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.
