Offbeat Oregon History podcast

Listen, download, subscribe

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

How a national mythology was made from massacre

After the missionaries at Waiilatpu were wiped out by a military expedition of the Cayuse tribe, a crafty missionary named Spalding fabricated a wild, patriotic whopper of a phony story about them, and sold it to the nation. It was believed for more than a century afterward. (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2403b-1010a.marcus-whitman-2of2-091.639.html)

• 

  Marcus Whitman: The man behind the myths and the massacre

• 

  Portland home of world’s only working P.T. boat

• 

  After logger’s murder, bordello madam vanished

• 

  Cayuse tribe’s amazing ponies are now very rare

• 

  Famous dance hall hosted Berry, Cash, many more

• 

  The notorious Tusko led a colorful and tragic life

• 

  Lotus Isle, Oregon’s most surreal amusement park

• 

  Pirates were defeated in Yaquina Bay Oyster Wars

• 

  NASA’s ‘Moon Trees’ have roots in Oregon forest fire

• 

  ‘Rajneesh’ or ‘Osho’? In Oregon, his name is mud (Part 4 of 4)

• 

  Rajneeshees’ doom sealed by scheme to seize power (Part 3 of 4)

• 

  Rajneeshees got on well with neighbors ... at first (Part 2 of 4)

• 

  Rajneeshpuram: Oregon’s most (in)famous ashram (Part 1 of 4)

• 

  Opium culture a forgotten part of urban underworld

• 

  The ex-Oregonian who got the U.S. into World War II: Yosuke Matsuoka (#6 o…