Some say the sorrow began when Narcissa Whitman, just after lunch on November 29, 1847, went to the mission's kitchen. She found the room full of raucous Cayuse Indians, one of whom demanded the milk she was retrieving. No, she replied sternly, not until she gave some to her baby. When the Indian tried to follow her into the sitting room, she shut the door in his face and bolted it.

In a moment, one of the Indians began pounding on the door, asking medicine from her husband, Marcus. He retrieved the medicine and, as he sat at the kitchen table, a Cayuse stepped behind him, drew a tomahawk from under his blanket, and struck the doctor's head. A second blow brought him to the floor. Another Indian then put a bullet into Marcus's neck.

Hectic and violent events unfolded over the next hour, and by the end of two days, Marcus, Narcissa, and a dozen other whites were dead. One of the Whitmans' adopted children later recalled her mother's death: "The terror of that moment cannot be expressed. There ...

FREE E-Newsletter Sign up for the ChristianHistory.net e-mail newsletter. Discover more about your Christian heritage with this weekly e-newsletter that features key people, topics, and events from the history of Christianity.      RSS Feed   RSS Help