Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival

by Stark, Peter

  212 The survivors then opened fire: Irving, Astoria, p. 112.

  213 take McKay hostage: Cox, Adventures on the Columbia River, p. 65.

  “favourite among the Indians”: Ross, Adventures, p. 161.

  214 “The last time the ill-fated gentleman was seen”: Cox, Adventures on the Columbia River, p. 65.

  a headwind blew into the cove: Irving, Astoria, p. 113.

  215 he would prefer suicide: Ibid., p. 114.

  “The wounded man showed himself over the railing”: Howay, “The Loss of the Tonquin.”

  216 Shattered bits of wood: This eyewitness account below of the explosion of the Tonquin is from Kevin Robinson and David W. Griffiths, “Investigations of a Potential Shipwreck Site, Templar Channel, Clayoquot Sound, B.C.,” Tonquin Foundation, May 2005, p. 60: “In the 1860’s Ten-ta-coose, a former slave of the Tla-o-qui-aht, told Jason Allard of Fort Langley that he had been at Clayoquot when he had seen a large ship attacked and blown up. ‘ Ten-ta-coose, the slave . . . saw the tall masts break and crumble . . . bodies thrown into the air to fall broken into the water, and wood, and iron and tattered fragments of sailcloth and humanity he saw blasted high into the sky. . . .’”

  Joseachal apparently heard: Irving, Astoria, pp. 113–114.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  218 Knowing this history, McDougall invited: McDougall journal entry, July 1, 1811, in Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 30.

  “I have but to draw the cork”: Irving, Astoria, p. 117.

  52 of the 102 original Plymouth colonists: Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War (New York: Viking, 2006), p. 90.

  named Dolly , after Astor’s effervescent teenage daughter: Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 52.

  219 reach the Spanish settlements: McDougall journal entry, November 14, 1811, in ibid., p. 58.

  Known to the natives: The origins of the name of the Willamette River are controversial. Writing in 1947, Howard Corning claimed the river had no name among the Indians. Rather, the tribes named each stretch after its inhabitants. The modern spelling came to prominence when Charles Wilkes brought his exploring expedition to Oregon in 1841. Howard McKinley Corning, Willamette Landings: Ghost Towns of the River (Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort, 1947), pp. 8–10.

  as the Cathlanaminim: Franchère, Narrative, p. 135.

  220 “It rained in torrents and was dark as pitch”: Ibid., pp. 134–36.

  The downpour leaked into the fort’s cellars: McDougall journal entry, October 11, 1811, in Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 52.

  220 particularly rich in beaver: Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 90. See footnote regarding Mackenzie’s report that led to a fur post on the river near Salem.

  222 The sick list showed six men: McDougall journal, in ibid., p. 68. Franchère indicates that McDougall was also suffering illness around this time, badly enough to confine him to his quarters. Franchère, Narrative, p. 144.

  “but in a pitiable condition”: Franchère, Narrative, p. 150.

  Crossing mountains northward and struggling: Rollins, The Discovery of the Oregon Trail, pp. 80–82.

  223 Wilson Price Hunt and his party: McDougall journal entry, February 15, 1812, in Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 72; and Stuart journal.

  “The emaciated, downcast looks”: Ross, Adventures, pp. 182–83.

  voyageurs embracing voyageurs: Irving, Astoria, pp. 325–26.

  the several struggling voyageurs: McDougall writes that the Overland Party left behind Crooks and five other men. Journal entry, February 15, 1812, in Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 72.

  teenager by the name of Archibald Pelton: J. Neilson Barry, “Archibald Pelton, the First Follower of Lewis and Clark,” Washington Historical Quarterly 19, no. 3 (July 1928): 199–201.

  225 His name would eventually enter the Chinook trade jargon: Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 86, and Ruby and Brown, The Chinook Indians, p. 150. Two dictionaries of the Chinook jargon by George C. Shaw and Edwin Harper Thomas indicate pelton means “crazy.” George C. Shaw, The Chinook Jargon and How to Use It: A Complete and Exhaustive Lexicon of the Oldest Trade Language of the American Continent (Seattle: Rainier, 1909), p. 45; Edwin Harper Thomas, Chinook: A History and Dictionary, 2nd ed. (Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort, 1970), p. 113.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  227 trading less than $200 worth: Jay H. Buckley, “Life at Fort Astoria: John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company post on the Columbia River,” Proceedings of the 2012 Fur Trade Symposium, ed. Jim Hardee (Pinedale, WY: Sublette County Historical Society/Museum of the Mountain Man, 2013). Ross relates that the Indians at Okanagan were so eager to trade that he need only give five tobacco leaves per pelt, and one of the chiefs gave twenty beaver skins for one yard of white cotton. Ross, Adventures, p. 200. According to Franchère, the Okanagan trade produced 140 packets of furs that Stuart and McKenzie transported back to Astoria. Franchère, Narrative, p. 170. McDougall wrote in his journal that Stuart “gave a very satisfactory account of the country, as abounding in Beaver, etc.” McDougall journal entry, January 27, 1812, in Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 69.

