Page:History vs. the Whitman saved Oregon story.djvu/64

58 This Resolve authorized Whitman "to visit the United States as soon as practicable to confer with the Committee of the A. B. C. F. M. in regard to the interests of this Mission," and was signed by E. Walker, Moderator, Gushing Eells, Scribe, and H. H. Spalding, while Gray unquestionably knew all about this document. Yet when, in 1865-6, Spalding, Gray and G. Eells published their varying versions of the Whitman Saved Oregon story, each of them declared that Whitman's sole purpose in making that ride was the patriotic desire to save Oregon to the United States, and never in any of their subsequent "statements" on the subject did any one of them give the least intimation that there was anything in the condition of the Mission to impel him to make that ride, nor did any one of them admit that he had ever heard of the order to discontinue the Southern branch of the Mission (i. e., Kamiah, Rev. A. B. Smith's station, who had left the Mission in 1841, though that was not known to the Committee of the A. B. C. F. M. when they issued this order in February, 1842), Lapwai, Rev. H. H. Spalding's station, and Wailatpu, Dr. Whitman's station, leaving to be continued only Tshimakain, Rev. C. Eells' and E. Walker's station, and recalling Gray and Spalding (i. e., two out of the five men remaining connected with the Mission) to the States. Though Rev. M. Eells knows all about this order, and knows that nothing but this order and Gray's, desertion of the Mission are mentioned in the official report of the Special Meeting (contained in his father's 14-page letter, dated October 3, 1842, endorsed as correct by Walker) as having been discussed at that meeting, he has never in all his voluminous writings quoted the order, nor quoted one word from his father's 14-page letter of October 3, 1842, nor from Walker's 16-page letter of October 3, 1842, endorsed as correct by his father (which he admits he has in his possession (Cf. Reply p. 68), nor ever quoted the above "Resolve" of September 28, authorizing Whitman to go to the States, not to save Oregon, but to save the Mission. Duplicates of these letters were sent to the American Board via the Sandwich Islands, for fear that Dr. Whitman might not get through, and were received at the American Board rooms on May 3, 1843, as the endorsement of D. Greene, Secretary, on them shows.

With this exposition of the deep devotion to truth which Rev. M. Eells has displayed in suppressing every word of the correspondence of all the members of the Oregon Mission with the American Board prior to Whitman's ride, though that correspondence, submitted by me in manuscripts, has con-