The Whitman Massacre cover art

The Whitman Massacre

The History and Legacy of the Native American Attack on Missionaries That Started the Cayuse War

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Whitman Massacre

By: Charles River Editors
Narrated by: Scott Clem
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £6.99

Buy Now for £6.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

"I and some others went upstairs where we could look from a window and see a part of the conflict near the Doctor's house. Three or four men were butchering a beef there. I saw them engaged with quite a number of Indians. Mr. Kimball was dealing hard with several, he having an axe to fight with. He fought desperately for awhile, but they killed him at last." - Mary Marsh Cason’s account of the attack

The first to begin showing up in large numbers were missionaries. The native populations were by then diminished by disease and dispirited, which meant they were more receptive to missionary aid and the Christian message. Christianity, of course, was not entirely unknown among the indigenous populations, given that marriages between white men and Indian women created a hybrid of “folk” Christianity that was commonly observed among the Indians. The first wave of missionaries represented the American Methodists, arriving in or around 1834, followed a year or two later by a second series of arrivals, sponsored this time by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). The ABCFM was an ecumenical organization founded to promote the general outreach of the Presbyterian and Dutch Reform churches in the United States. Roman Catholics arrived around 1830, bringing missionaries mostly from Canada and Europe.

The mission was well-funded, and its settlement, at least by the standards of native society, was lavish. Initially, the couple and their followers treated the neighboring Cayuse tribe with generosity, distributing material largess, as well as medicine and rudimentary education. The relationship between the two parties, however, was complicated, and Marcus Whitman appeared to grow disenchanted with persistent demands for material goods made upon the mission. Eventually, he stopped providing goods, which sowed a certain amount of discontent among the Cayuse, and animosity took root. When an epidemic of measles swept through the community, killing hundreds of natives, they blamed the mission for poisoning them. In November 1847, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, along with 11 other missionaries, were massacred by a Cayuse war party.

That attack would have profound implications not only for the Cayuse and other native tribes of the region, but also for the future direction of the territory. The immediate aftermath brought conflicts known as the Cayuse Wars, which resulted in the banishment of the native peoples of the region to reservations and galvanized the federal government to act over the status of the Oregon Country.

The Whitman Massacre: The History and Legacy of the Native American Attack on Missionaries that Started the Cayuse War looks at the chain of events that led to one of the most notorious attacks of the 19th century on the frontier. You will learn about the Whitman Massacre like never before.

©2019 Charles River Editors (P)2019 Charles River Editors
Indigenous Peoples United States
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The British Subjugation of Australia: The History of British Colonization and the Conquest of the Aboriginal Australians cover art
This Land Is Their Land cover art
The Trail of Tears cover art
The Flavian Dynasty cover art
Native American History cover art
The Cherokees cover art
Mayflower Lives cover art
Our America cover art
Unworthy Republic cover art
The Other Slavery cover art
Doctor David Livingstone and Bishop Charles Mackenzie cover art
Alistair Cooke's America cover art

What listeners say about The Whitman Massacre

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.