Pacific Fur Company

Pacific Fur Company
A depiction of North American beaver, the main source of animal pelts collected by the PFC
Company type	Private
Industry	Fur trade
Founded	New York City, U.S., (1810 (1810))
Founder	John Jacob Astor
Defunct	1813 (1813)
Fate	Sold at a loss
Successor	North West Company
Headquarters	Fort Astoria, present day Astoria, Oregon, U.S.
Area served	Pacific Northwest, also referred to as Oregon Country or the Columbia District
Key people	Wilson Price Hunt, Duncan McDougall, Alexander McKay, David Stuart
Total assets	$200,000 (1810)
Parent	American Fur Company

The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) was an American fur trade venture wholly owned and funded by John Jacob Astor that functioned from 1810 to 1813. It was based in the Pacific Northwest, an area contested over the decades among the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Spanish Empire, the United States of America and the Russian Empire.

Management, clerks and fur trappers were sent both by land and by sea to the Pacific Coast in the Autumn of 1810. The base of operations was constructed at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1811, Fort Astoria (present-day Astoria, Oregon). The destruction of the company vessel the Tonquin later that year off the shore of Vancouver Island took with it the majority of the annual trading goods. Commercial competition with the British-Canadian North West Company began soon after the foundation of Fort Astoria. The Canadian competitors maintained several stations in the interior, primarily Spokane House, Kootanae House and Saleesh House. Fort Okanogan was also opened in 1811, the first of several PFC posts created to counter these locations. The Overland Expedition faced military hostilities from several Indigenous cultures and later had an acute provision crisis leading to starvation. Despite losing men crossing the Great Plains and later at the Snake River, they arrived in groups throughout January and February 1812 at Fort Astoria.

A beneficial agreement with the Russian-American Company was also planned through the regular supply of provisions for posts in Russian America. This was planned in part to prevent the rival Montreal based North West Company (NWC) to gain a presence along the Pacific Coast, a prospect neither Russian colonial authorities nor Astor favored.^[1]

The lack of military protection during the War of 1812 forced the sale of PFC assets to the NWC. While the transactions were not finalized until 1814, due to the distance from Fort Astoria to Montreal and New York City, the company was functionally defunct by 1813. A party of Astorians returning overland to St. Louis in 1813 made the important discovery of the South Pass through the Rocky Mountains. This geographic feature would later be used by hundreds of thousands of settlers traveling over the Oregon, California, and Mormon routes, collectively called the Westward Expansion Trails. The emporium envisioned by Astor was a failure for a number of reasons, including the loss of two supply ships, the material difficulties of crossing the North American continent and competition from the North West Company. Historian Arthur S. Morton concluded that "The misfortunes which befell the Pacific Fur Company were great, but such as might be expected at the initiation of an enterprise in a distant land whose difficulties and whose problems lay beyond the experience of the traders."^[2]

