Journey of the Nez Perce Chiefs to Find the White Man's Book of Life--Interest Excited among Christian People by this Event--Methodist Church Leads in Preparing for a Missionary Party--Jason Lee and his Mission near Chemeketa--The Reinforcement by the _Lausanne_--Importance of Jason Lee as a Force in Oregon History--The Missions of the American Board at Walla Walla, Lapwai, and Tshimakain--Preliminary Journey of Whitman and Parker in 1835--The Wedding Journey from Missouri to the Columbia in 1836--Dr. Whitman and his Associates and their Traits of Character--On the Summit of South Pass--Whitman's Waggon--Arrival at Vancouver and Conference with McLoughlin--Locations of the Missionaries--Reinforcement in 1838--Friendship of the Nez Perces--First Printing Press--Whitman's Ride in 1842-43--The Catholic Missions--Fathers Blanchet, Demers, and De Smet--Influence of the Missions. In 1832 a strange thing happened. Four Indians appeared in St. Louis seeking the "White Man's Book of Life." At that time General William Clark was superintendent of Indian affairs, located at St. Louis. He was familiar with the Western Indians and had greatly sympathised with them. Learning of these strange Indians and their stranger quest, General Clark sought them, and entered into communication with them. It is usually stated that these Indians were Flatheads from the Pend Oreille region, but Miss Kate Macbeth, a missionary for many years to the Nez Perces, became convinced that three were Nez Perces and the fourth a Flathead. How they had learned that the white man had a "Book of Life" is not known. Captain Bonneville's journal states that Pierre Pambrun had given many of the Oregon Indians instruction in the rudiments of the Catholic worship. Some have conjectured that Jedediah Smith, a noted American trapper, and, most remarkable of all, a devout Christian, may have imparted religious thoughts to them. Miss Macbeth believed that the motive of the mission was to find Lewis and Clark, the explorers, whose visit in 1804-05 had produced a profound impression on the Nez Perces. The first published account of these four Indians appeared in the _New York Christian Advocate_ for March 1, 1833. This was in the form of a letter from G. P. Disoway, in which he enclosed a letter to himself from his agent, William Walker, an interpreter for the Wyandotte Indians. Walker was at St. Louis at the time, and met these four Indians in General Clark's office. He was much impressed with their appearance, and learned that General Clark had given them as full an account as possible of the nature and history of man, of the advent of the Saviour, and of His work for men. Walker states that two of the four men died in St. Louis, and as to whether the others reached their native land he did not know.