence to those timid associates—that we say they were cowards in not speaking and acting as they should have done at that time, and since his death.
The following letter from General A. L. Lovejoy gives further proof of Dr. Whitman’s efforts to save Oregon to his country:—