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MAPS. KNOWING WHERE WE ARE ON THIS EARTH. POWERFUL INFORMATION THAT OPENS UP NEW WORLDS. 200 YEARS AGO, CANADIAN EXPLORER, FUR TRADER AND SURVEYOR DAVID THOMPSON MAPPED THE UNCHARTED VAST INTERIOR OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICA. HE RETRACED THOUSANDS OF ANCIENT TRIBAL TRAILS. "HE'S AS MUCH A MAPMAKER OF THE CANADIAN IMAGINATION AS HE IS A SURVEYOR AND CARTOGRAPHER." THOMPSON WAS LIKE A HUMAN MAP-QUEST. ARMED WITH A SEXTANT, HE SPENT DECADES IN THE WILDERNESS TRAVELING 55,000 MILES BY SNOWSHOE, HORSEBACK, DOGSLED, AND CANOE, USING THE STARS TO MAP ONE FIFTH OF THE CONTINENT, 1.5 MILLION SQUARE MILES. "THERE WERE TIMES WHEN IT WAS 20-30 DEGREES BELOW ZERO" "HIS MIND, WAS THIS BIG COMPLEX MIND WORKING ON A LOT OF CYLINDERS" IN SALISH, HIS NAME WAS KOO KOO SINT, THE MAN WHO LOOKS AT STARS. "THERE'S SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL AND UNIQUE ABOUT USING A SEXTANT, LOOKING AT THE STARS, LOOKING TO THE HEAVENS TO FIND YOUR WAY ON EARTH." THOMPSON MAPPED AS FAR NORTH AS ATHABASCA, SOUTH TO THE MISSOURI, FROM HUDSON BAY. TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN. EVEN LEWIS AND CLARK USED ONE OF THOMPSON'S MAPS. THOMPSON, SOME THINK, WAS THE GREATEST LAND "WHETHER IT'S THOMPSON SKETCHING MAPS OR WHETHER IT'S THOMPSON SKETCHING MOUNTAINS, OR THOMPSON SKETCHING THESE WONDERFUL SUCCINCT POETIC STATEMENTS ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND THEIR LANGUAGES AND THEIR INTERACTIONS, HE'S VERY RELEVANT" IN 1807, THOMPSON CROSSED THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE INTO UNCHARTED TERRITORY. HE WAS SEARCHING FOR THE COLUMBIA RIVER, THE INLAND NORTHWEST PASSAGE FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA. FOR FIVE YEARS, THOMPSON EXPLORED THE COLUMBIA PLATEAU, ITS RIVERS, AND THE UNIQUE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE. OUR STORY CENTERS ON THIS UNIQUE TIME. ♪ ♪ VOYAGEURS SINGING IT'S A COLD MAY MORNING ON THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN RIVER. BATTLING HEADWINDS, THE 2008 DAVID THOMPSON BRIGADE IS RETRACING A RIVER HIGHWAY FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO LAKE SUPERIOR. "THESE RIVER HIGHWAYS LED TO CANADA AS WE KNOW IT. AND, IT'S POSSIBLE TO GO FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS ALL THE WAY TO THE ATLANTIC, ALL THE WAY TO THE HUDSON BAY" THE FUR TRADE WAS BUILT ON THESE RIVER HIGHWAYS. TRADE GOODS WERE BROUGHT IN, FURS WERE BROUGHT OUT, ALMOST ALL BY WATER. IN ENGLAND, HIGH FASHION FELT HATS, WERE MADE OUT OF THE BEAVER FURS. EXTREMELY VALUABLE AND OFTEN PASSED FROM FATHER TO SON. THE VOYAGEURS, PRIMARILY FRENCH CANADIAN, WERE THE BACKBONE OF THE FUR TRADE. THE VOYAGEURS WRE LABORERS, THE HEAVY LIFTERS EXPECTED TO WORK 16 HOURS A DAY, PADDLING 55 STOKES PER MINUTE. THE BIRCH BARK CANOE WAS THE TRANSPORTATION OF CHOICE. "IT WAS THE SEMI TRAILER OF THE DAY, THERE'S JUST NO QUESTION ABOUT IT. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A 25' BOAT, FOUR FEET ACROSS THE BEAM, IT WAS ABLE TO CARRY A TON AND A HALF OF TRADE CARGO". THE NORTH AMERICAN FUR TRADE WAS BOOMING THE YEAR DAVID THOMPSON WAS BORN. BORN IN LONDON IN 1770, DAVID THOMPSON WAS RAISED BY HIS WIDOWED MOTHER IN THE TOUGH PART OF WESTMINSTER. AT SEVEN, HE ENTERED THE GREY COAT CHARITY SCHOOL, DEDICATED TO EDUCATING POOR CHILDREN. "IF YOU WERE SMART YOU GOT YOU GOT ON A HONOR'S TRACK, SO HE WAS TAKING TRIGONOMETRY WHEN HE WAS 12, 13 YEARS OLD AND GETTING GOOD AT IT. " THOMPSON LEARNED THE BASICS OF PRACTICAL NAVIGATION, THE USE OF A QUADRANT AND CROSS STAFF AND STANDARD METHODS FOR DETERMINING LATITUDE. "THE HUDSON'S BAY CO. KNEW ABOUT THESE CHARITY SCHOOLS AS DID THE BRITISH NAVY AND THEY WERE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITH SURVEYING SKILLS. " IN 1784, TWO STUDENTS WERE APPRENTICED TO THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY FOR SEVEN YEARS, TO WORK IN THE NORTH AMERICAN FUR TRADE. ONE RAN AWAY. THE OTHER WAS 14 YEAR OLD DAVID THOMPSON. "IT MUST HAVE BEEN PRETTY SHOCKING TO LAND ON THE SHORE OF HUDSON BAY, WHICH ALONE IS A PRETTY RUGGED PLACE, LET ALONE THE KIND OF PEOPLE HE WAS SURROUNDED BY" ".BEING THRUST INTO AN ALIEN LANDSCAPE WHILE STILL AN ADOLESCENT. LEARNING CREE, LEARNING PIEGAN, LEARNING FRENCH, COMING TO KNOW THE LANDS OF THE PEOPLE OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICA FIRST HAND. " WITHIN MONTHS THE ALIEN LANDSCAPE FROZE. "THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT FOLDED UP UNDER THE PRESSURE OF BEING ABOVE THE TREE LINE. HE NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT BEING COLD. HE GOES OUT AND LEARNS HOW TO HUNT POLAR BEARS, AND PTARMIGAN AND FISH AND LOOKS AT MOSQUITOES, AND I MEAN HIS BOUNDLESS CURIOSITY DEVELOPED AT THE GREY COAT SCHOOL IS GIVEN A WHOLE CONTINENT TO FLOURISH. " THE FUR TRADE WAS BOTH A NATIVE AND EUROPEAN WORLD. "WE MAKE A MISTAKE IN THINKING THAT WE LIVE IN A MULTICULTURAL AGE, BECAUSE IF WE LOOK BACK AT THE WORLD OF THE WEST, IN THE LATE 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURIES, WE HAVE THE ABORIGINAL PRESENCE AND THERE IS SO MUCH DIVERSITY ALREADY JUST WITHIN THAT WORLD. SO YOU'RE HEARING ALL THE NATIVE LANGUAGES, YOU'RE HEARING ENGLISH, GAELIC, FRENCH, IT'S JUST SUCH A FANTASTIC TAPESTRY OR MOSAIC OF CULTURES. " AT 17, THOMPSON WAS SENT WEST TO WINTER WITH THE BLACKFEET AT A WINTERING CAMP NEAR CALGARY, ALBERTA. " AND THAT'S WHERE HE MET SAUKAMAPPEE AND KOOTENAI APPE, THE GREAT WAR CHIEF, AND SOKATOW THE CIVIL CHIEF. SO, HE FORMED A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PIEGAN, HE LEARNED THEIR LANGUAGE" "THERE'S 5 WHITE GUYS IN A WINTER CAMP OF ABOUT 25 HUNDRED BLACKFEET, BUT THE BLACKFEET ARE VERY HOSPITABLE TO THEM, AND THEY TAKE THIS YOUNG TEENAGER AND PUT HIM IN THE TENT OF AN ELDER WHICH WAS VERY GRACIOUS THING TO DO SO HE COULD LEARN SOMETHING DURING THE WINTER" DAVID THOMPSON JOURNAL: WE WERE LODGED IN THE TENT OF AN OLD MAN. HE WAS FULL SIX FEET IN HEIGHT, ERECT, AND OF A FRAME THAT SHOWED STRENGTH AND ACTIVITY. I SAT AND LISTENED WITHOUT BEING IN THE LEAST TIRED" THE ELDER WAS A CREE NAMED SAUKAMAPPEE. NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, THOMPSON LISTENED TO SAUKEMAPPE TELL STORIES. "SAUKAMAPPEE LIVED A LIFE PROBABLY AS INTERESTING AS THOMPSON'S. HE WITNESSED THE INTRODUCTION OF THE HORSE TO THE PLAINS. THE INTRODUCTION OF FIREARMS TO PLAINS WAR WARFARE. HE WITNESSED THE SMALLPOX EPIDEMIC. AND HE WAS ABLE TO RELATE ALL THAT TO THOMPSON AND THOMPSON IN TURN COULD RELATE IT TO US. " "IT'S REALLY EASY TO SEE HIS EDUCATION TO WESTERN NORTH AMERICA BEGINNING IN THAT TENT. " "DAVID THOMPSON HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO BREAK HIS LEG AND IT WAS SO SWELLED THAT I FOUND IT A DIFFICULT MATTER TO SET IT. WHATEVER THE CONSEQUENCE MAY BE IS YET UNCERTAIN,. . BUT SHALL HOPE FOR THE BEST. --- WILLIAM TOMISON HUDSON BAY COMPANY 1789" THOMPSON LEARNED PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY WHILE RECUPERATING FROM A BROKEN LEG WHEN HE WAS 19. HE STUDIED UNDER PHILIP TURNOR, THE BEST GEOGRAPHER IN THE NEW WORLD AT THE TIME. "BUT IF YOU GO THROUGH HIS JOURNALS, THEY'RE FILLED WITH ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS AND TAKEN DOWN IN THE MOST METICULOUS MANNER. IT WAS A LABOR OF LOVE FOR HIM. HE WOULD GET UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO LOOK AT THE STARS. I MEAN YOU REALLY HAVE TO BE COMMITTED TO SOMETHING TO DO THAT. AND HE WOULD TAKE READINGS AGAIN AND AGAIN, OF A SINGLE PLACE AND THEN AVERAGED THEM OUT TO TRY TO PINPOINT THAT ONE SPOT ON THE SURFACE OF THE GLOBE. IT'S ALMOST SOMETHING IT SEEMS HE WAS COMPELLED TO DO. " IT'S A VERY SMALL WORLD OF PEOPLE WHO HAD THIS SKILL, AND THOMPSON, WHO IS COMING FROM NOWHERE IS IN IT, AND HE CAN DO IT AS GOOD AS ANYBODY" DENNY DEMEYER IS A LAND SURVEYOR AND A MEMBER OF THE SURVEYOR'S HISTORICAL SOCIETY. "THE EARLIEST DEFINITION OF SURVEYING WAS CALLED PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY, SO WE WERE ALL PRACTICAL ASTRONOMERS ONCE UPON A TIME" DEMEYER COLLECTS 200 YEAR OLD SURVEYING EQUIPMENT. "THIS IS A 10 INCH LATTICE WORK SEXTANT OF THE TYPE USED BY DAVID THOMPSON, IT WAS MANUFACTURED IN LONDON. SEXTANTS WERE USED TO MEASURE THE ANGLES BETWEEN CELESTIAL OBJECTS AND THE HORIZON TO LOCATE ONES POSITION ON THE GLOBE. "THE LARGE PROBLEM EVERYONE HAD WAS ESTABLISHING LONGITUDE. LATITUDE WAS FAIRLY EASY TO ESTABLISH AND THEY HAD BEEN DOING THAT SINCE THE 1500S, BUT LONGITUDE, HOW FAR EAST AND WEST YOU WERE, WAS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE. " THOMPSON USED MERCURY POURED INTO A TRAY TO CREATE AN ARTIFICIAL HORIZON. OTHER TOOLS INCLUDED A FOUR FOOT ACHROMATIC DOLLOND TELESCOPE, A WATCH, A THERMOMETER, THE LATEST EDITION OF THE NAUTICAL ALMANAC, AND OTHER REFERENCE TABLES. AFTER THOMPSON'S APPRENTICESHIP, HE CONTINUED TO WORK FOR THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY. BUT AT AGE 27, THOMPSON ABRUPTLY LEFT THEIR EMPLOY. AFTER 13 YEARS OF SERVICE, HE WALKED TO THE NEAREST NORTH WEST COMPANY POST AND SIGNED ON WITH THE COMPETITION. "HE FELT HE WASN'T GETTING ENOUGH ENCOURAGEMENT TO GO ON SURVEYS. THAT THE HUDSON'S BAY CO. HAD A MEAN AND SELFISH POLICY, WHERE THE NORTHWEST CO WERE MORE LIBERAL MINDED. " "THOMPSON DID NOT GIVE HUDSON'S BAY A YEAR NOTICE AND THAT WAS CONSIDERED VERY BAD FORM" "WILLIAM TOMISON WROTE THAT IF HE EVER MET DAVID THOMPSON, HE WOULD BE TEMPTED TO PULL HIS EARS OFF, SO THERE CERTAINLY WERE PEOPLE WITHIN THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY THAT WERE VERY ANGRY WHEN DAVID THOMPSON LEFT." UNLIKE THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY, THAT WAS CONTROLLED FROM AFAR IN LONDON, THE NORTH WEST COMPANY WAS BASED OUT OF MONTREAL. THE PARTNERS, USUALLY SCOTS, SHARED IN THE PROFITS. THOMPSON'S FIRST ASSIGNMENT WAS AN AMBITIOUS ONE,. SURVEYING TRADING POSTS FROM THE GREAT LAKES TO NORTH DAKOTA. IN 10 MONTHS HE COVERED 4,000 MILES. ON THAT JOURNEY, THOMPSON TOOK THE FIRST ACCURATE LONGITUDE OF AN IMPORTANT MANDAN VILLAGE TRADING CENTER IN NORTH DAKOTA. HE INTERVIEWED ELDERS, GATHERING IMPORTANT TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE UPPER MISSOURI. " HE'S COMBINING TRIBAL INFORMATION AND OUTDOOR SKILLS THAT HE'S LEARNED IN HIS APPRENTICESHIP WITH EUROPEAN STYLE WRITING AND MAP MAKING AND IT'S QUITE AN ENGAGING MIX. AND HE GOES BACK AND MAKES A MAP OF WHAT HE CALLS THE BEND OF THE MISSOURI" THOMPSON'S ' BEND OF THE MISSOURI' MAP ENDS UP IN THE HANDS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. " JEFFERSON MAKES SOME HANDWRITTEN NOTES ON THIS MAP OF THOMPSON AND ITS NOW IN OUR LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. THE TWO NOTES THAT JEFFERSON WRITES ON THERE ARE MR. THOMPSON'S LONGITUDE FOR THESE VILLAGES IS, AND HE KNOWS THAT'S IMPORTANT, AND THAT IS WHERE LEWIS & CLARK END UP SPENDING THEIR FIRST WINTER, IT'S THE PERFECT STOPPING POINT AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE IN REVERSE IT SAYS THIS MAP BELONGS TO CAPT. LEWIS. " "ON THIS DAY I MARRIED CHARLOTTE SMALL ... DAVID THOMPSON, JUNE 10, 1799" AT 29, THOMPSON MARRIED CHARLOTTE SMALL AT ILE A LA CROSSE , A TRADING POST ON THE CHURCHILL RIVER. OF MIXED BLOOD, CHARLOTTE'S MOTHER WAS NAHATHAWAY CREE AND HER FATHER, A SCOTTISH FUR TRADER. "THEY KNEW THAT THESE KINDS OF RELATIONSHIPS THAT THEY FORMED WITH NATIVE WOMEN, WOULD NOT QUALIFY AS MARRIAGES. THERE WERE NO MINISTERS AROUND, THERE WAS NO CHURCH. THEY DIDN'T VIEW THEM AS MARRIAGES IN THEIR EYES" "THE FUR TRADE DOESN'T WORK WITHOUT THEM. THOMPSON ALWAYS TRAVELS WITH WOMEN. HE IS DEPENDING ON THEM. AND HE HAS A MIXED BLOOD WIFE JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE DOES. " "MY LOVELY WIFE IS OF THE BLOOD OF THESE PEOPLE, SPEAKING THEIR LANGUAGE AND WELL EDUCATED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, WHICH GIVES ME A GREAT ADVANTAGE. " "THE TRADERS ALWAYS RECOGNIZED THAT THESE CONNECTIONS WERE IMPORTANT, THAT THEY NEEDED CONNECTIONS IF THEY WERE GOING TO SURVIVE. " "BECAUSE YOUR MOST LIKELY TO TRADE WITH YOUR BROTHER IN LAW OR YOUR SON IN LAW THAN YOU ARE GOING TO A COMPETITION WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE ANY KINSHIP TIES. " IN FALL OF 1800, THOMPSON AND HIS NEW WIFE, CHARLOTTE, ARRIVED AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE. THE POST, BUILT A YEAR EARLIER, STOOD UPSTREAM FROM A STRING OF POSTS ON THE UPPER SASKATCHEWAN. ALTHOUGH THE MOUNTAINS WERE BARELY IN VIEW, THE INTENTION WAS CLEAR. THE FUR TRADE WAS MOVING WEST, HEADING FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. THE NOR'WESTERS WANTED TO ATTRACT THE TRADE OF THE KOOTENAI, A TRIBE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS. "THE KOOTENAI ARE THIS REALLY COMPLEX TRIBE AND ONE OF THE FEW TRIBES THAT'S LIVING BOTH PLAINS CULTURE AND PLATEAU CULTURE TOGETHER, WHERE UPPER KOOTENAI PEOPLE GO BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS. " THE KOOTENAI ARE AN ANCIENT PEOPLE, WHO'VE LIVED ON THE COLUMBIA PLATEAU FOR OVER 10,000 YEARS. " OUR LANGUAGE IS AN ISOLATE LANGUAGE, THE KOOTENAI LANGUAGE, THERE IS NO OTHER LANGUAGE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH THAT IS LIKE IT. " "WE'RE ALL UPNUCKANICK, THAT'S THE TRUE TERM OF WHO WE ARE UPNUCKANICK" AT THAT TIME, THE PIEGAN, BLOOD AND BLACKFEET DOMINATED THE NORTHERN PLAINS. "THE PIEGAN FOR GENERATIONS HAVE BEEN SAVVY ABOUT PROTECTING THEIR INTERESTS". THEY ACTED AS MIDDLEMEN BETWEEN THE FUR TRADERS AND TRIBES WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. " I WATCHED AS THE KOOTENAIS SWAPPED THEIR BEST HORSES AND DRESS FURS TO THE PIEGAN FOR OLD KETTLES AND BROKEN TOOLS. PETER FIDLER, HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY 1792" " THE PIEGAN AND THEIR ALLIES THE BLACKFOOT AND BLOOD DIDN'T REALLY LIKE THE FACT THAT THOMPSON WANTED TO MOVE THROUGH THEM AND TRADE DIRECTLY WITH GROUPS LIKE THE SALISH THE KOOTENAI AND ALL THOSE TRIBES ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS. " " THEY SEE EUROPEANS IN MUCH THE SAME WAY AS THEY WERE ACCUSTOMED TO SEEING OTHER FIRST NATIONS, NOT NECESSARILY AS FRIENDS OR FOES, BUT AS POTENTIAL THREATS, OR AS POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY. " WHEN THE KOOTENAI TRIED TO TRADE DIRECTLY WITH THE EUROPEANS, THE PIEGAN HARASSED THEM AND TRIED TO STEAL THEIR HORSES. DAVID THOMPSON JOURNAL: OCTOBER 16, 1800 " I CAN NOT HELP BUT ADMIRE THOSE BRAVE UNDAUNTED KOOTENAI. WHEN THE YOUNG PIEGAN MEN SEIZED THE HEADS OF THEIR HORSES, THEY ALL ACTED AS IF BY ONE SOUL, BENT THEIR BOWS,. AND PREPARED TO MAKE THEIR OPPRESSORS QUIT THEIR HORSES OR SELL THEIR LIVES DEARLY" THE KOOTENAI WANTED THE FUR TRADERS TO BUILD A TRADING POST IN THEIR HOMELAND. ANXIOUS TO TAP THIS NEW SOURCE OF FURS, THE NORTH WEST COMPANY DECIDED TO EXPAND THEIR BUSINESS ACROSS THE ROCKIES IN 1806. THOMPSON, RECENTLY NAMED A PARTNER IN THE COMPANY, WAS PLACED IN CHARGE OF THE EXPEDITION. "MR. DAVID THOMPSON IS MAKING PREPARATIONS FOR AN ATTEMPT TO CROSS THE MOUNTAINS, PASS THROUGH THE COUNTRY AND FOLLOW THE COLUMBIA RIVER TO THE SEA. .. JAMES BIRD, HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY 1807" THE COURSE WOULD FOLLOW AN ANCIENT KOOTENAI TRAIL, UP THE SASKATCHEWAN, OVER THE ROCKIES INTO KOOTENAI COUNTRY. IT'S TODAY'S HOWSE PASS. THOMPSON WAS NOW 36, CHARLOTTE 21, WITH THREE CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF SIX. THIS EXPEDITION WAS CAREFULLY PLANNED. AN ADVANCE PARTY, LED BY JACO FINLEY, WAS DISPATCHED TO IMPROVE THE KOOTENAI TRAIL ACROSS THE DIVIDE. "IT'S DESCRIBED AS LEADING AN EXPEDITION OVER, BUT YET THERE'S ALREADY PEOPLE OVER THERE, AND THERE'S PEOPLE BRINGING UP HORSES BEHIND THEM TO KEEP THEM SUPPLIED. IT'S THIS LONG STUTTERED SEQUENCE OF CACHING MATERIALS AND WAITING FOR THE SNOW TO MELT AND GETTING THE GUIDES HE WANTED IN PLACE. IT'S MUCH MORE LIKE AN ASCENT ON MT. EVEREST WHERE YOU HAVE BASE CAMPS AND YOU HAVE STUFF COMING UP AND YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO KNOW THAT THEY AREN'T GOING TO SUMMIT, BUT THEY'RE PART OF THE TEAM. " BY THE FIRST WEEK OF MAY, THE ICE WAS BREAKING UP ON THE SASKATCHEWAN. EIGHT VOYAGEURS WERE PICKED FOR THE EXPEDITION. TWO SEPARATE GROUPS TRAVELED TOWARD THE ROCKIES. CLERK FINAN MCDONALD WITH FIVE VOYAGEURS, HEADED UPSTREAM IN THEIR PACKED CANOE. THOMPSON AND THE REMAINING THREE RODE THROUGH THE WOODED FORESTS, LEADING A STRING OF PACKHORSES. CHARLOTTE AND THE CHILDREN, ALSO RODE