They proved worthy of the character, for they received
the poor wanderers kindly, killed a horse for them to eat, and
directed them on their way to the Columbia. They struck the river
about the middle of April, and advanced down it one hundred
miles, until they came within about twenty miles of the falls.
Here they met with some of the "chivalry" of that noted pass, who
received them in a friendly way, and set food before them; but,
while they were satisfying their hunger, perfidiously seized
their rifles. They then stripped them naked, and drove them off,
refusing the entreaties of Mr. Crooks for a flint and steel of
which they had robbed him; and threatening his life if he did not
instantly depart
In this forlorn plight, still worse off than before, they renewed
their wanderings. They now sought to find their way back to the
hospitable Wallah-Wallahs, and had advanced eighty miles along
the river, when fortunately, on the very morning that they were
going to leave the Columbia and strike inland, the canoes of Mr.
Stuart hove in sight.
It is needless to describe the joy of these poor men at once more
finding themselves among countrymen and friends, or of the honest
and hearty welcome with which they were received by their fellow
adventurers. The whole party now continued down the river, passed
all the dangerous places without interruption, and arrived safely
at Astoria on the 11th of May.
CHAPTER XLII
Comprehensive Views.- To Supply the Russian Fur Establishment.-
An Agent Sent to Russia.- Project of an Annual Ship.- The Beaver
Fitted Out.- Her Equipment and Crew.- Instructions to the
Captain.- The Sandwich Islands.Rumors of the Fate of the
Tonquin.- Precautions on Reaching the Mouth of the Columbia.
HAVING traced the fortunes of the two expeditions by sea and land
to the mouth of the Columbia, and presented a view of affairs at
Astoria, we will return for a moment to the master spirit of the
enterprise, who regulated the springs of Astoria, at his
residence in New York.
It will be remembered, that a part of the plan of Mr. Astor was
to furnish the Russian fur establishment on the northwest coast
with regular supplies, so as to render it independent of those
casual vessels which cut up the trade and supplied the natives
with arms. This plan had been countenanced by our own government,
and likewise by Count Pahlen, the Russian minister at Washington.
As its views, however, were important and extensive, and might
eventually affect a wide course of commerce, Mr Astor was
desirous of establishing a complete arrangement on the subject
with the Russian American Fur Company, under the sanction of the
Russian government.
