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.