OVERLAND ALONG WITH TWO OTHER FAMILIES, TRAILED BY A BUNCH OF CAMP DOGS. "AND HIS CREW IS SO STEADY, THAT YOU SORT OF DEVELOP THIS AFFINITY AND GET THIS FEELING THAT IT'S NOT JUST THOMPSON. SO AGAIN, HE'S SORT OF THIS ROLLING TRAVELING CIRCUS. " THOMPSON'S DAILY WEATHER REPORT SEEMED TO REFLECT HIS OPTIMISM FOR THE JOURNEY. "A FINE DAY", "A VERY FINE DAY", "A DAY WITH FLYING CLOUDS" THOMPSON: "I HAD A VERY EXTENSIVE VIEW OF THE COUNTRY. HILLS AND ROCKS RISING ONE BEHIND ANOTHER, HIGHER AND HIGHER TO THE SNOWY SUMMITS OF THE MOUNTAINS. NEVER BEFORE DID I BEHOLD SO PERFECT A RESEMBLANCE TO THE WAVES OF THE OCEAN IN THE WINTRY STORM. " FOLLOWING JOCKO FINLEY'S MARKED PATH UP THE OLD KOOTENAI TRAIL, THE PARTY CLIMBED TO THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE,. WHICH THOMPSON CALLED THE "HEIGHT OF LAND. " " THE ROCKIES ARE VERY INTIMIDATING, AND HE'S NOT A MOUNTAIN GUY. HE'S CUT HIS TEETH IN THE PRAIRIE. AND IT'S JUST SO DISORIENTING TO GET UP INTO HIGH MOUNTAINS. " JUNE 15, 1807 "THE SNOWS ARE NOW RUSHING DOWN WITH THE NOISE THAT WE CAN HARDLY PERSUADE OURSELVES IT IS NOT THUNDER - WE HEAR IT AT LEAST EVERY HOUR. " "IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN THE ROCKIES DURING SPRING RUNOFF, IT'S EXCITING. THERE'S A LOT OF NOISE, THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF COMING DOWN, THERE'S A LOT OF WATER RUNNING, IT'S HARD TO DO ANYTHING. EXCEPT STAND THERE AND BE IN AWE OF IT" THE TRAIL UP WAS RELATIVELY EASY, BUT GOING DOWN THE WEST SLOPE OF THE ROCKIES WAS A DIFFERENT MATTER ALTOGETHER. DAVID THOMPSON: "THE HORSES ROLLED DOWN SO OFTEN, AND RECEIVED SUCH VIOLENT SHOCKS FROM THE TREES AS TO DEPRIVE THEM FOR A TIME OF MOTION. " DURING THE STEEP DESCENT, THE NOR'WESTERS WERE FORCED BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE RAGING BLAEBERRY RIVER, WILD WITH RUNOFF. " AND HE'S GOT VOYAGEURS THAT ARE SWIMMING ACROSS HOLDING ON TO HORSES MANES OR TAILS, WHO HE'S WORRIED ABOUT BECAUSE NONE OF THEM CAN EVER SWIM. HE NEVER MENTIONS CHARLOTTE, HIS WIFE OR HIS KIDS AGED 5, 3, AND 1. I MEAN IT'S REALLY HARD TO IMAGINE HOW THEY'RE GETTING ACROSS WITHOUT BEING IN DANGER. " THE DENSE TRAIL, POORLY CLEARED BY JACO FINLEY AND HIS MEN THE SUMMER BEFORE, WAS PRACTICALLY IMPASSABLE. THOMPSON WAS FURIOUS WITH JACO, HIS MEN EXHAUSTED. THOMPSON REPORT: "THE ROAD WAS NOWHERE CLEARED ANY MORE THAN JUST TO PERMIT JACO AND HIS FAMILY TO SQUEEZE THROUGH IT WITH THEIR LIGHT BAGGAGE, AND IT IS OF THE OPINION OF EVERY MAN WITH ME, THAT JACO OUGHT TO LOSE AT LEAST HALF HIS WAGES" IN LATE JUNE, THOMPSON'S PARTY REACHED THE BANKS OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER, NEAR GOLDEN, BRITISH COLUMBIA. "HE HITS THE COLUMBIA AT A VERY BEAUTIFUL PLACE WHERE THE BLAEBERRY COMES INTO IT. IT'S THIS WIDE VALLEY, WITH LOTS OF WETLANDS" SINCE THE HEADWATERS OF THE COLUMBIA RUN NORTH FOR 300 MILES BEFORE CURVING SOUTH, THOMPSON HAD NO IDEA HE'D FOUND THE HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER GREAT RIVER OF THE WEST THE REMAINING LINK TO A NORTHWEST PASSAGE. THOMPSON'S FIRST PRIORITY WAS TO FIND THE TRIBES AND ESTABLISH TRADE. HE MOVED HIS PARTY SOUTH, UPSTREAM, LOOKING FOR THE KOOTENAI, BUT THEY WERE NOT THERE TO MEET HIM. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, THERE'S NO FOOD, AND THE BIRCH BARK IS TOO THIN FOR BUILDING CANOES. "HE KNOWS THE RULES HAVE CHANGED BUT HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND HOW. HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE NEW RULES ARE. " "CROSSING OVER THE MOUNTAINS, IT'S A DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEM. IT'S TIED TO THE PACIFIC AS OPPOSED TO THE ATLANTIC. YOU'RE NOT DEALING WITH CULTURES DEPENDENT ON THE BISON OR THE CARIBOU AS HE KNEW. " THOMPSON JOURNALS: JULY 19, 1807 "THE COUNTRY IS EXTREMELY POOR IN PROVISIONS, NOTHING LARGER THAN A CHEVERUIL, AND WE ARE IN ALL 17 MOUTHS TO FEED" " AT THE TIME, IF YOU'RE LIVING ON THE PRAIRIE, THERE'S 50 MILLION BUFFALO AND 50 MILLION PRONG HORN ANTELOPE. SO HE HAS A VERY STEEP LEARNING CURVE" THOMPSON JOURNALS: "THE MEN WERE NOW SO WEAK, THAT HOWEVER WILLING, THEY ACTUALLY HAD NOT THE STRENGTH TO WORK. " " I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SEE THOMPSON FLIPPED FROM THIS THIS HYPER COMPETENT INDIVIDUAL TO SOMEONE WHO NOW IS FACING STARVATION ON A REGULAR BASIS. ALL OF A SUDDEN, NOW HE HAS TO STEP BACK AND BECOME THE STUDENT ." A BAND OF KOOTENAI FINALLY ARRIVED. THOMPSON JOURNALS: "THE KOOTENAI SAW OUR FAMISHED LOOKS AND ASKING NO QUESTIONS, GAVE EVERYONE A SUFFICIENCY TO EAT, WHICH WAS MOST GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED. " THOMPSON BUILT THE FIRST TRADE POST AT THE SOURCE LAKES OF THE COLUMBIA, JUST ABOVE LAKE WINDERMERE. HE NAMED IT KOOTENAI HOUSE. TODAY, PARKS CANADA ARCHEOLOGIST BILL PERRY AND HIS CREW, DIG FOR 200 YEAR OLD ARTIFACTS AT THE HISTORIC KOOTENAI HOUSE SITE. "DAVID THOMPSON WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUR TRADE SO HE WAS TRADING WITH A LOT OF NATIVES SO WE'RE EXPECTING A LOT OF NATIVE CAMP SITE ACTIVITIES OVER HERE" KOOTENAI HOUSE CONSISTED OF THREE BUILDINGS WITH PALISADE WALLS FOR PROTECTION. THOMPSON'S JOURNAL: " 30 PIEGAN MEN ARE ON THERE WAY HERE. " THEY HAVE IT IN THEIR POWER TO BE VERY TROUBLESOME TO US AND EVEN TO CUT US OFF;" THE PIEGANS ARE HIGHLY JEALOUS OF THE KOOTENAIS HAVING A POST FOR TRADE AMONG THEM. " "THE LAST THING THE PIEGANS WANT TO HAVE IS GUNS IN THE HANDS OF THE KOOTENAI. WHEN THOMPSON STARTS LOOKING TO CROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND TRADE GUNS DIRECTLY TO THE KOOTENAI, THE PIEGAN SEE HIM AS AN ARMS DEALER. YOU ASKED A MOMENT AGO, WHY DIDN'T THEY KILL HIM, THEY THOUGHT ABOUT IT, DON'T THINK IT DIDN'T CROSS THEIR MINDS, BUT IT IS A COMPLICATED SITUATION YOU SEE, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT EMPLOY THOMPSON ARE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT PROVIDE THE PIEGAN WITH THE BLANKETS AND THE COPPER POTS AND THE GLASS BEADS AND THE GUNS " IN TRUTH, THOMPSON TRADED FEW GUNS AND NO ALCOHOL WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. "BECAUSE HE KEEPS TRACK OF EVERYTHING. HE'S ALWAYS COUNTING WHAT HE HAS. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THOSE TRADE LISTS THERE ARE HARDLY ANY FIRE ARMS INVOLVED. I MEAN THERE ARE JUST TINY NUMBERS BECAUSE THEY ARE SO HEAVY TO CARRY AND HE HAS TO CARRY EVERYTHING FROM LAKE SUPERIOR. MOST OF THE TRADE GOODS WERE DIRECTED TOWARD WOMEN; AWLS FOR PUNCHING HOLES, FLINT AND STEEL FOR STARTING FIRES, COPPER POTS, SEWING NEEDLES, WOOL BLANKETS AND LINEN SHIRTS. IN EARLY FALL, 1807, THOMPSON WAS READY TO EXPLORE, OR WHAT HE CALLED, "GOING ON DISCOVERY". "THE ELDERS THAT HE'S DEALING WITH, THEY SAY YOU CAN'T GO. WELL, HE SAYS, WHY CAN'T I GO, YOU'VE GOT TO WAIT FOR UGLY HEAD FOR HE'S THE GUIDE WITH THE POLITICAL SKILLS AND THE LANGUAGE SKILLS AND THE INTEGRITY TO SHOW YOU AROUND. I MEAN, YOU CAN'T JUST GO FROM ONE NATION TO ANOTHER. " UGLY HEAD, IS A KOOTENAI CHIEF, SO NAMED BECAUSE OF HIS UNUSUAL HEAD OF CURLY HAIR. "THERE ARE ALL THESE DOORS AND UGLY HEAD IS THE GUY THAT HAS ALL THE KEYS AND IS GOING TO OPEN THE DOOR THAT HE WANTS TO. " "THEY'RE GIVING HIM INFORMATION ON A PIECE BY PIECE BASES, A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME, HE HAS TO EARN THAT TRUST" CHIEF UGLY HEAD AND HIS WIFE TOOK THOMPSON ON HIS FIRST REAL "DISCOVERY" OF THE AREA. " AND THEY START RIDING UPSTREAM ON THE COLUMBIA, AND THEY RIDE ACROSS THE CANAL FLATS PORTAGE, WHICH IS A ONE-MILE PORTAGE THAT TAKES YOU TO KOOTENAY RIVER, AND THOMPSON IS JUST SORT OF BLOWN AWAY. IT'S FABULOUSLY BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY AND THEY GO DOWN TO THE ST. MARY'S RIVER, AND UGLY HEAD GOES "WELL I LIVE IN BONNERS FERRY I WANT TO TAKE THIS SHORT CUT OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO GET THERE, LET'S GO"... AND HE POINTS TO THESE MOUNTAINS THAT ARE ALREADY COVERED WITH SNOW AND SAYS IT WILL JUST TAKE A FEW WEEKS. THOMPSON IS INTIMIDATED BY THE MOUNTAINS FOR SURE. HE'S WORRIED ABOUT CHARLOTTE AND THE KIDS BACK AT KOOTENAI HOUSE BECAUSE SO FAR THERE HAVE BEEN MORE BLACKFEET THAN KOOTENAIS AT KOOTENAI HOUSE THOMPSON RETURNED TO SPEND HIS FIRST WINTER ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS AT KOOTENAI HOUSE. " BOTH CANADIANS AND INDIANS OFTEN INQUIRED OF ME WHY I PASSED WHOLE NIGHTS WITH MY INSTRUMENTS LOOKING AT THE MOON AND STARS. I TOLD THEM IT WAS TO DETERMINE THE DISTANCE AND DIRECTION FROM THE PLACE I OBSERVED TO OTHER PLACES, NEITHER THE CANADIANS NOR THE INDIANS BELIEVED ME; FOR BOTH ARGUED THAT IF WHAT I SAID WAS TRUTH, I OUGHT TO LOOK TO THE GROUND, AND OVER IT; AND NOT TO THE STARS "NOT ONLY NATIVE PEOPLE BUT HIS OWN FRENCH-CANADIAN EMPLOYEES WOULD COME TO HIM AND ASK HIM TO SOMEHOW CONTROL NATURE FOR THEM. RAISE A WIND FOR US, MAKE THE GAME COME TO US. THEY ALL THOUGHT THAT WHAT HE WAS DOING WHEN HE WAS OBSERVING THE SKIES WAS SOMEHOW SEEING WHAT WAS HAPPENING FAR AWAY, OR SEEING INTO THE FUTURE" THOMPSON FOUND TIME TO WORK ON HIS MAPS DURING THE WINTER. HE'D DRAW NUMEROUS SMALL CHARTS, USING COORDINATES AND COMPASS COURSES FROM HIS SURVEY NOTEBOOKS. LATER THE CHARTS WERE LINED-UP AND CONNECTED, FITTING TOGETHER LIKE TILES ON A FLOOR. THOMPSON'S FIRST YEAR WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS WAS CLOSE TO BEING HIS LAST. THE SMALL NUMBER OF FURS COLLECTED CAST DOUBT ON THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF THE COLUMBIA. THOMPSON, FRUSTRATED, WROTE LETTERS BACK TO HIS PARTNERS SAYING THE KOOTENAI DID NOT UNDERSTAND COMMERCIAL LEVEL TRAPPING. "TO HIM, HE WANTS EVERY FAMILY TO GET A PACK OR TWO PACKS OF FURS, THAT'S BETWEEN 60 AND OVER 100 BEAVER, EVERY WINTER FROM NOW ON FOREVER. THEY CAN'T UNDERSTAND THAT. THAT'S ONE OF THOSE CULTURAL DISJUNCTS THAT DON'T MAKE ANY SENSE. WHY WOULD YOU TRAP THAT MANY BEAVER? " THE PLATEAU TRIBES TRADITIONALLY GAMBLED, DANCED AND SPIRITUALLY RESTORED THEMSELVES IN THE WINTER. "HE IS ALWAYS GOING CRAZY HARANGUING THEM TO GO TRAP, IT'S WINTER, THE PELTS ARE PRIME, WHY AREN'T YOU TRAPPING? AND THEY GO, OH WE CAN'T. WE HAVE TO SPIRITUALLY RESTORE OURSELVES, THIS IS WHAT WE DO IN THE WINTER. WE WORK ALL YEAR SO THAT WE CAN NOW DO THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO US. AND HE SEES THIS DEEP SPIRITUALITY AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THEIR CULTURE. " IN SPRING 1808, THOMPSON AND FOUR VOYAGEURS RETRACED HIS SHORT TRIP OF THE PREVIOUS FALL AND CONTINUED SOUTH, DOWN STEAM ON THE KOOTENAY RIVER. THIS TIME, THOMPSON RODE IN A CANOE WITH A COMPASS, RECORDING EACH SMALL CHANGE OF DIRECTION WHILE ESTIMATING THE DISTANCE IN FRACTIONS OF MILES. THE PARTY CROSSED THE 49TH PARALLEL IN WHAT IS NOW NORTHWESTERN MONTANA. TO BRING IN MORE BEAVER PACKS, THOMPSON PLANNED TO RENDEZVOUS WITH A GROUP OF KOOTENAI GUIDES, THEN MOVE SOUTH TO OPEN TRADE WITH THE FLATHEAD IN MONTANA. BUT WHEN HIS GUIDES DID NOT APPEAR, THE NOR'WESTERS CONTINUED DOWNSTREAM ALONE, CROSSING OVER THE STEEP DANGEROUS PORTAGE OF KOOTENAI FALLS. 23 YEAR OLD DAN BLACKBURN, A PROFESSIONAL KAYAKER, GREW UP ON THE KOOTENAI RIVER. "WHEN I STARTED KAYAKING THAT WAS MY MAIN GOAL IS TO GO OVER KOOTENAI FALLS, BECAUSE I HEARD PEOPLE COULD DO IT. IT'S A MILE AND A HALF OF WORLD CLASS WHITE WATER" TODAY, KOOTENAI FALL'S WATER LEVEL IS CONTROLLED BY LIBBY DAM, IN MONTANA. BUT IN THOMPSON'S DAY THE WATER WAS FREE FLOWING; MUCH STRONGER THAN IT IS TODAY THREE HUNDRED FEET ABOVE THE RIVER, OVER SHARP ROCKS, BLACKBURN WITH A FRIEND PORTAGE KOOTENAI FALLS, FOLLOWING THE SAME TRIBAL TRAIL THAT THOMPSON'S PARTY USED SO MANY YEARS AGO. DAN BLACKBURN: "WE'RE BASICALLY SEEING THE SAME THINGS, IT'S A REALLY COOL FEELING TO THINK BACK THAT FAR, PRETTY HUMBLING. " THOMPSON: MAY 6, 1808 "OUR HEIGHT AT TIMES WAS ABOUT 300 FEET ABOVE THE RIVER, THE LEAST SLIP WOULD HAVE BEEN INEVITABLE DEATH. EACH MAN HAD TWO PAIRS OF SHOES ON HIS FEET, BUT THEY WERE CUT TO PIECES. " THAT MAY, THE NOR'WESTERS ARRIVED AT BONNER'S FERRY, IDAHO; THE HOME OF UGLY HEAD'S PEOPLE. IN THE SUMMER OF 2008, TRIBAL LEADERS AND HISTORIANS SET UP AN ENCAMPMENT NEAR THE SPOT THE KOOTENAI AND THOMPSON SHARED IN THE SPRING OF 1808. "I HAD THIS VISION ABOUT AN ENCAMPMENT AND THE INFLUENCE THAT DAVID THOMPSON HAD ON THE KOOTENAI PEOPLE AND VICE VERSA, AND HERE WE ARE. " TIM RYAN AND OTHER TRIBAL MEMBERS SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE. "THE NATURAL WORLD OUT THERE, THE FORESTS ARE KIND OF LIKE OUR CHURCHES. " RYAN MAKES ITEMS USED BY HIS NATIVE ANCESTORS WITH THE SAME MATERIALS AND HAND-MADE TOOLS. " MY PRIORITY IS TO LEARN THESE SKILLS AND ASSURE THAT THESE SKILLS ARE STILL PRESENT WITHIN OUR CULTURE AND THAT THEY'RE STILL PRACTICED" THOMPSON USED BONNER'S FERRY AS A BASE AND PADDLED NORTH TOWARD KOOTENAY LAKE, THE HOME OF THE FLAT BOW BAND. "KOOTENAY LAKE USED TO BE THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR PEOPLE, THE FLAT BOW AND ALL THE STREAMS AND RIVERS THAT FLOWED INTO KOOTENAY LAKE, IT WAS LIKE ARTERIES" FOR GENERATIONS, WAYNE LOUIS'S FAMILY HAS LIVED NEAR KOOTENAY LAKE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. " WHEN IT USED TO FLOOD, IN THE OLD DAYS BEFORE DAMS WERE PUT IN, THIS USED TO BECOME ONE BIG DELTA, THIS WHOLE VALLEY. THIS WHOLE VALLEY ONE BIG DELTA TO NAVIGATE THE DELTA, THE KOOTENAI DESIGNED THE DISTINCTIVE STURGEON-NOSED CANOE. "THE ELDERS USED TO SAY WHEN YOU GOT TO THIS STAGE THIS RESEMBLED A SKELETON OF A STURGEON. IT DOES BECAUSE THE SNOUTS THERE, HERE'S RIBS AND BONES. AT HIGH WATER TIME WHEN THE BULL RUSHES WERE UP, THESE CANOES USED TO BE ABLE TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THE BULL RUSHES. " THOMPSON ADMIRED THE STURGEON-NOSED CANOES. "WHEN DAVID THOMPSON CAME UP HERE, HE CAME UP HERE IN MAY. THAT WAS THE HIGH WATER TIME,. ..AND HE TRAVELED THE ROUTE UP HERE, THE RIVER, AND HE WENT ALL THE WAY UP TO THE HISTORIC WATER LEVEL, IT'S CALLED KOOTENAY LANDING. " NEAR THAT POINT, THE KOOTENAY RIVER HEADS WEST JOINING THE COLUMBIA. THOMPSON DID NOT INVESTIGATE FURTHER, BUT INSTEAD HURRIED BACK TO A FLOODED BONNER'S FERRY HOPING TO TRADE WITH A GROUP OF FLATHEAD WHO WERE SUPPOSEDLY ON THEIR WAY TO THE KOOTENAI ENCAMPMENT. MAY 17, 1808 "HERE WE RECEIVED THE DISAGREEABLE NEWS OF THE FLAT HEADS BEING UNABLE TO COME HERE ON ACCOUNT OF THE FLOODING OF THE COUNTRY, THUS ALL MY FINE HOPES ARE RUINED" IN A LETTER, THOMPSON EXPRESSED HIS FRUSTRATION AT BEING CUT OFF FROM THE TRIBES BY WINTER SNOW AND SPRING FLOODS. THOMPSON JOURNAL MAY 17, 1808: "THE FLATHEADS WERE ONLY 12 DAY'S MARCH FROM US LAST WINTER AND THE LAKE INDIANS ONLY 6 DAYS AND YET BOTH ARE COMPLETELY SHUT UP BY MOUNTAINS AS IF THEY WERE ON THE OTHER SIDE, AND THE WATERS RISING IN THE SUMMER HAVE NEARLY THE SAME EFFECT. THOMPSON COULD WAIT NO LONGER FOR THE FLATHEADS. HE HAD A LONG TRADE RUN TO MAKE BACK TO LAKE SUPERIOR. AFTER RECROSSING HOWSE PASS, HE DROPPED CHARLOTTE AND THE KIDS OFF WITH RELATIVES AT BOGGY HALL, AND THEN CONTINUED DOWN THE SASKATCHEWAN. PERHAPS BECAUSE OF THE PIEGAN THREAT, CHARLOTTE NEVER AGAIN TRAVEL WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. IN THE SUMMER OF 1809, THOMPSON DECIDED TO BUILD A TRADE POST MORE CENTRALLY LOCATED TO THE PLATEAU TRIBES. HE CLOSED UP KOOTENAI HOUSE AND MOVED HIS ENTIRE PARTY DOWN THE KOOTENAI RIVER, SOUTH OVER THE GREAT ROAD TO THE FLATHEADS,. TO A LARGE TRIBAL ENCAMPMENT ON LAKE PEND OREILLE. THOMPSON JOURNAL: SEPTEMBER 9, 1809 "THEY ALL SMOKED, 54 FLAT HEADS, 23 POINTED HEARTS, AND 4 KOOTANAIS - IN ALL ABOUT 80 MEN. THEN THEY MADE US A HANDSOME PRESENT OF DRIED SALMON AND OTHER FISH WITH BERRIES" "THEY TAKE HIM TO THIS AMAZING MIXED TRIBAL ENCAMPMENT NEAR HOPE, IDAHO WHERE EVERYBODY IS, ALL THE FLATHEADS AND KOOTENAIS AND KALISPEL, BUT ALSO OKANOGAN AND SANDPOINT AND COEUR D'ALENE AND NEZ PERCE, I MEAN EVERYBODY'S THERE" THE ENCAMPMENT WAS LOCATED AT A PLACE CALLED INDIAN MEADOWS ON THE BANKS OF LAKE PEND OREILLE. THOMPSON BUILT KULLYSPELL HOUSE, NAMED AFTER THE KALISPEL PEOPLE THAT LIVED THERE. THE KALISPEL WERE ALSO CALLED THE PEND OREILLE BY THE TRADERS. THE KALISPEL, ARE ONE OF MANY SALISH SPEAKING TRIBES. " THE ENTIRE NORTHWEST CONSISTS OF THE SALISH SPEAKING PEOPLE, WHO OUR ELDERS SAY CAME FROM ONE LARGE GROUP AT ONE TIME. THOSE DIFFERENT BANDS THAT ARE LOCATED IN OTHER AREAS ARE OTHER TRIBES NOW. WE REFER TO THEM AS THE KALISPEL, THE SPOKANES, THE COEUR D'ALENE, THE OKANOGANS, SUSHWA" DAVID THOMPSON JOURNALS: " I SPENT MUCH OF THE