Our mission party, with Captain Pambrun, his two boats loaded, twothirds of the goods for the mission, on their way up the Columbia River, arrived all safe at the Dalles. Gray took a decided stand in favor of the first location at that point, on account of its accessibility, and the general inclination of all the Indians in the country to gather at those salmon fisheries; Spalding and Pambrun opposed; Whitman was undeeided; Pambrun would not wait to give time to explore, nor assist in getting horses for the Doctor and Gray to look at the country in view of a location. On we go; make the portages at La Chute; reach John Day's River; Pambrun leaves boats in charge of Whitman and Gray, and goes to Wallawalla on horseback. In four days' hard pulling, towing, and sailing, we reach Wallawalla all safe; find cattle and horses all improving, and every thing in order, that is, as good order as could be expected; boats discharged, goods all carefully stored. Next morning, early, a fine band of Cayuse horses came into the fort; four fine ones were selected and saddled, an extra pack animal with traveling case and kitchen furniture, tent for camping, and provisions all ready, a servant with two Indians, all mounted, off we go up the Wallawalla River about twenty-five miles. Most of the land we passed over we pronounced barren, and good for nothing except grazing cattle, sheep, and horses. In the bends of the river, saw a few acres of land that might be cultivated if arrangements could be made to irrigate. Passed the Tuchet, but did not consider its appearance justified much delay to examine it closely, though the whole bottom was covered with a heavy coat of tall rye grass; went on into the forks of the Wallawalla and Mill Creek (as it is now called), pitched our tent at the place where Whitman's station was afterward built, got our suppers. Whitman and Gray took a look around the place, went into the bends in the river, looked at the cotton-wood trees, the little streams of water, and all about till dark; came back to camp; not much said. Mr. Pambrun explained the quality of the soil, and what would produce corn, what potatoes, and what would produce (as he thought) wheat, though he had not tried it thoroughly; or, rather, he had tried it on a small scale and failed. A few Cayuses came about camp at night. Next morning up early; breakfast over, some fine fresh Cayuse horses were brought up, ready to mount. We proceeded through the valley in several directions; rode all day and returned to camp at night, stopping occasionally to pull up a weed or a bush, to examine the quality of the soil. At night, if an artist could have been present and taken a picture of the group and the expressions of countenance, it certainly would have been interesting, Spalding, Whitman, Pambrun, and Gray discussing the quality of the soil, the future prospects of a mission, and of the natives it was contemplated to gather around. No white settlement was then thought of. They unanimously concluded that there was but a limited amount of land susceptible of cultivation, estimated at the place for the station at about ten acres. Along all the streams and at the foot of the Blue Mountains, there might be found little patches of from half an acre to six acres of land suitable to cultivate for the use of the natives. This, to say the least, was not an overestimate of the qualities of the soil that has proved, by twenty-five years' cultivation without manure, to be richer to-day than soils of a different character with all the manuring they have received. The great objection and most discouraging indication to the party was the unlimited amount of caustic alkali found all over those plains and all through the valley. This fact alone proves the soil inexhaustible. All it requires is sufficient water to wash from the surface the superabundant alkali that forms upon it. Any cereals adapted to alkaline soil may be cultivated to any extent in those valleys. A stake was set to mark the place. Next day all returned to the fort, and soon the mission tents, horses, goods, and cattle were upon the ground and work commenced. The Indians, what few had not gone for buffalo, came to our camp and rendered all the assistance they were capable of in getting a house up and covered. In a few days Spalding and Whitman started with the Nez Percés to look at their country, in view of a location among them, leaving Gray alone in charge of the building and goods, while they examined the country up the Clearwater River, and selected a location in a beautiful valley about two miles up the Lapwai Creek, and about twelve miles from Lewiston. Whitman returned to assist in erecting buildings at his station. Spalding started for Vancouver, to bring up the ladies. About the middle of November, Mrs. Whitman's quarters were ready, and she came to occupy them. Spalding and Gray, with Mrs. Spalding, started for the Lapwai station; arrived about the 1st of December, 1836, and, with the assistance of the Indians, in about twenty days a house was up, and Mrs. Spalding occupied it. It is due to those Indians to say that they labored freely and faithfully, and showed the best of feelings toward Mr. and Mrs. Spalding, paying good attention to instructions given them, and appeared quite anxious to learn all they could of their teachers. It is also due to truth to state that Mr. Spalding paid them liberally for their services when compared with the amount paid them by the Hudson's Bay Company for the same service: say, for bringing a pine-log ten feet long and one foot in diameter from the Clearwater River to the station, it usually took about twelve Indians; for this service Mr. Spalding paid them A WINTER TRIP. 167 about six inches of trail-rope tobacco each. This was about four times as much as the Hudson's Bay Company paid. This fact soon created a little feeling of unfriendliness toward Mr. Spalding. Dr. Whitman managed