Page:History vs. the Whitman saved Oregon story.djvu/24

18 and purpose of his ride (and I have quoted all they contain on those points).

Though knowing about all these letters, Dr. Mowry does not even alludte to any one of them.

The only remaining "original sources" or contemporaneous accounts of the origin and purpose of Whitman's ride are the two offcialofficial [sic] accounts in the Missionary Herald—the monthly organ of the American Board—the first in the number for September, 1843, and the second in the number for July, 1848. Neither Dr. Mowry nor any other advocate of the Saving Oregon theory of that ride has ever dared to quote either of these accounts, and I do not believe any advocate of that theory ever will give his readers a chance to read them. No advocate of the Saving Oregon story ever intimated that any such accounts had ever been published till after Mrs. Victor and Elwood Evans in their investigations found and published them, and since them nearly all advocates of the Saving Oregon story, like Barrows, Craighead, Coffin, Nixon, Mowry, Mrs. Eva Emery Dye, Parker, and Penrose have avoided even alluding to these two official accounts of the origin and purpose of that ride. If based only on the correspondence of the mission with the American Board, these (which are not only the first two, but also the only articles ever printed that gave any account of the origin and purpose of that ride till the Saving Oregon theory was published in 1864-5-6) could not be considered as "original sources," since that correspondence is still in existence (though all its vital parts have always been carefully suppressed by all the advocates of the Saving Oregon story), but as these two accounts might have been based to some extent on what Whitman himself said, when in Boston, March 30–April 8, 1843, they are fairly entitled to rank as "original sources."

The first account is as follows: "It was stated in the last Annual Report that the Southern Branch of this Mission, embracing the stations at Wailatpu, near Walla Walla, and Clear Water and Kamiah, higher up on the waters of Snake River, had been discontinued, but at a special meeting of the mission, held last October, to consider this decision, it was thought advisable that Dr. Whitman should personally communicate the condition and prospects of these stations to the Prudential Committee. After a long and toilsome journey he reached Boston, early in the spring; and, upon hearing the representations which he made, it was resolved to sustain the operations of the mission without any material change. An-