United States History Student Edition

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“All Our Lives Preserved” In 1836, Narcissa Whitman and her husband, Dr. Marcus Whitman, left the East Coast to establish a mission in the Oregon Country. After traveling across the continent, they settled in Walla Walla, Washington, where they built and operated a medical clinic and preached Christianity. Here we are all at Walla Walla, through the mercy of a kind Providence, in health and all our lives preserved. . . . Surely my heart is ready to leap for joy at the thought of . . . having completed this hazardous journey under such favorable circumstances. . . . Another cause for gratitude is the preservation of our animals, in this difficult, dangerous and lengthy route, while many parties previous to ours have had every animal taken from them, and been left on foot in a dangerous land, exposed to death. Two horses have given out with fatigue and have been left, two have been stolen or lost. . . . Two calves only have been lost. The remainder came on well except those we left at Snake Fort [Idaho]. ” — from Narcissa Whitman to her mother, Sept. 3, 1836 EXAMINE THE SOURCE 1. Analyzing What hardships and dangers of the trail west does Whitman describe in her letter? 2. Drawing Conclusions Describe Narcissa Whitman’s tone in this letter. Why do you think she chose to write to her mother in this tone? PRIMARY SOURCE: LETTER “ September 3rd, 1836.

A Family on the Oregon Trail With wagon trains normally progressing about 15 miles (24 km) per day, the trip west on the Oregon Trail took five to six months. Elizabeth Dixon Smith Greer completed the trip while caring for a sick husband and seven children. PRIMARY SOURCE: DIARY “ It rains and snows. We start this morning around the falls with our wagons. . . . I carry my babe and lead, or rather carry, another through snow, mud, and water, almost to my knees. It is the worst road. . . . I went ahead with my children and I was afraid to look behind me for fear of seeing the wagons turn over into the mud. . . . My children gave out with cold and fatigue and could not travel, and the boys had to unhitch the oxen and bring them and carry the children on to camp. I was so cold and numb I could not tell by feeling that I had any feet at all. . . . [T]here was not one dry thread on one of us—not even my babe. . . . I have not told you half we suffered. I am not adequate to the task. ” — from Elizabeth Dixon Smith Greer, Diary (1847–1850) EXAMINE THE SOURCE 1. Summarizing What difficulties did the Greers face on their trip? 2. Comparing and Contrasting What is Elizabeth Greer’s attitude about her journey? Compare and contrast it to Narcissa Whitman’s attitude about her experience traveling west.

TEXT: (bl)Whitman, Narcissa. “Sept. 3d. [1836]” The Letters and Journals of Narcissa Whitman 1836-1847; (r)Oregon Pioneer Association. 1907. Transactions of the Thirty-Fourth Annual Reunion of the Oregon Pioneer Association, Volumes 34-40. Diary of Mrs. Elizabeth Dixon Smith Geer. Peaslee Bros. & Chausse, Printers, Portland. Pg. 171, 172.

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