  228 Hunt sent two clerks: Rollins, The Discovery of the Oregon Trail, p. 67 fn. 29.

  “zeal of a true Irishman”: Irving, Astoria, pp. 344, 348.

  229 The three parties set out: Ross, Adventures, p. 184.

  On a good day: Stuart, Robert Stuart’s Narratives, p. 52.

  230 “saucy, impudent Rascals”: Stuart journal entry, July 14, 1812, in ibid., pp. 51–52.

  The shiny metal box: Irving, Astoria, p. 348.

  according to Stuart’s account: Stuart journal entry, July 20, 1812, in Robert Stuart’s Narratives, p. 56.

  “they would give it to them while plundering”: Stuart journal entry, July 20, 1812, in ibid., p. 56.

  Reed, however, had forgotten to remove: Irving, Astoria, p. 348. The accounts of Stuart and Irving regarding the fight at Celilo Falls vary in minor ways, but they are in agreement regarding the overall results.

  231 “Our answer was NO ”: Stuart journal entry, July 20, 1812, in Robert Stuart’s Narratives, p. 59.

  232 The group arrived at the Okanagan post: Ross, Adventures, pp. 186–87.

  he had tried to convince the tribes: Ibid., pp. 128–29.

  claiming the region for the North West Company: According to Ronda, Thompson’s proclamation read: “Know hereby that this country is claimed by Great Britain as part of its territories, and that the North West Company of Merchants from Canada, finding the factory for this people inconvenient for them, do hereby intend to erect a factory in this place for the commerce of the country around.” Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 64.

  they had 2,500 furs: Ross, Adventures, p. 187. Accounts vary as to the number of furs. McDougall claims one thousand, in the journal entry for May 11, 1812, in Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 89.

  233 “Come onshore”: Ross, Adventures, p. 187.

  234 They followed it for some days: Irving, Astoria, p. 352. Other accounts of the journey of Crooks and Day include Ross, Adventures, pp. 187–92; Rollins, The Discovery of the Oregon Trail, pp. lxxxvii–lxxxix; and Seton, Astorian Adventure, pp. 97–98.

  235 according to some accounts, offered them food: Irving, Astoria, p. 353; Seton, Astorian Adventure, p. 97. Ross’s account does not indicate the Indians fed them, nor does Rollins’s.

  “The Indians then closed in upon us”: Ross, Adventures, p. 190.

  236 the two were preparing to head all the way back: Ibid., p. 192.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  237 “great surprise and great joy”: Franchère, Narrative, p. 154.

  with an oared boat following behind: Cox, Adventures on the Columbia River, p. 53.

  The Beaver brought a huge boost of energy: Irving, Astoria, p. 359.

  238 Astor’s own nephew, George Ehninger: p. 280.

  238 “brightest star”: Ross, Adventures, p. 195.

  explorations up the Willamette River: McDougall journal entry, May 11, 1812, in Jones, Annals of Astoria
, p. 89.

  “Between these high lands”: Ross, Adventures, p. 236.

  Astoria jumped with planning and strategy: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 240.

  239 “A letter from Mr. Nathaniel Woodbury”: “Account of the Tonquin,” New York Gazette and General Advertiser, May 12, 1812.

  240 The Child of Nature: Theater listings, New York Gazette and General Advertiser, May 11 and 12, 1812.

  “What would you have me do?”: Irving, Astoria, p. 116.

  241 estimated that $20,000 worth of trinkets: Porter, John Jacob Astor, Business Man, pp. 173–81.

  242 the hair-trigger McClellan: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, pp. 238–39.

  “partners dissatisfied with the enterprise”: Franchère, Narrative, p. 160.

  There was young Mr. Nicoll: Seton, Astorian Adventure, pp. 98–99.

  244 “Our Madman (Pelton) continuing the same”: McDougall journal entry, June 15, 1812, in Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 97.

