Oregon Historical Quarterly/Volume 37/Spalding and Whitman Letters, 1837
SPALDING AND WHITMAN LETTERS, 1837
The following letters from H. H. Spalding and Marcus Whitman relate to their labors of building their missions. They were written to the secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Boston, and are in the archives of the board, volume 138, letters number 21 and 83, respectively.
Spalding to Greene
Revd. David Greene, Sect. A. B. C. F. M.
Missionary Rooms Boston Mass.
Revd & Dear Sir: Through the great mercy of God I am permitted to address you from our field of labor which I trust the Lord has appointed us in this region of the world. I trust you have received my letters from Fort Vancouver, dated Oct. 1836, and others from Rendezvoux, dated July 1836, in which I have given a full statement of our journey over the mountains, if not, please inform me and I will give it at some future time. I left Fort Vancouver with the ladies and two boats loaded with supplies for this and Doct Whitmans Station, on the 3rd of Nov. and arrived at Fort Walla Walla 13th. Mr. McLeod with whom we journeyed from Rendezvoux to W. W. Directed the boats. As might be expected so late in the season, we had rain almost constantly night & day. In this country of no wood, we of course were in danger of being without fire for the night. We were supplied however every night, usually from the graves or miserable huts of the poor natives, for a small piece of tobacco. One night in particular the hand of providence was manifest. The men rowed late but saw no wood or any appearance of Indians. Mrs. S. and myself were in the hindermost boat, came to the landing, but confident we were near no Indian camp, consequently without wood concluded to remain in the boat & spend perhaps a sleepless night, without food or dry clothes. Our attention was soon called by the cry of fire. A party of Indians, living some 500 miles up the Columbia, had arrived with wood packed upon their horses, for their own use that night. We shared freely with them & the rain ceasing soon after supper, we were enabled to dry ourselves and get some sleep. The Indians on the Columbia below W. W. are in the most degraded & wretched condition of any we met with after leaving the borders of the States. Multitudes of them are without a particle of clothing. The little flood wood that comes down the Columbia might make them comfortable through the winter, but this they dispose of, with the last stick that holds up a few mats to shelter them from the pelting storms to the boatmen, for tobacco, & leave themselves exposed without shelter or fuel to the inclemency of the weather. They will sometimes follow a boat from noon till night with a few sticks of wood to obtain this weed. No drudgery, no article they possess, is withheld when a leaf of tobacco is held up, and when they have nothing else they try the strength of begging. When we passed, it being the season of fish & berries, they looked very hardy, but I am told, before spring, they are reduced to mere skeletons, and many die from want & diseases, brought on by their manner of living. I excepted the poor natives on the borders of the States, in speaking of this degradation of this people. This exception must remain, while the overwhelming raging flood of annihilation continues to roll down upon these defenceless hunted immortals, from the snow capped mountains of Avarice, Intemperance, licentiousness, Infidelity & nameless other sins, rendering every effort to benefit these tribes almost useless. I refer to the same sources of evil referred to, by our good President in his message for 1835. He was right in urging immediate & effectual measures, to close up those fountains of moral death, for great guilt is accumlating somewhere. If the present sentinals of a nations honor & a nations welfare for time & eternity are not sufficient or are not faithful to their charge, let others be set with their hands unbound that will be faithful, come life or death. I have seen taken to the mountains (not by the Fur Co) horses purchased of poor harrassed natives on the border of the States for a few quarts of whiskey each; and I have seen the effects of this whiskey in blood pouring from the dead and dying, and in the shrieks & flight of women and children from their fathers & husbands, driving them with the weapons of death from their dwellings; and in the tears of the desponding missionary, hastening with rapid speed from the uplifted war club of him, whom but a day or two previous, perhaps, he was teaching the principles of the peacable religion of Jesus Christ. Even at this great remove from the fountain of moral corruption, a small rivulet now and then may be seen. Every year a greater or less No. of Nez Perces are taken to