ELKANAH AND MARY WALKER

Regional, religious biography of two noted missionaries to the Indians back in 1638. In other volumes, Drury has told the story of the Spaldings and the Whitmans, whose work paralleled that of the Walkers at two other region mission stations. This book deals with the third station at Tshimakain, near the present city of Spokane, Washington. The marriage was arranged in order to facilitate the fulfillment of their mutual desire to go to the mission field. Love came later, in spite of temperamental difficulties, for Elkanah was a moody, consciously upright and difficult man. Mary Walker's diaries help reconstruct the life, with rigors, hardships, perseverance and fortitude required in dealing with diffident Indians. The massacre of the Whitmans resulted in the break up of the missions, but the Walkers, with the influx of white settlers, continued to do pioneer work of their own. Pretty specialized and not too good.