  McDougall, too, was frequently sick: Irving, Astoria, p. 444.

  It’s cold, it’s raining: According to climate-zone.com, Astoria experiences 193 days with more than .01 inches of rainfall in the average year. Days where the skies are “clear” number only 38.

  245 in nine canoes and two bateaux: Seton, Astorian Adventure, p. 100. See also Jones, Annals of Astoria, pp. 100–101 fn. 38.

  Formerly cheerful and popular: Irving, Astoria, p. 360.

  “now uttered the most incoherent”: Stuart journal entry, July 1, 1812, in Rollins, The Discovery of the Oregon Trail, p. 29.

  246 meadowy Deer Island: Today, Deer Island is a tiny town along U.S. Highway 30 about thirty-three miles from downtown Portland, between Rainier to the north, and St. Helens to the south.

  “[T]his gigantic mass appears as a Steeple”: Stuart journal entry, June 29, 1812, in Rollins, The Discovery of the Oregon Trail, p. 60.

  247 Day likely was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder: According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., Text Revision (Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000), a diagnosis of PTSD requires that “the person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present: 1. the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others. 2. the person’s response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.” It is fair to say that Day’s experiences lost in the wilderness and his encounters with hostile Indians fit at least this part of the diagnostic criteria.

  248 Cathlapootle Island: Stuart journal entry, July 3, 1812, in Rollins, The Discovery of the Oregon Trail, p. 31. Rollins indicates it is Bachelor Island on p. 43 fn. 53.

  “[H]is insanity amounted to real madness”: Stuart, journal entry July 3, 1812, in ibid., p. 31.

  249 The country on both sides of the river: Stuart journal entry, July 20, 1812, in ibid., pp. 59–60.

  to his “great delight”: Irving, Astoria, p. 363. Stuart recounts it in his journal entry of July 21, 1812, in Rollins, The Discovery of the Oregon Trail, p. 60.

  That night, in celebration: Stuart journal entry, July 28, 1812, in ibid., p. 62.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  252 But Astor had also met James Madison: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, pp. 45–46.

  Perhaps Astor’s best connection: Porter, John Jacob Astor, Business Man, p. 146, and Ronda, Astoria & Empire, pp. 258–59.

  253 he asked those Canadians: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 99.

  What would happen if war broke out: Franchère, Narrative, pp. 28–29.

  Astor knew nothing at the time: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 99.

  254 posts being established to the north of these: Ibid., p. 241.

  This was the post headed by Donald Mackenzie: Ibid., pp. 240, 264.

  255 “ ‘Such a life,’ they said”: Ross, Adventures, p. 219.

  256 McTavish delivered it with officious delight: Irving, Astoria, p. 445.

  the Isaac Todd , had sailed: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 264.

  “We had a famous horse pye”: Seton, Astorian Adventure, p. 109.

  257 Returning to New York: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 251.

  Captain Sowle was to turn: Irving, Astoria, p. 430; Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 251.

  No marine insurer would want to touch this vessel: Irving, Astoria, p. 431.

  258 “remarkable,” as Irving described: Ibid.

  promised him some sort of military protection: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 45.

  the wintering partners at their July meeting: Ibid., p. 252.

  They voted to send emissaries from Montreal: Ibid.

  259 There McTavish and his group: Irving, Astoria, p. 449. See also The Dictionary of Canadian Biography, s.v. “McTavish, George.”

  The stakes had climbed still higher: See Irving, Astoria, p. 431, for an accounting of Astor’s uncertainty during this time.

  But no direct word of Hunt’s fate: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 258.

  He summoned two of his best sea captains: Ibid., pp. 252–54.

  260 “ the very idea is like a dagger to my heart”: Irving, Astoria, p. 432. Ronda speculates that Irving may have engaged in poetic license here, but that certainly he captured Astor’s true sentiment. Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 262.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  261 In the misty dusk of January 16: McDougall journal entry, January 16, 1813, in Jones, Annals of Astoria, pp. 145–46.

  “The months of October, November, and December”: Franchère, Narrative, p. 165.

  262 “he gave way to the most abject despondency”: Irving, Astoria, p. 444.

  264 “[I]t becomes very interesting to know”: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 260.

  265 a U.S. frigate could be sent to cruise the waters off Canton: Ibid., p. 261.

  “Madison and others in his administration”: Ibid.

  they summoned partners David Stuart and John Clarke: Irving, Astoria, p. 446.

  with heavy packs of furs: Franchère indicates the parties arrived with 140 packs of furs. Franchère, Narrative, p. 170. Ross states Clarke left the Spokane post with “thirty-two horses loaded with furs.” Ross, Adventures, p. 214.