St. Louis, and return, if their constitutions outride the storms of Intemperance & Licentiousness to scatter the seeds of moral death among their unsuspecting countrymen. Nor have I yet, I fear caused to be burnt all the packs of cards which have been sold for the bible to this inoffensive people, long seeking for, and offering any price to get hold of that precious book. So the Devil is found in sheep's clothing even on the Rocky Mts. They tell me they have sometimes given a horse for a single pack of cards, which they were told was positively the word of God; but which they now call the book from below. They tell me they have for some time distrusted a people that would bring fire water to the mountains, drink it & then kill each other. On arriving at W. W. I found, agreeable to promise about 150 Nez Perces, waiting to conduct ourselves and effects to their country. On the 22nd, Mrs. S. and myself, with Br Gray mounted our horses and started for our destined location. The joy this people manifested, when they actually saw us on our way, cannot easily be expressed in words. They had watched our every action from Rendezvoux, fearful, lest after all they should loose us, having, as they suppose, been disappointed twice before. When they saw the Doct. settle among the Chuyoos, their fears were greatly increased; but when they saw our faces turned toward their land, and the object of their long desire about to be accomplished, their joy seemed complete. They took the entire direction of everything, pitched & struck our tent, saddled our horses, and gladly would have put our victuals to our mouths, had we wished it. So eager were they to do all they could to make us comfortable, I was astonished at the ease & rapidity with which they handled & packed our heavy kegs & cases, the latter 16 inches square, 30 inches long weighing usually 125 pounds each. Our effects loaded 21 horses. We reached this place on the 29, everything safe. On approaching this valley, my feelings were peculiar Ten months had rolled away, rising every morning only to seek a new place to lay our heads at night. Now we were to camp for life. And when our lodge of Buffalo hides was pitched, we welcomed it as our home, & looked upon it with as much satisfaction, doubtless, as any prince ever did upon his new built palace. We entered it and blessed the Lord for his ten thousand mercies of a long, long, tedious and perilous journey, that removes us thousands of miles from the civilized & christianized world. The first three days were taken up in making ourselves as comfortable as circumstances would admit. The 4th day Br. Gray went about preparing the tools & I shouldered my axe, then the trial came. Will the Nez Perces chiefs break through a mountain of prejudices, prevailing among all Indian tribes, and strengthened with the growth of ages, & harden their hands with work. I put an axe upon the shoulder of my friend, Tack-en-su-a-tis, the chief so frequently spoken of in former letters, & told the other chiefs to follow me with their men. A shout echoed through the camp, & every countenance said yes. We were soon all at the timber hard at work. Being better acquainted with the use of the axe, the wife of Tack-en-su-a-tis soon relieved her husband from his awkwardness, and he, with the other chiefs and people, applied themselves diligently to carrying timber. I next requestd a number of pine logs for boards, from the Koos-Koos-ky[1] 2 miles distant. I cut the logs 10 feet and with as much cheerfulness as though they were setting down to a meal of victuals, they rolled them upon poles, & 20 or 30 under each, soon had a sufficient quantity on the ground for doors window sash, floors, etc. Then two, one a chief, took hold of the pitsaw, a most difficult tool to handle, and never have I seen better boards produced in the same way. On the 23d of Dec we moved into our house, a part made comfortable. Br. Gray left on the 28 of Dec for Vancouver, to make arrangements for visiting the Flatheads. We have now, through the astonishing favor of a kind Providence, a house 18 by 42 completed, with the exception of 2 doors, 2 windows, & a part of the under floor. 