Bringing Indians to the Book

Description

In 1831 a delegation of Northwest Indians reportedly made the arduous journey from the shores of the Pacific to the banks of the Missouri in order to visit the famous explorer William Clark. This delegation came| however| not on civic matters but on a religious quest| hoping| or so the reports ran| to discover the truth about the white men’s religion. The story of this meeting inspired a drive to send missionaries to the Northwest. Reading accounts of these souls ripe for conversion| the missionaries expected a warmer welcome than they received| and they recorded their subsequent disappointments and frustrations in their extensive journals| letters| and stories. Bringing Indians to the Book recounts the experiences of these missionaries and of the explorers on the Lewis and Clark Expedition who preceded them. Though they differed greatly in methods and aims| missionaries and explorers shared a crucial underlying cultural characteristic: