Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 20.pdf/136

 REVEREND EZRA FISHER

128

buildings.

While

The Cascades an express came down

I lay at

from The Dalles making a requisition for all the soldiers that could be spared at Vancouver to be sent immediately to The Cascades. With this state of excitement, I thought little could be expected from a visit to The Dalles, as this warlike appearance from the Indians will seriously retard the settlement of the whole upper country for a year or two at the least. Consequently I return without even spending a night on the land.

All the Pend d' Oreille miners have returned, except a few French and perhaps a very few whites. About 25 or 30 white families are settled in the vicinity of The Dalles, and ten or twelve more, besides some fifty or sixty French whites and half-breeds, are in the Walla Walla Valley in the vicinity of the Whitman Mission Station. Although we have some 80

or 100 regular troops at The Dalles, these scattered families will be in great danger, should the Indian war become gen-

above the Cascade Mountains. O, when wars cease, and men everywhere submit to the glorious If I were a young man, I sometimes think Prince of Peace

eral with the tribes will

!

should delight to propagate the blessed gospel among these tribes and see if they could not be saved from the brutal lusts I

of outlawed whites and the Jesuital intrigues and superstiI have but little doubt that the tion of the Roman priests.

same

work with those Indians that were massacre. O, when shall that whom was found the blood of the

artful teachers are at

accessory to the

Whitman

great City Babylon, in prophets and of saints and of earth, be thrown it

in

Thy

all

that

were

down and found no more

!

slain

Oh

upon the

Lord, hasten

time.

tomorrow for a tour in the upper part of the and propose visiting some of the feeble churches in valley Lane County, if God permits. I have nothing more that is new to communicate at this time, but shall communicate on the subject of the school in this place in a few weeks. I fear I shall start

Br. Post will set

up an independent school about two miles