18 feet of one end is devoted to ourselves, with cellar stove and 2 windows. The remaining 24, with chimney and 2 windows is a school room and place of worship. Posts grooved and filled with small timber split Roof first timber closely laid, then a layer of grass, upon which is a thick layer of clay. All the timber and stone for the building was brought by the Indians, & much of the labor of filling and putting on the roof. Until the place of worship was ready, we assembled for morning & evening prayers & worship on the Sabbath in the open air, & sometimes, before we closed the exercises, our bare heads would be covered with snow. We might as well hold back the Sun in his march through the heavens, as hold back the minds of this people from religious inquiries. This & the constant intercourse with them in every kind of work, compelled me to use every effort to acquire their language. Frequently while putting up our house, a word must be had, or a stick of timber fall at the risk of life; and on the Sabbath while going over some event recorded in the bible, a new word must be learned or the story must stop half told. The natives, however, are indefatiguable & very ingenious in their efforts to make us acquainted with their language, and I am now enabled to converse quite intelligibly on any subject. My manner of preaching is as follows: We have represented in paintings, several events recorded in the Scriptures, such as the passage through the Red Sea, the crucifixion of Christ, etc. These I explain first to my crier. I then go over with the subject to the people, the crier correcting my language & carrying out the history, but this only forms a starting point for these inquiring minds. They return to their tents, & sometimes spend the whole night in perfecting what they but partially understood on the Sabbath. If one is to leave camp for some distant part of the country, my crier and the paintings are sent for, and the whole night spent in going over the subjects to prepare himself to instruct others. Several are already preaching in different parts of the nation. I am frequently astonished at the correctness & rapidity with which several will go through with many events recorded in the Scriptures. But no history is listened to with such profound attention as the story of the cross of Christ. A paper with His name upon it, is clasped to the bosom with all the apparent affection of a mother embracing a darling child. On the 27 of January, Mrs. S. opened her school, & here a scene commenced, more interesting, if possible, than any we had before witnessed. Nothing but actual observation can give an idea of the indefatigable application of old and young, mothers with babes in their arms, Grand-parents & Grand-children. Having no books, Mrs. S. with her numerous other cares, is obliged to supply the deficiency with her pen, & print her own books, consequently, she can spend but a short time each day in school. But her abscence does not close the school. From morning till night they are assembled in clusters, with one teaching a number of others. Their progress is astonishing. Today a stranger will enter the room, not knowing a letter. Tomorrow he will be teaching others. Yesterday one of my sawyers returned from taking deer, left before the school opened, consquently knew not a letter. Today he knows all, and can spell out several words. Usually about 100 attend the school. Several are now able to real a little with us, at morning & evening prayers. As soon as one gets hold of a book, who is able to spell out a few words, he immediately searches for the name of God, Jesus Christ & the Holy Spirit. They have learned a verses & several tunes, which they sing very sweetly. I usually render Mrs. S. in her school all the assistance possible, with an axe or saw in one hand & the other upon some article for farming or kitchen use. For it will readily be perceived that the joiner work of the house, kitchen furniture, & farming Utensils must be produced by my own hands; and that, if I am ready to meet the opening spring with farming utensils in readiness, I have no time to loose during the few short days that make up the month of February. Bless the day that shone upon the first Manual labor College and saw its head rise above the thick smoke, if falsely called Gentlemanism. The Indians appear very handy at every knd of work in which they have yet engaged, are remarkably kind, possess industrious habits, with scarcely the appearance of the savage or heathen about them. We consider them perfectly honest, and do not fear to trust them with any article we possess. If the least thing is found out of place it is immediately returned. What the end of these things will be, He only knows who knows all things. The beginning certainly appears favorable. If the unqualified, imperfect laborers in your unworthy brother & sister are faithful, diligent, & prayerful, we trust that some good will result from this mission. But who will venture to No. the rivers of civilized christianized happiness, that a few years might see rolling in every direction through nation, were we speedily joined by a sufficient No. of faithful prayerful laborers. How much grain I shall be able to get in the coming season, I do not know, but the blessing of God attending us, as we trust it has thus far, I count upon 100 acres. This will enable me to furnish a good