Page:The Souvenir of Western Women.djvu/47

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HERE appeared at the frontier trading post of St. Louis in 1832, four Indians who had come from the distant shores of the Western ocean asking for the "White Man's Book of Heaven." After months of unavailing search, overpowered by hardships and disappointments, two of their number succumbed, and with saddened faces their companions turned homeward, their quest unfulfilled. Throughout our country the fruitless mission of these savage people was related. The religious world, stirred to its depths, called for volunteers to carry the message of the Lord to these longing souls. To the quiet homes of old New England the summons came, and, moved by a holy purpose, young wives turned from the shelter of their firesides to brave with their husbands the unknown perils of the wilderness. Into the schools and colleges the cry penetrated, and cultured young women, as well as stalwart young men, eagerly offered to share in the dangers and privileges of this great mission. Jason Lee, a hardy young college man, filled with deep religious fervor, was the first to respond to this appeal. In 1834, with two companions, he set forth on his perilous journey to the westward, and, in less than a year, had begun his work among the Indians. By 1840 two missionary settlements had been formed in the Oregon territory (as the whole Northwest was then called), the Presbyterian, east of the Cascade Mountains, under the direction of Dr. Marcus Whitman and Rev. H. H. Spalding, and the Methodist, on the banks of the Willamette, superintended by Jason Lee.

The lasting influence of the Methodist mission is largely due to the courageous hearts and patient devotion of the women, who gave their youth and strength to the establishment of this work. These women, who dared the long ocean voyage, or braved the sufferings and privations of the overland