1847: Wagon trains carry measles; Cayuse blame missionary for withholding care
Wagon trains bring measles over the Oregon Trail to Waiilatpu, near what is now known as Walla Walla, Washington. The Presbyterian missionary Dr. Marcus Whitman comes to the area to convert local tribes, including the Cayuse, but instead turns his attention to measles victims on the wagon trains. Within months, half the Cayuse succumb to the disease. Some Indian survivors, who blame Whitman for withholding treatment, execute him, his wife, and others at their mission. The Cayuse later condemn to death three young men involved in the attack.
- Theme
- Epidemics
- Region
- Northwest Coast
Map of Oregon and upper California from the surveys of John Charles Frémont, 1848
Courtesy Library of Congress
Location of Cayuse and neighboring tribes
Courtesy National Park Service, Whitman Mission
Small group of covered wagons preparing to ford a stream on the way to Oregon
Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
Principal missions and stations on the lower Columbia River and its tributaries, 1834–1847
Courtesy National Park Service