number with seed for the coming year & keep many children at school, who are now obliged to leave frequently to go with their parents in search of food. Judging from the present, this people will probably acquire the English, before we do the Nez Perces language, though we flatter ourselves that we are making good progress. If so, by the time we are ready to reduce theirs to writing, it will not be deemed expedient. For why should years be spent in reducing their language to a written state, which when done must necessarily be increased one third, or one half, with new words, in order to embrace the scriptures. And if it is necessary for them to learn so many English words, of course the most difficult, by reason of having nothing in their language to explain them, why not learn the other half, easy to be learned, because they have corresponding words in their own language that will explain them, & then they are introduced at once into an inexhausible fountain of religious & scientific reading. This is my present opinion, but what our duty will be when we have acquired their language & are prepared to write and teach it, or to teach the English to better advantage than we are now, we wait the future leadings of providence & the better wisdom than ours, of yourself & coadjutors. Please to be particular on this subject. John Aits (a native youth) who accompanied Doct Whitman to the states, when he returned from his exploring tour & spent a short time in Rev. Mr. Parker's family, Ithica, is with us & proves to be a very good boy though not as ready to learn & as enterprizing as the youth in general. He is however making very good progress in reading writing arithmatic &c can speak the paper torn] choosing rather to throw myself upon my own resources, in all my intercourse with the people. For the last 3 weeks Mrs. S. has assembled the girls twice a week for sewing. The attemp far surpassed our most sanguine expectation. Their work is really good. What do you say to my purchasing at Vancouver, Calico for each a dress, to wear only on the sabbath. Four days previous to our leaving W W a party of Nez perces started for Colville, to obtain provisions & returned to this place 10 days after we arrived with 1 pack of pork 2 of peas 7 of corn & 8 of flour, each pack weighing 90 pounds. This is a very safe and expeditious way of transporting goods especially in this country swarming with horses. I have only to make known by letter what I want from Vancouver or Colville & it is soon here Colville is an establishment of the H B Co on the Columbia R. some 400 miles above W W. & perhaps 300 from this place. God willing I expect to visit that post in April to open an acquaintance with Mr McDonald Esq. who is in charge of that establishment & obtain some grains for seed, 2 or 3 yoke of oxen & a few hogs. But where will Mrs S remain in the meantime; perhaps you will enquire. With our good Nez perces as safe & much happier than in the city of Boston. On the 13th of December the snow fell 18 inches, has been but little since, & now the ground is entirely bare & grass is beginnig to spring up. On the 15th of Dec the mercury stood at 10 below zero in the morning. Before noon however it rose to 10 above & has usually ranged from 25 to 50 since. My Am[erican] horses have wintered very well, though they commenced poor. Cattle are in good flesh. If I neglected in my former letter I will now say, our location is 125 miles east of W W. on a small stream putting into the Koos-Koosky, 15 miles from its junction with the Lewis or Snake river Lat 46°. 30'. Long. 117°. 30'. The Koos Koosky is the first considerable branch putting into the Snake from the East some 120 miles from its junction with the Columbia. There is 6 or 800 miles of apparently good land in this valley, timber sufficient for fire wood & fence. Any quantity of Pine & Cedar may be rafted down the Koos-Koosky & landed within 2 miles of our location. I have taken the liberty to request my friends to direct their communications to your care, postage paid, to be forwarded to the Sandwich Islands, care of Revd Mr. Bingham. My communications should all be directed to Nez perces mission, Fort Walla Walla Columbia R. Whatever is landed safe care of Revd Mr. Bingham Sandwich Is. for us will be quite sure to reach (line torn off] postage in Canada & to the A. B.C.F.M. letters to be at Montreal first of March, also to Maj. Brant or Revd Mr Wisner St Louis postage paid with a letter requesting them to be forwarded by the favor of the Am Fur Co to Rendezvoux & from thence, by the favor of the H.B.Co, to WW. letters to be in St Louis last of February. In either of these last mentioned ways, could letters be sure to leave the states or the Canada's they come safe through. There need but