Marcus Whitman Mission, Washington
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman built Waiilatpu Mission in 1836 near what is now Walla Walla, Washington. Waiilatpu means “Place of the Rye Grass” in the Cayuse language. The mission included a large adobe house, gristmill, and blacksmith shop on Cayuse tribal land.
Marcus worked as a doctor while Narcissa taught and led religious services. They hoped to convert the Cayuse to Christianity and teach them farming.
However, what started as a measles outbreak became one of the most famous attacks in American frontier history. The Whitman Massacre on November 29, 1847, killed 14 people and helped push Congress to make Oregon a territory.
Here’s what happened at the site that’s now preserved as Whitman Mission National Historical Park.
The Deadly Measles Epidemic
In fall 1847, wagon trains brought measles to Waiilatpu Mission. The disease spread fast among the Cayuse who had no immunity to it. Nearly half the tribe died within weeks. White settlers caught measles too, but most survived because they had been exposed before.
Dr. Whitman treated both Cayuse and white patients during the outbreak. The Cayuse noticed their people kept dying while whites recovered. Many began to think Whitman was giving them poisoned medicine to clear their land for new settlers.
Joe Lewis Spreads Suspicion
Joe Lewis, a mixed-race man of Iroquois and white heritage, arrived at the mission in 1847. The white settlers disliked him, but he quickly gained the Cayuse people’s trust. Lewis told the Cayuse he heard the Whitmans plotting to poison them.
He claimed he saw Dr. Whitman adding poison to medicine meant for Cayuse patients. His lies found willing ears among people watching their children and elders die. Lewis hoped to create chaos so he could steal from the mission.
Cayuse Tradition of Punishing Shamans
The Cayuse held medicine men responsible for patient outcomes. Their tradition allowed killing a healer, called a “te-wat,” if they believed he used harmful spiritual power that caused deaths.
Years earlier, the Cayuse had been told Dr. Whitman was “a sorcerer of great power” because of his medical skills. This put him in danger when the epidemic hit.
Mission staff had placed poisoned meat around the property to kill wolves, which made several Cayuse sick. Someone had also poisoned melons in the garden to stop Cayuse from taking them.
The Attack Begins
On November 29, 1847, Cayuse men came to the mission house asking for medicine. They arrived around 1:00 pm as Marcus Whitman was about to eat lunch. Tiloukaikt talked with Dr. Whitman while Tomahas moved behind him.
Suddenly, Tomahas struck Whitman with a tomahawk while another man shot him in the neck. More armed Cayuse appeared and attacked other men working around the mission. Women and children inside heard gunshots and screams.
Some men tried to run but were chased and killed. John Sager, a teenage boy living with the Whitmans, reached for a gun but was quickly killed as well.
The Deaths of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman
Marcus Whitman suffered many tomahawk blows to his head during the attack. Though badly wounded and unable to speak, he lived for several hours. Narcissa Whitman saw her husband’s attack from a window and rushed to help him.
She was shot while standing by the window but remained conscious. The attackers forced Narcissa outside where more Cayuse waited. She knelt to pray before being shot multiple times.
Both Whitmans died on the first day of the attack. Their bodies were left unburied until priests arrived days later.
The Massacre Continues
The violence at Waiilatpu lasted several days and killed fourteen people total. Nine men and two teenage boys died with the Whitmans on November 29. Peter Hall, a carpenter, escaped during the attack and reached Fort Walla Walla.
He tried to continue to Fort Vancouver but disappeared, likely drowned in the Columbia River. Two more men died later. James Young, a sawmill worker, was shot when he came to the mission not knowing about the attack.
On December 1, a Catholic priest arrived and helped bury the victims in a mass grave.
Hostages Taken
The Cayuse captured about fifty survivors, mostly women and children. They held them at the mission for nearly a month. The Sager children, orphans who had been adopted by the Whitmans, were among the captives.
Ten-year-old Eliza Spalding, daughter of other missionaries, served as interpreter between captives and Cayuse. Several captives died during this time. Six-year-old Louise Sager and Helen Mar Meek both died of measles without proper care.
The captives lived in fear, not knowing what would happen to them. Women faced threats of forced marriage to Cayuse men.
The Rescue Mission
News of the killings reached Fort Vancouver on December 7. Peter Skene Ogden of the Hudson’s Bay Company quickly organized a rescue. Ogden left with sixteen armed men and trade goods to use as ransom.
His good standing with the tribes made him a trusted negotiator. The Hudson’s Bay Company had better relations with the tribes than American settlers did. Ogden knew that rushing in with military force would put the hostages in danger.
He reached Fort Walla Walla on December 19 and sent messages to the Cayuse chiefs asking for a meeting.
The Hostages Are Released
Ogden met with Cayuse leaders on December 23 and firmly demanded the release of all hostages. He acknowledged their anger toward Americans but insisted on the captives’ freedom.
The chiefs debated while Ogden waited. On December 29, 1847, they agreed to trade the captives for goods. Ogden paid with blankets, shirts, rifles, handkerchiefs, ammunition, and tobacco.
This payment freed forty-nine surviving hostages. The freed captives traveled with Ogden to Fort Walla Walla, then to Fort Vancouver. Most later settled in the Willamette Valley.
The Cayuse Five
The killings started the Cayuse War between settlers and the tribe, lasting from 1847 to 1850. Militia groups hunted the Cayuse seeking revenge. Governor Joseph Lane of the new Oregon Territory demanded that those responsible surrender.
After years of conflict weakened the tribe, five Cayuse men gave themselves up in 1850. Tiloukaikt, Tomahas, Kiamasumpkin, Iaiachalakis, and Klokomas were tried in Oregon City. They argued that killing Whitman followed tribal law about healers whose patients died.
An all-white jury found them guilty. All five were hanged on June 3, 1850 by U.S. Marshal Joseph Meek.
Visiting Marcus Whitman Mission
Today, Marcus Whitman Mission National Historic Site preserves the place where these events happened. The Great Grave holds remains of those killed, marked by a stone with their names. Walking paths lead through the old mission grounds, millpond, and orchard.
The site sits seven miles west of Walla Walla, Washington and is run by the National Park Service.
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