DAY TRADING WITH THE INDIANS WHO BROUGHT ABOUT 130 SKINS. SIXTEEN CANOES OF POINTED HEARTS PASSED US AND CAMPED WITH OTHER FLATHEADS". BUSINESS WAS BOOMING. AT TIMES, ENTIRE DAYS HAD TO BE SET ASIDE FOR TRADING. IN THE MIDST OF ALL THIS ACTIVITY, THOMPSON DECIDED TO 'GO ON DISCOVERY' AND TRACE THE PEND OREILLE'S COURSE TO THE COLUMBIA. HE RODE WEST, FOLLOWING THE PEND OREILLE RIVER TO A KALISPEL VILLAGE, NEAR CUSICK, WASHINGTON. " THE OLDEST MAN ACCORDING TO CUSTOM MADE A SPEECH AND A PRESENT OF 2 CAKES OF ROOT BREAD,. " THE ROOT BREAD WAS MADE FROM CAMAS OR EETOWOY. ON HIS LATER MAPS, THOMPSON LABELED THIS AREA EETOWOY PLAINS. TRYING TO FIND A SUITABLE TRADE ROUTE TO THE COLUMBIA PROVED DIFFICULT. THOMPSON BORROWED A KALISPEL CANOE AND HEADED DOWN RIVER,. ..ONLY TO BE STOPPED BY THE STEEP CLIFFS OF BOX CANYON. " AND THOMPSON INSTEAD OF PUSHING ON THROUGH AND GETTING TO THE COLUMBIA, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN A COUPLE DAYS WALK, TURNS AROUND AND GOES BACK. " THOMPSON LEFT A CREW TO WINTER AT KULLYSPELL HOUSE, THEN FOLLOWED THE CLARK FORK RIVER UPSTREAM TO THE OPEN COUNTRY WHERE MANY SALISH BANDS WINTERED. THERE HE BUILT SALEESH HOUSE, NEAR THOMPSON FALLS, MONTANA, AND SPENT THE WINTER. " AND IT'S REALLY A REMARKABLE WINTER, THAT'S WHEN HE DOES HIS SALISH WORD LIST" THOMPSON DEVOTED 26 PAGES OF HIS JOURNAL LISTING 1,000 ALPHABETIZED ENGLISH WORDS HE WANTED TO LEARN IN SALISH. "THEY TELL A LOT MORE ABOUT THOMPSON THAN THEY TELL ABOUT THE SALISH INDIANS. JUST IN THE "A"S, ITS LIKE ABANDONMENT, AMBUSH, ANXIETY, ANXIOUS. IT'S A VERY FUNNY LIST THOMPSON WAS ABLE TO GATHER 400 SALISH EQUIVALENTS. IN MAY 1810, THOMPSON DISPATCHED JACO FINLEY TO BUILD A NEW POST AMONG THE SPOKANE PEOPLE. SPOKANE HOUSE WOULD COMPLETE A CIRCLE OF TRADE IN WHAT THOMPSON CALLED THE BETTER PART OF THE COUNTRY. LEAVING FINAN MCDONALD IN CHARGE OF SALEESH HOUSE, THOMPSON TOOK THE FURS TO LAKE SUPERIOR, EXPECTING TO REMAIN IN THE EAST FOR A YEAR. THOMPSON LETTER TO SIMON FRASER: DECEMBER 21, 1810 " MY DEAR FRASER. I AM GETTING TIRED OF SUCH CONSTANT HARD JOURNEYS; FOR THE LAST 20 MONTHS I HAVE SPENT ONLY BARELY TWO MONTHS UNDER THE SHELTER OF A HUT, ALL THE REST HAS BEEN IN MY TENT, AND THERE IS LITTLE LIKELIHOOD THE NEXT 12 MONTHS WILL BE MUCH OTHERWISE" "HE'S BEEN IN THE WOODS FOR A LONG TIME NOW AND HE'S HOPING TO TAKE A YEAR OFF, WHICH IS WHAT YOU ARE ALLOWED AS A PARTNER AND GET UP WITH HIS FAMILY AND JUST RELAX. " BUT, THOMPSON DID NOT GET HIS SABBATICAL. THOMPSON LETTER TO FRASER: DEC. 21, 1810, "THE AMERICANS, IT SEEMS, WERE AS USUAL DETERMINED TO BE BEFOREHAND WITH US IN THE COLUMBIA IN SHIP NAVIGATION. THE AMERICAN WAS JOHN JACOB ASTOR, A NEW YORK ENTREPRENEUR. HE'D STARTED THE PACIFIC FUR COMPANY, AND WAS TRYING TO ENTER THE WESTERN FUR TRADE. HIS SHIP, THE TONQUIN, WAS SAILING AROUND THE HORN TO THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA, WHILE A SECOND OVERLAND PARTY WAS RETRACING LEWIS AND CLARK'S ROUTE TO THE WEST. "JOHN JACOB ASTOR IS LIKE DONALD TRUMP. HE'S GOT BUSINESS DEALS ALL OVER WITH EVERYBODY. INCLUDING THE NORTH WEST CO." A YEAR EARLIER, ASTOR HAD OFFERED THE NORTH WEST COMPANY, ONE THIRD INTEREST IN HIS PACIFIC VENTURE. " AND IT SOUNDS LIKE A PARTNERSHIP BUT IT'S SO, CONVOLUTED THAT YOU CAN TELL IT MIGHT NOT WORK" WITH THE AMERICANS INVOLVED, THOMPSON COULD WAIT NO LONGER TO COMPLETE HIS EXPLORATIONS DOWN THE COLUMBIA RIVER AND DETERMINE WHETHER IT WAS NAVIGABLE TO THE SEA. HE NEEDED TO GET BACK WEST. BUT THE PIEGAN HAD OTHER IDEAS. THEY HAD SET UP A BLOCKADE AT HOWES PASS. "THE PEIGAN THREATENED DURING THE BLOCKADE, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ANY WHITE MAN THEY FIND WEST OF THE MOUNTAIN, AND THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE DRIED MEAT OUT OF THEM. BELIEVE ME, THE HUDSON'S BAY CO, THE NW CO. TOOK THAT THREAT SERIOUSLY" ALEXANDER HENRY - ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE: " THIS AFFAIR OF HIS CANOES BEING STOPPED BY THE PIEGANS HAS INDUCED HIM TO ALTER HIS ROUTE AND ENDEAVOR TO OPEN A NEW ROAD. AND IN SUCH RUGGED COUNTRY THE BLACKFEET INDIANS WOULD NEVER DARE TO ENTER. ALEXANDER HENRY-ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE-1811" THOMPSON HAD BEEN SEEKING AN ALTERNATE ROUTE ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS FOR SOME TIME. HE'D HEARD PROMISING REPORTS OF A CROSSING AT THE HEADWATERS OF THE ATHABASCA RIVER. BUT A WINTER CROSSING OVER ATHABASCA PASS, WOULD BE DIFFICULT,. REQUIRING DOG SLEDS AND SNOWSHOES. "THE PROBLEM FOR HIM REALLY IS THAT BY GOING FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN TO THE ATHABASCA HE'S IN A NEW FUR TRADE DISTRICT AND THE VOYAGERS WHO HE TAKES WITH HIM AREN'T USED TO WORKING FOR HIM. SO ALL THE OLD FAMILIAR NAMES AND THE GUIDES HE'S GONE BACK AND FORTH WITH ALL THESE YEARS ARE NO LONGER WITH HIM. AND THESE NEW GUYS THINK THAT HE'S CRAZY, AND NONE OF THEM HAVE BEEN ACROSS THE PASS BEFORE, AND HE WORKS THEM TOO HARD, AND HE'S MAKING A WINTER CROSSING. SO THERE ARE ALL THESE REASONS FOR THINGS TO GO WRONG" THOMPSON JOURNALS: "DU NORD THREW HIS LOAD ASIDE , SAYING HE WOULD NOT HAUL IT ANY MORE ALTHOUGH HE HAS ONLY 80 POUNDS AND TWO GOOD DOGS, IN MY OPINION HE IS A POOR SPIRITLESS WRETCH. " "THESE GUYS ARE SCARED AND THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF SNOW, AND THE TEMPERATURE WARMS UP FROM 30 BELOW TO 30 ABOVE IN ABOUT 36 HOURS. THE SLEDS START TO SINK, THEY CAN'T FIND ANY FOOD, THE VOYAGERS ARE BEATING THE DOGS TO DEATH." THOMPSON JOURNALS JANUARY 14, 1811 -: "THE COURAGE OF PART OF MY MEN IS SINKING FAST. THEY SEE NOTHING IN ITS PROPER COLOR, FEAR GATHERS ON THEM FROM EVERY OBJECT." CANADIAN OUTFITTER WENDY BUSH HAS BEEN DRIVING DOG TEAMS IN THE BACK COUNTRY MOST OF HER LIFE. "SLED DOGS," BUSH SAYS, "ARE A STRONG PART OF HER CANADIAN HERITAGE. " " EVERY FAMILY HAD A DOG AND THEY HOOKED THAT DOG UP AND PULLED THEIR TOBOGGANS WITH FIREWOOD OR WHATEVER CHORES THEY HAD TO DO SO IT WAS A VERY CANADIAN THING TO DO FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, TO USE YOUR SLED DOG" IN THOMPSON'S TIME, DOG DRIVERS DIDN'T RIDE, BUT RAN BESIDE THE DOGS, HELPING TO DIRECT THE TOBOGGAN OVER SNOW AND ICE. " SO HE MADE HIS OWN SNOW SHOES AND HIS TOBOGGAN. THAT'S PRETTY TOUGH GOING TO BUILD YOUR OWN GEAR" TO CELEBRATE THE CENTENNIAL OF CANADIAN NATIONAL PARKS, BUSH, USING HER OWN SLED DOGS, RETRACED THOMPSON'S HISTORIC 1811 CROSSING OF ATHABASCA PASS. "WE HAD BEEN TRAVELING IN THE BACK COUNTRY OF JASPER NATIONAL PARKS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS SO WE WERE IN GOOD SHAPE AND OUR DOGS WERE WELL TRAINED AND WE HAD LOTS OF MODERN EQUIPMENT. THOUGH REGARDLESS OF MODERN EQUIPMENT, THERE ARE HAZARDS OUT THERE AND YOU CAN STILL FALL IN THE WATER IF YOU MAKE A MISSTEP AND DRAG YOUR DOG TEAM WITH YOU" THOMPSON JOURNAL: "THE DESCENT WAS SO STEEP THAT THE DOGS COULD NOT GUIDE THE SLEDS, AND OFTEN CAME ACROSS THE TREES WITH SOME FORCE, THE DOGS ON ONE SIDE AND THE SLED ON THE OTHER" BY THIS TIME, FOUR OF HIS MEN HAD PLAINLY HAD ENOUGH OF THOMPSON, AND THE FEELING WAS MUTUAL. THOMPSON JOURNAL: "DU NORD WITH THE FORT DE PRAIRIE MEN, HAVING LONG BEEN DISPIRITED AND USELESS AS OLD WOMEN, TOLD ME HE WOULD RETURN, AND I WAS HEARTILY TIRED OF SUCH WORTHLESS FELLOWS" " EARLY HISTORIANS REPRESENTED THAT AS A MUTINY AND EVERYBODY LEAVING. BUT IN HIS JOURNAL, WHICH HE'S KEEPING AT THE TIME, HE SAYS, I'M GLAD TO BE RID OF THESE GUYS, I DON'T LIKE THE WAY THEY TREAT THE DOGS, THEY'RE EATING TOO MUCH, THEY'RE JUST A PAIN. GIVE ME THESE GUYS THAT ARE DEPENDABLE" THOMPSON JOURNAL: "ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS THE TREES WERE SMALL, THERE WE WERE MEN, BUT ON THE WEST SIDE WE WERE PIGMIES, IN SUCH FORESTS WHAT COULD WE DO WITH AXES OF TWO POUND WEIGHT? THOMPSON, AND HIS REMAINING THREE MEN, DUG IN FOR WINTER AT THE TOP BEND OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER; AT A PLACE THOMPSON NAMED BOAT ENCAMPMENT. FROM THIS VANTAGE POINT, THOMPSON COULD HAVE TRAVELED DOWNSTREAM TO THE PACIFIC. BUT, HE HAD A LARGE LOAD OF TRADE GOODS TO DISTRIBUTE TO HIS POSTS ON THE COLUMBIA PLATEAU. "SO HE SPENDS SIX WEEKS BUILDING A NEW KIND OF CANOE THAT IS SPLIT CEDAR PLANKS SEWN TO A REGULAR FRAME WITH SPRUCE ROOT WATAP, AND HE JUST DOES A BEAUTIFUL JOB OF IT. " AT HIS HOME OVERLOOKING LAKE PEND OREILLE, BOAT BUILDER BILL BRUSSTAR IS BUILDING A REPLICA OF DAVID THOMPSON'S CEDAR PLANK CANOE. ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS, THE NOR'WESTERS HAD STRUGGLED TO BUILD CANOES, BECAUSE THE BIRCH BARK WAS SO THIN. BUT THOMPSON DESIGNED SOMETHING NEW. " BUT HE STARTED OUT WITH A BOTTOM BOARD, THE KEEL BOARD, THAT WAS 17 INCHES WIDE. HE WANTED TO BUILD THE WHOLE BOAT IN ONE BOARD ALMOST, 17 INCHES WIDE IS REALLY WIDE AND HE BROKE IT IN HALF. FOR TWO DAYS AFTER THAT THERE IS NOTHING BUT NUMBERS, THAT'S ALL HE DID WAS TOOK NUMBERS AND HELD IT INSIDE. DAVID THOMPSON: " WE WORKED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CANOE, BUT SPIT IN TWO LIFTING IT UP BEING TOO THIN TO SUPPORT IT'S OWN WEIGHT AND WAS THUS SPOILT. " "HE ENDED UP WITH A BOARD SIX INCHES IN THE MIDDLE AND HE NARROWED IT DOWN TO THE BOW AND STERN TO TWO INCHES AND HE CURVED THAT BOW ALL THE WAY UP TO A TWO FOOT ARC. A TWO FOOT ARC FOR THE BOW AND A TWO FOOT ARC FOR THE STERN. SO, HE USED ONE SINGLE BOARD. HE HAD TO SPLIT THE ENDS OF THEM IN HALF, SO HE HAD A TWO INCH BOARD LIKE THAT AND HE CUT IT IN HALF, SO IT WOULD TAKE THAT BEND. " BRUSSTAR SEEMS TO BE LEARNING AS MUCH ABOUT THE MAN AS THE CANOE. "YOU GET A MUCH CLOSER IDEA OF WHAT ACTUALLY WAS GOING ON IN THOSE DAYS, 'CAUSE THE PROBLEMS I HAD, HE HAD THE SAME. " OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, THOMPSON WOULD BUILD AT LEAST NINE CEDAR PLANK CANOES, CONTINUALLY IMPROVING ON HIS DESIGN. MEANWHILE, A THOUSAND MILES DOWNSTREAM, THE SAILING SHIP THE TONQUIN WAS ANCHORED AT THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA. ASTOR'S MEN HAD ALREADY STARTED BUILDING FORT ASTORIA. MARK WEADICK, AND HIS GROUP OF FUR TRADE RE-ENACTORS, PADDLE AROUND THE CONFLUENCE OF THE LITTLE SPOKANE AND SPOKANE RIVERS. BETWEEN THE TWO RIVERS, ON THIS FLAT, TRIANGLE SHAPED PENINSULA, SPOKANE HOUSE WAS BUILT BY JACO FINLEY IN 1810. BY THE TIME THOMPSON ARRIVED, THE POST HAD BEEN UP AND RUNNING FOR A YEAR. FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THE SPOKANE HAD GATHERED HERE TO CATCH AND DRY FISH. "SPOKANE HOUSE WAS ON THE MIDDLE SPOKANE PEOPLES CAMPGROUND, IT WAS IN THERE AREA, AND IT WAS WITH THEIR PERMISSION THAT JACKO FINLAY AND HIS CREW IN 1810 WERE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT THE FIRST SPOKANE HOUSE. THERE WAS IN THOSE DAYS A TREMENDOUS CHINOOK SALMON FISHERY THAT CAME UP THE FALLS" THOMPSON CALCULATED THE LONGITUDE OF SPOKANE HOUSE AND RECORDED IT IN HIS JOURNAL. IT WOULD BE THE FIRST EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. AFTER A TWO MONTH DETOUR, THOMPSON WAS FINALLY FREE TO EXPLORE THE MIDDLE AND LOWER COLUMBIA. HIS PARTY TRAVELED NORTH ON THE ILTHKOYAPE ROAD, TO KETTLE FALLS ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER, WHERE A LARGE NUMBER OF THE ILTHKOYAPE OR COLVILLE WERE FISHING. THOMPSON JOURNALS: "THE SALMON ARE FROM 15 TO 30 POUNDS WEIGHT HERE, THEIR FLESH IS RED AND THEY ARE EXTREMELY WELL MADE. " AFTER YEARS OF EFFORT, ON JULY 3RD, 1811 THOMPSON WITH HIS CREW AND TWO SANPOIL SET OFF FROM KETTLE FALLS ON THEIR VOYAGE DOWN THE COLUMBIA TO THE SEA. DAVID THOMPSON TRAVELS: "IMAGINATION CAN HARDLY FORM AN IDEA OF THE WORKING OF THIS IMMENSE BODY OF WATER UNDER SUCH COMPRESSION, RAGING AND HISSING, AS IF ALIVE. " "IGNUS, THE IROQUOIS, WHO HE HIRED TO BE THE STEERSMAN GOT BOUNCED RIGHT OUT OF THE CANOE. IT WAS THAT POWERFUL, AND NONE OF THESE GUYS CAN SWIM. SO THEY DO THIS CRAZY FRENETIC RESCUE AND GET IGNUS ON SHORE AND SQUEEZE ALL THE WATER OUT OF HIM" AT THE TIME, ABOUT THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES OF THE COLUMBIA HAD BEEN CHARTED. BY THE END OF THE SUMMER, THOMPSON WILL HAVE SURVEYED THE REMAINING NINE HUNDRED MILES. DAVID THOMPSON: "THE COLUMBIA PRESENTED MUCH STEEP ROCK, OFTEN IN STEP LIKE STAIRS OF 20 TO 30 FEET PERPENDICULAR. " TRAVELING WITH THE CURRENT, IT TOOK THOMPSON JUST TEN DAYS TO GET TO THE PACIFIC. "IT'S ABOUT 700 RIVER MILES. HE STOPS AT EVERY VILLAGE ALONG THE WAY AND DOES HIS LITTLE RAP, I'M COMING TO TRADE YOU KNOW. YOU SHOULD TRAP BEAVER, I'LL BUILD A TRADE HOUSE HERE. HE SAYS THAT AT EVERY VILLAGE THAT HE COMES TO AND HE STILL MAKES IT IN 10 DAYS. " THOMPSON MET 150 FAMILIES OF SANPOIL,. NEAR THE SANPOIL RIVER. "THEY ALL, FORMED A LINE IN AN ELLIPSIS; THEY DANCED WITH THE SUN IN A MINGLED MANNER, ALL THEIR DANCES ARE A KIND OF RELIGIOUS PRAYER" HE MET METHOW, JUST BEYOND THE OKANAGAN RIVER, AND, 120 FAMILIES OF SINKAUSE, AT ROCK ISLAND NEAR WENATCHEE. "THE WOMEN ADVANCED ALL ORNAMENTED WITH FLLETS AND SMALL FEATHERS, THEY SMOKED WITH THE MEN" THOMPSON SMOKED WITH 62 SAHAPTIN SPEAKING MEN, THE WANAPUM, NEAR PRIEST RAPIDS. AND THERE WERE THE YAKIMA. THOMPSON JOURNAL: "THESE PEOPLE, ARE MAKING USE OF THE SEINE NET, WHICH IS WELL MADE FROM WILD HEMP, WHICH GROWS ON THE RICH LOW GROUNDS. " AT THE DALLES CULTURE PATTERNS CHANGED FROM PLATEAU TO COASTAL. THE THREE HUNDRED FAMILIES CAMPED THERE WERE SPEAKING BOTH SAHAPTIAN AND CHINOOKAN LANGUAGES. DAVID THOMPSON JOURNAL: "THE CHIEF CAME AND INVITED ME TO HIS HOUSE,. THE INSIDE CLEAN AND WELL ARRANGED HAD SEPARATE BED PLACES FASTENED TO THE WALLS THAT RAISED ABOUT 3 FEET ABOVE THE FLOOR" THOMPSON FELT STRONGLY THAT THE LANDS OF THE COLUMBIA THAT HE HAD SURVEYED BELONGED TO GREAT BRITAIN. WHAT THOMPSON CALLED A 'SATISFACTORY BOUNDARY' FOR CANADA, INCLUDED MUCH OF TODAY'S AMERICAN NORTHWEST. THOMPSON JOURNAL: "HERE I ERECTED A SMALL POLE WITH A HALF SHEET OF PAPER WELL TIED AROUND IT, ...KNOW HEREBY THAT THIS COUNTRY IS CLAIMED BY GREAT BRITAIN AS PART OF ITS TERRITORIES" ON JULY 15, 1811, THOMPSON'S PARTY ARRIVED AT THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER, AT FORT ASTORIA. ALEXANDER ROSS, A SCOT CLERK FOR THE PACIFIC FUR COMPANY "WE WERE RATHER SURPRISED AT THE UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL OF A NORTH WEST PROPRIETOR AT ASTORIA. MR. THOMPSON. HE CAME DASHING DOWN THE COLUMBIA IN A LIGHT CANOE MANNED WITH EIGHT IROQUOIS AND AN INTERPRETER. " THE ASTORIANS FOUND THEMSELVES IN AN ODD SITUATION. THOMPSON CLAIMED THEY WERE PARTNERS, BUT TO THEIR KNOWLEDGE, NO JOINT AGREEMENT HAD TAKEN PLACE. THEY DANCED AROUND EACH OTHER NOT KNOWING WHETHER THEY WERE FRIEND OR FOE. LATER, THE PARTNERSHIP DID INDEED FALL APART. BY THE END OF THE SUMMER, THOMPSON HAD SURVEYED THE ENTIRE COLUMBIA RIVER FROM ITS HEADWATERS TO ITS MOUTH. ONE OF HIS MOST MEMORABLE CONTRIBUTIONS. PADDLING HARD ON LAKE SUPERIOR, THE 2008 DAVID THOMPSON BRIGADE WILL SOON COMPLETE THE FINAL LEG OF THEIR JOURNEY TO FORT WILLIAM. THOMPSON TOO, RETURNED EAST, CROSSING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS FOR HIS FINAL TIME, AND RETIRING FROM THE FUR TRADE IN 1812. FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, THOMPSON WORKED ON HIS MAPS OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICA. IT WAS AN ENORMOUS UNDERTAKING, USING HIS SURVEYS AND DISCOVERIES FROM THE LAST 20 YEARS. "HE STARTS WORKING ON HIS GREAT MAPS. SORT OF MAGNUM OPUS TO SHOW IN ONE GRAND CANVAS WHAT HE'S BEEN DOING WITH ALL OF HIS LIFE. " ONE OF THOMPSON'S WALL SIZE MAPS WAS HUNG IN THE DINING ROOM AT FORT WILLIAM TO BE USED BY TRAVELERS HEADING WEST FOR THE NEXT FOUR DECADES. "HE LIVED DURING A TIME THAT REALLY SAW THE TRANSFORMATION OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICA. SO WHEN HE WAS BORN IN 1770, EUROPEAN PEOPLE KNEW VERY LITTLE ABOUT WHAT WAS SOUTH AND WEST OF HUDSON'S BAY. BY THE TIME HE DIED IN 1857, THE WEST WAS BEING PREPARED FOR EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT. SO, HE'S A FIGURE WHO EXPERIENCED ALL THAT, AND IN SOME SENSES WAS THE AGENT OF THAT. " HIS EXPLORATIONS OPENED WHAT WOULD BECOME THE PRIMARY TRADE ROUTE ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE PACIFIC. THIS INLAND NORTHWEST PASSAGE WAS THE LAST LINK OF A FUR TRADE HIGHWAY CONNECTING A CONTINENT FROM SEA TO SEA. HIS TIRELESS MAP WORK REALIZED THE DREAM THAT HE EXPRESSED IN A LETTER TO A FRIEND AFTER HIS FIRST WINTER AT THE SOURCE LAKES OF THE COLUMBIA. DAVID THOMPSON'S LETTER: I WISH TO HEAVEN YOU COULD BE TRANSPORTED BY SOME GENIIS TO SEE HOW THIS COUNTRY IS FORMED. ♪ ♪

