Oregon-California Trails Association | Pringle, Catherine Sager

Pringle, Catherine Sager – Letter 1854

Merrill J. Mattes Collection·

“Presently we heard a very loud talk in the kitchen but paid no attention to it till we heard a gun go off and immediately followed by another one. We could not tell what it was but started to run. Mrs. W(hitman) called us back and started for the kitchen exclaiming, ‘Oh they have killed my husband.’ By this time the shooting had become
general.” ~ Catherine Sager Pringle’s letter to her uncle, 1854

A letter from Catherine Pringle to her uncle, which includes a retelling of events regarding the Whitman Massacre.
4 Pages

The collection was begun in 1991 by the late Merrill J. Mattes, a co-founder of the Oregon-California Trails Association. That original nucleus was a result of a generous donation from Merrill and reflected his many years as an award-winning National Park Service historian and also included works of his own authorship. The collection is housed at the national Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, Missouri. Here, you have access to many of the original trail diaries he collected in digital form.