little fear be entertained here however, if the gentlemen to whose care they are addressed are requested to forward them. The Revd M Lee's received several letters last fall, by the Montreal express. Hon. Doct McLoughlin, has written to their agents in London & Montreal to forward our letters. I need not say that we are in great want of school books, slates & pencils. A good number of testaments are desirable. The copy stereotyped by Baker & Green Boston & printed in N. Y. for the Am[erican] B[ible] S[ociety] By D. Fanshaw is to be prefered on account of the large print. Doct McLaughlin has favored us with two. Paintings representing important events recorded in the scriptures would be of great service to us. To show that they are not attracted by pictures merely, I have only to say, among several books with pictures they will select the two testaments which have not a picture in them F 8th this morning we witnessed what would seem to indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit. Four weeks since, our good chief Tack-en-su-a-tis, left for his country, to obtain provisions & collect his effects, & returned yesterday to take up his abode with us, for life. Of course nearly all the improvement in reading & singing has been made since he left. After the exercises of the school were closed (which we close by singing) we observed him in tears. In the evening I called him to my room & inquired the cause. He replied with, apparently deep feeling, that when he heard those good words sung about God, viz. Glory honor praise and power &c he could not refrain from weeping. He said he saw on one of the paintings, eleven good men who loved Jesus & one bad who sold him for money & it made his heart weep. He said he did not know whether his heart was good now or not. He knew it had been very bad from a little boy—had made many inquiries how he could get rid of it but [line torn off] Another subject & I have done. What do you say to establishing in connexion with the Methodist Missionary Soc. (perhaps) an express over the Rocky Mts; via. of St Louis & Rendezvoux, or Montreal & Hudson Bay, for the benefit of our missions the Methodist mission on the Wallammat & the Sandwich Islands & perhaps the Pawnees. I have written to Doct Whitman, the Revd Mr. Lee's & to the Sandwich Islands on the subject, shall hereafter consult Doc McLaughlin. My plan is as follows: 1st the Am Board to confer with the Honorable H[udson's] B[ay] Co Agent Montreal & engage the transportation of the express for a stipulated price, from Montreal to Vancouver. In this case a trusty agent should be appointed in Montreal to whom letters & papers should be addressed & by whom the express should be put up & delivered to the H B. Co Agent Or 2d through Maj. Brant who I believe is an Agent of the Board, & engage the Am Fur Co to transport it for a stipulated price to Rendezvoux & the H.H.B. Co from that place to Vancouver, or 3d appoint one or two men, who may wish to improve their health & do good, to travel with the Am F Co from St Louis to Rendezvous & distribute Bible & tracts among Mountain men, who could transport this express to that place & deliver it to the H.H.B.Co. I consider the distribution of Bible & tracts among the mountain men, an object worthy of attention. Here are 3 or 400 men shut out from the civilized world & all religious instruction. Their condition is truly affecting. Many of them know not when the Sabbath comes & the days & weeks they spend in their camps entirely unocupied during the winter months & other seasons of no game, give rise to many vices, the affects of which are felt even here, which might be prevented had they books to read in their leisure hours. We were solicited by multitudes, especially at Rendezvoux for tracts & Bibles. One man to whom I had given a copy of Brainard told me he had been offered 10 dollars for it, but would not sell it for 2 hundred. While at Rendezvoux, a trapper came to our camp and requested the privilege of attending evening prayer with a No of his associates wishing to hear something upon this subject of religion, 15 or 20 sometimes attended. Could men of suitable characteristics be found willing to engage in this good work, I think this the preferable way to transport the express. Or 4th employ some of my Indians for a small sum to go as far as the Pawnee's or St Louis. Please to be particular on this subject. The express should be put up in two leather cases made water tight.
Let me again say, that all the gentlemen of the Hon H. B. Co., with whom we have made acquaintance, show us the greatest kindness. We beg the prayers of all the friends of Missions, for ourselves and the great work in which we are engaged.
Yours ever truly
Whitman to Greene
Rev. David Greene
Secratary A.B.C.F.M.