Formation

John Jacob Astor was a merchant of New York City and founder of the American Fur Company. To create a chain of trading stations spread across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Northwest, he incorporated an AFC subsidiary, the Pacific Fur Company.^[3] The commercial venture was originally designed to last for twenty years.^[3] Unlike its major competitor the Canadian owned NWC, the Pacific Fur Company was not a Joint-stock company. Capital for the PFC amounted to $200,000 divided into 100 shares individually valued at $2,000 and was funded entirely by Astor.^[3] The American Fur Company held half of the stock and the other half divided among prospective management and clerks. The chief representative of Astor in the daily operations was Wilson Price Hunt, a St. Louis businessman with no outback experience who received five shares.^[3] Each working partner was assigned four shares with the remaining shares held in reserve for hired clerks. Fellow partners in the venture were recruited from the NWC, the members being Alexander McKay, David Stuart, Duncan McDougall, and Donald Mackenzie. Astor and the partners met in New York on 23 June 1810 to sign the Pacific Fur Company's provisional agreement.^[4]

To establish the fledgling PFC trade posts in the distant Oregon Country, Astor's plan called for an extensive movement of large groups of employees overland following the route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and navally by sailing around Cape Horn. The venture was planned on methods used in the AFC for the collection of fur pelts. Complements of employees (later called "Astorians")^[5] would operate in various parts of the region to complete trapping excursions. Outposts maintained by the PFC would be freighted necessary foodstuffs and supplies by annual cargo ships from New York City.^[3] Trade goods such as beads, blankets, and copper would be exchanged with the local Native Americans for fur pelts.

