Customer Reviews

Narcissa Whitman: Pioneer of Oregon

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Narcissa Prentiss Whitman was one of the first two white women to cross the Rocky Mountains. She and her husband Marcus, a doctor, traveled to the Oregon Territory in 1836 and built a mission at Waiilatpu, where they ministered to the Cayuse Indians and welcomed new settlers to the territory. After the death of her only child Alice Clarissa, who drowned in the river, Narcissa took in many children in need of a home, including the seven Sager children made famous by the film "Seven Alone." In 1847 Marcus and Narcissa and several men and boys at the mission were massacred by a group of Indians who blamed them for a measles epidemic that took many lives. I first read this book when I was in seventh grade and I always wanted to have a copy of it. When I reread it as an adult, I enjoyed it even more than I did the first time. It is said to be written for young people, but I found nothing juvenile about it. It's an excellent biography with wonderful black and white illustrations--one at the beginning of each of the fourteen chapters and nine full-page ones. I have several books about Narcissa, and this one is by far the most readable. If you want to read just one book about her, this is the one. If you want to read several, this is the place to start.