Mrs. Spalding was the daughter of a plain, substantial farmer, by the name of Hart, of Oneida County, New York. She was above the medium height, slender in form, with coarse features, dart brown hair, blue eyes, rather dark complexion, coarse voice, of a serious turn of mind, and quick in understanding language. In fact she was remarkable in acquiring the Nez Percé language, so as to understand and converse with the natives quite easily by the time they reached their station at Lapwai. She could paint indifferently in water-colors, and had been taught, while young, all the useful branches of domestic life; could spin, weave, and sew, etc.; could prepare an excellent meal at short notice; was generally sociable, but not forward in conversation with or in attentions to gentlemen. In this particular she was the opposite of Mrs. Whitman. With the native women Mrs. Spalding always appeared easy and cheerful, and had their unbounded confidence and respect. She was remarkable for her firmness and decision of character in whatever she or her husband undertook. She never appeared to be alarmed or excited at any difficulty, dispute, or alarms common to the Indian life around her. She was considered by the Indian men as a brave, fearless woman, and was respected and esteemed by all. Though she was frequently left for days alone, her husband being absent on business, but a single attempted insult was ever offered her. Understanding their language, her cool, quick perception of the design enabled her to give so complete and thorough a rebuff to the attempted insult, that, to hide his disgrace, the Indian offering it fled from the tribe, not venturing to remain among them. In fact, a majority of the tribe were in favor of hanging the Indian who offered the insult, but Mrs. Spalding requested that they would allow him to live, that he might repent of his evil designs and do better in future. In this short sketch of Mrs. Spalding the reader is carried through a series of years. We shall have occasion, as we progress in our sketches, to refer to these two ladies. They are not fictitious characters,--they lived; came over the Rocky Mountains in 1836; they are dead and buried, Mrs. Spalding near the Callapooya, in the Wallamet Valley. Mrs. Whitman's remains, such portions of them as could be found, are buried not far from the place of her labors among the Cayuses. The last time we passed the ground not even a common board marked the place. We noticed a hollow in the ground, said to be the place where the very Rev. Mr. Brouillet, vicar-general of Wallawalla, says "the bodies were all deposited in a common grave which had been dug the day previous by Joseph Stanfield, and, before leaving, I saw that they were covered with earth, but I have since learned that the graves, not having been soon enough inclosed, had been molested by the wolves, and that some of the corpses had been devoured by them." Bear this statement in mind, reader, as we proceed.