Agreement Between Mr. Astor and the Russian Fur Company--War
Between the United States and Great Britain.--Instructions
to Captain Sowle of the Beaver--Fitting Out of the Lark.--
News of the Arrival of Mr. Stuart.
IT is now necessary, in linking together the parts of this excursive
narrative, that we notice the proceedings of Mr. Astor in support of
his great undertaking. His project with respect to the Russian
establishments along the northwest coast had been diligently prosecuted.
The agent sent by him to St. Petersburg, to negotiate in his name
as president of the American Fur Company, had, under sanction of the
Russian government, made a provisional agreement with the Russian
company.
By this agreement, which was ratified by Mr. Astor in 1813, the two
companies bound themselves not to interfere with each other’s trading
and hunting grounds, nor to furnish arms and ammunition to the Indians.
They were to act in concert, also, against all interlopers, and to
succor each other in case of danger. The American company was to have
the exclusive right of supplying the Russian posts with goods and
necessaries, receiving peltries in payment at stated prices. They were
also, if so requested by the Russian governor, to convey the furs of the
Russian company to Canton, sell them on commission, and bring back
the proceeds, at such freight as might be agreed on at the time. This
agreement was to continue in operation four years, and to be renewable
for a similar term, unless some unforeseen contingency should render a
modification necessary.
It was calculated to be of great service to the infant establishment
at Astoria; dispelling the fears of hostile rivalry on the part of the
foreign companies in its neighborhood, and giving a formidable blow to
the irregular trade along the coast. It was also the intention of Mr.
Astor to have coasting vessels of his own, at Astoria, of small tonnage
and draft of water, fitted for coasting service. These, having a place
of shelter and deposit, could ply about the coast in short voyages,
in favorable weather, and would have vast advantage over chance ships,
which must make long voyages, maintain numerous crews, and could only
approach the coast at certain seasons of the year. He hoped, therefore,
gradually to make Astoria the great emporium of the American fur
trade in the Pacific, and the nucleus of a powerful American state.
Unfortunately for these sanguine anticipations, before Mr. Astor had
ratified the agreement, as above stated, war broke out between the
United States and Great Britain. He perceived at once the peril of
the case. The harbor of New York would doubtless be blockaded, and the
departure of the annual supply ship in the autumn prevented; or, if
she should succeed in getting out to sea, she might be captured on her
voyage.
In this emergency, he wrote to Captain Sowle, commander of the Beaver.
The letter, which was addressed to him at Canton, directed him to
proceed to the factory at the mouth of the Columbia, with such articles
as the establishment might need; and to remain there, subject to the
orders of Mr. Hunt, should that gentleman be in command there.
The war continued. No tidings had yet been received from Astoria; the
despatches having been delayed by the misadventure of Mr. Reed at the
falls of the Columbia, and the unhorsing of Mr. Stuart by the Crows
among the mountains. A painful uncertainty, also, prevailed about Mr.
Hunt and his party. Nothing had been heard of them since their departure
from the Arickara village; Lisa, who parted from them there, had
predicted their destruction; and some of the traders of the Northwest
Company had actually spread a rumor of their having been cut off by the
Indians.
It was a hard trial of the courage and means of an individual to have
to fit out another costly expedition, where so much had already been
expended, so much uncertainty prevailed, and where the risk of loss was
so greatly enhanced, that no insurance could be effected.
In spite of all these discouragements, Mr. Astor determined to send
another ship to the relief of the settlement. He selected for this
purpose a vessel called the Lark, remarkable for her fast sailing.
The disordered state of the times, however, caused such a delay, that
February arrived, while the vessel was yet lingering in port.
At this juncture, Mr. Astor learnt that the Northwest Company were
preparing to send out an armed ship of twenty guns, called the Isaac
Todd, to form an establishment at the mouth of the Columbia. These
tidings gave him great uneasiness. A considerable proportion of the
persons in his employ were Scotchmen and Canadians, and several of them
had been in the service of the Northwest Company. Should Mr. Hunt have
failed to arrive at Astoria, the whole establishment would be under
the control of Mr. M’Dougal, of whose fidelity he had received very
disparaging accounts from Captain Thorn. The British government, also,
might deem it worth while to send a force against the establishment,
having been urged to do so some time previously by the Northwest
Company.
Under all these circumstances, Mr. Astor wrote to Mr. Monroe, then
secretary of state, requesting protection from the government of the
United States. He represented the importance of his settlement, in
a commercial point of view, and the shelter it might afford to the
American vessels in those seas. All he asked was that the American
government would throw forty or fifty men into the fort at his
establishment, which would be sufficient for its defense until he could
send reinforcements over land.
He waited in vain for a reply to this letter, the government, no doubt,
being engrossed at the time by an overwhelming crowd of affairs. The
month of March arrived, and the Lark was ordered by Mr. Astor to put to
sea. The officer who was to command her shrunk from his engagement, and
in the exigency of the moment, she was given in charge to Mr. Northrup,
the mate. Mr. Nicholas G. Ogden, a gentleman on whose talents and
integrity the highest reliance could be placed, sailed as supercargo.
The Lark put to sea in the beginning of March, 1813.
By this opportunity, Mr. Astor wrote to Mr. Hunt, as head of the
establishment at the mouth of the Columbia, for he would not allow
himself to doubt of his welfare. “I always think you are well,” said he,
“and that I shall see you again, which Heaven, I hope, will grant.”
He warned him to be on his guard against any attempts to surprise the
post; suggesting the probability of armed hostility on the part of the
Northwest Company, and expressing his indignation at the ungrateful
returns made by that association for his frank and open conduct, and
advantageous overtures. “Were I on the spot,” said he, “and had the
management of affairs, I would defy them all; but, as it is, everything
depends upon you and your friends about you. Our enterprise is grand,
and deserves success, and I hope in God it will meet it. If my object
was merely gain of money, I should say, think whether it is best to save
what we can, and abandon the place; but the very idea is like a dagger
to my heart.” This extract is sufficient to show the spirit and the
views which actuated Mr. Astor in this great undertaking.
Week after week and month after month elapsed, without anything to
dispel the painful incertitude that hung over every part of this
enterprise. Though a man of resolute spirit, and not easily cast down,
the dangers impending over this darling scheme of his ambition, had a
gradual effect upon the spirits of Mr. Astor. He was sitting one gloomy
evening by his window, revolving over the loss of the Tonquin and the
fate of her unfortunate crew, and fearing that some equally tragical
calamity might have befallen the adventurers across the mountains,
when the evening newspaper was brought to him. The first paragraph that
caught his eye, announced the arrival of Mr. Stuart and his party at St.
Louis, with intelligence that Mr. Hunt and his companions had effected
their perilous expedition to the mouth of the Columbia. This was a gleam
of sunshine that for a time dispelled every cloud, and he now looked
forward with sanguine hope to the accomplishment of all his plans.