Ongoing supply issues faced by the Russian-American Company were seen as a means to gain more furs.^[6] Cargo ships en route from the Columbia were planned to then sail north for Russian America to bring much needed provisions. By cooperating with Russian colonial authorities to strengthen their material presence in Russian America, it was hoped by Astor to stop the NWC or any other British presence to be established upon the Pacific Coast.^[1] A tentative agreement for merchant vessels owned by Astor to ship furs gathered in Russian America into the Qing Empire was signed in 1812.^[6] Company ships then were directed to sail to the port of Guangzhou, where furs were then sold for impressive profits. Chinese products like porcelain, nankeens and tea were to be purchased; with the ships then to cross the Indian Ocean and head for European and American markets to sell the Chinese wares.

Labor recruitment

The PFC required a sizable number of laborers, fur trappers and in particular Voyageurs to staff company locations. Recruiting for the company's two expeditions were led by Wilson Hunt and Donald Mackenzie for the overland party and Alexander McKay for the naval bound group.^[7]^[8] All three men were based out of Montreal throughout May to July 1810. Hunt was designated to lead the Overland Expedition, despite his inexperience in dealing with Indigenous cultures, or residing in the wilderness. It was suggested that Hunt instead trade positions with McKay and travel on the Tonquin.^[9] However, it was determined to keep Hunt in charge of the land party.

The customary time for free agents to be sent into the interior from Montreal was in May, leaving few men left in the city available for hire. The recruitment effort stalled in part from the bitter treatment by the NWC and Hunt's lack of prior experience as a fur merchant, the source of many issues later on.^[7] PFC contracts were atypically favorable for hired men when compared to its Montreal competitors. Terms included a forty percent larger annual salary, double the cash advanced prior to departure and a length of service lasting five years, rather than the more common two or three year employment.^[7]

McKay's efforts

During the summer of 1810, Alexander McKay hired thirteen French-Canadians for the Tonquin.^[10] The majority of the group remained in Montreal until late July, when they given directives to withdraw to New York City. A canoe provided transportation for the trip down the Richelieu River and Lake Champlain.^[11] At Whitehall additional men that were employed by McKay joined the southbound party, among them Ovide de Montigny.^[12] On 3 August they reached New York City, with the group's "hats decorated with parti-colored ribands and feathers..." causing some Americans to believe them to Natives.^[11] The following day lodgings at Long Island were reached and the scene was described by clerk Gabriel Franchère:

"We sang as we rowed; which, joined to the unusual sight of a birch bark canoe impelled by nine stout Canadians, dark as Indians, and as gayly adorned, attracted a crowd upon the wharves to gaze at us as we glided along."^[11]

While waiting to depart for the Pacific, McKay met with British diplomatic official Francis James Jackson. The official assured McKay that in the event of war between the United States and United Kingdom, all PFC employees that were British employees would be treated as such.^[11]

Hunt's efforts

Thirteen men signed contracts in Montreal to join Hunt on the journey to the Pacific coast by land. Notably only one had previously operated under a contract lasting longer than a year. The generous cash advancements were taken advantage by three men who deserted before Hunt and the remaining group left the city for Michilimackinac in July.^[7] The party reached Mackinac Island on 28 July 1810.^[7] Acting as a major depot for the regional Great Lakes fur trade, the island was where Hunt focused on hiring more men for the company. The veteran fur merchant Ramsay Crooks was convinced to join the company and assisted in recruiting additional men. Over the sixteen days spent there, a total seventeen men were recruited to the concern with sixteen being French-Canadian.^[13] This group of men, unlike those hired in Montreal, had extensive experience working in the fur trade as voyageurs and other roles. Likely suggested by Crooks, interested men already hired by other companies would have their contracts purchased from their employers.^[13]

After the men were finally gathered in early August, Hunt and the party departed for St. Louis and arrived there on 3 September. The hired voyageurs and fur trappers completed many transactions with various merchants in St. Louis and in the nearby French-Canadian settlement of Ste. Genevieve throughout September and October. These were recorded on the company ledger and particular purchases been argued as the men collecting goods to trade with various Indigenous nations they would visit.^[13] In particular, these negotiations by the French-Canadians have been thought to be steps towards later establishing themselves as independent traders in relatively unexploited fur regions.^[7] Most of the men in the Overland Party were engaged as hunters, interpreters, guides and voyageurs.

Oceanic component

The advanced party was sent to create the initial base of operations at the mouth of the Columbia River. Necessary trade goods for deals with Indigenous and needed supplies to establish the station were shipped on the same vessel In addition to beginning the company headquarters, this party would block any attempts by the NWC to create a station in the area. The ship Tonquin was purchased by Astor in 1810 to start commercial operations on the Pacific Ocean. The majority of the company partners. Duncan McDougall, David and Robert Stuart, and Alexander McKay would head this detachment. In addition, clerks Gabriel Franchère and Alexander Ross would join them on the planned voyage.

The Tonquin

Under the command of Jonathan Thorn the Tonquin left New York on September 8, 1810.^[11] PFC employees numbered thirty-three men in total on board. The vessel landed at the Falkland Islands on 4 December to make repairs and take on water supplies at Port Egmont. Captain Thorn attempted to abandon eight of the crew still on shore, among them clerks Gabriel Franchère and Alexander Ross.^[14]^[15] The stranded men were taken on board after Robert Stuart threatened to kill Thorn. Communication between company workers was no longer held in English to keep the captain excluded from discussions. Company partners held talks in their ancestral Scottish Gaelic and the laborers used Canadian French. On December 25 the Tonquin rounded Cape Horn and sailed north into the Pacific Ocean.

The ship anchored at the Kingdom of Hawaii in February 1811.^[16] Due to the possibility of men abandoning their posts to live in the tropical islands, Thorn assembled all of the crew and PFC employees to harass them to remain on the ship.^[17] Commercial transactions with Hawaiians saw the crew purchasing cabbage, sugar cane, purple yams, taro, coconuts, watermelon, breadfruit, hogs, goats, two sheep,^[18] and poultry in return for "glass beads, iron rings, needles, cotton cloth".^[17]^[16] Upon entering Honolulu, the crew was greeted by Isaac Davis and Francisco de Paula Marín, the latter acting an interpreter in negotiations with Kamehameha I and prominent government official Kalanimoku.^[19] 24 Native Hawaiian Kanakas were hired with the approval of Kamehameha I, who appointed Naukane to oversee their interests.^[18]

The Columbia River was reached in March 1811. Despite stormy conditions, over several days Thorn ordered two boats dispatched to scout a safe route over the treacherous Columbia Bar. Both boats would capsize and eight men lost their lives.^[18] Finally on March 24, the Tonquin crossed the bar, passing into the Columbia’s estuary and laid anchor in Baker’s Bay. Captain Thorn stressed the urgency for the Tonquin to start trading further north along the Pacific Coast as instructed by Astor. After 65 days on the Columbia River, the Tonquin departed with a crew of 23 with McKay was aboard the ship as supercargo. At Vancouver Island she was boarded by the Tla-o-qui-aht people of Clayoquot Sound, where Thorn caused an uproar by hitting a Tla-o-qui-aht noble with a pelt. In the ensuing conflict all of men brought on the Tonquin were killed besides an interpreter from the Quinault nation and the ship was destroyed. This put the occupants of Fort Astoria in a tough position, having no access to seaborne transport until the following year.^[20]

Fort Astoria

Construction on Fort Astoria, an "emporium of the west",^[21] began in the middle of April 1811. It was built upon Point George, the location being about 5 miles (8 km) from the Lewis and Clark Expedition winter camp of Fort Clatsop.^[22] The terrain and thick forests made clearing a foundation exceedingly difficult. Late in the month, McDougall reported that there was "little progress in clearing, the place being so full of half decayed trunks, large fallen timber & thick brush."^[23] No one among the party had previous experience in the logging industry and many hadn't used an axe before in general.^[21] Trees had a layer of hardened resin and were of a massive size. Four men worked as a team on platforms at least eight feet above the ground to effectively cut a tree, with it taking typically two days for a single tree to be felled. Medical issues quickly became another major issue for the party as there was not a single medical officer among the passengers brought on the Tonquin.^[21] This left treatments rudimentary at best. During the initial months on the Columbia River at any time upwards of half of the expedition was unable to perform manual labor due to illness.^[21]

Fort Okanogan

Kaúxuma Núpika, a Two-Spirit from the Ktunaxa people, and his wife arrived at Fort Astoria on 15 June 1811 with a letter from John Stuart.^[24] Kaúxuma offered accounts of the interior and recommended that the station be opened at the confluence of the Columbia and "the Okannaakken River"^[25] among the Syilx peoples.^[26] It was determined that David Stuart would take a party to with Kaúxuma to the Syilx. Before they left however the inhabitants of Astoria were surprised by the arrival of David Thompson on 15 July.^[24] Thompson later stated that his group "set off on a voyage down the Columbia River to explore this river in order to open out a passage for the interior trade with the Pacific Ocean."^[27] The competing fur traders were cordially received at Astoria.

A party of eight led by David Stuart departed on 22 July for the Syilx territories. The personnel assigned to join Stuart were eight men, including Alexander Ross, François Benjamin Pillet, Ovide de Montigny, and Naukane.^[28]^[29] The group joined David Thompson and his eight men in traveling up the Columbia, staying together until the Dalles. Upon entering Watlala Chinookan territory, Stuart failed establish favorable relations with them. Watlala men performed several military displays and stole a small amount of goods.^[30] Naukane agreed to join the NWC shortly after this episode and the two parties separated.^[31] Stuart was able to secure the protection of Wasco-Wishram leadership in early August. Groups of Chinookan laborers were used to cross the portages of the Columbia in their homeland.^[30]

Stuart's party soon began to travel through the Sahaptin nations and on the 12th of August an assembly of Walla Walla, Cayuse and Nez Perce welcomed the fur traders.^[32] Once the reception was complete, the PFC men continued up the Columbia and passed by the future site of Fort Nez Percés. Towards the end of August the party began to become troubled with Western Rattlesnake populations and rapids, almost losing one canoe and the men aboard it to a section of swift currents.^[32] Stuart and his men were greeted by Wenatchi leadership at the Wenatchee River, who gave two horses to the fur traders as a gift in addition to several more being purchased. While passing through other Indigenous homelands the PFC continued financial dealings for food supplies. Members of the Chelan nation traded "some salmon, roots, and berries" and later Methows offered their "abundance of salmon" and "many horses" to the fur trappers for sale.^[32]

While at the junction of the Columbia and Okanogan River, a large encampment of Syilx were encountered. Prominent members of the nation entreated the fur traders to reside among their people, proclaiming "themselves to be always be our friends, to kill us plenty of beavers, to furnish us at all times with provisions, and to ensure our protection and safety."^[33] The cargo of the canoes were taken to land on 1 September and work soon began on Fort Okanogan. A residence crafted from driftwood acquired from the Okanogan River. While construction of the post was ongoing, four men that included Pillet were detailed to inform the progress of inland trade. The party arrived back at the company headquarters on 11 October and gave its favorable report.^[34]

Stuart led Montigny and two other men to follow the course of the Okanogan, leaving only Ross at the post. As promised, the Syilx provided security for the station, frequently alerting Ross when intruders from other nations came near.^[33] Despite planning on exploring the Okanogan watershed for a month, Stuart and his three men did not return until 22 March 1812. Upon reaching the Okanogan headwaters the party then went over to the Thompson River. Snows in mountain passes made it exceedingly difficult for the party to travel. Detained among the Secwepemc, Stuart developed cordial relations with them. Finding their areas rich in beaver populations, he promised to return later that year to create a trading post.^[33]

The Lower Chinookan peoples

Diplomatic relationships with the Chinookan villages near the Columbia were critical for the viability of Fort Astoria. Scholars have affirmed that the American company and its "economic success depended on mutually beneficial economic exchanges with Indian groups... who controlled trade."^[35] Many of the settlements near the station were under the influence of headman Comcomly.

Assistance in exploration

Chinookans were highly important in company explorations of the Pacific Coast. In particular, they were instrumental in finding a suitable location for what became Fort Astoria. In early April 1811 McDougall and David Stuart visited Comcomly, who advised them not to return to the Columbia River as it was then quite tumultuous. The two men didn't listen and shortly afterward their canoe capsized in the river. The "timely succor" of Comcomly and his villagers ensured the partners were saved before they drowned.^[22] After recuperating there for three days, they returned to the PFC camp.^[23]

Additional services tendered was the relaying information from more distant peoples to the Astorians. Reports were circulated by them in late April 1811 of a trade post maintained by white men in the interior.^[23] This was correctly conjectured by PFC employees to be their NWC rivals,^[22] later found to be Spokane House. Departing on 2 May, McKay led Robert Stuart, Franchère, Ovide de Montigny and a number of voyaguers up the Columbia, with Clatsop noble Coalpo acting as guide and interpreter. The following day they explored the Cowlitz River and soon encountered a large canoe flotilla of Cowlitz warriors. McKay was able to request a parlay, during which the Cowlitz stated they were armed for combat against the nearby Skilloot Chinookan village near the river mouth.^[22] Reaching the Dalles on 10 May, no trade station was found at the important fishery. Due to Coalpo's fear of reprisal from his enemies among the Wasco and Wishram, the party went back to Fort Astoria, returning on 14 May.

Despite not finding the NWC post, management at Fort Astoria soon became "anxious to acquire a knowledge of the country & the prospects of trade... within our reach".^[36] On 6 June 1811, Robert Stuart went north on a tour of western Olympic Peninsula with Calpo acting as a guide again. Returning on 24 June, Stuart reported that the Quinault and nearby Quileute nations would kill Sea otters and trade their pelts for the valuable Dentalium shells sold by the Nuu-chah-nulth on Vancouver Island.^[36] Stuart felt that a company trade post in Grays Harbor offered the best location to secure these furs. Additionally he gave the opinion that Alutiiq in Russian America should be recruited to hunt various fur bearing animals at the hypothetical factory.

