Following the War of 1812, Great Britain and the United States of America both claimed the same territory in what is now parts of the states of Maine, North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. For the region of the Pacific Northwest, this prolonged period of uncertainty over who would eventually exert sovereignty created an ambiance of competition between the two nations which would have a profound impact on the native peoples who were already living here. Great Britain chose to use economic influence, specifically, the Hudson's Bay Company to create trading and political alliances with the peoples of the region. Americans tried, unsuccessfully, to compete with the Hudson's Bay Traders. When that failed, Christian Missionaries began to come to convert the Native Peoples and transform their culture into one that ressembled the world they had left back east. One of the most effective policies of the Hudson's Bay Company was to distribute "gifts" to chiefs and influential leaders on a yearly basis. This was also called "clothing the Chiefs", as it often was a gift of European style clothing, preferably of a military nature. This annual tribute or gift went a long way towards creating a loyalty and appreciation for the "King George's Men" as the British were oftimes referred to by the Native Peoples. The largest "gift" provided to a chief by the Chief Factor at Fort Nez Perce was a log home built for Chief Tawatoy near the Umatilla River. Theodore Stern in Vol. 2 of his masterful work CHIEFS AND CHANGE IN THE OREGON COUNTRY,
page 67 notes the presence of another log house built for "The Prince....who dwelt quietly upriver. He had a house, possibly built for him by some White man acting privately, and he seemingly was on sufficiently good terms with the Whitmans that in 1843 the latter were able to relieve the pressure upon housing at Waiilatpu by moving one immigrant family there." The Prince's log house may very well be the very same log cabin that sits to this day on our farm less than 1/2 mile from the Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu. You can access detailed pictures of this structure at http://www.johnmanthony.com/ . Click on the Peterson cabin and you will be able to see hundreds of pictures of the cabin and artifacts associated with it. The history of this cabin and this era are fundamentally unknown except for the sensational retelling of wars and tragedies. I am choosing to tell the story of this cabin and this era through the voice of the cabin itself. The story begins with the great earthquake and subsequent volcanic eruptions of 1790 when the physical and spiritual world of this region and its inhabitants was shaken and would change forever. As I go out of my home and stand beside these logs that may have begun to sprout and grow in the early 1790s, I sit and listen to them tell their story. These walls can talk! If we are willing to take the time to listen and dream of the world they have experienced, we may learn how to value all of the peoples who have lived inside this cabin and treasure the story they are telling. Robin K. Peterson