Dear Sir
By the fostering care of a kind providence I am permitted to address you from my location after having passed a comfortable winter as to food raiment & House; in health to a great degree. We all arrived at Walla Walla 9 miles below the junction of Lewis & Clarks Rivers early in September as I wrote you from thence by the Hudson Bay Co's express & also by Ship from Vancouver. At Vancouver we were received in the kindest manner by Doct McLaughlin Chief Factor &c & by all the other gentlemen of the Company. After obtaining such supplies we returned to explore & build leaving our wives at Vancouver. After exploring we determined to make two locations one on the Walla Walla River about 25 miles from the Fort in the Cayuse so called by Traders or (as they call themselves) Wiiletpoo Country; the other in the Nez perces Country about 100 miles from the former It was determined I should remain with Cayuses & Brother Spalding with Nez perces Brother Spalding proceeded to Vancouver for farther Supplies & to return with our wives Brother Gray & myself commenced to build at Wiiletpo 14th Oct The frame to my house is thirty by 36 built in a substantial maner with good chambers The leantoo only is finished making two bed rooms kitchen & pantry. We commenced house keping the 10th Dec The remainder of my house I intended to finish in the fall. The 22 Nov. Brother Spalding left Walla Walla for the Nez perces country to make his location accompanyed by Mrs. Spalding & Brother Gray. The Cayuse originally spoke a distinct language from the Nez perces but have so long intermarried that Nez perces is spoken by all & the younger ones do not understand Cayuse at all. The Walla Wallas also are to a great extent able to speak Nez perces Several have been with us during the winter & spring & many express a wish to come next year & cultivate land. We shall not have access to as many Indians at first as Brother Spalding but in the end I think as many will be benefited by this station as that. We have far more good land for cultivation here than there probably more than at any other place on the upper Columbia Our Horses & cows wintered as well as those that are fed & stabled in N York notwithstanding their long journey & as the Traders & Indians say unusually severe winter. We had fall of snow which commenced 16th Dec & fell 18 inches in depth which remained on the ground for six weeks. All the other snow storms were trifling not amounting to more than an inch in depth From the first of Feb the ground has been bare & early in March grass began to spring so that cattle & horses began to thrive I began to plow the first week in March but was unable to do much on account of Mrs Whitmans health My Farm consists of one yoke oxen belonging to one of the Cayuse Chiefs & a yoke of bulls one belonging to the Co. & one to the mission both of which I have broken two horses & four mules; With this team I am able to break the ground very well I have two acres of peas sowed 9 acres of corn planted & intend to plant 3 more & have planted & intend to plant 2 acres of potatoes, in all 16 acres If associates come I think they will have little to fear for want of provision. I hope to obtain wheat for fall sowing We feel we have passed a comfortable winter indeed; but still at my place we have eaten nine wild horses bought of the Indians at a cost of about $6. dollars each in goods We have a tolerable supply of flour corn butter & a little pork & venison & a few potatoes We are now getting fish in small quantity but soon expect to get plenty of salmon of which I hope to salt a good supply. A few Indians only wintered with us & did not afford us a very favorable opportunity for acquiring the language Early in March most of them returned & for a time labored very hard to prepare ground to plant. All of both (hole in paper] working faithfully But owing to a severe inflamation of the lungs among them they suspended their labor. I had no means of assisting them but by loaning hoes of which had but fifteen but still they have succeded in making a good beginning & having finished planting the sickness having abated have removed to dig camas a native root of which they make extensive use. They will return to hoe their corn in about four weeks Their sickness gave me much trouble from their love of their native juglers for they are nothing less giving no medicine & relying solely upon incantions The Cayuses show a strong desire to be taught the only thing which has given me trouble among them is this wish for us to become an oposition Trader among them. They have seen a little of oposition in trade which has caused them to think more of large prices for their beaver & horses than anything else. I trust they have now given up the idea of trade on our part. We have made but little attempt to teach them except to sing with which they are much pleased & adopt in their worship which they have at the Chief's lodge night & morning & Sabbath forenoon. In the afternoon of Sabbath I assemble them for worship & instruction My house was so small it could not admit many to our family worship all would have been glad to attend. The present worship of the Indians was established by the Traders of the Hudson Bay Co & It consists of the singing a form of prayer taught them after which the Chief gives them a talk. It has had a