Women of the West
Narcissa Whitman
Narcissa Whitman
Narcissa Whitman, a gentle missionary, became one of the most famous women of the West because she crossed the continent as one of the first two white women who managed almost the whole way from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon riding side-saddle (in Brown: 11), and Narcissa Whitman's daughter was the "first child born of American parents in the Oregon Country" (in 4.).
Born in Prattsburg, New York on March 14, 1808, Narcissa Prentiss Whitman was the third child of nine. At the early age of 16, influenced by the life of Harriet Boardman, a missionary to India whom Narcissa had read about, Narcissa decided to become a missionary herself (in 4.). While teaching at a school in her hometown Prattsburg and also teaching kindergarten in Bath, both in the state of New York, Narcissa applied for work as a missionary. This was quite a hopeless venture because unmarried women were not welcome as missionaries at that time. (in 3.). Before Narcissa's request was answered though, she married Marcus Whitman, a physician and missionary himself, in 1836. A day after their wedding, Narcissa and Marcus Whitman started their journey to the West (in 4.) where they lived for 11 years. During the Waiilatpu massacre in November 1847, the lives of Narcissa and Marcus Whitman as well as of 11 other emigrants were violently ended (in 4.).
Narcissa Whitman's life as a missionary was both lonely and hard, not only in the first years when she was the only white woman at the mission and suffered a terrible stroke of fate, but also later when she had 11 children to take care of. It was religion and her faith in God that made her continue her missionary work despite failing health and the hardship she suffered.
Narcissa's only child by birth, her daughter Alice Clarissa, was born on March 14, which was Narcissa's birthday as well, in the year 1837. Narcissa and Marcus had already settled in Waiilatpu in the Oregon Country, in order to convert the natives. In a letter to her family, Narcissa writes about the "goodness and mercy of the Lord" because she "received the gift of a little daughter - a treasure invaluable" (in 2. - letter dated March 30, 1837). Since she did not have the support of any female relatives, Narcissa's husband had to do the housework besides acting as a physician and a nurse when Alice was born. In this context as well as in many others, Narcissa speaks of her husband with great affection and respect (in 2.). The arrival of little Alice caused many Indians, among them some chiefs, to visit the Whitmans' house, and the looks of the white infant seemed to fascinate them. "Her whole appearance is so new to them. [...], her size and dress, [...], all excite a deal of wonder; for they never raise a child here except they are lashed tight to a board, and the girls' heads undergo the flattening process", Narcissa tells her family in the letter dated March 30, 1837 (in 2.). A letter to one of Narcissa's sisters, dated June 25th, 1939 (in 2.), reveals the tragedy of Alice's death. The two-year-old child had gone to the nearby Walla Walla river on June 23rd, 1839, (in 4.) and never came back. According to Narcissa's letter, the girl had gone to the river to get some water for supper. When she did not return, a search was conducted, but to no avail. Alice had drowned and was later found by the river side. "But she had gone; yes, and because my Saviour would have it so. He saw it necessary to afflict us, and has taken her away" (in 2.). The way Narcissa writes about the mercy of God shows how profound her believe must have been. It helped her to keep her strength and to carry on with her life although her own child had died at such an early age.
Although Narcissa's life was at times marked by agonizing pain and depression after the death of her daughter (in 4.), she and her husband kept trying to convert the natives. In her letters, Narcissa more than once mentions how much she misses the company of her family and friends, and she expresses her disappointment about hearing so little from the East which was partly due to the bad means of communication and the uncertainty of whether the letters ever reached their destinations. In a letter to her sister Jane, dated Februar 2, 1842, Narcissa's feelings and disappointment become quite obvious: "But I must talk to you a little before I tell about things here. I have just read your letter again, written in March 1840, and it is now '42, and do you not think that is a long while to wait for letters from one's beloved sisters and friends?" (in 2.).
Narcissa's attitude towards the Indians seems quite unusual or even arrogant for someone who was so strong-willed regarding the Christianization of the latter, for Narcissa considered them to be heathen who "had been serving the devil faithfully" (letter dated Feb. 2, 1842). In a letter to her mother in May 1840, she complains about the hygienic state of the natives who often came to the house of the Whitmans: "They are so filthy they make a great deal of cleaning wherever they go, and this wears out a woman very fast. We must clean after them, for we have come to elevate them and not to suffer ourselves to sink down to their standard." (in 2.). Also, she did not seem to understand the Indian culture. "The Whitmans made little effort to offer their religious message in terms familiar to the Cayuse, or to accomodate themselves even partially to Cayuse religious practises. [...] Even a sympathetic biographer admits that 'her attitude toward those among whom she lived came to verge on outright repugnance'"(in 3.).
