Page:History vs. the Whitman saved Oregon story.djvu/28

22 his ride,—claims that his ride had any other purpose than missionary business.

Dr. Mowry's treatment of this letter illustrates his ideas of going to "original sources wherever practicable."

On pp. 198-9 he says: "In another letter" (whose date he does not give), "to Mr. Greene, is the following: 'It was to open a practical (practicable) route and safe passage, and secure a favorable report of the journey from emigrants, which, in connection with other objects caused me to leave my family and brave the toils and dangers of the journey, notwithstanding the unusual severity of the winter, and the great depth of snow. "Then he mentions the 'saving the mission from being broken up, as 'another' object of his journey."

But instead of going to the "original source" for this inaccurate and deceptive quotation. Dr. Mowry has copied it verbatim (and without credit), from an article defending the Whitman Saved Oregon story (by Rev. Dr. Laurie, the official historian of the American Board), in the Missionary Herald, for September, 1885, p. 350.

Going to the "original source," to wit.: Whitman's own letter (covering 7 pages large sized letter paper), in the archives of the Americam Board, we find the following, viz.:

"It was to open a practical route and safe passage and to secure a favorable report of the journey from immigrants, which, in connection with other objects, caused me to leave my family and brave the toils and dangers of the journey, which carried me on, notwithstanding I was forced out of my direct track, and notwithstanding the unusual severity of the winter and great depth of snow.

"In connection with this let me say, the other great object for which I went was to save the mission from being broken up just then, which it must have been, as you will see by a reference to the doings of the Committee" (i. e., the Prudential Committee of the American Board), "which confirmed the recall of Mr. Spalding only two weeks before my arrival in Boston. I often reflect upon the fact that you told me you were sorry I came. ... It may not be inappropriate to observe that at that moment the Methodist Mission, as well as our own, was on the point of dissolution."

Every other advocate of the Whitman Legend who has quoted from this letter has refrained, as carefully as Dr. Mowry has, from making a fair quotation from it, so that this is the first chance the public has ever had to read exactly what Whitman wrote three and one-half years after his return to Oregon, and all that has been found that he ever wrote, making any claim that anything other than the business of saving the mission from destruction impelled him to make his ride.