However, Chinookans were not always willing to help Astorians in visiting distant locations. This was a means of delaying the Astorians from making commercial connections with Indigenous peoples on the Upper Columbia. One particular incident has been described by historian Robert F. Jones as "an effort to keep Comcomly's Chinooks as middlemen between the natives of the upper Columbia and the Astorians."^[37] François Benjamin Pillet was ordered to make a trading trip along the Columbia. Accompanied by a Chinook headman, they left Fort Astoria in late June 1811. Small trade deals were completed with Skilloots near modern Oak Point. Afterwards, the headman cited the seasonal flooding as making the Columbia unsafe to travel further upriver. This forced Pillet to return to Astoria with what pelts he had purchased from the Skilloots.^[36]

Commercial ties

Consistently small stockpiles of foodstuffs at Fort Astoria created the need for frequent transactions with Chinookans for sustenance. Seasonal fish runs provided the major nutritional sources for the Columbian River-based Natives. After ceremonial rituals during each major fish run, trade for caught fish would begin in earnest with the Astorians. A constant task for Hawaiians would be to perform fisherman duties.^[39] Major fish populations active in the Columbia included the Candlefish smelt, White sturgeon, Sockeye salmon and Chinook salmon. This dependence on fish made it a primary food source for the Astorians, which caused some discontent among employees desiring a more familiar diet.^[21]^[40]

Terrestrial animals like members of the family Cervidae such as Roosevelt elk and black-tailed deer were not found in large numbers around Fort Astoria.^[41] This made them another important source of trade for the Chinookans when visiting the PFC station. Another frequent item sold when fish supplies were low in the winter was the Wapato root. Wapato provided a common source of calories for Chinookans and other nations. The Astorians described the tuber as "a good substitute for potatoes"^[42] Purchases of Wapato occurred in such volumes that a small cellar had to be created specifically to house the produce. Other typical purchases from Chinookans included manufactured goods. In particular woven hats were frequently bought for protection against the seasonal rains.^[39] These hats were tightly interwoven, making them essentially waterproof. Of benefit to the Astorians was that they were typically wide enough to cover the shoulders. Ross described the common artwork depicted them as "chequered" with various animal designs that were "not painted, but ingeniously interwoven."^[43]

Chinookans near Fort Astoria employed various means of retaining their valuable middle man position between various neighboring Indigenous peoples and the PFC. Additional tactics involved manipulating the perception neighboring Natives had of the American company. In August 1811, a small party of Chehalis visited Fort Astoria. In dialogue with them McDougall inquired why they would rarely directly trade with the PFC. The Chehalis merchants responded that Chinooks affiliated with Comcomly claimed that the Astorians were "very inveterate against their nation."^[44] McDougall concluded this story was used by Comcomly to continue his commercial hegemony over the area.

Fear of hostilities

It wasn't always that the Astorians, especially McDougall trusted Comcomly or Chinookans in general. His judgment of them, despite eventually marrying a daughter of Comcomly was that they were often ready to attack the fort. In particular Jones noted that he "seems to place implicit faith in any possible hostile actions by the natives."^[45]

In June 1812, the number of men at Fort Astoria were reduced to 11 Hawaiians and 39 European descendants.^[46] Fear of attack by Chinookans was high and drills were directed by McDougall frequently. A delegation of Chinookans visited Fort Astoria on 2 July quickly left after witnessing these military demonstrations. This fear by the natives convinced the Astorians that "they are not friendly disposed towards us..." having "a desire to harm us."^[46] According to Jones, this "latent distrust" of Chinookans by Astorians from this incident was probably unfounded, as they entered the post "for an innocent purpose" and were frightened by the drills.^[47]

Fears of attack didn't disappear and Astorians kept themselves guarded in dealing with natives. After the Beaver left for Russian America rumors spread of a coming attack on Astoria in August 1812. There were large numbers of Chinookans and Chehalis near Comcomly's village at the time. This expedited construction on two bastions and the fort was "put in readiness for an attack."^[48] Jones has pointed out that these movements of Indigenous was very likely a part of seasonal fishing, rather than a supposed hostile gathering.^[49]

Overland Expedition

As the leader of the expedition Hunt would make a number of decisions which were disastrous.^[20] The movement of Hunt's group has been described as "a company of traders forging westward in [a] haphazard fashion."^[50] He ordered the expedition to leave St. Louis just before the winter to reduce company expenses of supporting employees.^[51] The group departed on October 21, 1810 for Fort Osage. The expedition traveled 450 miles (720 km) up the Missouri River before setting up winter camp on Nodaway Island, at the mouth of Nodaway River in Andrew County, Missouri, just north of St. Joseph. French-Canadian employees made frequent purchases from the company store during the idle season, especially those hired at Michilimackinac. Small items like blue beads, vermilion, brass rings, tobacco "carrots", small axes among others were used in transactions with Missouria neighboring the camp.^[13]

On January 1811,^[52] Hunt sailed down the Missouri River to complete several pending transactions at St. Louis.^[51] It was during this time he recruited Pierre Dorion Jr., as he was the only qualified speaker of the Sioux languages in St. Louis at the time.^[52] Notably he was in debt to Manuel Lisa and the Missouri Fur Company (MFC), something that would lead to tensions between the fur companies later in the year. In the end Hunt was able to secure Dorion, on the condition that Marie and his two children be brought along as well. Once finalized, he took British naturalists John Bradbury and Thomas Nuttall with him to the Nodaway camp, as previously agreed upon. The party left St. Louis on 12 March and reached Fort Osage on the 8th of April.^[53] Early into the travel Dorion physically abused his wife and caused her to flee for a day.^[51] At the station Ramsay Crooks was waiting for them and the group recuperated for two days. The group left Fort Osage on the 10th of April and during the day Dorion "severely beat his squaw" as Marie desired to stay with newly made Osage acquaintances rather than continue with the expedition. The group reached the winter camp on the 17th.^[54] The overland group at this point amounted to almost sixty men, forty being French-Canadian voyageurs.^[54]

Following the Missouri

A Sioux village. Many of the Plains nations visited by the expedition had similar dwellings.

Hunt's expedition broke the Nodaway winter camp on April 21.^[54] The Astorians reached a major Omaha village in early May. Active commercial transactions were completed there, with Omaha merchants offering "jerked buffalo meat, tallow, corn, and marrow" for vermilion, beads and tobacco carrots.^[55] Bradbury detailed that the Omaha village had plots of nicotiana rustica, melons, beans, squashes, and corn under cultivation. While at the Omaha settlement, Hunt received information from several visiting Yankton Sioux that a group of Sioux was gathering further up the river to stop the expedition from traveling further.^[55]

Proceeding further the Missouri River, the Sioux party was encountered on 31 May. The Sioux bands were a conglomeration of Yankton and Lakota and had around six hundred armed men.^[56] Tensions quickly arose between the two disparate groups and both took up positions by the Missouri River. The two company howitzers and single Swivel gun were loaded with powder and fired to intimidate the Sioux bands. The artillery were then loaded with live ammunition, but the Sioux across the river began to "spread their buffalo robes before them, and moved them side to side."^[56] Dorion stopped the firing of the armaments a second time, as he understood this action by the Sioux meant they desired a parley. Peace talks were held and the Sioux explained that they had formed to prevent the PFC from trading with the neighboring nations they were at war with, the Arikara, Mandan and the Gros Ventre.^[56] Hunt explained that the expedition intended to travel to the Pacific Ocean and they had no interest in the neighboring Indigenous groups. This was found to be acceptable by the Sioux leaders, and the PFC was allowed to depart further north.

On 3 June, employees of the Missouri Fur Company under the command of Manuel Lisa were encountered on the Missouri River.^[57] Lisa reminded Dorion of his pending debt to the company, and a duel between the two men was narrowly averted by Bradbury and Henry Marie Brackenridge intervening.^[57] After this incident the rival fur companies refrained from interacting and camped on opposite sides of the Missouri River. Despite this, Lisa and Hunt led their parties north towards an Arikara village and reached it on 12 June. In a council with local leadership Lisa declared that if any of Hunt's party were harmed he'd take it as an offense against him as well.^[57] In setting the standard rate for purchasing horses, "carbines, powder, ball, tomahawks knives" were in high demand as the Arikara were planning an attack upon the Sioux.^[57] Lisa and Hunt made a deal allowing for Hunt's boats to be exchanged for additional horses, kept at Fort Lisa further up the Missouri River.^[58] Crooks was sent with a small group to fetch the horses and while they reached Fort Lisa on the 23rd, they had to wait until the 25th for Lisa to arrive to finalize the transaction. The party left the following day and returned south to Hunt's camp.

The Rocky Mountains

While at the Arikara village, Hunt met and employed several American trappers that had previously worked for the MFC in modern Idaho. The men advised strongly against going into the Piikáni homelands of modern Montana.^[59] The Piikáni and other Niitsitapi nations at the time were typically unreceptive to trespass from European descendants and made a showing of military force against the Lewis and Clark Expedition. This changed Hunt's plans, who according determined it best to avoid the Niitsitapi peoples.^[60]

The expedition left their Arikara hosts in late July for the nearby Grand River. After following the Little Missouri River, the party to rest for several days while transactions were made with a band of Cheyenne.^[61] In total 36 horses were purchased from the Cheyenne. The expedition broke camp on 6 August and Hunt ordered six men to hunt Bison. Hunt's party continued southwest through the modern state of Wyoming and the hunting party rejoined on the 18th of August, having killed 8 Bison.^[61] While at the base of Cloud Peak on 30 August, a scouting party of Apsáalooke visited the camp. The following day a delegation of Apsáalooke on horseback invited them to visit their nearby village. Hunt recalled the importance of mercantile deals with the Apsáalooke stating that:

"We spent the first day of September buying some robes and belts and trading our tired, maimed horses for fresh ones... thereby augmenting the number of our horses to about 121, most of which were well-trained and able to cross the mountains."^[61]

Continuing westward towards the Continental Divide of the Americas, the PFC party followed the course of the Wind River, crossed the Divide and followed the Gros Ventre River.

Snake River

The expedition reached Fort Henry on 8 September,^[62] made by MFC employee Andrew Henry the previous year, near present-day St. Anthony and made a camp there. The post was later abandoned. While at the location work began creating enough canoes necessary to take the party down Henry's Fork and later the Snake River or so called "Mad River"^[62] to the Columbia. This was done as it felt no longer necessary to travel with pack horses, a decision that would soon cause more issues for the party.^[60] On the 10th, four men and two Natives under the command of Joseph Miller departed to begin trapping in the area.^[62] The horses that remained in the possession of the PFC, amounting to seventy-seven, were left in the care of "two young Snakes".^[62] The party departed from Fort Henry on 19 September on the newly made canoes.

Traveling down the Snake River proved highly difficult due to the many rapids such as Caldron Linn. The party was forced to perform multiple portages due to these fierce currents. Over course of the remainder of September through early November, four incidents of canoes capsizing killed one man meant major losses in trade goods and food supplies.^[62] In addition to the hardships caused from attempting to follow the course of the Snake more problems arose due to dwindling food stockpiles. By 31 October there was enough provisions to last for five days.^[62] In early November there were not many animals in the area to gather for food, the few that were caught by the hunting parties were beaver. The traveling partners agreed to end travel by canoe, finding the mode of transportation too difficult continue using.^[62] Hunt ordered several groups go in various directions to contact neighboring Indigenous for material support. In the meantime the PFC expedition began to deposit its trade goods in small caches to lighten the workload of the men.

The Columbia River east of the Cascade Range.

At the suggestion of Ramsay Crooks, the expedition was divided into two parties of nineteen men each, with each member receiving 5 ${\tfrac {1}{4}}$ pounds of dried meat. A third small group was led by Donald MacKenzie to reach Fort Astoria ahead of the main contingent. All that remained in the company stores was "forty pounds of corn, twenty of fat, and nearly five pounds of bouillon tablets."^[62] On 9 November the two groups began traveling on either side of the Snake. Soon the cliffs became too steep to allow an easy descent to the river banks for water. Sources of hydration became very limited and despite intercourse with several groups of Indigenous the situation didn't improve. Water was collected on 20 November after it rained the previous night. Up to that point "several Canadians had begun to drink their urine" in desperation.^[63]

Crooks reunited with Hunt's party in early December alone. Crooks was so weakened from starvation that his pace would have slowed the expedition immensely. Hunt left two men to tend to Crooks while the main group pushed forward. Several villages of Northern Shoshone were visited and vitally needed food sources such as horses along with "some dried fish, a few roots, and some pounded dried cherries" were purchased.^[63] A Shoshone was convinced to act as a scout to guide the PFC group to the Umatilla River. On 23 December, thirteen men assigned to Crooks party were met who gave the unfortunate news that they hadn't seen him since he left Hunt's group.^[63]

Reaching the Columbia

Donald Stuart and his party of Robert McClellan, John Reed, Étienne Lucier,^[39] and seven other men continued to march ahead of the two main PFC groups. While traversing the lands of the Niimíipu, a stranded employee of the PFC, Archibald Pelton, was found and brought along with the party.^[60] They finally arrived at Fort Astoria on 18 January 1812. The party was described as clothed in "nothing but fluttering rags."^[60] While waiting for the main contingent under Hunt to arrive, the men informed the personnel of the overland journey's progress from St. Louis.

Hunt's group found a band of Liksiyu on 8 January, whom hosted the downtrodden expedition for a week.^[64] Meals of dried mule deer meat and loafs of pounded Camas bulbs were provided during their stay. While exploring the area, Hunt found out from particular Liksiyu that there was an active white fur trader in the area. This would turn out to be Jacques Raphaël Finlay, located at the NWC Spokane House.^[64] On 21 January, the expedition finally reached the banks of the Columbia River. Hunt soon entered discussions with the Wasco-Wishram when entering their villages. It was here he learned the destruction of the Tonquin the previous year.^[64] The remaining three horses of the party were used to purchase two canoes from Wasco merchants. Several portages were required on the Columbia, especially at the Cascade Rapids. The main body of the expedition reached Fort Astoria on 15 February to much fanfare. Besides Hunt there was thirty men, along with Marie Aioe Dorion and her two children on six canoes.^[39] McDougall was apprehensive about feeding all these additional people, a sentiment Franchère shared,^[60] as the post had recently faced issues with provisions.^[39] Due to seasonal salmon runs harvested by various Chinookans however, there was a sizable food supply at Fort Astoria.

Activities in 1812

Attempted expedition to interior

In late March, three clerks in command of fourteen men were ordered to depart for the hinterlands. Robert Stuart was take needed trade goods to Fort Okanogan. John Reed was to take food supplies to the stranded Crooks and Day, in addition to later taking dispatches for Astor to St. Louis. Russel Farnham was to retrieve the caches left by Hunt near Fort Henry.^[65] To complete several of the necessary portages at the Dalles, Wascos were hired to help freight the trade goods. Two bales of trade goods and later some personal items were however stolen.^[66] Stuart ordered his men to complete the portages during the night. A skirmish arose at sunrise between arriving Wascos and Reed, who was defending several bales of goods with one man.^[66] After being grievously injured, Reed lost the box containing the dispatches. Additional PFC arrived at the scene and two natives were reportedly killed in the struggle. The Chinookans returned in larger numbers and armed several hours later. To avoid more bloodshed Stuart was able to negotiate a settlement with the aggrieved families. In return for a reported six blankets^[65] and tobacco,^[66] the Astorians were able to continue their journey up the Columbia.

