Page:History of Oregon volume 1.djvu/455

404 When Whitman arrived at Lapwai he found Mr and Mrs Spalding convalescing, and hastened to his own station to meet the immigrants and furnish them with supplies, which had to be brought from Lapwai and Colville, his grain and mill having been destroyed the previous winter. For this service he was censured by some and applauded by others. That it was a wise and philanthropic action to give the immigrants an opportunity to purchase fresh provisions, the sequel proved; besides, it was personally known to Whitman that some of them had exhausted their supplies before reaching the Columbia.

But whether they were or were not in need, they found the prices at Waiilatpu exorbitant when compared with those of Missouri, and accused Whitman of selfish motives in conducting the immigration past his station, making them ninety additional miles of travel, which, with their worn-out teams and the lateness of the season, became a matter of serious importance.