Trailing Narcissa Whitman & Eliza Spalding
From St. Louis, Missouri, to Spalding, Idaho.
By: Candy Moulton 04/01/2009
Narcissa had entered into a marriage of convenience with Dr. Marcus Whitman to fulfill her lifelong desire to serve a mission.
Traveling with her husband to what would become their mission among the Cayuse Indians, she was accompanied by Eliza Spalding, wife of Rev. Henry Spalding.
These two missionary wives were the first white women to cross the Rocky Mountains, accompanied by a fur brigade and their missionary husbands in 1836. Their journey across the West to their new homes in eastern Washington and northern Idaho demonstrated to people in the eastern United States that white women could make the journey of hundreds of miles, eventually inspiring the great overland migration to Oregon.
Narcissa and her husband established and operated the Whitman Mission, near present-day Walla Walla, Washington, until their deaths at the hands of Indians in 1847. Eliza Spalding and her husband managed the Lapwai Mission in Spalding, Idaho.
Following a hasty wedding in Angelica, New York, because they needed to get on the road, the Whitmans set off for Cincinnati, Ohio, where they joined the Spaldings. The two couples then struck out for St. Louis, Missouri, where they joined missionary volunteer William Gray, three additional missionaries headed for the Pawnee villages and five Nez Perce youths. They had hoped to travel with a fur caravan, but it had already departed, leaving them rushing to catch up.
Gateway to the West
We will begin following these missionary wives in St. Louis, a place known as the “gateway to the West.” An excellent starting point is at the Museum of Westward Expansion and the St. Louis Arch.
Narcissa described St Louis: “The buildings are not splendid, many of them are uncouthly constructed, and it has the appearance of a city going to decay.” This city at the time was rough with its mixture of Kentucky hunters, French Creoles, Canadian fur trappers and merchants who had a broad assortment of goods.
The party departed St. Louis by steamboat, traveled through Liberty and Independence, then turned north past St. Joseph before heading overland from the Otoe Mission near Bellevue, Nebraska. Here they found that the fur caravan had already started for the rendezvous and was several days ahead of the missionary party. Knowing they must travel with the traders in order to have a more direct route to their destination, the missionaries pushed on, traveling up to 60 miles a day in long, grueling trips that, as Dr. Whitman noted, “tested the abilities of our ladies.” But the concerted effort paid off as they overtook the fur caravan. In crossing the plains, the missionaries had two wagons, a light Dearborn that belonged to Eliza Spalding, which was used by both missionary couples, and a freight wagon hauling goods and supplies.
To follow their general route from St. Louis, Missouri, follow I-70 west to Independence. Take the time to visit Independence Square, the recognized genesis of the Oregon Trail, and also the National Frontier Trails Museum.
Leaving Independence, pass through Liberty then travel north on I-29 to St. Joseph, another jumping off point for travelers headed to Oregon Country. Continue north to Council Bluffs, Iowa, before turning west on Interstate 80, which passes north of Bellevue, Nebraska.
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