Arrival of a Number of Canoes of the Northwest Company.--Sale of
the Establishment at Astoria to that Company.--Canadian
News.--Arrival of the British Sloop-of-War "Raccoon."--Accident on
Board that Vessel.--The Captain takes Formal Possession of
Astoria.--Surprise and Discontent of the Officers and
Crew.--Departure of the "Raccoon."
A few days after Mr. M'Kenzie left us, we were greatly surprised by the
appearance of two canoes bearing the British flag, with a third between
them, carrying the flag of the United States, all rounding Tongue Point.
It was no other than Mr. M'Kenzie himself, returning with Messrs. J.G.
M'Tavish and Angus Bethune, of the Northwest Company. He had met these
gentlemen near the first rapids, and had determined to return with them
to the establishment, in consequence of information which they gave him.
Those gentlemen were in _light_ canoes (i.e., without any lading), and
formed the vanguard to a flotilla of eight, loaded with furs, under the
conduct of Messrs. John Stuart and M'Millan.
Mr. M'Tavish came to our quarters at the factory, and showed Mr.
M'Dougal a letter which had been addressed to the latter by Mr. Angus
Shaw, his uncle, and one of the partners of the Northwest Company. Mr.
Shaw informed his nephew that the ship _Isaac Todd_ had sailed from
London, with letters of _marque_, in the month of March, in company with
the frigate _Phoebe_, having orders from the government to seize our
establishment, which had been represented to the lords of the admiralty
as an important colony founded by the American government. The eight
canoes left behind, came up meanwhile, and uniting themselves to the
others, they formed a camp of about seventy-five men, at the bottom of a
little bay or cove, near our factory. As they were destitute of
provisions, we supplied them; but Messrs. M'Dougal and M'Kenzie
affecting to dread a surprise from this British force under our guns,
we kept strictly on our guard; for we were inferior in point of numbers,
although our position was exceedingly advantageous.
As the season advanced, and their ship did not arrive, our new neighbors
found themselves in a very disagreeable situation, without food, or
merchandise wherewith to procure it from the natives; viewed by the
latter with a distrustful and hostile eye, as being our enemies and
therefore exposed to attack and plunder on their part with impunity;
supplied with good hunters, indeed, but wanting ammunition to render
their skill available. Weary, at length, of applying to us incessantly
for food (which we furnished them with a sparing hand), unable either to
retrace their steps through the wilderness or to remain in their present
position, they came to the conclusion of proposing to buy of us the
whole establishment.
Placed, as we were, in the situation of expecting, day by day, the
arrival of an English ship-of-war to seize upon all we possessed, we
listened to their propositions. Several meetings and discussions took
place; the negotiations were protracted by the hope of one party that
the long-expected armed force would arrive, to render the purchase
unnecessary, and were urged forward by the other in order to conclude
the affair before that occurrence should intervene; at length the price
of the goods and furs in the factory was agreed upon, and the bargain
was signed by both parties on the 23d of October. The gentlemen of the
Northwest Company took possession of Astoria, agreeing to pay the
servants of the Pacific Fur Company (the name which had been chosen by
Mr. Astor), the arrears of their wages, to be deducted from the price of
the goods which we delivered, to supply them with provisions, and give a
free passage to those who wished to return to Canada over land. The
American colors were hauled down from the factory, and the British run
up, to the no small chagrin and mortification of those who were American
citizens.
It was thus, that after having passed the seas, and suffered all sorts
of fatigues and privations, I lost in a moment all my hopes of fortune.
I could not help remarking that we had no right to expect such
treatment on the part of the British government, after the assurances we
had received from Mr. Jackson, his majesty's _chargé d'affaires_
previously to our departure from New York. But as I have just intimated,
the agents of the Northwest Company had exaggerated the importance of
the factory in the eyes of the British ministry; for if the latter had
known what it really was--a mere trading-post--and that nothing but the
rivalry of the fur-traders of the Northwest Company was interested in
its destruction, they would never have taken umbrage at it, or at least
would never have sent a maritime expedition to destroy it. The sequel
will show that I was not mistaken in this opinion.
The greater part of the servants of the Pacific Fur Company entered the
service of the Company of the Northwest: the rest preferred to return to
their country, and I was of the number of these last. Nevertheless, Mr.
