Page:Essays in Historical Criticism.djvu/82

 In Elijah White's Letter:

The chief Feathercap "acknowledged his opinion that the mill was burnt purposely by some disaffected persons toward Dr. Whitman. I spoke kindly," etc.

In Spalding's quotation:

The chief Feathercap "acknowledged it as his opinion that the mill was burnt purposely by some disaffected persons toward Dr. Whitman. The mill, lumber, and a great quantity of grain was burnt by Catholic Indians, instigated by Romanists, to break up the Protestant mission, and prevent supplies to the oncoming emigration by Dr. Whitman."

Here is a deliberate interpolation in an official document of the year 1843 to manufacture evidence of a knowledge of Dr. Whitman's plans as represented by Spalding, and of such malignant hostility on the part of the Catholics as would render plausible his accusations in regard to the Whitman massacre. Again, where Dr. White quotes an old chief as saying in regard to the conference he was holding: "Clark pointed to this day, to you, and this occasion; we have long waited in expectation; sent three of our sons to Red River School to prepare for it," Spalding changed the last clause to "sent three of our sons to the rising sun to obtain the book from Heaven," thus manufacturing first-hand confirmation of the story of the Indians who came to St. Louis for the Bible.