movement of his time, but withholds from him the title that the disputed story has conferred during half a century that of "empire saver."
"We do well on this commemorative occasion," says the revised version, "to honor the faithful missionary who endured severe privations, braved great dangers, and fell a martyr to the missionary work to which he had devoted his life. But we should do him great injustice to ascribe to him projects of empire for which neither his words nor his acts give any warrant, which necessitate the appropriation to him of the labors of others and require an entire misreading of our diplomatic history in regard to the history of Oregon."
For the sake of true history it is fortunate that we have the corrected conclusions of Mr. Fiske, so clearly and strongly stated as they appear in the posthumous publication.
In the original address the latter part, about 1300 words, is devoted to Whitman. In the revision this part is enlarged to 4000 words and completely altered.
The revision is changed from the original but little in other respects only in literary refinements of a word or a sentence now and then. The original was published in the Morning Oregonian of May 12, 1892, inserted in that paper by the late editor, H. W. Scott, who received it from Mr. George H. Himes, Secretary of the Oregon Pioneer Association, who obtained it from Mr. Fiske. The original compared with the revision bears evidences of hasty composition, and the part relating to Whitman shows immature investigation. Mr. Fiske accepted Barrows, Gray, and others before looking into the subject for himself.
Mr. Fiske at Astoria repeated the "wagon-on-the-Columbia" story; said Hudson's Bay men discouraged immigration and barred wagon progress; told the tale of Whitman spurred by the Red River immigration in 1842 to make his "ride" to "save" Oregon in the Webster-Ashburton negotiations. Portrayed the nation as awakened by Whitman to the value of Oregon and the immigration of 1843 as actuated by him. These several myths have been disbelieved and disproved during many
