Whitman massacre

The Whitman massacre was the murder of Washington missionaries Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa, along with eleven others, on November 30, 1847. They were killed by members of the Cayuse tribe who accused him of having poisoned 200 Cayuse in his medical care. The incident began the Cayuse War. It took place in southeastern Washington state near the town of Walla Walla, Washington and was one of the most notorious episodes in the U.S. settlement of the Pacific Northwest. Whitman had helped lead the first wagon train to cross Oregon's Blue Mountains and reach the Columbia River via the Oregon Trail, and this incident was the climax of several years of complex interaction between him and the local Indians. The story of the massacre shocked the United States Congress into action concerning the future territorial status of the Oregon Country, and the Oregon Territory was established on August 14, 1848.

The killings are usually ascribed in part to a clash of cultures and in part to the inability of Whitman, a physician, to halt the spread of measles among the Indians. The Cayuse held Whitman responsible for subsequent deaths. The incident remains controversial to this day; the Whitmans are regarded by some as pioneer heroes, while others see them as settlers who had attempted to impose their religion on the Indians and otherwise intrude, even allegedly poisoning them.

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