favorable influence upon them in rendering them more civil & little addicted to steal. Some of the leading truths of Revelation have been taught them. A system of punishment for crime established also by the traders has done much good. I think there can be no doubt of their rediness to adopt cultivation & when they have plenty of food they will be little disposed to wander. So far the Hudson Bay Company have furnished what we desired but much better farming utentials could be sent from the U States If a direct conveyance canot be had to the Columbia let things be sent to Mr Bingham Sandwich Islands & from thence the H.B. Co will bring them once or twice a year Plows and hoes are the main farming utentialls we need. The number of hoes ought to be very great & of a strong make. We shall be in great want of books for teaching the English language We think it all important to acquire the native language & reduce it to writing & teach it but probably it will never be desirable to print it but only teach it to instruct & interest the parents. Books with plates & cuts & cards & prints are all important You are much better informed as to what we want in this particulars than we are I trust will send us book and aparatus accordingly
Thus far the Lord has signally Blest us & prospered all our journeyings & temporal provisions Brother Gray left us in March with the intention (of) spending a year with the Flatheads in order to obtain their language & a knowledge of their Country; but on meeting Brother Spalding at Spokane they resolved he should return home this season instead of next. The Nez perces are to accompany him with horses to exchange for cattle. For want of sufficient notice & on account of some horse given to an American Trader by the Cayuses for which they received no return as promised & also on account of some horses given the Rev. Messrs Lee finding a disaffection I do not like to take the responsibility of sending their animals & therefore no Cayuses will accompany him. The boys I took home[2] one remained with Brother Spalding & the other with me The one with me I have lately expeled from my house for bad conduct They were very usefull to us in driving our cattle We are in good health at presant & in this respect have been highly favored We have a daughter born the fourteenth March whom we call Alice Clarissa[3] I trust we shall have associate sent us & my opinion is they had better come by land & let all baggage be sent by water If Mr. David Weld of Cohocton Steuben Co N York comes he is a competent Mill wright & (paper torn) Irons & all necessary provision for a grist mill should be sent with the exception of stones which can be made here better if tools are sent for the purpose. Irons also for a saw Mill would be usefull I do not know what oportunity you will have to send but if my Friends do not send me Medical & religious books I wish the Board to send what they see fit as I have but few indeed Mr Gray I believe is to return his object in going home I suppose is to make arrangement for that purpose & to remain permanently in the Mission[4] One of the Cayuse Chiefs has 3 or four cows & heifers & also a Walla Walla Chief a few the Hudson Bay Co have about 1,200 hed of cattle at their different posts but none are sold We feel ourselves quite alone but still if we had associates we could not be protected but by the power of God only We feel ourselves greatly unfit for the work but still such as we are we will try to do what we can the Lord strengthening us
I am Dear Sir yours in Gospel Labor & Love
Rev. D. Greene
To the Rev. Prudential Committee of the A.B.C.F.M. The undersigned respectfully present the following schedule of recepts & expenditures accruing to the Wiiletpoo Station of Mission to the Flatheads & Nez perces
Bill of Exchange drawn by H. H. Spalding at Vancouver 20 Nov 1836 for £371 - 8 - 1[5]
| Expended as follows | £ | s | d |
|---|---|---|---|
| H. H. Spalding | 172 | 13 | 1 |
| Wm. H. Gray | 10 | 7 | 10 |
| Marcus Whitman | 188 | 7 | 2 |
Also bill drawn by Marcus Whitman Fort Nez perces March 18th 1837 for £102 - 13 - 1
| Expended as follows | £ | s | d |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Whitman | 26 | 12 | 10 |
| H. H. Spalding | 32 | 13 | 1 |
| Wm. H. Gray | 43 | 7 | 2 |
| First Bill | Second Bill | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s | d | £ | s | d | |
| household goods | 43 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 2 |
| labor food grocrys | 23 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 43 | 7 | 2 | ||||
| transportation & medicine | 8 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 2 |
| apparel | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
| tools & farming utentials | 10 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 18 | 3 |
| Indian goods | 36 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
- ↑ Clear water River.
- ↑ In 1835, Whitman took two Nez Perce boys, named Tackitonitis and Ais, back to the states. They were renamed Richard and John, and accompanied Whitman and Spalding in 1836.
- ↑ First child of American parents to be born in the Oregon country.
- ↑ Gray married while in the east and returned with his wife and a reinforcement for the mission.
- ↑ The rate of exchange was about $540 for every £100; Drury, Henry Harmon Spalding, 204.