In Choosing His Agents For His First
Expedition, Mr. Astor Had Been Obliged To Have Recourse To
British Subjects Experienced
In the Canadian fur trade;
henceforth it was his intention, as much as possible, to select
Americans, so as to
Secure an ascendency of American influence in
the management of the company, and to make it decidedly national.
Accordingly, Mr. John Clarke, the partner who took the lead in
the present expedition, was a native of the United States, though
he had passed much of his life in the northwest, having been
employed in the trade since the age of sixteen. Most of the
clerks were young gentlemen of good connections in the American
cities, some of whom embarked in the hope of gain, others through
the mere spirit of adventure incident to youth.
The instructions given by Mr. Astor to Captain Sowle, the
commander of the Beaver, were, in some respects, hypothetical, in
consequence of the uncertainty resting upon the previous steps of
the enterprise.
He was to touch at the Sandwich Islands, inquire about the
fortunes of the Tonquin, and whether an establishment had been
formed at the mouth of the Columbia. If so, he was to take as
many Sandwich Islanders as his ship could accommodate, and
proceed thither. On arriving at the river, he was to observe
great caution, for even if an establishment should have been
formed, it might have fallen into hostile hands. He was,
therefore, to put in as if by casualty or distress, to give
himself out as a coasting trader, and to say nothing about his
ship being owned by Mr. Astor, until he had ascertained that
everything was right.
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