to get along with less Indian labor, and was able, from his location, to procure stragglers or casual men to work for him for a time, to get supplies and clothing to help them on their way down to the Wallamet settlement. Mr. Spalding and Dr. Whitman were located in their little cabins making arrangements to get in their gardens and spring crops, teaching the Indians by example, and on the Sabbath interpreting portions of the Bible to them, and giving them such religious instruction as they were capable of communicating with their imperfect knowledge of their language; Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding teaching the children at their respective stations as much as was possible for them with their domestic duties to perform. All things going on smoothly at the stations and all over the Indian country, it was thought advisable for Gray to visit Vancouver, procure the requisite spring supplies, and a suitable outfit for himself to explore the country, having in view further missionary locations, and return to the United States and procure assistance for the mission. Gray's expedition, as contemplated then, would not be considered with present facilities a very light one. He started from Spalding's station about the 22d of December, 1836. There had been about twenty inches of snow upon the ground, but it was concluded from the fine weather at the station that most of it had melted off. On reaching the forks of Clearwater (Lewiston), he learned from the Indians that the snow was too deep to go by land, sent his horses back to Spalding, got an Indian dug-out, started from Lewiston for Wallawalla with two Indians to pilot and paddle the canoe; reached the Paluce all safe; camped with the Indians; found them all friendly; that night came on bitter cold;-river full of floating ice; Indians concluded not safe to proceed further in canoe; procure horses and start down on the right bank of the river; travel all day; toward night, in passing over a high point, snow-storm came on, lost our trail; struck a cañon, followed it down, found the river and camped in the snow, turned our horses into the tall grass and made the best of a snow-camp for the night. Next day start early; wallow through the snow and drifts and reach an Indian camp near the mouth of Snake River at night; leave horses; next morning get canoe, leave one Paluce Indian; Paluce chief and chief of band at Snake River in canoe; two Indians to paddle; pull down the river into the Columbia in the floating ice, and reach Wallawalla, December 26, 1856; Pambrun pays Indians what he thinks right: Paluce chief, for horses and services, one three-point Hudson's Bay blanket, one check shirt, one knife, half a brace (three feet) trail-rope tobacco. Gray thought the price paid was very reasonable,- quite little enough for the labor, to say nothing of the risk and suffering from cold on the trip. The river all closed up; Indians did not reach their homes for eight days; no communication in any direction for ten days. About the tenth day Whitman sends orders down for goods to be shipped from Vancouver. About the 10th of January, 1837, Mr. Ermatinger arrived from Colville by boat, having made several portages over ice in reaching Wallawalla. Next day we start down the river; pass through and over several fields of ice; reach Vancouver about the 12th of January. Rev. J. Lee and Mr. Slacum had just left the fort as our party arrived. We have previously given an account of the subjects of special interest, and also of the weddings that occurred about this time at the fort. CHAPTER XXII. The French and American settlers.-Hudson's Bay Company's traveling traders.-The Flatheads. Their manner of traveling.—Marriage. Their honesty.-Indian fight and scalp dance.--Making peace.-Fight with the Sioux.-At Council Bluffs. THE reader is already acquainted with all of the first missionaries, and with the governing power and policy of the Hudson's Bay Company, and of the different parties and organizations as they existed. We will now introduce parties of men as we find them in the Wallamet settlement. There were at this time about fifty Canadian-Frenchmen in the Wallamet settlement, all of them retired servants of the Hudson's Bay Company. These men, who had spent the most active part of their lives in the service of the company, had become connected with native women, and nearly all of them had their families of half-native children. This class of servants were found by the experience of the company not as profitable for their purposes as the enlisted men from the Orkney Isles, or even the Sandwich Islanders. They were induced to allow those that had families of half-native children to retire from the service and settle in the Wallamet. In this manner they expected to hold a controlling influence in the settlement, and secure a population dependent upon them for supplies. It was upon this half-breed population that they relied to rally the Indian warriors of the country to prevent an American settlement. As was plainly stated by one of the Hudson's Bay Company, Mr. F. Ermatinger, in the fall of 1838, in case any effort should be made to remove them from the country, they had but to arm the eight hundred half-breeds the company had, and, with the Indians they could control, they could hold the country against any American force that could be sent into it. The Hudson's Bay Company knew very well the power and influence they had secured over the Indians. There was then too small a number of outside Americans to make any effort to remove them, other than to afford them facilities to leave the country. With all the facilities they furnished, and encouragement they gave to go to the Sandwich Islands and to California, there was a gradual increase of the population the company did not wish to see;-sailors from vessels, and hunters from the mountains. These sailors and hunters naturally gathered around the |