Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/77

74 Before that, marriage had been a civil contract, and there was considerable laxity as to native unions.

Other Denominations Come to Old Oregon. When it became known that Jason Lee had established the Methodist Mission in the Willamette Valley, other religious denominations soon became interested in the Indians of the Northwest. Finally the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions became active. In 1835 Dr. Samuel Parker and Dr. Marcus Whitman were sent west to explore the field. While on their journey they learned that missionaries would receive a welcome among the Indians west of the Rocky Mountains. Doctor Whitman forthwith returned to the East to procure assistance, but Doctor Parker continued his journey to the Oregon Country, and lived at Fort Vancouver the following winter. In the spring, he visited the Walla Walla valley and reported it to be "a delightful situation for a missionary establishment." He explored the Lewis and Spokane Rivers, becoming greatly interested in teaching the Indians whom he found. Later that year, he returned to Vancouver, whence he sailed to New York.