  266 He took a silver goblet from his traveling wine case: Ross, Adventures, pp. 214–15, and Cox, Adventures on the Columbia River, p. 107.

  “[You’re] a greater man now than ever before”: Ross, Adventures, p. 215.

  Different accounts of the execution vary in detail, but generally agree.

  267 “Mr. Clarke,” wrote Alfred Seton: Seton, Astorian Adventure, p. 115.

  Thinking they would be pleased: Irving, Astoria, p. 452.

  268 “Taking the hint, we lost no time”: Ross, Adventures, p. 226.

  269 “ ‘Gentlemen,’ said he, ‘why do you hesitate so long’ ”: Ibid., p. 244.

  271 McTavish and the North West Company: For the deal struck between McTavish and the Astorians, see Ronda, Astoria & Empire, pp. 281–82.

  a “market-sharing agreement”: Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 198 fn. 89.

  273 He now conjured up another insurance policy: McDougall journal entry, July 20, 1813, in Jones, Annals of Astoria, p. 203; see also fn. 98.

  knowing his father-in-law would protect him: Seton, Astorian Adventure, p. 116.

  on the fresh, sunny morning of August 20: McDougall journal entry, August 20, 1813, in Jones, Annals of Astoria, pp. 210–11. For the arrival of the ship, see also Franchère, Narrative, p. 173; Ross, Adventures, p. 251; and Irving, Astoria, pp. 463–64.

  274 A year earlier, Hunt had climbed aboard the Beaver: Irving, Astoria, pp. 465–68.

  275 “He is continually giving”: Ibid., pp. 466–67. Ronda indicates Irving had access to Hunt’s journal, though it is now lost. Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 283.

  276 “insufferable ennui . . . in the midst of deep mud”: Franchère, Narrative, p. 164.

  277 The partners wouldn’t budge: Ibid., p. 179. Ron
da analyzes this meeting in Astoria & Empire, pp. 285–286.

  277 he would return soon with another ship: Franchère, Narrative, p. 179, and Irving, Astoria, pp. 474–75.

  Astor’s ship, the fast-sailing Lark: Porter, John Jacob Astor, Business Man, pp. 552–54.

  278 a tremendous gale blew: Ibid., pp. 552–54; Irving, Astoria, p. 477; Ross, Adventures, p. 261; Seton, Astorian Adventure, p. 202; and Cox, Adventures on the Columbia River, pp. 135–36.

  279 the South Pacific’s beautiful Marquesas Islands: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 297.

  EPILOGUE

  281 McTavish, of the rival North West Company: Irving, Astoria, p. 482.

  McDougall’s own uncle, Angus Shaw: Ibid.; Franchère, Narrative, p. 191.

  282 “to take and destroy”: Irving, Astoria, p. 482.

  “totally annihilate”: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, pp. 256–57.

  for about thirty cents on the dollar: Irving, Astoria, p. 484.

  “I lost in a moment all my hopes of fortune”: Franchère, Narrative, p. 193.

  283 He and his Chinook warriors would hide: Cox, Adventures on the Columbia River, pp. 132–33.

  284 “I leave the Country”: Seton, Astorian Adventure, p. 151.

  285 It had happened the past winter: Franchère, Narrative, pp. 273–76; Irving, Astoria, pp. 492–95; and Ross, Adventures, pp. 277–81.

  287 “Good god,” he had written: Porter, John Jacob Astor, Business Man, p. 524.

  $2.5 million: Ronda, Astoria & Empire, p. 266.

  “And for want of one ship and crew”: Ibid., p. 269.

  Astorians who perished as tallied by clerk Alexander Ross: Ross, Adventures, p. 283.

  288 splitting open his skull with his own tomahawk: Barry, “Archibald Pelton,” pp. 200–201.

  Astor had sent a total of about 140 men: Chittenden, The American Fur Trade of the Far West, pp. 887–88.

  “[Mr. Astor] assumed the financial risks”: John Denis Haeger, John Jacob Astor: Business and Finance in the Early Republic (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1991), p. 117.

  “My plan was right”: Elbert Hubbard, Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Businessmen (1916, reprint [New York]:Cosimo Classics, 2005), pp. 224–25.

  Irving was undoubtedly speaking for Astor himself: Irving, Astoria, pp. 497–501.