Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 23.djvu/109



INDIAN SCHOOL PACIFIC NORTHWEST 81

Near the close of the year 1839 Shepard was overcome by the scrofulous disease with which he had long been afflicted. Drs. White and Bailey of the mission gave what treatment they could, and fiinally decided that amputation of a leg was necessary. He lingered for a number of weeks, suffering in- tensely, but keeping cheerful in spite of the pain. Even a sense of the humorous, tho rather grim, appeared above the agony of the sick bed, as evinced by a postscript added to a letter his wife was writing for him to Daniel Lee, which was signed, "A part of Cyrus." The spirit left his afflicted body on the first of January, 1840. He lived and died the most beloved member of the mission group. We may be proud that the first real teacher of the Oregon country was one of such noble and self sacrificing character. We say first, for while both John Ball and Solomon Smith taught for a short time before Shepard opened his work at the mission school, it was with them merely a chance to obtain employment during a period when they were not engaged at their regular occupa- tions. Shepard was a teacher by profession who came to the Oregon country for the purpose of teaching. As Oregon's first real teacher, his name should be given a highly honored place in the list of educators of the State.

The other member of the mission who gave considerable time to teaching was Philip L. Edwards, whose work some writers have confused with that of Shepard. He rendered help at the main school, and during the late fall and winter of 1835-6 taught a small school near Champoeg, 18 but most of his time was necessarily taken up with the work about the mission farm. Teaching was largely an incidental part of his work. During his short stay in the country his part was a most honorable one, his trip to California as treasurer of the Wallamet Cattle company being of itself alone no mean service to the pioneer state. He returned east in the spring of 1838 in company with Jason Lee who was going to seek reinforce- ments for his work. He studied law and later served with the military forces against the Mormons, for which service he received the title of Colonel. In 1850 he emigrated to Cali-

18 Lee & Frost, pp. 139-40.