{"id":2593,"date":"2016-11-26T00:01:02","date_gmt":"2016-11-26T08:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/?p=2593"},"modified":"2016-11-28T15:27:29","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T23:27:29","slug":"establishment-of-the-spalding-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/establishment-of-the-spalding-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Establishment Of The Spalding Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In 1830 the whole Oregon Country was inhabited by roving bands of Indians who were constantly at war with each other. The most powerful of these Indian tribes were the Nez Perces who lived in what is now northeastern Oregon and north-central Idaho. Lewis & Clark and their Corps of Discovery were entertained by them at their home on the Clearwater River near present day Kamiah, Idaho. By some ways and means in earlier years, these Indians had heard of the white man\u2019s God and the white man\u2019s Bible, and were most anxious to secure someone who would tell them all about both.<\/span><\/p>\n

On or around 1835 the American Board of Foreign Missions appointed<\/span>\u00a0Dr. Marcus Whitman and Samuel Parker to go and establish a mission among the Indians of the Northwest. These men made the long and difficult journey and investigated the field. Dr. Whitman returned east and in the following spring he and the Reverend H. E. Spalding, both accompanied by their new brides came to the Northwest for the purpose of establishing a mission. The Whitmans settled among the Cayuses near the present day city of Walla Walla, Washington, while Spalding came to the Nez Perce Tribe settling at what is called The Spalding Mission at the confluence of Lapwai Creek and the Clearwater River.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"mission\"On January 27, 1837, the following entry is noted in the diary of Mrs. Spalding: \u201cBy the blessing of God we are now in a comfortable dwelling.\u201d This comfortable dwelling was nothing more than a one room log house with a dirt or puncheon floor, stick and dirt chimney, one door, no windows and curious childlike Indians \u201cpeeping\u201d between the logs on every side. The household furniture and utensils were much like those used by primitive man.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"mission1\"The Mission grew and expanded and after a few years it consisted of a large and commodious dwelling with 11 fireplaces. It then contained an Indian reception room, weaving and spinning room, eating and sleeping rooms for the children, rooms for the family, and a schoolhouse,…all under one roof. In addition there was a church, sawmill, blacksmith shop, granary, store house and all the necessary farm buildings. The mission farm was initially planned to amply supply the family, but soon became a source of supply to travelers, the natives, and other missions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"henry\"Reverend Spalding discovered as early as 1838 the incredible fertility of the soil in almost all of the country east of the Cascade Mountain Range, and as early as 1845 that the plains on the high plateaus were even more valuable for farming than were the valleys. For certain the volcanic ash from all of the prehistoric volcanoes was the primary source of all this fertility. The Reverend Spalding wrote in his journal: \u201cMy place is in one of the deepest valleys and consequently the most exposed to reflection from the surrounding high bluffs which rise from 2,000 to 3,000 feet of elevation above the valley floor. But my farm, though prepared for irrigation, has remained without it for the last four years. I find the ground becomes more moist by cultivation; three years ago I raised 600 bushels of shelled corn from 6 acres, and good crops of wheat on the same piece the following years all without any irrigation. Eight years ago I raised 1,500 bushels of potatoes from one acre and a half; by measuring some of the bags in which they were brought to the cellars, and so judging the whole amount. I gave every eleventh for digging and fetching, and kept a strict account of what every person brought so that I was able to make a pretty accurate estimate of the whole amount. My potatoes and corn are always planted in drills. Every kind of grain or vegetable which I have tried in the country grows well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Reverend Spalding was for certain a most practical man. He taught the Indian men how to plow, sow, reap, and thresh the grain as well as to grind it. They were also shown how to build houses and fence farms; how to raise and care for livestock.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"eliza\"Mrs. Spalding was equally practical, being the daughter of a farmer, who had been taught how to card, spin, and weave cloth; how to cut, fit, and make clothes; how to cook and do all other kinds of housework. These things she taught to the Indian women.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mrs. Spalding was an artist and she did much of her Sunday School work by painting the biblical scenes that she desired the Indians to learn and understand. None of these drawings have survived the years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reverend and Mrs. Spalding were devout Christians and labored unceasingly for the conversion of the Indians and the training of them in the ways of Christian living.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Whitman Massacre at Walla Walla occurred about 10 years after the founding of the Spalding Mission. This event greatly influenced the Spaldings to discontinue their work among the Nez Perces. This missionary work was later taken up by Miss Sue McBeth and her sister Kate from their little church in present day Kamiah, Idaho.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Peace And Love to All of You……………….Poppa Bear<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1830 the whole Oregon Country was inhabited by roving bands of Indians who were constantly at war with each other. The most powerful of these Indian tribes were the Nez Perces who lived in what is now northeastern Oregon … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2593"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2704,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2593\/revisions\/2704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davesevern.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}