the fact that, although it was drawn from him in the hope of confirming the Spalding story, it is an entirely independent narrative, allows us to use it as a genuine recollection for what it is worth. Mr. Lovejoy wrote to Dr. Atkinson under date of Feb. 14, 1876; "I crossed the plains in company with Dr. White and others, and arrived at Waiilatpu the last of September, 1842. My party camped some two miles below Dr. Whitman's place.
"The day after our arrival Dr. Whitman called at our camp and asked me to accompany him to his house, as he wished me to draw up a memorial to Congress to prohibit the sale of ardent spirits in this country.[1] The Doctor was alive to the interests of this coast, and manifested a very warm desire to have it properly represented at Washington; and after numerous conversations with the Doctor touching the future prosperity of Oregon, he asked me one day, in a very anxious manner, if I thought it would be possible for him to cross the mountains at that time of the year. I told him I thought he could. He next asked: 'Will you accompany me?' After a little reflexion, I told him I would."[2]
Lovejoy accompanied Whitman as far as Bent's Fort (Southeastern Colorado) where he stayed until spring. He joined the immigration of 1843 in July near Fort Laramie, with whom Whitman was travelling. His letter continues:—
"The Doctor often expressed himself to me about the remainder of his journey, and the manner in which he was received at Washington and by the Board of Missions at Boston. The Doctor had several interviews with President Tyler, Secretary Webster, and many members of Congress, touching the interests of Oregon. He urged the immediate termination of the treaty with Great Britain relative to this country, and the extension of the laws of the United States,
- ↑ Lovejoy was a lawyer.
- ↑ Nixon, How Marcus Whitman Saved Oregon, 306. Lovejoy's letter occupies pp. 305–312. Lovejoy's letter to Gray of Nov. 6, 1869, is similar in tenor as a whole, but does not mention all the facts quoted above. Gray, 324–327. Cf. the report of conversations with Mr. and Mrs. Lovejoy in Note F, pp. 106–109.