M'Tavish, after many ineffectual attempts to persuade me to remain with
them, having intimated that the establishment could not dispense with
my services, as I was the only person who could assist them in their
trade, especially for provisions, of which they would soon be in the
greatest need, I agreed with them (without however relinquishing my
previous engagement with Mr. Astor's agents) for five months, that is to
say, till the departure of the expedition which was to ascend the
Columbia in the spring, and reach Canada by way of the Rocky Mountains
and the rivers of the interior. Messrs. John Stuart and M'Kenzie set off
about the end of this month, for the interior, in order that the latter
might make over to the former the posts established on the Spokan and
Okenakan.
On the 15th of November, Messrs. Alexander Stuart and Alexander Henry,
both partners of the N.W. Company, arrived at the factory, in a couple
of bark canoes manned by sixteen _voyageurs_. They had set out from
_Fort William_, on Lake Superior, in the month of July. They brought us
Canadian papers, by which we learned that the British arms so far had
been in the ascendant. They confirmed also the news that an English
frigate was coming to take possession of our quondam establishment; they
were even surprised not to see the _Isaac Todd_ lying in the road.
On the morning of the 30th, we saw a large vessel standing in under
_Cape Disappointment_ (which proved in this instance to deserve its
name); and soon after that vessel came to anchor in _Baker's bay_. Not
knowing whether it was a friendly or a hostile sail, we thought it
prudent to send on board Mr. M'Dougal in a canoe, manned by such of the
men as had been previously in the service of the Pacific Fur Company,
with injunctions to declare themselves Americans, if the vessel was
American, and Englishmen in the contrary case. While this party was on
its way, Mr. M'Tavish caused all the furs which were marked with the
initials of the N.W. Company to be placed on board the two barges at the
Fort, and sent them up the river above Tongue Point, where they were to
wait for a concerted signal, that was to inform them whether the
new-comers were friends or foes. Toward midnight, Mr. Halsey, who had
accompanied Mr. M'Dougal to the vessel, returned to the Fort, and
announced to us that she was the British sloop-of-war _Raccoon_, of 26
guns, commanded by Captain Black, with a complement of 120 men, fore and
aft. Mr. John M'Donald, a partner of the N.W. Company, was a passenger
on the Raccoon, with five _voyageurs_, destined for the Company's
service. He had left England in the frigate _Phoebe_, which had sailed
in company with the _Isaac Todd_ as far as Rio Janeiro; but there
falling in with the British squadron, the admiral changed the
destination of the frigate, despatching the sloops-of-war _Raccoon_ and
_Cherub_ to convoy the Isaac Todd, and sent the Phoebe to search for the
American commodore Porter, who was then on the Pacific, capturing all
the British whalers and other trading vessels he met with. These four
vessels then sailed in company as far as Cape Horn, they parted, after
agreeing on the island of _Juan Fernandez_ as a _rendezvous_. The three
ships-of-war met, in fact, at that island; but after having a long time
waited in vain for the _Isaac Todd_, Commodore Hillier (Hillyer?) who
commanded this little squadron, hearing of the injury inflicted by
Commodore Porter, on the British commerce, and especially on the whalers
who frequent these seas, resolved to go in quest of him in order to give
him combat; and retaining the _Cherub_ to assist him, detailed the
Raccoon to go and destroy the American establishment on the River
Columbia, being assured by Mr. M'Donald that a single sloop-of-war would
be sufficient for that service.
Mr. M'Donald had consequently embarked, with his people, on board the
Raccoon. This gentleman informed us that they had experienced frightful
weather in doubling the Cape, and that he entertained serious
apprehensions for the safety of the Isaac Todd, but that if she was
safe, we might expect her to arrive in the river in two or three weeks.
The signal gun agreed upon, having been fired, for the return of the
barges, Mr. M'Tavish came back to the Port with the furs, and was
overjoyed to learn the arrival of Mr. M'Donald.