Narcissa was well-known for the kind way she treated the children she raised. Before she died, there were no less than 11, among them the seven Sager orphans who had lost their parents on the Oregon Trail in 1844 (in 4.). In her memoirs, Catherine Sager Pringle, the oldest girl of the Sager orphans, mentions four other children who were living with the Whitman family when the Sagers arrived at the mission: "Perrin P. Whitman, his [Dr. Whitman's] nephew, who came out with him in 1843, when fourteen years old; Mary Ann Bridger, nine years old; Helen Mar Meek, seven years old, who had been raised from infancy by Mrs. Whitman, and David M. Cortez, seven years old." (in 5.). In a letter to her sister (April 2, 1846), Narcissa tells her about the arrival of the Sager children in October 1844. "They were an afflicted and distressed family in the journey, and when the children arrived here they were in a miserable condition." Narcissa mentions that she herself is "weak and feeble" (April 2, 1846) and that having to take care of so many children "rolled a burden upon me insupportable. Nothing could reconcile me to it but the thought that it was the Lord that brought them here, and He would give me grace and strength [...]."Again, this shows Narcissa's deep religiosity which made her do as best as she could. The children's curriculum was very strict, and Narcissa demanded discipline by all of them. Nonetheless, she must have been a very affectionate mother to them. For her girls, for example, she made rag dolls (letter dated March 1, 1842). Also, she went "rambling over the country in quest of flowers" with the girls (in 6.). In her memoirs, Catherine Sager Pringle also talks about going to school on a regular basis, about the whole family doing the washing once a week at 4 o'clock in the morning, or about the Sabbath which was strictly observed and prayer meetings held on Thursday night. Since Catherine became a "constant companion of Mrs. Whitman", "an attachment near to that of mother and daughter existed between us [...]" (in 5.).
In 1847,
an epidemic of measles, which had been brought to the country by the constant
flow of settlers, killed nearly half of the Cayuse whereas most of the
whites lived. According to Catherine Sager Pringle (in
5.), a half-breed called Jo Lewis, who had come to the mission late
in 1847 much against the doctor's will, had been telling the natives "that
the doctor and Mr. Spaulding were poisoning the Indians so as to give
their country to his own people". An Indian called Stickas informed Mr.
Whitman of this intrigue set up by Jo Lewis, but it was too late - soon
afterwards, the mission was destroyed, the Whitmans and at least 11 others
killed and the survivors taken captive. Thanks to Narcissa's letters and
the memoirs of Catherine Sager Pringle, the memory of the Narcissa Whitman
is still alive, "preserved at her last home near Walla Walla, Washington,
as well as her first home in Prattsburg, New York" (in
4.).
Bibliography
- Brown, Dee (no date): Pulverdampf war ihr Parfum: Die sanften Helden des Wilden Westens. Hoffmann und Campe Verlag, Hamburg. Original title: "Gentle Tamers: Women of the Old Wild West". Lincoln University of Nebraska Press, 1958, 1981.
- "Letters and Journals of Narcissa Whitman" <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/wpages/wpgs620/whitman2.htm> [Accessed Mon Jan 8, 2001]
- "Marcus Whitman (1802-1847)/Narcissa Whitman (1808-1847)" <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/wpages/wpgs400/w4whitma.htm> [Accessed Tues Jan 15, 2001]
- "Narcissa Whitman: 1808-1847" by Tina Boehle. <http://www.nps.gov/whmi/history/narcbio.htm> [Accessed Tues Jan 15, 2001]
- "Across the Plains in 1844 by Catherine Sager Pringle (c. 1860)" <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/wpages/wpgs620/sager1.htm> [Accessed Tues Jan 9, 2001]
- "Children's Lives at Whitman Mission" <http://www.nps.gov/whmi/educate/whmitg/3whmi3.htm> [Accessed Tues Jan 9, 2001]