The conflict raised security concerns of crossing into further Indigenous nations, forcing the three parties to all travel to Fort Okanogan. Arriving there on the 24th of April, the clerks, voyageurs and trappers departed for Fort Astoria on the 29th, leaving Alexander Ross and two men at the station. Stockpiles of pelts accumulated there amounted to an estimated 2,500 were taken as well. Near the mouth of the Umatilla River the party was surprised to loudly hear English shouted among an assembled group of Indigenous, perhaps Umatilla. Ramsay Crooks and John Day were there them, exhausted from several months of tribulations. Wandering over a large area, the two men at one point received the help of an Umatilla noble, Yeck-a-tap-am, who "in particular treated us like a father."^[65] After being robbed by another band of Natives, Crooks and Day were able to find the Umatilla once more. Taking two worn men with them, the party reached Fort Astoria on 11 May.^[67]

The Beaver

The Beaver was the second supply ship sent by Astor to the Pacific Coast, with Cornelius Sowle as its captain. It sailed from New York City in October 1811 and reached Fort Astoria on 9 May 1812.^[68] While stopping at the Kingdom of Hawaii, more men were recruited as Kanakas for the company. After unloading necessary supplies to the Fort, the Beaver sailed to Russian America. Hunt joined the crew to negotiate with RAC governor Alexander Andreyevich Baranov at New Archangel. The cargo was purchased by the Russians amounted to ₽124,000 in value, with payment in seal skins located on Saint Paul Island.^[1] Orders from Astor dictated that the ship to return to the Columbia,^[69] but the Beaver was in poor repair and sailed for the Kingdom of Hawaii instead. Hunt was left there as the Beaver went west to Guangzhou. News of the War of 1812 kept the ship at the port for the remainder of the conflict. The Beaver then proceeded to New York City and entered the city harbor in 1816.

Second interior expedition

Failure to accomplish many of the tasks set for work the hinterland earlier in 1812 did not discourage the Astorians. The supplies and reinforcements brought aboard the Beaver made management consider "grander schemes" for the summer.^[70] New establishments would be created to challenge the NWC across the region in addition to pursuing trading expeditions among various Indigenous nations. A total of almost 60 men were directed to locations from the Willamette Valley of Oregon to the Bitterroot Valley of Montana and the vicinity of modern Kamloops in British Columbia.^[47] The movement of workers to their assigned locales began in late June.^[46] Robert Stuart led a party bound for St. Louis to send information to Astor as Reed had attempted earlier in the year. His group was composed two French-Canadians and four Americans.^[71] John Day became afflicted by mental instability and Stuart paid several Multnomah men of Cathlapotle village to transport him back to Fort Astoria.^[72] The group would make the important discovery of the South Pass, critical for the later westward movement of tens of thousands of American migrants.

Liquidation

Funds provided by Astor established several major trading stations across the Pacific Northwest. While intended to gain control of the regional fur trade, the Pacific Fur Company would ultimately flounder. This came from a variety of issues, many caused by the tumultuous diplomatic relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. The destruction of the Tonquin left Fort Astoria under supplied and heavily reliant upon neighboring Chinookans for sustenance. Competition from the interior based North West Company threatened to the loss of major fur producing Oregon Country regions. The Overland Expedition would arrive many months later than planned by Astor. Wilson Hunt's inexperience in the outback in along with dwindling supplies would leave the majority of the expedition facing starvation.

While the arrival of the Beaver brought much needed trading goods, foodstuffs and additional employees, events would soon see the ending of the PFC. News of the War of 1812 was relayed to the Astorians at Fort Spokane, information that Donald McKenzie brought to Fort Astoria in January 1813. As Franchere recalled, a council of clerks and management noted that the Astorians were "almost to a man British subjects", forcing them to agree to "abandon the establishment" of Fort Astoria and its secondary stations.^[73] A British warship was learned from NWC clerks to be en route to capture the station. The PFC management agreed to sell its assets across the Oregon Country, formalized on 23 October 1813 with the raising of the Union Jack.^[74] On 30 November HMS Racoon arrived at the Columbia River and in honor of George III of the United Kingdom Fort Astoria was renamed Fort George.^[75] On board the Racoon was John MacDonald who oversaw the formal takeover of PFC properties. Later in March 1814, the NWC's ship Isaac Todd arrived on the Columbia, delivering much-needed supplies to Fort George. She then sailed on to China, and England. She carried some PFC personnel, many of whom were former employees of the NWC, back to England, from where they returned to Montreal.

Legacy

Authors of first hand accounts about the PFC

During a NWC shareholder meeting in July 1814, the partners declared that the sale "greatly facilitated the getting out of the [Pacific] Country our competitors the American Fur Company.^[76] They also concluded that the sale of Astoria and other PFC properties gave "considerable" advancements for their company. Plans were considered to use the stations much in the same manner Astor meant, for trade with China. The Columbia also offered a less costly means of supplying the interior NWC posts in the region.^[76]

The Treaty of 1818 established a "joint occupancy" of the Pacific Northwest between the United States and the United Kingdom was confirmed, each nation agreeing not to inhibit the activities of each other's citizens. During 1821, the British Government ordered the NWC to be merged in their long time rivals, the Hudson's Bay Company. In a short time the HBC controlled the majority of the fur trade across the Pacific Northwest. This was done in a manner that "the Americans were forced to acknowledge that Astor's dream" of a multi-continent economic web "had been realized... by his enterprising and far-sighted competitors."^[77] The PFC held additional influence on the region in some particular and subtle ways. The book Astoria was written by Washington Irving in 1836, after interviewing some men connected to the venture and consulting documents held by Astor. Two surviving members of the Astorians, Étienne Lucier and Joseph Gervais, would later become farmers on the French Prairie and participate in the Champoeg Meetings.

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c Tikhmenev 1978, pp. 116–118.
^ Morton 1973, p. 503.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ross 1849, pp. 7–10.
^ Irving 1836, pp. 26–27.
^ Irving 1836, p. 151.
^ ^a ^b Wheeler 1971.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Englebert & Teasdale 2013, pp. 185–189.
^ Watson 2010, pp. 654–655.
^ Porter 1931, p. 183.
^ Watson 2010, pp. 190, 234, 389, 485, 551, 553, 566, 583, 698, 713, 779, 838, 840–841.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Franchère 1854, pp. 23–32.
^ Watson 2010, p. 698.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Englebert & Teasdale 2013, pp. 190–198.
^ Franchère 1854, pp. 41–49.
^ Ross 1849, pp. 19–26.
^ ^a ^b Franchère 1854, pp. 52–55.
^ ^a ^b Ross 1849, pp. 31–32.
^ ^a ^b ^c Franchère 1854, pp. 81–86.
^ Franchère 1854, pp. 63–64.
^ ^a ^b Porter 1931, pp. 201–202.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ross 1849, pp. 71–75.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Franchère 1854, pp. 99–108.
^ ^a ^b ^c McDougall 1999, pp. 9–17.
^ ^a ^b Franchère 1854, pp. 119–120.
^ McDougall 1999, pp. 50–51.
^ McDougall 1999, pp. 30–35.
^ Thompson 1916, p. 473.
^ McDougall 1999, p. 35.
^ Ross 1849, p. 115.
^ ^a ^b Ross 1849, pp. 124–128.
^ Thompson 1916, pp. 510–511.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ross 1849, pp. 137–146.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ross 1849, pp. 151–159.
^ McDougall 1999, p. 51.
^ ^a ^b Boyd, Ames & Johnson 2015, p. 263.
^ ^a ^b ^c McDougall 1999, pp. 21–27.
^ McDougall 1999, p. 27 fn. 65.
^ McDougall 1999, p. 77, fn. 167.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e McDougall 1999, pp. 72–78.
^ Franchère 1854, p. 125.
^ Ronda 1990, p. 221.
^ Franchère 1854, p. 162.
^ Ross 1849, p. 89.
^ McDougall 1999, p. 44.
^ McDougall 1999, p. 115.
^ ^a ^b ^c McDougall 1999, pp. 100–102.
^ ^a ^b McDougall 1999, pp. 100-102 fn..
^ McDougall 1999, p. 113.
^ McDougall 1999, p. 113 fn..
^ Morris 2013, p. xv.
^ ^a ^b ^c Bradbury 1817, pp. 10–14.
^ ^a ^b Morris 2013, p. 75.
^ Bradbury 1817, pp. 35–36.
^ ^a ^b ^c Bradbury 1817, pp. 43–54.
^ ^a ^b Bradbury 1817, pp. 65–69.
^ ^a ^b ^c Bradbury 1817, pp. 82–85.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bradbury 1817, pp. 97–116.
^ Bradbury 1817, p. 122.
^ Bradbury 1817, p. 226.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Franchère 1854, pp. 144–151.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hunt 1973, pp. 19–28.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Hunt 1973, pp. 32–40.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hunt 1973, pp. 43–51.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hunt 1973, pp. 53–63.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ross 1849, pp. 186–190.
^ ^a ^b ^c Stuart 1953, pp. 59–63.
^ McDougall 1999, p. 89.
^ Ross 1849, pp. 233–235.
^ Greenhow 1844, p. 44.
^ Ronda 1990, pp. 240–241.
^ Stuart 1953, pp. 27–29.
^ Stuart 1953, pp. 46–47.
^ Franchère 1854, pp. 166–167.
^ Franchère 1854, pp. 190–193.
^ Franchère 1854, pp. 200–201.
^ ^a ^b William Stewart Wallace 1934, pp. 260–261.
^ Tikhmenev 1978, p. 169.

Primary sources

Bradbury, John (1817), Travels into the Interior of America, in the years 1809, 1810, and 1811, London: Smith & Galway
Bridgewater, Dorothy (1949), "John Jacob Aster relative to his settlement on the Columbia River", Yale University Library Gazette, 24 (2), New Haven, CT: Yale University
Franchère, Gabriel (1854), Narrative of a voyage to the Northwest coast of America, in the years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814, translated by Huntington, J. V., New York City: Redfield
Hunt, Wilson Price (1973), The Overland Diary of Wilson Price Hunt, translated by Franchère, Hoyt. C., Oregon Book Society, ISBN 0-8032-3896-7
MacKenzie, Alexander (1802), Proposed general fishery and fur company, pp. 147–149, ISBN 9780665263392
McDougall, Duncan (1999), Robert F. Jones (ed.), Annals of Astoria: The Headquarters Log of the Pacific Fur Company on the Columbia River, 1811-1813, New York City: Fordham University Press
Ross, Alexander (1849), Adventures of the first settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River, London: Smith, Elder & Co., ISBN 9780598286024
Stuart, Robert (1953), Kenneth A. Spaulding (ed.), On the Oregon Trail, Robert Stuart's Journal of Discovery, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press
Thompson, David (1916), J. B. Tyrrell (ed.), David Thompson's Narrative, Toronto: The Champlain Society
William Stewart Wallace, ed. (1934), Documents Relating to the North West Company, Toronto: The Champlain Society

Secondary sources

Boyd, Robert T.; Ames, Kenneth A.; Johnson, Tony A. (2015), Chinookan Peoples of the Lower Columbia, Seattle: University of Washington Press, ISBN 9780295995236
Chapin, David (2014), Freshwater Passages, the Trade and Travels of Peter Pond, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 978-0-8032-4632-4
Englebert, Robert; Teasdale, Guillaume (2013), French and Indians in the Heart of North America, 1630-1815, East Langsing: Michigan State University, ISBN 978-1-60917-360-9
Greenhow, Robert (1844), The History of Oregon and California, Boston: Charles C. Little & James Brown
Irving, Washington (1836), Astoria, Paris: Baudry's European Library
Morton, Arthur (1973), Lewis G. Thomas (ed.), A History of the Canadian West to 1870-71 (2nd ed.), Toronto: University of Toronto Press
Morris, Larry E. (2013), The Perilous West, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., ISBN 978-1442211124
Porter, Kenneth W. (1931), John Jacob Astor: Business Man, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Ronda, James (1990), Astoria & Empire, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0-8032-3896-7
Ronda, James (1986), "Astoria & the Birth of Empire", Montana: The Magazine of Western History, 36 (3), Helena, MT: Montana Historical Society: 22–35
Tikhmenev, P. A. (1978), A History of the Russian-American Company, translated by Pierce, Richard A.; Donnelly, Alton S., Seattle: University of Washington Press
Watson, Bruce M. (2010), Lives Lived West of the Divide: A Biographical Dictionary of Fur Traders Working West of the Rockies, 1793-1858, Okanagan: The Centre for Social, Spatial and Economic Justice of the University of British Columbia
Wheeler, Mary E. (1971), "Empires in Conflict and Cooperation: The "Bostonians" and the Russian-American Company", Pacific Historical Review, 40 (4), Oakland, CA: University of California Press: 419–441, doi:10.2307/3637703, JSTOR 3637703

v t e Pacific Fur Company
Trading posts	Fort Astoria Fort Okanogan Fort She-whaps Fort Spokane Wallace House Clearwater Post
Partners	John Jacob Astor John Clarke Ramsay Crooks Wilson Price Hunt Alexander McKay Donald Mackenzie Robert McClellan Duncan McDougall David Stuart
Clerks	Russel Farnham Gabriel Franchère Donald McGillis William Wallace Matthews Thomas McKay John Reed Alexander Ross Alfred Seton Robert Stuart
Personnel	Ross Cox John Day Pierre Dorion Jr. Marie Aioe Dorion Joseph Gervais Michel Laframboise Étienne Lucier Ovide de Montigny Naukane François Payette François Benjamin Pillet
Ships	Tonquin Beaver Albatros

v t e Pioneer history of Oregon (1806–1890)
Topics	American Fur Company Columbian exchange Executive Committee Ferries Hudson's Bay Company Oregon & California Railroad Oregon boundary dispute Oregon Country Oregon Lyceum Oregon missionaries Oregon Spectator Oregon Territory Oregon Trail Oregon Treaty Organic Laws Pacific Fur Company Provisional Government
Events	Treaty of 1818 Russo-American Treaty of 1824 Willamette Cattle Company Champoeg Meetings Star of Oregon Whitman massacre Cayuse War Donation Land Claim Act Holmes v. Ford Rogue River Wars Constitutional Convention Modoc War Great Gale of 1880
Places	Albina Applegate Trail Barlow Road Canemah Champoeg Elliott Cutoff Fort Astoria Fort Dalles Fort Vancouver Fort William French Prairie Linn City Meek Cutoff Methodist Mission Oregon City Oregon Institute Philip Foster Farm Thomas and Ruckle Road Tualatin Academy Whitman Mission Willamette Trading Post
People	George Abernethy Jesse Applegate Ira Babcock Sam Barlow François Blanchet William H. Boring Elijah Bristow Tabitha Brown Matthew Deady Abigail Scott Duniway Thomas Lamb Eliot Philip Foster Peter French Joseph Gale Cornelius Gilliam David Hill Chief Joseph Joseph Kellogg H.A.G. Lee Jason Lee David Thomas Lenox Asa Lovejoy Morton M. McCarver John McLoughlin Joseph Meek Ezra Meeker James D. Miller John Minto Robert Newell Joel Palmer Osborne Russell Sager orphans Levi Scott Eliza Hart Spalding Henry Spalding William Vandevert Elijah White Marcus Whitman Narcissa Whitman Geo. H. Williams Ewing Young
Transportation	Columbia Lot Whitcomb Canemah Colonel Wright Gazelle Oregon Steam Navigation Company
Oregon history	Native peoples history History to 1806 Pioneer history Modern history

This page was last edited on 2 December 2023, at 18:03

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