On the 1st of December the Raccoon's gig came up to the fort, bringing
Mr. M'Donald (surnamed _Bras Croche_, or crooked arm), and the first
lieutenant, Mr. Sheriff. Both these gentlemen were convalescent from the
effects, of an accident which had happened to them in the passage
between Juan Fernandez and the mouth of the Columbia. The captain
wishing to clean the guns, ordered them to be scaled, that is, fired
off: during this exercise one of the guns hung fire; the sparks fell
into a cartridge tub, and setting fire to the combustibles, communicated
also to some priming horns suspended above; an explosion followed, which
reached some twenty persons; eight were killed on the spot, the rest
were severely burnt; Messrs. M'Donald and Sheriff had suffered a great
deal; it was with difficulty that their clothes had been removed; and
when the lieutenant came ashore, he had not recovered the use of his
hands. Among the killed was an American named _Flatt_, who was in the
service of the Northwest Company and whose loss these gentlemen appeared
exceedingly to regret.
As there were goods destined for the Company on board the Raccoon, the
schooner _Dolly_ was sent to Baker's bay to bring them up: but the
weather was so bad, and the wind so violent that she did not return till
the 12th, bringing up, together with the goods, Captain Black, a
lieutenant of marines, four soldiers and as many sailors. We entertained
our guests as splendidly as it lay in our power to do. After dinner, the
captain caused firearms to be given to the servants of the Company, and
we all marched under arms to the square or platform, where a flag-staff
had been erected. There the captain took a British Union Jack, which he
had brought on shore for the occasion, and caused it to be run up to the
top of the staff; then, taking a bottle of Madeira wine, he broke it on
the flag-staff, declaring in a loud voice, that he took possession of
the establishment and of the country in the name of His Britannic
Majesty; and changed the name of Astoria to _Fort George_. Some few
Indian chiefs had been got together to witness this ceremony, and I
explained to them in their own language what it signified. Three rounds
of artillery and musketry were fired, and the health of the king was
drunk by the parties interested, according to the usage on like
occasions.
The sloop being detained by contrary winds, the captain caused an exact
survey to be made of the entrance of the river, as well as of the
navigable channel between Baker's bay and Fort George. The officers
visited the fort, turn about, and seemed to me in general very much
dissatisfied with their fool's errand, as they called it: they had
expected to find a number of American vessels loaded with rich furs, and
had calculated in advance their share in the booty of Astoria. They had
not met a vessel, and their astonishment was at its height when they saw
that our establishment had been transferred to the Northwest Company,
and was under the British flag. It will suffice to quote a single
expression of Captain Black's, in order to show how much they were
deceived in their expectations. The Captain landed after dark; when we
showed him the next morning the palisades and log bastions of the
factory, he inquired if there was not another fort; on being assured
that there was no other, he cried out, with an air of the greatest
astonishment:--"What! is this the fort which was represented to me as so
formidable! Good God! I could batter it down in two hours with a
four-pounder!"
There were on board the Raccoon two young men from Canada, who had been
impressed at Quebec, when that vessel was there some years before her
voyage to the Columbia: one of them was named _Parent_, a blacksmith,
and was of Quebec: the other was from Upper Canada, and was named
M'Donald. These young persons signified to us that they would be glad to
remain at Fort George: and as there was among our men some who would
gladly have shipped, we proposed to the captain an exchange, but he
would not consent to it. John Little, a boat-builder from New York, who
had been on the sick list a long time, was sent on board and placed
under the care of the sloop's surgeon, Mr. O'Brien; the captain engaging
to land him at the Sandwich Islands. P.D. Jeremie also shipped himself
as under clerk. The vessel hoisted sail, and got out of the river, on
the 31st of December.
From the account given in this chapter the reader will see with what
facility the establishment of the Pacific Fur Company could have escaped
capture by the British force. It was only necessary to get rid of the
land party of the Northwest Company--who were completely in our
power--then remove our effects up the river upon some small stream, and
await the result. The sloop-of-war arrived, it is true; but as, in the
case I suppose, she would have found nothing, she would have left, after
setting fire to our deserted houses. None of their boats would have
dared follow us, even if the Indians had betrayed to them our
lurking-place. Those at the head of affairs had their own fortunes to
seek, and thought it more for their interest, doubtless, to act as they
did, but that will not clear them in the eyes of the world, and the
charge of treason to Mr. Astor's interests will always be attached to
their characters.